#also whoops i forgot to reply to this earlier!! apologies ! | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

otagamerkorin · 4 years ago

Text

Trial by Fire (including very little actual fire and honestly just a whole lot of snow)

Merry (very belated) Christmas @blasphemousfungus! I was your secret santa for @kibasniper‘s Psychonauts Secret Santa! Unfortunately, due to a lotta stuff going on in my life, your present isn’t completely done yet, but here’s the first (honestly kinda massive) chapter of it! I plan on putting it up on AO3 as well, so I’ll ping you then too! For reference, this was highly inspired by mystery_notebook (or I think they might be @tvguts on here?) fic Like It Used To Be, But Better, which is amazing and you should totally check it out. Anyways, I really hope you enjoy it!

Edit: Just realized I completely forgot to give it a title. Whoops.

When they had gone into the asylum, none of the members of Thorney Towers had expected to come back out not only dear friends with a 10 year old, but also under the close monitor of an organization of secret psychic agents. Initially is had only been to ensure that being around Loboto while in such delicate condition hadn’t left any lasting damage. Luckily from what they’d been able to work out from the fours scattered memories of the time, the dentist hadn’t involved them in any of his experiments, but better safe than sorry. The surveillance really hadn’t gotten in the way of their new lives much. A few calls a week, the occasional in-person check in to see how they were doing, not much to write home about in the grand scheme of things.

After a time though, things had begun to get...interesting.

It was actually Boyd who kicked the whole thing off, so to say. It had been a day like any other, possibly even more quiet and domestic than usual considering they’d just hit the weekend. According to the other three, he’d simply been drying dishes after dinner that night when a wayward mug has slipped off the counter behind him. The resulting crash has two effects. 1.) The former nightguard jumped about three feet off the ground with a startled shriek. And 2.) The dishtowel in his hands promptly burst into flames. Luckily he’d dropped the flaming cloth into surprise and a bit of group panic and rapid stomping has quickly put out the blaze, leaving the four gathered in the small kitchen, staring down at its burnt remains.

The lot of them, Boyd especially, were dumbfounded by the whole event and immediately phoned up their new psychic associates, if only to make sure they weren’t all going crazy again. There had to be some mundane explanation for this, right? But after a few quick tests from Sasha, it was official: Boyd was most definitely a psychic.

Signs from the others quickly followed. Fred would frequently find papers and pens floating in orbit around him whenever he got embroiled in his nursing reinstatement exams. Edgar would sometimes find those around him caught up in a sort of bewildering mental fog, leaving them staring around in confusion. And while Gloria had always had quite the green thumb, now the plants in her garden flourished with just the touch of her hand, the woman assaulted with a hundred whispered voices of delight whenever she appeared at the gate with her watering can. Lili was especially happy about the latter, having never met a fellow connoisseur of florakinesis until that point, let alone one who was so friendly.

To say everyone, both Psychonaut and otherwise, was baffled was an understatement. None of the four had shown an signs of psychic powers earlier in life. So why now?

It was Razputin of all people who offered a hypothesis. They were all aware that the large amount of Psitanium around the camp and asylum had been less that helpful for the fours delicate mental state, what with the whole “making the sane less sane” thing and all. Perhaps though, the other half of the phrase may also be in play. What if being around all that Psitanium has brought whatever deeply buried psychic powers the four shared to the surface?

Honestly, it was the best they had to go on. There were hardly any cases of spontaneous psychic manifestation in those beyond adolescence and the four weren’t showing any of the usual symptom relating to those sort of circumstances.

Regardless, it didn’t change the fact that the organization now had a whole mess of new psychics in the mix who needed training.

Which is what brought Milla to the front gates of the Von Gouten Arts Academy for Girls (formally Hagatha Home) bright and early one Wednesday morning. The former actress had bought the dilapidated old academy around a year ago using some of the wealth she’s amassed during her glory years. (It was amazing how much interest a saving account left to sit could accrue.) Since then she’d been fixing the place up, hiring teachers and generally getting the place running even better than before, eventually joined in her endeavors by the other three Thorney Towers residents when they moved onto the grounds with her.

Milla found herself smiling up at the stylized “VG” woven into the metal of the newly installed gate in the stone fence that surrounded the property. Gloria really was doing an excellent job with the place. Rolling her window down, the Mental Minx leaned out and pressed the button of the call box installed in the fence wall. For a moment there was silence and then a familiar voice crackled to life on the other end.

“Good morning! Do you have an appointment?”

“Well, I would certainly hope so Darling.” Milla teased and she could practically hear the smile in Boyd’s voice when he replied.

“Dang, is it really Wednesday already? Well, head right on up Mrs. Vodello! I’ll let the rest of the gang know you’re coming.”

There was a buzz and the whirring of mechanisms as the gate opened and allowed access to the road beyond. Continuing on down the path, she soon found herself pulling into the large round driveway in front of the building. A group of students tending to one of the flower beds out front waved as she parked and stepped out of the car, Boyd likewise stepping out of the guard shack nearby and making his way over.

“Good morning to you Ms. Vodello! You the only one here today?”

“Not quite.” She replied with a chuckle, just in time for the back door of the car to fly open and Raz to stick his grinning face out around it.

“Hi Boyd!”

“Hey, good to see you too Raz! Come on inside, the rest of the gang should be on their way.” He replied with a grin, reaching down to ruffle the boy’s hair as he led them inside.

For as horrid as the place had apparently originally been ran, the former owner had at least had good architectural sense, and the large oak front doors opened into a soaring foyer, complete with a grand spiral staircase. One that Gloria was already beginning to make her way down as the doors closed behind them.

“Well good morning Ms. Vodello! And to you too Raz dear!” The former actress beamed, taking Boyd’s offered arm as she stepped down the last few stairs.

“You came at just the right time. I just finished up with morning announcements. Please, feel free to head right over to the practice room, the rest of the boys should already be on their way. Oh, and I’ve also had some snacks from the dining hall sent on ahead. I hope you both like blueberry muffins!”

“That sounds just delightful darling!” Milla replied cheerfully, smiling wider when she saw the stars in Raz’s eyes at the mention of food. Milla sidled up beside the actress as they started down into one of the academy’s wings, one of Gloria’s arms still linked with Boyd’s.

“So how have the plants been treating you darling?”

“Oh, better everyday! My garden is thriving and I think I’m really starting to get a good hold of this whole telepathy thing! Getting it across to all my little lovelies that there’s really no need to shout every time I come in hasn’t been easy, but I think it’s finally starting to stick. The roses and lilies are still a horrible bunch of gossips, but I doubt there’s much I’ll ever be able to do about that.” She replied with a laugh.

“They do come in useful to make sure none of the students are pulling anything they shouldn’t though!”

“That’s wonderful to hear! How about you Boyd? Have you been making any process in your off-time?” Milla asked, the guard rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Yeah, a bit. It ain’t exactly been fast progress, but one step at a time you know? But hey! At least I haven’t accidentally lit up anything important again since you taught me those exercises. There’s only so many times I can almost burn down Edgar’s classroom before it starts to get ridiculous.”

Milla smiled softly, reaching over to pat the guard on the back.

“Well, learning to fully control one’s powers can be a long path. It took me years to master my own skillset. Like you said, it’s just one step at a time. I think you’ve made wonderful progress though, and I’m very proud of you darling.” She mused and the man flushed a bit at her praise and mumbled a word of thanks, tugging his hat low over his eyes bashfully as Gloria gave him a smile.

The group of four quickly found themselves at the extra dance studio in the buildings far west they’d assigned at their practice room, and upon stepping inside found Fred and Edgar already waiting for them.

“Oh, hey Ms. Milla. And you too Raz. Sorry, gimme just a sec to finish up some papers.” The tall school counselor called over distractedly, scribbling away on a clipboard from where he was sitting on a nearby bench.

“Apologies for my rather ruffled appearance as well, mi amigos.” Edgar chimed in, wiping his hands down with a long-since-stained painting cloth. Both his hands and the old shirt he wore were splattered with the stuff, having somehow even managed to get some on his face and hair.

“You caught me in the middle of a bit of early morning painting.”

“Just be sure to remember and get some rest dear. We can’t have our best art teacher burning the candle at both ends.” Gloria replied with a smile as she strode over, reaching up to stroke away a smudge of paint on his cheek. The artist gave a soft smile as he leaned into the touch.

“Oh course mi amour.”

“Good. And that goes for your too Fred. Don’t think I haven’t noticed a certain someone sneaking out of bed early the last few mornings.” She called over, and the counselor jumped a bit at being called out, flushing bashfully as he looked at her over the edge of the clipboard.

“Right, you’re right. So, what’s the plan for today Ms. Milla? Seeing as how Mr. Dark and Serious isn’t here, I assume we’re working on our levitation?” Fred asked, setting aside the clipboard as he pushed himself to his feet, the Brazilian woman giving a laugh at his joke.

“Oh come now, Sasha isn’t that bad. But you are correct! Today we’re going to be working more on your levitation!” She replied, settling back as though sitting upon an invisible chair and crossing her legs as she floated up a few feet above the ground.

“Now, last time you all managed to manifest a “Levitation Ball” as we like to call it. This time we’ll be taking the next step and practicing our ability to balance atop them. Razputin darling, if you would demonstrate?” The Mental Minx requested and the young psychic nodded, raising a hand above his head. A large ball of swirling orange energy formed in his palm and he tossed it down, easily jumping up and balancing atop it.

“Now then, we aren’t all trained acrobats like Razputin here, so it might take a while to find your balance and get the hang of it. Consider it like balancing on a medicine ball. Remember, thinking lighter, rounder, happier thoughts can help in manifesting the ball more easily. Go ahead and give it a try! And please let me know if you need any help at all.”

Early on in these lessons the group had felt a bit silly to be using psychic instruction methods typically meant for children, but they’d gotten over it quickly enough. After all, most psychics got their powers much younger than the lot of them were, so starting at a lower level of instruction was only appropriate. It helped that the simple exercises really worked wonders too.

Though that didn’t mean it was gonna be easy. Forming the ball was one thing. Staying on was another.

A fact the group quickly discovered.

Fred gave a squeak as his light blue orb suddenly slid forward, taking the foot he’d just managed to plant atop it along with it, threatening to pull the man into a split as he hopped forward to follow it. In his defense, Edgar and Boyd didn’t seem to be doing much better. The latter had managed to get atop his off-white bubble, but was now swaying about wildly as he tried to keep balanced, arms windmilling in an attempt to steady himself. The former was having much the same troubles, quickly getting dumped back onto the floor each time he attempted to clamber up.

Gloria was the only one of the bunch who seemed to be making much progress. The woman had moved over to one of the practice room’s ballet bars and was gripping it for stability as she gingerly set one foot on her own ball. With a small grunt she hefted herself up, the orb wiggling worryingly beneath her for a moment before stilling.

“There you go! You’re doing wonderful darling!” Milla cheered her on, clapping encouragingly as the other woman smiled.

“Why thank you Milla dear. After some of the ridiculous shoes I’ve had to wear in my years on the stage, this isn’t so bad.” Gloria replied, putting her arms out to balance as her stance wavered a bit.

“Oof! Well, I’m glad one of us seems to be getting it, mi amor. This is far less easy than Señorita Vodello makes it look.” Edgar replied with a grunt, the wind getting knocked out of him as he fell to the ground once more. Milla let out a thoughtful hum, tapping her lips as she watched the struggling group. Suddenly her eyes flashed with inspiration and she snapped her fingers with a grin.

“Well, I think I may know a way to help.”

The whole group, including Raz, whom had rolled over to try and help Boyd stay upright, turned to look at her in interest.

“I’d like you all to form two, smaller levitation balls instead of one.” She directed, miming the shape of two basketball sized orbs.

“Uh, ok. But how is that gonna help?” Fred asked, already focusing on trying to reform his ball into two even as he tiled his head in confusion.

“Well, as you know, those like me, who’ve had a lot of practice, don’t require a physical representation of their levitation in order to float. Most of those who do tend to only create a singular orb to assist them, so they can don’t have to split their focus. I’ve found that others though, who have a nice grip on the psychic side of things, but are having a harder time managing the physical part, tend to prefer use two. Think of them a bit like ice or roller skates.”

“Oh, I think I see what you mean amiga!” Edgar replied in excitement, focusing till his deep red ball split into two smaller ones. Carefully, he stepped atop on, managing to balance one-footed long enough to successfully stabilize himself using the other. Cautiously, he rolled forward a few feet, face splitting into a smile as he managed to keep his balance.

“Well, well, this actually is easier.”

The others quickly followed his example, and the slight adjustment seemed to do wonders. Soon Gloria was twirling lazy loops around the room like a proper skater, Edgar trailing a bit more slowly, but no less enthusiastically, after her. Fred seemed to be doing a tad bit better than before, but was still gripping tight to a much more steady Boyd’s shoulders as the two slowly drifted in circles, Fred’s long legs doing their damnedest to keep him upright.

“Never been great at skating either, but this is a bit better I guess.” The counselor murmured, glancing up to find his partner giving him an encouraging smile.

“Hey, it just takes a little practice! I’m sure you’ll levitating like a pro in no time!” Raz encouraged, giving a whoop of delight as Gloria grabbed him and twirled him around as he glided past.

“Impressive, but I’m afraid we’re going to have to cut the class short for today.”

The whole group gave a jump at the sudden voice, Fred giving a yelp as the levitation bubbles below him popped and dropped him on his ass, and they all turned to see Sasha standing in the now open doorway.

“Sasha, darling! What are you doing here? Didn’t you have other business today?” Milla asked in confusion, drifting over to help Fred up, and the German sighed seriously.

“Yes, but I just got a call from the headquarters. It seems...that Agent Pandor has disappeared.”

Milla gave a gasp, pressing both hands to her mouth, and Raz cocked his head in confusion.

“Uhhh, who’s Agent Pandor?”

“Ms. Tanya Pandor. One of the Psychonauts junior agents and a specialist in subterfuge and information gathering. I’m afraid you haven’t had the opportunity to meet yet.”

“But isn’t Tanya on vacation right now?” Milla asked and Sasha nodded.

“Yes, she had gone skiing at a lodge up in Colorado. The HQ asked her to check in regularly for security reasons. According to what I was briefed with, reports dropped off a few days ago. After a few failed attempts to get ahold of her, eventually the HQ resorted to calling the lodge itself to check in on her, thinking maybe she’d fallen sick. When they checked her room however, the whole thing was empty. It’s as though she just vanished.”

“Oh my! That sounds troubling indeed!” Gloria gasped, mirroring Milla as she held a hand to her mouth dramatically, and the German nodded.

“It certainly is. While Ms. Pandor wasn’t one of our top agents, her skills are none the less important to the Psychonauts and her disappearing is far from ideal. Finding out what happened to her has been assigned as our team’s top priority.”

“Well, is there anything we could do to help?” Fred piped up and the two senior agents looked over at him in confusion.

“What do you mean darling?” Milla asked and the counselor fidgeted nervously with the hem of his shirt as he replied.

“Well, I mean we’re technically part of the Psychonauts to now, even if we’re just in training, right? So that means this agent is one of our buddies too. And it’s only right to try and help out our friends whenever we can right?”

“I agree!” Edgar exclaimed, clapping a hand down on his companion’s shoulder as he turned to face the assembled agents.

“If there’s anything we can do to help and find this missing girl, we’re more than happy to do so!”

Boyd and Gloria nodded along in agreement as Sasha’s gaze scanned over them, the German man’s head tilting in thought.

“Well, I suppose more eyes on the ground would certainly help. And since Mrs. Pandor wasn’t on a mission or anything, this could be a fairly safe environment for you all to get some field experience...”

“Well, I think it sounds like a great idea!” Raz chipped in, folding his arms and nodding wisely, earning an eye roll and a sigh from the older agent.

“...Very well, I suppose it couldn’t hurt.”

“Excellent! Don’t you all worry, I’ll get all the arrangements handled! Just be ready to go in a few hours and remember to pack warmly!” Milla replied, clapping her hands together cheerfully, as Raz gave out a quiet cheer.

The three agents departed quickly after that, leaving the group to make arrangements. It took a bit of scrambling to get everything organized with the rest of the schools staff, but soon enough they found themselves packing.

“I sure hope that poor gal is ok. Hopefully we can find her quick.” Boyd mused, leaning hard onto his suitcase in order to try and get it to lock around the mound of sweaters and other winterwear inside.

“Oh, I’m sure she’s just fine Boyd dear. Those Psychonauts are a tough bunch after all. No doubt she’ll appreciate your concern when we do find her though.” Gloria reassured him, folding up a thick woolen dress to tuck into one of her own bags.

“I must admit, I’m a bit excited. I’ve never been to a ski lodge before.” Edgar pipped up, an excited smile on his face as Fred let out an amused laugh.

“Can’t say I have either. Well, cept for this one time back in college. And with all the drinks that weekend, I can barely remember it. I’m sure it’s not gotta be anything tooooo over the top. Those places always talk themselves up.”

“Holy hell, they were not talking this place up.” Fred muttered, his and the rest of the motley crews jaws dropping open in shock as they leaned out the windows of the truck to stare at the vista unfolding before them.

The place was really less of a lodge and more of a small village, what with the amount of connected buildings that made it up. The whole residence was constructed of pale wood, stone and brass, all woven together into a beautiful work of architectural engineering at the base of the snowy mountain. As they pulled into the parking lot at the place’s edge, they passed beneath a large ornate arch reading “Goldsmuth Lodge and Resort”.

“Yeah, Tanya does not mess around when it comes to her vacations. No really surprised, that girl barely gets any time off.” Oleander agreed, nodding in appreciating at the sight as the car slowed. When Milla and Sasha had announced their new plan to the other higher-up, the man had been assigned to the case as an additional supervisor, as well as another pair of eyes. Raz had tried to convince Lili to come along as well, but apparently there was few things the girl hated more than cold weather, not too much of a surprise coming from a florapath, so his requests had fallen on deaf ears.

Once their oversized vehicle had stopped, their collective group spilled out to stretch, several backs popping after the lengthy ride. They couldn’t very well retain their cover if they came flying in on a Psychonauts jet after all, so they’d been forced to stash it at one of the organizations safe houses and drive the rest of the way instead.

“Well then, let’s unpack and get checked in. The sooner we can find Ms. Pandor, the better.” Sasha announced, adjusting his glasses as he scanned the large plaza for the proper entrance.

There was suddenly a yelp and the sound of tumbling luggage from the rear of the vehicle. Glancing around the back of the truck, they found a mound of bags and suitcases that had no doubt tumbled free when the hatch had opened. A moment later a bag fell away as a familiar blue head popped up out of the pile and swiveled to look at them, the figure immediately giving them a sheepish smile, a hand also emerging from the pile to give them an awkward wave.

“I still can’t believe you convinced HQ to let us bring Loboto along.” Raz mused in amusement, Oleander shaking his head as he walked over to help extract the rehabilitated (in progress) criminal from his luggage prison.

“Well, Cagliosto is certainly in desperate need of some outside socialization. A relaxing place like this could be perfectly helpful with his recovery, darling!” Milla replied with a chuckle as she watched Morry lever the skinnier man up and almost fall over himself in the process. The former mad scientist quickly grabbed the agent by the front of his coat in a panic to keep him upright, the two flushing as the motion inadvertently tugged them chest to chest. Sasha gave as an amused eyeroll as the German could feasibly manage, while Milla and Raz gave a quiet giggle at his side. The two former villains had been dancing around each other for months now, much to the amusement, and occasionally frustration, of everyone watching.

“Well, like Sasha said, the sooner we get inside, the sooner we can really start enjoying ourselves. Here, let me help you there dear.” Gloria smiled, the rest of the group trailing after her as she stepped up to help retrieve the fallen luggage, Loboto giving her a thankful, if sheepish smile in return. While the four had long since forgiven Caligosto for all the asylum business (after all, he had been cursed at the time with, as he himself put it, the “insanity of a manatee”), things were still pretty awkward between them. Gloria though, every friendly, had doing her best to help bridge the gap in the meantime.

It took a bit to gather up all the luggage, and even longer to find the right entrance, but eventually they managed. The walk there had been interesting at least. Everywhere they looked, there was some new, interesting winter activity the place seemed to offer, from ice skating to toboggan rental. Their own rather modge-podge group was also getting a number of curious onlookers, which was far from ideal, but there wasn’t much they could do about it really.

The lodge’s lobby was wonderfully warm compared to the wintery chill outside, and they could already feel the scattered flakes of snow melting on their coats as they strode up to the main desk.

“Hello there! Can I help you ladies and gentlemen?” The brunette behind the desk asked with a smile, Sasha plucking his glasses off to wipe away the fog they’d accrued from the heat inside as he spoke.

“Reservations for Nein, Vodello and Gouten.”

“Alright then, just a moment!”

The young woman’s finger flew along the keyboard in a blur for several moment’s before she paused, biting her lip in concern.

“Oh, well there seems to be a small problem. You ladies and gentlemen called for a reservation rather last minute and it seems your rooms aren’t quite ready yet. My deepest apologies. You are all more than welcome to wait in the lodges lounge till they’re ready, free of charge.” She replied, giving an apologetic bow of her head as she gestured towards a pair of open doors nearby.

“Oh, it’s no problem at all darling!” Milla replied, waving a hand nonchalantly.

“Apologies for the rather sudden reservations. Our little trip was a bit of a recent development.”

“Thank you for your understanding Ms. I’ll come and inform you once your rooms are ready.”

The lounge was somehow even more impressive than the grand lobby they’d just stepped out of. He place was lit in a dim but cozy manner, a long bar stretching along one wall. The rest of the space was filled with a number of comfortable tables, armchairs and couches that encircled a handful of square open-sided pillar fireplaces that dotted the room here and there. With an excited “ooo!”, Raz rushed off to look around with Loboto trailing after him, the bunch chuckling at his antics as Sasha glanced around.

“How about you all stay here for a bit? We need to ask around the staff and see if we can find anything regarding Ms. Pandor’s disappearance.” He proposed after a moment.

“Are you sure? Is there any way we can help?” Boyd asked, fidgeting nervously.

“No, it would be best if you aren’t seen with us too much while we’re actively investigating. To help avoid casting suspicion on you lot as well and all.”

“Keep your eyes and ears open while we’re gone soldiers! Always vigilant!” Oleander commanded, giving them a little salute as the trio went off. Shaking her head in amusement at their antics, Gloria gestured toward the bar.

“Care for some drinks while we wait boys?”

Despite the lodge’s rather bustling crowd, there were only a few people at the bar and they were easily able to find seats.

“Hello there folks, what can I get you?” The bartender, a man looking somewhere in his 30’s, asked.

“Hot Chocolate!”

Gloria’s yelp of surprise at the sudden shout quickly devolved into giggles as Raz and the former villain popped up beside her, clambering up onto the next stools.

“And a cider for me sir.”

As the bartender went to work assembling the groups drink orders, he glanced over at them with a smile.

“Don’t think I’ve seen you folks around before. Welcome. What’s the occasion for the visit?”

The group glanced at each other, all trying their best to hide their slight panic. They hadn’t exactly been properly prepped for people asking them about their motives yet after all.

“Oh, uh, we, uh, came to visit with a friend we heard was staying here.” Boyd stuttered nervously. Picking up on what he was trying, Gloria slipped straight into her old actress skills and gave a sigh.

“Yes, a Ms. Tanya Pandor. She’s one of our old students. Unfortunately, it seems that we may have just missed her.”

The bartender paused, tapping his chin in thought.

“Ms. Pandor you say? Actually, I do remember her. Very exuberant. And you heard right, she seems to have left already. Was the talk of the staff rumor mill for a day or two actually. Some of her coworkers called asking to speak with her on some matter, but when the staff went up to let her know about the call, she was nowhere to bee seen. Must have left damn late at night for nobody to notice her. Which is odd really...”

“Odd, how?” Loboto asked, the group jumping a moment at his voice, seemingly having forgotten he was there, before leaning towards the bartender in interest, the man glancing around before lowering his voice.

“Well, we’re really not supposed to divulge things about the other guests, so you didn’t hear this from me, but I may have been one of the last people to see her. You see, I was assigned as a ski slope guard that day, you know, to watch and make sure nobody got injured and needed medical attention. I was stationed on one of our more challenging hills, the Black Diamond one, when I saw Ms. Pandor go whipping by. I know it has her because she had a very distinctive ski jacket she always seemed to be wearing. This whole black, purple and gold affair. Plus she has been very kind and gracious to the staff. We tend to remember those sorts of things. Anyways, she gave me a wave as she went past and seemed to be having the time of her life. It seems so strange that she would leave so abruptly without saying anything. I do hope something didn’t upset her.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry too much about it, dear.” Gloria replied with a smile, waving a hand nonchalantly.

“Tanya has always been the spirited type, zipping from place to place. Just a little lightning bolt.”

“Yes, she certainly did seem like that type. I’m sure you’re right. Ah, that’s right, your drinks!”

The group was quickly presented with their fine beverages, including a healthy topping of whipped cream and sprinkles for Raz and Loboto’s chocolatey treats. Edgar and Gloria’s cider was just as delicious, rich and warm. (Fred and Boyd’s spiked eggnog was perhaps not the most professional thing to be drinking during a spy investigation, but nobody was about to call them out on it.) For a time they sat at the bar, chatting away to the bartender about the various activities around the lodge, before Raz suddenly caught the shape of their other companions watching them from a nearby doorway. Nudging Gloria, he nodded over towards them, and the woman took the hint, turning to the bartender with a smile.

“Well, I’m afraid we must be going now dear. We can’t spend all vacation here in the lounge after all. Thank you for the lovely time.”

“My pleasure Ms. I hope to see you all again soon.” He replied with a nod and smile as they stepped away from the bar, his eyes widening in surprise and delight when he noticed the generous tip the group had left tucked under one of the empty mugs.

Following their missing members lead, the group ducked over into a more private corner of the lounge to meet them.

“Did you guys find anything?” Raz asked quietly, Sasha giving a frustrated sigh in return.

“No, unfortunately not. None of the night staff noticed her leaving that day. Which leaves us back at square one.”

“Well, luckily for you, we just might have a clue.” Fred replied with a smile, the trio looking over at him in surprise.

“Wait, really?!” Oleander exclaimed and the counselor gave him an unamused look.

“Geez buddy, give us some credit. We’re not completely useless. But yeah, apparently somebody saw Tanya out on one of the ski slopes earlier that day. Whatcha wanna bet there might be some sort of clue somewhere out there?” He replied, Oleander reaching up to stroke his mustache in thought as he considered the other man’s words.

“I’d say you’d probably be right on the money. Maybe Pandor saw something out there that made her haul ass out of here, though I’ve never known her for the scaredy cat type. And that would still leave the question of where she went. But it’s a lead.”

“How’s about this?” Sasha pipped up, waving a hand to get all their attention.

“The three of us have worked out with the management to take a look in Ms. Pandor’s room, see if she maybe left some sort of clue behind. While we’re doing that, you six could head out onto the slopes and take a look around. A group of casual vacation goers, including a child, would likely draw a lot less attention than the three of us for the time being.”

“Well, I think it sounds like a marvelous plan!” Loboto replied exuberantly, pausing and rubbing his neck sheepishly when they all turned to look at him.

“If that’s alright with you all of course.”

He was met with a chorus of headshakes and “no, that’d be fine”s, so he grinned once more and nodded in satisfaction.

“Sounds like a plan then!”

“Just please all be careful.” Milla replied, eyes full of concern, and Raz gave her a comforting smile.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be ok! Besides, whenever are we not careful?”

The 50-yard stare of no doubt Whispering Rock related war flashbacks that she gave him in return spoke volumes.

“Thank god for government provided tailoring. Trying to find snow wear for proportions like mine is hellish.” Fred sighed quietly in satisfaction, adjusting his perfectly fitting ski jacket to a chorus of chuckles. The 6 of them were currently waiting in line at the equipment rental shop. Once they’d gotten their luggage up to the rooms and finally unpacked, they’d found the new sets of winter gear amongst their belongings, perfectly tailored and clearly a gift from the Psychonauts organization. How said organization knew their measurements was a mystery they neither had, nor wanted, the answer to.

“I must admit, they are rather fetching, aren’t they?” Gloria replied with a smile, giving a little twirl to let the hem of her longer coat poof out for a moment like the skirt of a dress.

Eventually the line cleared out enough for them to enter the small store displaying the various types of equipment available for rental and purchase. Splitting up to look, they all quickly selected their preferred styles. It didn’t take long for most of them to reconvene near the counter, each carrying a fairly simple pair of skis. There was no need for the super high-grade stuff, none of them were professionals after all. When Raz came running back with a snowboard, none of them were really that surprised. Skis had seemed a bit boring for the boy’s exuberant personality to begin with. What did draw their shock however was when Fred came trotting up behind the young psychic, a long light blue board slung over his shoulder.

“Uh, mi amor, are you sure that’s what you meant to get?” Edgar asked, eyeing the board in equal parts confusion and concern, and Fred laughed in return.

“Oh yeah, don’t worry about it. Never said I had been using skis when I went someplace like this back in college. Always been useless with them. Snowboards were a different story though. Used to skateboard a lot back in high school too. Now let’s go see if I’ve still got any of that old muscle memory still rattling around.”

As a group that was inexperienced, and in some of their cases completely unfamiliar, with the equipment, getting into their rented pieces ended up a tad more challenging than intended. Boyd nearly poked himself in the eye with one of his poles and Raz promptly fell backwards into a snowdrift after figuring out how hook his boots into the board, but eventually they managed to get their nonsense together enough to try and get in line for the ski-lift that would take them up to the Black Slope.

Try being the key word.

Just as they were in the process of settling themselves at the back of the line, a slightly nervous voice called out behind them.

“Hmm, now I don’t claim to be an expert on skiing, but something tells me this isn’t how it’s supposed to go.”

Turning to look back, they found Loboto had not only somehow managed to put both of his skis on backwards, but was now also slowly sliding away from them down the slight decline, ski poles digging into the snow in an attempt to stop himself. Boyd, being the closest to him, darted out to try and grab the man, but missed his hand by a hair, and he began to pick up speed.

“Whoa! Look out there!”

Someone suddenly darted behind the former mad scientist, catching him by the shoulders and stopping his uncontrolled journey. As the person carefully pushed the man back up towards the group, they got a better look at them. It was a young man in his early 20’s, with pale skin and messy sandy blonde hair.

“There ya go!” He announced, settling the dentist back in front of the rest of the group and crouching. down to look at his skis.

“Ah, here’s your problem! Here, this should help.”

With deft fingers, he unhooked Loboto from the skis, flipped them around and had him step back in, hooking him securely into place.

“Uh, thank you. I’m a bit of a beginner.” The blue skinned villain thanked him, cheeks flushing the tiniest bit of dark blue in embarrassment, the younger man glancing over at the sign announcing the coming hill at his words.

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly recommend this hill to someone still getting their snow legs, but I can’t fault you for wanting to jump into the challenge head first!” He replied with a merry laugh.

“Oh, don’t worry, we’ll be very careful. Thank you for your help, Mr...?” Gloria replied, the young man jumping to attention when he realized her pause was requesting and answer and reaching out a hand to shake.

“Oh, just call me Josh! A pleasure to meet you folks!”

He quickly exchanged handshakes with them all, Raz included, as the line to the chair lift drew shorter.

“You certainly seem to know your stuff.” Edgar complemented him, glancing over as Loboto turned his ankle this way and that to look at the ski mechanism in fascination.

“I would certainly hope so, considering all the years I’ve worked here! I know all the ins and outs like the back of my hand!”

“Well isn’t that wonderful. This seems like a splendid place to work.” Gloria replied with a smile.

“Oh it is, I couldn’t be luckier. Oh, looks like it’s you guys turn!”

Turning to look, they found the couple behind them settling into their chair on the lift, the next one incoming. As they stepped up to wait on it, Josh stepped away, giving them a wave as he turned to leave.

“Hopefully I see you guys around! If you’ve got any questions, just let me know. If want to know anything about the lodge or hills, I’m your guy!”

“We definitely will!” Fred called after him, the group raising their arms to wave back, before prepping to climb aboard the lift.

The benches ended up only being able to fit 3 people, so they ended up separated into two groups, Fred, Boyd and Edgar in the first chair, with Raz, Gloria and Caligosto grabbing the second. For the former, the ride up was honestly pretty pleasant and peaceful, the view from up so high showing them a beautiful vista.

“Wow, we really are up high huh?” Boyd, wondered out loud, glancing down over the side of the chair at the forest spread out below them.

“Si, we certainly are. Hmm, I wonder, is this the sort of view you normally have mi amor?” Edgar asked, looking at the lanky man between them with a cheeky smirk. Fred gave the painter an unamused look as on his other side Boyd let out a snorted laugh, breaking into giggles.

“Seriously? Your pulling out the tall guy jokes?”

With a grin and chuckle, the Hispanic man leaned up to give the taller man a peck on the cheek as their other partner leaned against his shoulder in a giggling fit.

“Apologies mi amor, I couldn’t resist.”

In the other chair however, things were going...less pleasantly.

Raz gazed down at the trees below as they rode along, humming some song the piano player in the lobby had been playing. Feeling something bump his leg, he glanced over, seeing Loboto’s legs jittering back and forth enough to jostle against him. Now that he thought about it, the whole man was shaking. Glancing up at the dentist’s face, he found the older man’s gaze fixed straight down at the ground. His hands were fisted in and tugging nervously at the strings of his ski hat (they’d all agreed the shower cap might be a bit too conspicuous), causing the large pop pom on top to bounce rhythmically. And judging by his harsh breathing, the guy was probably about 2 steps away from hyperventilating.

“Um, Loboto?” The young boy asked, seeming to snap the dentist out of his daze, at least partially, both he and Gloria looking over at him.

“Are you ok?”

“Now that I notice, you do seem a bit...tense, dear. Are you feeling alright?” Gloria added gently

“Oh, just fine! Happy as a clam! No reason at all to feel nervous!” He replied exuberantly, the smile on his face horribly forced, eyes darting to the drop below them every few seconds.

Raz stared at him, mind puzzling over the info. The slightly loony man was usually fairly fearless, sometimes to the point of his own peril. So what could have gotten him so stirred up?

Glancing down at the ground far below them, something suddenly clicked in the boy’s head. A memory rose to the front of his mind, one of a night at an asylum what seemed so long ago, and a certain dentist’s supposed demise at the hands of a turtle powered tank. Raz felt the pit of his stomach drop, guilt sweeping over him at the realization.

“Uh, hey, is there any way this about the time you...you know?” Raz asked gently, hand gestures miming the image of a person falling off something, and flinched when the man’s head snapped around to look at him, smile wide.

“What?! No, no, of course not!...Maybe...probably...” He replied, his vibrato visibly deflating as he tried his best not to look down.

“Oh, Loboto dear, it’s alright. There’s nothing to worry about.” Gloria fretted, catching onto the issue and reaching out to pat the blue man’s back.

“Yeah, these ski lifts are like, totally safe!” Raz exclaimed, in an attempt to help.

As though mocking them, the lift jerked for a moment, sending them swinging a bit. Loboto sucked in a sharp breath at the motion, hand instinctively tightening where it had been wrapped lightly around Raz’s forearm in a grip that would definitely be leaving bruises the next day. Gloria grimaced when she saw Raz wince, raising a hand to tap her chin in thought.

“Oh dear, well this isn’t good.”

After a moment an idea hit her, and she leaned over to catch the mad dentist’s gaze smiling gently.

“Loboto dear, have I ever told you about the first time I ever took to the stage?”

The man paused in his panicking, seeming to calm slightly as he gave her a confused look, Raz looking at her in equal confusion but seeming to roll with it.

“Um, not that I’m aware of?”

“Well, let me tell you. I’ve preformed on hundreds of stages of the years, all over the world. The theater was my lifeblood. But the first time I performed in front of people, oh, I was terrified.”

“R-Really?” The man replied, eyes widening.

“Oh, absolutely. It was the worst case of stage fright I ever felt. I was absolutely petrified. My palms were sweaty, my head was spinning. I completely froze up on stage. And that wasn’t the only time. No no, I’ve had stage fright hundreds of times in my career. I almost refused to go on stage for my own awards ceremony, I was so nervous. But let me tell you something very important I’ve learned.”

She leaned in close, taking the man’s hands gently in her own, both he and Raz leaning in in fascination.

“There’s nothing wrong with being afraid. Everyone fears something. I’m scared of messing up on stage, overwhelmingly so. Young Raz here has his own fears, as do you. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Being brave doesn’t mean the absence of fear. Anyone who says so is an idiot. No, to be brave is to look fear in the face and still continue on in spite of it.”

Leaning back, she looked out at the forest surrounding them.

“This really is a lovely view, isn’t it?”

“Yes...Yes I suppose it is.” The dentist replied quietly, gazing out at the landscape around them seemingly with new eyes. He still seemed nervous certainly, gaze fixed firmly on the horizon in an attempt not to look down, but his shaking had stopped and his breathing had steadied. From behind his back, Raz gave the actress two big thumbs up and a grin.

As they neared the peak of the hill, they could the others laughing about something in the chair ahead of them, quickly hurrying off of it to make room as they reached the landing. As soon as it was their turn, Loboto practically threw himself off the ski lift, clearly trying to reach Terra Firma as quickly as possible. Gloria and Raz followed at a more normal rate behind him, pausing for a moment when the boy looked up at her.

“Not gonna lie, that was kinda awesome.”

“Why thank you my dear.” She replied sweetly, before giving him a little grin and leaning in closer as she lowered her voice.

“I’ve had a lot of practice at that speech. You’d be amazed how many new actors and actresses get opening night jitters. Still works like a charm.”

Leaving the boy to sputter in surprise for a moment, she skied on to where the others were waiting at the hills peak.

“So, what’s the plan?” Fred asked, adjusting his feet in the snowboard as Raz caught back up with them.

“Keep together and keep our eyes out for anything suspicious I guess?” The boy replied with a shrug, earning a nod from the rest of the group.

“Sounds like a plan bud.”

After some quick adjustment of clothing, equipment and whatever else, they set off.

It became quickly apparent that none of them were even close to professional skiers, though some were faring better than others. Fred’s muscle memory did seem to be kicking in, handling his snowboard with surprisingly few complications, while Gloria’s seemingly natural graceful-ness was doing her skis well. Raz took a spill every now and them, but likewise, his acrobat training seemed to be translating pretty well to snow-sports.

The others weren’t faring quite as well. Edgar seemed to be developing a habit of falling over onto his back pretty often, his large upper body pulling him over whenever he began to lose his balance, while Boyd seemed to be having the opposite problem, having taken more than a few headers face first into the snow already. Loboto was surprisingly staying up pretty well, perhaps his long legs were to blame for his better balance, but every few second he would begin to weave wildly back and forth on the slope before correcting himself, only for the cycle to repeat again shortly thereafter. The whole lot of them were certainly getting a lot of curious looks from the more advanced skiers that would occasionally pass them, the occasional trail guard they passed seeming even more concerned.

With all the chaos, it’s a wonder any of them ever saw anything.

“Whoa, wait everybody!” Raz suddenly cried about halfway down the trail, skidding to a sudden stop. He was nearly bowled over by the others in their attempts to stop, Edgar managing to fall onto his back once more and slid a few feet past him with an exasperated sigh.

“Dios mio, this is becoming tiring. What’s the matter mi amigo?”

“Look at those trees over there.” He replied, pointing to part of the forest that lined either side of the path. Glancing to where he pointed, they spotted what he seemed to be gesturing to. A swath of low branches in a certain area were snapped and bent, as though something had run into them or pulled them out of the way.

“Yeah, that definitely looks like it could be something.” Boyd replied with the critical eye of a security guard, the whole group moving off the path and towards the woodland to examine them. Upon closer inspection, there was most definitely something amiss. While the branches closer to the path broke inwards towards the forest, others further in seemed to break outwards.

“Hey, what’s that?” Raz asked, squinting further into the woodland. Unhooking himself from the snowboard, he darted further into the trees, moving to the edge of the breakage, and crouching down, seemingly digging around near one large trees roots. After a moment he seemed to free whatever he was holding and started back in the others direction.

“Look at this guys.”

He held it up for them to see, the group leaning in for a closer look. It seemed to be a long scrap of torn fabric, patterned in thick, alternating purple and black stripes, with a flash of gold along one edge.

“What do you guys think it is?” Boyd asked in bewilderment, squinting at the piece. Beside him, Edgar gave a sudden small gasp.

“Wait, didn’t that bartender say that Señorita Pandor wore a jacket in these colors?”

The group gapped at him for a moment before turning back to the scrap with renewed interest.

“Holy hell guys, I think we just found an actual clue.” Fred sputtered in amazement, Raz’s eyes lighting up.

“Hey maybe there’s more stuff to find back there! Come on, let’s go look!” the boy crowed, moving to run back into the trees.

He didn’t get very far though, as the wind suddenly kicked up, nearly knocking him over as it ripped through the trees with a swirl of snow.

“Geeze, I though trees were good for avoiding wind. Come on!”

He tried to take a few more steps forwards, only to get knocked back by another gust, being forced to take a few steps back to the group this time. Quickly the wind began to build, howling around the lot of them and kicking up the snow into near white out conditions.

“Damn, they’ve got some crazy weather in these parts!” Boyd called over the noise, Fred replying as he threw up his arms as much as he could to block his face.

“Not the sort I’ve ever seen before!”

“Wait.”

They all quieted, turning to look over Loboto, who was currently looking around in confusion.

“Now, I may have been called crazy one or twice in the past, but does anyone else hear something odd?”

The group stilled, listening hard over the wind. All at the same time, they seemed to catch it, Fred glancing around the group in sudden nervousness.

“Does that sound like growling to anyone else?”

Indeed, the sound mixed in amongst the howling of the wind was much deeper and guttural, rumbling through the air.

Crack

They all froze at the loud sound of splintering wood, all slowly turning in unison to look deeper into the woods. A shape appeared through the blur of snow, the growling growing louder and the shape becoming clearer as it drew towards them. Eventually it stopped at the edge of the broken branches and their hearts all collectively stopped as they made out what it was.

A massive beast, easily 8 or 9 feet tall, bipedal, and clothed in long white hair, only it’s slightly darker face and palms peeking out through the thick fur. For a long, drawn-out moment, there was nothing but the howling of the wind. The only thing to interrupt it was a tiny, likely instinctual whisper from Raz.

“Holy shit.”

The beast didn’t seem to like that very much and its growl deepened. With one massive hand, it reached up and tore a branch from the tree beside it with the sound of screeching wood, before reaching back and hurling it at the group. With a collective cry of surprise and panic they all managed to throw themselves out of the way of it, the large chunk of wood landing amongst the other broken branches nearby. Its failure seemed to enrage the beast even more and it reached down, clawing and tearing a truly gargantuan chunk of snow up out of the ground. It lifted it up and above its head, clearly reeling back to launch it at them, and Raz let out another, this time very foreign sounding, curse.

“Oh, that looks like a real bad time! Boyd! I’m gonna need some help!”

With that, the boy darted out in front of the rest of the group, the security guard seeming to pick up on his plan and following along behind him. Just as the beast hurled the massive snowball, Raz threw his hands up to conjure a psychic shield, Boyd’s own hands joining just beside his to release a spray of flame outside the barrier just as it contacted.

The snow clump exploded around them. Most of it dissolved into steam under the sudden onslaught of the fire, what remained splattering against the curved wall of psychic force in a spray of water and slush, flying off on either side of the group.

“Where is it?! Can anybody see what it’s doing?!” Raz called out, trying to squint through the cloud of steam now surrounding them.

“I don’t know, I can’t see!” Boyd replied, waving his hands to put out the small flames sparking on his gloves.

As the steam was cleared by the slowly calming wind, Raz blinked in surprise at the scene before him, shield disappearing as he lowered his hands.

The beast had vanished, seemingly into thin air.

For a moment they all simply sat there, most of the group having fallen to the ground in the scramble to get out of harm’s way, the air thick with unspoken disbelief. Till finally, Fred said what they’d all been thinking.

“Was that a goddamn yeti???”

“In my professional dentist opinion...yes.” Loboto replied, staring equally slack jawed at the spot.

“What?? Where did it go?? A beast that big does not simply disappear into thin air??” Edgar sputtered, clambering back to his feet as though a higher viewpoint would somehow reveal the 9 foot tall creatures hiding place.

“I...I don’t...-“

“Oi! What are you lot doing back there!?”

The whole group let out a collection of shrieks and yelps at the sudden shout, whipping around to look behind them.

An older man armed with a hefty walking stick stood at the edge of the ski trail, staring into the woods at them with a grumpy scowl on his face.

“Wha- who are you?!” Raz asked, at a loss for words, and the old man’s expression seemed to sour even further.

“Ambrose. I’m the grounds keeper here. And I should be asking you the same thing!”

“Did...Did you see...?” Boyd asked, dazed by his seeming unconcern for the fucking yeti that had been in front of them 20 seconds before. The old man leaned to glance at the place he was gesturing to, brow creasing.

“See? I don’t see anything. All I see is a bunch of troublemakers putzing about in the woods. Get out of there! You’re supposed to stay on the trail!”

Like a bunch of scolded children, they all quickly gathered themselves and scurried back out onto the path in front of the man, who pointed an angry finger at them.

“Now don’t let me go catchin you messing about in there again, understood?”

They all obediently nodded and, seemingly satisfied, he turned away with a nod, grumbling the likes of “people these days” as he slowly hiked further up the path.

“...Ok, so we’re all in agreement that we gotta tell the rest of the gang about that right?” Fred asked, seemingly still dumbfounded, and was answered by a chorus of nods.

The rest of the trip down the hill was largely uneventful. Somehow, an encounter with a mythical creature has seemingly improved their snow-sports skills, and they managed not to have any more major spills on the rest of the way down the mountain. The sun was setting by the time they reached the bottom and, after getting their equipment situated, the six ventured back through the main lodge in search of their three companions.

They did eventually find them back in the lounge, tucked away in a corner table with their drinks.

“Ah, hello everyone!” Milla greeted them with a smile and wave as they made their way over.

“Did you have a good day out on the slopes?”

“Uh, yeah, it was, uh, pretty, pretty good.” Fred replied, sharing a look with others.

“How’s about you guys?”

Sasha gestured for them to sit, voice lowered as he spoke.

“Well, we looked over Ms. Pandor’s room and it was just as empty as we’d been told. Not a trace of her. The only things we found was the Psychonauts bug she put in the rooms phone when she got here. Which means that she likely didn’t leave willingly, if she didn’t have the chance to remove it. That or she simply forgot it when she left.”

“Yeah, and that sort of absentminded-ness doesn’t sound like her. Girl might leave her workspace a mess, but I’ve been on missions with her before, and she’s a neat freak when it comes to hotels and stuff. All the tidying she does, she probably leaves them cleaner than it was when she got there. Gotta ask her if she’s got some sort of service industry trauma from college or something...” Oleander added, trailing off into rambling at the end.

“So did you six find anything out on the slopes?”

The group glanced at each other and eventually it was Gloria who haltingly began, realizing just how insane what she was about to say was going to sound.

“Well, there may have been a bit of an incident out on the trails...”

“We got attacked by a yeti!” Raz suddenly blurted, bringing the conversation to a screeching halt. Sasha turned to look at him with a truly flummoxed expression, seemingly completely thrown for a loop at the boys’ words.

“...R...Run that by me again??”

“Well, it’s a bit of a long story.” Boyd replied with a sigh.

It took quite a while to explain the events that had befallen them all, added to by the fact that dinner arrived in the middle of it, but eventually they got the whole incident out in the open, the three senior agents staring at them in bewilderment by the end.

“Are you sure it wasn’t some sort of polar bear or something? Those things can get big as hell when they’re on their hind legs.” Oleander offered and Gloria shook her head.

“Now I know how this all sounds, Agent Oleander, but we know what we saw, and that was most definitely not a bear.”

“Plus, we found this!” Raz added, reaching into his jacket and pulling out the fabric scrap, handing it over to the trio.

“The bartender we talked to said he saw her wearing a coat like that!”

“Well, I’ll admit, this definitely looks like Tanny’s sorta style.” Oleander admitted with a shrug, handing it over to Sasha to look at.

“Regardless of what this beast you saw might be, there is most definitely more going on here than a simple wayward agent.” The german acquiesced.

“Well, how’s about we all get a good night sleep and continue the investigation tomorrow. You all must be exhausted.” Milla offered kindly and Edgar gave a groan as he stretched, back popping loudly.

“After the beating we took out there, you don’t know the half of it Ms. Milla.”

Luckily for them, their rooms at the lodge were, just like the rest of the property, amazing. They’d been separated across 4 adjacent, and connected, rooms, with the senior agents sharing one and the former asylum members another, leaving Loboto and Raz to bunk solitarily. Their mother organization had, knowing and being blessedly supportive all sorts of relationships, even been kind enough to book the four a California King, while Sasha, Milla and Oleander were more than happy to settle for a King.

“Ugh, we literally just started doing spy stuff and I already feel like an old man waiting for retirement.” Fred groaned, stretching and feeling some muscle in his back twinge.

“Hehe, implying you aren’t already an old man.” Edgar teased him with a chuckle from where he was kneeling in massage position over the lanky man’s hips, his own aching back already having been kindly tended to by Gloria before her bath.

“Hey, keep up that talk and I’ll have to revoke smooching privileges.” The counselor shot back, pointing a finger over his shoulder threateningly at the larger man, even as he melted blissfully beneath he ministrations of the artist’s talented hands. Edgar finally managed to work out the last knot at the base of the man’s spine and Fred gave a little groan of relief, going boneless on the mattress beneath him.

“You boys better not be having too much fun in there without me!” Gloria called from the bathroom and Edgar laughed, smoothing his hands lovingly up and down the thinner man’s back a few times before climbing off him.

“Alright, all done. Time to move mi amor.”

Fred gave a little grumble that sounded a lot like “Sleepy. Don’t wanna.” and the painter rolled his eyes fondly, grabbing him and, like an owner with a lazy puppy, simply dragged him out of the way, patting the spot that opened up.

“Your turn.” He called over to Boyd, who’d been looking out onto the rooms snow covered balcony that overlooked the lodge’s main square, and the guard abandoned his post with a grin.

“Oh thank goodness.” He replied, shucking his shirt off and flopping onto the bed with a sigh, sending the nearby Fred bouncing slightly. He gave another grateful sigh as he folded his arms beneath his head and Edgar set to work.

“Damn, today was a crazy day. The more I think about it the less it makes sense.” He mused, earning a snorted laugh from a slightly more awake Fred as the man reached out to run a sleepy hand through the guard’s hair.

“That’s an understatement.”

“Well, I must admit, I find it all a little bit exciting.”

The three men glanced back to find Gloria emerging from the large bathroom, dressed in a fluffy towel and currently braiding her long damp hair.

“Yes, there’s a been a bit of danger I suppose, but what adventure doesn’t have some danger?”

“Sure as hell beats grading papers at least.” Fred agreed, earning a collective laugh.

“Would you like one when I’m done, mi bella?” Edgar asked, gesturing to the massage in progress, and Gloria shook her head, stooping down to give him a kiss on the cheek regardless.

“No, but it’s sweet of you to ask.”

Soon enough they all found themselves properly prepared for bed, lights flipped off, and beneath the plush covers of the bed, tangling together in the warm heap they’d so quickly become accustomed to.

“Goodnight you guys. Love you.” Fred murmured sleepily, answered by a small chorus of similar sentiments.

Before long, the four found themselves drifting off, eager to see what new, and potentially yeti-related, adventures awaited them in the morning.

#psychonauts #psychonautssecretsanta2020 #you guys wanna split a cab #lobotoly #calimorry #sasha/milla/oleander #god knows what their actual ship name is #razputin aquato #sasha nein #milla vodello #morceau oleander #caligosto loboto #gloria von gouton #edgar teglee #boyd cooper #fred bonaparte #Plus a whole mess of OC's #secret santa #My writing

48 notes · View notes

crazyrapunzel · 5 years ago

Text

New fanfic: Alicia Doreen and the werewolf professor

Hi peeps!

I just wrote a new fanfiction with RemusxOC. Read the first chapter here and the rest here.

Chapter 1: first impressions

Remus John Lupin was incredibly nervous for his first class as a teacher of Defence Against the Dark Arts. Well technically this wasn’t his first, because earlier that morning he had started with the second years of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but that seemed to go by so quickly and easily. He wondered whether the young students were so quiet because of his teaching skills or because of the scars that decorated his face. Hardly a day went by without someone staring at him.

No, but he counted the second period of the first day of the schoolyear as his first class, because he needed to teach the seventh years next. It was quite the switch in subject matter and level of expertise from the impressionable second years to the rebellious and clever seventh years.

He woke up from his trance when the door opened and the students entered the room. He stood to say a polite ‘good morning’ here and there, waiting for them all to settle down. He already heard the first whispers mentioning his scars and placing bets to how he got them. The students had the idea that they were discreet and quiet enough, but they didn’t know that Remus Lupin had a heightened sense of hearing. However those words didn’t bother him. Soon enough the initial shock of his physique would die down and they would have to listen to his teaching.

When the last student closed the door he took out a parchment and started scanning the names. ‘Good afternoon class. My name is Professor Remus John Lupin. I will be your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher for this year and hopefully many to come. I would like to start by checking the attendance sheet first. William Boot?’ After a ‘here’ from William and a couple of others he grew confident that his class was all present, until he heard a pause after asking for ‘Alicia Doreen?’

‘She isn’t here yet professor,’ a girl in the back replied. Remus looked up from the list, as if to hope that the missing girl would suddenly appear. ‘Well do you know where Miss Doreen is?’ The girl with the raven black hair was about to open her mouth, when the door slammed open. Remus looked up to see a seventeen-year-old girl standing in the opening, her hair tangled and wild, her chest heaving from running up the stairs. She leaned in the doorpost with her hands and her legs stood wide with her toes facing inward. The sight was so comical Remus nearly forgot he was supposed to be the adult in the room. He forced down his chuckles and cleared his throat.

‘Sorry I’m late professor. There was an incident I had to deal with,’ the girl replied. She started to walk towards the empty seat next to the raven haired Ravenclaw. Remus sniffed the air, and smelled something unpleasant. He looked the newest arrival over again and realised that her hair wasn’t just tangled, but also scorched. He smelled burnt hair.

‘An incident? Is that why your hair is smouldering?’ He asked. The class seemed surprised by his reaction. Sure enough some teachers would call bullshit and straight up deduct house points. The girl was suddenly aware of her hair and started running her fingers through the scorched parts. ‘Whoops. Thank you for telling me professor.’ Once again, Remus had trouble containing his smile.

Alicia hoped she didn’t miss any of her hair still smouldering away. Suddenly she noticed the smell and apologized to Michelle sitting next to her. Her friend looked half-amused half-annoyed at her silly friend and patted out a small burn mark in her robes.

‘What did I miss?’ Alicia asked. Michelle shrugged. ‘Nothing. He literally just asked where you were and then you stormed in like a lunatic.’ Alicia chuckled. ‘You know I like dramatic entrances.’

Professor Lupin continued down the list and once he was done, he addressed the class once more.

‘Well, now that we are all here,’ Alicia noticed the professors green eyes looking at her for a second ‘we can start the class. I understand that last year went quite different than usual. Your professor, Mister Lockhart was send to St Mungo’s and your exams were cancelled due to the Chamber of Secrets being opened. So am I to understand that you are a bit behind?’

Half the class started talking at the mentions of last year. When professor Lupin had shushed them he chose a Ravenclaw to inform him. ‘The exams being cancelled was a blessing. Professor Lockhart was a complete fraud. He taught us nothing all year.’ There were noises of agreement from the class and the professor pressed him on. ‘So we might need more than a little extra aid to catch up with the material from last year.’

The professor sighed. ‘I was afraid the situation was regrettable, but to catch up on an entire year…well don’t worry. I’ll work on a new schedule. For now I want to catch up on the nonverbal spells. Have you practiced those last year at least?’ Some people nodded. ‘Alright then. I’ll talk them over for half an hour and after that we will practice them. Sounds good?’

The excited noises from the students seemed to lift the professors spirit. Alicia watched the curious new professor. He wasn’t like any of the other teachers. They were all so strict, so…inhuman and distant. But this man, he seemed a lot closer to the students. He felt for them, having a moron for a teacher the year before they graduated. He seemed to want to be liked, because he looked for confirmation of his lesson plans. And lastly, he hadn’t said anything about house points or detention to Alicia. For that alone, she felt already in his dept.

‘What do you think?’ Alicia asked Michelle as everyone was getting out their books. Michelle looked up with a questionable look. ‘What you mean the professor? I guess he is okay so far.’

In front of the two Ravenclaw girls sat two more Ravenclaw girls. Elena, the ever bubbly and naïve friend, turned around to join in. ‘He looks weird though. Those scars. What do you think did that?’

Alicia sat back in her chair and started ticking off her fingers. ‘Dragon, Wampus cat, pixies, werewolf, regular wolf, cat, bowtruckle-‘ she gained a giggle at that last one from Elena. ‘All plausible options. More options possible depending on where he travelled. Or maybe the most dangerous one of all…a crazy ex-girlfriend.’ She added a dramatic look for effect and successfully made all three girls laugh.

After the lecture the tables and benches were moved aside so they had place to stand around in pairs and practice their non-verbal spell work. Alicia didn’t have too much trouble when performing them, but she did have trouble aiming at her friend. She tried to aim for her legs as she used the Jelly-Legs Curse, but they kept ending in her face. Elena looked more and more distraught at the wild flying curses and jinxes. ‘Come on Alicia. Aim for the legs.’ Alicia sighed in frustration. ‘I am! Look.’ She aimed once more at Elena’s legs but at the last moment she was distracted by a moving figure. Her curse went wide again but instead of hitting Elena, she hit someone in the back of the head.

Of course it had to be the professor.

‘I am soooo sorry about that!’ Alicia exclaimed, her hands covering her face. Professor Lupin turned around slowly, rubbing the back of his head. ‘Are you trying to get detention today, Miss Doreen?’ he said. It was supposed to sound threatening, but she couldn’t help but notice some amusement in his tone. Nevertheless she dropped her eyes to the floor. ‘No professor. I am just bad at aiming.’ She dared to look up to see him looking with a curious expression. ‘Well I guess that would be your first task to master then.’ The girl nodded quickly and the professor moved on to the next pair.

Elena shook her hand as if it had been burned. ‘That was close Nessie. I think he really likes you to go so easy on you.’ Alicia shook her head at the nickname. In her fourth year she saved a fellow student from being drowned by an overgrown kelpie and now she had a reputation and a nickname around the school. It wasn’t the real Loch Ness monster though, mind you. ‘Shut it. It’s your turn.’

The class was about to end, the furniture back in place, when Alicia heard her name being spoken. She looked up at her new DADA professor. ‘If you wouldn’t mind staying for a moment,’ he said shortly. Michelle, Elena and Sophia waved her goodbye as they left for lunch in the Great Hall. Soon everyone had gone except the new teacher and the student that was late to class on her first day.

She looked down at him sitting behind his desk. It suddenly felt weird being alone in the room with him. She did actually look at the scars on his face properly for the first time and decided that whatever did that, it were deep wounds when inflicted. His sandy-brown hair fell over his forehead in a feeble attempt to hide a part of his scar. There was light stubble on his face. His wizarding robes looked old but recently refreshed. A dull shine came from his buttons and the small tears in the fabric of his sleeves were darned with a secure hand.

He leaned forward on his desk and looked directly in Alicia’s eyes. ‘I would like to know why you were late today.’ It was a simple request. It made sense. However, Alicia’s mind had already found herself thinking he was going to ask something way more personal. Why would he do that you idiot? She reprimanded her own thoughts.

She exhaled with a shaky laugh. ‘Well, you noticed the scorch marks, right?’ He nodded and his eyes flickered to her long blonde hair before returning to meet her gaze. ‘Uhm…there was an incident in the dungeons near the Slytherin common room. Somehow a fire crab had gotten inside the castle and it was wildly attacking students and sending fireballs from it’s a-rear,’ she confessed.

The professor’s face froze in place. ‘There was a fire crab in the dungeons.’

‘Yep,’ she said, plopping the P.

He stared at her for a moment, maybe expecting her to say more, but she was really distracted by this man. He shook his head and chuckled. The sound of his laughter made Alicia feel warm inside. Wow girl, get your act together will you? ‘And obviously when a fire crab enters the dungeon, you have to deal with it. Is that right?’ Alicia blinked out of her daydream and realised why he found this so peculiar. ‘Ah, right! I forgot to mention a bit about me. You see, professor, I have a passion for magical creatures. I seem pretty good at taming and handling them. This is something the entire school knows because of the famous Leprechaun invasion,’ she noticed his incredulous look but simply replied with, ‘not important. So anyway, the answer is yes. When the Slytherins faced this problem they asked me to deal with it. So I did.’

‘You did?’ he asked, even more surprised than he already was.

‘Yes. Brought it to Hagrid. He knows what to do with them. He might even be featured in his Care of Magical Creatures lessons. Hagrid is so excited to be a teacher this year. The fire crab had quite a temperament though, maybe not so safe after all.’ That last sentence was added as an afterthought.

The professor stared her down for a moment longer before deflating a bit in his chair. Now he really couldn’t stop the smile on his face as he recalled how ridiculous this school could be. ‘Well I guess you were actually quite quick then. You were found by a Slytherin, brought to the dungeons, dealt with the beast and brought it to Hagrid, and in the end you were mere minutes late to class.’

‘It happened during our previous free hour,’ she replied simply.

‘Of course it did,’ the professor said just above a whisper.

Alicia raised an eyebrow. ‘Are you calling me a liar professor? I have many witnesses that can tell you the truth.’

‘No! No I wasn’t implying that. I just think…you are incredible.’

Alicia started blushing at that remark. She cleared her throat and shuffled her shoes. ‘Thank you, Professor Lupin.’

He didn’t seem to realise what he had said. ‘Okay, well thank you for telling me. I will remember it. Next time I face something interesting I will call for you.’ Alicia chuckled at that and looked at the professor again. With that dashing smile on his face she suddenly realised that she found the professor attractive. Oh no. ‘You should. I will be there!’

The professor chuckled once more and started collecting some papers on his desk. ‘Alright, you are dismissed. You should get some lunch.’ Alicia turned to leave. When she walked past his desk, she noticed a book on top. It attracted her attention because it was familiar. ‘Oh this is a good one! I didn’t think it was on the recommended reading list for this year,’ Alicia said.

The professor looked up from his papers to see the girl hovering over his current read. ‘It isn’t. I’m reading it now. Did you read it?’ Alicia turned to see the bookmark already halfway. ‘Yes I did and there are some great plot twists yet to come for you. But chapter five was my favourite part, I see you already read that. When you finish it you should tell me and we can discuss it. There are some holes in the story that I would like to talk with someone about. I want to see how someone else interpreted it.’

The professor looked at her for a moment before replying. ‘I will. That is the second time in our first meeting that you astonish and surprise me.’ His gaze didn’t leave the Ravenclaw girl. Despite her warm cheeks she tried to reply lightly with a joke. ‘Always here to surprise you,’ she said while making a theatrical bow. After another moment of eye contact that send warm shivers down Alicia’s spine she turned to leave the classroom.

#fanfiction #remusxoc #Remus Lupin #prisoner of azkaban #harry potter fanfic #teacher/student #rated m #Marauders

1 note · View note

dgmagines · 5 years ago

Text

Easier

my one braincell can’t cope with two straight weeks of torturous “technical” stuff and i apparently forgot to queue this up yesterday whOOPS-

This is very much self-indulgent and also an AU where Alma isn’t not alive and he’s part of the exorcist gang and he’s happy and breathing and i love he and I just 😔😔😔😔😔 Enjoy!

Word count : 1,096

“Why didn’t you tell me…?”

He stared at them. They stared as well.

But at the ceiling, not at him.

And he didn’t know how he felt about that.

“It was…. Easier…” lightly, almost as if they were talking about the weather, the (h/c) shrugged off his worries, briefly glancing at the dark-haired teen before moving their gaze back to stare at the ceiling of the infirmary. Alma pursed his lips, brows furrowed in frustration and mild concern. What was their problem?

First they go and not take care of themselves for god knows how long (Alma had just returned a couple weeks ago so he couldn’t be sure) then they fainted on the battlefield in the middle of a freaking fight; and now they wouldn’t speak to him? He thought they were…. Friends….. Friends told each other things…. Didn’t they…?

“Easier to not talk about your problems?” he heard light humming in response, the (h/c) now shutting their eyes to escape from his scrutinizing stare – it wasn’t often that Alma would get mad but when he did, it was... frightening... to say the least. Having such a glare directed at their face was more than ______ could handle in their weakened state.

They heard him sigh and immediately the sense of guilt that had started growing in the recesses of their heart when he walked in earlier grew ten-fold – threatening to consume them live right then and there. _________ dare not open their eyes, dreading the sight of their bubbly friend looking like a kicked puppy all because of their reluctance to speak.

The silence that settled between them was unbearable.

When finally Alma broke the silence, it made ______ want to burrow into the sheets and become one with the inanimate object.

“Yknow, I was really worried… when you fell,” his voice sounded so,,,, dejected. Like he was blaming himself for what had happened – and in his mind, it had been his fault. He’d promised to protect them, didn’t he? When he discovered the,,, the thing,,, he’d vowed to protect them,,, did he not? And seeing them fall on the battlefield-

He thought he’d broken his promise.

He was frantic in his movements – he remembered clearly how reckless he had been as he fought off every single one of the akumas that surrounded them just so he could get to their side. He kept calling for their name – upon realizing that they weren’t going to disintegrate into dust from the virus – until his voice was hoarse and his throat hurt and he just-

The tears.

Oh god the tears-

He didn’t leave their side when they were whisked away to the infirmary upon their return. He didn’t leave until the nurses pried him off from their bedside. And even then, he refused to leave his place by the infirmary doors until Allen and Lavi physically dragged him off to get some food in his system.

“I’m sorry…” came their reply, weak and shaky. Alma realized his hands were shaking when he reached forward to hold theirs, gently intertwining their fingers together as he pressed his forehead against them.

“It’s okay,” he murmured, lips brushing against their skin making them open their eyes. Now that he was quiet – now that he was this close - _______ could see how red and puffy his eyes were. How he looked like he hadn’t been keeping up with himself. How he looked so… not like his usual self.

It hurt.

It hurt to know that they were hurting him with their irresponsibility.

“I’m sorry for yelling earlier,” Alma spoke in a whisper, eyes still shut as he savoured the warmth of their hand. The feeling of being close to them after so long – paired with the worry he felt from the moment the battle ended until they were safely being treated in the infirmary – made it all too much for the young man. His heart felt like it was about to burst and he didn’t know how to feel about that.

He didn’t know how to feel when it came to them.

“I’m pretty sure…” _______ spoke, trailing off as they struggled to sit up in their place. Their movements caused Alma to part from their hand, dark eyes staring at them with worry. They could tell from his posture that he wanted to help them move but they quietly shook their head, prompting him to remain seated

“I’m pretty sure you didn’t raise your voice at me, Alma,” with pain and guilt overflowing their heart, the (h/c) gave him a smile. It wasn’t their usual, energetic smile – but it was a smile nonetheless. And he’d take a smile over a stoic face any day.

“If anything… I should be the one to apologize…” clicking their tongue out of nervous habit, ______ turned their gaze to their friend. They stared at each other for a bit, the (h/c) looking away when they felt tears starting to prick in the corner of their eyes.

“I’m sorry for not talking about…. Whatever this was,” they gestured vaguely to nothing – to their behaviour that they couldn’t exactly explain and to Alma, for making him worry (and also increasing his risk of getting injured with that last mission they botched so badly). They didn’t think it would get so… out of hand.

It was easy to forget about yourself when you didn’t feel like taking care of yourself, wasn’t it?

“Just… promise me you’ll talk about it with me next time, okay?” Alma pursed his lips as he moved from his seat. He let go of their hand for a brief moment, before taking it back in his grasp as he resettled – now sitting on the edge of the bed so that he could be closer to them than before. He stared at them earnestly, the serious expression on his face so unlike him in ___________’s mind.

Tears fell.

A smile graced their lips.

And they leaned forward, just enough to press their forehead against his in a sign of affection.

“Okay."

13 notes · View notes

jojo-at-his-computer · 6 years ago

Text

Okay, @joliejolyne, this idea is so adorable!

Mikitaka X Reader: Lovesick

"Hey Miki, wanna stop by the ice cream place?"

Classes had just ended for the day and you met your friend Mikitaka Hazekaru at the lockers. Well he said his real name is Nu Mikitakazo Nshi, he claims he's an alien who came to Earth after he planet got destroyed. You decided it was just easier to call him Miki, a nickname he grew to like. Josuke and Okuyasu still weren't sure if he was an alien or a Stand user who thinks he's an alien, but you reasoned that, hey, if vampires and Stand users exist, there's no reason aliens couldn't too, so you have him the benefit of the doubt and played along. As strange as he is, you loved your alien bud. It was a nice day, now that school is over, the weekend has started, so you thought it would be fun to have a picnic at Morioh Park.

You two left the school and headed to the ice cream shop. But when you get there, the shop was closed due to broken ice cream machine.

"Ah rats!" you exclaimed. "I was hoping to get some ice cream." Mikitaka smiled and opened his bag.

"Don't worry (name)," said Miki. "I brought some of my own just in case." and sure enough he produced two cones of his own. You forgot that sometimes he keeps weird stuff in his bags.

"Oh boy, what flavor?" you ask him.

"I've got two cones of the cream mixed with red Earth berries and covered with a sweet brown syrup that hardened, surrounded by a cone." answered Miki, unsure what the actual flavor was.

"Ooh chocolate covered strawberry! I love it!" you exclaimed as you took the cone. You and Miki opened your cones as you walked to your house to grab the sandwiches you made. You bit of into your cone breaking the chocolate shell. It was delicious! "Wow this is amazing, thank you!" Miki smiled, a slight redness spreading on his cheeks.

"I'm glad the cream of ice was satisfactory." Miki looked a bit troubled for a second.

"What's wrong?" you asked. "Did you get a brain freeze? That can happen when you eat cold foods, but it'll be better in a few seconds." Miki shook his head.

"No, my brain didn't freeze, but I do feel a bit peculiar. Maybe I'm just hungry." he reasoned. You understood and nodded, you felt a bit hungry yourself but didn't realize it until you finished your ice cream cone. The two of you had just arrived at your house.

"I'll be right back, I've got the sandwiches and stuff inside." You gave your friend a hug, which seemed to surprise him. Rushing to the fridge, you grabbed the sandwiches you made the night before, a few soda pops, and a bag of Doritos and stuffed them into a small picnic basket, and ran outside. "Let's go!" you exclaimed, "Off to the park!"

When you arrived to the park, you and your alien friend sat under a shady tree, it was a warm day, but a cool breeze stirred up once in awhile, which felt good under the shade of the tree. You ate your sandwiches, but you noticed Miki had only taken a bite or two from his. He had this troubled look to him as if he was thinking of something.

"Hey Miki, do you not like the sandwich?" you asked. "I can switch it for another flavor. Miki shook his head.

"No no!" he exclaimed, "It tastes amazing, really. But I seem to have lost my appetite."

"Well what's eating ya?" you asked. Mikitaka looked at you with confusion.

"Nothing's eating me." he answered. "I'm still here and not being eatened." Whoops. You forgot he doesn't understand certain expressions.

"Sorry." you quickly apologized, "It's an Earth saying. I asked if something was wrong."

"Oh! I see." he answered smiling a little, "I'm not sure." He suddenly looked serious, "I didn't want to scare you earlier, but I may have picked up an Earth sickness. I've been feeling different for about a few weeks, nothing like I've felt before on my home planet. I thought I was better for awhile today, but sometime around when I gave you the cream, I felt it again. I knew you've been wanting to plan this picnic, so I didn't want to cancel, I'm sorry."

"Well Miki, of you're not feeling well, I don't want to make you feel worse, coming out when you're sick." you said. You were a bit worried for your alien friend. "Here, try telling me what's wrong, maybe it's not so serious."

"Well," he paused, "It's difficult for me to describe clearly, but I'll attempt it. I feel similar feelings to nervousness, but I also feel warm inside. Not the same as when you have a fever, but more like when you eat hot food. Though sometimes it feels like the heat also rises to my cheeks. Sometimes the palms of my hands feel like they're wet and unsteady. A few times I've had trouble sleeping, or eating." he said motioning to his half eaten sandwich. You thought of his symptoms. These sound familiar. Wait a minute.

"Just out of curiosity, when these feelings occur, do you think of a certain specific person?"

"Yes I do," answered Miki.

"And do you feel like you can't get that person out of your mind, does it drive you crazy, but at the same time, you feel weirdly pleasant, like you really like this person so much?

"Why yes, that's right!" answered Miki. You couldn't help it, you ended up bursting out laughing, confusing Mikitaka.

"I don't understand why you're laughing." said Miki "Did I say something that's funny to Earth humans?" you calmed down.

"I'm sorry Miki, I shouldn't have laughed, that was impolite." you said, "See, I was worried you were sick at first, but after what you told me, I have some good news, you're not sick at all, you're perfectly healthy. Miki, you've got a crush! You're falling in love with someone!" Miki looked like he understood.

"So I'm not sick after all!" he realized. "This makes sense. I've never experienced these feelings before."

"Does your species fall on love?" you asked.

"They do sometimes," he answered, "I've just never myself specifically felt this way about anyone. Have you ever felt these feelings?" he asked you. You were a bit nervous to say, but Miki was your crush. An oddball, but you loved the way he looks at things on Earth that are normal to everyone else, finding beauty and interest with even the most mundane items, and he had an odd, handsome, exotic look to him. It was your turn to blush.

"Yes, I've felt this way." you answered. "Sometimes these feelings do feel weird, and it can make you feel like you're sick. Us Earth humans have a nickname for it, love sickness!"

"Love sickness?" said Miki, "It is kinda funny. How do you get these weird feelings to stop?"

"Sometimes it helps to talk about the person you like." you suggested. "You can tell me, I won't tell anyone, I promise."

"Well," Miki began, "the person I feel the love sickness for is," he pauses, "well, it's you!" This took you by surprise.

"Are you for real?" you ask, hoping you heard him right.

"Yes, I am being for the real. You give me the weird feelings." he answered, the blush on his face deepening. "So what do you think of that?" You surprise him enveloping him in a hug.

"I've been wanting to you the same thing!" you shouted. A warm smile appeared on Miki's face.

"I think I feel a lot better now (name)!" said Miki. His appetite invigorated, the two of you continued your picnic.

"Ooops, we're out of sandwiches." you exclaim.

"No we are not!" said Miki, pulling two katsu sandwiches out of his bag. Oh Miki! You tried a bite of the sandwich, it was even better than the katsu sandwiches from St. Gentleman's!

"This is so yummy!!! Does your bag have TARDIS technology or something?" you asked him.

"What's a TARDIS?" asked Miki. You laughed.

"There's a TV show from Britain I like called Doctor Who." you explained, "It's about a time traveler called The Doctor, he's an alien like you are, and his time machine, the TARDIS, is sorta like his spaceship. On the outside it looks like a blue box, but it's really big on the inside. It's an interesting show, maybe we can watch it sometime."

"I'd love to watch the show with you." said Miki. "What do Earth people do when they're in love?" he wondered.

"Well, they do lots of things to spend time together." you answered. "We could go to the movies, or the mall, spend the day at the amusement park, go out to eat for dinner, or," you motion around, "have a picnic like what we're doing now, or even something simple like renting a video and watching it together. There's all sorts of things we can do."

"I'd like to try all those things with you." he said beaming. You wrapped him in a hug and planted a kiss on his lips.

"What's that you just did?" asked Mikitaka.

"Oh, that's a kiss!" you replied, "It's what Earth couples do to express love."

"May we try that again (name)?" asked Miki, "I wasn't prepared for this kiss to happen." You giggled.

"Of course we can." you answered, and you kissed him again, this one ended up being slower and longer. The sun began setting in the distance, wrapping the two of you in the glow of the sunset.

"It's getting darker," said Miki embracing you. "Let's clean up and I can walk you to your house."

"Thank you Miki" you tell him, "I'd like that." After taking a few minutes to clean up, the two of you walk back to your house, the sky almost dark and the first few stars popping out.

"Maybe tomorrow we could go to a place to eat." suggested Miki, "Or we could see that doctor program you mentioned earlier." You giggled.

"Doctor Who." you corrected. "And we can do both of those things since there's no school tomorrow! Maybe even go to the bookstore too. Would noon be okay?"

"That sounds wonderful (name)." answered Miki. He kissed you on the lips and embraced you again. You waved goodbye as you went back into your house.

"See you tomorrow Miki! I love you!"

#jojo at his computer #jojo no kimyou na bouken #jojo's bizarre adventure #diamond is unbreakable #reader insert #mikitaka hazekura #mikitaka x reader

36 notes · View notes

javelon · 6 years ago

Text

Don't Fear The Reaper

"What the hell??" Chase exclaimed, jaw agape.

He rubbed at his eyes and looked back up. No he was not hallucinating...well maybe he was. How often was it one saw people walk through someone else? Even with his odd family that was something he'd never witnessed before. Wait...could they be a ghost? Someone trapped on earth, cursed to wander it for eternity?

"Or I'm just crazy." Chase muttered to himself.

He had to know. They were just across the street from his building, he could reach them if he hurried.

"Please don't be crazy. Please don't be crazy." Chase whispered under his breath.

He knew he probably at least looked crazy, dashing across the street and after someone who may not even be there. But they certainly looked real enough, leaning against a nearby building as if they were waiting for someone. Chase froze when he was just a foot away, suddenly feeling really foolish. What do you even say to a potentially not there person? 'Um hello my name is Chase and excuse me for being rude but are you real?'

Oh shit he said that outloud, Chase realized in horror as you looked up at him. Wait maybe he didn't cause you just looked away, observing the people walking by.

'Ok this time for real.' Chase cleared his throat, "E-excuse me?"

Annnnd nothing. You just kept people watching.

'Oh God I am crazy aren't I?' Chase straightened, determined to try one more time before going home and having Henrik just check him into a mental hospital, "Excuse me! Are you real?"

Ah ha you looked at him again! But now you looked confused, looking around yourself before looking back at him, "Pardon?"

Chase nearly whooped in relief, he might not be crazy after all! "Uh right sorry that was rude. Uh...shit...hi my name is Chase and uh...are you...real?" Chase stammered towards the end as your eyes grew wider.

"Are you talking to me?" You asked, seeming shocked.

Chase nodded hesitantly, "Er...yes?"

"You can see me??"

Chase didn't know how to react to that nor to you suddenly jumping out in front of a man walking past and said man passing through you like you weren't there. The man didn't even flinch though he did give Chase an odd look when Chase gasped. He found himself reaching forward, "Are you a ghost?" He whispered only to jump back when his fingers touched fabric and skin and you yelping in surprise.

"I'm sorry!" Chase exclaimed, backing up some more to put space between him and this ghost person.

"Wait no!" Chase stopped when you reached out to him, "I'm sorry you just startled me. I'm not used to people seeing me when I don't want them to." You gave him a sheepish grin.

"Oh uh it's alright." Chase smiled at you though he could feel his heart pounding, he couldn't believe he was talking to an actual ghost, "I'm not used to seeing ghosts either so this is a new experience for both of us."

"Ghost? Oh no I'm not a ghost."

Chase raised an eyebrow when you hesitated. If you weren't a ghost then what were you?

"I'm...uh...a reaper actually."

Oh.

OH.

Chase swallowed, his heart racing even more. He should have just ignored this strange person and gone inside to film. "You're death?"

You chuckled, "Oh no I just work for him."

"But you still kill people?"

Chase couldn't help flinching at your loud "No!"

"Sorry." You apologized, "Been awhile since I've been a normal person. Bit rusty on the communication skills." You took a deep breath, "Reapers don't kill people. What we do is go to someone who is dying or has already died and then escort their soul to the afterlife."

"Ohhh." Chase frowned and looked down at his body, "Err I'm not dead am I?"

You grinned, "No need to fear, you are 100% alive and well."

"Oh good." Chase let out a sigh of relief, "So uh...why can I see you then?"

You shrugged, "No idea. Never heard of this happening before. Though I've only been a reaper for a few years and I don't talk much with the other reapers assigned to this area."

"Huh." Chase looked around at all the people walking up and down the sidewalk, "I probably look a bit nutty, looking like I'm talking to air. Maybe I should act like I'm on the phone." Chase let out an awkward chuckle.

"Nah you're good. I made myself visible to everyone when I realized you could touch me." Chase must have looked unsure as you then said, "Here I'll show you. Excuse me miss!" You called to a woman passing by.

To Chase's surprise the lady paused and looked over at you.

"Do you have the time?" You asked. The lady pulled out her phone and called back "Just after 10." You smiled and waved, "Ok thank you!" You turned back to Chase with a grin, "See? Nothing to worry about."

"I guess not." Chase smiled back then paused when he remembered something you said earlier, "Wait you said it's been awhile since you've been a normal person. Does that mean..?"

"I was human before yes. Died a few years ago in a car accident and Death offered to let me be a reaper for awhile before moving on." You explained rather nonchalantly as if talking about the weather instead of your death.

"Oh." Chase shifted awkwardly, "I'm sorry."

You waved him off, "S'all right, Chase. It was years ago and I actually died instantly so no traumatic memories or anything like that." You paused before exclaiming, "Oh! And my name is Y/N by the way. Sorry just realized I forgot to introduce myself." You gave him another sheepish grin while holding out your hand.

Chase had laughed and shook your hand before talking with you about being a reaper. He found out you became a reaper cause Death loved your homemade cookies. "What? No way." "I'm serious! Death really loves good food and I got to be a reaper in exchange for making him cookies! Stop looking at me like that I'm serious!" He also found out you were waiting on the soul of an old man that was on the building you had been waiting outside of. Apparently he was on hospice and would be passing that day so Chase kept you company while you waited.

"Is it hard watching people die?" Chase asked you a few days later when he had encountered you again. This time you were waiting on a cancer patient in Henrik's hospital and he saw you while bringing the good doctor some lunch.

"It was at first." You had replied after a moment, "But then I realized how much I was helping people."

You gestured to the hospital around you, "Most of the people I escort are either old or very sick. They've usually been suffering for a long time. But when I see their souls they're finally free of that suffering. And they're usually happy to see someone is waiting to take them to their afterlife."

Chase hummed in response, thinking over your answer.

It was an odd friendship he built with you over the following months. He never knew when he was going to run into you and it wasn't like you had a phone or computer he could contact you on. And yet everytime he saw you it was like you had been friends for years. He told you things he'd never even told his brothers. His fears of not being a good dad, his fights with Stacy (he didn't wish to trouble his brothers with that), his growing disappointment with his channel just to name a few. And you always provided an ear and a shoulder if he needed it. Though there was still one thing he never told you, not even after Stacy filed for divorce. But he knew you of all people would probably understand...

~~~~~~~~~~

You were enjoying the spring afternoon air one day as you walked through town. It had been a pretty quiet day for you so far, only having to escort an elderly lady in her 90's to the afterlife that morning. The singing birds nearby made you smile while the smell of fresh cut grass reminded you of days long passed. All in all it was a beautiful day and you wanted to enjoy it as much as possible.

Which is why you gave a slight sigh when you felt the pull of a soon to be dying soul on you. Damn, you were hoping the elderly lady would be the only one today. Maybe you could have sought out Chase. It had been awhile since you'd seen your friend and you'd love to chat with him again. Oh well maybe you could go find him after this escort.

Closing your eyes you felt yourself teleport to the soul's location, flinching when you heard a gun go off. Yikes gunshot deaths were one of your least favorite ones to death with. There was always a lot of grief involved in those, regardless of how the person got shot.

Bracing yourself you opened your eyes and looked around for the person you'd be escorting. It only took a moment for you to find their body on the floor.

And it only took a moment longer for you to scream, "NO!!"

Laying in a growing pool of red was your friend Chase, his gun still held loosely in his hand.

You put your hands over your mouth, trying to stop your horrified screams but you weren't prepared for this! You didn't want to escort him! Not yet! Not for decades to come! You panicked and used your powers to just shove at Chase's soul when you felt it start to detach from his body, forcing it to stay. Then you felt around the building, surely there was someone nearby who could help! You weren't supposed to interfere but Chase was...no is your friend! You weren't going to let him die!

There! In an office the next floor down you could feel one of Chase's brothers. In an instant you teleported yourself to them, finding his brother Anti fiddling with some equipment. You weren't sure what to do at first, while you knew who Chase's brothers were, you had never been introduced to them and didn't know if they knew who or what you were. So instead of showing yourself you pulled on one of your abilities as a reaper, imitating sounds. Usually you used it to provide a comforting and familiar voice or sound for a distraught soul but now you used it to imitate the gun going off in the distance. Anti immediately froze before glitching away.

You teleported after him just in time to hear him scream "͞C͢͏̵H̛̕AS̴͡E̶͘͘!̕!̀". Your heart broke as you watched him fall to his knees next to Chase's prone body, the pool of red soaking into his jeans. You popped away and back with towels from the nearby janitorial closet, quietly placing them in the corner where Anti could easily see them. When he did he quickly grabbed them and pressed one against Chase's head, sobbing and pleading, "̡No͏́͟n͘o̢̡ń͠o̡͏n̡o!̀͜! F͘͏ų͘͞c͢͟k̨͢ ̀No ̸C̸҉h̛as̢e̵͜ ̧Pl͡e̷̢͞a̸͟s̷͜ȩ̷͞!͏̴̕!͏ G͢O͠D͏͠ ̀C͟͏H҉Ą͢S̨͜E̶͝ ̵̕͠ŃO̴͝!̢͜!!͏"̀͟

Your broken heart only shattered more when Jackie and Henrik arrived, both equally as distraught as Anti. You had to silently steady Henrik's hands, his despair causing them to shake too much to work on Chase without help. Even the superhero you had to steady and guide, his shaking knees threatening to buckle when he lifted Chase to take him to the hospital, his unending tears making it hard to see where he was going.

What followed was several long, harrowing days of you standing vigil over Chase, silently and secretly guiding his brothers' hands to help save him. When you felt his vitals start to dip when Henrik had passed out from exhaustion you would wake him up with a subconscious need to check the areas that were failing. When Marvin's magic started to wane from all the healing spells he was trying, you lent him some of your own energy, guiding his magic to the parts of Chase's brain that you could feel were still damaged. The only times you left was when you felt another soul needed escorted. You were still a reaper after all. You had a job to do. But you always came right back.

You fell to your knees and wept with relief when you heard Henrik tell the others that Chase was going to live. You had felt it yourself but to hear someone else say it provided a balm to your heart that you had desperately needed. You don't know how long you cried, finally letting out all the grief and guilt that had built up in you. You felt like you had failed Chase in some way. Failed as his friend to not notice this. Surely as a reaper you should have seen the signs?!

"Hey. You in the corner."

Your head snapped up at hearing Anti's voice, shocked to see the others had left and Anti was looking straight at you.

"You can see me?" You asked after a moment.

Anti nodded, "Right now I can. You've been here for awhile though. I caught glimpses of you when I'd glitch in or out of the room."

"Oh." Huh you guess that sort of made sense. Death had explained that reapers could exist on a different plane which is how they could move about invisibly. Anti must move through that same plane when he glitched around. And focusing now you could feel that you must have slipped back into their plane while you were crying, which explained why Anti could see you now.

"You were there in...that room too..right? You brought the magically appearing towels."

At your surprised look Anti chuckled, "Doc doesn't believe it but I'm pretty observant. Just easier to pretend I'm not. Get away with more ya know?"

You gave a weak smile in return, "Yea that was me." You looked over at Chase, your heart breaking again at seeing him lay there, far too still and wires and bandages everywhere. "I couldn't let him die." You whispered.

"You his guardian angel or something like that?"

This time you chuckled, "Something like that."

"Huh. Cool."

For several moments you sat in silence, both of you just watching Chase's chest slowly rise and fall with each breath. It brought you comfort being able to see his body still working.

"Thank you." Anti's voice broke the silence. You looked up at him but he was still looking at Chase, "Chase...he means everything to us. So uh...thanks. For protecting him."

You smiled at him, confident Anti could see you out of the corner of his eye, "Of course. He means a lot to me too. Though maybe..." You paused then sighed, "Maybe I need to be better about making sure he knows how much he means to...everyone. how much he's loved."

Silence fell again before Anti finally said, "Yea I...we could be better too..."

Later that night you sat next to Chase's bed, fingers carding through his hair. "You need to wake up soon Chase. Your hair could use a wash." You whispered, a small smile on your lips.

"He shouldn't need washed at all and yet here we are."

You yelped and spun around. Standing in the doorway behind you was your boss, looking both faintly amused and slightly bored like he always did. "Err hi Death."

He raised a brow at you, "Y/N"

He looked over at Chase and walked towards the bed, his shoes echoing on the tile. You couldn't help angling your body slightly to hide Chase from view a bit, though you knew you couldn't stop Death if he wanted Chase.

Several tense moments of silence passed before Death hummed. "In all my many long years I have never seen a reaper fight so desperately against their job."

You swallowed, "His soul never left his body..."

Death glanced at you, "Not for lack of trying though."

As Death looked over Chase's vulnerable form, you found yourself silently praying that all your hard work wasn't for nothing. You held your breath when Death turned to face you fully, "It's a good thing I like your cookies." He started walking away. When he reached the door he paused and looked at you over his shoulder, "It is important to take care of your friends. But Y/N?"

"Yea?"

"Don't do this again."

"I won't sir."

Your shoulders slumped with relief when Death disappeared. You couldn't help but let out a silly giggle, overcome by joy that Death let Chase live. Chase's road to recovery was going to be long and hard but you were going to be there. After all it's important to take care of your friends.

___________________________________________

This story was inspired by the lovely @clanwarrior-tumbly's story Ghost Whisperer, which you should totally go check out if you haven't yet!

#chase brody #fanfic #henrik von schneeplestein #reader insert #tw: suicide #tw: blood

40 notes · View notes

db-kt · 7 years ago

Text

Shocker pt. 2

Because I still don’t have a better title lol. Also, since I’ve forgot to mention before, this takes place when Danny and the gang are 16. There’s no Phantom Planet but the Fenton parents and Valerie know his secret. Why? Well, even I don’t know yet. XD

When the bell rang, announcing the end of classes for the day, Danny was absolutely relieved. Packing his backpack with his math homework, he waved good bye to Mr. Falluca. The teacher returned the tender wave, still frowning at all of the dead calculators that Danny had tried to use earlier in the class. It was hard for Danny to keep himself from apologizing to the teacher, instead he silently vowed to learn how to control this power sooner rather than later.

He automatically made his way to Tucker’s locker. Being the closest to his math class, the two boys would meet up before going to Sam or Valerie, who’s lockers were halfway on the other side of the school. Danny just hoped that during the afternoon classes that Tucker had forgiven him for accidentally breaking his beloved tablet.

Soon enough, Danny spotted Tucker opening his locker. Swerving through the crowd, Danny quickly stood by his best friend. There was a pregnant pause as he watched Tucker put a book back into his locker.

“Tucker?” Danny called out. No reply other than a quick zip from his backpack. Sighing, Danny began, “I’m so sorry. I swear I didn’t mean to break your tablet, I mean, Stella.” Tucker slammed his locker door shut. Danny flinched at the action and watched as his best friend looked at him with unreadable eyes. “It was an accident.”

“I know,” Tucker answered, his voice oddly quiet. Danny perked up either way, walking in step with his best friend as they made their way towards the front of the school.

“Then why are you giving me the cold shoulder?”

“Because I’m upset?” Tucker replied back starkly. “Dude you know I customized this to handle more processing power.”

“I know and I said-“

“Dude.” Tucker waved him off. He sighed, shaking his head. “I forgive you man.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but-“

“Oh thank you Tucker!” Danny gave his friend a quick one arm hug. Even through the clothes, Tucker could feel the buzzing feeling that Danny was giving off. He quickly pushed off, raising a finger at Danny’s questioning look.

“But.”

“But?”

“But,” Tucker began again, walking, “you have to at least help me repair her.” He glanced to the dead tablet in his other hand. “I’m pretty sure you just fried the Motherboard.”

“Right. Okay. Easy fix right?”

“Should be.” The two entered the main hallway on the ground floor, the front doors in sight. They stopped at the TV monitors that would flash through a powerpoint of the academic photos and sports coverage of the school. Dash was – not surprisingly – in most of the sport pictures. “How are we going to fix your problem?”

“Visit CW?” Danny shrugged. “I don’t know much about…electrical powers.” He suddenly frowned. “Other than every electronic thing I touch goes dead on me.”

“What do you-“ Tucker trailed off once he got Danny’s meaning. “Wait. You’re telling me that you shorted out all of the school’s calculators during math?”

“Not all of them,” Danny whined. “Falluca stopped after the third one.”

“Third one’s the charm,” Tucker sang. He too suddenly frowned. “What about your phone?”

“Dead.” Danny pulled out the said device, pressing the button to no avail. “Mom and Dad will probably be pissed at me later.”

“You really are the enemy in today’s modern society,” Tucker said as he shook his head. Danny rose an eyebrow at his statement as he pocketed his dead phone.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Oh my Prince!” Tucker began dramatically. “Look upon the masses of your subjects.” He gestured to their fellow prisoners of the educational system, all looking stressed with homework waiting for them at their respective homes. “Are they not busying themselves over their phones? The social media? The texts, snaps, and calling to others?” He then shook his head. “As Prince, you should know what your subjects’ lives are like in order to rule over them justly.”

“…I’m not going to rule over the high school, Tucker.”

“Still. You can’t be oblivious all the time.” Danny scoffed and lightly touched Tucker’s shoulder, hoping that he’ll force a mild static shock onto the teen. “Ouch!!” Tucker yelped, jumping away from his best friend. “You did that on purpose!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m the oblivious one, remember?” Danny told him with a smirk.

“Very oblivious indeed,” Valerie agreed as she stepped beside them.

“Funny,” Danny said, deflating a bit before he questioned, “don’t you and Sam have the last class together?”

“She’s talking to the teacher about setting up a school wide debate on the ethics of school lunch again.” Tucker froze stiff at the answer. “Particularly calling for more vegan options.”

“She can’t!” he cried out. He grabbed Danny, forgetting the buzzing current in his friend’s body. “Doesn’t she remember the last time?!”

“I’m sure she does,” Danny said, trying to calm him down. “Besides, weren’t you listening? It sounds like she wants options, not changing the entire lunch menu…again.”

“Ohhhhh okay, that’s reasonable,” Tucker said, letting out a sigh of relief. He let go of Danny. “Your buzzing is still there.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” Danny deadpanned.

“What are you gonna do about it?” Valerie asked, curious.

“Probably go ask CW about it,” Sam answered, appearing out of nowhere. “Which if you are, we better get going. It takes 6 hours to get there.”

“I know,” Danny murmured as he led their group out of the school’s front doors. Luckily, most of the teenagers had left, leaving behind few who are chatting with their friends or their ride had not shown up yet. “But all CW could do is hopefully tell me who can teach me on controlling this other than Vortex.”

“Nah Vortex’s power is more focused on weather in general, not electricity,” Sam reasoned. “I would say Technus but…”

“His is more technological based,” Tucker continued, “if anything he could help you not zap batteries dead.”

“I said I was sorry!” Danny whined. Tucker chuckled, nudging his best friend.

“Sorry, you make it too easy dude.” The four stopped at a busy intersection, waiting for the walking signal. “Besides,” Tucker began once the signal turned, “I said I’ll buy you a pair of those sunglass thingies for the solar eclipse this Friday.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot that’s happening,” Valerie commented as they crossed.

“You forgot?” Danny asked, astounded as they reach the other side. “Valerie how could you forget something as rare as a solar eclipse?”

“Don’t they happen fairly often?” Sam asked, noticing how Danny seemed to get jittery. Tucker also noticed the symptoms of his friend getting overly excited.

“Fairly, but no in this area,” Danny answered, a big smile on his face. “Don’t you guys know that the next one that’ll happen where we can see it from Amity Park will be in 500 years? This is basically a once-in-a-lifetime thing!”

“Yeah that’s what the news has been saying,” Valerie commented.

“Because it’s true for once,” Danny stated bluntly. He paused, remembering all the times the news called him a menace and needed to be eradicated. Granted, his own parents said the same thing, but he knew it was for his and his sister’s survival. Shaking his head, he continued, “either way, I’m so pumped up for this! We may not be in the center of the path of totality, but we’ll still have a solid 45 seconds of the total eclipse.”

“And that means?” Tucker asked, trying to remember what the term meant. He recalled when Danny has first found out about Amity being in the path and Danny nerding out about it, but that was over a year ago and haven’t been brought up until last week.

“When the moon is completely covering the sun’s light,” Danny explained bluntly. He paused. “Well, not completely.” He skipped ahead of them, twisting around so that he walked backwards. “There’ll be a ring around the moon, but the point is the total eclipse is when you can have your glasses off and you can actually view it. Before then, the sun would get so bright, much brighter than usual so looking at it directly is damaging to your eyes.”

“But you’re already supposed to not look into the sun directly, you goof,” Valerie told him. “Unless, you’ve been doing it so much that you’re used to being blinded.”

“There is a reason why he keeps on getting pummeled while fighting ghosts,” Sam teased. That earned a laugh from Valerie. Danny huffed, crossing his arms as he pouted at the two girls.

“Very funny,” Danny deadpanned. “But what I meant to say is that the sun will be especially bright during this time; hence why the special solar glasses.”

“So you better wear them all the time then,” Valerie added, giggling a bit. She paused, lightly biting into her bottom lip. “I wonder if my visor would adapt to the change in solar light.”

“We can test it!” Tucker immediately volunteered. “I’m sure the Fentons have some kind of device that can stimulate and change the intensity the sun’s light.”

“Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised,” Danny said, twisting around as they approached another busy intersection. “With how crazy inventing Dad gets when he comes up with a new idea, there might be something along the lines of ‘Can invisible ghosts been seen if the sun’s radiation intensifies?’ or some other hypothesis.”

He pressed the walk button and instantly regretted doing that. He yelped as his hand shot away from the pole, sparks twisting between his fingers as the traffic lights themselves went out. The air was full of car tires screeching to a halt, a couple of horns blaring when one car almost plowed itself into another.

“Whoops,” Danny commented, the sparks still flickering in his palm.

“Whoops?” Sam echoed quietly. Tucker and Valerie were standing still, frozen into silence. “Whoops!? Danny you nearly caused a major accident!”

“It’s not like I mean to, Sam!” Danny yelled back, whipping around to turn on his friends. “I just pressed the stupid button!”

“Well you should know better!” Sam retorted back. “You’ve been killing batteries all day!”

“Okay stop it,” Tucker commanded, hands out between the two. Danny looked like he wasn’t about to listen, but Tucker gave him a concerning as he continued, “and Danny you need to chill.”

“Chill?” Danny echoed rather affronted. He pointed to Sam, “she needs to chill first!”

“No dude. You need to chill.” He paused, wary eyes glancing around them. “Like, you gotta blink.”

“Blink?” Danny repeated. Then he noticed a slight green tint on Tucker, who was the closest to him and how Valerie seemed like she was seconds from pulling out a gun. “Oh. Oh! Sorry.” He clenched his eyes shut and counted to twenty, breathing slowly.

“You better?” Tucker asked. Danny nodded, opening his eyes again. However, Tucker continued to frown. “I think you need to blink again dude.”

“They’re still green?” Danny asked, confused. His eyes don’t feel like they’re using ghostly energy. He suddenly jolted, feeling the buzzing stronger than before. He glanced down at his palm. The sparks were smaller now than when he had first touched the button, but still sparking out of his own palm. “I’m over energized,” he muttered in realization.

“Then let’s hurry,” Sam ushered, grabbing Danny’s backpack to tug him into the street. “Hopefully your parents can figure out what’s happening with you.”

“I hope so too,” he agreed, making sure to keep his head downcast and sparks hidden in his fist as the four crossed the street. Two more blocks and a turn would have them arrive at FentonWorks in a few minutes. He’ll be okay till then, right?

#Danny Phantom #Phanniemay18 #phanfiction

16 notes · View notes

court-of-abs · 8 years ago

Text

“Maybe Tomorrow” (Elorcan Fanfic) [Chapter 3]

I hate make excuses so I’m just gonna say SORRYYYYY. If you guys didn’t know, I’m writing these chapter by chapter, and my lack of planning sometimes makes it hard for me to figure out what direction I want this series, and the characters in it, to go in. I’m also participating in Booktube-a-thon this week (or at least trying to) so I’ve had little to no time to write. Regardless, here is chapter 3. Enjoy Ducklings :)) I also updated my master list for you guys, so that should have everything I’ve written so far, including chapter 3 of “Maybe Tomorrow.”

Chapter 2 | Chapter 4

Elide knew it would take time to get used to Orynth High, it always toke time to adjust to a new school and their student culture. From the relatively laid-back teachers to the deeply rooted political activism, Orynth High was already throwing Elide for a loop and she wasn’t really sure when she would get used to all of it.

But the lunch room, the lunch room, without a doubt, would take the most getting used to.

She had thought the hallways this morning were busy, but it was nothing, nothing, compared to this.

Students flooded into the single set of double doors, weaving between the round tables that were packed so closely it was almost impossible to squeeze between them. Some students were resorting to walking across the tops of the tables in order to reach their tables, or, at least it seemed, the tables that they hoped to claim.

That was something Aelin had explained to her earlier: where you sat the first day of school was where you sat for the whole school year. Everything was fair game again come the following year, but until then you were stuck at where you sat.

Something Aelin hadn’t told her, though, was how crazy this lunchroom was.

Elide toke in the storm of students that were still pushing each other around to nab tables. Clueless freshman who had claimed the first tables they could find by the doors were being run over, constantly pushed against the tables and their backpacks being trampled on the floor.

Elide was no exception to this at the moment. With the lunch line set right next to the lunchroom doors she had nearly lost her backpack twice now, and her back felt slightly bruised from all the times people had run into her in the last five minutes alone.

When she finally managed to grab a lunch tray and the closest sandwich and drink she could reach, Elide rushed to the front of the line, hastily paid for her order, apologized for dropping her change everywhere and then gave the cashier all of it as an apology, and made her way out of the rush of students.

Elide was panting. Buying lunch had been more of a workout than gym class.

She looked over the room and then stopping when she saw Aelin, laughing at something a companion had said, sitting at one of the tables in the middle of the room.

Aelin turned and saw Elide, waving her over. Shimmying her way between students and the tightly packed tables, Elide finally reached Aelin’s table and sat down in between her and a girl with long white hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail.

“Sorry, I should have warned you” Aelin practically yelled at her over the deafening noise of the student’s conversations. “Lunch is pretty hectic. Always more so on the first day.” At this point she was screaming at Elide. “It’ll die down once everyone finds their seats for the year. I told you this morning, people can get pretty crazy about where they sit.”

“I hate that” grumbled the girl to Elide’s right, twirling a piece of white hair around with her fingers, “I hate how territorial these students are about their lunch tables.”

“Didn’t you practically threaten to skin someone alive when they tried sitting at our table last year Manon?” Exclaimed a black-haired boy on Manon’s right, giving her a mischievous grin. His eyes, Elide thought, looked like sapphires.

“I did no such thing, Dorian.” Manon replied, pursuing her blood red lips and moving her food around with her fork.

“Play nice you two!” Aelin shouted, snapping her fingers at them. “We have a new member.”

Manon, now realizing that Elide existed, slowly turned her head and looked Elide over. “New girl, is it?” Elide nodded her head and averted her eyes from Manon’s stare. Manon then flipped her ponytail back over her shoulder and brought her attention to the boy next to Dorian. “You should be happy, Chaol, someone’s taken over your ‘new kid’ status.”

The boy next to Dorian, sandy brown hair cut short against his scalp, was currently engrossed in a book. He only looked up slightly at Manon at the mention of his name, his chocolate eyes radiating annoyance. His gaze cut to Elide’s and he stood up a little straighter.

“You’re a Lochan, right?” he asked, all of his attention on her.

Elide, who was currently attempting to bit into her sandwich, nodded.

“A Lochan?” Manon said, now looking at Elide with peaked interest. “Lochan’s are distant relatives of the Blackbeaks.”

“The Blackbeaks?” Elide said, racking her memory for any mention of it. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard the name.”

“My goodness!” exclaimed a girl that was standing behind Aelin, mock horror written across her face. It seemed she had just walked up to the table. “Someone doesn’t know who the Blackbeaks are? Manon, you must not be talking about yourself enough” she said, mischief glowing in her pine-green eyes.

“I think, Lysandra, you talk about yourself more than I do” Manon responded monotonously.

“Impossible” Lysandra responded, gasping at the accusation. Aelin let out a laugh as Lysandra leaned down to give Aelin a quick hug from behind and then sat down next to her.

“Elide, this is Lysandra, math genius extraordinaire.” Aelin said, gesturing to the girl to Aelin’s left. Lysandra leaned across the table and extended a manicured hand towards Elide.

“It is a pleasure to meet you” Lysandra said, giving Elide a soft smile.

“Don’t you have the same class as Aelin during fourth? Why are you ten minutes late?” Dorian asked, just as Elide finished shaking Lysandra’s hand.

The grin of mischief reappeared on Lysandra’s face in an instant, and Aelin only groaned.

“Well you see, I forgot my pencil pouch in Mr. A’s room during third period and I just needed it to get through the rest of the day.” Lysandra replied, drawing out Mr. A’s name particularly slow.

Manon echoed Aelin’s groan and Lysandra laughed at the group.

Dorian cleared his throat and looked away. “Forget I asked” he mumbled before turning to his food.

Elide, utterly confused, turned towards Aelin. “What do you mea-”

“She means she did a quickie with Aedion, Mr. A, right before lunch.” said a tall, generously built student that lightly pushed Lysandra over and sat down right next to Aelin. His hair was as white as Manon’s, cut choppily on the top of his head. Aelin turned towards him, her blue eyes meeting his green ones.

“But-but you’re a student, and he’s a teacher.” Elide asked, her eyes growing wide.

“And I’m also 18. And a senior” Lysandra replied, shutting Elide down before she could even start. Aelin ignored the conversation and leaned her forehead against the males. Still shocked, Elide turned away from Lysandra and back towards Aelin.

“And where have you been?” Aelin asked the boy, pouting her lips. “I hope you weren’t also doing a quickie with Aedion right before lunch.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it” He said, his voice rough as he leaned down to give Aelin a lingering kiss. “I had a football meeting” he replied when they finally parted.

“Gross” Manon replied, no emotion in her voice.

“For once, my cold-hearted friend, we agree on something” Lysandra replied, half-covering her eyes and fake gagging. Chaol expressed his discomfort aswell, but he was too caught up in his book to really notice.

Aelin glared at all of them and tugged on the male’s arm to bring his attention to Elide. “This is Elide Lochan” Aelin said. “And this” replied Aelin, gesturing to the boy besides her, “is Rowan Whitethorn.”

Rowan Whitethorn. The Rowan that Evalin must have been talking about at the counselor meeting this morning.

“Nice to meet you” Elide said, inclining her head.

“You as well” he replied, repeating her gesture.

“Well, Elide, you’ve met everyone that matters at this school” Aelin said, digging through her lunch pale and pulling out a container of fruit.

“Well, technically not everyone, I mean, If we’re counting the cadr-” Dorian started to say, but was interrupted abruptly by audio feedback.

“Hello students of Orynth high” rang out a voice from the front of the room. Everyone, including Aelin and the others at the table, turned their heads towards it.

It was her. Long black hair pinned perfectly, dark eyes surveying and assessing the room, and lips turned into a wicked grin.

Maeve.

Elide had only caught a glimpse of her during the end of gym class, had only witnessed a fraction of the pure confidence and ease that radiated off of her now. Being this close to that kind of, power, made Elide want to scurry into the corner, but at the same time she was completely entranced. Maeve seemed to have the same effect on others in the room too, their eyes trailed on Maeve’s every move as she set her free hand on her hip and held the microphone even closer to her mouth.

“For the lovely freshman out there” She said, her voice like honey, “and perhaps anyone new in town” Elide swore Maeve glanced at her just then, “My name is Maeve, and I was your class president last year and the year before.”

The whole room was silent, gazes completely fixated on her. Maeve’s grin turned into something, sweeter. More comforting.

“I’m a senior this year, and I just wanted to welcome all of you back to another year at one of the best public schools in the country, Orynth High!” She exclaimed.

The room, unsure how to react at first, eventually broke out in deafening applause, whooping and hollering “Go Bucks!” along with whistling loudly.

Maeve took it all in like a queen, giving everyone a smile and fluttering her lashes as people clapped.

“Now, now, fellow students, before you get back to your lunches, I have just one thing to say” Maeve began walking through the room now, weaving through the tables with expert ease. “As you know, we’re going to be having elections for the class officers in a few weeks” she started, turning to meet everyone’s gaze as she walked, “And I just wanted to let you all know that I will be running for president again this year.” There were a few claps at this announcement, but nothing compared to the enthusiastic applause that had occurred just moments before.

“I’ve been your president since I was a sophomore, and, my dears, I know how this school works. I know what you need. I know how to lead this school and make actions that will benefit this school as a whole. If you elect me as your president for a third year, I will continue to serve this great school just as I have done for the past two years!” Maeve had reached the center of the room now, right next to where Elide was sitting and gave a smile to everyone around her, except anyone at Elide’s table. “That’s it from me today” she said, beginning to walk back towards the front of the room. “It is the first day of school after all, and I would hate to postpone you all from eating your lovely lunches. I’ll be talking to you very soon dears, bye for now.” She ended with a slight incline of the head and swaggered towards a table in the front of the room. Everyone’s eyes tracked her movements until she had sat down at her table.

There were a few more moments of silence before conversation slowly resumed.

“I’ve had enough of her shit” Aelin suddenly exclaimed next to Elide, causing Elide to whip her head towards her.

“It’s only been one day of her shit. Not even.” Chaol replied, attention still fixed on his book.

“Chaol, for god sake, I know you only choose to read leisurely during school lunch, a tragedy, really, but you might want to pay attention for the next few minutes.” Aelin was currently moving her lunch aside and stepping up on top of the table.

“Aelin, what are yo-” exclaimed Rowan and Chaol. Rowan reached up to stop Aelin, but he was cut off as Aelin put two fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly.

The whole lunch room ceased conversation again, turning their attention towards Aelin who had now positioned herself in the center of their round table.

“Lovely speech, Maeve” yelled Aelin, making sure everyone in the room could hear her. “Very… thoughtful.”

Lysandra and Dorian snickered, and Manon, Elide thought, let the faintest of smiles dance on her lips.

“But I have another speech, if you all don’t mind me stealing another minute of your time.” Aelin turned in circles, making sure she faced every corner of the room.

“I will be running as class president as well” Aelin said. There were a few gasps at that, including ones from Rowan and Dorian. “For two years, as Maeve stated, she’s claimed to represent this school to the best of her ability, she’s claimed to make decisions in regard to the student body as a whole.” Aelin stopped her circling to look straight at Maeve as she continued, “But does giving over half of the decided school budget to the cheer-leading team every year represent the student body as a whole? Does approving the cut of several extracurricular activities in order to give the cheer-leading squad this allotted out of money benefit the student body as a whole?” Aelin kept her gaze locked on Maeve’s, letting a wicked smile show on her lips. “I. think. Not.” Aelin gritted out.

The students began murmuring at this, their eyes darting between Maeve and Aelin. At this point, Maeve’s stare was just as branding as Aelin’s, and it was obvious that neither girl planned to back down anytime soon.

But Aelin knew this, it seemed, because she suddenly broke her stare and turned her attention back to the students. Maeve seemed taken aback at the sudden break of connection, as if she was expecting to stare down Aelin for the rest of lunch.

“We are the Orynth High Bucks, right?” Aelin asked, searching the room for an answer. They were a few nods and shouts of confirmation. Students were growing more restless, not sure where to turn their eyes and talking quickly with one another.

“What’s our school motto again?!” Aelin practically yelled across the room, everyone’s quiet conversations cutting short. No one said a thing.

“Do I have to remind you? Do you know why we’re proud to be Bucks? Why every other school fears us and why every student wants to go here?” Students were getting slightly riled up, many nodding along with Aelin as she spoke, and urging her to go on.

“What’s our motto?” Aelin asked again, her voice taking everyone’s attention. Then a student, with rich dark skin and boxy white glasses, stood up abruptly and shouted:

“We Stand Strong!”

The majority of the students stood up then, screaming so loudly that Elide almost covered her ears:

“AND WE STAND TOGETHER!” There was cheering and whoops and hollers after that, students clapping and whistling, jumping up in their seats and not giving a damn that they were packed like sardines in a room that was way too small. Aelin whooped and hollered with them, laughing herself hoarse and spinning around the middle of the table again to meet everyone’s eyes.

“That’s it!” Aelin yelled, matching their enthusiasm. “And if you elect me as the class president, along with my team, we will stand strong. And we will stand together!” The students clapped at Aelin. Everyone at this point was standing, eyes locked on her as if she were the most important person in this room. Everyone except Maeve and the Cadre.

They were assessing the room, scowls set deep on their faces, especially on Remelle’s and Cairn’s. Fenrys looked slightly amused, leaning back in his chair and smiling slightly as he watched Aelin.

But there was one of them, the one with the shoulder length dark hair, that caught her attention. Everyone’s eyes were on Aelin’s. Except for him. He was looking at Maeve, whispering something in her ear as she gave Aelin a look that promised death.

After several minutes of applause, Aelin gave a deep bow and stepped down from the top of the table, helped by Rowan as he gently lowered her down to the floor.

“When were you planning on telling me that you’re running for school president.” Rowan growled as he sat back down in his seat.

“What do you mean?” Aelin asked innocently, giving him a quick wink. Rowan held her stare for another moment before sighing and shaking his head.

“You’re always making these plans and not telling anyone.” Rowan said, stabbing his fork in his food.

“Who says I even planned that?”

“You planned that.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

“She planned it.” Interrupted Lysandra, her grin stretched ear to ear as she watched Aelin and Rowan argue.

Rowan raised an eyebrow at Aelin, reaching out his hand and tipping her chin back.

“You little minx, fireheart.” Aelin only grinned and leaned forward to capture his lips with hers. There was another audible gag from Manon and a low whistle from Dorian as the two deepened their kiss. Elide smiled, but turned her attention back to Maeve and the boy.

He was still whispering in her ear, but Maeve barely even seemed to notice, looking at her phone and almost leaning away from him as he spoke to her. Sensing Elide’s stare, he stopped speaking abruptly and slowly brought his gaze towards her.

His dark eyes bore into hers, challenging her it seemed. Elide kept it, willing that hidden strength to keep her eyes locked on his, as she realized that this was the boy she had run into this morning. And he held her gaze right back, cocking his head as if he were challenging her. She noticed, even from across the room, that there was some bruising around his left eye. Serves him right for being so rude this morn-

Aelin cleared her throat beside her.

Elide whipped her head away from the boy, meeting Aelin’s eyes and slightly uptilted lips. “So?” She asked, imploring Elide for some answer.

Elide blinked and looked down, embarrassed. “I’m sorry, what was your question?” Elide asked, her gaze meeting Aelin’s and then darting in another direction.

Chaol and Dorian chuckled from across the table. Aelin’s grin only grew slightly.

“I said, how would you like to run as my secretary?”

Elide’s mouth went dry.

She was at a loss for words, but she managed to croak out, “really? Are you sure your other friends don’t want to run with you or-”

“Lysandra is my treasurer, being the mathematical beauty that she is” Lysandra winked at Elide, “And Rowan is my vice president. I need someone who can relate to the people and who knows how to get things done and organized as my secretary. And if our first encounter during first period told me anything, it’s that you will speak for the people.”

Elide was at a loss for words.

“I-I would love to, but I’m sur-”

“Elide, say yes.”

“Aelin, are you sure-”

“Just say yes for god sake” blurted Manon, a look of exasperation on her face. Chaol laughed at her outburst, removing himself from his book for the time being, and Manon sent him a look promising a slow death.

Elide swallowed, but didn’t hesitate as she turned to Aelin and said, “Yes.”

Lysandra whistled and Dorian gave Elide a reassuring nod as the group began talking amongst themselves.

Smiling to herself, Elide finished off her lunch and spoke to the group for the rest of it. At the end of lunch, just as the bell rang, Elide risked a quick glance towards the cadre and more specifically the boy from this morning again, but found that everyone at the table was already gone.

“Before practice after school we’re meeting in the school library” Maeve said coolly, leading the group as they walked down the hallway. “I need to figure out how to bring Aelin down.”

“Not sure that’s gonna happen” tisked Fenrys as he typed something on his phone.

Maeve stopped walking and slowly turned towards him, daggers shooting from her eyes. Lorcan knew that look, and he quickly averted his eyes.

“She wouldn’t even be a problem if you had snatched the Lochan girl up before Aelin did.”

Fenrys looked up from his phone and rolled his eyes, “It’s the first day of school, Maeve, I can’t work my magic that quickly.” He scoffed.

Maeve’s composure stayed the same, but her eyes were growing darker by the second. Fenrys seemed to notice too; he cleared his throat and hastily put his phone away.

“The Lochan name has pull in this area. We need to get her on our side by whatever means necessary.” Maeve’s brows pinched together, deep in thought.

Lorcan wanted to kiss away the wrinkles in her brow as she thought, wanted to rub his thumb along her cheek and-

“Or” Maeve said, her eyes turning mischievous, her eyes seemingly growing darker by the second. “Or one of us gets close to her. One of us gets information out of her about Aelin’s campaign by befriending her.” Maeve looked between everyone in the group.

“Someone get in with her. Someone play nice with her. She’s new, there’s still time to get on her good side. So do you what you have to do,” Her eyes landed on Lorcan’s as she drawed in a breath, a wicked grin taking over her lips.

“By whatever means necessary.”

#throne of glass #sarah j. maas #IMSORRY #IKNOWITSLATE #BUTENJOYDUCKLINGS

122 notes · View notes

sweetnestor · 8 years ago

Text

Story of Another Us | Week 11

university au, platonic af, now on ao3!

previous chapter | masterlist | playlist

My heart is here, it’s such a cause

I didn’t expect a phone call, text message, or any interaction from Mark. I probably should have been the one to go to him. Apologize for being stupid and getting too close to his friend. However, given from the silence between us since that night, I figured that he wanted me to stay away. I wasn’t even sure if I could still call him my boyfriend, and that terrified me. I desperately wanted to talk to him, but he was angry with me and I couldn’t really blame him.

This silence only forced me and Jack to carry on as usual. We went to class together that morning, earlier than usual since we decided it was best not to go back to Mark’s while he was in this mood. This left me with no time to dress presentably or do any makeup, and Jack had to call his girlfriend and rely on her to get his videos uploaded. Not to mention, the car ride from my apartment all the way to YTU was much longer than if we had gone from Mark’s house.

Speaking of YTU, campus was even more empty these days. There were only about six weeks left in the semester. Six weeks until the place closed down for good. There was really no point in coming anymore, according to the students who lived in the area. I, on the other hand, needed to get my money’s worth from these fucking classes, and so did Jack.

“You feel like meeting people?” he asked, pointing out the small group of people standing around the entrance to the main parking lot.

The one day I didn’t put on makeup. I drove past the group and parked somewhat far from the main office. I thought about it as we got out of the car, but I didn’t have much choice. The group had followed my car to where we parked.

Technically, we weren’t supposed to meet fans here, but Jack was more than happy to break the rules since “there’s no one here to tell us we can’t!” Plus, campus was closing down anyway, so fuck it.

“You’re Bella Santiago, right?” one girl asked me, which was surprising. I thought they were here for Jack. “Can I get a selfie? I really love your videos!”

It happened very quickly. I smiled for the picture, the girl thanked me and went to get a picture with Jack. Another person came up to me, smiling wide.

“Your anxiety video made me cry! It was so touching!” she told me.

“Aw, thank you!” I replied, instantly a lot happier. “That means a lot!”

A sudden wave of praise came from the group, all of them saying that the video was really good. It made me feel warm and pleasant. So maybe I wasn’t so depressing after all. I was expecting to be brushed off, especially since most of the group seemed to know Jack. But they were all really kind.

However, it didn’t last long. A campus security guard whisked us away, and practically yelled at the group to get off property. Jack and I pretty much had no choice but to follow him inside the main office.

“You guys are not allowed to interact with fans, you know that, right?” he told us sternly. “You’re only going to attract more people here.”

“Well, it’s not like we asked them to come over here,” I said back. “The place is closing anyway, why does it matter?”

Jack gave me an incredulous look as we walked through the main office. It wasn’t exactly typical of me to talk back, and he had never seen me be this way before.

“I’m just doing my job, Miss,” the guard told me before walking off.

I rolled my eyes and went out to the courtyard. That’s when Jack finally spoke.

“I’ve never heard you talk like that before,” he said. “You sounded really… ballsy.”

I chuckled. “I guess when it comes to the people who watch my videos, I take no shit.”

“That’s good. Really bold of you.”

It wasn’t until we got to class that we both tweeted out apologies to the people we met in the parking lot. I had to refrain from ranting publicly. Instead, I focused on what it was like to meet those people. In my time of have a sizeable following, I was noticed seldomly. It wasn’t until I was associated with Mark did it start happening more. You would think being approached by random people would make my anxiety spike…

Instead, it just made me tired and irritable. By the time we got home from class, I was looking forward to a ten year nap. Jack was still peppy and perky and talking off my last nerves. However, being the avoidant little shit I was, I just let him be. Listening to him also meant I could avoid checking my phone for any interaction from Mark. I really didn’t want to be the one to start that conversation.

“So, are we going to record today?” That was the only thing I caught from his long ramble.

I thought about it. “Are you up for it?”

“Yeah!”

We were supposed to make a video for my channel today. I had to do that today. Despite everything, this had to be done. I couldn’t be a stick in the mud.

“Okay,” I said, my eyes trailing up to Jack’s hair. “How overdue are you for dying your hair?”

He ran his fingers through the faded green locks in thought. I could see his brown roots peeking out and I almost audibly gasped. I had to get my hands on them.

“You wanna do that for a video?” he asked.

“Is it a bad idea? We could do something else…”

“No, no it’s your channel, you hold all the cards here.”

“Hey guys, it’s Bella!” I greeted happily to the camera set up in the living room. “Today I’m here with my friend Jack, and I’m gonna dye his hair and bleach his roots.”

Jack was sitting in a chair in front of me, a towel over himself. His hair was slightly all over the place, given that I was touching it and messing with it earlier to see what exactly I needed to do for this look. He was pretty pleased about this, given that I wasn’t going to charge him for doing this for him. He needed a new coat of green hair, and I needed a new video to post. It’s a win-win.

“So, this is partly a tutorial and partly two friends hanging out,” I explained.

“Twice the fun,” Jack said in a mock happy tone.

“Let’s get started!”

I mixed the bleach in a plastic bowl with a brush and explained how to do so before applying it to Jack’s roots. I also read off the box just to make sure I wasn’t doing anything wrong. “‘Do not use if you are not a licensed cosmetologist.’ Oops!”

“You’re not licensed?” Jack asked in mock surprised. “You’re a fraud!”

“Whoops, you caught me!”

“No, but really, didn’t you go to beauty school?”

“I did, but I never finished it because of YTU. So technically, I shouldn’t be allowed near these products.”

I continued applying the bleach, surprisingly at ease. Hair knowledge was right underneath my makeup knowledge, and it was fun getting my hands on some hair again. Although, since it was only the top of Jack’s head that needed the fix, the first step was done a lot quicker than expected.

“Somehow I forgot that you don’t have that much hair to bleach and dye,” I pointed out. “How much time do you usually spend in a salon?”

“Oh god, like two hours,” he replied, rolling his eyes. “It takes forever!”

“Dude, my hair takes at least four or five hours,” I told him, pointing to my long, black and pink ombre. “You’re lucky!”

“How can you be so patient? I go crazy just sitting in the chair!”

“It’s fun for me.” I smiled.

The next step after washing off the bleach was the color. I chose a vibrant green that wasn’t too off from previous shades that Jack has had before. For me, this was the easiest part.

“With bleach, you have to be careful not to leave it on for too long,” I explained, “especially with darker hair because it’s very easy to damage it a lot. So you have to constantly keep an eye on it and see how quickly the hair catches onto it. With the actual color, you just have to apply it and wait it out. Usually the formula will have some type of vitamins and stuff that’s good for the hair. But it’s still a good idea to get some hydrating conditioners and other hair products on the side.”

“See, I wish my hairdresser in Ireland had told me this,” Jack said. “Everything makes a lot more sense now!”

Once we finished and cleaned everything up, Jack had wonderful, bright green hair. I was relieved I hadn’t lost my hair styling skills over time. As soon as the camera turned off, I pretty much hid away in my bedroom, the depression returning. I crawled into bed and sighed in relief. I couldn’t shake the feeling of dread and gloominess for some reason. It was like I drained the last of my energy in that video.

I scrolled on my phone, looking at the pictures that were posted from the impromptu meetup earlier. I looked awful without my makeup. How could people see me as a beauty guru? How could I go outside looking like that?

So much for finding comfort on Twitter… I went to Tumblr instead, and I had to resist making a long, rambly post. Then I realized that no one would want to see a wall of text clog up their dash. I just looked at my feed, reblogging pictures of makeup I already owned, liking posts people mentioned me in. There were cute edits and gifsets of me and Mark, which only made my heart ache.

I wasn’t sure why I got so angry with him. Maybe I did get too close to Jack. Maybe I had done things that gave off the wrong idea. Or maybe I just wasn’t attracted to Mark and that’s why I didn’t want to get into bed with him. Maybe I was just faking my anxiety this whole time.

It felt like time was going slow, or not moving at all. I wasn’t sure if I had fallen asleep or gotten up at all. I could only tell time by the sound of Jack’s voice outside my door. He was recording his own videos and acting like everything was okay. I wish I knew how to act like that off camera.

I started feeling restless and antsy when his voice finally stopped. A constant background noise was something I needed, otherwise I’d go crazy. I rolled onto my side, listening for any kind of sound to break the silence. No footsteps, movements, or anything from the TV did that. It was like Jack had disappeared. Wouldn’t blame him.

Honestly, though, I still didn’t want to interact with anyone. I just liked hearing someone else in the apartment. I went to take a shower. Any sound from there would block out the ongoing gloom in my head.

I pretty much just sat there. Actual hygiene wasn’t important to me at the moment. The water was hitting my scalp and, while it was deteriorating the black and pink dye in my hair, it felt good. It gave me a sense of feeling again. Like a breath of fresh air, except it was water. I coughed and choked. It was better than not feeling anything.

When I was out of the shower and getting dressed, I heard noise within the apartment. I heard voices. Angry voices. Maybe I really did go crazy. Although, the mere thought did make me leave my room to actually make sure that wasn’t true.

I found Jack and Mark standing in the living room. They went quiet as soon as I showed up. The air was tense, making my stomach flip over. To be honest, I didn’t expect Mark to show up so soon.

“You still let him stay here?” he asked me in disbelief.

Yes I did, and I’m so sorry. Please don’t leave me. I’m so sorry for being a terrible girlfriend, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…

Those words were rising up my throat, ready to be puked out. I was fighting with myself not to speak those words. I couldn’t apologize for letting my friend live here.

“It was me,” Jack spoke up. “I asked if I could still stay here. I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize how bad the situation was.”

“You’re telling me,” Mark began, not sounding any less angry, “that even after I told you how uncomfortable I was with you living with my girlfriend, you still had the nerve to ask her if you could still keep living here?”

Jack gulped, clearly intimidated. “Yes.”

“What kind of friend are you?”

“Oh my god!” I snapped, my body trembling with nerves. I couldn’t control my mouth. “You’re the one who made him stay here in the first place! You’re the one who pushed us to be friends! You’re the one who felt enough pity for me to fly your friend out here and talk to me because I can’t do that on my own! ¿Y sabes que? You don’t get to be angry that Jack and I are friends now! You don’t get to be angry because he’s here for me more than you are, that’s on you! So don’t come crying over here quejando y quejando because you’re the one who made all this happen in the first place!”

I was breathing heavily and my chest was hurting. Mark and Jack had their mouths open in shock. When have they ever heard me speak this way? I didn’t think I could speak this way either.

Thankfully, the silence didn’t last long. Mark sighed and nodded to my open bedroom door. “Room.”

Still fuming, I turned on my heel and went to my room, Mark quickly following my trail. Before I shut the door, I saw Jack quickly scurry over to his room to hide. Lucky him, he gets to sit this one out.

“What do you mean he’s here for you more?” Mark asked, breathing like he was trying to keep himself steady. “What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly that, you’re never here,” I told him. “And you asked Jack to move here, without so much as giving me a heads up!”

“I didn’t ask him, I told him that you had an extra room, and you were happy to let him stay!” Mark justified.

“Because you put me on the spot! That doesn’t matter now anyway, I’m actually glad he’s my roommate, because as I said, he’s my friend and he’s there for me!”

“Stop saying that!” Mark nearly yelled, making me flinch. However, he took a step back and lowered his tone. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry if you feel like I’ve been neglecting you. I have been busy, I’ve been going to meetings and making videos, and this tour thing. I do all of this while you’re on campus, and I try to get things done, I do. Aside from that, I’ve got Matt and Ryan, and it’s like I’m raising kids! I’m not trying to use that as an excuse either, but I am sorry I can’t always be here. It’s not fair to you.”

Time management was something we had established when we first started dating. For some reason, I didn’t think it was going to be this hard. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything at all. This was all part of the vlogger dating experience, after all.

“So you’re not avoiding me?” I asked.

“Of course not.”

“I wouldn’t blame you if you were, I know I’m a handful.”

“Don’t say that, Bella. I know things are hard right now, but I will make a better effort to be with you.”

I paced around the room to avoid looking at him. “Okay… so, what about Jack?”

Mark shrugged. “What about him?”

“Am I not allowed to be friends with him anymore? He’s the only friend I’ve got.” I hated saying that, it just emphasized my patheticness.

It felt worse when Mark hesitated. “I don’t know. Do you really not have anyone else?”

“No…” I said softly. “No, and it sucks. I only have you and him, two whole people. And I know I should try to talk to more people, but god you have no idea how hard it is!”

“I know. You deserve to have friends, even if it’s only one or two. I’m sorry I made a big deal out of you and Jack. I just want you to trust me,” Mark confessed. “I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it must be for you, and I’m sorry if I made it harder. Just know that I am here for you, whenever you need me. I promise.”

That’s a big word that adds more pressure. But who was I to deny him? Words could only do so much, but god I couldn’t go down to have only one friend. Especially if that friend wasn’t going to stay here permanently.

“Okay,” I said. “Fine…”

“Okay.” Mark sighed.

Don’t lose this one. He’s all you’ve got. You lose him, you lose everything...

_______

next chapter

#jacksepticeye x oc #jacksepticeye x reader #markiplier x oc #markiplier x reader #soau #sweetheart writes #theres like 3 more chapters left ksdhklasdhklasd #also the last 3 songs on the playlist are more 'bonus songs'#like the rest are mentioned or included in the story somehow #but the last three are like just for lols

14 notes · View notes