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freddie-weaselbee · 3 years ago

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Grade A Business//F.W.

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Brief semi-nudity, slight language, two suggestive comments, y/n drools on fred but like in a cute way

Summary: As one businessman makes a trip across the ocean to talk to new investors, he meets his new partner, someone a lot more familiar than he was expecting.

Prompts: Only One Bed with dialogue prompts “if we get caught, I’m blaming you” and “I don't want to be alone”

Word Count: 4.5k

A/N: Day 2 of @theweasleyslut‘s 2k writing challenge

Fred had never gotten used to traveling on Muggle airplanes. He never had a need to before, not with everything being a train ride, floo network, or apparition away. But as he and George progressed into adulthood, and the businessman life no less, they found themselves constantly on the move and needing a fast and easy way to travel without drawing suspicion. Except for the one time that Fred’s magical briefcase set off every airport security system imaginable, but he’d learned from that mistake.

He was relieved to be exiting the JFK airport in New York City, clutching his luggage and thanking Merlin that his feet could now touch solid ground. Being in one of those huge steel contraptions was nothing like flying in a broom. He had no control over anything and it drove him absolutely insane. Luckily, he was safe now, and one step closer to being done with this awful business trip.

At the beginning of their business endeavors, Fred and George would travel together, trying to pick up business at other locations for Weasleys’ Wizards Wheezes. But as the shop grew and the locations became more and more foreign (so far having shops in Paris, Cairo, and Madrid) the brothers realized that the operations would have to be solo missions to allow for the other to run the shop for longer periods of time. Usually Fred didn’t mind taking the trips by himself. In fact, he rather enjoyed the alone time and flexibility in schedule. But this meeting was supposed to be a big one, and he was feeling quite nervous about having to tackle it himself.

Big investors located in the states were meeting with him to discuss opening a joint operation in New York City, combining his shop with another renowned wizard business that they deemed would be most profitable. Fred groaned internally just thinking about it. He didn’t want to have to share this new shop with anyone, no matter what the new investors thought. What if the other co-owner was a horrible person? Or worse, what if they had no sense of humor? They’d ruin the Weasley reputation and make it some boring book store. Or puzzle shop? Honestly Fred didn’t know much about the other business, just that he already didn’t like it.

Hailing a cab, a trick his sister-in-law Hermione had shown him years ago, Fred lugged all of his prototypes--skillfully hidden from Muggle eyes and detection systems by layers of spells--into the trunk before hopping in, giving the address of the hotel the investors had booked for him. He was about to shut the door when a panting scream startled him enough to make him stop.

“Wait! Hold the cab!”

Doing as he was told, Fred kept the door open and allowed the stranger to climb in, suitcase and all.

“Thanks,” you said, Fred noting your distinct British accent and strikingly familiar features. “I really need to get to my hotel, I appreciate it--”

“Y/N?”

Shocked, you finally looked at your ride partner’s face for the first time. Soft brown eyes. Freckled face. Bright ginger hair.

“Fred?! Fred Weasley?” You knew for a fact you weren’t mistaken, this was definitely the Fred you remembered. Or maybe it could have been George? It had been so long since you had seen either of them. Since Hogwarts, in fact.

Luckily, Fred nodded, confirming your belief that this was the older Weasley twin and saving yourself from heaps of embarrassment. “Y/N L/N, what are you doing here?”

Fred and you both wore matching grins, stretching from ear to ear. What an insane coincidence. What were the chances that you two would be in the same cab, in the same city, in the same foreign country?

“I’m actually here for business,” you said. “After Hogwarts I opened my own shop--”

“Excuse me,” the cab driver interrupted, wasting no time with politeness nor formalities. “But I have cars lined up behind me and I don’t know where you wanna go little lady. So let’s get on with it, if you will.”

“Oh, yeah of course. It’s, umm, oh shit which hotel was it? It’s on 53rd and 10th, I know that…” You trailed off, trying to remember what your hotel was called. You dug around in your purse, hoping to find a piece of paper with the name on it. “I think it was called--”

“Lotus Hotel.”

It was Fred who had interrupted you, once again, and once again you were just as bewildered as before.

“That’s right,” you said after a few seconds of confused silence. “Yes, yes the Lotus Hotel please,” you told the driver with confidence. Turning back to Fred you tried in earnest to understand what was happening.

“So same location?” the driver asked, to which Fred confirmed before you were speeding off down the crowded streets of the city.

“Oh, I get it,” you said in understanding. “Same hotel as me?”

“That is correct, love. What are the odds?” He wiggled his eyebrows in a half suggestive half just plain goofy manner, awkwardly shuffling so that his long legs had room amongst your many bags.

“That is quite a coincidence,” you agreed. “Funny thing is, I didn’t even choose the location. I have a business meeting in the morning with possible investors and they set everything up for the stay.”

Fred’s mouth practically dropped open at what you had said. “You’re kidding. These investors don’t happen to be Robbie Goldstein and Rachel McMillan, do they?”

“Ok, you need to stop doing that,” you said, officially freaked. “That’s the third time you’ve predicted something and it’s starting to creep me out. You never were very good at legilimency.”

He hushed you quickly, hoping the cab driver hadn’t caught onto the magical term you just used. Thankfully, he was too focused on the roads to notice.

“Ok, Y/N, one last question.”

“And then you’ll explain how you know all this?”

Fred ignored your question and continued with his own. “You said you opened a business. Are you perhaps meeting with another business owner to discuss a collaboration on a new store opening in the city?”

“Yes!” you said, eager to know how Fred could have known that. Was this another one of his pranks? Did he have hidden cameras in the cab somewhere? “How do you know all this?”

He only laughed, a joyous and very relieved grin overtaking his face. Sticking out his right hand, he grabbed yours and shook it eagerly. “Well, Miss L/N, it’s a pleasure to be reacquainted. I’m Frederick Weasley, your new potential partner.”

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“You know, you haven’t changed a bit.”

“Oh thank Godric, I was worried you’d think I was grown up and mature now.”

You laughed heartily as you dragged your bags out of the cab, thanking the driver before he grunted annoyedly and drove off. Your drive from the airport had gone faster than expected, mostly due to the fact that you and Fred had so much to catch up on.

After he and George had left Hogwarts in their grand exit, they’d created the shop they’d always dreamed of, parking it right in the middle of Diagon Alley. You, on the other hand, went about creating your success in a much more conventional way. After finishing your last year of school, you started working full time at Zonko’s at Hogsmeade, trying to save up enough money to start your own business.

Many long hours and tiring days later, you opened up your little place, a toy store and puzzle shop. It was a similar setup to what the Weasleys did, but as you described it, “my toys don’t blow up in the user's face.”

You were now very excited for tomorrow’s meeting, the one you had been dreading beforehand. Your business was much smaller than Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes and this would be your first international location. You were afraid that the owner you would be forced to work with would be some stuck up rich big whig who wouldn’t allow you to keep any of your small business charm in the new location. But learning that you would be working with Fred, well that was a relief for many reasons.

Fred rang the hotel desk bell, chatting happily about ideas for the shared shop and new products that fit with what both of you wanted to do.

“Hello there,” said the hotel receptionist, coming around the corner. “What can I do for you today?”

“Two night stay for Frederick Weasley,” said Fred. “Should’ve been booked by Robbie Goldstein.”

The young man typed quickly into his computer before offering Fred a hotel key card. “Here you are Mr. Weasley, room 504. We serve complimentary breakfast from 6 to 9 every morning down in our west hall. If you need anything don’t be afraid to call down and we’ll assist you in any way we can.”

Fred nodded at the man. “Thank you, I appreciate it.” He turned to leave before you grabbed his shirt sleeve and pulled him back.

“Wait for me,” you said. “I’m not finished talking to you yet.”

Fred smiled and waited behind you as you took your turn at the desk.

“Y/N L/N, also booked by Robbie Goldstein.”

He clicked away again but paused for a few seconds, seemingly confused. “You said Y/N L/N?”

Starting to get nervous, you nodded. “Yes, that’s me. Is the reservation not there?” You didn’t want to think about having to find somewhere else to stay, especially because it was getting so late.

“Oh no,” the man replied. “It’s here all right.” Ignoring the confused looks you and Fred were giving each other, the receptionist handed you a hotel key card and gestured to the elevator. “Thank you for choosing to stay with us. You’ll be staying for two nights in room 504. Don’t forget to enjoy our complimentary breakfast from 6--”

“I’m sorry,” Fred interrupted. “But that’s my room. You did say 504, right?”

“Yes sir,” he replied, not bothering to try to understand the predicament. “Mr. Goldstein booked one room for the both of you.”

Your eyes widened and you looked at Fred, silently asking him to help you figure this out. But instead, Fred just broke out laughing, having to brace himself on the front desk.

“I guess that’s what you expect when you let two investors who specialize in pranking shops make the room accommodations.”

“This isn’t funny Fred,” you said, although you had to give Robbie and Rachel credit for this joke. Turning to the receptionist, you sighed and ran your hands through your hair. “There’s at least two separate beds, right?”

He glanced down at his computer screen before looking back up at you with a guilty smile. “Well, about that…”

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“Alright, I’ll take the couch, I’m sure it’s a pullout, it has to be.”

Fred stood in the doorway watching you mumble mostly to yourself. As tired as he was and as much as he wanted to just lie down and sleep, somehow watching you freak out about the sleeping arrangements was a much better use of his time.

He watched as you threw the pillows and cushions off of the couch and felt around for a lever, something, anything that would allow you a place to rest. Your face lit up as you felt a small impression and yanked with all your might, only causing you to thump backwards onto your butt on the hotel room floor.

Kicking off his shoes, Fred jumped onto the bed, sighing as he let his body relax. “Come on in darling, there’s plenty of room for the both of us.”

He opened one eye slightly, just enough to see your reaction. You were trying again to make the couch open, although you both knew that it wasn’t a pullout. Nevertheless, you kept pulling at every spot you thought could make a difference.

It reminded Fred of the good old days, back at Hogwarts when you two were so close. You were always so stubborn, and he didn’t realize just how much he had missed having you in his life. He always wondered what happened to you after he and George left, but with the shop opening up and the war around the corner, he never had the thought to write you or track you down. He hoped this time after you two parted ways you would still remain in touch.

You groaned loudly, slapping the couch with one of the pillows you had thrown earlier. Nothing was going as planned and you couldn’t be more annoyed.

“Fine,” you huffed. “I’ll just sleep on the couch, no need for a pullout.” You stomped over to the bed and angrily pulled the blanket from off of him.

“Hey!” he shouted, trying to grab it back but you were too quick. “That’s not fair, it’s cold!”

“If you get the bed,” you said, wrapping yourself up, “then I get to stay warm. Now go to sleep, I’ll see you in the morning.”

He couldn’t help but giggle at the small bundle of you wrapped up in the hotel quilt, looking like an angry little burrito. Standing, he unbuttoned his shirt and threw it in the corner, followed next by his undershirt before he unbuckled his belt. He turned to face you slowly, feeling your eyes on him as they peeked out of your wrapping.

You quickly turned your gaze and glared at the floor. “What are you doing?” you said, hoping Fred didn’t see the blush rising to your cheeks. He did.

He continued to undress, leaving him only in a pair of red boxers that left little to the imagination. “Going to bed, as you said,” he replied nonchalantly. He grabbed a toothbrush from his suitcase and made his way to the bathroom, making sure to walk extra slowly and give you a longer show.

“This is so unprofessional!” you yelled after him.

“We’re not business partners until tomorrow, love,” Fred said with a mouthful of toothpaste. “As far as I see it we can do anything we want tonight.”

Rolling your eyes, you shed the large blanket and grabbed an oversized t-shirt from your bag, hoping you’d be able to change before Fred finished in the bathroom. As he emerged, he saw the tail end of you throwing the shirt on, flashing your thighs and part of your panties for half a second. He averted his eyes out of respect, but that didn’t stop his imagination from running away with what he just saw.

You shuffled past him, taking your turn in the bathroom. How in the world had this happened? How had a nice catch-up with a friend turned into an awkward back and forth the night before the most important business meeting of your life?

All you wanted to do was fall asleep, go through with whatever tomorrow brought you, and pretend like this never happened. But as you came out of the bathroom, you saw that Fred had taken the blanket back, leaving you with nothing except your t-shirt and an uncomfortable couch.

“Fred, let me have it,” you said, trying to yank it from his grip.

“No,” he mumbled, voice muffled by one of the many pillows he was cuddled with.

“Frederick Gideon Weasley, give me the blanket now or so help me…”

Instead of responding, he just reached out and patted you on the top of your head before rolling over and pretending to snore. He was infuriating.

You sulked back to the couch, accepting your defeat. You pulled out all of the clothes in your bag, hoping they could form as some sort of makeshift blanket. But after a few minutes of shivering and curling into the smallest ball possible, you realized that you’d never manage to sleep like this. Fred was staring at you, partially amused and partially concerned. You looked away.

“You can always share with me, you know,” he said, patting the bed next to him.

You scoffed and turned away. “Like I said, Fred, we’re soon-to-be business partners. Imagine how that would look! I’m fine right here, thank you.”

After a few seconds of silence you snuck another look at him. He hadn’t moved an inch, and was instead looking more concerned than before. “You’re going to freeze to death over there.”

“Well maybe that’s because someone stole my blanket.”

“The blanket comes with the bed, and the bed comes with me. Take it or leave it.”

It took everything in you not to scream. You wanted that warm, soft, comfortable bed more than anything at the moment. You needed it. Oh but it would send such a bad message if anyone ever found out…

“If we get caught I’m blaming you,” you relented, trudging over to the bed and crawling underneath the covers, ripping the blanket from a very amused Fred.

“Who’s gonna catch us, Robbie and Rachel? They’re the ones that set this up! Trust me, nothing’s going to happen.”

“It better not,” you said. “And make sure you stay on your side of the bed, I mean it! No touching.”

“Oh come on, Y/N,” Fred said, rolling slightly closer to you. “You act as if we’ve never done this before. We’ve slept with each other dozens of times.”

Your face went red at his words, wishing he would have phrased it a different way.

“You know what I mean,” he said quickly, hearing how his words came across. “But the amount of times we’ve cuddled up in the Gryffindor common room or up stargazing in the astronomy tower. It’s just me, there’s nothing to be scared of.”

“We were also 17 and a lot closer back then,” you retorted, remembering the fond memories you had from your high school days.

Fred huffed and returned to his side. “I’m not saying we weren’t. I just wish you weren’t acting so different now. It’s like we’re barely friends anymore…” His voice drifted off, wishing that he could go back and change the past. It had been 8 years since he last saw you. 8 whole years. Maybe things would’ve been different if he had tried to stay in touch. You’d never even visited his shop in those 8 years, never seen everything he was so proud of. He was stupid to think that one reunion was going to bring back a friendship that was practically already dead. He was even more stupid to think that maybe, just maybe, fate was giving him one last chance to shoot his shot, close to a decade later. What a right idiot he was.

On the other side of the bed, less than a meter away, similar thoughts raced through your mind. 8 years. Why hadn’t you, in 8 years, made one trip to visit their shop. Sure, there was a war going on and you were busy starting your own shop, but things had been fairly calm the last few years. Why had you never reached out? Almost subconsciously, you reached out physically for Fred. Your hand brushed up against his back before you tensed and drew back. You both stilled for a few moments, before Fred rolled over, facing you.

The two of you just stared at each other, both playing mental images of what your lives could have looked like the last 8 years if just one of you had done something.

“You’re not seeing anyone, are you?” Fred asked, breaking the silence. You shook your head. He moved closer.

“Are you?” you asked. He shook his head. You moved closer.

Your faces were now about a foot apart. You moved your hand to rest it between your face and the pillow. Fred copied your actions. You laughed softly, the movement causing a strand of hair to fall into your face.

Fred reached his hand out to move it before hesitating. “Can I?” His voice was so soft, so full of care. His hand hesitated in the air for a second before you nodded. He brushed the strands behind your ear, fingertips so gentle that you got chills up and down your spine. He let his hand linger before it moved to cup your face. “I’ve missed you.”

You smiled and leaned into his touch. “I’ve missed you too, Freddie.”

His hand left your face and moved down to your waist, eyes not leaving yours in case you ever grew uncomfortable. He wrapped his arm around you, pulling you closer to him just like you used to do all those years ago. You buried your face in the crook of his neck and hummed contently, before both of you slowly drifted off to sleep.

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“Freddie, Y/N! How are ya!”

Robbie Goldstein, a plump man with fading hair ran up to greet you and Fred in the lobby of his and his partner’s office, shaking both of your hands fervently.

“Hey Robbie,” said Fred, slapping the man on the back. “I’m glad to be here.”

“Same with me,” you said, glad you could finally meet the man with whom you’d been discussing business through letters in person.

Robbie looked between the two of you, sly grin on his face. “Ah, so I see you’ve already met them. Wouldn’t happen to be because of a little mishap at the hotel last night, would it?”

You groaned internally, hating that someone else knew about the previous night, but Fred only laughed and wrapped an arm around your shoulders.

“A great prank, I must admit, but Y/N and I actually go way back. I’ve known her since I was 11 years old, so nice try. I couldn’t imagine how that would’ve gone if we were complete strangers.”

Robbie’s face fell a little before he shrugged and nodded his head in defeat. “Well, what are the odds of that?”

“Astronomical,” you said, giving Fred a subtle tap with your foot.

Robbie gestured for the two of you to follow him into the conference room where discussions about the new business would commence. “Well, I’m glad that you two seem to get along then, this is going to make things a lot easier. Oh, and don’t worry about arrangements tonight, I’ve decided not to let my joke stretch on and I booked another room for one of you for your last night in town.”

You breathed a sigh of relief, one that didn’t go unnoticed by Fred, and stepped into the conference room. “Thanks Robbie, that makes things a lot easier.”

“Yeah,” said Fred hesitantly, “thanks for that.”

He shut the door behind you and straightened up. There was no place for personal feelings in this business negotiation. He needed to do what was best for his company and yours, no distractions. No thoughts of crushed hope that suddenly plagued his mind.

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Fred hated the bed he was sleeping on. Granted, it was the same bed as the night before, but this time it felt different. It felt like it was mocking him. You had been the one to offer to change rooms and it seemed like you couldn’t wait to get out of there and to your own bedroom, free of any Weasleys. It made Fred sick to think about.

He had just gotten used to the idea of something happening between the two of you. Last night, it all seemed perfect. You had cuddled the same way you had before, talked like nothing had changed. Hell, he even woke up with you lying sprawled out on top of him, a little trickle of drool falling onto his chest. He didn’t mind.

But now, everything that happened the night before seemed like a dream.

Fred knew he’d at least get to see you sporadically from now on. Your business negotiations with Robbie and Rachel went great, and the two of you, three counting George, were going to be combining forces and opening a joke and toy shop in the city sometime within the next year. It went exactly how Fred had wanted it to go, and yet so horribly wrong at the same time.

He didn’t want to only interact with you as a business partner and casual friend. He wanted so much more than you were willing to give him, and having to see you and write you and work with you was going to be torture for him. He buried his face in the pillows, gripping the large blanket to his chest, wishing it was you instead. Stupid Robbie and his stupid pranks and stupid business and--

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Fred lifted his head to check the clock. It was 2 in the morning. Who in the world would be knocking this late at night? Fred slowly got out of bed, too tired to bother putting anything more decent on. He looked through the peephole of the door but his eyes were too blurry to make anything out. Groaning, he unlocked the door and pulled it open.

Standing in front of him, clothed in the oversized t-shirt from last night and a pair of booty shorts, was you, looking nervous and embarrassed. Fred hadn’t noticed the previous day, but the shirt you had been wearing was one of his old Quidditch practice jerseys, all beat up and way too huge on you. He remembered the day he gave that to you, or rather when you stole it from him because you complained about it being too cold. Fred had to hold back a laugh at the irony.

“I, umm,” you started, not knowing what to say to him. How were you supposed to explain that you missed him so much that spending one night away from him was too much for you to bear? How last night had been the best sleep you had in years because of how content and at peace he made you feel. How could you convey all of your feelings to him at this very moment?

“I don’t want to be alone.”

Fred wasted no time in picking you up, laughing as you screamed and kicked your legs around. “Fred Weasley, you put me down!”

He did as he was told and threw you onto the bed before jumping, arms and legs spread out, and landing straight on top of you. “I’m so glad you're here,” he said, peppering your cheeks with kisses. He pushed himself up, scanning your face to make sure what he did was ok, but you grabbed his face in your cheeks and pulled him down into a long kiss. Fred smiled through the kiss, almost laughing at how everything was working out. Maybe fate did have something to do with it after all.

Fred pulled away from the kiss, resting his forehead against yours. “So,” he said, mischief glinting in his eyes, “how about we put this bed to good use?”

Tag List: @famdomhideout @amourtentiaa

#theweasleyslut's 2k writing challenge #fredweasleyimagine #fredweasley #fred #fred x reader #fred weasley x reader #fredweasleyfluff #only one bed

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wiypt-writes · 4 years ago

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Riding On

Ch3: What Happens in Vegas...

Summary: We catch up with what Fliss got up to whilst Frank was living it up in Vegas, before they both face up to the events of the weekend, because this time what happened in Vegas certainly doesn’t stay there…

Warnings: Bad Language words.

Pairing: Frank Adler x Fliss Gallagher

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Fliss Gallagher and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Riding On Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 2

Just when it seems like everything’s evened out, and the balance seems serene, see the fool I’ll be, still running ‘round on the flesh rampage.

“Hey!” Fliss greeted Bonnie as she walked over to where the woman was supervising the after school club.

“Hiya!” Bonnie smiled “You heard from Frank today?”

“Yeah, before.” Fliss smiled, before she looked and Bonnie “I gotta say, that video of Simon…”

“He’s an idiot.” Bonnie shook her head “Punching his own reflection…I mean…”

“I’m not gonna lie, it’s probably the funniest thing I’ve seen in ages.” Fliss giggled and Bonnie snorted, shaking her head again. At that point Mary came running over, her cheeks pink

“Hey Lissy.” “Hey sweetheart, you ready to go?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, because I got a surprise for you!”

“Me?”

“Yup!”

“Where is it?”

“We gotta go pick it up.”

“Oh, ok…bye Miss Stevenson!”

“See you Mary!” Bonnie smiled as she started to head off to Fliss’ car “Hey, give me a call…we can do lunch Sunday before the boys get back.”

“Sure.” Fliss nodded. “I’ll text you.”

With a final goodbye she headed after Mary and climbed into the driver’s side.

“Where’s Thor?” Mary asked.

“He’s at Mum and Dad’s with Rupert and Fred.” she said, “I thought after our surprise we could stay there for the weekend, use the pool and the Cinema Room…”

“Ok…” Mary looked at her suspiciously.

“I promise you’re gonna like it!”

“Just tell me.” Mary looked at her as Fliss set off driving.

“Sure you wanna know?”

“You’re as bad as Frank.” The girl rolled her eyes and Fliss laughed.

“We’re going to pick Steve up from the airport.”

Mary’s face split into a huge grin, it was a well-known fact that besides Bill, Fliss’ brother was basically her favourite person that wasn’t Frank on the planet.

“Uncle Steeby is coming to stay?” she looked at Fliss.

“Yup for a whole month. He has some work in Orlando and Tampa so he’s gonna be staying in town for a while, and then in Easter Sian and the twins are flying over.”

“Oh man!” Mary grinned, laying her head back on the seat “This is great!”

Mary’s excitement seemed to increase the nearer they got to the Airport, and Fliss had to practically hold her down in the seat as she parked the car, telling her to wait a second. Once she’d managed to park they headed into the arrivals lounge and little after 15 minutes later her brother appeared, towing his suitcase behind him.

“Hey Stack!” he grinned as Mary flung herself at him and he swept her up in a hug “How’s it hanging?” “Same old, same old!” she grinned and he let out a laugh before he placed her down and turned to Fliss.

“Oh my God!” he smiled as Fliss walked over to him “Look at you!”

She laughed “I know…” with a nod she looked down “Nothing until 16 weeks and then wham…now I feel like it’s getting bigger every day.”

He pulled her into his arms and gave her the usual bear hug before the three of them headed out to the car. On the way back to the house, Steve filled Fliss in on what exactly he was doing. The construction company he owned was in the running for a very big job in Orlando building a complete village of holiday villas not far from Lake Buena Vista. As such he was out here to meet a few people and attend the Bidders Conference, whilst also taking a look at some potential office buildings in Lakeland.

“If we win this tender Fliss, it’s going to be huge.” he smiled at her “We’re talking millions.”

“That’s great.” she smiled “You’ve really blown it up since Dad handed over the reins, I’m really pleased for you!”

“I got lucky.”

“No, it was hard work.” Fliss glanced at him.

“Frank says you make your own luck.” Mary added.

“See!” Fliss grinned at her brother. “So, would you guys move out here or…”

“I’m tempted.” he said, “As with anything, I’ll need a project team who can oversee the local suppliers and labour that type of thing, manage the schedules and what not…but our head offices will still be in Liverpool, so I’m undecided. Either way I’ll be spending a lot more time here, certainly in the first 12 months whilst it all gets up and running.”

“How does Sian feel about it?”

“She’s excited. She knows what it means to me, to the business. Obviously she realises it means more time apart as I’ll be out here quite often but…”

“Is it selfish of me to be happy about that?” Fliss smiled and Steve laughed.

“Nope, because we all know I’m the best big brother in the world.”

Fliss grinned and shook her head as Mary began to enthusiastically talk to Steve about school and University and the Girl Scout group she was in. Fliss interjected whenever she needed to but other than that she was happy to let the two of them chat away.

Once home Steve headed over to the Annex where he would be staying whilst Mary went outside to play with the dogs, Fred happy to oversee things from his spot on a chair on the large decking platform which-over looked the pool area. Steve appeared an hour or so later having showered and changed into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, Fliss grinning at him, calling him a tourist. Whilst it wasn’t cold by cold standards, she found it chillier having grown used to the blazing heat of the summer. Steve, who had come from the chilly early spring in England, simply rolled his eyes and handed her the box he had in his hand.

“It’s a present from me and Sian.” he smiled.

Fliss glanced down and smiled at the selection box of Pukka Tea bags.

“Steeby this is great!” she beamed “I’ve been struggling to find them out here since Sian recommended them.”

She gently opened the box and glanced at the various herbal teas. There were 12 different flavours such as Peppermint and Liquorice, Ginger and Manuka Honey, Chamomile and Rose to name but a few. There was even a handwritten note inside from Sian, explaining which ones had helped her with various symptoms she felt during her pregnancy. She closed the purple and gold box and looked up at Steve, tears in her eyes.

“Hey, come on Titch!” he laughed as she fell into his arms, chuckling herself at her ridiculous tears “It’s just tea bags.” “It’s really thoughtful, thank you.” she stepped back, wiping her eyes “Fucking hormones.” Steve chuckled, rubbing her back slightly before she turned and began pulling the rest of the stuff out for dinner.

“Wanna help?” she asked.

“You really want me to?” He smirked “I’ve still not forgot the time we made brownies and set fire to the curtains at the Farm house.” “Ok, first off those curtains were rank, as Mum said when Dad came home and hit the roof, second off, they were pot brownies and we were already stoned after smoking a load! Cooking and being high do not mix.”

Steve laughed “God, poor Mum didn’t know what to do. Came home, found us both on the floor eating them, with burnt curtains hanging at the window.” “She knew we were stoned, she told me.” Fliss grinned, handing Steve a knife “Said she lied to dad that it had been her to get us off the hook.” “Well that didn’t work because Dad told me he knew full well it was us. He made me pay for the new curtains and told me that if I ever let you smoke that stuff again he was going to beat me within an inch of my life.” Fliss laughed “He was so full of shit, he never raised a hand to either of us. Never would either.” “No, but the threat was there. Even if I was 22 at the time, scared the shit out of me.”

“Thankfully we both grew up since then, huh?” Fliss shrugged, as she grabbed a chopping board to start carving up the meat for the tacos.

“Hmmm, debatable.” Steve nudged her. “Although I can safely say I haven’t done weed since the twins were born…as tempting as it was at times.”

“I can’t remember the last time I did.” Fliss mused “Was certainly before I moved to Boston.” “Frankie boy not dabble every now and then?”

“Nope.” Fliss said “He doesn’t smoke and says the last time he did pot it made him pull a whitey so he steers clear. Hardest thing he does now is Bourbon.” “Huh…” Steve mused “I had him pegged as a bit of wild one…” “He’s not.” Fliss shook her head “I mean he cuts loose when we go out, and I dread to think about the states he’s gonna be in this weekend but…” she shrugged “He’s well adjusted, sensible, level headed…can be a bit of a child at times but, show me a man who isn’t?” Steve shot her a look and she chuckled.

“So, how is he?” Steve asked. “Seems like ages since I spoke to him.” “He’s good.” Fliss smiled “His work is going well. He’s really excited about the baby.” her hand dropped to her bump. “We’re gonna start looking for houses now our landlord had said he won’t hold us to our contract. Frankie wants to move as soon as we can so he can get a nursery ready but I’m not bothered. Not like we’ll need the extra space really until a few months after it’s born.”

“You’d be surprised.” Steve raised an eyebrow “Babies accumulate a lot of stuff…” “Well, we’ll manage either way.” Fliss shrugged “Most important thing is they’re safe and happy. We can figure the rest out as we go.” “You gonna buy or…” “Hopefully.” Fliss nodded “With work and stuff now we shouldn’t have a problem borrowing now but, I don’t know, we’re going to look into it properly once Jake’s wedding is out of the way in a few weeks.”

Steve nodded and took a deep breath “You know, I wasn’t sure about you two at first, not because I didn’t like Frank, I did, I mean I do but, well, I just thought after Dickhead that you needed time to heal and find yourself again.” Fliss looked at him as he chewed the inside of his lip before he turned to her. “But then when I saw you again after your first Christmas together and then over the Easter…I dunno, you just…”

Fliss smiled and looked down, shrugging “I might have healed in a lot of ways before I met Frank but I was still broken Steeb. Finding my way in a new relationship was hard work, it was daunting…I constantly found myself automatically doing things I did with or for John…like you know the first time Frank ever stayed over, in the morning I just got up and was about to make him coffee and he was so puzzled by it.” she shrugged “that could have been so awkward but Frank…well, he didn’t let it feel that way. Simply told me to stay the fuck in bed.” “Don’t wanna know.” Steve pulled a face and Fliss laughed.

“Joking aside, I know it used to bother him because it was almost like on a subconscious level I was comparing the two of them but he never once lost his temper, not really anyway, other than to tell me to stop putting him on a pedestal for being fucking normal…his words, not mine.” she said, framing them in quotation marks with her fingers. “He just gets it. He gets me.” “You finished with the sales pitch?” Steve asked her and she narrowed her eyes at him as he laughed “You don’t need to convince me Titch, I like the guy, I just wasn’t sure you were in the right place but it's obvious he helped you get there.” Fliss smiled.

“And Mum and Dad worship the ground he walks on.” Steve shrugged “Like seriously…”

“Awww you jealous?” Fliss teased and Steve turned, pointing the small knife he was holding at her.

“Behave.” he smirked and Fliss laughed.

“I know what you mean though…whenever we argue they’re both like ‘you need to stop being so hard on him, Lissy’.” She snorted.

“Well, to be fair, you are a little bit…” Steve shrugged “Oh, I dunno, a bit of a pain in the ass at times.” “Fuck you.” she sniggered, as Steve chuckled and once again looked down at her.

“I’m glad you found him. You deserve to be happy.” Fliss smiled, and let her brother give her another hug before she instructed him to get on with his allocated job of dicing onions if they wanted any chance of eating this side of summer. Between the two of them, they had dinner ready in half an hour and the three of them ate inside at the large kitchen table. It wasn’t long after they finished that Frank Face timed. After a conversation with Mary, instructing her once more to behave, she handed the phone to Fliss who smiled at her man and excused herself for a little while so she could go talk to him in private. He told her they were off to play poker, promised he wouldn’t gamble Bean and Mary’s inheritance away, before he apologetically said he needed to go and promised he would message her later, despite her insistence that he didn’t need to keep checking in.

The siblings and Mary, plus animals migrated to the lounge of the villa as Steve yawned, desperately trying to keep himself awake as long as possible to counteract the time difference between Florida and their home in the North West of England. He ended up helping himself to a healthy shot of Bill’s 12 year old Single Malt as Fliss had an apple juice mixed with lemonade, the 2 of them on the couch, the foot stools of the recliners in front of them whilst Mary led on the rug, playing on her computer.

At one point she let out a snigger, and Fliss looked at her suspiciously.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Frank before told me to stop doing maths and do something else…so I’m googling.” she shrugged.

“Googling what?”

“Random pregnancy facts…did you know the longest pregnancy ever recorded was 375 days?”

“What?” Fliss spluttered “That’s over a year!”

Mary grinned “and the shortest was 21 weeks and four days…both babies survived.”

Steve looked at Fliss, chuckling to himself as he took a drink of his scotch.

“Woah, your heart grows bigger too…” Mary said, “and your blood volume increases by 40-50%. That’s pretty cool.”

“No wonder you get fat…” Steve mused and Fliss picked up a cushion, hitting him in the face with it.

“And your voice can change!” Mary looked up at Fliss “Says here that it can get lower…” she studied her for a second before she nodded “Talk to me…” “What do you want me to say?” Fliss asked, dropping her voice deliberately and Mary shook her head, rolling her eyes.

“You’re doing a Frank…” she sing songed.

“Doing a Frank?” Steve looked at his sister.

“Code for being an idiot.” Fliss smiled.

“You’re 18 weeks right?” Mary continued.

“Yeah”

“It says here that’s the time the baby can hear sounds…but it gets more responsive at 25-26 weeks…” she paused “Have you felt Bean move yet?”

“No.” Fliss shook her head, “but apparently for your first baby it’s not uncommon for you not to feel it until after 20 weeks.”

“Huh, they call it quickening…” Mary mused then she grinned “I can’t wait to feel it kicking you.”

“Gee thanks Stack…” Fliss looked at her as Steve let out a loud laugh

“I bloody love this kid!” he grinned and Mary smiled back.

*****

Saturday flew by. Fliss had lessons all day at the yard, Mary hanging around to help Joanne with various tasks before she herself got to ride Monty. She was now fully walking, trotting and cantering off the line competently, so when she asked Fliss if they could try a little jump, seeing as Frank wasn’t there to shit himself Fliss agreed.

Joanna set the cross poles up, leaving the jump at less than half a foot high, but it was enough for what they wanted to do.

“Ok…so…” Fliss said, nudging the ground pole with her foot. “We’re going to just trot him at this for the time being, so when he steps over this pole you have a count of one before he is going to take off. So you need to stand up… and fold forward slightly, giving him the reins. Show me.” Mary obediently stood up, and Fliss moved to help her adjust her legs so they didn’t fling too far back.

“Ok, good…” Fliss nodded. “Joanna’s gonna lead you over the first few times ok, and if you feel like you’re losing your balance then grab hold of this bit at the bottom of his mane. It won’t hurt him, I promise.” “OK, I’m ready…” Mary nodded.

“Alright…” Fliss said, stepping back. Joanna led Monty away, before they picked up trot and ran at the small jump.

“Get ready to fold!” Fliss instructed Mary, as she approached the pole. Doing exactly as she was told Mary leaned forward as Monty took off from the ground and landed perfectly after the jump. Mary sat back up and looked over her shoulder at the jump then to Fliss who gave her the thumbs up.

“Woah, did you see that?” Mary grinned, and Fliss nodded.

“Sure did!” she laughed. “Go again?”

Mary nodded eagerly and Joanna laughed. “Well done kiddo!”

They repeated this 5 or 6 times more before Fliss asked Mary if she wanted to try on her own. Never one to back down she nodded so Joanne unclipped the line and Mary trotted Monty around in a circle before she came at the jump.

“Ok, sit up and look straight between his ears at where you’re going.” Fliss said “Don’t look down…” Mary approached the jump and Fliss held her breath, but needn’t have bothered. Monty, ever the pro took Mary over the poles easily and stopped a few strides at the other side, Mary letting out an excited yell.

“I did it!”

Fliss gave her a huge smile.

“Can we film it and send it to Frank?”

“Damned straight we can!” Fliss grinned, “Do it again.”

She pulled her phone out, filmed Mary once again jumping and then turned her phone off, slipping into her pocket as Mary rode Monty back over.

“That was amazing!” the little girl was beaming ear to ear.

Fliss nodded “Yeah, it was. You did really well Stack. You wanna walk him off now then and we can feed and go home?” Mary nodded as she turned Monty away to let him walk around the outside of the paddock. With a smile she grabbed her phone and sent the footage to Frank. He replied a few minutes later with a load of wide mouthed emojis accompanied by the words “Jesus Christ, what did I say about keeping all 4 legs on the ground?”

“Oh hush Sailor!” she replied “She loved it. Now don’t forget I want a photo of you and Greg in those suits before you go out.” “Yes ma’am…now by my watch it must be nearly 6pm there. Take Mary and Bean home and get some rest.”

Rolling her eyes she responded about him being bossy to which he replied he was entitled to be as she was carrying his kid. A few more jokey messages were shared before Fliss promised to go home and Frank said he would talk to her later.

They grabbed a pizza on the way back and once more joined Steve for dinner, the 3 of them sitting in Bill’s large cinema room later watching Avengers-Age of Ultron. Before it had finished Fliss fell asleep, to be woken by Steve at the end of the film, Mary laughing at her as she groaned and stretched out.

“Sorry!” she grinned and Steve snorted.

“She falls asleep all the time.” Mary laughed “Frank said the baby is like a parasite, sucking all her energy.”

“A parasite?” Fliss snorted indignantly, her hand falling to her bump “You hear that Bean, that’s your dad saying that. Rude…”

“He isn’t wrong though.” Steve laughed. “Sian used to refer to our two as the bloodsuckers.” Shaking her head Fliss stood up and looked at Mary, “Bed, come on. You’re out with Roberta tomorrow.” “Anywhere nice?” Steve asked Mary.

“Just to the beach.” came the reply. “I haven’t seen her in a while so we’re gonna go watch the surfing competition. Roberta likes the shorts the men wear.”

“Sure she does.” Steve smirked, laughing.

“Some of them are brighter than Frank’s shirts.” Mary mused, causing Steve to laugh harder.

They bid him goodnight, getting ready for bed before Fliss tucked Mary in and went to the spare room. She fell asleep not long after but was woken early Sunday morning with a desperate need to pee. Once sorted she text her phone to find a very drunk text from Frank, declaring he loved her and couldn’t wait for Bean to arrive and for them to get married. She shook her head, glancing at the time, it was almost 4 am meaning it was 1am in Vegas. Smiling as she replied half asleep herself, telling him to maybe think about drinking water instead of any more alcohol, she turned over and closed her eyes.

***** Frank sat dumbfounded, his entire body rigid as the person next to him in the bed let out a sigh, and then a deep groan before a head emerged from under the covers.

“Jesus fucking Christ!” Frank exhaled and let out a groan as Simon looked at him “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Well, technically this is my room, jerk.” Simon said, blinking “What year is it?

“You scared the shit out of me.” Frank took a deep breath “I thought…”

“You thought you left with the blonde?” Simon peeked up at him “Nah, man. Mind you, wasn’t for her lack of trying. She was all over you. Eventually you told her to fuck off. You were quite rude actually.” Frank let out a sigh, his head falling back against the head board.

Simon sighed turning over, before he peered under the covers. “For the love of- Frank you’re naked.” “I’m aware of that.” Frank groaned.

“Fucking hell…” Simon grimaced, before he rolled out of bed “I’m going for a pee. Put some clothes on.”

Once Simon was in the bathroom he climbed out of bed, his head still spinning as he found his clothes in a pile on the floor. Shoving on his boxers and shirt he looked around the room to see an empty bottle of Jack Daniels and a pizza box on the table.

“Where the hell did we go?” He asked Simon as he walked back into the room. “Don’t ask me.” Simon looked at him, falling face down on the bed. “I know we took Greg back to your room…”

“We did?”

“Yeah he was wasted.” Simon nodded, rolling over as Frank flopped back on the bed. “He could hardly walk so the bouncers asked us to take him out of the club. We threw him in your room then…we must have gone back out…hang on…”

With a herculean effort, Simon pushed himself up and found his phone. After a brief scan his eyes widened and he snorted.

“Look.”

He turned the phone round to Frank, who saw a selfie of him and Simon in front of a face down Greg in the hotel room. Simon then began to flick through.

“Oh, ok so we went to a liquor store…” he turned the phone round to show Frank a blurry photo of a shop front “Don’t ask me why I took that and oh my god!”

“What?” Simon pressed play and a load of cheering and singing hit their ears as they watched footage of a small man dressed as a leprechaun dancing in the hotel foyer, Frank on his knees in front of him, laughing.

“I literally have no memory of that…at all.” Frank shook his head.

“Looks like we called Bonnie as well…” Simon snorted “If this angry text message that I got at 3 am is anything to go by.”

“Oh fuck.” Frank hastily reached for his phone, which really didn’t have a lot of battery left, and he hastily scanned his calls. There were none to Fliss, but he had sent her a message. According to her reply she’d been up to use the toilet, so that was ok.

His phone illuminated then with two messages. One from Fliss asking him if he was hungover, as he deserved to be, and another from Greg asking him where the fuck he was. Deciding to reply to Greg first, as he could picture the man stressing he tapped out a quick reply informing him not to worry, he’d be back at the room as soon as he’d managed to dress himself, which at the moment thanks to his head was proving a little difficult, before he replied to Fliss saying he was indeed hungover and he needed to crawl into a hole and die and as ever, reminded her he loved her.

No sooner had he sent it, she was calling him.

“That was quick…” he mumbled, before answering it. “Hey, honey…” “So, wanna tell me exactly where and what you were doing that requires you to get dressed before you go back to your room?” Her voice was steely.

Shit. He had sent the messages to the wrong people.

“Lissy, it’s not what you think.” He instantly began.

“Oh, you have no IDEA what I’m thinking!” her voice grew louder

“No, listen…I’m with Simon.” He chuckled.

“You think this is funny?” She sniffed and Frank grimaced.

“Baby, stop.” He sighed “Look, we ended up back at his room and I passed out here. That message was meant for Greg as he was asking me where I was. Instead he now has a message saying I’m hungover to fuck and that I love him.”

She was silent and he could hear her on the other end of the line rustling something before she spoke again in a quiet voice “So you weren’t with anyone else?”

“No, Sweetheart I wasn’t. Why would I want to be huh? Most beautiful girl in the world waiting for me at home.” At that Simon let out a retching noise “God you make me want to puke, Adler.” “Oh fuck off Si you dick.” He shot back.

“Hey, Fliss.” Simon leaned over to speak down the phone, grabbing Frank’s wrist to stop him moving it. “Now you, Bonnie and me have all seen Frank nekkid...”

“I swear to God I’m gonna punch you in a minute.” Frank mumbled, jerking his arm out of Simon’s reach and pushing him so hard he rolled over and fell off the side of the bed. Frank let out a laugh as Simon groaned and a hand appeared in the air, flipping him off.

“He knows about you and Bonnie?”

“Apparently so.” Frank mused

“So anything else you wanna tell me about what you got up to? Other than naked spooning Si?”

Frank laughed “We found a dancing leprechaun.”

“A dancing leprechaun?” “Yeah, in the hotel somewhere.”

“Standard.” she giggled “So, are you ready to come home now you’ve spent the last few days acting like overgrown frat boys?

“Yes, I’m more than ready to leave Aldrich Whitaker behind”

“Who the fuck is that?”

“My alter ego for last night. He’s a trust fund ass hole.” Frank grinned.

There was a pause before she replied, snorting “Whatever.”

At that point his phone gave him a bleep to tell him he was dangerously low on battery power. “Look, baby, my phones gonna die. I’ll call you when I get it charged ok?”

“Yeah, sure, hey Frankie, I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions.” She apologised softly.

“It’s okay, I’m not surprised after that message.”

“Yeah but still…” she paused “Can I blame the hormones?”

“If you want.”

“In that case it was totally them.”

He chucked “ Hormones or not, I love you.”

“Love you too sailor”

With that his phone cut off and he glanced down at it, the screen blank as the power had gone. He dropped it on the bed, before leaning back again, his hand against his forehead.

“I’m NEVER coming to Vegas again”

“Oh you not fancy it for your Batchelor party then? Simon teased as he threw Frank a bottle of water from the mini bar.”

“The fuck I do.” Frank shook his head.

*****

“I’d like to say I’m surprised but…” Bonnie shrugged as Fliss snorted, taking a drink of her apple juice from the carton as they walked back to their cars in the setting sun. They’d had dinner at one of the beach bars and stayed simply chatting for half an hour or so, but now Fliss was now ready to head home, shower and bunker down for the rest of the evening until Frank came home.

“I knew he’d end up paralytic.” Fliss said, watching as Mary wandered back towards them, huge ice cream in her hand. “Stack that’s bigger than your head.”

Mary shrugged, handing Fliss her change “It’s good though.” “Mint choc chip?”

“Yup.” she grinned, taking a huge lick. “When’s Frank back?”

“He lands into Tampa in about 4 hours.” Fliss looked at her “Why, you fed up of me already?”

“No, just thinking how peaceful it’s been without him annoying me.”

Fliss grinned and Bonnie gave a chuckle.

“Hey, did you tell Bonnie about you jumping Monty?” Fliss asked.

“Oh, no…” Mary turned to the woman, enthusiastically telling her all about it as Bonnie listened, Fliss walking alongside them, her hand rubbing her bump. She was just thinking about how nice a nap would be right then when Bonnie’s phone went.

“Sorry Mary.” She muttered, frowning at the number. “Hey, Lisa?” Fliss attention turned to Bonnie and she watched carefully as she spoke to Jake’s fiancé, her eyes flicked to her “No, no why…what’s…oh, ok…yeah…”

She cancelled the phone call and instantly tapped at the screen.

“Everything ok?” Fliss frowned.

“Yeah, I just need to check something.” she said. Fliss glanced at Mary who looked at her, shrugging.

“Here…” Fliss handed her the keys to the jeep “Go open the car…” “You know if you want me out of the way just ask.” Mary rolled her eyes.

“Ok I want you out of the way.” Fliss looked down at her. Mary snorted and took the keys, wandering off the 50 yards or so to the jeep. Fliss watched her climb in the back, the door staying open and her legs dangling out of the side. “Bonnie what is it?”

“Nothing…” Bonnie said, far too quickly as she looked up at Fliss. Fliss frowned.

“Bonnie…”

“Honestly, it’s nothing, just something Lisa told me about on facebook so…” Bonnie stuttered slightly so Fliss narrowed her eyes.

“Stop bullshitting.” Fliss said, holding her gaze “What the fuck’s going on?”

“Look, I’m sure it’s not what it seems…” Bonnie sighed, holding out her phone. At those words Fliss felt her heart sink as it could only mean one thing, and she took the phone with a tentative hand. She looked down at it and could see that it was a photo and from the logo in the bottom right hand corner it was from the official club page that the boys had been in on Saturday night.

It showed Jake, Greg, Simon, and a few others that Fliss didn’t recognise but that wasn’t what Bonnie had been referring to. What she had been talking about, as Fliss could clearly see was the background of the shot, which showed Frank with a blonde woman. Her arms were round his neck, his hand was resting on her lower back and their faces inches apart.

“Like I said, I’m sure there’s an innocent explanation…” Bonnie said, but Fliss wasn’t listening. She was busy flicking through the other photos and then she came across another of Frank, the same girl perched on his knee.

She felt sick.

“Sure, perfectly innocent…” Fliss swallowed, handing the phone back to Bonnie, her voice sounding detached. Bonnie looked down at the snap now displayed on the screen and she took a deep breath.

“Look, Fliss, Frank loves you…he was probably just drunk and…” “Touching up some whore that’s sat on his lap.” Fliss shook her head “Save it Bonnie, I gotta go.” “Fliss…”

Fliss turned away from her, the tears stinging her eyes as she headed to the jeep. Taking a deep breath she wiped her eyes, climbing into the driver’s seat.

“Are you ok?” Mary looked at her.

“Yeah, fine…just tired and hormonal.” Fliss shot her a smile.

“We can watch a film when we get back.” Mary suggested “Just chill out?”

“Yeah, yeah we can.” Fliss trying to quell the sick feeling in her stomach that had nothing to do with Bean.

Had Frank really cheated on her? She would never in a million years thought he had it in him to be unfaithful, and she was desperate to believe Bonnie, that there was some perfectly innocent explanation for it all. And maybe, just maybe with the first one she could. It could have been taken at a bad moment, when they were just talking to one another, Frank being friendly…but then again why would they have their arms round one another. And as for the second one…the same girl was sat on his fucking lap with her arm looped round his shoulder.

And he looked perfectly comfortable with it.

She rubbed her bump again and Mary looked at her. “Are you sure you’re ok?”

“Yeah, I’m fine sweetheart.” she nodded, painting a smile on her face before turning the key in the ignition. “Let’s go home.”

******

Frank sighed as they all trudged through the arrivals lounge, rubbing his eyes. He was ready for a shower and collapse next to his girl, he felt like he had aged a decade over the last 3 days. The rest of them looked just as bad as they headed to the waiting car, Simon’s phone reminding Frank he needed to turn his on to.

“Oh, shit…” he heard Simon groan “No, that’s not…he didn’t…I swear…”

He glanced at Frank who stood still, watching and leaning on the door frame, his own phone in his hand as it started up.

“Yeah, ok…love you…see you soon.” Simon swallowed and cut the call looking at Frank.

“What is it?” Frank looked at him, a cold feeling washing over him “Has something happened to Lissy or Mary? Or the baby, please tell me no…” “No, nothing like that but you need to call Fliss.” he said, “Frank, there’s photos of you and that blonde chick on the club facebook page. Someone tagged me and Greg in them, Lisa saw them and Bonnie and…” “Photos of what?” Frank frowned “I didn’t do anything…” “There’s a photo that makes it look like you are…and one of her on your lap.” Simon said and Frank swallowed, his stomach churning.

“Oh fahk!”

“Just get in the car.” Greg looked at him from where he stood at the other side. “Call her on the way, we’ll back you up…it’s a misunderstanding.”

“Yeah, it’ll be fine.” Jake assured him.

But it wasn’t fine, because no matter how much Frank tried, or how many messages he sent, Liss wasn’t picking up or replying and when he saw the photos, he could understand her being pissed. He would be if it was the other way round because they looked bad. The drive home seemed to take forever, and when the car finally rounded the corner onto Frank’s road they all offered to come in as well and help him explain, but he shook his head, knowing full well if he did that she would feel backed into a corner. No, this was his own dumbass fault. He’d face up to it and talk to her, make her understand how he’d told the girl to back off…she’d listen, she was reasonable.

The house was quiet when he entered and he walked through to the lounge where Fliss was sat on the sofa, her knees bent up beside her. She glanced over the back of the couch and he could see she had been crying, which made him feel like even more of bastard than he did already.

“Lissy, honey, I swear…” “You know, when I asked if there was anything you wanted to tell me, maybe I should have asked if there was something you should tell me” She sniffed, uncurling her legs and standing up and Thor’s ears pricked up from where he had been laying on the rug.

“Listen, those photos, they’re not…” He shook his head. “I told her to get lost, honestly I swear to you.”

He moved towards her, his hands dropping to her hips but she pushed him hard in the chest, stepping back.

“Don’t touch me. I don’t want you anywhere near me.”

“Sweetheart, I swear to God…”

“I don’t wanna hear it Frank.” she shook her head, walking past him. “Where are you going?” he asked, “Lissy, you can’t leave. Please, sweetheart…” “I’m going to bed, but let’s get one thing straight. The only reason I’m not screaming at you right now and storming out, slamming the door behind me is because of Mary.” she spoke calmly, too calmly for the anger which was radiating out of every inch of her body. She looked at Frank, her eyes watering as she shook her head, turning away. “You can take the couch.”

“Lissy…” “Frank…just stop.” Her voice cracked, and with that she left the room, Thor trotting behind, the bedroom door clicking behind her.

Frank stood, rooted to the spot, debating whether or not to follow her, before he decided not to. The last thing he wanted was to anger her that much she stormed out, or worse, she got so stressed something happened to the baby. No, she’d set the boundaries so he decided to respect them, and turned instead to the couch, sinking down onto the cushions his head in his hands.

She was angry, upset and she had the right to be and like he had said in the car, in her position he knew he would feel the same. She needed to sleep, calm down enough so that they could talk and he could explain, get her to listen to him. And then she’d see that it was a huge misunderstanding, even if she remained pissed at him for having the girl so close in the first place, which, ok, he shouldn’t have done but fuck…the thought of cheating hadn’t entered his mind, not once.

He swung his legs up, rubbing his face over his hands. She’d believe him. She had to, because if she didn’t, then had no idea what the fuck he was gonna do.

**** Chapter 4

#riding on #frank adler #frank adler x ofc #frank adler x original female character #frank adler x oc #gifted #gifted fan fic #chris evans #chris evans characters

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selfwriting-sugarquills · 4 years ago

Text

Something more infinite (George Weasley x reader) ch 2.

Chapter 2. I’m not very strong but I’ll f*** you up if you mess with my plans again.

Chapters: 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 (final) |

Word count: 2k.

Warnings: none.

You and George had been locked in a never-ceasing prank war since your first encounter in your third year. It had started out as a typical prank war, you both just trying to get as many hits on each other as possible. Several times you’d landed each other in the hospital wing (a couple of times you’d both ended up staying the night there when things had gotten a little too out of hand) but then you’d had a revelation. What made you tick in the first place hadn’t been that George had been pranking people, it was that he’d stolen your traps, dismantling them, leaving you frustrated as you’d returned to check on them only to find them in disarray. So when you returned to your fourth year, you took on a new strategy: Spy on the twins, find the traps they’d set up for you, and then wait for them to leave before dismantling them and stealing their stuff. This would have been the perfect plan if the gits would stop somehow finding you everywhere. You’d deterred away from pranks all together when they began to show up around corners, ready to retaliate with whatever products they’d bought at the previous Hogsmeade trip. You had no idea how but soon enough you couldn’t go anywhere without George Weasley finding you. It seemed he had taken a new strategy too; he’d retired from pranks and instead focused on pissing you off, which he did with ease, and almost exceedingly well by just existing near you, shooting belittling comments your way.

“Morning, Y/n,” You hear just a little too close to your ears making you wince,

“Go away, Weasley,” you say, electing to focus on the time table in front of you,

“What’s wrong? Can’t I sit next to you?” he says, sitting down,

“No, You can’t.” your eyes don’t leave the timetable, you stare at the word “Divination”,

“Shame, last time I checked you didn’t own this bench, so I think that means that I technically can sit here,” George grabs a crumpet and begins to butter it, your lips form a thin line on your face,

“what?” George must have noticed the peeved expression you’re wearing, “I’m not even saying anything, I’m just sitting here!”

“Well, you sure make a lot of noise for someone who’s saying nothing,” you say,

“Aww, Y/n, always the charmer,” he says and ruffles your hair,

***

You’d been at your wits end when he surprised you while you were sneaking down to the kitchens,

“What’re you up to-OUGH!” He hadn’t gotten any further before your fist decked him, reacting out of surprise, knocking him backwards, the parchment he’d been holding flying out his hand and landing a little further down the hallway, you moved towards it instinctively, passing George by as he swore,

“Honestly...mad...one day... going to get me killed -Hey!” He noticed you crouching down to pick up the parchment, “Hey, don’t touch that!” he scrambled to get up and take it from you but by the time he tried to grab it you’d already been examining it long enough to recognise it’s contents, you held it away from him, but his arms were longer than yours and soon enough, much to your dismay, he’d wrestled it away from you, carefully examining it for any damage it might have attained,

“What is that thing?” You asked,

“What does it look like,” he snapped, “honestly can’t you read?”

��Yes I can,” you say indignantly, “I can also punch you again if you want,” you add, and he shoots you a look that seems to say, “try me, punk.” you imagine it must be an effective look if you’re an older sibling, but you were an only child and in no way intimidated by George Weasley of all people,

“Wait,” suddenly it clicks, “Is that what you’ve been using to track me down all this time?” you asked, and George’s expression changed into a more devilishly innocent one,

“no?” he tried and failed to sound honest,

“Oh my god, you’re a creep!” You exclaimed,

“Pardon?!”

“You’re a stalker!” you continued, “Honestly, Weasley, I always knew you were off your rocker but following me around? That’s low,” You said, “In fact, I should go and tell the professors what you’ve been doing right now,” you say, crossing your arms,

“Oh please, we both know we’ve got too much dirt on each other,” He says,

“what do you mean?” you ask,

“You are aware that I’m probably the only person who knows all the stuff you’ve gotten yourself into? If I go down, you’re going down with me,” He leans on the stone statue he’d been hiding behind, watching your footsteps on the map after a snack run for him and his dormmates,

“How do I know you’re not bluffing?” You puff out your chest,

“I know it was you who snuck pixies into history of magic, I also know it was you who enchanted that fake mouse to distract Mrs Norris so you could rearrange the paintings in order to confuse them,” He smirks, “I could go on,”

“shoot,” you sigh, “Fine, I won’t turn you in but you can’t use that thing to track me, it’s an unfair advantage, and it’s creepy!”

“Or you’ll do what?” he asks, smirking,

“Or I hex you into next year, Weasley, that’s what. Now bugger off,” You reply, tossing your hair as you turn to go into the kitchens. George watches you go, shaking his head. There was no way he wasn’t going to use that map, pissing you off was the best part of his day at this point, in fact, he looked forward to seeing you start as he popped up round corners and from secret passages, though, he had to admit while his muscles ached, that he’d appreciate it more if your first instinct wasn’t to punch whatever scared you.

***

Now, on this lovely Friday afternoon, you thought you’d gotten rid of George for once as you snuck away from the crowded halls, slipping out of the stream of students heading for lunch, you hoped the map would cover you up in the many names filling the hallways, making your detour unnoticeable.

Was the idea of using a mandrake to knock out Snape so you’d be free to spend the afternoon in Hogsmeade checking out the newest branch of Zonko’s products cruel? Absolutely it was. Was it morally wrong to exploit a potentially dangerous magical creature for your own, selfish reasons? Yes. No doubt about it. Did that stop you as you picked the greenhouse’s rusty lock with a hairpin? Um, no?

Getting into the greenhouses was almost too easy for your fourteen-year-old self. The more difficult thing was getting a hold of mandrake and getting it up to the potions classroom without anyone seeing you, you wondered if the potted plant would be heavy; it was a long walk after all. Perhaps it was easier just to yank it out of the dirt and stuff a sock in its mouth until you reached Snape. You decided to spare your sock, deciding the dirt would reveal you as the culprit, and kneeled down to pick up one of the large pots marked “mandrake”

“You’re not going to be able to carry that.” His sing-song voice makes you nearly fall over as you hastily rise to your feet,

“How did you find me?” you ask, as he shakes the parchment in front of himself as an answer, you scowl, “one day, Weasley, I’m going to break into your dorm and set that piece of ruddy parchment on fire,” you huff,

“Good luck, I sleep with it very close to me,” he says, stuffing the parchment into his trousers under his shirt. You make a disgusted face, “So I’m afraid you’d have to light me on fire before you reach it,” he says, shrugging,

“You say like that’s a bad thing,” you put your hands on your hips, smirking,

“It’s not if your life’s aspiration is to go to Azkaban, but I figured you’d at least try to aim a little higher than that,” he gives you the same smirk that makes you want to lunge out after him just to wipe it off his face, but instead you clench your jaw,

“Whatever, just don’t get in my way while I carry this,” you say, turning back to the mandrake pot, “lord knows that’s all you do these days,” you mutter to yourself, lifting the pot which turns out to be very heavy indeed.

“What’s that? just stand here in the doorway and don’t move?” he feigns innocence, putting on a clueless expression as he blocks the door,

“Seriously, get out of the way,” you snap at him, struggling to find a good grip on the pot, “Now, Weasley,” you add when George doesn’t move an inch,

“What on earth could you possibly need a mandrake for anyways?” He asks, still not moving,

“As if I would tell you that. It’s none of your business what I need it for,” you snarl,

He gasps dramatically, his eyes widening in fake shock, “It wouldn’t be for a prank, would it, Y/n? Because I’m not sure I can allow that,” again he’s mocking you. Your nostrils flare in anger, “Suit yourself but I-” you try to hoist up the pot a little to get a better grip and curse under your breath when it wobbles dangerously, “-am going out the door now,” you start towards the door and when George simply looks down at you, unimpressed, you speed up, and it’s only in the last second George swoops to the side making you hurry out the door onto the slippery, uneven grass and it takes about two seconds before your feet slip and you crash to the ground below, George’s laughs echoing inside the greenhouse and out into the grounds. You roll around on the ground, sitting up and preparing to yell abuse at the ginger boy with his hands on his knees as he laughs but behind you the mandrake baby is wrestling itself free from dirt and shards of pottery and before you can say anything it begins to shriek horribly in long, ear-piercing screams and both you and George crash to the ground, unconscious.

After a hefty scolding from Madam Pomfrey and Professor Sprout and 50 points taken from each of you, you and George are free to leave the hospital wing. He doesn’t seem nearly as annoyed by the consequences as you do, in fact he’s smiling as he jumps out of his bed, “What do you reckon they’re serving for supper? I’m starving,” he says, patting his stomach. You frown at him. He’s ruined your perfect Snape free, Zonko’s filled afternoon and he’s thinking about dinner. You stalk him out into the corridor just outside the hospital wing and as soon as the curtained doors slam behind you, you grab him and push him up against the cold stone walls, your wand pointed at his chest. It’s the first time you’ve seen George Weasley look genuinely shocked and god is it satisfying after all the times he’s managed to have the upper hand,

“Listen, Weasley, maybe this is just fun and games to you, but I don’t have time for games and if you screw up my business again, I swear I’ll break your face,” your satisfaction shrinks as a that damned smirk grows on his face, he looks down on you, having grown more than a bit taller than you over the summer, in fact, he sort of towers over you while you try to remain stoic. He leans forward, the tip of your wand pressing into his chest,

“I would love to see you try, L/n,” he says, “I doubt you’ll be able to reach though,” he says, drawing an invisible line out from his face, several inches above the top of your head. And with that he slaps the wand out of your hand and takes off, leaving you to retrieve your wand before following him.

“I hate you!” You yell after him,

“The feeling’s mutual!” His voice echoes through the halls.

taglist: @schlongbottom @cardboardbenmazzello @unseensilver @mochamiilk Let me know if you want to be added :))

#this story is pretty silly tbh #it's mostly started as a joke and then the last like four chapters turned out super intense and angsty/spicy and I was like #👁👄👁#alrighty then #so here we are #george weasley #george weasley x reader #Fred and George #george weasley fanfic #george weasley series #harry potter #hp

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my-creative-hell · 5 years ago

Text

Hostile (Lab experiment au)

Grave sits silently in Jeff’s office as he runs around, looking through his drawers and cupboards, pulling out files and papers pertaining to the job she would finally be starting tonight. He looks a little more stressed than he normally would, his overly cheerful demeanour slightly dampened as he rushes around.

“Sorry for the wait Grave, just a little frazzled today.” Jeff explains, apologetic to the younger colleague sitting in his office in front of him. Grave had only just started entering the building for proper work, all of her basic training finally complete, Jeff trusting her enough to leave her alone on a shift with the work she was supposed to be doing, instead of giving her filler work for her training as he had been forced to do due to the unique circumstances of her job.

“Its okay!” Grave smiles, tapping her fingers quietly on her legs as she watches Jeff, feeling elated that she would finally be able to begin work, wanting to get stuck right into it. It makes Jeff smile as he finally manages to gather everything together, making a hasty walk back to his desk to put it all down.

“I appreciate you being so patient with all the training sessions we’ve forced you to do, but obviously you understand that we are working with very sensitive information the public can never know about.” Jeff sits down as he speaks, a small huff escaping him as he opens some of the files, getting ready to show Grave the contents.

Grave nods, her fingers wiggling as she listens to Jeff, though she tries to stop them, feeling happy as Jeff smiles at her once again, and reaching to pull out some more papers with writing and print on them.

“So, you have completed your training, and very well I might say, so the next thing to do before we introduce you and allow you to get acclimatised with the subjects is to go through some of the information we have on them. Does that sound good?” Jeff explains in a neutral, though slightly excited voice, his eyes flicking up to look at Grave as he rifles through the papers and files.

“Yes sir.” Grave nods, behaving more seriously now, stopping her wriggling as she looks at Jeff, waiting for him to continue his words.

“That’s good.” Jeff smiles kindly as he pulls out some of the files, placing them in front of Grave. The files display pictures of the two subjects, one of them being a shorter ginger haired girl, whereas the other seems to be a taller and more toned black haired boy. “So, these are the two subjects you will be working closely with. They are twin specimens, codenames Arazabeth and Furrorfall, though they prefer the names Hannah and Iden.” Jeff begins explaining, looking to Grave after he delivers the first chunk of information to her.

“They look cool.” Grave’s fingers start to wiggle again slightly as she speaks, feeling the happiness creeping back into her as she looks at the pictures, making Jeff smiles again.

“Depending on who ask, they are… remind me, have you been told anything about them yet, or have you been left in the dark?” Jeff questions, wanting to understand exactly how informed Grave was about these subjects, who she would have to deal with from then on.

“Uh… no! I haven’t been told anything.” Grave informs Jeff kindly, him nodding as he pulls out more files on the subjects to read information off of for Grave.

“Right then, lets start with basic information. They are fourteen years of age, and have been here since they were artificially created. Their genes have been under alteration since foetal development. These alterations have given Subject 1, or Iden the ability to heal wounds, both his own and others, though large wounds present a challenge. Subject 2, or Hannah is capable of manipulating shadows, manifesting them in physical forms and using them. We also suspect both twins, especially Subject 2, have the capability to sense things in humans farther than our own perception, though it is hard to prove. Understand so far?” Jeff questions, wanting to make sure Grave was processing the information being thrown her way properly.

“I understand.” Grave nods once again, focusing on the words being said to her, wanting to absorb them and understand them as best as she can.

“Good.” Jeff smiles gently before continuing. “So, basic information aside, your job with these subjects is to potentially perform minor tests on them in your shifts, but your main role is that of a safeguarding presence and data recorder, so writing up previous data the day time tests will have produced. This sounds easy, but the twins will no doubt make it slightly harder for you…” Jeff trails off at those words, looking slightly more nervous as he approaches the subject of the twin’s temperaments, unsure of how to explain it to grave in an effective manner.

“Are you okay?” Grave holds her hands to stop them from wiggling, instead focusing on Jeff, who nods slightly as he takes a breath to continue with what he needed to say.

“I-I’m fine, but I am very aware no one will have informed you on the twins behaviours, for fear of you refusing to continue and work with them…” Jeff smiles nervously as he watches Grave for her reaction to his words.

“I mean, this is kind of my job now, so I can only try my best and not give up.” Grave assures Jeff, shrugging as she tries to word her thoughts in a professional manner.

“Well I’m glad. All I can say is don’t expect them to speak to you much or be polite. Don’t get too close to them or their cages unless needed for a test. And absolutely don’t use rude language or shout around them, they will respond poorly. Does that all make sense?” Jeff asks, his face serious now, driving home the importance of he situation.

“Yes sir.” Grave nods, stopping her wiggling completely as she now looks at Jeff, who smiles slightly before continuing his final explanation to Grave.

“They are fourteen, but they do not seem it. Their voices are underused, so they sound younger, their mannerisms match that of adults. They will likely remain in their own space with each other and ignore you unless there is necessary work. They have refused to work with all other staff, who also now refuse to work with them. Are you willing to give them a chance?” Jeff questions Grave in a serious tone, wanting her to understand the likely reality of working with the twin subjects, who were notorious for being disobedient and rude.

“Yes sir.” Grave speaks in a serious tone, her face matching it as she looks to Jeff, who breaks his own serious face in favour of a soft smile.

“Well, now that I’m through scaring you, shall we go and meet the subjects?” He looks at Grave, the question lingering on his tongue slightly, worry pulsing through him at what Grave would think of the twins, and what they might do to Grave.

“Yes please!!!” Grave’s face stretches, a small smile presenting itself as she answers, Jeff grinning in return as he stands up, bringing one of the files with him in case Grave needed to refer back to the information she had been told.

“Lets go introduce you.” Jeff says kindly as he walks to the door of his office, opening it to walk out with Grave and show her the way.

Grave follows Jeff excitedly as he walks down the hallway, bypassing all the other doors in the facility until they reach the one at the very end, which he pushes open hesitantly, revealing a small strip of hallway behind it.

“They are in that room inside their cages, so remain calm, alright?” Jeff reminds Grave, pointing towards the room on the other side of the hallway where the twin subjects reside inside their specially built cages, rooms built inside of them that they then reside in.

“Got it.” Grave nods, feeling calm and remaining calm even as Jeff smiles, putting his hand on the lab door to push it open.

“Then lets go.” Jeff pushes open the door, leading Grave inside the lab. The room seemed to be split in two, half of it the lab for Grave to work in, while the other half was the ‘cage’ Jeff had been referring to. It wasn’t a traditional cage. Instead it was a very large room, complete with beds the subjects would sleep on, furniture and some entertainment for them, with blocked off invisible sections containing the bathrooms. The room was encased with reinforced glass walls, the front one, which faces into the lab complete with a barred surface that Grave and the subjects could interact through. The cage did seem to be unlockable, not that Grave was planning on doing that currently, but it was good to know. As Grave enters, the subjects are currently on one of the beds, interacting and watching something together.

“Hi.” Grave smiles carefully as she waves to the subjects, staying calm for them. They both look to her, the one named ‘Hannah’ frowning immediately, moving back on the bed to get further away from the humans in the room, ‘Iden’ following her slowly, eyes wearily watching them.

“Sorry that you’re usually treated like shit.” Grave uses a hushed voice as she carefully sits down on the floor, a small smile tugging at her face. Jeff’s face twists into a smile of his own as he watches the interaction, silently waving goodbye to Grave as he leaves the room, leaving the files on her desk as he does so. The two subjects watch Grave with weary eyes, Iden looking more apprehensive of her, while Hannah looks more on the defensive side. She mumbles something under her breath, too faint for Grave to make out.

Grave flops onto the floor, rolling silently to her desk, though she doesn’t get up immediately, the floor preventing her until she stands up again. The twins watch her for a moment, Iden eventually managing to distract his twin, pointing down to what they had been previously watching. He whispers to her out of earshot, Hannah huffing in response.

Grave gets off of the floor, pulling herself to her desk to look at the files Jeff had left behind for her, detailing her work for the night. Iden and Hannah sit on what Grave could only presume to be Iden’s bed, watching whatever show or movie was on the tablet between them, not paying attention to Grave anymore as they watch.

Grave grabs a pen from her desk, ready to begin working, though her brain seems to wander off, daydreaming as she becomes unaware of the reality around her. The twins sit on Iden’s bed, absorbed in their show as they pointedly ignore Grave. But after a short while, Hannah looks over to her, noticing that she hadn’t done anything, making her frown out of confusion.

Grave’s brain remains checked out of the situation as her body throws the file she had been holding away from her quickly, startling the twins and making them jump, Hannah almost falling off of the bed. Iden puts down the tablet they were watching as Hannah gets off of the bed, both of them staring at Grave as Hannah gets a little bit closer to her, apprehensive and nervous about getting too close.

“Sorry.” Grave snaps herself back into reality, getting up from her desk to fetch the file as Hannah watches her, backing up carefully, though she doesn’t return to her twin on the bed. Instead she opts to continue watching Grave, trying to figure out what felt so different about her when compared to the other workers, and why it didn’t necessarily feel bad.

“You guys can do your thing for a little longer before we start the test.” Grave explains as she retrieves the file from the floor, standing up again, her feet tapping against the floor a little as she speaks. Hannah’s eyebrows knit together in a small frown as she backs up, slowly joining her twin on the bed, though she flicks her eyes to Grave every now and then on impulse.

Grave watches the wall, tapping her fingers on the desk below her as her mind works ahead, thinking of a plethora of random thought as she allows it to run free. Iden attempts to keep Hannah calmer, repeatedly poking her to refocus her on the show they were attempting to watch on the tablet, though Hannah continues to look stiffer than her twin counterpart as she attempts to ignore Grave.

Grave stops tapping her fingers, her body instead moving itself in small twitches to fill the time as the twins both continue to watch their show. Iden has managed to seemingly calm Hannah down, blocking her view of Grave with his own body as he places the tablet closer to her face, forcing her to watch the show on it instead as they ignore Grave. Eventually, her twitching stops and she turns towards the twins.

“Hey, um… are you guys okay to do a test right now? You can do it tomorrow if you aren’t.” Grave uses a soft voice as she questions them, both twins turning to look at her. Iden reacts quickly, turning the tablet off and swinging his legs over the bed, dragging his twin with him as he stands up. He nods gently as they both move to be a bit closer, keeping their distance from Grave still as they sit on the floor in front of her. Despite acting quickly, their minds spin. Never before had they been asked what they actually wanted. And though they were still way too uncomfortable and weary to trust Grave, something seemed different about her, and they weren’t sure it was bad.

“Cool!” Grave begins to set up the test for the twins as they sit on the floor watching her, patiently waiting, knowing that the test would likely be a speech test. Their voices were so underused, they lacked development, and recently the staff had begun doing speech therapy with them to develop their voices. But often they would get upset with them for speaking improperly, making the twins apprehensive of how Grave would react during the test.

Grave finishes scanning her instructions, moving to sit in front of the twins, joining them on the floor outside of the cage, deeming her chair unnecessary.

“Repeat after me, please.” Grave requests kindly, the twins looking down to the floor slightly as they listen, used to the disturbed looks and harsh words of the other workers about their black coloured eyes. Hannah fiddles with her fingers absentmindedly as Iden nods in acceptance of Grave’s request for them. Grave opens her mouth to give the twins a sentence or word to repeat, though as she does that all thoughts of what she was going to say leave her mind.

“…Fuck.” Is all Grave can utter as her brain works to think of something. That word makes Hannah snap her head up to look at Grave for a moment, slight shock overtaking her features before she looks back down at the floor, the look vanishing as soon as it appeared.

“F-f-fuck…” Hannah repeats the word quietly, unsure if she should even say it, or if she was allowed to. Iden doesn’t follow the sentiment, his mind not processing the situation fast enough to respond as Hannah did. Her voice can be heard by Grave now, revealing just how little the two twins ever spoke. Hannah’s voice is broken, sounding crackled and weak as she forces it through her throat, the volume barely above a whisper, and already sounding strained and sore.

“Okay, um… can you say your names please?” Grave makes another request, using a soft voice, unable to stop smiling for some reason at hearing Hannah swear.

“I-Iden…” Iden begins this time, his voice equally strained and weak as his twins, neither of them speaking much above a whisper, yet their voices still managed to sound strained and thin.

“H-Hannah…” She fiddles with her fingers as she answers quietly, both twins avoiding looking at Grave as they attempt to speak as coherently as possible.

“Good! Do you… do you have a favourite thing?” Grave asks kindly, wanting to be as nice as possible to the twins as she works with them. They look slightly confused by her questioning, though they keep it to themselves, unwilling to create any conflict as they think over their answers.

“T-t-tablet…” Iden responds quietly, clearly trying to speak as clearly as he can for Grave, his face scrunching slightly in effort.

“M-my b…bed.” Hannah is equally quiet once again, unmoving in her seat on the floor, apart from fiddling and picking at her hands silently as she complies with Grave’s questions.

“Um… do you like… space?” Grave starts to rock, feeling happier as she tries to think of more questions for the twins. Hannah frowns at the questions as she picks at her hands, unsure of how to answer.

“S-S-Space…?” Iden enquires in a quiet and crackled voice, looking from the floor to glance at Grave for a split second as he questions her cautiously.

“Yeah! Its like… um… there’s other planets and galaxies and stuff and its cool!” Grave exclaims, excited inside though she managed to keep herself calm as she speaks. Hannah mumbles something inaudibly in response as she frowns more, her face scrunching as Iden looks at her, shifting her gaze further to the floor.

“Uh, do you like cats?” Grave asks, a small pit of concern growing inside of her as she watches the interaction, making it harder for her to think of subjects for the twins.

“N-never s-s-seen…” Hannah shakes her head as she answers in a scratchy voice, sounding slightly more frustrated. It annoyed both twins that they had never seen such things, made them feel even more abnormal than they knew they were. Grave gasps gently.

“I have some pictures of cats! Wanna see?” She asks happily, but Iden looks panicked at the question, backing away slightly, Hannah not moving but keeping her eyes turned to the floor.

“N-n-not allowed!” Iden’s voice raises slightly, though it still remains very quiet in its register. But it becomes scratchier as he panics.

“May I know why?” Grave asks gently, not angry by any means of the word, more confused by Iden’s reaction. Hannah huffs in response, pulling her legs into her chest as she tries to stop picking at her hands.

“N-n-no o-outside influence. S-so we d-d-don’t want to l-l-leave…” Hannah mutters, frowning as she stares at the ground.

“Oh…” Grave smiles gently. “I can ask if I could bring in a plush cat. It’s not anything… too bad, I think.” Grave offers, wanting to spoil the young twins before her, sensing their distrust and weariness around anyone who works with them, and knowing it was probably for good reason. Hannah’s face shifts to confusion for a moment, kindness from anyone but Iden a foreign concept to her, but she nods her head carefully as Iden shuffles back to join her, frowning slightly.

“Is it… is it okay if I give you guys a thing right now?” Grave asks gently, putting her hands in her pockets. The twins both look confused, Iden shuffling forward slightly in curiosity, though he still keeps a safe distance away from Grave, not completely trusting the situation as Hannah lifts her head slightly to watch her as Grave starts bouncing slightly.

“It um… i-it calms me down a lot. So I’m hoping if I give it to you, it’ll help calm you down when you feel aaa.” Grave explains, as Iden gets closer still, Hannah cautiously following him as they watch Grave silently, unsure of what was happening.

Grave pulls out two small plushies, one of them a red dog while the other is a purple seal, a small smile playing on her face. The twins both look genuinely surprised, never having seen anything like this in their lives before, making them both shuffle forward, the only thing separating them and Grave being the bars in front of them as they stare at the plushies curiously.

“You want em?” Grave asks kindly, looking at the twins gently. Iden reaches a hesitant hand through the bars, carefully taking the red dog from Grave, looking down at it in his hands. He gently squishes the plushy, surprised by the softness of it. Hannah’s face tells that she wants to pick the other one up, but she doesn’t for some reason.

Grave gently slides it closer to Hannah, a soft smile on her face as she does so, trying to reassure the child in front of her that it was okay for her to take it.

“G-get d-d-dirty…” Hannah half explains, squirming as a look of nervousness settles on her face, making her mumble as she looks at the toy.

“Eh, it can be washed when that happens.” Grave shrugs, but Hannah bites her lip, shuffling away from the bars and the plush, making Iden frown as his attention is drawn back to her.

“Y-You don’t have to take it if you don’t wanna.” Grave reassures, pulling the plush back a little bit as she tries to calm the girl in front of her. Iden seems to realise something, moving over to Hannah silently, sitting next to her and leaning over to look at something she was hiding from him, Hannah squirming as her eyes flick to look at Grave nervously.

“D-Do you want me to move or something?” Grave uses a kind and soft voice when talking to the twins, wanting to let them know they were okay.

“Hurt…” Hannah is quieter than ever, biting her lip as she admits the truth, looking away to avoid seeing Grave’s reaction, too used to being quarantined by staff to make sure she wasn’t trying to hurt herself and bein split off from Iden, who looks nervous at her admission as well.

“Can you show me where?” Grave asks gently, feeling concerned but keeping a calm façade for the twins, Hannah looking shaky as she pulls her hands away from her body, revealing a long scratch on the back of her left hand. She keeps away from Grave, weary of what she will do.

“Oh no… I’ll be right back.” Grave stands up and walks out of the room to get the med kit, her concern for the child growing. The twins watch her leave, staying very still, Iden attempting to calm Hannah own as they both assume the worst.

Grave re-enters the room moment’s later, med kit in tow, sitting in front of the twins once again. The only thing she feels is concern as she watches Hannah, who eyes Grave wearily, holding her hand to herself.

Grave gently reaches out; Hannah hesitantly giving her the injured hand, which Grave carefully and gently cleans for Hannah. There is no hint of menace in her actions as she softly places a bandage over the wound, making sure its put on properly. Hannah watches Grave the whole time, on edge.

“N-n-no q-quarantine?” She asks in a very quiet voice, nervous to even try to ask the question, scared to hear what the answer might be.

“Of course not! Its just a scratch, nothing too bad.” Grave smiles gently, Hannah’s mind racing as she tries to understand the kindness behind her gestures.

“B-but n-n-not allowed…” Hannah bites her lip softly as she looks at her hand, whispering the words nervously, shifting her gaze quickly to Grave in a glance.

“I mean, nobody has to know…” Grave shrugs, Hannah turning to look at Grave, holding her gaze as a look of surprise washes over her, making her look like the child she is.

“W-w-won’t t-tell?…” Hannah questions in a small and confused voice, looking at Grave as she tries to figure this new person out.

“I wont tell. Promise.” Grave smiles as she nods softly, a small smile spreading over Hannah’s face as she looks down to the floor again.

“T-t-t-thank y-you…” It’s nothing more than a quiet whisper, but a lot of emotion from the child is contained in those words.

“You’re welcome.” Grave smiles softly as she speaks, Iden joining the two of them quietly, holding his plushy to his chest, enjoying the sensation.

Grave starts to rock slightly in her happiness, remaining quiet for the twins as Hannah bites her lip, reaching a hand through the bars of the cage to gently hold one of Grave’s hands, curious to test the boundaries with her.

A large smile works across Grave’s face, though she looks away, attempting to maintain her calmness for the sake of the children in front of her, despite her current happiness. Hannah is silent as she holds onto Grave’s hand, the position the twins are in allowing Grave to see the many small scars that litter the skin on their bodies, particularly their arms.

“I-If you don’t wanna answer, that’s fine, but um…” Grave looks at the twins, a small amount of concern building. “How did you get those scars?” She asks in a gentle and soft voice. Hannah surprisingly doesn’t let go of Grave’s hand a she looks up at her.

“T-t-training…” Hannah mumbles quietly, looking at Grave with eyes that had seen too much for her age. “T-tests…” She continues with her vague explanation, not sure what else she could say.

“Oh no.” Grave looks more concerned as she speaks. “That’s shitty… really, really shitty.” She comments, but Hannah shakes her head, the hand holding Grave’s starting to shake slightly.

“F-f-fine… n-not h-h-human…” Hannah explains as she looks down to the floor, avoiding eye contact with Grave as she presents the case that had been drilled into the twins by many of the other workers.

“Its still not fine! That’s like killing a dog and saying ‘Hey, its fine. Its not a human!’” Grave huffs, her concern only growing as Hannah frowns.

“T-t-they told y-you what w-we d-d-do… m-monsters…” Hannah shakes more as she speaks, her voice frail and upset sounding.

“That’s only because you were never treated right.” Grave’s voice gets softer, Hannah biting her lip gently. With the hand that isn’t holding Grave’s, she shakily produces a manifestation of shadows, taking the form of a spike.

“B-b-bad…” Hannah tries to explain, referring to her example as she shakes, looking away from Grave.

“No, its actually kinda cool. Not being human isn’t a bad thing.” Grave tries to reassure the twins in a soft manner.

“H-h-how?…” Hannah questions, looking as if she is on the verge of tears as she questions Grave, looking away from her in an attempt to distance herself from the situation.

“Because its just not. That’s like saying the sun is good, but the moon is bad.” Grave tries to explain, gently squeezing Hannah’s hand.

“The m-moon d-d-doesn’t hurt p-people…” Hannah has tears in her eyes as she hangs her head down, not knowing how to understand or accept what Grave was saying, so unused to people trying to be nice. Grave nods carefully.

“It can. You can die from lack of oxygen. That’s not fun.” Grave tries to tear apart Hannah’s reasoning softly, using kindness to try and break through to the children in front of her.

“…p-people like m-m-moon…” Hannah mumbles as she brings her free hand up to wipe at the tears falling down her cheeks, her shaking continuous.

“And the sun. they’re both beautiful.” Grave is quieter now as she speaks, unsure of what to say to the upset children. Hannah bites her free hand gently, trying not to cry even more.

“W-w-who likes u-us?…” She asks quietly, sounding broken and disheartened, not believing there could be an answer to that question.

“I do.” Grave looks at the twins with kindness in her eyes, her face reading a soft expression. Neither twin is able to contain themselves at that statement, tears pouring down both Hannah and Iden’s cheeks. Hannah tries to hold them back, hiding her face as she shakes intensely, both twins wanting nothing more than a comforting hug from Grave.

“…Do you want me to come over to your side?” Grave asks softly, wanting to give the twins the affection they craved from her.

“B-b-but… n-not allowed…” Iden looks concerned as he speaks, wanting her to come to them but worried it would have consequences for both them and Grave.

“I wont tell.” Grave speaks in a hushed voice, Iden going quiet at that remark, bowing his head as he gives a small nod of confirmation, both twins continuing to cry as they listen to Grave.

Grave moves through the bars of the cage swiftly, enveloping the two twins in a warm and soft hug, both of them taking to it immediately, melting into Grave as they instantly begin to calm down, clinging onto her gently.

Grave smiles, her heart beating fast out of happiness as the two warm twins hug her gently, not speaking for fear of ruining the moment as they cling to her softly. Their tears fall to a stop as they calm down, some of the extra tiredness they are feeling creeping into them from their previous tests that day.

Grave begins humming quietly, a soft melody designed to calm and make the twins feel safe. And that it does, both twins start relaxing more, leaning into Grave gently as they do, beginning to get sleepy as they calm down.

Graves gets warmer as she hugs the two twins, continuing her soft humming, creating a soothing song for them. The two twins feel sleepier the longer they hug Grave, though they resist saying anything to her about it. They were only tired due to their sedation test earlier, and they didn’t want to mention it.

A calm and happy smile rests itself on Grave’s face as she hugs the twins, feeling very protective of them. The twins grow almost unbearably sleepy, Grave feeling warm and comfortable as they snuggle into her.

“I love you.” Grave speaks in a hushed voice, her feet tapping softly out of happiness as she hugs the sleepy twins, who let out small content whines as she speaks, clinging gently onto her as they rapidly grow more tired.

Graves heart begins to slow down as she herself starts to feel sleepier, happiness flowing through her as she twins desperately hold onto their consciousness, quiet as they bask in the warmth and comfort Grave provides them.

Grave closes her eyes as she gets more tired, the twins close to sleep, Hannah practically asleep already as they loosely cling onto Grave for safety.

Grave relaxes happily as both twins fall asleep in their own time, leaning softly against Grave as their eyes close, allowing them to drift off feeling safe and happy, with someone they felt they could soon consider to be a friend.

#writing with friends #writing #my writing #original writing #not my oc #others ocs #original characters #original story #lab experiment au #alternate universe #sleepisafuckinglie #House of Hell

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rosesisupposes · 6 years ago

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Welcome to East High

Part 2 of Breakin’ Free, a High School Musical Sanders Sides AU

Chapter Pairings: Prinxiety, one-sided Princeit

Chapter Warnings: Deceit's Here, and He’s Pretty; Roman Is In the Closet (Including to Himself)

Reader tags: lemme know if you want to be taken off @residentanchor @royally-anxious @bewarethegrammarpolice @fellowthomassandersfander @jemthebookworm @arandompasserby @sparkly-rainbow-salt

<<1: Start of Something New | 3: Get’cha Head in the Game >>

read on ao3

SCENE: One Week Later - East High School, New Mexico

After a week of crises and overthinking, Roman was actually relieved to be going back to school. Anything that could distract his mind from dwelling on that confusing moment of a warm hand in his, huge brown eyes only inches away, and the strangest urge to want to breach even that distance with a kiss. A kiss, with a boy? Where had that come from? Even calculus had to be less confusing.

Don’t get him wrong - he had no problem with boys kissing boys. One of his best friends and teammates was the president of the Gay-Straight Alliance at East High! But Roman wasn’t gay. Wouldn’t he know, if he was? True, he hadn’t been really interested in any girls but he’d just been so busy with basketball. Freshman year had been all about pushing himself on JV, which had gotten him to starting varsity sophomore year. With Coach as his dad, practice never really stopped. So of course he hadn’t had time for crushes. Right?

Ugh, this was why even school was a welcome distraction. Roman hopped off the bus into a crowd of his favorite people - his teammates. There was Remy Danforth, spinning a basketball on his finger as he snarked with the cheerleaders. Catching Roman’s eye, he grinned and tossed to ball away to grab his co-captain in a bear hug. “Ro, my main man, how are you?”

“Hey Rem, happy new year”

“Happy WILDCAT new year, my dude! Two weeks to the championships, with Ro Bolton leading us to infinity and beyond!”

One of the male cheerleaders threw Remy’s basketball back at his chest, calling out, “What team?”

“WILDCATS!” the whole crowd responded.

“What team?” Remy called.

“WILDCATS!”

“Wildcats!”

“Get'cha head in the game!”

Roman joined in with the cheers, knocking shoulders with his best friend. It was good to be back where things made sense. He looked around and immediately made eye contact with the one person you could always pick out of a crowd: another teammate, Patton Baylor. He towered over basically everyone at six foot seven, even Roman and Remy. But no one could be less threatening than Patton. A mop of highlighted loose curls bounced around a face that was made to smile, dark eyes glinting through wire frames. White teeth flashed in a perpetual grin, topped by dark freckles that stood out even on his light black skin. He was the school’s sweetheart, the one everyone knew and loved and had probably had a crush on for at least a week. If you hadn’t noticed him as the only head and shoulders above the crowd, he’d noticed you sitting alone at lunch or with a slight frown and had gone out of his way to cheer you up. He was a queer teen who’d given new life to the school’s stagnant GSA, trying to make it a space for being social just as much as to commiserate the unique challenges of being in the LGBTQIA+ community, or as Pat had taken to calling it, the ‘QUILTBAG Family’. Remy had made a show of complaining about valuable practice time lost, but went to meeting after meeting anyway, as support and to “make sure you Queen Bs don’t forget the true A.” Rem didn’t feel particularly interested or invested in exploring his own identity, but if he wasn’t there to be the mascot of the aro/aces, who would all his young tiny ones turn to?

The mass that was the team and cheerleaders moved into the school as last, but a ripple in the crowd soon split them apart. Two heads of perfectly-dyed blonde hair were sweeping through a crowd that parted like the Red Sea. Diego Evans was making his way through the crowd, glued to his phone with his twin brother Cedric at his elbow. Cee & Dee were the resident royalty of East High. Dee had acquired a sizable following on Instagram for his makeup tutorials that incorporated his white-and-tan vitiligo, and even Roman could appreciate the artistry and effort that took. The boy just wasn’t particularly nice, and his brother followed him without question.

Remy rolled his eyes as the twins passed them. “Ugh, looks like the ice princes are returned from the South Pole. Looks like they spent their holidays the way they always do.”

“How’s that, Rem?” a teammate asked.

“Shopping for mirrors,” he replied with a smirk. The students around him laughed or groaned as they made their way towards the first homeroom period of the year.

Not everyone was amused. The sports crowd had stepped on the posters that the science club was trying to hang on the entranceway bulletin boards.

“Behold the zoo animals heralding the new year,” commented one as he adjusted thick-framed glasses. “How very tribal.” The others rolled their eyes or nodded in agreement.

The warning bell sounded, and the halls emptied at last, just as two adults and a teenager emerged from the principal’s office.

Virgil grimaced at his mom. “My stomach hurts.”

Liza rubbed his back. “It always does on the first day at a new school. You'll do great, Virge. You always do, and I made my company promise that I can't be transferred again until at least after you graduate. We’re here to stay this time.”

The Principal Matsui smiled. “I reviewed your impressive transcripts, Mr. Montez. I expect your light will shine very brightly here at East High.”

Virgil blanched and muttered, “Mamá, I don't wanna be the school's freaky genius boy again.”

“Then just be Virgil,” Liza said with a smile. She kissed him on the forehead, brushing newly-dyed hair out of his eyes. He’d been up at 2am two days before, thoughts cycling through too many disaster scenarios of yet another new school, and he’d suddenly become fixated with the idea of having purple hair. He wouldn’t get pegged as just the STEM prodigy if there was something else to distract everyone, right? They would notice the hair and not the person under it. Once he saw his dyed hair dried off and fluffy, he both loved it and was terrified it was too much. But it was too late to undo it now. He gave his mom a quick hug and followed the principal to his new homeroom.

Entering the classroom, Virgil was a bit taken aback. The blackboard was covered in velvet curtains and gold tassels with a huge ornament of tragedy and comedy masks, and there was a small raised platform turning the whole thing into a stage. He winced internally and took it to mean his homeroom teacher, Ms. Darbus, was also the theatre instructor.

The classroom was full of raucous teenagers catching up after winter break. He noted that a solid half the room was wearing sports jerseys or sweaters in the school’s colors of red and white, and one laughing boy was actually holding a basketball instead of any books or pencils. Who did that? So far, the only thing that felt familiar about yet another new school was Virgil could feel himself on the edge of about 10 crushes at once. Every student in this school was beautiful, and it wasn’t fair. He turned to introduce himself to Ms. Darbus. She was a slightly-eccentric-looking woman, with flyaway grey hair pulled into a bun and huge, jeweled glasses frames. Despite the perpetual warm weather in New Mexico, she wore all velvet with a bright purple shawl thrown dramatically over her shoulder. She took his introductory note from the principal and let him make his way to the empty desk in the back of the room. He bumped into a leg that was dangling out of its chair and only barely glimpsed vivid ginger hair as he muttered “Excuse me” and kept moving.

SCENE: Homeroom, Ms. Darbus’ Classroom

Someone bumped Roman’s desk, looking down. For a second he felt his heart jump - was that Virgil? But no, couldn’t be, this person was all in black and had purple hair. That didn’t seem at all like his New Year’s singing partner. He was probably just seeing things after how many of his thoughts had been filled with snippets of that night. Craning his neck for a better look, his vision was suddenly filled with a perfectly-contoured and made-up face.

“Hi, Roman,” Dee Evans said with a smile. “Did you have a good holiday?”

“Uh, yeah, yeah it was great,” he replied, barely noticing the blonde man’s smile as the bell rang.

“I trust you all had splendid holidays,” Ms. Darbus said loudly, calling the attention of the room to herself. “Check the sign-up sheets in the lobby for new activities, Mr. Bolton.”

Roman twisted to sit in his chair normally, flushing slightly. He could have sworn he saw movement somewhere behind him as his name was called, but he didn’t want to risk Ms. Darbus’ wrath. He slowly snuck his phone out of his pocket, hoping to check the selfie from New Year’s Eve and confirm if somehow, the man whose face had filled his confusing dreams for the past week was suddenly here, in real life, hiding somewhere in the back row of the classroom.

“Yes, new activities, especially our winter musicale. We will have singles auditions for our supporting roles and pairs auditions for our two leads,” Ms. Darbus continued, smiling at Dee, who preened and smiled at his twin.

Remy rolled his eyes and blew a raspberry, spinning his basketball in place on his desk.

“Mr. Danforth, this is a place of learning, not a hockey arena,” Ms. Darbus fixed an icy glare on the lounging jock, before continuing. “There is also a final sign-up sheet for next week's scholastic decathlon competition. Science Club president Logan McKessie can answer all of your questions about that.”

The student in question raised a hand, flashing a very perfunctory smile at the room. Virgil looked over, then down with an nearly-invisible blush. Well, add one to the list of potential heartbreaks. A crisply cut fade gave way to simple twists that were just long enough to avoid looking spiky without flopping about, and black-rimmed glasses only serve to further accent gorgeously deep brown eyes set in smooth black skin. Perfect posture plus a button-down with a tie pointed towards a Type A personality if there ever was one. Virgil had met many driven people at previous schools, but he could tell this Mr. McKessie would give them all a run for their money, and look effortlessly good doing it.

Suddenly, Virgil’s phone was going off in his pocket. He’d forgotten to take it off silent, and a tinny version of Start of Something New filled the classroom. He grabbed at it frantically to silence it, but saw the caller ID - “Roman Bolton”. Oh my god, was that really him in the front row? It couldn’t be!

Ms. Darbus looked ready to explode. She carried a can around the classroom, gathering up every device that was visible from everyone who’d pulled their own phones out at the sounds of Virgil’s.

“Cee & Dee, cell phones, and I’ll see you in detention,” she rapped out, startling an offended gasp from Dee.

“We have zero tolerance for cell phones in class,” she continued, towering over Virgil, “so we will get to know each other in detention. Cell phone, now. And welcome to East High, Mr. Montez.”

Virgil reluctantly dropped his phone in the bucket. Great way to make a first impression, nice going, genius, he scolded himself furiously.

The imposing teacher was not yet done. “Mr. Bolton, I see your phone is involved. So we will see you in detention as well.”

Remy was suddenly out of his lounging pose and arguing, “That's not even a possibility Ms. Darbus, Your Honor, see, 'cause we have basketball practice, and Ro…”

“Ah, that will be 15 minutes for you too, Mr. Danforth. Count 'em!”

“That could be tough for Remy, since he probably can't count that high,” Logan muttered to a student beside him. Virgil snorted, but the comment hadn’t been quiet enough to escape detection.

“Mr. McKessie, 15 minutes!”

Logan sat up, indignant, but seemed to realize it was useless to argue and deflated.

“Shall the carnage continue? Holidays are over, people. Way over! Now any more comments, questions? …Patton?”

Patton lowered his hand from his seat in the back of the room, smiling. “How were your holidays, Ms. Darbus?”

The rest of the class groaned or just stared at the cheerful young man as the bell rang out, dismissing them all to their first class of the day.

Being at the back of the classroom, Virgil half-hoped, half-feared Roman would just go on to his next classes without stopping. What could he possibly say to him? Virgil had meant to text, but convinced himself out of it. Between the taller boy’s practically catapulting away from his attempt at a kiss and the lack of texts from his side as well, Virgil was pretty sure the ginger did not want to be reminded of their New Year’s encounter.

But his assumption proved to be at least partially wrong. There was Roman, leaning against the wall in the fakest casual pose Virgil had ever seen. Was it even a little comfortable to have one foot braced up against the wall like that? He suddenly froze. What if Roman wasn’t even waiting for him? He probably wasn’t - he was clearly popular. Virgil winced at his own naivety and turned out of homeroom, looking for his next class.

He was brought up short by a hand grabbing his shoulder. “Virgil, is that you?”

He turned and looked up into ridiculously green eyes, surrounded by pale skin tinged generously with a rosy blush. The list of crushes suddenly shrank to exactly one, and this one was definitely going to break his heart.

“Roman, it is you. I thought I was seeing things. I don’t believe it!” Virgil’s heart was thrumming, but the flutter was accompanied by an insistent whisper of don’t get your hopes up don’t get your hopes up don’t get your hopes up.

“Me neither. How-?” The gingery jock seemed to be struggling for words, just smiling down at the purple-haired man in front of him.

“My mom was transferred here to New Mexico for work, but I had no idea you lived here! I, uh. I thought I might run into you at the lodge after New Year’s…”

“Yeah, I’m sorry, we had to leave first thing,” Roman said, looking around cautiously and pulling Virgil out of the flow of traffic.

“Are you looking for someone? Are you okay?” Virgil asked.

“What? Oh, no, it’s just um. I told my friends about the skiing and snowboarding from vacation but not about the, uh, singing,” he replied, blushing just a bit more under his freckles.

“Why would they care?”

“I mean, it’s… I really liked it, but to my friends… it’s not what I do. It’s not who I am. The boy who sang with you - that’s a different person.”

Virgil turned, no longer facing the taller man straight-on. “I get it. It was a one-time thing, sure. Not to be a bother, but could you help me find my next class?” The whisper had only gotten louder, beating insistently under his skin don’t get your hopes up don’t get your hopes up don’t get your hopes up.

“Of course! I didn’t mean - I’d still like to be friends,” Roman stammered. He started walking and realized immediately that his long legs carried him far too quickly for the shorter boy. He slowed down and led them past the activity bulletin boards.

Virgil tried to not dwell on the choice of words. ‘Friends’ is good. Friends means I won’t scare him away. The whisper smirked at him as if to say I told you so.

“I don’t know how big the schools you’re used to are, but ours isn’t too huge. I think I only got lost once my first week, and I still blame Remy for that. Have you met Remy? My height, black hair, always has a basketball and sarcasm?”

Virgil smiled. “I think I noticed him in homeroom. His ability to lounge in those tiny metal desks was quite impressive.”

Roman rolled his eyes. “Ugh, he’d be so proud to hear that. He can fall asleep anywhere and is making a point to actually do it in every class except gym before graduation.” He saw the audition sheet for drama club and gestured as they passed it, grinning. “Now that you’ve met Ms. Darbus, I bet you can’t wait to sign up for that,”

Virgil grinned. “Oh yeah, definitely. Get me in there. No, I’m gonna just focus on classes for a bit, get to know the school. But if you try out, I promise I’ll come see the show.”

“That would be completely and utterly impossible, the team-”

“What’s impossible, Roman? I would think impossible isn’t even in your vocabulary,” Dee Evans said, appearing from around the corner. He tossed wavy blonde hair that brushed his cheekbones and smiled at Roman. Noticing Virgil half-hidden behind the basketball star, his smiled waned, then flashed back, tight. “So nice of you to show our new classmate around.”

He turned to the signup sheet and signed his name in metallic gold sharpie, with huge, flourishing script. As almost an afterthought, he added his twin’s name too. Turning to look at the two students standing in front of his list, he smiled again. “Did you want to sign up too? My brother and I have starred in all the drama club’s production and we just adore newcomers. There are always ensemble and supporting roles to fill!”

Virgil ducked his head. “Oh no, I’m not signing up for anything. Just looking around. There really is a lot going on at this school, isn’t there?” He glanced at the audition list as he started to walk to class. “Nice penmanship.”

Dee smiled more genuinely as the purple-haired boy left. “Soo, Roman, I missed you over break. What did you do?”

Roman shifted nervously. “Uhh, you know, basketball. Some snowboarding. More basketball.”

“You are so dedicated, Ro,” Dee said, leaning in just a bit closer. “You and your team - it’s just like me and my play. I hope you’ll come see me in the musical, promise?”

“Uh, sure, yeah.”

“Can’t wait! Ta-ta, Mr. Bolton,” he said with a wink, moving off to attend his own next class. He shot a glare at Virgil’s retreating back down the hall. Who was this new boy, and why did Roman look so nervous around him? Roman the popular, Roman the basketball star, Roman the boy Dee had been hopelessly crushing on ever since the ginger hit his growth spurt in seventh grade? He’d resigned himself to this being just another dumb crush on a straight boy, but could you blame him? The man was gorgeous. The whole school knew it, even the faculty. The athletics department had somehow gotten permission to put up a floor-to-ceiling poster featuring the basketball team, and this freckled Adonis with a smile to launch a thousand ships was smack-dab in the middle. But now Roman, the most well-known face in East High, was acting as a shepherd to some new…boy? And they’d been talking about Dee’s musical?

Dee frowned as he walked and tapped his glossy red lips with his signature-color sharpie. It was time to investigate this ‘Virgil Montez.’

#breakin free #closeted roman #high school musical au #high school au #writing #im too committed now #this is happening #roman sanders #virgil sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #remy sanders #deceit sanders #i love these boys #patton is a Tall Boi

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axelsagewrites · 6 years ago

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George Weasley*Does He Hit You

A/N: Trigger warning! Abuse. Kinda darker than I thought it would be but that's kinda to be expected. And Violence.

Helpful web link for anyone experiencing abuse. Speak up, you're worth it.

Masterlist HERE

Wattpad HERE

George X Abused!Reader

(Y/N/N) = Your nickname

They had been friends for years. It was first year when they met, chattering about far-fetched magical ideas. Some of which they made come true. It was second year when he pranked her, giving her the small scar on her shin that seemed to not want to budge. Third year, the year they teased his first-year brother and started their inventions. Fourth year, the time she comforted him when his sister was kidnapped. Fifth year, when suddenly there was a growing distance.

The twins and (Y/N) had always been close since the first day on the train when (Y/N) had shared her sweeties with them when their mum hadn't packed any. The trio stuck together up to the sorting ceremony, only separated briefly before the Weasley's joined her in Gryffindor.

George and (Y/N) were ever so slightly closer, bonding over their love of bad puns and annoying the hell out of Fred with it. That's why it hurt him more when she seemed to be distancing herself.

It started near the end of 4th year. (Y/N) fancied some Ravenclaw beater named Jason or something like that. Fred and George took the mickey out of her. Sure George had wondered what it would be like to date her but who was he to stop her?

They eventually convinced (Y/N) to ask him out. THey coached her in ways of 'attracting the male kind' because of how nervous she got. George couldn't remember the last time she was properly nervous. Then again a lot of her pranks involved the twins getting a few bumps so maybe that was why.

When they started going out it felt like (Y/N) was being stolen from them. Weekends were spent on Hogsmeade dates and she liked to eat dinner with him sometimes. She assured them it was fine.

"Startin to think you don't like us," Fred joked as (Y/N) sat across from him.

(Y/N) looked him in the eyes "Finally caught on?" She joked back. "Nah, canny miss my favorite 2 gingers for too long,"

"Let's be honest, we all know I'm the better twin," George smirked.

(Y/N) pursed her lips and scanned George "Cute. You think you had a chance," Fred and (Y/N) laughed as George fake pouted.

He missed their jokes. When they got on the train for their first day of fifth year she had joined them in their compartment. Well until he came looking for her. He whisked her away to sit with him and she sent the twins a sorry smile.

They'd written over some of the summer but towards the end, the letters dwindled down. She said she was busy a lot, with muggle friends and family.

"Georgie," Fred greeted as he entered their dorm from detention.

George looked up from the sketch he'd been doodling. It was a rough idea for a potential prank but it wasn't that good "You seen (Y/N) recently?"

Fred stopped what he was doing and looked at him "No actually. That's weird. We need to find her at some point," Fred moved to his bed, rummaging through his trunk for something "Kidnap her from Jason if it comes to it," he joked.

George's shoulders slumped "I don't like that guy, something feels wrong about him."

"Is Georgie jealous?" Fred pouted, talking like George was a baby.

The twin threw a pillow at him "Piss off."

Fred shook his head with a grin "Nah. I think he seems fine." He shrugged "Likes quidditch, isn't a total recluse, kinda funny actually. In class, you missed it, he-" Fred continued his short story of a joke Jason had pulled. He noticed George didn't laugh "You don't like him?"

"Nah. I dunno." George shrugged, grabbing his idea book to continue his sketch "Probably just annoyed he took our best friend."

Fred sighed "I feel you mate,"

The next day the twins decided to make a point of talking to (Y/N). She wasn't at Breakfast and at lunch they'd been held back, meaning (Y/N) had already taken a seat at the Ravenclaw table. Then dinner came around.

The twins had been in Transfiguration, with (Y/N), and were able to quickly catch up with her after class, "Hello love," They said in sync, flying their arms over her shoulders like they always did.

She flinched "Goblins! Don't scare me you two," Her voice was breathy, clearly not faking her fear.

"Thought you'd get used to that by now," Fred said. "Besides we had to basically catch you. Got sick of Georges ugly mug already?"

"Oi!"

"No," she shook her head, though her eyes scanned the corridor "Just was busy is all. I can have friends you know,"

"Well, you can have this dinner with these to friends, don't you think Freddie?" George said, looking at his twin.

"I think your right, Georgie. What about you (Y/N/N)?"

"I don't know," her voice was shaky, hiding it by a slight chuckle "Just I said I'd sit with Jason is all,"

Fred and George eyed each other before turning their attention back to (Y/N) "Sure he can get by without you for one dinner," Fred prompted.

"Nah, I said I would so I will. Maybe tomorrow yeah?" (Y/N) rushed off. The twins looked up to see she was rushing into the hall.

They also saw Jason follow after her, not before sending the twins a smile that was dropped as he followed her in. "I really don't like that guy," George said, still looking at her he'd been standing.

Fred nodded "You know what mate, you might be onto something,"

Fred had suggested a few ways to get (Y/N) to talk to them. All seemed too...forward? "How about we drag her into the room of requirement and annoy it out of her?" Fred suggested, laying on his bed looking at the ceiling.

"How about no" George said as he put the last details into his new prank idea/plan.

Fred let out an aggressive sigh "Fine, how about we get some truth potion thingy and make her tell us?"

"That's illegal,"

"Pish posh," Fred waved his hand, disregarding his brother and the law. "I mean we could go back to plan A?"

"I'm not figuring out the spell to the girl's dormitories to kidnap our best friend in the middle of the night. I might not like school but id rather not get killed when we'd get expelled for it!" Fred groaned as another idea was rejected "Leave it to me," George sighed "Your a bit forward sometimes,"

"I just hate emotions," Fred shrugged.

George sat up, "Which is why I'm doing it. Now-" He tossed Fred his notebook "Take a look at that,"

"(Y/N), come quick. One of the pranks just literally blew up in Fred's face. You were always good at Ferula" The lies slid off Georges' tongue after he rushed up to (Y/N).

She looked at her boyfriend, saying "I'll be back in 2 minutes. Okay?"

Okay? George thought. For all, she knew Fred's head was on the third floor and his body the 1st. But she asked permission? He still remembers the time she decided it was okay for her to raid his and Freds trunks for the marauder's map so she could prank them.

"Course its fine babe," Jason chuckled, pulling (Y/N) in by her waist to whisper something in her ear.

She nodded and rushed in the direction George had come from. George caught up easily, leading her to a random class. "In here," he told her, ushering her into the empty class.

"Fred?" She called, already holding her wand. (Y/N) spun on her heels as she heard George lock the door with his wand. "Where's Fred?"

"Must've left," George shrugged before suddenly snatching her wand. She reached for it, "We need to talk. Sit," George nodded to the desks.

(Y/N) looked at the ground and nodded, moving to sit on one of the desks. George pulled a chair over so he was in front of her. "What's up?"

"The sky," Her voice and laugh were weak.

George held back a sigh "Seriously, tell me. Were best friends. You can trust me," She said nothing. George leaned back, pulling at his collar "It is boiling in here," Britan was going through a mini heatwave apparently.

George went over to the windows to find he couldn't open them. He shrugged his jumper off and loosened his tie, noticing her cardigan was still wrapped tight around her, "Are you sick? it's boiling in here."

"I'm good," she shrugged.

"No, no your not," George moved closer, crouching in front of her, trying to meet her eyes. "You're not are you?"

"Not even a little," she broke. Silent tears rained down her face and her voice was as fragile as a dragon egg.

George stood, wrapping his arms around her and petting her hair "Its gonna be okay."

"No its not," she shook his head. "It was never okay,"

"Don't say that. I'll help you," He told her "But I need to know what I'm helping with." She went silent again. He pulled back a little, "Do you want to take your cardy off?" she shook her head. He took in a deep breath before asking "Does he, does he hit you?" She didn't reply. "I'm taking the cardigan off,"

He, as gently as he could, pushed the cardigan off her shoulders and off her arms. Purple bruises were on her forearm as though someone, him, had grabbed her. Another few sat on her arms. "He gets mad sometimes. It isn't his fault," (Y/N) whispered.

"No, it is. It's all his fault. Say it (Y/N). Say it's his fault."

"It's mine. I shouldn't have been talking to you. I should've been on time."

"No," George cut her off "Its all that twisted idiots fault. You did nothing wrong. Got it. Nothing. Now come here," George wrapped his arms around her again.

Her sobs followed, not as silent as her tears had been. "Are those all the bruises?" She shook her head "Want to talk about it later?" She nodded weakly. "Okay (Y/N/N). Okay. Whatever you want."

The pair only pull away when "What on earth is happening in here?" McGonnagal asked, not seeing the tears yet.

When George pulled back from (Y/N), revealing her face, McGonnagal looked shocked. "Can you wait with her miss? I've got to do something,"

"No George," (Y/N) cried after him as he headed out the door.

"I'll be back in a bit," He called back, his pace increasing to a jog.

When he walked into the great hall his eyes ignored the Gryffindor table, falling straight on the Ravenclaws. He thought he heard Fred call his name but he had already seen him.

His smug face sat on the end of the table, empty seat next to him and girl in front of him, clearly flirting. George stormed over there. He could hear Fred following him.

George wasn't a vindictive person. Not even when people backed out of bets. But he'd be lucky to stand.

George grabbed his collar, yanking him out of his seat, shoving him back before going to lunge at him, "Georgie came down," Fred put his hand out to stop his brother.

Jasons friends had shot out their seats and the teachers called to boys but they ignored it. "What the hell Weasel?!" Jason raised his voice.

He had the full support of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team until George said: "Does it make you feel good to beat bludgers and girlfriends?" George moved closer.

Fred's hand dropped from George "He what?" Fred's voice was colder than it had ever been. "You what?!" He yelled at Jason.

The Quidditch team looked at Jason, Jason at the team. Jason chuckled, went to defend himself, but the team had already taken a few steps back.

George had been clenching and unclenching his fist the whole time. "Wanna do the honors, George?" Fred asked, eyes not leaving Jason. Fred moved to be standing behind Jason. Now he could get out the small space between the table and wall.

They thought they heard a teacher call again but it didn't matter. Jason's eyes flickered to the teacher's table before he bolted, trying to jump on the table to run.

George grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and dragged him off, flinging him against the wall.

The twins set about the idiot. They didn't condone violence but that didn't mean he was getting away with it. Jason tried to sink to the ground but Fred held him up. When he did get to the ground punches went to kicks.

Fred was pulled back by someone but George kept going. Hagrid came up behind him, wrapping his arms around George from behind and holding him so he couldn't move his arms.

"I'll kill you!" George screamed, thrashing in Hagrid's arms "I'll get you when you sleep if it comes to it! No one lays a fucking hand on her! Or anyone!"

It was too out of control. Dumbledore had to use a spell to knock him out. The last thing he saw was (Y/N) standing in the entrance to the great hall, McGonnagal holding her.

George woke up a couple hours later. His eyes fluttered open and a groggy feeling overtook him. "Where the hell is he?" George didn't sound as threatening half asleep.

(Y/N) placed her hand over his. "In St Mungos under ministry supervision. He's gone, Georgie,"

George looked at (Y/N) "Never, ever, let someone do that to you again. If someone so much as taps you a bit too hard I'll go for them."

"I'll keep that in mind,"

A/N: Whoa, this got darker than I thought. I wasn't sure how to end it but that happened. If anyone is experiencing an abusive relationship, get out of there. It was never your fault.

#Harry Potter #harry potter cast #harry potter ships #harry #Harry Potter Ship #harry potter imagine #hp #hp imagine #hp george #george weasley #george weasley imagine #george wealsey x reader #weasley twins #weasley #fred weasley #fred weasley imagine #platonic fred weasley

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iamasphodelknox · 7 years ago

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Annual Writing Self-Evaluation

*All answers should be about works published in 2017.

I was tagged by @haloeverlasting

1. List of works published this year:

Hot damn, here we go. This list includes fanfic and other things...

Fanfic

Sounds Happy to Me

Guinevere the Ginger Squirrel

Where We Are

Give Up the Fight

A Glimmer of Light Flickers In

Insatiable Desire

Moments Make Great Love

The Art of the Giants

My Heart Lies With You

Finding Us in Our Atmosphere

Gem and the Hunters: The Treasure of Babylon

Put Some Records On

Define Dancing

Original Work

The Leila Chronicles (a novel in three parts that started out as two short stories and ended up surprising me by becoming a novel in the last three days of NaNoWriMo... I’ll be self-publishing it soon!)

Blog Work

The Lexicon Writing Blog (I write about writing, productivity, prompts, and inspiration... 59 posts this year!)

Two ebooks on POV and finding time to write which you can get for free by signing up for my email list here.

Why I Refuse to Be Afraid (my reflections and thoughts after the Inauguration)

2. Work you are most proud of (and why):

I’m proud of so much of what I wrote this year, but most of all I’m proud of two in particular: The Leila Chronicles and Define Dancing. Both started out completely differently from how they ended up and both of them feature my strongest writing, the strongest world building, and my best efforts.

I’m insanely proud of The Leila Chronicles because it’s a culmination of everything I’ve done all year... the writing, the stressing, the planning, the panicking. Everything I’ve learned shows up in this incredible story that took me by surprise and ran with me to places I’d never anticipated going.

I’m proud of Define Dancing because I never in a million years would think I could write a magical realism but I did. And I think I did it rather well... I was able to paint probably my absolute favorite relationship in a way that really resonated with me. I’m immensely proud because this story stretched me and challenged me and had me asking hard questions about my writing. It showed me I already had the answers to all of them.

3. Work you are least proud of (and why):

Most of my earlier works but Insatiable Desire sort of... left something to be desired, in my opinion. It’s a fun story but not my best writing or my best storytelling. But it was an important part of building up to writing my first smut scene so I’ll take it as a learning experience.

4. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

“Louis, it’s in the high 30’s!” Harry said, following Louis as he marched back and forth across the ridge, marking out potential places he wanted to dig first, his purposeful step followed by Harry’s more clumsy lumber. “Someone will get heatstroke and die, and I thought we’d agreed that we’re all going back to London in one piece!”

“I don’t think dying of heatstroke will cut me into a few pieces, Harry!” Louis cried, sporting a ridiculous pout that had Liam, Gemma, and Niall all snickering.

“This is my life’s work! My magnum opus! My greatest accomplishment! I can only go down from here.”

“Louis, you’re only thirty.” Harry deadpanned. Niall laughed out loud.

“Exactly!” Louis threw his hands in the air. “I’m practically an old man!” He was grinning and eventually, Harry started laughing, his wide grin forcing his dimples to show so much that Louis paused his pacing to grin at him.

- Gem and the Hunters: The Treasure of Babylon

5. Share or describe a favorite comment you received:

Oh there’s no way I could pick just one... but one of my favorites came from my friend @haloeverlasting:

I know I've told you over and over and over again that i love this fic but i just needed it immortalized right here.

I LOVE THIS STORY. i love how you put your characters first, and you honor their stories and don't rush them into things it isn't the time for. ;) I love how much the history is a part of the story, and how much your characters love it. it makes me love it too. i love all of them as individuals and together. and really i just love everything about this wonderful story you've created, where past failures don't define you, and it's never too late to find new love in your life.

ugh. i love you. <3

6. A time when writing was really, really hard:

Oh man... writing is always a composite of hard things but the hardest thing I’ve had to write this year was a scene in The Leila Chronicles where two characters have a very intense discussion about how their actions influenced so much more than either of them expected. It was exhausting and hard and left me feeling like I’d run a marathon and experienced emotional trauma all in one day. But I’m also incredibly proud of that scene so it was worth it.

7. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you:

Literally, every single story I wrote this year (and my husband can attest to this) started with me pacing back and forth in my apartment saying “I’ve never written anything like this before. I don’t know if I can.” But every single story, I did and I could.

I never thought I’d do a retelling of the Hades/Persephone myth. It’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever written though.

8. How did you grow as a writer this year:

This is an extension of the previous question. I never would have guessed that by the end of one year I would have written a mythology retelling, a magical realism story, three fairytale retellings, an abo fic, two sex scenes, a whole novel, an Indiana Jones-style mystery, or a story about my hometown, Seattle. I learned that I can write a variety of things, and I learned that I can surprise myself with what I’m really capable of.

I also started this year with a completely different set of goals and resolutions, almost none of which actually came to pass. But I spent the entire year writing stories I loved, stories that impacted people on spiritual and emotional levels, making writing friends, and learning millions of new things about my writing. I never could have written the Leila Chronicles a year ago... the journey was worth it.

9. How do you hope to grow next year:

I just want to keep getting better. I have the Gem sequels coming up (I’ve never written a series so I guess that’ll be something for 2018), I have a few new aus and crossovers, a Harry Potter retelling that I’m very excited for, and a few personal projects that I’m keen to start. I’m just hopeful that I’ll keep writing, keep learning, and keep seeing every story as a stepping stone to making me a better writer. I’d also like to publish The Leila Chronicles and a nonfan version of Gem and the Hunters.

10. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

At the beginning of the year, I had no writer friends to speak of. Now, at the end of the year, I’m friends with some of my favorite writers and get to gush every day about different projects.

@hlficpraise - My darling Viv, I would be completely lost without you. You’ve been the best beta a girl could ask for and a wonderful, encouraging friend. You read everything I write, you know grammar inside and out, and you are always there with a listening ear and a timely joke.

@indiaalphawhiskey - My twin soul. If I wasn’t for you Indy, I never would have met the people I know now. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have signed up for challenges, tried new things, taken so many risks, or put myself out there. Your constant encouragement is priceless.

@haloeverlasting - Sunshine, I wouldn’t be the writer I am without you. You encourage me, challenge me, inspire me, and urge me to write the hard things, tell the hard stories, and are always there when I panic or freak out. Your feedback and listening ear are so important to me. And I love that we gush about writing and reading. :)

Additionally, for their encouragement, excitement, and exuberance:

@theficwritersblock @suddenclarityharry @hrrytomlinson @briannamarguerite

11. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year:

I leave little pieces of my soul in every story I write. @hlficpraise pointed out my main themes in all of my stories a few months ago and they ring true of my personal life as well: redemption, equality in relationships, second chances, hope.

12. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers:

You don’t have to write in a vacuum! Friends will help you immeasurably.

You already have everything you need. All you need to do is get your ass in your chair and just fucking do it.

13. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year:

I’ve got the Gem sequels that I can’t even wait to share with you all. I have Harry Potter retelling that is probably going to be bigger than I’m anticipating but still an incredible ride. And I’ve got a Dunkirk au coming up... I’m so in love with it, I can’t even tell you.

14. Tag three writers/artists whose answers you’d like to read.

@indiaalphawhiskey @suddenclarityharry @theficwritersblock

#holy shit I wrote a lot #I'm so fucking proud of myself #I couldn't have done it alone #Writer friends made the year #year in the belly of the whale #reflectionsbydella

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