#also the rest of that party at the girl's house... didn't like the food or the music or the movies we watched... felt so alien and strange

[robinsnest2111]

tfw listening to a certain song makes you recall the exact day and location you bought the cd this song came from

seperate building for the sports/electronics branch of the town's department store back in 2008 ish, was 11-12 years of age at the time, I was there with some classmates who wanted to go shopping for clothes for gym class and had to take me along because their mothers wanted them to include me (they usually either bullied or ignored me at school), I was browsing the CD racks while the others looked at sports bras, t-shirts and leggings (was not interested in clothing or sports at the time), and I picked out that CD and it felt like such a big purchase... 10 whole entire bucks for an album...

man I miss that store and the huge selection of electronics and media, do not at all miss the experience of feeling left out and judged for my entire everything (taste in music, lack of shared interests typical for most kids that age at that time, being childish/slow compared to the others who were already dabbling with more grown up interests and fashion trends) by kids I couldn't relate to or even really wanted to spend time with but had to just because I was in the same class and happened to share a name with one of the kids...

[endzithefangirl]

"I'm gong to put 'being a WAG' on my CV"

Authors note: Here's a little Max Verstappen x TechCEO!Reader. Bet you didn't see that comng. Anyway, got the idea for this a few days ago, and I guess my love of Italian food made me finish this

Summary: Max's new relatioship causes a social media stir, but the new couple couldn't care less whilst in Italy.

Warnings: English isn't my first language, no use of Y/N, female reader, famous reader

Word count: 2k

You understood it, to a degree. Max had just broken off a three-year-long relationship right before summer break, and now suddenly he was spending the summer with you. Now you’re at the paddock... No wonder people thought there was some crossover.

The truth? You two met last New Year's at a party for some sporting event. You, being one of the sponsors for your country's national sports committee, were invited, and Max... well, Max was Max Verstappen. You hit it off, exchanged numbers, showed him around your company a few times, and took him to all of your favorite restaurants in NYC. But you knew he had a girlfriend; everyone knew. And he was taking care of her kid too.

That breakup was hard on him. He had stopped loving her, but he couldn't just kick a woman and her kid out of his house. Max waited for them to have a huge fight, and then they just... broke up. And to your surprise, he was in New York the next day, saying that he needed someone to talk to. Bullshit. You knew he liked you. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come all the way here 'just to talk.'

But here you were, in Italy, spending time with him before Monza. You were currently typing away on your phone, trying to make peace in the finance department. Max glanced up from his phone every so often, stealing peeks at you while grinning.

He had never quite been so into someone like you. You were smart, funny, talented, pretty, and on top of all that - you were also rich. But you were also the most challenging girl to flirt with Max had ever met.

"You look like you could use a break," he said, after watching you tap away at your work laptop for a few minutes.

"Probably. What's the point of having interns if they don't do anything?"

"Then you should consider hiring me; I'm pretty good at helping out," Max teased, looking up from his phone and sending you a cheeky smile. He loved a woman who was in power, who knew what she was doing, and he could tell you were used to being the boss. "Come on, take a break. You know you deserve it," Max encouraged, resting his hand on top of yours to stop you from working some more.

"I guess I could eat…" You say, closing your laptop. "I saw on Google Maps that there’s a nice pizza place down the road. We can go if you’re hungry.”

Max smiled and nodded. “Yes, I’m starving; let’s go,” he said, reaching for the car keys.

“No, it’s okay, let’s walk,” you stop him. He turned towards you, slightly confused. Usually, women would give anything to drive around with Max Verstappen. Maybe that’s just what makes you special.

The two of you walked out of the hotel, your bodyguard Lenny standing outside the door. The tall, muscular man just nodded as the two of you entered the elevator. Max found it funny that you preferred Lenny guard your stuff more than you. Especially the laptop. He sometimes wondered what you kept in there...

“Is Pierre gonna be at the race?” you asked as you exited the building, breaking the silence.

Max’s head snapped towards you, and he raised his brow. “Uh, yes, of course he is… Why?”

“Because I want to see Kika.”

“Oh, so she’s your secret F1 crush, eh?” Max said, relaxing.

You laughed. “Pierre is a solid seven with a better haircut. Kika is a twelve on a bad day.”

As you got to the bigger streets, you started to understand why Max drove everywhere. Unlike you, who were a chiller and niche celebrity, despite being incredibly rich, Max was a real superstar. Your short walk to the pizza shop became a fan meet and greet, with people coming up to you every three seconds and asking for photos.

“Is this your girlfriend?” one of the people asking for a picture asked. As you finished taking the photo, you noticed Max’s slightly flustered face as he heard the question. He stumbled, but you answered with a simple “Yeah.”

As you arrived at the restaurant, you noticed that Max was staring at you. He seemed… surprised. You laughed at his facial expression. The sound of your laugh calmed him instantly, his heartbeat beginning to return to normal. Max cursed himself in his head; he was better than this. He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Is it something I said?"

Max ran a hand through his hair, feeling his cheeks heating up slightly. "No, no... Not really," he reassured you, trying to sound casual. "I was just... thinking."

"Okay, well I'm thinking about the food. I think a Vesuvius sounds great right now."

Max chuckled and quickly glanced down at the menu to hide his embarrassment. "Vesuvius? What the hell is a Vesuvius?" he asked, though his eyes scanned down the menu, searching for it.

"It's a type of pizza," you teased. "It's been like three minutes; have you not even skimmed the menu?"

Max fidgeted under your gaze, feeling the heat rise in his cheeks again. "What?" he asked with a nervous chuckle. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You tell me. Why are you staring?" Max shook his head, glancing up at you questioningly. He had no idea what you were thinking about. "No... What are you thinking about?" he asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.

"There are pots from 4000 years ago found in ancient Egypt that are made out of an incredibly difficult to manage material and are cut to such perfection that they balance on their round bottom."

Max's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He was expecting something totally different. Something that had at least a little bit to do with him. He chuckled, still somewhat surprised as he studied your face. "Where did that come from?" he asked incredulously.

"The Egyptians. They were like, cooking pots and stuff. Royal cooking pots probably, but still," you teased.

Max chuckled again, shaking his head in disbelief. "You're thinking about cooking pots, and here I am, just trying to figure out what I did to make you say that we're together so casually."

"What do you mean? Are we not together?"

"Well, of course we're together," Max said, his voice taking on a more serious tone now. He glanced around the restaurant briefly, making sure no one was listening in on their conversation. "I just... I didn't expect you to say it so casually," he said, his eyes meeting yours again.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't know we were keeping it a secret. I mean, I was at the paddock and all last time, and I took days off work to come to this race—"

Max shook his head, realizing you completely misunderstood what he was saying. "No, no, it's not that... I just..." he began, struggling to find the right words. He took a deep breath, his fingers fidgeting in his lap. "It's just... you're so casual about it... and I'm... a bit too flustered for my own good," he admitted, a tinge of embarrassment in his voice.

You softened up a bit. "Oh, okay, I get it. It was just a bit too shocking for you... Yeah, sorry."

Max felt his heartbeat a little faster when you softened, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Yeah, it was a bit... unexpected for me," he chuckled, feeling somewhat silly for being so flustered. "But it's fine, honestly."

"Do you think my stomach is gonna have space for gelato later? There's a really good gelateria; I can see it from the window... They make the ones with the macarons..."

Max chuckled, loving how you were so excited about the gelato. "Well, based on the amount of pizza you usually eat," he teased, a smirk on his face. "I'd say you're probably fine."

"No, they put the macarons on the gelato."

"On the gelato?" Max repeated, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

"I've never heard of such a thing," he said, leaning forward to get a better look out the window at the gelateria you were talking about. "Well, in that case," he said with a grin, "we're definitely going there for dessert."

After eating so much that your belts barely held, you came back to the hotel, Lenny greeting you at the door as usual. Max's stomach was stuffed to the brim, but he was in such a good mood from the good food and even better company, he didn't even care. He walked back into the hotel together with you, his hand still holding yours. Lenny greeted the two of you as usual, but Max couldn't help but notice the way Lenny looked at you, like he was analyzing you.

"All good, Len. You go to your room for the night," you said to Lenny. He nodded, smiled at the both of you, and then went off. Max watched as Lenny walked off, then turned to you, a small frown on his face.

"He was looking at you funny," he said, a protective edge to his voice.

"He thinks it's funny. That I'm dating a Formula 1 driver."

"What's so funny about that?" he protested, his grip on your hand tightening ever so slightly. "He just... I don't know, he's a big fan of yours I don't think he's processed it yet". Max's frown relaxed as you explained it, his ego immediately soothed a bit. Of course he was a big fan of his, who wasn't?

"Oh, so he's a big fan?" he teased, a hint of pride and cockiness in his voice.

You take your shoes off and lay on the bed, your stomach bloated from all the good food "Yeah. Talk to him a bit, I think it'll make him happy" You let out groan as you move "I hate you Italy. You has so much good food... I love it though"

Max chuckled, watching as you dramatically threw yourself onto the bed, your stomach protesting the amount of food you just had. "You're such a drama queen sometimes," he teased, grinning as he took off his shoes as well and joined you on the bed. He lays down beside you, running a hand over your bloated stomach. "You'll be fine," he said, though there was a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Oh, you know what I saw on TikTok?"

Max raised an eyebrow in curiosity, his hand now resting on your stomach. He didn't typically pay too much attention to TikTok, but he was more than happy to listen to you.

"What did you see?" he asked, turning his head to look at you.

"Well first of all, I'm a WAG now. Thank you for that, I will be putting that on my CV. But second, they liked that I was wearing Red Bull merch. I thought they wouldn't like it, but they did"

Max chuckled as you spoke, amused by how casually you mentioned being a WAG, and how seriously you were taking the fact that you were wearing Red Bull merchandise. "Well, of course they liked it," he said with a smirk. "You were wearing the merch of the best team out there."

He gave you a smug look, his hand moving up and tracing a lazy pattern on your stomach. "Not to mention the merch of the best driver out there."

[tarosunshine]

a surprise birthday party for they s/o but the s/o alredy knows about it (i hope you get the idea) riize ver

—⁠ ִ ۫ ⭒ birthday girl ، ، 라이즈

๑ genre fluff 一 warning none ! pairing boyfriend OT7 x fem reader ⋮ bookshelf .

shotaro  ۫ ੭

the last week your boyfriend has been acting suspicious, and you noticed. until yesterday, when you accidentally heard him at the phone saying something about a surprise.

so, here you were, with one of his ties over your eyes, and your super excited boyfriend. he brought you to his house, telling you something about dinner.

“and...” he finally undid the knot.

you blinked, getting used to the light, and just before that, your friends jump drom behind the furniture, screaming 'surprise'. your wide your eyes when you see all the people, the confetti, balloons, and food. this was bigger than you expected.

“why? you didn't like it?” shotaro looked at you with worry eyes. you immediately turned yourself as you wrapped your arms around his waist, burying your head on his chest.

“i love you, shotaro”.

“and i love you too. happy birthday”.

eunseok  ۫ ੭

you found out accidentally. actually was eunseok's fault, but you didn't blame him. i mean, you never saw your boyfriend so excited about anything; the way he was talking that morning at the phone with such a bright smile as he cooked breakfast. that day you heard something about a surprise party, and you loved it.

the rest of the week, you stayed anxious about that, so excited and happy. staring at your boyfriend, sometimes about to tell him that you already know about the surprise, tell him you loved him for doing such a thing, but obviously you wouldn't do that, not now.

the day came, and eunseok made you brakefast as always; this time making your favorite.

“c'mon, today is a big day” he said as he brought you a cute dress. “you have to wear it tonight, hm?”

saying something about dinner at a fancy restaurant, you went to the car to start the trip. and when you arrived, the familiar faces of your friends appeared, just with a big cake with your name on their hands as they shouted 'happy birthday'.

“i surprised you?” your boyfriend asked as he wrapped his hands around your waist. you nodded with a big smile.

“yes, you do it!” you giggled, looking around the place and then at him. “thank you, seok” when you kissed his cheek the smile on his face grew bigger.

“happy birthday, princess”.

sungchan  ۫ ੭

yesterday, when you were cleaning some stuff on your shared bedroom with your boyfriend, you accidentally found out a list, specifically a one with thing for a party surprise, and with your name on it.

that day, an extremely nervous sungchan appeared in front of you, asking about that list, and of course, you said you didn't see it.

your birthday was in two days, it was your first with sungchan as your boyfriend. and that idea of him doing that for you melt your heart. you didn't want him to know that you already knew, so you just acted normal for the next days.

“so, mm.. at night we can go to taro's house. we will make some pizzas. what do you think?” sungchan was looking at you with shiney eyes as you nodded. he smiled.

you two arrived at shotaro's house at 7 pm, holding hands. then all of you spent the rest of the night like you normally do. and when it was 12 a.m., your friends came out of the kitchen with a big cake and silly birthday hats and stuff, making you giggle. seconds later, sungchan also came from the kitchen with a lot of balloons and a present for you.

“happy birthday, love” he whispered on your ear as he was putting the cute necklace in you.

wonbin  ۫ ੭

“fuck, wonbin hyung is going to kill me. please don't tell him anything!” the panic on anton's face almost made you laugh. but poor boy, he was scared of your boyfriend.

so last month you've been pretending not to know anything for anton's good, and your boyfriend's too. you don't want all his efforts to be in vain.

“babe, you need to wear that dress the i gave you on christmas. it's for a special occasion”. as his head was resting on his palm, he looked at you, frowned.

“yes, sir..” you joked as you kept doing your makeup. it was six in the afternoon, and your boyfriend was ready in his white swit, the one that he bought just for your birthday. “you look so beautiful” he said all of a sudden.

“i didn't finish yet, bin” you laugh looking at him trough the mirror.

“uhu, but you're beautiful”.

an hour later, you were next to him on his car, with a tie over your eyes. wonbin said something about a special place, and for not ruining the surprise, you need to have your eyes covered. and with his help, you two walked a few minutes until you reached a silent place.

the 'happy birthday' of your friends made you jump in your place when you took off the tie. you knew it, but anyway, you were surprised. the place was decorated so beautiful, and the proud smile on your boyfriend's face was the best of all.

“you know you're the best, right?”

“well.. now i know” he pecked your lips, still smiling. “and know that you knew about this”. that makes you wide your eyes, making him laugh. “thanks for pretending you didn't know, babe. happy birthday”.

“thanks to you, bin” you hugged him tightly.

seunghan  ۫ ੭

the day you found out about the party was raining, and you heard seunghan talking on the phone when you brought him an umbrella. fortunately, he didn't see you. 'she's going to love it', he said with a big smile as the elevator door closed.

there were two weeks until your birthday, so the next two weeks you were thinking about that. besides you were only able to see your boyfriend three times in this pastime.

“happy birthday, pretty girl” your boyfriend's smile was the first thing you saw when you opened the door of your apartment. immediately, you hugged him. you had missed him.

you looked at the bracelet on your wrist, admiring it. your boyfriend was so nervous when he gave it to you. and he was waiting for you, so you two could go to eat. you almost forgot about the party when you arrived at that place you didn't know.

grabbing seunghan's hand with excitement and heart beating fast on your chest, you entered the room. before your boyfriend opened the door, a light was turned on; all your friends jumped immediately from their hiding places. the decorations of your favorite color caught your attention and how everything was so nice.

“what do you think, birthday girl?” seunghan kissed your cheek after looking around.

“hmm.. i think that i love you so much, hong” you wrapped your arms around him. he looked down at you, smiling.

“i love you more”.

sohee  ۫ ੭

this guy might be a little too clumsy. because boy, why would you talk about a surprise party for your girlfriend when she is 'sleeping' just right next to you? that's how you found out. that afternoon, you two were sleeping on the couch until his phone rang, waking you up, but he didn't notice.

“nuh-hu..” he said as you closed your eyes, trying to keep sleeping. “it's a party for my girlfriend, of course” that caught your attention immediately, but otherwise, you didn't want to keep hearing. fortunately, he hung up after saying that.

the next weeks you been thinking about the party, but at the same time you didn't want to think about it. so you just distracted yourself by doing your routine.

“and at 8 pm. we have to be in this place. it's just a little dinner” sohee tried to sound convincing as he smiled at you. today was finally your birthday, and you were excited, remembering about that call.

the warmth of your boyfriend's hands over your eyes makes you more nervous as you keep walking. when you heard a door open, immediately a sweet smell reached you. and the 'surprise' that everyone shouted made you smile as you recognized their faces, looking at them, and then to your nervous boyfriend.

“why you are the nervous one?” you playfully push his shoulder as you look at him. he frowned with a silly smile on his face.

“i don't know, maybe because i love you, and i wanted you to have a wonderful birthday. and it went well!” cupping your cheeks, he stares at your eyes.

“and it's wonderful, thanks to you. i love you”.

“i love you too. happy birthday”.

anton  ۫ ੭

you knew that your boyfriend was someone that likes, no, needs to have a schedule. he needs to have an itinerary, all organized. and it wasn't the opposite when it comes to praper your surpise birthday party.

as you do sometimes, you sit in front of his computer to play sims. he downloaded that game only for you. but when you opened the computer a file with a list and horaries apared. you just read the big 'y/n's b-day party' and you closed immediately, not reading the rest. you felt so guilty the rest of the week.

and one week later, you were in front of your room's mirror, looking at the dress you bought a couple of months ago, still thinking about your boyfriend and the party. you looked at the time, and a couple of minutes later, anton was in your door to pick you up.

“happy birthday!” his cute smile sends you butterflies to your stomach. smiling too, you hugged him, wrapping your arms around his waist. “now let's go” he graved your hand as you start walking through the car.

about thirty minutes later, the pink confetti and the smiles of all your loved ones were in font of you. your heart was racing at this point. you were so happy and excited. you looked at your boyfriend right next to you, admiring you with a bright smile.

“thank you, anton” you hugged him again, surprising him with your arms around his torso.

“actually thanks to you” he said, and you raised your head to look at him. he was still smiling. “you saw the schedule that day..” he scratched the back of his head.

“anton, i didn't mean to. i'm s一”

“no, it's okay. everything goes well, and you pretend not to know. you did it well” he jokes and patted your head, making you your eyes with a smirk. “happy birthday” leaning to you, he finally kissed you.

[pandora-writes-one-piece]

The Meet Cute - Ace's Story - 4

Source for pic

Firestarter 4

Word Count: 6856

Tags For The Whole Story: Fem!Reader, slight NSFW (It's mature, not explicit), slightly sugestive behaviour, flirting, jealousy, frenemies, sexual tension, miscommunication, unresolved tension, slight angst, slow-burn, romantic comedy vibes, alternate universe modern setting, swearing, drinking, fluff, feelings realisation, denial of feelings.

Special Warning: English is not my first language, I apologise for any possible spelling or grammar mistakes.

Summary: After moving away from the hustle and bustle of Grand Line City to help your father around the property following a horse-riding accident - and in the hopes of healing your broken heart after your asshole ex-fiancé cheated - you settle into the country calmness of the Calm Belt. You intended to have some alone time, to reflect and heal, but your childhood friend's older brother, Ace, seems to be there just to upset that fragile peace you're striving for. He's a flirt and a womaniser. But why does he also have to be so handsome and perfect? And how long can you resist his charms?

Notes: And so the angst begins! If you wish to be added to a tag list, say so! Thank you!

Tag List: @rosidaze

Masterlist for previous introductory chapters.

|Previous Chapter| | |Next Chapter|

Saturday comes and it’s very uneventful. Your father says he's got some plans with his friend Mihawk and you use the free time to clean up the rest of your room - there were still a lot of trophies and books from when you were a child, but now it finally resembles a grown-up room. 

Your initial plans for the afternoon included a marathon of trash TV and plopping down on the couch like a parasite, maybe even gobbling up some junk food. But it's such a nice day outside that you decide to do some sunbathing. 

And you do. You dress in a simple red two-piece bikini and lather sunscreen on your body before heading outside armed with your headphones, a book and a towel. The backyard has a little wooden deck with two sun chairs and a small pool. The pool is closed but you're not really interested in it. So you get your little setup and sigh in relaxation. You never had moments like these in the city. Ichiji liked the fancy parties and clubs, there was barely any time the both of you spent together like this. 

In retrospect, you should've seen the end of the relationship coming. You barely had anything else to give each other. It was only a matter of time. 

You cosy up on the chair and stretch. It feels really nice. 

The view of the property is relaxing and the only house you can see in the proximity is Mr. Garp’s. The houses are only separated by a small path and you can see the windows perfectly well. You know which one was Luffy’s old room, you have been there a bunch of times, but you don't quite know which one is Ace's. 

You try to guess based on the knowledge you have of the inside of the house. It's either the one to the right of Luffy’s, or it's the one that faces the side of the house. 

A small smile creeps its way to your lips as you remember your time together at the firestation. Being with Ace felt really natural. You didn't have to force any conversation, he made you laugh and, damn, the chemistry. The sexual tension was crazy. 

But there is only a slight problem. You aren't looking to be just another one. You are no longer in that phase of your life when you're just looking for fun. You want something actually meaningful. And Ace is not meant for meaningful relationships. He isn't capable of it. 

You exchanged some texts with Nami last night saying that you had fun and she had probed you so hard that you caved and admitted you feel very attracted to Ace. But then you probed her, and every assumption you had about him was correct. He is a player and leaves behind him a long trail of broken hearts. He's all about the chase and the conquest. Once he gets the kiss, the girl, the fuck… It's over. 

And you refuse to be just that. 

The afternoon rolls by lazily and you have already rolled over on your back and on your front, just like a happy kitten. Until you see a movement in Ace's house. 

It’s him. 

You were right, his room is next to Luffy’s. He stands in front of the window - shirtless - and unaware that you are there, apparently, since he’s staring somewhere else, his signature cheeky grin in place, and you smile. Damn, he’s cute. 

Off-limits, player, just a crush! 

Can he see you? Could he be tempted to join you in the sun? 

Immediately your head starts to create interesting scenarios for both of you to play out. 

Ace arriving with his cocky smirk and telling you that you look gorgeous. 

Ace setting a knee in the middle of your legs to pry them open as his hand cradles your neck to pull your face up. 

His other hand clutching your hip for dear life. His tongue licking the sweat from your body, from your belly to your chest. 

The hottest kiss you could ever dream of, eliciting all kinds of choked noises and mewls from your mouth. 

You take a deep breath and fan your hat over your face. Maybe it's time to get out of the sun? You're getting pretty hot! 

You gather your book and start to get up when you take another look at Ace's window. And then instantly freeze and regret having looked at all. 

There is a young brunette girl in front of the window, grinning while she closes the curtains. 

Your breath catches for an instant. And then the dread in your stomach spreads its icy tendrils up to your heart. 

It's nothing short of a surprise. It's what he does. His modus operandi. But the realisation still stings. Just last night he told you that he's always thinking about you. Your mind told you, at that moment, that it was a line he used on every girl, yet, your heart thought differently. 

But today, not even 24 hours later, he has a girl in his room. 

You refuse to cry. Even if the tears are more of frustration and about how gullible you are, more than anything else. 

Yet, you should've known. You were warned. 

-*-

Ace keeps sending you texts asking how you are and if you want to hang out. You keep leaving him unread. You're still pretty pissed at him, even though you know you have no right to be. He's not your anything. 

Then you get another text. It's Nami this time, so you open it.  

You miss Luffy! Ace told you he also works at the firestation, but since he no longer lives with his grandfather, you still haven’t gotten the chance to hang out with him. You’ll definitely go to this party. Even if you’re sure to run into Ace and whatever girl he’s with right now…

This triggers Nami, so she instantly calls you. 

“What are you talking about?”

“Forget it, Nami. It's nothing new. I just saw him through the window of his room with some girl.” You force out a laugh. “Nami, it's just a silly attraction. Nothing else. I just think he's really hot!”

“Babe, if you keep thinking about him I think you should just ride that cowboy… Scratch that itch… You get my drift? Take it out of your head and then that's it!”

“You sound ridiculous.”

“Yet no wiser words have ever been spoken.”

“Maybe, but I'm not interested in being just another notch under his belt. I'd much rather be just a friend.” You reiterate. 

“From what I hear, I’d say it's your loss!” She chuckles. “But you're still coming to the party, right?”

“Yes, obviously.” You agree with a chuckle. 

“And if Ace's there with his bimbo?”

“Good riddance to both. I just want to be friends with him, anyway.”

You can almost hear the eye roll on the other end. But to her credit, she doesn't say anything. 

“Deal. We'll meet at your house to get ready. It's closer. I'll tell Robin.”

You agree and after hanging up, there's still a small smile pressed upon your lips. Nami is a friend and she makes you happy. Ace is also a friend. You shouldn't be mad at him. 

Therefore, you open his texts and finally answer him, claiming to have been busy. Forgetting all about the brunette bimbo and simply focusing on your friendship. 

Just like Nami, he gets tired of texting and calls you. 

“Hey gorgeous. I thought you were ghosting me.”

You lie back on the bed and roll your eyes. “Don't call me gorgeous. And I could never ghost you. I've just been busy.”

“Yeah, I get it. I've had a busy day as well.” He chuckles and the cold in your stomach spreads. 

“I bet…” You mumble. 

Friends! Friends! Friends! 

“I can't call you princess and I can't call you gorgeous, what do you want me to call you then?”

Why is his chuckle so damn sexy over the phone? 

“My name, genius! What else?”

“I'll get back to you about that.” Another chuckle. “Have you heard about my little brother’s party?”

“Nami is my friend, how could I not?” You chuckle. 

“Right, right. Are you going?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. Me too, obviously.”

Then he proceeds to tell you about the busy day he had helping his grandfather with some affairs at the house and about some paperwork he still had to do from this week's occurrences at the firestation and you tell him about your day. 

He doesn't mention the brunette. And neither do you. 

Somehow, the time goes by and you end up talking with Ace for almost two hours straight. Just like you were musing earlier, he's so easy to talk with. So natural, so fun. 

Shanks knocks lightly on the door and pokes his head inside. “Bug? Dinner's ready.”

You rise immediately, sitting on the bed with wide eyes. Dinner already? You didn't even realise it was already dinner time, and you had meant to cook it. Shanks must have realised that you were taking too long on the phone and did it himself. 

“Oh! Right. I'll be right down, dad. Ace I've got to go. Talk to you tomorrow, bye.”

Shanks bites his cheek, his brows scrunched. It looks as if he wants to say something, but he's considering that it's not his place to do so. So he smiles at you and begins to walk downstairs to the kitchen and you follow. 

The first minutes of the meal are spent in silence until you start telling him about your day. Then, abruptly he talks. 

“Bug… Is your relationship with Ace advancing?”

The fork stops midway to your mouth and you feel your cheeks burn. 

“I know it's not really my place. You are an adult and I was not a present father in your life. Believe me, I regret it most days. Maybe if I had tried a little harder, you and your mother could still be together and you'd have grown up with me. Maybe I had more right to butt into your business. But I worry… and… well…”

“Dad, Ace and I are just friends. Nothing else. He's really easy to talk with and we have a lot of the same interests. He's fun. But that's it. Don't worry.”

You can almost see the relief in Shanks’ face. And you almost feel bad about the way Ace really makes you feel. Because your father's worry is not at all misplaced. Ace is dangerous for impressionable hearts. 

“Friends? Okay, okay. That's good.”

You just have to make sure your heart is not impressionable and that friends are all you and he will ever be. That's all you want to be. 

-*-

The next morning passes by pretty fast as you help your dad with the chores and get the horses and the ponies ready for the Summer Jubilee. Shanks is going to have a horse riding station, mostly for the kids, but sometimes adults like to join too. 

“How's your back, dad?”

“I'm managing. I'm still taking the pills.” 

“Don't overdo it, alright? Are you sure you don't need me there to help you?” 

“No, baby, Beckman will be there to help me. You know he loves these horses. You go and have fun at your party.” 

Benn Beckman is one of your dad’s oldest friends. They used to play some sport together in school and they both never left town, so it’s a natural friendship, like yours with Nami and Robin. The festival only starts on Monday, but the vendors and concessionaires that will have their businesses at the fair are going to use Sunday to set up and you feel as if you should be helping your dad instead of going to a party. 

Shanks winks, and you laugh. “I will, dad.”

“Just not too much fun…” He grumbles, beneath his breath and you roll your eyes as you climb the stairs to take a bath and wait for the girls. 

-*-

“Ohhh, I've got the perfect dress for you!” Nami claps excitedly and you roll your eyes to the back of your head. 

“I have my own clothes, Nami! What is it with you and trying to get me into your clothes?”

“Funny, she always tries to get me out of them…” Vivi muses and you laugh out loud. 

“Honey, don't take this the wrong way. You're beautiful, but your clothes are a bit… plain… don't you want to dress to impress?” She winks. 

“Not really, no.”

“Too bad. This dress is perfect. Vivi and Robin already agreed and I won't take no for an answer. Ace will be blown away!”

You sigh and let Nami dress you up as if you were a barbie doll. There’s no use in fighting her, really. And you hate to admit it, but she does own some sexy clothes. And you do want to blow Ace away.

Though you’re having a hard time admitting it.

-*-

As you cross the tiny pathway to Mr. Garp’s house - turns out ‘at Luffy’s’ means there because Luffy’s flat is too small to fit his many, many friends - your heart starts to beat faster. You know Ace will be there. And you know there will be girls all over him. But you should also know that you can't be jealous, because you're nothing but a friend to him. 

And that's all you'll ever be. 

Still, you feel as if an army of tiny ants are crawling on your insides because everything is moving and squirming in there and you are actually quite nervous to meet him. You guys had a wonderful chat yesterday, but you also knew he had been with another girl before speaking with you. 

And Nami has already told you: Ace is a chaser. He likes the difficulty in seducing women - not that it's difficult for him, you bet. You need to keep repeating in your head: you don't want to be just another girl! 

Are you obsessing? 

Shaking your head, you try to steady your heels on the uneven path. Why did you listen to Nami? You tried to put on sneakers, but after she dressed you in the most shockingly slinky, short red dress with a draped cowl neckline and thin gold chain straps, she almost had a heart attack when she saw your feet. 

She screamed sacrilege and almost hit you in the head with the gold heels. You kept repeating that it was too much, but none of the girls listened to you. To be fair all of them look equally stunning and sexy, so you don't really feel that out of place. 

Still, it's hard to walk in these things and you're pretty sure you’ll be taking them off at one point or another as the party progresses.

As you pass the threshold of the front door, you get immediately overwhelmed by the sheer number of people. It smells like sweat, pot and booze, and the mixture makes you wrinkle your nose. 

“Who are all these people?” You ask Nami, screaming over the loud music. 

“Luffy has many friends!” She answers with a laugh. 

Right. He has many friends but they're definitely from out of town because you're pretty sure that he has more people inside this house than the entire population of your hometown. 

Robin wanders away saying she saw Sabo and she wants to say hi. Nami winks suspiciously at her and the raven-haired girl blushes and giggles. Then, Nami does a little crowd check and smiles. 

“Oh, I see my friend Lola. Will you be alright by yourself or do you wanna come?” She asks with concern and you nod vigorously. You are already seeing some familiar faces, and you won't mind mingling for a while. She smiles and saunters over with her girlfriend, also ready to mingle. 

Sighing, you set out to find a drink, first. You're in the right mood to get wasted after thinking about Ace sucking face with half of the pretty girls at this party! And free booze is just the right way to do it. Sanji is there and you take the cocktail he effortlessly makes for you with a big smile but you don't get to chat much as his drinks are in high demand and he excuses himself to go cater to another beautiful lady. 

You chuckle at his ways and take a sip of the drink he made for you. Perfect. 

You hear your name being shouted and turn around with wide eyes. It's Luffy. You hug him and he hugs back, introduces you to some of his many friends and both of you speak as if you never stopped talking at all. 

“I'm so glad you're back in town again! Ace can't stop talking about you!” He grins and you blush. 

“Right. I bet.”

But, even though you wouldn't mind knowing what Ace has to say about you, Luffy is also in high demand and gets summoned by a man with a long nose and curly black hair, who's smiling at him. Excusing himself, Luffy promises to find you again and you promise to hold him to that. 

You take another look around the room, trying to find old friends amidst the sea of new faces, but your eyes are immediately drawn to him. In all his shirtless glory, obviously. And, even more obvious is the way there's a brunette sticking to his side. An arm draped around his waist and dreamy eyes on her face. 

It figures. The party has just started and already Ace has chosen his catch of the day. Or maybe it's the catch from yesterday?

It irks you so much! Why does he have to be such a player? No, screw that! He can be a player all he wants, he just needs to stop giving you attention and making you feel special! He needs to back off! So you can move on! Geez, you look like a teenager with her first serious crush. 

Chugging the cocktail in one go, you cringe at the aftertaste and quickly ask Sanji to make you another one. You've made up your mind. You just need to avoid Ace all night. If he doesn't speak with you, there's no chance for him to enchant you with his deceiving words. There. You're a genius. 

With this happy resolution in mind and a new tasty cocktail in hand, you decide to leave this room. First step to avoiding Ace, don't be where he is. 

Swaying your hips to the beat of the song, you make your way to the backyard so you can breathe some fresh air and though there are many people outside, the open makes everything better and you inhale deeply. 

“Heeey beautiful.” A slurred voice echoes near your ear as a grimy hand moves your hair away from your shoulder, from behind. “Is that dress on sale? Because it's 100% off at my place!”

You cringe as you turn and slap the hand away from you. “First of all: eughhh! Secondly, don't touch me, creep.” The man looming near you smirks and licks his lips as his eyes rake your body from head to toe, drinking you in, and he further invades your space. 

“Come on,” he snorts and you realise he's clearly inebriated or high, or maybe both. “Dressing like that, what were you expecting?” He reaches and tries to touch you, but a large hand, coming from a presence behind you, wraps around his wrist and stops him. 

“Respect, obviously.” A low voice rumbles over your head as you turn your head around and meet the cold gaze of Ace, boring his dark eyes straight into the boy in front of you. Because in the face of Ace, he's nothing but a scared little boy. He steps in front of you and smirks. “Now apologise and beat it, before I kick you out of my house.” You're impressed with how he managed to speak such menacing words with a smile and still sound threatening. 

The boy mutters a hastened apology and escapes, tail between his legs. 

You face Ace with a frown still upon your lips. So much for avoiding him. Your plan failed and you're not a genius. You're actually an idiot. “Why do you insist on being my knight in shining armour? Especially since you're never wearing anything other than shorts!” You reply deadpan as you point at his naked torso. 

He's checking you out. His eyes linger suggestively on your exposed legs - Nami, once again, knew who she was dealing with when dressing you - and a cheeky smirk curves his cheeks upwards and makes his freckles dance just for you. “I know you like seeing my muscles.” He flexes and guffaws as you roll your eyes. 

“Yeah, me and all these young, impressionable college girls. Smooth, Ace.” You muffle a snort by taking another sip of the amazing cocktail and close your eyes in bliss. “Thank you, but I know how to defend myself from creeps. You can go now. I see a lot of lonely girls ogling you. I'm sure you have better things to do.” You mention suggestively. 

It still stings to know Ace is a player. And that you almost fell for his act. Because how can you not fall for the hot, freckled, funny and helpful fireman who compliments you and pays attention to you? Until you realise you're just another one. And you're not special nor ever were. Not to him, not to anyone. You're just… just… 

You. 

Sighing, you finish your drink in one gulp and turn inside to get another. Maybe this time you'll bring a bottle with you. 

“Woah, easy there, tiger. Don't chug your drinks like that. They taste sweet but they pack a mean punch! Sanji doesn't go light on the alcohol unless you specifically tell him to.”

You eye his drink and, honestly, don't even care what's in it. Locking eyes with him and burning him with your gaze, you snatch the red cup from his hand, ignoring his protests and warning words. “Well, boo-freaking-hoo!” With a mock toast gesture, you chug the whole thing in one gulp.

And regret it immediately.

You cough and wheeze, eyes brimming with tears as you try to breathe through your nose to calm the burn in your throat. Ace just stares at you and crosses his arms over his bare chest. The drink was nasty! It was like pure alcohol. 

“What the hell?” You sputter. 

“I told you, you couldn't handle it.”

“Shove off, Ace!” You drawl as you turn back inside in search of a bottle. God, this man infuriates you. He doesn't follow you inside and you don't care for the empty feeling that leaves in your stomach. You'll soon fill up that spot with some booze. 

Securing a bottle, you make your way back outside, expertly avoiding the place where Ace was, and start mingling with some old school friends. Time flies in an instant. Either that, or the vodka you snatched is really good, because suddenly everything seems to be spinning around you. 

You make up an excuse and try to find your way back inside, ready to find Nami and tell her this was a terrible idea and you are going to go home. But, instead, you take another chug of the bottle and wince. The numbness of the alcohol is quite refreshing, maybe a bit more won't hurt. 

But your steps are uneven and you keep bumping into people and apologising. Someone grabs you and pulls you into a dance and you can't quite tell if you know the person or not. It looks like he has spiky green hair and a loop for a nose ring. His teeth seem really sharp but that might be just the alcohol talking. He starts to get handsy because you're losing your balance, but soon, his hands go from your waist to your hips and try to get lower. 

Your brain clicks and you shove the man away but you are even dizzier from the dance and ready to fall or pass out until a strong pair of hands grabs your waist and sets you over his shoulder unceremoniously. 

Before you protest, you realise it's Ace just by the smell of him. That darn smokey wood and fresh pine! A freaking punch in the gut just as you were having fun. “Let go!” You slur into his back as you start to kick your feet in the air. 

“Stop it! Your dress is riding up! This thing is freaking short.” He hisses. 

“I don't care! Let go of me, Ace, I mean it!” You keep kicking and sure enough, your dress is almost exposing your butt, so you feel him pull the fabric down and settle his warm, big hand over the gap of your thighs and your butt so it doesn't ride up again. 

That action stops your squirming immediately. 

You start to take notice of your position: breasts are squished against his back and bare legs feeling all of the heat emanating from his chest. And his smell… God, his intoxicating smell is making your head spin. Or perhaps that’s from all the alcohol. 

Why is he with you? Shouldn't he be sucking face with some bimbo? 

You realise you still have the bottle in your hand, so you take another sip as Ace carries you up the stairs. You've been upstairs at Luffy’s house before. In his room, never in Ace's. Because that's definitely where he's taking you. So in with another sip. 

“Stop drinking!” He hisses again and sets you down at the top of the stairs. You stumble and hit your back against the wall with a low whine. At least you're steady now. 

Grinning, you raise the bottle, your eyes never leaving his harsh stare. “Make me.” You taunt and take another sip. Ace grunts as his hands tousle his dark hair. 

“You're infuriating.” 

“Hmm, hmm.” You chuckle. “As I thought. You're all bark and no bite.” You take a step to the side to descend the steps, aiming to get another bottle, or to find Nami, or leave. Whatever. Anything to get away from Ace's intoxicating presence. 

But the stairs move! Or the floor does. You're not certain. What you do know is that you're about to fall. 

But, obviously, you don't get to fall, because your knight is right there for you, holding your waist and pulling your body against his. Ace’s head nuzzles against the crook of your neck while his arm circles your waist, protectively. You feel pressure on your hips just as he digs his digits firmly against your flesh, his hip fixation driving you crazy once more as your toes curl. 

A gasp leaves your parted lips as he inhales your scent and then you moan softly as he exhales hot breath against your neck, trailing goosebumps with his lips and grunting near your ear. 

He lets go abruptly and wraps a hand around your wrist, tugging and pulling you towards his bedroom. Is this going to happen? Are you going to fall into his trap? 

Because you're drunk? 

Opening the door he throws you onto his bed with a growl and turns. You hear him breathing heavily but you can't do anything as everything is spinning around you and, even if you wanted to, you couldn't quite get up yet. 

After a moment you hear his feet shuffle as he turns back to you. “Sleep.” He approaches and snatches the bottle from your hand. “And enough of this.”

He turns to leave the room but you grab his wrist. Were you going for the bottle? Or was it really his wrist you meant to grab? 

“Stay.” You whisper against your will. 

You can almost hear his internal battle raging outside. You're drunk, and you know he doesn't want to take advantage. But you do. 

Do you? 

His jaw clenches and he sits by the foot of the bed, away from you, his face turned as he's assaulted by a grim look. 

You can't think too much about this or it will never happen. You're drunk. So you should just go with it. You're sure it'll feel good. It will help you process whatever it is you think you feel for him and then, finally, forget him. What did Nami say? 

Ride that cowboy, scratch that itch. 

Damn, riding him does sound good. Who cares about the dumb bimbos he has downstairs waiting for him? Who cares if he'll just find another girl to chase after you?

Sex sounds pretty damn appealing now. 

“So how does this work, exactly?” You start, getting on your knees and approaching his body, one hand caressing his naked shoulders and now he can't help but stare back at you. “You seduce the girl, or barely do anything because you have all that!” You point at his body with a snort. “And then after you've fucked her, you move on? It's like she never existed, nothing happened, just another notch under your belt?”

You ask while he keeps staring at you. You can't read anything in his dark eyes. His freckles seem lifeless, his smirk is gone and he doesn't seem amused at all. 

“Because if that's how it works, maybe we should have a go at it. You just fuck me and we both move on. Because I can't take this anymore, Ace.” Your voice is barely a whisper. You move closer and straddle his lap. Your dress rides up and you buckle your hips against him, feeling his hardness against your achy, needy core as he muffles a grunt against his pressed lips. His hands twitch as if he wants to grab you but they remain planted firmly against the bed. His eyes never leave yours, yet he remains silent. “I can't be this hung up on you anymore, Ace. So just get this over and done with, will you? So we can both move on.”

Tilting your head to the side and digging your nails into his scalp, you lean in for the kiss, ready to take his lips, his tongue, his hands and his dick. And then his rejection, his aloofness and the hurt of seeing him with someone else. 

That is the whole Ace package. 

But maybe that's what it takes to stop obsessing over him. 

Except you don't take anything because he stops you. Two strong hands on your shoulders push you back as his gaze falls down, facing your bodies where they are close. Would be connected, even, if not for the clothing between you. Ace is breathing heavily and you can feel the tension oozing out of him in hot waves. 

“Stop.” He says your name firmly. And you know a ‘no’ when you hear one. Even though this one hurts like hell. 

Nodding, it takes you a few turns to swallow the hard lump that formed in your throat. As you get off his lap and fix your dress, you notice that the world is spinning once again and this time it's almost unbearable. 

“It's not that I don't want you. Trust me.” He groans. “It's just… you're not even going to remember this conversation tomorrow, let alone be of sane mind to consent to sex.” He snorts and shakes his head. “When-... if we do this, I want you to remember all of it.”

You roll your eyes at him and scoff loudly. “I would rather forget.” You mumble and lie back, curling to the side and closing yourself off. As if you would like to remember the time when Ace used you and dumped you - if it happened. Forgetting is much easier than getting all of his attention. 

He sighs and gets up. Then he takes off your shoes and tells you to close your eyes and sleep. You close them, with a heavy heart and a heavier conscience. You do hope you don't remember this tomorrow. The way you threw yourself at him and the way he swiftly rejected you. 

Which one is worse, really? 

Covering your body with a blanket, he puts the trash can near the bed in case you need it later - you’ll probably need it. There’s a heaviness on top of your eyes, the beginnings of a throbbing headache, and a moment passes but Ace doesn't leave. His presence still fills the room, still fills you and makes your heart ache. But you don't open your eyes to acknowledge him - or your pain - and your breath starts to even out. 

You hear him sigh and sense him leaning above you, his head hovering near yours. “You would never be just another notch under my belt…” He murmurs and kisses your forehead gently before leaving you alone in his room.

-*-

You’re woken up either by the bright sun shining directly on your eyelids, or by the throbbing headache in your temples, you’re not quite sure.

Either way, your body says that it’s too early for this, and it’s too freaking hot. When it gets this hot, you usually lean against the wall on the side of your bed to absorb the coolness from the bricks. So you turn to the side and scoot over to mould yourself against the cool wall.

Except there’s no wall. 

And there’s no more bed.

So you fall with a soft yelp, dragging the blanket - which is rolled around your torso, arms and face, for some reason - and fall onto the hard floor.

Wait.

You fall, alright, but not onto the hard floor. It’s firm. And it’s a body. It’s grunting.

Huffing, you try to stand up but the blanket makes the job difficult and the room is still spinning from all the alcohol you ingested yesterday, so you sit, on top of the body, stradling the man below you, and trying - in vain! - to either get up or to get rid of the blanket, all the while muffling apologies for the minor ‘inconvenience’. 

In the middle of your desperate plight to escape your situation, you hear another low grunt and feel two strong hands grab your hips and pin you against his body, making it impossible to move.

“Stop. Squirming. Please.” 

It’s Ace. You stop immediately, your free hand grasping at the surface in front of you - his abs. Feeling your face burn up at the touch you realise the reality of your situation: You’re both on the floor, with you straddling him and fondling his perfect six-pack - maybe stop touching him! - and he’s very hard between your legs. 

“I-I’m sorry. It’s… the blanket…” You start, your face hidden by the thrice-damned blanket. Ace grunts again and you wince at the loss of contact when he removes one of his hands and rips the blanket off you with one swift motion. 

The pull disrupts your balance, and you dig your nails into his stomach - that’s sure to leave a mark - and tighten your legs around him to try and steady yourself. You know he doesn’t mean to, but Ace bucks his hips up with your squirming and you barely bite back a whine at the friction that creates in your core. 

“Fuck.” He mutters with a desperate exhale, lifting his torso up and facing you.

This is dangerous territory. And now you’re free, so you should get up. Why don’t you? 

Ace’s fingers grip your hips tighter. When did his hand return to your hip? You didn’t notice it, it’s like it belongs there. And why are you now grabbing his shoulders? His eyes are all pupil and he doesn’t blink while he drinks you in. You know you must be a mess. Hair all over the place, smudged makeup, dress straps off your shoulders… yet the look he’s giving you makes you feel like you’re the only girl that matters in the world. 

“Don’t do that…” You whisper. You want him to stop looking at you like that, to stop making you feel special and wanted, because you can’t take another heartbreak, and there’s no way that something you start with Ace won’t end in heartbreak. So you need to nip this in the bud even before it blooms. 

“Right.” His voice is hoarse and ragged as his hold tightens around your waist, lifting you with ease and setting you aside, removing himself from the situation. He grabs a discarded shirt from the back of his chair and leaves the room cursing and tousling his hair. 

You only meant for him to stop looking at you like that. You didn’t want him to leave completely. Right? Because now there’s a sudden emptiness inside and around you and you’re not quite sure how to be complete again. 

Sighing, you massage your temples with both hands. The tension between the two of you is becoming unbearable. Should he just fuck you and get it over with so you could each go your own way?

Why does this line of thought feel so familiar?

Lowering your head, you inhale and almost gag at the smell of your dress. At some point yesterday you must’ve spilled an entire drink on yourself, because it smells like the back alley of the town's dingiest tavern. 

You test your stability by slowly lifting yourself with the help of the bed, and it works. Then you look around and, sure enough, there’s a half-crumpled t-shirt lying on the chair, the same place he took the other one from. Grabbing it, you take a tentative sniff. It doesn’t smell bad. If anything, it smells like him.

It smells amazing.

Even though Ace closed the door when he left, you turn your back and quickly discard your dress. You curse when you realise you’re not wearing a bra because the dress didn’t allow for one, but you still pull the shirt over you. It falls to your thighs, almost at the same height as the dress.

“Hmm, hmm.” Ace’s grunt startles you and you turn swiftly to the door. Did he see you change? “Here.” He extends a glass of water and two pills. His eyes are locked on the ceiling and there’s a slight blush on his cheeks. He saw you.

You choose not to acknowledge the fact.

“Thanks.” You take the pills and almost inhale the glass of water because you’re so thirsty. Then you sigh in satisfaction and set the glass on his desk. “I took your shirt, I thought you wouldn’t mind… seeing as you barely wear them.”

That elicited a very small chuckle from him, but the curl of his lips didn’t even reach his freckles. 

“Do you remember anything from last night?” He asks, scratching the back of his neck.

“No. Not much. I think I remember you bringing me here, but then, nothing. I must’ve blacked out immediately, right?” You chuckle and miss the pained grimace on his face.

“Yeah, that was it.”

“Sorry for taking your bed and making you sleep on the floor.” He shrugs. “Sorry for falling on top of you… I thought I was in my room, you see, there’s usually a wall there and-...” You stop your wild gestures and chuckle. 

Why does this feel weird all of a sudden?

“I guess I should get going. Shanks might be worried.” You know your father will never say anything about you spending the night away or drinking, you’re no longer a kid, but he will still worry.

“I texted him last night to tell him you were alright and spending the night.”

You flush as your eyes meet his. “You told him just like that?” He nods and you groan. “Great, he’s going to think we have something.”

“Who would want that, right?” He sounds sarcastic.

“What’s your problem?”

“I don’t have a problem!” He grunts again and you somehow pick up on the fact that he’s angry at you, or frustrated at least. 

“Clearly you do!” Taking a step forward, you try to approach him with your hand extended, but he turns his face away from you with a ‘tsk’ and steps back. For some reason your heart sinks and you feel cold. 

“Got it. I’m the problem. I’ll get out of here, no worries.” Maybe he wanted to spend the night with some girl and you being in his bed got in the way of that? That had to be it. Why else would he be so upset?

Grabbing your shoes from the floor and your crumpled, smelly dress, you make your way to the door, brows knitted together and lips pursed. 

“I’m so sorry for getting in the way of your lay. Maybe you should’ve just dumped me in Luffy’s old room instead of your own. Then you would’ve been able to fuck whomever you wanted.”

You stomp past him and you don’t know why you have tears stinging in the back of your eyes. Might be because of the hangover? It has to be.

“So sorry for the inconvenience.” You shout before running down the hall, down the stairs and to your home.

[feetinthewaves]

Don't breathe, that will disturb the sound - Vivianne Miedema

Summary :

You get annoyed with Vivianne because you can't tell her how you feel, little do you know the blonde feels the same.

Warnings :

Angst(?) with fluff towards the end. This has also not been proofread, I apologise 😔 🤞

Viv and Beth obviously aren't together for the sake of this fic.

Again, I am new to writing like this so feedback is appreciated and actually encouraged !! Thank you, happy reading !!

It was your birthday, and the girls had gone all out planning a party for you, hosting it at your house because it was "easy access for the birthday girl" but in reality you knew they just didn't want to have to deal with it at any of their houses. The party started at 8pm, given it was currently 6.30pm, you and Vivianne, your roommate, began getting yourselves and the house ready. The kitchen table was full of drinks and food for people to eat, a karaoke machine on display in the corner for Beth and Steph, just dance on the tv for Kyra and Leah, and most of the furniture pushed to the side to make room so no matter the state of sobriety, Jonas wasn't going to have to worry about injury.

You watched as Vivianne emerged from her room, sporting a white turtleneck, with black jeans. You couldn't help but stare at your best mate.

You and Viv had been friends ever since she joined arsenal in 2017, and over those 7 years your feelings for yoru best friend slowly began to evolve. And there. was nothing you could do to stop it.

"You're staring schatje," Her voice finally bringing you back around.

"Sorry," You apologised, barely above a whisper, so quiet the blonde hardly caught it at all. Either way the way you had been staring at her had left deep burgundy blush adoring her cheeks, but you were too caught up in your own embarrassment to notice.

You already gotten changed, opting for just a black skirt, tights, and a white button down. Everyone that night would notice the way Viv's eyes stayed glued to you, everyone but you.

The party was in full swing, music blaring over the speakers in your house, you'd had your fair share of dancing with the girls and decided to go and pour yourself another drink in the kitchen.

Thats when you saw her.

Viv.

Talking to some girl you recognised from the Man United squad, 'One of Lessi's friends' you thought to yourself, choosing to ignore them. Before you noticed the way Vivianne was laughing with her.

You broke.

Her laugh was like music to your ears, brightening the room, along with your mood when ever you heard it.

You wanted to be the one to make her laugh like that, the only one to make her laugh like that.

Viv noticed you, as you finally turned away and began making yourself another drink. Back turned to her, what she failed to notice where the tears slipping down your cheeks. You weren't even entirely sure why, but you were sure that you had to avoid Viv for the rest of the night, scared if you even looked into her eyes for 2 seconds you'd tell her everything about how you feel. As you hear her call out your name, you straighten your shoulders, turn around towards her, and walk straight past her.

The blonde grows upset.

Concerned.

Angry.

Of course she does.

She knows that you had heard her shout your name, and she can't quite understand why you had ignored her. Thats when she becomes conscious of the brunette next to hers hand on her thigh, pushing it off, wishing it was you. She begins her journey to find you through the crowd of people.

There you were, sat outside by yourself on the balcony, 'were you crying?' she thought. She was right, now noticing the tear tracks staining your face, removing the concealer from underneath your eyes. Her heart broke.

She'd done this.

And she didn't even understand how.

"Y/n?" she tried quietly, not wanting to startle you, "Y/n, what's wrong?"

You didn't answer her, you wanted to, you really did, but you knew you couldn't. You could waste 7 years of friendship over a silly little crush. But it wasn't a crush. No. You loved her. You really did. Could you tell her that? 'No.' you thought to yourself. She can't know.

"Y/n?" she quietly asked again, "please talk to me,"

Still no answer.

"Schatje?" she tried,

Finally, you looked up at her, straight into her blue eyes, instantly apologising.

"Sorry, god I am so sorry-" you manage to croak out before bursting into tears, the blonde instantly at your side holding you.

"Schatje, what's going on, please tell me, I can't fix this unless you tell me what I've done" she asked, a sense of pleading evident in her voice.

You began to cry harder, and she began to apologise, making you cry harder, she wasn't in the wrong, it was you.

"I'm sorry y/n. I promise, I didn't mean to ruin your evening, especially not on your birthday." panic filling her voice,

"You didn't ruin anything, you made this so much better, just by being here, I'm the one who should be sorry." you manage to sniffle out between tears, hiccuping as you do so, making the two of you find laughter even in a moment like this.

"Schatje, I'm not sure I quite understand, what's going on?" she pressed, annoyance prevalent in her voice this time, showing she wanted an answer and not for you to just start blaming yourself again.

"God Viv, don't you get it?" You began to shout, distancing yourself from the dutch girl by standing up. The atmosphere shifting suddenly, "I hated watching her, that girl, all over you, making you laugh." You're crying again now, you must look pathetic you think to yourself, "I want to be the one to make you laugh Viv. Me. I want that, to be, me. Is that too much to ask?" Your shouting by this point, certain everyone inside can hear you but you're past caring at this point, just wanting Viv to finally understand how you feel.

"Y/n/n?" she asks smirking, "What are you saying?" She knows full well what you mean, but she can't seem to believe that the girl she loves, would ever, feel the same way about her.

"I love you Viv I have done for years. And seeing you flirt with other girls and never notice me hurts okay. God Viv I get that you might not feel the same but wipe that smirk off your face because I thought you'd atleast have enough decency to not make fun of me-" She cuts you off. Kissing you. Your shocked at first, but you soon begin to kiss her back. Its slow and sweet, everything you'd ever imagined.

"Sorry, you wouldn't shut up and I couldn't have you thinking I was laughing at you." she explains after seeing the shock on your face. Shock is an understatement. You are completely dumbfounded at what just happened, Viv notices quite quickly, pulling you into her side with a giggle.

"Y/n/n. Schatje. Ik houd van je." she says quietly, her head dipping into your neck, whispering against your hair.

At that moment then, you are content, in the arms of the girl you love, the girl who loves you back. Your best friend and person.

[mocca-and-stars]

Roomies

Hwang Yeji x Male Reader

Yeji it's a weird kind of roomie... She isn't a bad company, but most of the time it's like she isn't there, you don't hear her walk, or eat, or anything, she usually gets in his room and you don't hear anything about her, you don't have a idea of what she can be doing, and also, she is a good girl... But for the little things you knows, it's your dream girl, you are usually the one who cook's, and you have no problem with it, you always make sure to make food for her, and you knew that she alway eat, because in the morning nothing lefts.

Your life usually is University-Home, you don't go so much to parties and celebrations, but you usually go out to rest in parks, you have a favorite one.

One day you planned an outing to the park, and you go to Yeji's room to advice her that you going out.

You opened his door, and you get surprised, she was crying, so bad, you didn't know what to do, she looked at you, lost, but she didn't seem disgusted or upset, so you tried sitting on her bed.

—Hey— you tried softly —what's happening princess—, "that sounded stupid" you thinked for yourself, she didn't response at all, but she changed his look, like she felt... Aroused? But know she smiles a little, you did something good.

She take his time, but she responded —I'm tired, I'm in this shitty situation, training and giving everything of me, but still not being enough for the people around me— you thinked your response, but after a deep breath, you finally close your eyes and tell her —i see, you have fear of deception, and reject, but instead of that, maybe you should get round by people who really appreciate who you are— her eyes are glowing, you can see it clearly.

You helped her to get up —Let's go, i will take you to a special place— she nodded, of course, you don't know what are you doing, your friends will kill you, but who cares? You are about to taking in a date a sexy girl who was your roomie for like three years and you barely talked to each other.

You get to a "secret" cafeteria, usually there are only 2 o 3 guys, and you bring her there, because there is where you go when the world is consuming you.

You two asked for a coffee and talked for HOURS all the time you didn't talked in the shared place you talked there, now you are sure that she is your dream girl.

How could you complain if she looks like that? You two go back to the shared place, everything felt better, like always has to be like that, you two were taking hands, you feel incredible, for the first time in years you were with a women, and THE women, before you two entered to the house she stopped you.

—Thank you— she said —but now we aren't roomies anymore— you didn't understand what she mean, but she responded your doubt with the best thing you could ever imagine, she is kissing you, right now, in this moment, your roomie is kissing you and it felt so right, you loved her, that's for sure.

For a moment you think maybe it's too soon to think about sleep with her, but in the next moment she was on top of you, on his bed.

She took out his white sweater, that was crazy enough to block any thought in your mind, you taked out your t-shirt, response, she was professionally mounting you, his hips were devouring devouring your hardened she, you desired her, but not only in the sexual way, you wanted to make her yours, and also to belong to her, so you grabbed his hips, to catch his lips in a passionate kiss, finally decided to remove his pants.

When both of you are only in underwear, the things were heating up even more, you reach her breasts without the need of asking, in the moment that she doesn't hesitate, you knew that she was trusting in you, you played with her breasts until she almost beg you to stop —Please...— was the only plea you need to hear to remove her bra, and look to her hardened nipples, she blushed a little, but your were too sure to stop, your mouth taked the pace, she taste so good, and her cute moans wasn't helping at all.

While you were eating her nipples, she was touching herself, you felt a little bit angry, and taked her wrist to pin her against the bed, she was in love with your form of dominance, of course if you will restrain her self pleasure, you will have to take care of that, you slide through his panties, you just looked at her, waiting for confirmation, after a nod, you got that pretty girl naked for you, that dream girl was begging for you, for your touch, for your love.

You slide between her legs, you eated her so well, his pussy was so perfect, it tasted so good that only motivated even more to make a better job, see her moaning and happy was the only thing you needed.

When she felt confident enough she regained control to take out your underwear, and suddenly start to suck your cock, maybe you wasn't THAT big, but she look happy, and that's was everything, enough for both of you.

Then you take her to get in missionary, everything it's ready, it's the perfect moment.

Slowly you get inside of her, she hugged you from the neck, moan and squirms made you go slowly, until you filled her, completely, she was so relieved and relaxed, pounding her slowly she started to moan, as you move, you start to play with her clit, after some messy minutes, both of you finally came, ending your rommie relationship ship to get a lover, a couple and everything that you needed.

[maraudersfan-club]

Remus lupin would be the softest sweetest most awesome boyfriend of all times

He is the kind of boyfriend to wake you up in he morning with kisses and with whispering sweet little nothing's in your ears , making sure you wake up with a smile on your face

He would walk with you to the great hole , and while you are walking he would either talk to you about the last book he read , or one of the things that happened in the few classes that you two didn't share and visa versa.

Sometimes you would walk in silence just devouring each other's presence , both left in your own thoughts

When you'd reach your table , you'd sometimes sit besides each other and other times against.

Usually the boys would reach the table 5-10 minutes after you did , because they are always grasping a few more minutes in bed

He would make two of his infamous moony toast , sharing the one with you , while you made his coffee

You two do not depend on each other , but it's obvious to everyone that you are in sink , both working together towards the same goal

Then you would fill your plate with other goodies to eat. Sometimes when it's close to the full moon he would neglect to eat much so you'd take some food with you in a paper towel , knowing that he gets hungry

Other times you'd claim not to be hungry , so he would do he same for you

You would walk together to class talking to the boys about maybe a new prank to do , or about James progress with a mystery boy- Sirius is always curious about who it is but James is not telling him, or anyone for the fact - or Sirius would tell you about what he did to the last party he attended

You didn't sit together, rather Remus sat in front from you in classes. Mainly because you didn't want Sirius and James to sit together and also because he often claimed that he could not sit next to you because "your beauty distracts him making unable to take proper notes in class"

At lunch the boys would sit together and you with the girls (marlene lily and Mary) would usually sit together and talk about anything. A lot of times the two groups would merge and then chaos ensued in there

You would continue your classes and at the afternoon you'd hang out with him or Lily in he library since your studying styles where similar . You'd rest a little in the common room , with all your boys , but more often than not you'd end up wondering around

Usually you'd go for 30 minute walks around the castle or the school grounds

Most nights in which you went at the astrology tower you met Regulus and you'd sir there and talk.

There's times in which you went to the forbidden forest you'd usually meet Xenophilous Lovegood , and you'd talk about whatever obscure creature was circling him mind at the time.

Some times you'd meet some friendly Slytherin in the halls and you'd take some walks around the halls together in silence or not

Other you'd meet Slytherins that did not like you , but fortunately , no one really tried to hurt you (except for snivellous and his friend group) make it be because Remus lupin was scary and noone wanted to mess with his girlfriend, because you are friendly to everyone not depending on the house , or maybe even because you were one true marauder , quick at spells and hexes

Once you'd get back from your walk you'd talk a tad bit with the girls and then you'd ho with Remus at his dorm. You'd sleep together more often than not. You'd usually fall asleep listening to him read a book. Actually it wasn't the story that got you to get to sleep , but his voice. Soft and earthy. His voice felt like home to you. When you heard him whispering at you , you always felt a little bit safer

Thia took a weird turn ig?? Idk what I am doing I am just writing what feels good to me

[ghcstpyre]

Ted’s first joint headcanons, please 🥹

Also, imagine shotgunning a hit with Ted 👄💨👄🫠🫠🫠

it's time for the resident stoner to write some stoner!ted headcanons. i feel like this is becoming my staple lmao i love it

cw: drug use (weed), underage drug use and underage drinking (only at the beginning), shotgunning

also i feel like i need to say this but obviously i don't condone doing drugs or drinking alcohol while under 18. this is fictional and all my own personal headcanons :)

ted (and by extension, bill) were 16 the first time they tried weed. they'd somehow managed to get invited to one of their classmates' house parties and at some point in the night had found themselves sat outside in the back garden with a group of people who seemed the complete opposite of drunk and smelled really funky. they'd accidentally slipped into rotation while a blunt was going round, not realising at first that the group was sat in a circle for a reason.

bill was more than happy to give it a go when it was offered, but being the more cautious of the pair, ted was a little nervous. if his dad somehow found out, or smelled it on his clothes later, he was toast. after some encouragement from bill and a few of the others in the circle, he caved.

much to his disappointment, ted didn't actually get high the first time he smoked. he felt more relaxed, but that was about it. he spent the rest of the night slowly sipping on his beer and laughing at/taking care of a very stoned bill. it wasn't exactly an unpleasant experience for him - he didn't cough his lungs up like bill had, it didn't taste terrible like he'd expected it to, and one of the cute girls in rotation had called him a natural which acted like a soothing balm over the simmering pot of nerves still lingering in his stomach.

it wasn't until a few years later that bill and ted became fully fledged pot heads. they'd smoked a little here and there when it was offered, but only managed to get their hands on a dealer's number sometime after graduating high school and moving into their apartment.

ted was designated roller the day they christened their apartment. they'd both attempted rolling before, and while they weren't the best, ted's rolls were infinitely better than bill's; wonky, a little loose and slightly pregnant, but smokeable. needless to say, the two of them got blazed that day and ted actually managed to get high. bill blamed it on his height ("you're just too tall dude!"). they ordered a copious amount of junk food and ended up passed out together on their shitty sofa with a nature documentary on tv.

it wasn't until you came into the picture that both boys actually got good at rolling. ted in particular. not because he wanted to impress you or anything, no way. a cool, sweet, totally bodacious babe who liked all kinds of music, smoked weed and wanted to hang out with him? it was almost too good to be true.

one night with you in particular made ted's head spin.

bill was at work, leaving you and ted alone in the apartment. obviously, ted had already rolled another for the two of you for when bill left - he'd been waiting for a chance to smoke with you alone. it was the perfect chance to make a move.

he'd planned on ordering food, sticking on a movie (maybe a rom-com, girls like that right?), scooting closer to you on the sofa while you smoked and maybe try the whole fake-yawn and stretching an arm behind you maneuver. ted only got as far as scooching closer when you plucked the blunt from his fingers and took a long drag before cupping his cheek, turning his head to look at you so you could part his lips and blow the smoke into his open mouth.

in that moment, ted was pretty sure he fell in love with you.

[legacyshenanigans]

Marvolo Gaunt 💚🐍

Just a little NSFW piece 🫦❤️

She sat by the window in the Bordello, awaiting whatever patron showed interest in her next. Many folk came in and out for a good time. Some just came to drink and relax, and some came to indulge in the pleasures the bordello had to offer. The Madame of the House was good to her girls. They had a roof over their head, food in their bellies, and fair coin.  She was fairly new to the join in this house of pleasure, as bordellos go, it was a more high-end classy place. It beat being on the streets, and she was a beautiful girl, and she wasn't shy or ashamed to admit she was good at her job.

She heard some commotion over by the doors, a small party of people entered, the main man catching her eye was a dark-haired gentleman, he seemed to be the ring leader of the group he was with, they were saying hello to folk and chatting amongst themselves as they walked through to the bar, ordering some drinks. From across the room, she kept watching him, her eyes drawn to him. He greeted the Madame, raising his glass to her with a small smile. She smiled back to him. It was clear they knew each other. His eyes then glanced over at her sat by her window, she didn't look away, she gave him a flirtatious smirk, he returned it with own, narrowing his eyes, and also raising his glass to her before looking away and talking to his friends once more. She half expected him to instantly approach her, but he didn't, which surprised her. But every so often, he'd look over at her, the pair exchanging little glances and looks for a while.

Some time later, a patron approached her, ogling her, interested in her services, when out of nowhere, the dark-haired man appeared at the table. He gave the patron a quick glare, making him back out and walk away, she looked up at the tall man, he gave her another smirk, placing down a rather generous amount of cash on the table and sliding it towards her. She looked down at the money before looking back up to meet his gaze.

Her: Are you interested?

Marvolo: Perhaps..But for now, I'm simply paying you to not let another man touch you for the rest of the night. You just sit there and look pretty.

With another smirk, he walked away again. She was confused but accepted, taking the money and quickly walking over to her Madame, giving her a cut of the money and pocketing the rest. She explained the situation, and the Madame laughed.

Madame: You've caught Marvolo Gaunts eye?

Her: Oh, is that his name? He didn't say.

Madame: *small chuckle*

With that, the Madame went about her business, and she returned to her table by the window, just sitting there, with one leg crossed over the other, she didn't really know what to do with herself, but she knew he was watching her. The night went on, and he eventually approached, sitting on a chair next to her. He gave her a charming smile.

Marvolo: Marvolo Gaunt.

He announced his name to her, his voice smooth like honey. She introduced herself back, a slight smirk playing on her lips.

Marvolo: You're new here.

Her: I am *small smile*

His eyes took in every inch of her, she felt a blush creep onto her cheeks, a feeling she wasn't really used to with her standard patrons, she usually just did her job, took her coin and moved on, but she surprised at herself for feeling the way she did towards Marvolo.

Marvolo: So..What is it you want tonight?

A chuckle left her at his words.

Her: Whatever YOU want, Sir.

He responded with his own chuckle before putting his arm on the back of her chair and leaning forward slightly.

Marvolo: The obvious words of any good little whore...But what do YOU want?

She thought for a moment.. And it hit her that she had no idea how to respond. Nobody had ever asked her that before, and it honestly stumped her. He could tell too, as a sinful grin curled onto his face.

Her: I..I don't know.

Marvolo: I assume you don't actually want to fuck most of the men that approach you here?

Her: ...Not particularly, no...

He leaned even closer, his voice almost a whisper.

Marvolo: *smirks* They don't do it for you, do they? Do they even make you cum, when they rag you around in the sheets?

Her blush enhanced, her cheeks felt warm.

Her: ...No.

Marvolo: *small chuckle* Shame..

He stood from the table, reaching out his hand to her. She took it as he pulled her up towards him. He didn't speak a word as the two of them made their way through the Bordello and upstairs to one of the private rooms. Once inside, his hands were instantly on her hips. He leaned down, kissing her gently but passionately, his tongue mingling with hers slowly, she melted into the kiss. As the pair kissed, he delicately removed her clothing, letting her dress drop to the floor, taking off her bra, letting that fall too. His hands came down to lift her up, causing a giggly gasp to escape her. He carried her over to the bed, laying her down, before his hands hooked in her underwear and slipped them off too, a devilish smile on his lips as he took her in, laying there for him, ready and waiting.

He removed his shirt, giving her a chance to indulge her eyes in his body. His skin was like porcelain. His eyes never left hers as he unbuckled his belt, taking off his trousers and underwear, finally bare before her. She bit her bottom lip, looking at his length as he stroked his slowly, looking down at her from the side of the bed.

Not a word had been spoken between them yet as he loomed over her, getting himself on top of her body, holding himself up with his hands on the sheets either side of her, a small groan left him, using his leg to push hers to the side, spreading her open for him as his body slotted between her legs.

His head came down, kissing at the side of her neck and collarbone as he slowly grinded himself against her, she felt his cock teasing at her slit. His lips caught hers once more, the two having a searing makeout on the bed, a small moan escaping her lips as she wrapped her legs and hands around him, clinging to him. He pulled back, looking at her, another sinful smirk as he pushed forward, sliding himself into her, she gasped feeling him fill her up, adjusting to him. A deep chuckle left him as he began to roll his hips, helping her to adjust. She arched up, her head in the pillows, a series of her sweet moans filling the room. He worked her perfectly, like he knew her body by memory, though tonight was their first time meeting. He fucked her like he knew what she liked, but how?

He picked up his pace, his hips moving faster against her, his own low moans and grunts now entering the mix. He spoke breathlessly in her ear.

Marvolo: Do they fuck you like this? Do they make you feel like you do right now?

She couldn't respond. Her words were trapped in her throat, and the only thing she could muster was another shaky moan. Not that she needed to respond with words. He already knew the answer. His hands came down underneath her, gripping at her behind as he moved himself harder, hitting deeply inside of her with each stroke of his hips. She found herself clinging to him so desperately, feeling herself coming undone, climbing to the peak of her release. Her breathing became erratic, her moans all over the place, feeling her heat rising and that deep tingle in the pit of her stomach.

Marvolo: Cum for me.

He whispered. It's like his words were a command that her body reacted to almost instantly. With a loud cry, she threw herself back against the sheets even more, writhing under him, her legs shaking, her body convulsing, her pussy contracting and clamping down around his cock as her climax hit her like a tonne of bricks, feeling the warmth spread, and her release leaking out of her onto the sheets. Seeing her like this sent him over the edge, he held himself up again, giving a harsh grunt and a deep push, releasing himself inside of her, giving her every drop he had to give.

She panted, coming down from her high, looking up at him through lidded eyes. He leaned down and kissed her lips once more. A strange emotional feeling came over her. He'd made his mark on her, binding her like a snake would it's prey.

Marvolo: From now on *sly smile* You'll be mine.

She nodded instantaneously, pulling him back down to kiss her again, wanting nothing more than to stay in this room with him, feeling his body on hers.

He was right.

From that moment on.

She was his.

~

[stretchyyonko]

❗LAWLU❗

- Just my imagination of lawlu since I found them cute 😭💗

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

- jealous luffy(?)

- idk I just randomly thought of this 😭

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

After defeating kaido a grand party was held by the people of wano for those who gathered up to help defeat the rests of the beasts pirates and of course big mom.

There trafalgar law just enjoying the party by sitting and watching in the corner when suddenly women and men began surrounding him asking him random questions like, "How did you defeated big mom?" "Can you introduce us your crew?" Or either offering drinks on his mug as he doesn't mind the ladies sitting beside him and just casually answering their questions one by one.

Meanwhile luffy who was just also having fun in the said party holding the usual food in his hand and shouting "SO GOODD!" and kept munching more, not until nico robin tapped his shoulder amd sat beside him.

"Erwh? Rwobiwn? Whawt'ws twhe mwahtter? ( Erh? Robin? What's the matter? ) He asked while he kept munching food on his mouth.

"Are you okay with your ally being surrounded like that?" She said emphasizing the word ally as she pointed using her index finger to where law was being surrounded with people very close to him specially the random woman who tried flirting with him like she was his but it wasn't.

Luffy gulped the food first as he stopped eating as he processed first what was that he saw and went silent for a while and he lowered the meat he was holding and began havig questions on his head.

"Who's that girl?"

"Hmm? You mean the woman beside law? I remember her she was in the court house where I performed as a geisha before and she's an attention seeker...beware of her antics she might get him too luffy"

"...."

Luffy went staring back again where law was at and saw that he was happily talking with the woman nico robin just describe with and his heart felt weird after seeing him happy by just talking with her.

Due to this luffy stood up from his seat still holding a meat on his hand as he left on the pavillion to go back to the docks as he kept thinkig what that woman have that he does not to the point where law was happily talking to her.

He was always like that too to him.

He was always smiling sweetly to him everytime they meet.

He always gives him the warmest and tightest hugs.

He always tease him by chasing him with bread.

Then what was he lacking then?

He didn't realize tears are already falling from his eyes when he felt his chest hurt and even stopped eating his favorite food.

He then thought what if he also do what that woman was doing with law in front of law himself....he just need someone he can associate with it..

"HUUUH? YOU WANT ME TO GO ALONG WITH THIS STUPID SHI* OF YOURS MUGIWARA?"

There Eustass kid shouted ay him as he enjoys having party in peace with his crew and other people

"Tch...Just a request you loser it wasn't that hard to pretend like that" luffy clicked his tounge at him since he won't go along with his plan.

"HAH?! WHO YOU CALLING LOSER YOU ASSHOLE?"

"ITS YOU ASSHOLE CAN'T EVEN HIT KAIDO WITH THAT METAL ARM OF YOURS"

"EXCUSE ME?!"

"YEAH THAT'S RIGHT, I BET YOU CAN'T DEFEAT ME IN A BATTLE SHISHISHI"

"YOU ASSHOLE COME LET'S HAVE A BATTLE RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW THEN"

Their argument seemed to caught half of the attention and they began laughing at their childish antics as the two was about to get ready to fight each other.

So they fought like little children hitting each other not until ussop who was just enjoying the scene decided to throw a banana for them to slip on the floor and eustass fell on top of luffy.

Let's just say eustass kid went questioning his sexuality there for a moment.

"MUGIWARA-YA"

The two were stopped when they both heared Law interferring their fight and was about to yell back at him when law sent a death glare at eustass kid

"Hit him and i'll be having your heart in a second" he threaten him with his usual pose where his thumb, his index finger and middle finger in place.

"Ahahaha okay now stop stop this should be a happy feast not the three of you getting worked up in a fight" nami interferred as killer took eustass back to their seat as law faced luffy looking down at him like he was about to commit murder.

"Ahahaha t-torao?" Luffy asked and in one scoop he was on law's shoulders.

"T-TORAO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? PUT ME DOWN! OI! ANYONE HELP"

"We pray for luffy to walk properly tomorrow"

"OI TORAO! DON'T BE TOO HARSH TO OUR CAPTAIN OR ELSE I'LL CUT YOU!"

Even the strawhats are supporting the said newly found relationship.

"YOU GUYS ARE WORSEEEE!!!!" luffy shouted as the strawhats just chuckled and continued partying as law bring luffy to the thousand sunny and sat luffy on his lap.

"You have 60 seconds to explain why are you suddenly under that eustass loser" law said as he went gripping luffy's hips.

"W-Wait torao i was just having a rematch fight with him and we both slipped in two banana peels i don't know who throwed that there!"

"Mmm okay you're forgiven..."

Law began leaving light kisses on luffy's neck as luffy let out whimpers in his lips but was stopped when luffy pushed him away gently.

"Why are you here making me explain where you're the one who needs explaining?"

"What will I explain to you?"

"Well you're clearly flirting with a woman back there and you are clearly enjoying it."

"What woman? That was a man just like that fella who name kiku"

There luffy went silent as he was being jealous in a childish way plus does robin told her earlier was a lie too?

Law smirked and went back on giving light kisses on his neck when luffy pulled him away again and he became irritated that he grabbed his head and tilted it sidewards and gave him a bite.

"It seemed that my plan along with robin to make you jealous is effective then" law smirked as he scoffed and gave luffy kisses in his face.

The next morning luffy was fussing out on robin for lying to him just to make him jealous now knowing that the woman beside law was really a man.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

SORRY FOR THE BAD GRAMMAR AND CONFUSING PLOT 😭

[connectionterminated13]

Now mutual….

Henry headcanons…

Oh my goodness yes I'm so sorry this was left in my ask box for so long!!! This is going to be long and filled with spelling errors

- Henry was born on a small farm with his twin sister Jen

- He first got his love for inventing when going to a county fair and seeing all the fun and interesting rides :)

- For most of his schooling Henry kept to himself having like no friends at all Except Jen and getting bullied a lot...

- Henry and Jen got a scholarship scholarship to a University in Utah for engineering

- Upon getting to university Henry made his first friend! Edwin Murray!! Who was a nerdy little loser just like him!!

- Henry began to start working on a prototype Fredbear in his free time, He wouldn't let anyone help him especially Jen. Since as he said this was his Baby

- Well trying to find a suitable hat and bow tie for the Fred bear prototype Jen and Henry went to a small pawn shop. Where they met William Afton who proceeded to hit on Jen

- Jen found him annoying and creepy but Henry found him cute And in Henry fashion monologued about robots and his dream of opening up a diner for like 3 minutes. And William got interested and proposed himself to become Henry's business adviser.

- The 2 became friends with Henry Being dragged to parties with William And spending more of his free time working on Fredbear and the ideas for Fred bear's family diner with William

- In like 1970 William dragged Henry to a House party where he Proceeded to leave Henry alone As he had intercourse with a woman. That's where Henry met his wife the woman's best friend Emily :) After a wonderful night of chatting and being cute the 2 decided to try going on a date

- Good news the dates went very well! Even better news Emily's family that she estranged herself from has a diner that they can use for FredBears (Maybe Henry had to do a bit of convincing Emily too talk to her Not nice family And stop her from following her dreams but like it all will work out in the end!)

- Henry and Emily's relationship was very very rushed. They started officially dating after the second date and got married after like 3 months of knowing each other... (Henry didn't rest things along at all they're in true love and it's going to help him achieve his dreams so it's wonderful and fine!)

- Their wedding was very small and short, But it was the happiest day of Henry's life :)

- Up until a couple months later when his sweet twins were born. At the time they were only expecting one child so Charlie was a bit of a surprise but Henry was more than ready to be a dad!

- And even more wonderful Emily got the diner from her parents and now they have a place to start FredBears!

- By the time Charlie and Sammy are 2 Fredbears is up and running with food and very limited animatronics (no Spring lock suits yet) It's a huge spectacle and it makes like a lot of money

- Soon as the business continues to do well Henry and Williams start working on Spring lock suits! Sadly the first test ended with William in the hospital but on the bright side in the hospital William met his future wife so it all works out as it always does!

- Life just keeps on getting better for Henry the business is doing incredibly well (they're even thinking of branching out to other locations), The twins continue to be wonderful little balls of energy and William has a daughter now With his new lovely wife. Also Springlock Suits are working really well

- All the way up until 1980 Things are going incredibly well for Henry and then Charlie is found dead.

- Henry is devastated. His sweet little girl was murdered and he doesn't know what to do. He cries like a lot and is basically inconsolable. He starts drinking too much too since that's the only thing along with building robots that makes the pain go away.

- The puppet starts malfunctioning it was probably all the rain Henry doesn't think about it and just continues to spiral into depression and making more robots. And of course William, william makes him happy, William makes him want to live and not die..

- He continues like that until 1983 when Evan is murdered by Michael. This hurts him even more. His machine his first child a killer? Why does everything he make break and turn rotten what did he do wrong?? Around this time due to his alcoholism and not being a good dad subsidies too busy being sad Emily and Sammy leave him.

- Henry continues to wallow in sadness it getting only worse once his wife leaves. Even gets the idea to make himself a robot daughter which he begins working on in 1984. Henry also spends all of the time he can drinking with William he needs William. He also cuts off all contact with Jen

- Missing children's incident happens and Henry is a wreck. Everyone blames him for the murder thanks to his antisocial behavior and general weirdness. He's arrested for a bit but led off due to lack of evidence. People don't listen though they spray paint his house and yell at him. So he just stays to himself more...

- Henry's basically just a full recluse by 1986 He barely even knows about circus babies, At this point he just signs where William tells him to sign and builds whatever machines William says they need. Work on the Charlie block continues she's even coming along :) The Charlie bought makes him happy. It's his sweet little girl back to him again sure she can't really talk or do anything yet but he's working on it!

- 1987 is when the older siblings of some of the MCI break into his house and break things and find Charlie bot and hit her over the head with a bat in fear. They kill his sweet little girl. They beat him over the head with a baseball bat and break his arm by accident. Henry doesn't press charges though William suggests making them work at fazbears as payment and Henry agrees. He's too busy wallowing in grief after the loss of Charlie bot to do much else...

- After the bite of 87 and MCI part 2 Henry doesn't know what to do. The lawsuits keep piling up and everything feels horrible and the company keeps getting bigger. William does most of the business stuff and everything else now. Henry just makes things.

Everything changes when one night drinking with William, william reveals that he's the 1 who did it. William killed all the kids, William melted down the kids and stirred them up into a liquid medal and put it in Henry's drink so Henry could live forever.

- Henry forces William out of his house screaming at him and locks the door. Whatever William did it worked. Henry's wrong now and he knows it. William keeps on trying to talk to him but Henry doesn't listen what he does is called Jen and beg her for help with whatever happening.

- Henry after talking with Jen signs away the company and moves in with her. They soon figure out that he's basically immortal and can't die/get hurt and also gives off really really bad vibes.... This makes Henry even more sad, But Jen is able to help him a bit

- Over the next couple of years Henry just kind of chills with Jen, Most of the time he's depressed and despondent but they're still kind of making progress. Emily tries to reach out to him in this period but Henry refuses to talk to his wife fearing that she'll think him some kind of demon after what William did (He's just a guy with glowing eyes and immortality he has weird hang-ups about it Be nice to him) He does try to talk to Sammy but Sammy wants nothing to do with him

-Sammy takes over the company and gets married but Henry doesn't attend either of these things. But Jen is able to get him out sometimes on walks and like On other excursions. He even kind of starts to make friends At the local library that Jen forces him to go to. Of course throughout all of this he misses William. Sometimes it feels like Henry needs William to live.

- By the time of fnaf3 Henry is still a mess but doing better, Jens even got him out too AA Meetings and talking to Emily a bit. And then Spring trap happens and Williams back and Henry doesn't know what to do. Because Henry needs William. Williams like in addiction to Henry. (The relationship is very unhealthy)

I think I'll stop here and cover the fnaf 6 If you want sorry this is so scattered brain I'm real tired :p

[jeongyunhoed]

As seen on my FF.net Also seen on my Ao3

Following the events of fifth year, a new adventure awaits for Norah Lee. Boys, exams, school events, common room parties, and old foes outside of Hogwarts. Even battling pensieve guardians was easier than this.

Main Pair: OC / Ominis Gaunt Genre: Adventure/Angst/Fluff (it's a little of everything, tbh)

KEEP IN MIND: Characters are aged up (even if the story's got them in sixth year) to make it more appropriate. Time period is leaning towards the modern day so in case you might find anachronisms in the dialogue or references, this is why. This may also be quite a lengthy fic too.

BE WARNED: Social anxiety, mentions of blood and injury, grief, drinking, kissing but nothing more than that, death (this is Hogwarts Legacy, after all)

P.P.S: Norah and Ominis being idiots Part 3. This is also quite a short chapter.

Masterlist

Chapter 21

Norah and Natty were in Diagon Alley the next day, both of them keen on restocking their supplies of combat plants and some potions. The two of them were alert and well enough to go out for the day as many, if not most, of their fellow students were now nursing hangovers from the night before. Henry had taken it upon himself to check on Amit, with Norah offering to let him rest in the Room of Requirement. She had even told Deek to send food in case they got hungry while he was there to which the house elf happily agreed.

"It's nice to hang out again, without the boys around," Natty said, as they crossed the bridge to the Magic Neep. "Amit should keep Henry busy for a while. It was nice of you to let him study in your Room of Requirement."

Norah shrugged at the thought. "He's been overwhelmed lately, and afraid of telling both Nellie and Samantha that he's not prioritizing a relationship right now."

Natty nodded, finally understanding Amit's sudden urge to get drunk the night before. "Henry did mention something to me about how Amit was feeling with all the romantic attention."

The Slytherin girl was amused. "Look at you and Henry, already acting like a married couple and we haven't even left Hogwarts yet," She teased, making Natty blush. "At least two people among us are happy."

Natty shook her head profusely. "I told myself that I would never be that kind of person who would always be so preoccupied with their relationship that they forget their friends. Romantic relationships may come and go, but friendships are the most valuable."

"Right," Norah teased some more, making Natty nudge her. "But you are right," She added as they entered the Hogsmeade Graveyard to visit the mausoleum where Professor Fig and his wife were buried. Lodgok's grave was also next to the mausoleum.

"What about you and Ominis? Have you told him how you felt?" It was Natty's turn to tease.

Norah shook her head. "I don't think it's worth it," She said, suddenly remembering their conversation during the party before they were interrupted. "But..I found out that it wasn't Anne that he was interested in."

Natty's eyes widened. "You did? He told you?"

"Mhmm," Norah hummed. "He said it wasn't Anne, but he didn't say who it was. So I know but at the same time I don't."

As she laid down some flowers she picked nearby, she spotted a flicker of light coming from another mausoleum. Norah turned her attention back to the graves before them, only to hear a faint ruckus coming from the same mausoleum. She nudged Natty, who seemed to be noticing the same thing. The two girls exchanged looks and quietly stepped out of the mausoleum, hands in their pockets poised to take out their wands as they approached the entrance.

"The Tomb of the Villager," Norah said, hearing that faint ruckus coming from inside. "I cleared this out of Ashwinders last year, who might be coming back here now?"

Natty shrugged. "With Harlow on the loose again and restarting his cause, I wouldn't put it past him to revisit old haunts, like this supposed tomb."

"Could Harlow be hiding out down there? There's nothing much to be seen except those rising columns," Norah was curious.

"We can't know for sure, but this is a good place to set up a secret hideout," Natty pointed out. She turned to Norah. "Shall we go in and find out?"

Norah thought for a moment. "As much as I would like to immediately go in there and give them a piece of my mind, I think we need to keep watch before we make any move. Officer Singer might try and keep us out of this if she finds out."

"She is incredibly unfit for her job, I have to admit."

"I suggest we keep observing this until we know more. We can tell the boys what's going on," Norah explained. "In the meantime, let's go back to the castle."

"Good idea," Natty agreed. "It won't hurt to have a disillusionment charm with an invisibility potion on hand though."

Norah laughed as they left the graveyard. "Make it a dozen vials."

~

Norah and Natty returned to the Room of Requirement that afternoon to see Sebastian and Ominis already there, sitting by the multiple potions stations while avoiding the large vat that was the dung composter. As Norah had suspected, Deek did indeed summon food from the kitchens to be laid out for the boys. Henry, on the other hand, was hunched over one of the tables, his bag, along with his books and journal, were splayed out in front of him next to a glass of water.

Sebastian was seated at Norah's desk, where she kept all the letters and notes she found in fifth year. "We came as soon as we got your owl," He looked over at them as Amit was already helping himself to some food to cure his hangover. "Ashwinders going into that mausoleum in Hogsmeade?" He was confused.

"Yes, we were wondering the same thing, especially as Norah already cleared that place out last year," Natty nodded. "I think they're using it as a hideout of some sort, but from what Norah told me, that place is a little too small to house those people."

"Then there must be something more to that tomb," Amit suddenly spoke in between bites of food. "Like a secret passage."

"Thinking about it, the graveyard is close to the Hog's Head, and behind the Hog's Head is the cellar that was an Ashwinder lair," Natty recalled.

Norah sensed where this was going. "With Harlow's lot trying to look back into the goblin mines, could they have used the drills to... maybe..."

"Underground tunnels?" Ominis tilted his head at them. "Could they be that smart to think of burrowing further underground?"

"It makes sense that they'd do that. Possibly connect the tunnels to the Ashwinder camp. They'd have two points of entry," Norah agreed. "It would make it easier for them to mobilize. But if they do that, Hogsmeade would be in danger."

Their expressions fell at the thought. "An Ashwinder-run Hogsmeade? That would be terrible," Amit shuddered. "What makes it even worse is how close it is to Hogwarts."

"I think they are counting on it being close to Hogwarts for the very reasons we heard in Horklump Hollow," Norah glanced at Sebastian, who remembered their little trip. "Harlow is looking to retaliate and restart the empire he built with Rookwood."

Ominis felt a pang of anxiety, while Henry sat up. "You mean Harlow is coming for you? Again?" The Ravenclaw boy questioned.

"Possibly. And he might come after Natty too, since we were the ones he faced in Manor Cape that night," Norah glanced at Natty, who nodded. "So, hear me out for a bit, I'll have to do the investigating on my own-"

Unsurprisingly, it was met with objections from most of the people in the room. Even Amit, who they knew to be especially cautious and timid, voiced his objection. "Norah, I think you're underestimating how much we can protect ourselves and help you. You're only one person," Sebastian said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"I know you can. Truly, I do. I was actually thinking of being the lure. I'm the trap you guys can spring onto Harlow and those Ashwinders. If they try and get to me, that will be your chance of striking, does it make sense?" Norah explained with some uncertainty. "So if they see me doing all of this on my own, they won't see the rest of you coming. They know I have friends, but they don't know you guys will also be there to trap them."

"Oh, so we're moving in the shadows, eh?" Henry grinned. "That's awfully sneaky of us. I like it."

"Something like that," Norah shrugged. "So, what do you think?"

They all nodded in approval. "That's a much better plan," Ominis said. "So, what do you plan on doing now?"

"I was thinking of observing for any activity nearby whenever I'm in Hogsmeade. It might be too risky to go in there without drawing attention, so best be discreet for now," Norah explained.

That made Amit think. "We usually stop by 's before we go astronomy table hunting, right? We can do that too."

"Things like this can take time. Unless someone gets to Harlow again before we do, we'll have to wait to find out more for now," The Slytherin girl shrugged. "I have a feeling Sirona and others might tell us again to stay out of it, but if Harlow is set on endangering people once more, we might have to get involved."

Her words were followed by hums of agreement. There was still time to look through the rest of the abandoned loyalist mines to find out more information on the work Isidora and Bragbor had done. Norah wished that Ranrok hadn't killed Lodgok. If he were still alive, or at the very least, spared by the goblin warlord, Lodgok would've provided them with some insight into their ancestor. Seeing as both of them were now dead, Norah needed to keep searching for a lead.

~

All of them opted to have dinner at the Room of Requirement that night. Deek was more than happy to tidy up and send for more food. The air in the room was different, filled with the excitement and anticipation of the plan Norah hatched. Amit was feeling considerably better by then, but remembering his whole situation all over again had him sulking.

"At this point, just tell them," Henry said with an exasperated sigh, making everyone at the table glance at him with concerned expressions on their faces. "You can't mope around forever, you'll have to make it clear to them about how you feel."

Ominis had a feeling Henry wasn't just saying that to Amit. "They won't want to be left hanging and wondering if you'll ever consider them," Norah added. "I remember, back when I studied in a muggle school, some girls would leave the classroom crying after being led on by the boys they liked."

"Norah's right," Natty agreed. "It will hurt, but I'm sure they will get over it."

Amit sat up. "I-well-I-it's not like I don't particularly like any of them. They're both great. I just need some time to think."

"Who would've thought Amit Thakkar was like this," Sebastian shook his head, with Henry agreeing.

"Alright, we won't press you on that anymore," Norah grinned, thinking of shifting the topic. "You know, my parents told me about this thing they did when they first met. In Japan, boys would give the person they liked the second button of their school shirt or blazer."

The rest of them were curious. "How odd. Why?" Henry was especially intrigued.

"Because it's the button closest to the heart," Norah revealed. "It usually happens at the end of term. I think it's really sweet."

Ominis tilted his head down, one hand already feeling the buttons at the bottom of his shirt. It didn't go unnoticed by Sebastian, whose expression fell slightly at the sight of it. Little did Ominis know, Sebastian also saw Norah fumbling with the buttons on her shirt.

Following dinner, Deek immediately sought to clean up as most of them decided to leave while Norah took to tending to all the beasts in the vivariums. As she sat down in the meadowy vivarium to brush the puffskeins while dodging a surprise tongue from time to time, she wondered if what she was doing was the right thing.

She was going to risk detection again, and possibly end up in detention a lot, and maybe cost Slytherin hundreds of house points. But the cause was bigger, if she couldn't stop Harlow, who will?

Once she was done feeding and brushing the jobberknolls, she stepped out of the vivarium and went to the magical loom, weaving all the materials she got into the clothes she found during her latest treasure hunts. She would sell them all when she got to visit Hogsmeade again the following weekend.

What Natty asked her earlier in the graveyard stayed with her, about her telling Ominis how she felt about him. Maybe she could, there wasn't anything wrong about it, wasn't there?

She approached her desk, noticing the scattered notes that Sebastian looked through while he waited earlier. Luckily, he didn't get to see the thin wad of letters that Ominis sent her during Ronen's assignment, terrible poems and all. Norah sat down and a small object immediately caught her eye. It was placed at the very corner of the desk.

A button.

[menina-das-flores]

Gray eyes.

summary: when sirius won’t stop tormenting you, you take revenge, but doesn’t exactly end as expected. 

sirius black x reader 

this is the first time i'm writing for tumblr so pls be nice to me!! also, english is not my first language so sorry in advance. enjoy!! :)

I had just left the transfiguration class and was starving, so I made my way to the great hall and sat down at my house table. That was one of those days when the mess reigned, and I couldn't blame anyone but the marauders, don't get me wrong I don't hate them, I just deeply dislike most of them, (Peter, there will always be room for you at my table if you decide to leave these idiots.) but specifically I dislike the boy with dark black hair and deep grey eyes who looks like he's going to eat you alive at any second the most, that being Sirius Black, one of Professor Minnie's darlings. Also, speaking of the devil.

— Look who the cat brought! Or should I say kitty? — Being an animagus has never been so humiliating before...

— Fuck off, Black. — I rolled my eyes and went back to savoring my food while trying to read my DADA book, which obviously wouldn't work because Mr. Black had other plans.

— I'll sit here, of course, if you don't mind. — he grinned slyly and sat down next to me before I could even complain. He slung his arm around my shoulder and started jabbering something about how cats are overrated.

— You talk too much.

— Then shut me up.

Silence.

Now I understood what a "screaming silence" was.

I turned slowly towards him, who was starting to blush. I smiled wickedly, this was a great opportunity to tease him for the rest of the year, and finally do what I'd wanted to do since fourth grade.

— You really want to kiss me, uh? — he opened his mouth several times, but nothing came out. I smiled and slowly approached his mouth, watching him pull back as he tried to think straight. I sealed our lips in a quick peck.

— I... I thought you didn't liked me? — he looked so confused that I had to hold back my laughter.

— Why do you have to talk so much? — I picked up my books and stood up, seeing the people around us looking at us, I lowered my gaze and covered my mouth as I laughed.

— Is this some kind of joke? God, you're playing me, aren't you?

— Maybe... maybe not, who knows?

I smiled sheepishly and started walking towards the herbology class, but the only thing on my mind was him, how soft his lips were, what it would be like to run my hand through his hair, what it would really be like to kiss him. At this point it was obvious and it was all over my face, I was in love with Sirius Black... the idiot with dark black hair and grey eyes so deep they made me feel like I was drowning. And to be honest, I kind of liked the feeling.

A few days passed and I avoided him as much as I could, hoping he wouldn't notice. The annual slytherin party on the winter solstice was coming up, and I needed a new dress considering that they always throw the best parties, (thank you cool rich guys who plan parties with their parents' fortune, and thank you other slytherins for convincing them to do it.) I was waiting for Pandora in front of the Leaky Cauldron as usual, so I decided to go into an antique dress store and take a look at the options.

(...)

It was the one, I needed this dress, it was decided as soon as I saw it, it was a blue and black dress with blue crystals, maybe lapis lazuli or quartz, it had gold details and it was definitely the most beautiful dress I had ever seen. Pandora arrived a few minutes after my impulsive purchase and smiled broadly when she saw the dress on my body.

— You look perfect, Angel... Definitely the most beautiful girl at the solstice party. Believe me, no one will take their eyes off you, not even Sirius.

— Pandie, you know how to embarrass someone, don't you? Thank you, we'll be the prettiest indeed! But... what do you mean about Black?

— It's more than obvious that you have feelings for him, and I'm also sure that it's reciprocal and well, he'll be at the party, you know.

— Reciprocal? And no, I don't have feelings for him. - fuck... I should have thought he'd be at the party. Pandora fixed her earring while I looked for a dress that would suit her.

— Yes, yes... whatever, well, I overheard him saying something about liking an animagus girl , pain in the ass, who annoyed him so much that he wanted to scream, but who also had the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen, and I assumed it was you. Besides, really? Come on, don't try to lie to your best friend.

— Pandie... you heard pain in the ass and you assumed it was me? What a great best friend. Well, okay, maybe I like him a bit, but that's beside the point, let's change the subject, shall we? How are you and Xenophillius?

We stayed in the store until it was time to go back, choosing accessories, shoes and things like that. I spent some time in my dorm thinking about him, Pandora could easily have heard wrong, but if there was even a small chance that he might like me, I should take it, right? I ignored this feeling for a while, the days passed and the party was tonight, happy winter solstice...

(...)

Right, the party starts at 9pm and I should probably get ready. After some time, my hair was finally done after a battle to keep it the way I wanted it, I'm already wearing makeup and a dress, I'll be late since my roommates have already left and I haven't put on my high heels or accessories yet.

I arrived at the party around half past nine, but well, they are the ones who came early. Anyway.... as soon as I set foot inside the slytherin common room I could smell firewhisky, hydromel and butterbeer. It was crowded and heavily decorated.

— Oh, look who it is. I didn't think I'd see you here, since you're avoiding me. — I'd recognize that voice anywhere, so I turned around slowly, hoping I wasn't completely red.

— Avoiding you? My life doesn't revolve around you, Black, my dear.

— Indeed, but I know when someone's busy and when they're trying to avoid me, and I can tell you, you're very good at it, I've been trying to talk to you all week. — He did?

— Did you? You must really like me. — It's more the other way around, honestly.

— I do, unfortunately. — he does what, now?

I raise my eyebrow in confusion and tilt my head to the side.

— Are you kidding? Obviously... is this revenge for the peck I gave you a few days ago? If it is, just forget it.

— I'm not joking, and I can't forget it either. Believe me, I've tried, I still haven't accepted that I'm in love with someone like you.

— Someone like me? I can say the same about you then.

— So you admit that you like me too? — he smiled for the first time that night, and I could see his grey eyes sparkle along with all the decorations of the same color, which only made me more mesmerized by him.

— Maybe...

— You need to stop saying maybe.

— And you need to stop talking.

He laughed as he rolled his eyes, pulled me by the waist and sealed our lips, he smelled like cigarretes, vanilla lip balm and whisky, and that kiss was everything and even more than I expected, for a moment I forgot everything around me, the music that was playing loudly started to get muffled and I could forget about the people around us, I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck and messed his hair, slowly pulling away. I smiled and it was probably one of the most sincere smiles I've ever given, and I knew that even with all our differences and fights, he would always find a way to make me smile as if it were the first time.

I was in love with Sirius Black, and his bright, deep grey eyes.

[vioartemis]

Close your eyes and trust me

(Max Mayfield x fem reader)

Summary: One day, the party find you in the woods, fighting for your life. When you wake up, you meet a beautiful redhead that catch your attention... || request here Warnings: none a/n: Wow it took me so long I'm sorry really TvT (English isn't my first language, I'm sorry if there are mistakes or if something doesn't make sense TvT)

Living alone was hard when you didn't know much about the world. That was not a choice though, you didn't want to be alone, really.

Since you escaped the lab, you lived with an old lady that found you in the woods and brought you home with her. She treated you as if you were part of her family. She even gave you a name: Y/n.

That sounded better than Twelve, and was more normal. She also taught you how to read and write, and helped you improve your social (talking) skills.

But she passed away 3 weeks ago.

You had to call anonymously whoever you were supposed to call so she could have proper funerals, to which you were the only one to attend as she had no family left.

Since then you were on your own, trying to buy "good food", as you called it, with the money she left for you. You now lived in a little cabin close to her house.

Until that night.

You were disturbed by weird noises not far away from the cabin. You had a bad feeling about that, but you still went out to check.

The party was on the track of what they thought was a demodog. The track led them into the forest.

"Are we even sure it was a demodog?" Max asked

"No, that's why we're here. To kill it if it's one, and.. not kill it if it's not one" Dustin replied

They were walking for more than an hour when they heard fight noises. They ran in that direction, only to find a h/c girl, you, fighting the demodog.

Growing up in the lab gave you abilities similar to El's, thanks to which you managed to kill the creature without being hurt too much.

Th fight was still exhausting. You weren't used to use your powers that much, and it was visible; your nose and your ears were bleeding, and it didn't take long until you faint.

You woke up in a room that wasn't yours, still exhausted because of your fight with the demodog. You propped yourself onto your elbows, looking around, until your eyes fell on a redhead girl sitting beside you.

She was reading a magazine (or something like that). She looked up, probably alerted by your movements, and planted her gaze into yours.

She was so pretty.. stunning, actually. Her blue eyes, her freckles, her red hair... She was the prettiest human being you had ever seen.

Not that you had seen many, but you were sure she was prettier than every other girl on this planet.

You stared at each other for a little time without a word being said, until someone opened the door.

"Okay you can rest, it's my turn to watch her.. I even babysit strangers now, great.."

The boy stopped when he saw you were up.

"She's up? Why didn't you say anything??"

"I- I just- I don't know.."

Her voice was amazing.

"Where am I?" you asked

"Oh uh.. let me just-" he exited the room and came back with a brunette "She'll explain better than us"

He then gestured to the redhead to follow him out of the room, which she did after one more look in your direction.

The brunette sat beside you on the bed.

"Hi" she said

".. Do I know you?"

She had something familiar, but you couldn't figure out what.

She rolled up one of her sleeves to show you something on her wrist: a 011 tattoo. Now that you saw it, you started to remember her.

"Oh.." you said, not knowing if she was with Papa or not

"We don't want to hurt you Twelve-"

"I go by Y/n now. Are you with Papa? If you think I'm going to come back-"

"We're not with him. Quite the contrary actually. You can trust us.."

With that, she explained to you everything that happened to her and the party lately, before asking you your own story since you escaped.

The two of you talked for one more hour, until you finally asked the question.

"Who was the other girl?"

"Max? She's a friend"

" A friend..?"

"Someone you can trust"

"Like... you and I?"

She nodded with a smile.

"You have other friends?"

"Let me introduce them to you"

<><><><> ♡ <><><><>

A month or two had passed since you met Max, and your feelings toward her were confusing and confused. You didn't understand why you didn't feel the same way around her and around others, so you decided to ask Joyce, with who you lived since the party found you, as no one else had room for you.

"Can I talk to you about something..?"

"Of course!"

"It's about Max.."

"Did something happened? Did you have a fight?"

"No no! I- it's just that- I don't understand why I feel weird around her.."

"Weird?"

"Yeah.. I overthink everything I say or do, my heart beats faster, my stomach feels weird.." you explained

Her lips turned into a big smile.

"What? Why are you smiling like that?"

"Y/n, dear, you're in love with her" she told you

"In love..?"

When you really really like someone, more than a friend. Someone with whom you can picture yourself in the future, for example"

"Like... you and Hopper?"

"U-uh... let's say like El and Mike"

"And um... H-how do I know if she feels the same..?"

"Confess to her, tell her how you feel. Maybe invite her to do something, only the two of you. And tell her"

"I'm going to do that, yeah! Thank you!"

You quickly pulled her into a hug before going out to find Max, who was at the skatepark.

"Max!"

"Y/n, hey! What are you doing here? Finally ready to try a skateboard?" she joked, a bright smile on her face

You felt you heart missing a beat. Her smile was so pretty and she was so beautiful...

"I- uh- I found a great spot to um.. watch the stars.. Do you.. do you want to go there with me one day..?"

"Yeah sure! Would tonight be okay?"

"Y-yeah of course!"

"Cool" her smile got wider "Let's meet around 10 at the edge of the woods?"

"Okay, see you tonight then!"

"Can't wait to be there" she said, before going back to skating with a smile.

You stood there a little while. You were a blushing mess.

<><><><> ♡ <><><><>

You were waiting at the spot you were supposed to meet Max, all stressed out. It didn't take her long to arrive though. Her smile made your cheeks redden a bit.

After greeting her, you started to walk toward your secret spot, when she took your hand in hers. I got you all flustered. Her hand was warm. It was somewhat comforting and nice.

"Is this like... a date?" she suddenly asked

"A.. date?"

"It's- uh.. when you go out with someone you really like.. in a more-than-friends way"

"Oh.. then yeah, it's like a date!"

You smiled softly, even though you weren't sure to fully understand what it meant.

"So.. you really like me?" the redhead asked

"Well- yes"

"Cool.. because I really like you too.. since day one. I- it might be cheesy and all but- the moment I laid my eyes on you I felt something.. something good of course! What I'm trying to say is... I'm in love with you, Y/n"

You were new to that concept, but according to what Joyce told you earlier, you felt the same way.

"I- I don't totally understand feelings and all but.. but I think I am in love with you too.. I- you make me feel things I don't feel for others.."

Thanks to the pale light of the moon, you would see her blush at your words. She seemed happy to hear you say that; her smile was brighter than before, and she squeezed your hand softly.

"Can I- can I kiss you..?" then, seeing you slightly confused expression "It's something that you do with your lover, to show affection in a special way"

You nodded, as she stopped walking, turning around to face you.

"Close your eyes and trust me" she said, almost in a whisper

You did as she told you, your heart pounding in your chest in anticipation. When her lips finally met yours, it just felt so right, making butterflies grow in your stomach, fireworks in your head, and heart beating faster than ever.

When she pulled away, you could see her eyes sparkling.

"Can you do that again..?"

[ilyasorokinn]

(day eleven) under the mistletoe , tyson jost

note, this fic is part of my christmas series called taylor's very merry christmas series. check out this masterlist for the rest of the series. pair, tyson jost x reader summary, for years, people have watched y/n and tyson dance around their feelings until they finally have enough. at the annual avs christmas party, the guys put a plan in motion to finally get them to finally admit their feelings for each other. and of course, mistletoe is involved. warnings, this takes place while he's still in colorado. i know, I'm sad too, but i don't know buffalo well enough yet also this is a little cheesy, so if you don't like that, don't read this word count, 1181 words

(gif not mine)

You and Tyson had met through mutual friends, that mutual friend being JT Compher. You were good friends with his girlfriend and Tyson was JT's best friend.

So, you were invited to Avs games here and there, and the Christmas party because they always had more food and drinks than they knew what to do with.

You liked him, and he liked you, but you could never admit it because what if the other person didn't feel the same way?

So you buried it down and chose to forget about it.

But every year, at that Christmas party, like clockwork, everything you tried too hard to suppress for 364 days came rushing back like a wave.

This year was no different. You hadn't seen Tyson in a few months. You had gone to the home opener with Sydney, but that was it. You hadn't really seen him in months, so seeing him tonight, would be a waterfall.

"You looking forward to seeing Josty tonight?" Sydney asked, wiggling her brows at you.

You shook your head, looking out the window to hide the smile on your face, "Shush."

"You aren't denying it!" She squealed.

"Be quiet." You tried and failed, to hide your smile.

Once you arrived, you quickly made your way to the kitchen to make yourself a drink, "You get here and make a bee-line for the drinks? Typical Y/N." You heard a familiar voice.

You turned to the doorway and saw Tyson leaning against the doorframe, a smirk on his face, "Sorry I'm so predictable." You shrugged.

"No, it's cool. Means I get to talk to you before you're bombarded by everyone else." He pushed himself off the doorframe, made his way over to you, and watched you pour different liquids into your cup, "Wow, predictable even down to the drink." He joked.

"Oh, shut up." You smiled, shoving him softly.

"It's good to see you. Haven't seen you in a while." He offered a kind smile.

"Yeah, been a little busy." You shrugged.

Before he could say anything else, you were quickly pulled away by Mel, "You're here!" She exclaimed happily, pulling you into a hug. You were quickly whisked off in a different direction. You managed to look back at Tyson, flashing him a smile and a wave.

-

As the night went on, you and Tyson would often meet each other's gaze and flash each other a smile but other than that, nothing else happened.

"So, you and Josty?"

"Not you too." You groaned, rolling your eyes and sliding further down your chair. A few of the other girls laughed at your reaction.

"'Not us' what?"

"You all think I'm secretly in love with Tyson." You stated.

"Do we?" They all raised a brow but were all smirking.

"Yes."

"Are you?" You took too long to answer, which they all took as a yes.

"I didn't say yes." You butted in as they all squealed.

"But you also didn't say no," Sydney added. You huffed with a roll of your eyes.

Across the house, the guys were having the same discussion you were having but with Tyson. Their conversation was pretty similar to yours, only Tyson was a little more open.

"So, Tyson, you still haven't made your move?" Gabe asked innocently.

Tyson rolled his eyes, "No." He admitted.

"I know what you can get me for Christmas," JT spoke up and Tyson glanced at him confused, "You can finally admit your feelings for Y/N."

"I'd like that for Christmas, too." Erik nodded in agreement.

-

As the night progressed, you were getting more and more tired. and more ready to go home, but Sydney was the very opposite. She was your ride home so you were stuck at the party.

The girls and boys had put together a plan to try and get Tyson to admit your feelings for each other. What was their plan? Get you both in the Landeskog entryway were a piece of mistletoe hung over the door frame and get you to kiss.

Was this a good plan? No. Was this a pretty good plan for all of them being drunk? Yes.

Sydney found you sitting in the living room, your eyes closed as you waited for her to be done, "I'm ready to go, but I have to grab something so can you wait?"

"Yeah, I'll get my shoes." You nodded, pushing yourself off the couch.

In another room, JT was doing the same thing, "I'm ready to go." He announced. Tyson's original ride had already left so he was now getting a ride with JT.

"All right, I'll get my shoes." Tyson got up and headed for the entryway.

When he turned the corner, he saw you sitting on the little bench as you waited for Sydney, "You leaving too?" He chuckled.

"Yep." You nodded watching him trying to find his shoes in the big piles of shoes.

"It was good to see you tonight."

"Yeah, it was." You smiled.

"Hope it won't take a year for me to see you again." He spoke nervously.

You laughed, "I'll try to make it out to a game."

You both waited in silence. In his head, he kept hearing JT's voice. He really did like you, but the fear of you not feeling the same way kept him from saying anything.

Today was different. He had some liquid courage in his bloodstream and he was feeling more brave than usual. He knew if he wanted to say something, now would be the time, "Y/N?" You looked up at him.

"Tyson?" You repeated his name so softly he nearly melted.

"I really like you..." Your breath hitched, "And I don't know. if you feel the same way, but I..." The words were coming out of his mouth so fast he had to stop to breathe.

"I feel like I've had a speech prepared in my head for a while now but now that it's really time, I can't think of it." He laughed.

You smiled, "It's okay."

"No, it's not." That caught you off guard, "I had this whole speech, proclaiming how much I really liked you and I can't remember it."

"It's okay, Tyson." You approached him, "If you ever remember the speech, you can tell me it, but until then, I'll just let you know that I really like you, too."

He froze, "You do?"

"Yeah." You laughed at the frozen look on his face, "I do."

"Awesome." Was all he managed to say.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool." You nodded, wrapping your arms around his waist.

"Look up!" Someone in the background shouted, which was a telltale sign that everyone in the house was watching and listening to you both.

You and Tyson both looked up and saw the piece of mistletoe hanging above your heads. You both looked back at each other and smiled, "It would be rude to break tradition."

"So rude." He nodded in agreement.

Flashforward to a couple years later, at your wedding, Tyson finally remembered that speech of his, and decided, for his vows, to recite them.

-

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[yazzberry]

posting the prologue of my high school au total drama fanfic

it is also posted on wattpad: ENDGAME [total drama] by aliasyasmine

link in bio <3

no beta reader so lmk if u find any errors :0

chapter 0: the funny way i feel tonight

— ❈ —

"Yo! Gwen!"

The faint tap of a popcorn ball landing (and sticking to) her head brings Gwen's attention back towards the party. She had been in the midst of zoning out, as her friends knew she was privy to doing, before loosening her lips into a waxed smile at the sight of them—her friends.

Friends. Wow, never thought I'd use that word so fondly, she thought to herself as her ears readjusted to the discordant mixture of blasting party music and blasted partygoers—Gwen could tell from the lingering fumes of weed spilling in from the patio, where everyone would go for a smoke. She considered that she hadn't taken a hit all night, and should likely go out for one later. Thank God she wasn't driving home.

"I didn't realize we were back in middle school, what's with the food projectiles?" She scoffed, picking the popcorn out of her hair and launching it back at its thrower.

"Oh come on, pasty. Don't act like you're above it." He didn't miss a beat as he spoke, smartly dodging her lame attempt at a rebuttal. Duncan—it's crazy to see what his smirk could do to Gwen, even now. But she's not into him, of course she's not. Gwen and Duncan, they've always been the best of friends. Huh, there's that word again: friends.

His playful expression was perfectly painted by the dancing firelight, courtesy of Geoff's fireplace. All the emanating hues of red and orange and yellow accentuated every corner of the den, acting as the only source of light probably across the entire house, save for a few LED strips and lamp fixtures.

Nevertheless, on a night as auspicious as the last Saturday before the first day of school—the final, dying call of summer—all darkness of the night was welcome. And, like with any high school party, it served the ultimate purpose to guise all the soon-regretted (yet presently indulgent) decisions made by dumb teens looking for cheap thrills.

For Gwen, it let her sneak longing glances at Duncan without him noticing. She knew her affinity for darkness would serve her good one day, aside from labeling her as the 'weird goth girl'.

She playfully punched his shoulder, eliciting an eye roll from Heather, whose uncanny insight and understanding of the teenage brain once made her a formidable opponent, but now, an all-knowing friend.

"Ew, is this really any better than third-wheeling with Bridge and Geoff?" Heather said, looking down on them from her comfortable position on an armchair, a lazy arm propping her head up on the side of the couch and legs tucked parallel into the seat. "And where are they anyways? I'm bored." She added, feigning a deep interest with her nail beds as she stretched her hand closer to the fire, trying to examine them.

Duncan and Gwen sat on the floor with their backs against another couch. Duncan cackled as he laid his head back, slightly resting it on the cushion behind him, "Oh I'm sure they're getting nice and cozy in some random room."

Her voice dripped with attitude, lined with disgust, "Like I needed you to tell me that."

He scoffed back. "Well, it's not like you outright asked me or anything—oh wait, you did."

"It was a rhetorical question."

"Didn't sound it."

Now Gwen was the one to roll her eyes, before deciding to be a good samaritan and end the spat before it killed the vibe: "Guys, I'm gonna go get a refill. Anyone want another drink?"

But before she could even get up, another voice chirped in. "Wow I guess this is great timing!" Bridgette exclaimed as she and Geoff set down their load of red party cups on the coffee table, in number totaling five. One for each friend of the group: Geoff, Bridgette, Heather, Duncan, and now, as the most recent addition, Gwen.

"The party turnout is great tonight, I'm so glad everyone from school could make it!" Bridgette sighed as she threw herself on a loveseat, consequently dragging Geoff down with her from their intertwined hands.

Geoff doted on her, moving a careless strand of hair that found its way right in the middle of her face, "I always thought my parties were great, but they're even better when you help me plan them. I'm starstruck by you, babe."

Gwen, Duncan, and Heather, for all their differences, looked amongst each other and shared the same expression, lost somewhere between disgust and humor.

"No way am I sitting through your little love-fest this sober," Heather remarked as she reached for a drink, Duncan doing the same as he shook his head in understanding.

"No!" Bridgette exclaimed, jolting herself out of Geoff's touch and paying indivisible attention to her friends. "You see, I kind of had an idea.."

"Alright! Malibu's got a new drinking game for us to play!" Duncan hooted, raising his cup to her.

Gwen smiled as she followed in suit, grabbing a drink and clutching it a teasing distance from her mouth, certainly close enough to get a foul whiff of whatever concoction Geoff had cooked up for them moments earlier. Gwen couldn't help but grimace at the strong stench of liquor—how anyone could stomach a sip of that was beyond her.

Bridgette coyly rubbed her neck, tousling her honey blonde waves as they moved with her nerved expression. "Not exactly, Duncan, I just thought maybe we'd go around and say some stuff we wanna do this year, y'know, like goals." Then, finding the confidence to properly pitch her idea, perhaps herself excited about the prospects of a new school year, "Junior year is a really important one—it's our second-to-last year before college! Big big deal, guys!"

She frantically waved her arms in the air, as if the earnestness of her expression wouldn't be enough to convince them of it.

"God you sound like my mom," Gwen laughed as she set her cup back down (at a safe distance from her nostrils, of course).

"I think that's a great idea Bridge!" Geoff declared, raising his cup to his girlfriend's ingenuity.

Duncan leaned into Gwen's ear to whisper, "Can't remember if he's in Division 1 lacrosse or D1 glazing." She only slightly bursted with laughter as she tried to feign her whole attention on her too-wholesome friend.

"Laugh all you want guys, but I for one want to have a memorable year with you all," the blonde huffed as she protectively hugged her cup to her chest, as if it were a manifestation of her most sincere ideas.

"Well you've got a point there, Bridge," Heather started, leaning into the conversation and raising her cup to toast with a devious smile, "Junior year will be perfect, because I'll be taking my rightful spot as cheerleading captain and Queen Bee, especially now that last year's seniors have graduated."

At this Gwen couldn't help but scoff, Oh, this is too good.

"Yeah, fuck this year's seniors, right? It's not like they'll wanna go for those much coveted positions either," Gwen spotted her an incredulous look, at which Heather only smirked.

"Well, unlike you, Gwen, I'm not scared off by a little competition, or confrontation." She confidently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "Especially when I know that I'll always come out on top."

Gwen didn't dare humor her antics with a response and instead just rolled her eyes at Heather's massive ego. And it wasn't like Gwen didn't pick up on Heather's subtle dig at her—"scared off by confrontation" what the hell was that supposed to mean, Heather?!—she just had to swallow back all angered sentiments and stuff it into the brimming jar of "Heather Complaints" she had, filed away in her mind.

But no. They were friends. Friends! Even with all the qualms, contentions, complaints. They had to (at least for everyone else's sake) pretend they could stand each other and weren't actually at each other's throats half the time.

I mean sure, they had their moments of camaraderie—some sort of pseudo-friendship existing between them—but never mind the fact that were it not for Bridgette's unwavering kindness, Geoff's welcoming and contagious joy, Duncan's uncanny ability to attract all things fun, exciting, and maybe a little dangerous, they would not be friends at all.

Duncan, completely ignoring whatever subtle feud was occurring between the two and taking Heather's toast as an excuse to go in for a greedy sip of his drink, offered his signature smirk and dismissive shrug, "The seniors this year suck; if it means sticking it Scott and his loser girlfriend, I'm game."

At this, Bridgette melted into a sigh of frustration.

"Now that's something I can get on board with. I mean, seriously, I'm so glad we don't have any douchebags like him in our grade," Bridgette added, also taking a drink from her cup (and with no visible reaction, Gwen noted—maybe Gwen was just a lightweight after all).

The gears started turning in Gwen's head. She'd already been apart of the friend group for a whole year now, but even so was still catching up with all the complex lore of her friends' dramas with other people. "Scott..wait a minute is he the person who you guys said st—"

"Yep." Duncan responded before she could even finish her remark.

Hmph, guess he's still not over it. Understandable, though unexpected from someone as stoic as Duncan makes himself out to be.

"Well Bridgette's right," Geoff beamed at his girlfriend, "Everyone in our grade's hella chill." He sat back contently, and, as if on cue, all of the attention in the room was snatched by someone singing, loudly, into a microphone all the way in the living room

"AND I JUST CAN'T LOOK, IT'S KILLIN' ME...AND TAKIN' CONTROL..."

At the sight of Cody belting his little heart out, drinking in all the glory of the generous crowd pooling and cheering at his feet, Geoff's kitchen island being his stage, Gwen immediately whipped out her phone to take a picture.

"JEALOUSY, TURNIN' SAINTS INTO THE SEA!"

"With some notable exceptions," Bridgette said, finishing her boyfriend's thought.

"That's so fucking embarrassing," Heather sneered, her bored expression apparently not quelled by the sudden mosh pit forming in the living room. Duncan followed in suit, taking his eyes away from the train-wreck of a performance, "Remind me to bully him for it later."

"Come on, you guys don't have to be mean. How about you share your goal for this year, Duncan?" Bridgette chastised, trying to find a lighter conversation within his general broodiness.

"Yea pass, I don't have goals," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Oooh you're such a bad boy, Duncan. You don't have any hopes or aspirations—let me guess, juvie crushed them," Gwen taunted with a playful smirk, setting the bait for a much too-humorous reaction.

"If the role's already written, might as well play into it," he nonchalantly shrugged, a similar smirk finding its way onto his face, "And besides, the chicks love a bad boy."

Now he was looking straight at her, and, put simply, Gwen could not deal. "Alright, cool down, Casanova." She tried to play it down, even turning away so that he couldn't see a layer of blush spreading across her cheeks, noticeable against her (way too, according to Heather) pale skin.

"You think you're slick but I see your game, D-man," Geoff professes with a knowing expression. "And let me just say, you're out of luck, because the best girl in school is already taken-"

Geoff tried to give his girlfriend a sweet peck before she abruptly stood up in sudden excitement, even knocking his beloved cowboy hat off his head.

"OH MY GOD!" She shrieked, clutching her phone.

Geoff joined Bridgette on her feet, sneaking a peek over her shoulder at her screen. A matching smile soon colored his own appearance with elation, "No way! Mocha's coming to town??!!"

"Ugh, your nickname-giving skills suck, Geoff. Who the fuck is Mocha?" Heather scoffed, feigning pretension to hide the the great curiosity baked into her question.

Bridgette still hadn't stopped her gleeful jumps as her fingers flew across her keyboard, "You guys know Courtney, my friend from California?? Her older sister got into the residency program at our local hospital, y'know, the one for neurosurgery?! And anyways—they're moving to Wawanakwa!!"

The bubbly blonde hugged Geoff in excitement and the two were in the air, squealing with joy.

Duncan burst out laughing, "Geoff, dude, have some dignity."

But Geoff, whether he heard his friend's disapproval or not, didn't care and kept jumping up with Bridgette.

"Pretty underwhelming if you ask me, especially considering you've never mentioned her to us," Heather dryly stated.

"Yea Bridge, is she the other woman?" Gwen joked, falling victim to her friend's contagious joy.

"Come on guys, you're all gonna love Mocha! She's really cool!" Geoff added, trying to get his underwhelmed friends excited.

"Personally, I couldn't care less. Call me when Latte and Cappuccino are in town," Duncan lamely remarked as he took another sip of his drink.

And then, he did what Gwen never expected him to do—he looked straight at her.

Not at her, per se, more like into her. It was really stupid, actually, how one single motion—it's not even a motion! just a turn of the eye—could have Gwen second-guessing her entire existence under his unwavering glare.

The truth is, Gwen's not as lovestruck as she sounds. She's just a teenage girl with a crush, and while Gwen had never previously been able to identify with the cheesy generic teenage experiences, she felt a small internal victory within the fact that, for once, she finally fit a socially acceptable stereotype.

"So pasty—you gonna share your goal with us now?" He taunted her, his trademarked smirk covering his face.

"Yea Gwen! Come on, share with us!" Bridgette doted as she sat herself down on the floor right next to Gwen, with Geoff sitting down right beside Bridgette, scooping her with his arms.

Gwen sighed, slightly wringing her fingers in her lap. Cheesy as it sounded, she had a lot of goals for this year. And while she was never one to set high expectations for just about anything—with the knowledge that they'd inevitably be let down by some cosmic force in the universe, denying her a happy and conventional life—this time around, the question found her with more hopes and dreams than she'd like to admit.

"What is weird goth girl pining for? Hmmm, let's see, can I take a guess—" And before Heather could even finish her sentence, Gwen threw a pillow at her, having anticipated a lame remark from her direction.

"Come on Gwen! Speak your truth, brah!" Geoff encouraged, raising a cheerful cup at her hesitancy to, well, 'speak her truth'.

As she looked around at all her friends, Gwen couldn't help but revel in the disbelief that a) she'd actually made friends as the weird new girl in town and b) got close enough to people that they actually care about what she has to say. Seriously, her former self would've never bought this.

Oddly enough, her life was perfect in the way it was imperfect—she had friends, and a love interest on the horizon. It was the scene where every cheesy high school movie would cut to the credits. What more could she even say?

"Umm," she started, "I guess this year I want to...do more stuff."

At this, Bridgette raised a questioning brow. "Care to be just a little bit more specific?" she prodded.

"I mean that I want to take more risks, go after what I want, and not let things pass me by because I'm too...self-conscious, or, in my head." Gwen took a deep breath, not realizing that she had been staring into her lap this whole time and couldn't hold eye contact with anyone in the group when she was being vulnerable. But, in the spirit of her professed goal, she hazarded a look up, "Y'know what I mean?"

And all of them, even Heather, offered a knowing glance. "Yes...dorkula." She admitted, hiding her smile behind her cup.

Geoff applauded the side of his cup, "Well that's a toast-worthy goal if I've ever heard one—to Gwen!"

"To Gwen!"

They all took a hearty drink from their cups, even the honored girl herself despite her great aversion to alcoholic beverages.

The burning sensation of the mystery juice sliding down her throat produced a sour expression on her face, much to the humor of the rest of her friends (friends!).

Yep, she definitely was a lightweight.

— ❥ —

"Psst, Court! We're here!"

Another gentle tap and nudge on her shoulder was enough to wake the brunette up from her sleep. It takes her a second or two to come to—her eyes slowly blinking, panning around the car to find a disheveled mess of snacks and candy wrappers thrown askew the floor, a wool blanket wrapped around her body, and her sister sitting beside her, trying (and failing, but waking up from a nap is disorienting anyway) to softly wake her up.

"Josie...how long was I out for?" Courtney asked, sorely rubbing her neck in a sorry attempt to recover from whatever horrid position she had slept in.

Her sister scoffed, blowing an unruly strand of blonde that had fallen from her messy bun—emphasis on messy—out of her face, "Oh, you know, not too long; maybe just the whole car ride over from the airport, so basically like 2 and a half hours."

"Talk about middle of nowhere," Courtney groaned as she took a wistful look out the window.

"Well, I prefer to think of it as small-town charm!" Josie beamed as she hopped out of the car door and embraced the fresh air of a forgiving, 3:00 AM Wawanakwa night.

"Yes, and how charming it is to be so stranded from civilization. Tell me, you do know that Santa isn't real, right?" But even as she teased, Courtney couldn't fight the shadow of a grin appearing on her face.

Josie's energy was contagious, and while sometimes her optimisms were misled on some fantastical, idealistic (and ultimately unrealistic) notions of what the world had to offer, Courtney had to admit that it felt nice to just take things as they came—nice and easy.

In theory, at least.

She joined Josie in getting off the car and stretching her limbs a bit, before getting back to business and taking their luggage out and paying the driver.

"Come on Josie, let's get inside—it's freezing out here!" The brunette called to her sister as struggled in trying to maneuver all six of their suitcases up the walkway and onto the porch.

"Oh Court, hold on! It's such a pretty night, and look at the stars!! We never got these in LA," The latter comment was more of an afterthought as her thoughts fixated only on the sight above, her eyes wide, her jaw dropped.

Courtney rolled her eyes before deciding to indulge in her sister's wishes and bother a glance a upward.

Oh, how she hated to admit when Josie was right. But she really was.

It seemed as though every single star in the galaxy put on its best dress to welcome the Barlow sisters that night, in a true display of beauty that Courtney, with her cache of travelled places and around-the-world luxe vacations, couldn't say she'd ever seen before.

So this is Wawanakwa Falls, a light chuckle and the shadow of a smile punctuated her thoughts.

"Alright," Courtney muttered, "let's get inside."

And even as she started to walk towards the entry of their new home, her gaze was still fixed above.

—୨୧—

Hope you enjoyed this short prologue! Some food for your thoughts:

What do we think of Gwen? Her liking Duncan, shocker, right?

And what about her and Heather being friends-ish so early on in the story? They obviously seem like they have stuff to work out, but most fanfics make them friends way later on, if at all. I don't know, we'll see how this goes.

And also a Scott mention in the prologue—what is his deal? And what's his beef with Duncan?

Drop all your thoughts, opinions, predictions (?) in the comments, PLEASE, I love interacting with you!! The lengths of full episodes will be longer (this prologue was about 3k words and my writing average is 6-8k (!) words), so don't worry if this was much too short for your taste. See you next time!

a. yasmine