#and here i suddenly remember that i used to really love sabrina in girl meets world

[applesdefinitely]

why don't you think i'm either bi or pretending that i might be? i'm not bi or pretending, but why does no one think i'm lying, i just want you to think i might have secrets

[x]

[e-dubbc11]

Omg congratulations on 400 followers you so deserve it! Your stuff is amazing and always puts a smile on my face!

I’m not sure how this works exactly (plz let me know if this is wrong) but I’d be reallllllyyyyyyy excited to ready anything you’ve got!

I was hoping for a song request for Billy- Cruel Summer Taylor Swift

Something about the bridge just screams Billy to me

Butttttttt if TS isn’t your style I have a few other ideas

- Coming Down- Halsey, Hate That I Love You- Rihanna, Beautiful Mess- Diamond Rio

@pikachuondrugs thank you so much for sending this request in. You actually picked a Taylor Swift song that I like, she’s normally not my cup of tea but there are a few that I like and Cruel Summer is one of them.

Thank you for following me and being a part of my celebration. I hope you like what I did here ♥️

Safe with You

Photos are not mine. They are courtesy of Pinterest/Google.

Pairing: Billy Russo x F! Reader

Warnings: Drinking, tipsy reader, maybe a swear word? (I don’t remember, is that bad? 😆) fluffy bunnies and unicorns, love confessions

Word Count: 2.8k-ish

Summary: You meet your friends for a girls night out and have a little too much to drink so you call your boyfriend to come pick you up.

A/N: Loosely inspired by the bridge of Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift, book quotes from The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. It’s one of my favorite books and one I think Billy would love also ♥️

As you watched the sun get lower in the sky toward the horizon, the colors of the sky turned shades of fiery red and orange with the colors of lilac and pink bordering the fluffy white clouds.

You recalled that saying “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning” and if there was any truth to that saying, it would be a nice day for your trip to the beach with your boyfriend tomorrow but tonight was about girls night out.

Your vanity sat next to the window so you could watch the sun go down while getting ready for the night. It had been awhile since you had seen your two best friends so you were excited about dinner and drinks tonight but it was your fault you hadn’t seen them in a couple of months.

They said they understood. “Hey, you have a really HOT reason for not hanging out with us at all this summer! It really is ok, y/n because he is super-HOT!” Sabrina had said.

She wasn’t wrong, Billy was incredibly handsome. They had only seen pictures of him, they hadn’t met him yet but they’d love him…just like you did but he didn’t know that yet.

You didn’t know it at that moment, but he would know exactly how you feel about it by the end of the night.

**********

The month of May had been unusually warm and that particular day you hadn’t even planned on going anywhere but it was such a nice day, you decided to go for a walk to get a cup of coffee and stop at the bookstore on your way back.

The bright early afternoon sun warmed the tops of your shoulders as you walked the crowded city sidewalks. People in business attire hustled past you, trying to get back to their offices after enjoying their lunch break outside.

You were thankful to be off from work on such a beautiful day.

Because it was such a nice day, you put on a flowy white tank top, jeans and put your hair up in a messy bun. You weren’t going to be out very long so you put minimal makeup on before leaving the house and headed out.

Sure, there were plenty of genres you enjoyed reading but you kept coming back to the classics which is where he first laid eyes on you. With your back turned, you sensed someone behind you before he said,

“And I thought I was the only nerd who still read the classics.” His voice was soft with a slight New York accent and you could tell he was smiling even before you turned around.

When you turned around, you saw probably the most handsome man you’d ever seen. He was dressed in a designer suit with dark brown hair, a well-groomed beard and eyes as dark as freshly turned soil. You suddenly felt underdressed even though you were just in a bookstore.

“What do ya got there?” He asked with a perfect smile stretched across his lips.

He gently touched your wrist to pull the books you were holding closer so he could see and heat rose to your cheeks as his long fingers wrapped around your wrist.

“The Count of Monte Cristo and The Things They Carried. Both fine choices.” He extended his arm and hand for you to shake. “Maybe I should have introduced myself first before snooping around your book choices, Billy Russo.”

You shook his hand, trying not to blush in the process. “It’s nice to meet you Billy Russo, I’m y/n. I’ve never met anyone else who’s read The Things They Carried before. My copy is old and falling apart so I needed a new one.” You said.

“The bad stuff never stops happening: it lives in its own dimension, replaying itself over and over.” Billy quoted. “Another quote I love is…’They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried.’”

And at that moment, you were smitten with him.

**********

That was three months ago, you had spent your free summer nights going out on the most romantic dates with him and he really knew how to show you a good time but he wasn’t just a handsome face.

Billy was sweet, funny, well-read, smart and strong but also…guarded, stubborn, jealous and a little possessive. But with all his faults, Billy always made you feel safe which he said was the best compliment he could ever receive.

He was a little disappointed he wouldn’t get to see you tonight but he knew you hadn’t seen your friends in awhile.

A text from him came through while you were getting ready for the night.

Have fun tonight, beautiful. Be safe.

Just a text from him brought a smile to your face, you made sure to reply. Billy would get nervous if you didn’t text back.

Thank you, handsome. I will.♥️

As the evening sun was setting, it cast long shadows on the ground as you walked to meet your Uber, you were ready for an exciting night.

After fending off some rather aggressive bar patrons, three karaoke songs, and a shot of tequila, you and your friends were able to catch up with each other’s lives but mostly laugh with each other and they wanted to hear more about Billy.

“Is he good in bed?” Sabrina asked.

Your jaw dropped which turned into a loud burst of laughter.

Valerie slapped her on the shoulder. “That’s a dumb question! Do you really think y/n would still be with him if he wasn’t?”

You shrugged your shoulders and nodded. “Val’s right, I wouldn’t have stuck around if he wasn’t.” You said, taking a sip of your drink.

“Do you love him?” Asked Sabrina, changing the tone of the conversation for a minute.

The corners of your mouth dropped and your lips pressed together in a straight line before letting out a long exhale. You gave them both a warm smile before saying, “I do…I really do but I haven’t told him yet. I’m scared to but hey if we keep drinking, that could change. Cheers!!”

The three of you reminisced of when you all used to work together, you missed it but you needed a job that paid better, they eventually left too, also maybe it wasn’t a good idea for three best friends to work together. You were convinced your boss threw a massive party after the three of you left.

“…Even separating us didn’t work, remember?” You said through fits of laughter.

After a few more rounds and many, many laughs later, the three of you decided to call it a night but you felt a little too drunk to even get in an Uber and get safely home.

“H-hey, w-will you guys ride in the Uber with me? I might fall asleep before I get home.” You asked with slightly slurred speech.

Sabrina and Valerie exchanged a look with raised eyebrows like they were hatching a plan telepathically.

“Whyyyyyyy don’t you have your boyfriend pick you up?” Valerie asked, exchanging another look with Sabrina. “We’ll wait with you until he gets here.”

“G-good idea!” You exclaimed, pulling your phone out of your purse and pushing the “call” button.

Billy answered on the second ring.

“Hey sweet girl. Everything ok?” He asked.

“Hi handsome! I-I really h-hate to bother you buuuuuut, can you come get me? I’m afraid I might fall asleep in the Uber.” You asked.

Val leaned in to the phone. “Hiiiiii Billy!!!” She yelled into the phone followed by a cackle.

Then you started laughing. “Oh my god, what is wrong with you?!” You said with your mouth away from the phone, Billy could still hear you though by the way he was chuckling.

“Baby, just text me where you are and I’ll be there as soon as I can, ok?” He said.

“Shut up, guys!” You said, followed by more laughter. “Ok, b-baby. I’ll t-text you as soon as I get off…he-he…get off.”

“Real mature, y/n!” Sabrina yelled.

Billy tried to stop himself from laughing but couldn’t, all he managed to get out was, “I’ll see you soon, beautiful.” And he hung up.

You were waiting for about 20 minutes when the balmy summer air hit the back of your arms. You were facing away from the door when Billy walked in and your friends pointed him out that he was there.

“Somebody is here for youuuuuuu!” Val exclaimed.

You turned around and watched him walk over to you, he had on jeans and a black t-shirt.

Sabrina “whispered” in your ear. “How is he even hotter in person?”

“You’re n-not w-whispering, ya know.” You giggled. “Billy, these are my friends, Valerie and Sabrina.”

Billy flashed his perfect smile at them as he wrapped his arm around your waist. “Nice to meet you ladies, I’d love to chat with you more but I really should get her home.” He said.

Valerie shooed the two of you out of the bar. “Go on, get outta here you crazy kids. You guys would have beautiful babies, by the way.” She said.

“What?!” You yelled.

“What?! Who said that?!” She said. “Ok, goodnight! Love youuuuuu! Nice to finally meet you, Billy!”

“You too.” Billy said with a warm smile, opening the car door. “Wanna lay down in the back, baby?”

“Y-yesssss, I do.” You slurred.

Billy had been driving for about 10 minutes when he asked, “You ok back there, beautiful?”

You sat up and stuck your head in between the front seats. “Oh y-yeah, I’m good!”

Billy just smiled and shook his head back and forth. “That’s good, baby. I’m glad you had fun tonight. I know you haven’t seen them in awhile but that’s my fault. I’ve been monopolizing your time and I’m sorry.” He said.

“But I love spending time with you, Billy. Actually, I-I t-told my friends a s-secret earlier.” You whispered. “Sssshhhhhh!”

Acting surprised, Billy chuckled and responded with, “Oh really? And what secret did you tell them, baby?”

“Well I can’t tell youuuuuu, cuz what if?” You trailed off and suddenly tears welled up in your eyes.

Concerned, Billy asked, “What if what, y/n? Ya know there’s only room for one emotionally stunted person in this relationship and that’s me. Tell me, baby.”

A single tear streaked down your cheek and Billy wanted nothing more than to catch it but he was driving and he couldn’t. You wiped the tear away and whispered, “I-I t-told them that I’m in l-love with youuuuuu.”

You thought you saw the corners of Billy’s mouth curl up into a sly smile in the reflection of the rearview mirror.

“I knowwww, I know you p-probably don’t feel the same way…Imma go back to sleep now, night night. Just shove me out onto the sidewalk when you get to my apartment. This is so embarrassing, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Billy never did relationships but he couldn’t stay away from you. It was easy with you and it was the first time in a long time, or ever, that someone had told Billy he was loved.

You felt the car come to a stop and the engine turn off, you must be home.

“How ya doin’, beautiful? Can ya walk?” Billy asked sarcastically.

You narrowed your eyes at him as you sat upright and he winked at you in the rearview mirror.

“Yes Billy, I can walk. I’m d-drunk but I’m not THAT drunk.” You said.

Billy exited the car and opened the door to the back seat for you. His hands were chilled from the air conditioning and felt cold against the warm skin of your wrists, more than likely because of the alcohol. You felt his lips plant a gentle kiss on your forehead which made you smile and caused your stomach to flutter.

He really did care about you.

“C’mon baby, let’s get you to bed.” He said softly against your ear.

Swaying a little as you walked toward the entrance of your building, you grabbed a hold of his t-shirt and held onto him for balance, with his hand wrapped around your waist and guiding you into your building.

Once inside your apartment, you tossed your purse and keys onto the table and headed straight for your bedroom, leaving Billy to lock the door behind him.

He knew for the most part you were ok to change by yourself and get into bed so he went into the kitchen to get you some water and pain reliever.

Listening carefully, he heard the water from the bathroom sink running. You were brushing your teeth and washing the makeup off of your face. Billy found you curled up on your side, nestled under the blanket, waiting for him to come in.

“Ah, ah…before you close those beautiful eyes of yours, sit up and take these.” He said in a slightly scolding tone.

“Alright, alright. At ease, soldier. You don’t hafta yell at meeeeee. But it is pretty sexy when you do.” You said with a half-smile on your face.

Billy chuckled as he watched you swallow the two pills he gave you. He sat on the edge of the bed and moved a stray hair away from your eyes while you inched closer to him.

With your hand resting against his cheek, you started to gently brush his beard with your thumb, he kissed the heel of your hand and gave you a warm smile.

“Thank you for coming to get me tonight, Billy.” You said softly.

“Anything for you, baby. Now get some sleep, ok?” He said.

Nodding, you easily rested your head against your pillow and immediately felt your eyes get heavy and the last thing you saw before falling asleep was Billy’s handsome face smiling at you and felt him gently drawing circles on your back with his long slender fingers.

Yes, you were very much in love with him.

**********

Rays from the early morning sun shone into your bedroom, warming the side of your face that wasn’t resting against Billy’s chest.

He stayed with you…he didn’t have to do that, but it warmed your heart that he did. Lifting your head slightly to look up at him, you thought about everything you said to him last night. You didn’t have any regrets, you meant it when you told him you were in love with him.

“Good morning, beautiful.” Said Billy, still with his eyes closed.

“Hey there handsome. You stayed with me.” You said.

His agile fingers danced up and down the exposed skin of your arm. “Of course I did, sweet girl. So, did you really mean what you said last night?” He asked.

You propped yourself up on one arm and gazed into his endless brown eyes. “Yes I did, Billy. I am very much in love with you. That wasn’t exactly how I wanted to tell you for the first time but, well, I can’t take it back…and I don’t want to take it back. I-I love you Billy.”

Billy had a stoic look to his face for a brief moment which felt like time was standing still waiting for a reaction before a warm smile crept to his face and his lips collided with yours.

Suddenly, you were pinned underneath him as he kissed you aggressively, all teeth and tongue before tracing his lips down the hollow of your throat and the side of your neck. The bristles of his beard tickled your skin which caused you to giggle and playfully call out his name.

He stopped and gazed down at you with slight sadness in his beautiful dark brown eyes that looked like two pools of black ink. Billy closed the gap between your bodies so he could rest his forehead against yours.

“I love you too y/n, very much. Ya know, I find myself staring at your picture when you’re not around, I smile when I see that you text me, I love how you say hi to every single dog we pass walking down the sidewalk, you make me laugh which isn’t easy to do, and I probably fell in love with you when you told me that…that you felt safe with me.” He said as he gently pressed his lips to yours.

His words sent shivers down your spine causing you to let out a long exhale.

“Billy, I never feel safer than when I’m with you.” You said with a warm smile, cupping his cheek.

“You’ll always be safe with me, baby.” And he kissed you again. “How do you feel this morning?” He asked.

A big smile played across your lips, a feeling of warmth flowed over your heart, it was beating so rapidly you thought it might beat right out of your chest, and you desperately did not want that feeling to go away.

Yes, you loved him.

“Never better, my love. Never better.”

Tag List: @mindidjarin @saintmurd0ck @wheresthesunshinesblog @rafaelakelley @idaoftheburningmind @snowkestrel @xdervyxccgh @mattmurdocksscars @fakehappy27 @music-indie-tv @fictional-hooman @kayhi808 @munsonownsmyass @gijos @celestialams @idek-what-to-put @anastasianeedstoread @ratsys @k-marzolf @nutmeg17 @rosaleenablack @vaguekayla @qu1etwolf @danzer8705

Others that might enjoy: @itwasthereaminuteago @fluffyprettykitty @jvanilly @russosafehaven @mrsbillyrusso @imagine-a-fictional-boyfriend

If you’d like to be added (or removed from) my tag list(s) for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕 If I tagged you but you didn’t want to be, just let me know and I’ll never do it again.

[somethingpoetichere]

lovebug- caliban imagine

sup. fic inspired by my favorite song in THE world. not as soft mushy as it may sound I promise caliban is a nice lil sarcastic SHIT with a big ole crush. mild sabrina bashing but its funny in context and I think it’s the way family behaves. reader is a Spellman, not a witch but DOES know about the supernatural/is part of the supernatural world. here with my once in a blue moon post lol. feedback would be appreciated!

called her for the first time yesterday

finally found the missing part of me

felt so close but you were far away

left me without anything to say

Caliban was not an idiot- he knew not to underestimate the Spellman half-witch that had gone and declared herself queen of hell. So he’d taken the liberty of learning everything he could about her, noting her habits and schedule and the people she surrounded herself with.

And then he found you.

You weren’t a witch- at least, he hadn’t found your name in his diligent searching through the Book of the Beast- but you were something. That he was sure of. There was something slightly off about your presence, tinged a little glittery, though not altogether unpleasant.

No, not unpleasant at all, he mused as he watched you make your way towards your car. Tucked into a little yellow sundress, you stood out like a ray of sunshine in the wave of doom-and-gloom that hallmarked high school. The school bell rang out behind you, and Caliban felt his knees go disgustingly weak as you smiled brilliantly at Sabrina through the crowd.

It was a stupid, stupid decision that Caliban would never have made in the right state of mind, but he reasoned that pissing off Sabrina was validation enough to get your attention. He ducked into your path on purpose, taking advantage of your momentary distraction as he gently bumped into you. oops.

You collided with a solid wall, books tumbling out of your hands as strong arms reached out to steady you. You let out a surprised yelp at the collision, peeking up curiously as the wall you’d hit laughed.

Oh, well that was a sight for sore eyes.

The golden haired stranger holding you was, well, gorgeous. Bright blue eyes peered down at you as he grinned, and you felt the whole world shutter around you. You’d definitely been watching too many soap operas with your auntie, but goddamn it if you weren't positively putty.

“Hi there, stranger.” You giggled nervously, and Caliban suddenly remembered he’d had his arms around you for far too long to be acceptable. He reluctantly retreated, feeling something claw a little uncomfortably in his chest.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going.” He apologized, moving to pick up your books as you bent down to retrieve them. He ran a hand through his hair in barely concealed bashfulness, unsure of why he felt so... unsettled, all of a sudden. 

“It’s alright, my head was in the clouds.” You waved off his apology, accepting the books he offered you with a grateful smile. “Are you new here? I don’t think we’ve met.”

“He’s new here!” Sabrina’s shrill voice interrupted, training her icy glare on Caliban, who fought back a smirk. “This is Caliban- he’s from... Australia! Yeah, down under!”

“Oh, I can show you around tomorrow! I know how scary it can be to be new here.” You patted his arm sympathetically, ignoring Sabrina’s stream of indignant protests. “I was with student council all day. If you’re a senior, we probably have most of the same classes.”

Caliban had shit to do. Caliban had trials to plan and souls to torture. But you were looking at him- all warmth and sunshine, and Sabrina’s look of pure horror only sweetened the deal.

“I’ll see you in class tomorrow then, sunshine.”

so worth it.

now i'm speechless, over the edge

i'm just breathless

i never thought that i'd catch this love bug again

hopeless, head over heels in the moment

i never thought that i'd get hit by this love bug again

Caliban didn't understand why the mortals all bemoaned high school as hell on earth. It certainly wasn't so bad once you got past the wave of body spray and the questionable cafeteria food. In fact, darting to class with a pretty girl beside him was pretty enjoyable, all things considered. 

You’d spent the day introducing him to the other students, passing him silly notes in class, and had even tugged him from the lunch room to hang out with your friends in the library. He learned that you pretty much did it all- student council, cheerleader, top of your class- all while managing to somehow know the name of everyone you passed with a smile in the halls. You were silly and sweet— smart as all hell with a wit that certainly kept the clay prince on his toes.

and he was smitten.

The groan that escaped your painted lips was delightfully sinful as you slumped in the seat beside him in english class. “I hate Romeo and Juliet. How do two people fall in love in a few days anyhow? And Mrs. Willows always makes us reenact the scenes, and it’s so corny.” The blush that colored your cheeks as he looked at you in concern was something he did his best to commit to memory- cheesiness be damned, Caliban was enjoying himself far too much.

Caliban smirked, skimming through the booklet he’d been passed as the teacher droned. The prince of hell had a certain flare for the dramatics, and Sabrina’s glare burning into the back of his head only fueled his antics. He had one scene in mind, and it was the scene that was certain to kill four birds with one stone- totally make you fall in love with him, he would somehow manage to kiss you (that part was a work in progress), piss off Sabrina, and also- piss off Sabrina.

And kiss you. So maybe five parts. Damn it, Caliban was going to have to make a list.

“Partners?” He whispered softly, gently tugging at your hand as the teacher sat back down. Caliban’s eyes were alight with a tinge of mischief that you either failed to notice or were simply amused by- and your answering nod was more than a little bashful. “We can do my favorite scene.”

“If you say the first kiss scene, I’m punching the daylights out of you.” You warned, playfully nudging his knee with your own. “It will be unkind and I will not feel bad.”

“My lady wounds me.” He dramatically rested his hand above his heart. “And we absolutely have to do this scene-” He raised his hand to silence your half-hearted protests- “because Billy told the guys in calculus that he was specifically going to be pissed if we did this scene.”

Okay, so maybe he’d stretched the truth a little bit. But Caliban knew that the mention of your seedy ex-boyfriend (who you’d enlightened him about during lunch) would absolutely get you to agree to the scene. And it wasn't like he’d lied— Billy Marlin’s glare was nearly as icy as Sabrina’s. And, it wasn't like the way Billy looked at you- with something akin to possession in his eyes- totally made Caliban want to fast track the kid to damnation right then and there. Nope.

“We can meet up later today to practice? I have cheerleading practice after school, but I’m free after that!” You grinned at him, and he felt the tension ease out of his shoulders as you rested your hand on his arm. The gesture was so effortless- but to Caliban, who’d never really experienced connection like this- you reduced him to all but clay again.

“I can drive you home after practice?” Caliban offered, enjoying the yelp that Sabrina let out from the back of the classroom. He shouldered your bag as the bell sounded, noting the way your eyes softened even further at the gesture. “We don't really have cheerleaders down under, you know.”

“You’re welcome to stay and watch.” You shrugged, ignoring the way your heart thudded erratically as he walked you to the locker room. “It won’t be too long today, and Sabrina has a date with Nick after, anyways.”

it was really just too easy.

i can't get your smile out of my mind

i think about your eyes all the time

you're beautiful but you don't even try

(you don't even, don't even try)

modesty is just so hard to find

Caliban wasn’t sure if he regretted his earlier offer. Sure, the sight of you tucked into the tight cheerleading uniform (did they make them that short on purpose?) was pretty much the pinnacle of male fantasy, and the smiles and winks you’d thrown his way whenever he caught your eye during your routines were something else altogether.

But getting the sight out of his brain as you rambled aimlessly in the car about today’s chapters of Dante’s Inferno, while he simultaneously tried to focus on the road and definitely not the way your skirt hitched on the leather seat...

Yeah, Caliban was pretty sure he was in love.

You weren’t too far off, in all honesty. Caliban’s large hands had a firm grip on the steering wheel, and you took the time to admire further up his toned arms as he drove. His hair fell in loose, windswept waves, and his side profile looked like it was sculpted by the freaking gods. Every so often he would glance your way, his perfect lips parting to reveal his perfect teeth and perfect smile and gods-

Yeah, you had the lovebug bad.

“So how did you meet Sabrina?” You questioned innocently enough, and Caliban had to restrain the urge to spill all of the hell-related gossip to you. How Sabrina had managed to keep all of her throne-seeking from you was beyond him, but it certainly added a thrill to his pursuit of you.

“I had some administrative issues the other day and ran into her. She doesn’t like me too much, I’ve gathered.” Caliban was careful not to lie- his entanglement with you had the added perk of pissing off your dearest cousin, but it was genuine on Caliban’s end. He found he didn’t really want to lie about things.

“Sabrina is... touchy.” You offered carefully, shifting in your seat as you pointed out directions to your home. “I don’t really understand why she doesn't like you, to be honest. I was actually going to have a word with her about being nice- you’ve been so sweet, and I was the new kid too a few years back. It's hard to find your place in the established dynamic of a small town.”

Caliban doubted you’d had too much of an issue, with the way the halls seemed to light up around you, but the accompanying smile you gave him was bright enough to soothe his imagined woes. “It’s alright, I reckon she’ll get used to having me around.”

“Used to you?” You mused with a giggle, leaning on the console in a gesture that brought your face much, much closer to his own. He was overwhelmed with your floral scent- something soft and summery and altogether you.

“I plan on being around you a lot, sunshine. If you don’t mind.” He grinned, turning to face you momentarily at the stop sign. Your eyes were wide with hardly concealed surprise at his words, and he watched the realization of the close proximity of his face flicker through them.

It happened so fast that Caliban was almost certain he imagined it- but your eyes had definitely glanced at his lips. The blush that tinged your cheeks as you pulled back confirmed it, and in a moment of calculated risk, Caliban moved to rest his hand on your exposed thigh. 

“No, I wouldn’t mind at all.” 

If Caliban squinted, he could almost picture that he was a normal teenage boy, driving a beautiful, normal girl home from school. The sinking sun was peeking through the windows, bathing you in an ethereal glow, and - at least for right now- everything was perfect.

you were perfect.

now i'm speechless, over the edge

i'm just breathless

i never thought that i'd catch this love bug again

hopeless, head over heels in the moment

i never thought that i'd get hit by this love bug again

Caliban draped himself across your bed, a languid smirk on his lips as you kicked haphazardly placed piles of clothes into your closet.

“I promise I’m not usually this messy,” you apologized with a sheepish smile, shoving a mass of shoes under your bed, “okay, that's a lie. I’m always this messy, I just didn’t expect company.”

Caliban hardly minded. It was adorable how embarrassed you were, and he took the time to take in your bedroom (drawn from his reverie only by the occasional delighted shout when you found a shirt you’d thought had been sacrificed to the laundry gods, or worse, Sabrina’s room).

The first thing Caliban noticed was the books. While your clothes lay in scattered piles, all of your books were meticulously organized and lovingly tucked into shelves that took up an entire wall of the room. Sabrina may have answered that Caliban’s only hobby was torturing babies (or her, which was the same thing, really— and also, what the hell? Caliban may have enjoyed the occasional soul flaying, but only when it was well deserved!)— but Caliban loved to read.

What was one lifetime in one world, when he could learn of a thousand others in just as many universes? Immortality could grow dull, and eternity had to be spent somehow. Caliban tried not to smile as you precariously placed the book that had found its way onto your nightstand back into its place, and supposed that it might be far more enjoyable with someone else.

You seemed satisfied with your damage control, and slumped onto the bed dramatically with a groan. It was then that Caliban’s hand found a stray victim of your clothing massacre.

“Nice.” He grinned, and you peeked up from your playbook to find him dangling a pink lace bra.

Shit.

“Give me that!” You lunged, but Caliban was too fast. He quickly moved them from your reach, laughing wildly as you wrestled him desperately for the bra. 

“You are the worst.” A groan escaped you, and you huffed in fake-defeat as Caliban smirked victoriously at your retreat. You leaped at the chance, tackling Caliban with all your might. While momentarily surprised, he reacted quickly and shifted so that he was now pinning you to the bed, his hair dangling wildly in your face as you both laughed.

Caliban’s face was so close that you could see the flecks of green in his eyes. For a moment, his eyes seemed to flicker to your lips, but in the seconds it took for you to find your voice again, you’d lost your nerve. 

“We should get back to the scene.”

The moment was broken, and Caliban retreated with a bashful look on his face. He ran a hand through his hair and moved to sit across from you, his cheeks tinted a little red as he politely handed you back your intimates and pretended to shield his eyes when you tossed it somewhere. You’d never been so freaking embarrassed in your life, but Caliban was smiling so softly at you, like you were—

“If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: my lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.” He motioned around with his hands dramatically, tone playful and light.

You were so dead. Caliban was freaking made for this romantic swooning nonsense that you’d tried to protest nearly the whole ride home, Billy Marlin be damned.

Giggling nervously in what you hoped seemed scene-appropriate, you tried your best to forget being a horny teenager to instead play a horny teenager. “Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this, for saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.”

Caliban’s voice lowered, a smile still tugging at his lips as he took your hands in his own. “Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?”

“Ay, pilgrim.” Your own voice softened in turn as Caliban began to trace mindless patterns on the backs of your hands with his thumbs, “lips that they must use in prayer.”

“O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do. They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.” Caliban’s eyes were soft, and you imagined that Shakespeare had pictured the man in front of you when putting the words to paper. The words fell so naturally from his lips and he seemed engrossed in the scene— he was, for lack of a better word, enchanting.

“Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake.” Your voice was hardly more than a breathless whisper, the proximity of your faces and the intimacy (however imagined) stealing the air from your lungs.

Caliban paused, his eyes meeting yours intently as if searching for something. Whatever it was, he seemed to find it as he took your face in both of his hands.

“Then move not, while my prayer’s effect I take.” 

It was all too much. You could hardly be blamed for kissing him as fiercely as you did.

It was like fireworks, like every cheesy romance novel and play (cough, Romeo and Juliet) claimed it would be. You’d had plenty of kisses before, but never one that melted your brain like this. You forgot all about the scene, about how not real this was supposed to be as your hands tangled in his windswept hair and he pulled you onto his lap.

It was Caliban who first pulled away, only just so that your noses were touching. He was breathing heavily, eyes blown wide— and you felt your whole face turn red as reality consumed you again. “I am so sorry, I’ll just—”

“Where do you think you’re going, Juliet?” Caliban’s hands firmly gripped your hips, preventing you from moving away. His fingers thumbed the band of your skirt, and his next words were a whisper against your lips. 

“Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged.”

kissed her for the first time yesterday

everything i wished that it would be

suddenly i forgot how to speak

hopeless, breathless, baby can't you see?

Caliban was in love. He’d spent the next three weeks with you reciting Romeo and Juliet, sharing shakes at Dr. Cerberus, and tugging you into empty classroom and closets at every opportunity to kiss you senseless.  Every moment not spent with you was at least somewhat occupied by the thought of you, and Caliban found he wasn’t the least bit upset about it.

And Sabrina was pissed.

If she’d hated him before, she positively loathed him now. It was the latest point of contention between yourself and your darling cousin, who’d you taken to threatening with various kitchen utensils and promises to tell the aunties she’d been sneaking out to make her behave. And Caliban, for his part, was perfectly polite— even though he still had every intention of taking the throne from the inexperienced witch who promised to destroy the balance of heaven and hell.

Which presented Caliban’s own latest dilemma. He was going to have to tell you eventually— and in a way that didn't make you totally hate him. He had a plan. Okay, maybe a skeletal plan. Or no plan. Yeah, Caliban was going to wing it. 

After today. He just had to make it through your reenactment of Romeo and Juliet with no demonic catastrophes or maiming Blly, and then he would tell you everything.

But even that was too much to ask.

Sabrina burst through the english classroom doors, yelling in barely concealed panic that there was a BIG problem and the principal needed Caliban now.

Caliban moved to leave with an apologetic smile in your direction, which you were absolutely not having. Despite your current frustration with Sabrina, she looked downright terrified, and you were both concerned for your cousin and overwhelmed with a gut feeling that something was up.

After a few moments, you excused yourself to use the restroom.

You hauled ass to the gym, where the screaming sounded to be coming from. When you entered, you were met with the strangest sight.

The gym was filled with winged... rats? And at the center of the chaos was Sabrina and Caliban, back to back and armed with what appeared to be lacrosse sticks. Caliban’s shirt was tattered from the rats, and you took a fraction of a second to banish the completely innappropriate and untimely thoughts from your head.

“And no one thought to call me?” You shouted angrily through the swarm, snagging a baseball bat from the rack and smacking it around with reckless abandon. Caliban hooted, laughing loudly as you took your place beside them. Rats tore at your clothes, but you were more frustrated that Sabrina had called your boyfriend (or whatever he was) over you.

“Why did you get Caliban! I was right there! Is there something wrong with you? Were you dropped on the head as a child? He’s not even from here Sabrina, he has no idea what-”

“For hell’s sake, he’s not the new kid! He’s not even from Australia! He’s a stupid clay prince from hell who is trying to take my throne and raze humanity, and his stupid plague king sent these after me, and now he’s dating you!” Sabrina spat out the word dating as if it was even more disgusting than the winged vermin tearing at your clothes. 

“Will someone please explain what the hell is going on here?” 

You were no less frustrated when Sabrina revealed her trek to hell and the all ensuing madness she’d partaken in, but you remained calm enough to not turn the bat on her clearly empty skull. 

“And you’re the clay prince of hell... challenging her throne?” You questioned with a sharp glance at Caliban, who nodded reluctantly as he swatted a rat hurtling towards you. 

“Do you even have a driver’s license!” You screamed, waving your baseball bat around wildly.

“I’m a demon prince of hell made out of clay, and you’re worried about if I can legally drive?” Caliban shouted back in astonishment through the wave of shrieking rats. The lacrosse stick he’d snagged was surprisingly effective.

“I was getting to that part, thank you for reminding me!” You hissed, debating whether to smash his face in with the bat. “How about we start with how you completely lied to me, and how our whole relationship or whatever it is a lie! Were you ever going to tell me? Or was this all part of some throne grab?” 

“It wasn’t a lie!” Caliban demanded hotly. “You were not a lie!”

“Really!” You whirled on him, eyes alight with anger. “Because I sure feel like one!”

The rats numbers were dwindling rapidly, and you smacked the last one heading towards you directly at Caliban’s face. It collided with a satisfying shriek, and you threw your bat down as you stormed out of the gym.

Sabrina and Caliban rushed after you, but you’d disappeared in the hall.

now i'm, yeah, oh!

now i'm speechless, over the edge

i'm just breathless

i never thought that i'd catch this love bug again

now i'm hopeless, head over heels in the moment

i never thought that i'd get hit by this love bug again, (oh)

love bug again

You’d remained collected until you’d transported into the middle of the living room, collapsing into auntie Hilda’s arms in a puddle of tears as you told her everything. She’d muttered a stream of ancient curses about Sabrina, but beyond that merely smoothed your hair and told you that all boys were awful— especially demonic princes of hell.

“I hate him.” You glared half-heartedly into your cup of steaming peppermint tea. You couldn’t believe you’d been so stupid. Falling blindly in love with a stranger who had only sought you out for some elaborate game with Sabrina. Screw Caliban and his perfect hair, his perfect smile, his perfect— “I want to bash his face in.”

“No you don't, love.” Hilda smiled knowingly. “You’re angry, yes— and hurt. But you care for the boy. I’ve never seen you so happy as you’ve been these last few days. I think you ought to cool down and hear what he has to say.”

“I never want to talk to him again.” You groaned, burying your face in a pillow. “I’d rather die.”

And because the universe was truly conspiring against you, a knock sounded at the door.

“Well, best get over that quick.” Hilda warned, ignoring your stream of indignant protests as she hustled to the door. 

“Caliban! Yes, do come in love. Oh, yes, we will be having a little chat later, but for now I think it’s my niece you must be speaking to.” Hilda’s cheerful voice trailed in from the foyer, and you jumped up to make a break for it. 

You were halted by a familiar pair of strong arms tugging you back by the waist.

“Get off of me!” You shouted, pushing Caliban away harshly and ignoring the warmth that lingered where he’d touched you. “I want my baseball bat. Somebody get me my baseball bat! I’m going to bash your stupid pretty face in you asshole—”

“Five minutes.” Caliban pleaded desperately, “just give me a five minutes to explain, and then I’ll give you back the baseball bat to bash my face in, okay?”

You considered his offer for a moment, swallowing the sob crawling its way up your throat as you nodded reluctantly. If it made him leave faster, you’d do anything. 

His shoulder sagged in barely concealed relief. “Okay. I am Caliban, Prince of Hell. I am not from Australia, clearly, and am not a transfer student. I am trying to take your cousin’s throne. She does not understand the realm of the damned— she thinks it needs to be generous, rather than a fair judgment of life. I am not her father, and I do not believe in reckless or cruel damnation. I do not wish any harm on Sabrina, and I’ve managed to keep the worst of the plague kings from her. Even if you were to reject me now, I would continue to try to protect her— you have my word.” Caliban paused as you released a breath you did not know you were holding. Your eyes finally dared to meet his, and you nodded for him to continue.

“I agreed to attend Greendale because yes, it did piss off Sabrina, but you were there.” He raised his hand to halt your protest. “You intrigued me, and I wanted to know you better. I will be fully honest that it had the added bonus of irritating your cousin, who I so delight in irritating, but my primary focus was you. You... enchanted me. I had never found myself so invested in anything before as I was in spending mundane days at high school— of all things— with you. Truthfully, it confused even me at first. And while the past you knew is false, I am real— and my feelings for you are true.”

“That is such bullshit, and you know it!” You exploded furiously, smacking his chest with untamed rage. “You knew exactly what you were doing. Who agrees to go to high school because they like a girl? Are you unhinged? Who doesn't just ask someone out if they were so interested, huh? No, you came here with your stupidly perfect little ‘oh I’m Caliban, and I’m so dreamy’ act, knowing full well that it would make me completely abandon all rationality. Well guess what, I did! I fell stupid head over heels for you, and it was all one big lie.”

Your voice broke on the last few words, anger shifting to broken sadness as you continued to pound relentlessly on his chest. “I was a lie.”

He caught your hands, holding them against his chest as he pressed you against the wall. “You weren't a lie, Spellman.” 

His words were breathless whisper, his beautiful eyes pained and desperate as he gripped your hands harder. “I fell for you the moment I saw you. I enrolled in high school because you smiled at me. I learned every line of Romeo and Juliet to recite them to you. When we first met, you wondered how Romeo and Juliet could possibly fall in love after a mere few days, but I understand it now. I have never been driven so completely insane by anything or anyone like this before. The power you have over me is unmatched. I am completely and wholly yours. If you were to ask me right now to leave, to never bother you again, I would leave my heart with you and spend my eternity in endless sorrow. I would think forever of the way you smiled at me, the way you kissed me, how soft your hair felt in my hands, and how my heart raced every time you laughed. I would never forgive myself for the pain I had caused you, and you would haunt me every day, every waking moment, every dream.”

Caliban moved your hands to his lips, nearly kissing them as he pleaded to you with tears in his beautiful eyes. You were motionless, turned to stone by his heavy gaze.

“So please, don’t become my specter. If I am a stranger to you now, let me make you fall for me all over again. I would do it a thousand times, if you'd let me. I could think of no sweeter way to spend my eternity.”

When you’d thought that Shakespeare had been imagining Caliban when he wrote, you’d been wrong. There was no poetry, no book, no lyric that could possibly compare to the way he spoke to you— the way his eyes so desperately tried to convey his anguish.

You removed your hands from his, and his whole face seemed to shatter.

“You’re not a stranger,” you muttered softly, moving to take his face your hands. His face remained guarded, but he leaned instinctively into your touch. “You’re Caliban.”

When you kissed him, it was like falling in love all over again.

And you supposed you did.

“But we are having a long, long talk about everything.” You warned as you pulled back, poking his chest sharply as he nodded profusely. “And if you ever, ever lie to me again, I’ll set something worse than flying rats on you. I’ll let Sabrina have you.”

Caliban laughed wildly, picking you up and spinning you around as he kissed you over and over again in sheer relief and joy. “I love you, Spellman. Anything you want, it’s yours.”

“I just want you, clay boy.”

[chasingpj]

𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝

"You only want to stay because of your little boyfriend. Is he more important to you than us?“

pairing: percy jackson x child of hecate!reader

words: 5,297

warnings: angsty, mentions of breaking down

timeline: post sea of monsters

if you want to be tagged every time I update this story click here

a/n: i'm so fried after editing this, if i missed any typos, i'm sorry. as always, let me know what you think! i love getting feedback from you guys!

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five

Your siblings sit in a half-circle at the back of the Hermes Cabin, ready for their lesson. James lays out the materials you’ll need for the potion he was demonstrating today: the mortar and pestle, herbs, spell books. He has almost everything except for the sand, which was the most crucial ingredient. So, he had sent you to retrieve some from the dunes since you were the only one who didn’t need the lesson Ernest was teaching.

Ernest stands in front of Sage, Alice, Lou Ellen, and Atticus, lecturing on the properties of sand. Your siblings listen attentively, taking notes in their notebooks, all of them but one. Ernest looks up from reading a part of his book of shadows, noticing Atticus is distracted by his familiar.

"Atticus, are you listening?" Ernest asks, raising his eyebrow as he closes his book. Atticus cradles Harvey in his arms as if he is a newborn baby, his finger scratching his tummy as the animal curls up towards his chest. He doesn’t notice the other staring at him for a few seconds, looking up after realizing he had stopped talking.

"Me? Yeah, dude. I'm listening," Atticus bluffs, and Ernest squints, leaning back on the desk behind him.

"So what did I just say?"

"Atticus, are you listening?" Atticus repeats, smiling as his sisters giggle beside him. The corner of Ernest’s mouth tugs into a slight smirk as he rolls his eyes.

"What did I say before that?" He clarifies. Atticus sways in his place, continuing to soothe his tired familiar, and he hums, trying to recall what they were discussing. He’s quiet for a while before grunting. He really wasn't listening, too distracted by his surroundings to focus. Ernest pretty much lost him at “alright guys, today…” However, he remembers you volunteering to get sand after James realized he forgot to get some himself.

"Ehm… I don't know. Something about sand?"

Ernest sighs, "Yes, I was talking about sand. Can anyone catch Atticus up on the properties for sand?"

"Different sands have various spiritual properties, but the lake sand that you're using today can be used in spells for self-reflection and grounding," Travis chimes in all of a sudden. He's laid down in his bed, holding a comic book over his head as he looks at the group.

James turns away from the materials, amused that the other has probably been listening this entire time. It was the middle of the day, so the Hermes cabin was pretty empty since everyone was out doing their own thing. The only other people in the cabin were the Stoll brothers and a handful of their siblings. James chuckles,

"Travis, you want to be a witch too?" He jokes, and Travis shrugs,

"I practically am already. I'm always listening to your lessons," he admits amused, returning his attention to the comic book he was reading.

"Everyone has a little witch in them. See Atticus; even Travis was listening," Alabaster teases.

Atticus grunts, "Yeah, yeah. I was trying to put Harvey to sleep!"

“You act like he’s a baby that needs to be coddled!” Sage raises her eyebrow. Atticus had always been super affectionate with Harvey. She swears she’s never seen Atticus and Harvey separated for long like the way you and Ambrose have periods where you’ll be apart. When Ambrose knew you were safe, he’d usually wander off to find your siblings or mess around with monsters in the forest, so he wasn’t with you 24/7. But Atticus managed to have Harvey with him all the time.

“Do not judge my parenting! He likes being held,” Atticus defends Harvey, and Lou Ellen rolls her eyes.

“Parenting? You sound like a single dad.”

Alabaster snorts, “anyways," he cuts in, grabbing both of their attention. "we can start the potion whenever Y/n decides to come back with it," he says as he sits down in a nearby desk chair.

Lou Ellen hums, "she's been gone for almost 40 minutes now. The dunes are on the other side of camp, but it shouldn't take her this long?"

"Maybe she got sidetracked?" James shrugs. "We can go look for her if she doesn't come back in another 10 minutes, but I'm sure she's fine.”

"I'm here!" You announce as you burst through the cabin door, Ambrose running next to you. He runs through the wall, rushing to join your siblings. You sigh, your arm coming up to wipe your forehead that was a little damp from sweat, and your cheeks are a little flushed from being in the summer heat.

"Look who decided to come back," James announces, shaking his head in playful disapproval. You smile sheepishly, too caught up in your breathing to say anything as you pass the jar to him. You return to your spot between Lou Ellen and Atticus, hoping they wouldn't ask too many questions.

"What took you so long?" Lou Ellen asks, her voice concerned. You clear your throat, attempting not to sound hesitant as you come up with a lie on a whim.

"Oh uh, I just got distracted… some of the girls from the Aphrodite cabin were hanging out at the dunes, and I got caught up in conversation," you stutter a little, suddenly feeling nervous as Atticus squints at you. You accidentally meet his stare before looking away fast, turning so that your back is facing him.

"You're lying," he declares. You scoff,

"No, I'm not!"

"I'm your twin, y/n. I know when you are lying!" He reminds you, and you groan.

You and Atticus have always had this weird twin sense. You both can tell when the other is lying because you could pick up on each other's emotions really well. You thought maybe if he didn’t see your body language, he wouldn’t be able to pick up on your lie, but of course, he didn’t need a visual to know that you were nervous. You could also feel each other's pain to a certain extent which has always been annoying. Atticus was pretty accident-prone when he was younger and, well, still is. This meant any bumps and bruises he managed to obtain, you would always get dull aches in the same area. The most annoying part of it all was that the more severe the pain, the more you felt. Once you had period cramps so bad, you both had to call out from school because he was also curled up in his bed, declaring that he’ll never make period jokes again in his life.

You weren’t sure why you had this connection with your brother. Since you’ve had it your entire life, you had thought this was a regular thing, but you’ve recently found out that it wasn't normal at all. You just assumed that it came with the quirks of being children of a sorceress goddess. You had to admit that it was cool, but at times like this, you wished you didn’t have it because Atticus called you out a lot.

You didn't want to admit you got distracted by Percy in the combat area. On your way back, you saw him practicing with the test dummies. You watched him practice for a few seconds, and you had no intention of stopping to talk to him initially, but when he caught you walking by, he called you over.

"Admit it, you were nervous," Percy laughs, continuing to tease you about how you ran away from him during Capture the Flag. You scoff, nudging his shoulder,

"Of you? Please,” you deny even though you were nervous about going head-to-head with him, but he didn’t need to know that. “It doesn't matter if I ran away because I still won!” You stick your tongue out at him, and he smiles,

“You should still practice your sword fighting, Y/n. You can’t always run away from a sword fight,” he points out, and you frown,

“I’m not a close-range fighter. It’s just how it is.” After declaring that you “failed” in sword fighting, you were a bit insecure about your abilities. It was a good and bad thing because after your “failure,” you delved into your magic studies, and you were proud of how much better your abilities have gotten. You could confidently say that you are now a more powerful and seasoned witch than you were at the beginning of the summer. The bad part was that you never stepped foot in the combat area again. The dagger you carried around barely saw the light of day, strapped in its holster most of the time.

"Well, one day, you might not have a choice… c'mon Sabrina Spellman, show me what you got," he jokes as he gets into his stance. You smile, putting the jar of sand down before taking your dagger out of its casing.

"I don't got much to show," you say playfully.

You thought that you'd just go one round with him, but the next thing you knew, he was giving you an entire lesson. He sparred with you a few times, analyzing how you fought and he gave you tips here and there. He was helpful and patient, and you did walk away knowing a few new things.

You swallow as you feel the stares of your siblings, now interested as to why you lied. You try not to become more flustered as you recall the feeling of Percy standing close behind you. His touch was gentle, hands slightly calloused as he adjusted the way you held your dagger, and with light fingertips, he moved your limbs, putting you in a stronger stance.

You shake your head, fiddling with your fingers, “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you trailed off, hoping Atticus would drop it. You turn to your brothers, James preparing everything, but Alabaster and Ernest were just as interested as the others regarding where you could have been.

"She was probably with Percy,” Connor mocks, a sly smirk on his face as the whole cabin filled with Ooo's and amused chattering. Your shoulders slouch, head hung low, and you felt like you wanted to crawl in a hole.

"Were you actually?" You hear Atticus asks with amusement in his voice. You don't move from your place, keeping quiet. You knew there was no use in denying it because Atticus would easily sense the lie.

"She definitely was!" Alice squeals when you don’t say anything, and you glare at your sisters, making them giggle.

Lou Ellen nudges your shoulder, "what were you guys doing? You looked flustered when you walked in here,” she teases and winks.

"Probably making out!" Connor butts in before you could answer, and you gasp, snapping your gaze to him.

“We were just sparring!" You blurt out, and Connor laughs at how defense you suddenly became. The last thing you wanted was rumors leaving the cabin, and you groan as your sisters start pestering you with questions, along with the assumptions of your other cabinmates.

"Okay! Okay," Alabaster shouts a little over the chattering. "We need to focus. You guys can talk about that later," he says, and silence falls amongst your siblings. You nod, relieved that you get to avoid the topic for now. You watch as they exchange looks, silently communicating something to each other. You had an idea that it had something to do with you as Ernest’s eyes flicker in your direction and Alabaster’s face hardens. James gave them a dismissive wave with his hand as if he was telling them not to worry before continuing to sort out the materials in front of him.

"Let's start this potion. Some of us have chores to do," James cuts through the silence as he grabs the mortar and pestle and sits down in front of you and your siblings.

As James puts the potion together, carefully showing you how to cut and crush certain herbs, Ernest sits beside him, explaining the steps carefully. You lean a little forward, focusing on the lesson, and you diligently write notes in your notebook, trying not to miss any crucial details.

“Take good notes; I’m copying those,” Atticus whispers in your ear, and you squint at him playfully. His arms were too occupied with Harvey, so he was just watching the demonstration, confident that you’ll take thorough notes for him to copy. You shake your head, turning your attention back to Ernest as he speaks. After demonstrating it, they pass on the materials to you guys, and it was your turn to try it out.

The potion was a little too easy for you, and you find yourself growing a little bored as you put everything together. It annoyed you because you felt like your brothers were going easy on you and you were itching to get into the more advanced stuff such as healing potions or something like a disguising potion.

Out of your three older brothers, Ernest was the most knowledgeable about potions. He was always helping out in the infirmary, making healing potions for the Apollo kids to use. Sometimes the Hermes kids would ask him to make potions for pranks, and you’ve even seen some of the girls from the Aphrodite cabin begging him to make love potions for them. Usually, Ernest would decline their requests, giving lectures, especially to the Aphrodite girls, why a love potion is a terrible idea. But in the times that he has agreed to do them, the results were always hilarious. Once, he made a Hilarity Potion for the Stoll brothers that turned the Ares cabin into a bunch of giggling messes for 24 hours. Until that day, you’ve never seen someone giggle aggressively before.

You were the first to finish the potion, bottling it up in a miniature glass jar before pushing the cork into the top. You carefully wired wrapped the jar, attaching it to a necklace and fastening it around your neck. After being praised by your brothers, you were off to do the chores that were given to you by Connor as repayment for not ratting you out to the Aphrodite Cabin about your spontaneous meeting with Percy at the docks.

You were done right in time for dinner, the time passing as usual as you and your siblings talk and laugh at the table. Soon, you were singing along to the songs at the campfire, and by the time it came to an end, your eyelids were heavy with fatigue. You knew then that you were not going to study into the night as the soreness from sparring with Percy started to settle in your muscles. When you arrived at the Hermes cabin after washing up for bed, you could barely keep your eyes open. The last thing you remembered was mumbling a good night to Atticus and turning over in your bed.

Your dreams were always weird, so when you’re taken to a meadow in the middle of nowhere, you weren’t surprised. Actually, you were pretty content, preferring this scene instead of the bizarre settings you often came across.

You swore you could feel the soft summer breeze blowing on your face, and you take a deep breath, basking in the fresh air. You look out at the grassy land ahead of you, noticing you were standing at a crossroad. Two gravel roads stretched in either direction, one path seemingly identical to the other. You turn around to study your surroundings further. You squint, hand hovering above your eyes to protect them from the shining sun that's beginning to set behind the hills. The valley was still; the only sound you could hear was the wind whooshing past your ears, and you felt safe.

“Come with us, y/n.” A familiar voice cuts through the stillness, and you gasp, looking in the direction it came from. You find Alabaster standing on the left road, James and Ernest standing beside him. You felt your stomach turn as their eyes darken. Your arms wrap around your frame as the once warm wind turns cold. Dark clouds roll in, splitting the sky in half as the right side remains the same sunny meadow. Groans of thunder echoed throughout the land, and you can sense an eerie presence lingering in the air.

“What?” You whisper to yourself, noticing Atticus standing on the right road.

“No! Don’t,” he shouts, his expression glazed over in fear, and you step back.

“Don’t listen to him. We know what’s best for you,” James says, his arm extended out for you to hold, and you shake your head. “Come with us.”

“No! Come with me!”

“Come with us!”

You feel your heart racing in your chest, the screams of your brothers sending goosebumps to your skin. Their voices become more desperate, and you can hear the grief and panic in their voices.

“No, no, no. It’s a dream… you can change it,” you whisper, becoming overwhelmed as the thunder grows louder and so the desperation in your brother’s wailing. You stare down at the ground, and your hands are pressed firmly over your ears. You try to concentrate on shifting into another dream, but before you could, you felt as if your body was sucked into a vortex. A distant voice calls your name, and you groan, your vision blurry as your eyes flutter open.

Alabaster stands over you as he nudges your shoulder softly, whispering your name until you finally wake up. “C’mon, get up.”

You lazily sit up in your bed, your surroundings fuzzy as Alabaster guides you to stand up. You assume that it must be morning as you slip your feet into your slippers and you rub your eyes. It didn’t take you long to notice that it was still night time and you whine softly, confused and annoyed that you were woken up from your slumber.

“Al? What’s going on?” Alabaster doesn’t answer, grabbing onto your wrist, and you were too groggy to protest, following him to the back window of the Hermes cabin. You stumble a little when you land on the grass, Atticus coming to your side and grabbing on to your other hand. You don’t even notice the nervous look on his face or the way his hand was shaking, too busy attempting to stay awake.

Your vision was still fuzzy, and you lay your head against your brother's arm, feeling Ambrose’s mouth tugging on your shirt frantically as Alabaster leads you into the forest. You don’t know what it was, but you had this feeling that something was wrong and a soft sigh leaves your lips as you gather your strength to get out of your grogginess.

“Wait… wait!” You snatch your arm from Alabaster's hold. “What’s going on?” You ask as your brothers turn around.

“We’re leaving,” Ernest says, and you furrow your eyebrows. “We’re going to join Kronos’s army.”

“We? Are you insane?” You felt your heart drop to your chest, and you tried to look for any sign that they were joking.

“Come with us, Y/n,” Alabaster pleads, and you feel goosebumps forming on your skin as you get an overwhelming feeling of deja vu. The tone of his voice, the way their eyes darkened, was the same as the dream you just had. Your brothers glowered down at you, waiting for your decision.

"No… no, this isn't right,” you whisper. You let go of Atticus’s hand, just now noticing how tight his grip was. You wipe your shaky palms on your pants, and for a moment, you thought you were still dreaming. At least, you were hoping that you were still dreaming. You scan your surroundings, trying to find a sign that would tell you that this wasn't real, but you don't find one.

“There is no reason to stay here, to fight on this side. Kronos will win the war. The camp doesn’t stand a chance,” Alabaster declares confidently. Your mind wanders, recalling the dark stormy clouds that loomed over your brothers in your dream and the eeriness that took over. You could practically feel your pulse in your ears, grasping the fact that your dream was a warning.

“And how are you so sure?” Your voice quivers, and you sigh in disbelief.

“Because mother told me,” Alabaster says, and your head jerks back, your eyebrows furrowed.

“Mother? She spoke to you?”

“Yes. She’s fighting for Kronos, and she believes it is in our best interest to join her.”

A wave of emotion washes over you all at once. You were shocked, furious, even a little jealous. Your mother never came to speak to you. You knew that she tended to favor your more powerful siblings. Your older brothers have talked to her a few times, and the reminder made your chest feel heavy. You knew she looked after you, obviously. She had saved your life by sending Ambrose to you and your brother's aid. You prayed to her daily, and she occasionally sent you signs that made you feel she was there with you — but coming to see you? That was a privilege that you weren’t worthy of; at least, that’s what it felt like.

Your fury came from the fact that your mother was the motivator of all this. Why would she persuade your brothers in her own interests? Weren’t there rules that your godly parent couldn’t interfere with certain things? You weren’t sure what the rules specifically were, but this didn’t feel right. You shake your head,

“Mother isn’t omniscient. She doesn’t know who will win.” Your fist is clenched hard on your side, and you watch as Alabaster’s expression hardens,

"You're only fighting on this side because of your little boyfriend. Is he more important to you than us?"

"Boyfriend?! What are you talking about-”

"I'm talking about Percy! Don’t think we haven’t noticed you hanging out with him. Sparring together? In the strawberry fields together? You guys were practically flirting at the campfire, and Connor told us that you’ve been meeting him at night. Is that true?"

You feel your face get hot, but it wasn’t at the accusation of Percy being your boyfriend but the rage that was swirling in your chest. You hated that he thought you would compromise your loyalty to your siblings for a boy. That wasn’t true. In the right circumstances, you would always put your siblings first because you knew they would do the same. But this wasn’t about Percy; you haven’t thought of him until Alabaster brought him up. This was about loyalty to the camp.

"He's not my boyfriend. It doesn’t even matter what side he’s fighting on. I couldn’t care less. Al… this- this is about family!"

"Family?! What?”

“The camp,” you say shakily, and you shift on your feet as a sarcastic laugh leaves Alabaster’s lips.

“The camp? You mean the camp that doesn’t deem our mother worthy of her own cabin? We’ve been trapped in that Hermes cabin since the beginning. Half of us didn’t even have a bed to sleep in the first summer we arrived. You and Lou Ellen had to cram in a twin-size bed the first couple of weeks until you got lucky and something opened up. Y/n, they don’t care about us. They toss us to the side, barely give us a space to learn our magic. This camp isn’t family. We're your family, Y/n. We understand you the most. We share the same powers, the same mother. We care for you."

You look down at the ground, hating that you were unable to deny that the words he spoke held truth. The children of minor gods were treated differently. You didn’t have a cabin dedicated to your godly parent, and that was enough to make you feel lesser than. You remember Ethan Nakamura saying in passing that being forced to sleep in the Hermes cabin was pretty much an odd punishment for not being a child of one of the 12. You remember laughing and brushing it off, not thinking much of it at the moment, but now, it suddenly occurred to you that he wasn’t joking at all. He was dead serious.

You have to admit that the living situation wasn’t ideal. It affected how you were able to study your magic and came with annoying inconveniences. You slept in a sleeping bag for your first summer, tucked away in the corner of the room with Atticus. The system in place for who gets a bed was set up by seniority. The longer you've been at camp, the more secure your sleeping arrangements were. You only got a bed because, at the beginning of the summer, a good chunk of kids had left to join Kronos’ army, which bumped you up on the waiting list.

You almost gave in, only so that you'd be with your siblings. If you stay, most of them will be long gone, and you'll be forced to fight them on the battlefield, but you couldn't leave. It didn’t feel right to compromise your loyalty to the camp. Though there were days where you did feel like an outcast, you couldn’t ignore the times you didn’t. Your friends here were important to you too, and you’ve always seen the camp as your haven. It was the only place where you didn’t have to worry about monsters or entities. Sure, some people at camp saw you as some freak, but you never felt as much as a freak here as you did in the mortal world. In the end, it boiled down to one question. Did you want to fight alongside your friends for a camp that brought you a sense of comfort? Or will you fight for a bitter, greedy titian who’s only using you so he can have the throne?

"No, I’m staying,” you say with a tight jaw, looking up to meet Alabaster’s eyes. You kept thinking of the dark clouds, the thunder roaring in the background, the way the valley darkened. That was a warning. That was a clear sign to run the other way, to not walk into the storm.

"Atticus?" Alabaster shifts his gaze to your brother, who stands beside you. Your entire body tenses up, your teeth chewing at the inside of your cheek.

He couldn't go. You couldn’t bear the thought of being without him. Though you were sure that he would be on your side, it was then you decided that if Atticus left, you were going to leave too. You hated that you were second-guessing him, but you weren't sure what to believe after this whole thing being pulled by Alabaster.

"... I'm staying.” His voice is more confident than you expected it to be, and you sigh out shakily, feeling the weight of dread lift from on your shoulders. You’ll still have your twin, and right now, when you felt like your whole world was falling apart, that’s all that mattered.

"You both are fools," Alabaster hissed, and your fist clenches, gaze snapping up.

"You’re the damn fool. How are you so sure that if Kronos wins, everything will suddenly be better? Alabaster, he’s feeding off your anger for his own agenda. You really think if we fight in his little army, he’ll care about us?” Your voice cracks, you scan the crowd of your siblings looking at you. You peer over at your sisters, who were huddled behind your brothers.

“Sage, Alice, Lou Ellen? This isn’t right. We- I- don’t go, just stay here at camp,” you plead, hoping that if you could persuade them to stay, maybe your brothers will forfeit their plan. “I have a bad feeling. I had a dre-”

“Stop,” James barked. You couldn’t help but cringe; the way his eyes narrowed at you was something you’ve never seen before.

“The odds are in Kronos’ favor. He has a bigger army. His allies are strong. This camp doesn’t stand a chance. You asking them to stay is the same as asking them to die,” he declares. “Mother says if- when he wins, she will take care of us. We can live and study with her, she promised.”

Your eyes sting with tears, and you close them, fingers anxiously peeling the skin around your nails. It was way too good to be true. That’s probably something you’ve always wanted, to live as a coven with your siblings. You only wished for a conversation with your mother, but the opportunity to learn from her directly was tempting. Still, you thought about the chaos that would reign across the country, across the world. You didn’t understand how a world under the rule of Kronos could be any better than the world you had now. And you deduced that it would probably be even worse.

“It’s all bull,” you spat, and you scoff. “I’m asking them to die? Take a look at where you’re taking them! This is mad. Guys, please,” you plead again. You frown as Alice and Sage refuse to look at you, huddling close beside each other.

“I- I’m staying,” Lou Ellen suddenly breaks the silence, and you feel a rush of hopefulness. Her head is lowered in a bow, avoiding the stares of your brothers as she walks to you. You reach out your arms, grasping her hand the moment she was close enough. You hear Ernest scoff, turning around to look at Sage and Alice.

“Anyone else would like to stay?” His tone is harsh, cutting through the night and Alice and Sage stare at the floor. You could tell from their trembling hands that they were scared. If they felt any conviction, any second thoughts, they didn’t dare to speak up.

“Let’s go before we get caught out here,” Alabaster announces, and you meet his eyes one last time.

“We’ll see you on the battlefield, sister.”

The walk back to the Hermes Cabin was silent. You hold on to Lou Ellen’s equally clammy hands, the three of you shaken up from what just happened. A part of you still couldn’t even believe that this is how your night played out. You glance at Atticus, his face expressionless, but you knew his mind was scattered with a million thoughts. If your own grief wasn’t enough, you were met with the burden of the grief radiating off of him.

Atticus coped with things differently than you did. You were quick to cry when you’re sad, scream when you were angry, but he bottled it up. He would bottle it up until all his emotions boiled over the limit. Even then, he was private, never letting it out where people could see him, but no matter what, you felt it, and no matter what, you were there comforting him.

He meets your gaze, and you take in the sadness on his face. The sight of his sorrow made it hard to hold back your tears. You knew that when Al called his name, he felt your panic. He felt your dilemma. You didn’t exactly know his stance on the impending war, but you knew at that moment, Atticus made his decision because he didn’t want to be separated from you. He manages a sad smile as there is a mutual understanding of this between the two of you. He slings his arm around both you and Lou Ellen’s shoulders in a failed attempt to lighten up the situation. He swallows hard,

“We’ll be okay,” he musters out, and as confident he wished to sound, the weakness in his voice was unavoidable. You suppress the sob that threatened to leave your lips, a tear falling down your cheek, and you nod,

“Yeah, we- we’ll be okay.” Your voice falters.

and hopefully, they’ll be okay too.

masterlist taglist: @nct127bee @xxyrr

[miraculouswolf99]

The Language of Flowers

I love Chloe Salt and while this is not the most action-packed of one-shots, I hope you all appreciate the effort that I did to research each and every meaning of the flowers.

*****

Lyon and Vallia Garden.

The first, a teen that would be described as having a heart of ice and a gaze that could freeze you solid. His twin sister, on the other hand, was pretty much said to be a flower garden made human with tree sap instead of blood.

Yet the two stuck to each other as if they were one of those pairs of conjoined twins. The two were opposites in personality, style, and even how they talk. But even then, they were as close as a brother and sister could be.

Nobody in Ms.Bustier's really had any idea about the two foreign students in their class. Of course, they knew that it was part of a program for students of different countries to experience other cultures. But it was almost like having two ghosts in class. They would come and go each day, silent as ever, and it was like they were never there at all.

There wasn't really much of a problem with them, especially since the first day they were there was pretty much the only time they had ever spoken. But they spoke only to give the class brat, Chloe, a good tongue lashing that they all thought she deserved when she tried to make the two as submissive to her as Sabrina. But since then, the two were so silent that most people that were not in the classroom thought that they were mute.

"They two of them are such a mystery," Nino says, a lot of the class hanging out in the classroom during a break since an akuma attack was recently stopped.

The twins were not in the room for reasons no one else knew.

"A mystery wrapped in an enigma and stuffed into a riddle," Alya added, the reporter in her really frustrated.

"They are not as bad as you guys think," Adrien tells them, a bit tired after his fight as Cat Noir.

"How can you be so sure," Alix crosses her arms. "They don't talk to anyone but each other and never in a language we understand."

"I've seen Lyon at his archery practice sometimes when Kagami and I are at fencing," Adrien says. "He probably just has high expectations expected of him like Kagami and me."

"It is probably the same for Vallia, as well, then," Marinette agreed.

"They could, at least, make an effort with us," Kim said.

"My calculations say that there is a less than five percent chance that the two will speak with any of us," Max says.

"They need to learn their places," Chloe sneered. "Bowing at my feet."

"Why are you even here, Chloe," Alya put her hands on her hips. "Everything that ever comes out of your mouth is about as trashy as that dumpster akuma last week."

It had been a garbage man that was having a bad day. Apparently, his daughter was sick, his partner in the truck would not stop singing opera, and then one grosser bags he was trying to put in the truck ripped open. All that combined made him a prime target for Hawkmoth. Luckily, Ladybug, Cat Noir, White Wolf, and Beautifly managed to stop him from turning Paris into one giant landfill. Which, ironically, was his villain name. Landfill.

"My father will hear about..." Chloe tried.

"Shut up, Chloe," Marinette yelled. "Maybe the reason they don't talk to us is that they think we are all just as under your pathetic thumb as Sabrina."

"I'd rather be turned back into Timebreaker than be her minion," Alix stated.

"Adrikins, you going to let them talk to me like that," Chloe tried to whine.

For once, Adrien didn't even try to defend her. He turned away from her, shaking his head. To say that the young model was sick of her never-changing attitude would be the understatement of the century. He did a lot of thinking after the Despair Bear incident. Chloe would never change how she was. She has gotten away with it for too long to ever even want to change. She especially didn't change after being turned into Queen Wasp not too long ago.

"They've only been here for a little over two weeks," Marinette reminded them. "Maybe they just need more time to adjust."

"Having friends would help them adjust, girl," Alya put her hand on her best friend's shoulder.

"There is an 86.5 percent chance of them adjusting better with friends by their side," Max said, Markov floating by his head.

The class would have talked more, but they heard the sounds of two people chattering away in a foreign language coming toward the classroom. And since Lila was still MIA since her first day in class, that meant that it had to be the twins. Everyone quickly scrambled to get into their seats and not look like they had a class meeting without the entire class.

When Lyon and Vallia walked in, the silence that had fallen over the classroom seemed to be a lot worse than being caught in a class meeting. But the Greek twins simply walked to their seats in the back and sat down for class to start up again.

"Vríkate ta sostá louloúdia," Lyon whispered to his sister. Translated: Did you find the right flowers.

"Me píre lígo, allá to ékana," Vallia whispered back. Translated: Took me a while, but I did.

The two silently had smirks on their faces.

*****

The next day, the class was unbelievably shocked by what they saw when they walked into the classroom. There were bunches of flowers on all of their desks. A different flower was on each of them. No two desks had the same flower. Except that Ms.Bustier's desk seemed to have a flower bunch with one of each blossom in it.

"Geia," the Greek twins greeted them, standing at the front of the classroom.

Most of the class was too shocked by the flowers to notice that the two of them had actually talked to them.

"Was there some type of flower akuma and we didn't know about it," Alya looked disappointed that she might have missed an akuma attack for her blog.

"Pardon," Lyon crossed his arms.

The class suddenly realized that the twins were talking to them. The two of them were also each holding a few roses in their hands.

"Are you two actually talking to us," Alix asked.

"Eínai tóso dýskolo na eísai oraía," Lyon says to his sister. Translation: They make it so hard to be nice.

"Páre, aderfí," Vallia responded. Translation: Behave, brother.

"Class, sit down," Ms.Bustier instructed. "Lyon and Vallia have some things that they have collecting in order to share with us."

"Flowers," Max asked, confused.

"We basically grew up surrounded by nature," Vallia says. "Plants can be a language all on their own. You just have to know how to use them."

Lyon took a small sniff of the roses he was holding.

"Take roses, for example," he said. "They perfectly describe us. Roses are said to represent people that are quiet and traditional. Quite fitting for the two of us, isn't it."

The class all sat down in their respected seats. Adrien and Marinette were probably the most interested ones of the class, even if they were all curious. Except for Chloe, of course.

"We spent these last couple of weeks getting to know you guys from a distance," Vallia explained. "It is one of our family traditions to give flowers to someone when they enter the family. By marriage or birth."

"We decided to take that tradition and make a classroom version of it," Lyon says. "Each of you has been given flowers that match your personalities. It took us a while to find the right ones and get them here. Luckily, we have a very wide range of flora at our family sanctuary."

"You spent over two weeks getting us flowers," Alix raised her eyebrow.

"Can there really be a flower for each of us," Mylene wondered out loud.

"You have them all in front of you," Lyon looked a little annoyed.

Vallia did have to admit that she was a tab annoyed as well. While they did not know just how much nature meant to them as a part of their lives, the doubt was still annoying.

"We figured this would show that we are more than two foreigners that like to keep to themselves," Vallia says.

"Keep in mind that I still like to keep to myself most of the time," Lyon said, Vallia knowing how much her brother likes the quiet.

"So, what do these flowers mean," Adrien asks.

To his surprise, neither of the twins pulled out a list or anything that could help them remember all the information. They must really know their stuff.

"We can start with Mylene," Vallia says, the small girl blushing. "We gave her peony flowers. They represent those that are kind and also like small gestures."

Ivan was particularly shocked by that. He had only gotten together with Mylene because she read his song as a poem after his second time being akumatized as Stone Heart. She was not up for the big-time rock and roll version he wrote it as, and just liked it as a simple poem or soft song.

"Ivan's was simpler to find," Lyon said. "The carnation flower has always been used to describe down-to-earth people. Ones that are very grounded."

The other members of Kitty Section looked at Ivan, knowing how that was very true. Ivan had always been the first to calm down any fame that might go to their heads after the Captain Hardrock incident and their performance. Well, after Luka that is. Juleka's brother was basically a saint when it came to being cool, calm, and collected.

"We chose poppies for Alix," Vallia explained the red flowers in front of the skater. "The traits that they represent are those that are creative and bold."

That was definitely Alix to a "T." Her art was a mix of both since she did spraypaint street art. And her natural athletic abilities did make her do some pretty bold things.

"Max and Kim, I thought, were the easiest to match," Lyon said. "Max has the aster flower, which represents those that are smart and devoted. Kim has hydrangeas, for those that are athletic and team players."

The class was starting to see just how much the two had worked on their "project."

"I, personally, liked to say that I enjoyed finding flowers for Rose and Juleka," Vallia smiled. "Mostly because I am holding one of their names."

That got a giggle out of the pink-dressed blond and an eye roll from Lyon.

"Get on with it, Vallia," Lyon says. "We still have actual classes to attend, sister."

The class had to hide groans, especially since Bustier was in the room and they did not want to insult her by accident.

"Fine," Vallia sighed. "I thought that tulips matched Rose because they are for the bright and cheerful. Juleka's are also my personal favorite flower, the lily. They are for ones that are quiet but also inspirational to others."

Juleka tried to hide her face in her hands, knowing that she was blushing. Rose was over the moon, for herself and her best friend. If there was any flower that was spot on for anyone in the class, it would be the one that Rose got.

"Nathaniel and Adrien ended up having the flowers that tie as my favorite," Lyon admitted. "I chose the iris for Nathaniel because it is a flower for daydreamers and the imaginative. Orchids are Adrien's because they represent those that are sophisticated, refined, but have good hearts."

Both mentioned boys blushed. While Adrien did have more friends than Nath, both of them were naturally quiet and not used to such praise. Yes, Adrien is a model, but it be a miracle to hear any sort of praise from his father. And Nath was only just starting to come out of his shell thanks to Marinette.

"Sabrina was a tad bit more difficult to match," Vallia almost did not want to admit. "But when you learn about who she is, she is optimistic and also tends to be a morning person. Those are the traits of the daisy."

Sabrina was shocked, as were most of the class. As usual, Chloe didn't care. She had been sneering at the flowers in front of her since she had sat down. Sabrina was internally jumping up and down in excitement. No one had ever tried to get to know her, especially after she became friends with Chloe.

"Alya is a very modern person while Nino also very much in the tech universe, so they were also a little difficult to translate to our olden tradition," Lyon says. "But we did think that Alya best matched with the daffodil. It represents those that are very social and also love friends and family. Nino's flower is the sunflower, a blossom for the warm and those that tend to be very happy-go-lucky."

Both of those descriptions perfectly matched the two. Alya was probably the most social person in the entire school. She had to be to run Paris's most popular blog.

"I thought that Marinette's was very much telling about who she is," Vallia says, Marinette a little embarrassed. "The calla lily is for hardworking people, but also represents people that can be said to be quite rare as well."

Marinette was now bright red as she hid her face in her arms, Alya patting her back. But you could see the look on the blogger's face that she was enjoying someone telling Marinette how special she was. The girl was too humble for her own good.

"And last, Chloe," Lyon did not look happy about it being his turn to talk when it came time to tell the brat about her flower.

"Saving the best for last," the blond ruined the nice moment the twins had created. "About time you two start giving me the respect I deserve."

That was when Lyon got the most ice-cold look on his face that the class had ever seen. Rose even shivered a little bit, as if she was actually cold from the look he gave the brat.

Adrien remembered seeing him give that look only once more. It was last week when he was at a photoshoot after school. Lyon and Vallia had been in the same park as the shoot and had heard the photographer becoming rather aggressive with him. After a few words about acting like a model should and not a teenage boy, Lyon got in the photographer's face and gave him that very look. He had not said one word, but that look was enough to make the man weak in the knees. He had not spoken to Adrien again the entire shoot and a different photographer was assigned to him soon after that day.

"Alright, here is what your flower says about you," Lyon's voice could freeze the Atlantic. "The gardenia flower represents those that like living in a life of luxury. Those that like the lifestyle of the one percent..."

Chloe seemed to be happy with that, but Lyon almost smugly popped her bubble.

"Basically, it's the flower for spoiled brats that need to get taught the meaning of the word 'no," he finished.

[ds0408]

We meet again-3

last:-"Wo so original" she said sarcastically while slow clapping and I soon joined her "You just beat Bob-Roth" I bursted Laughing at that I could see Julika trying to contain her laughter, Even Rose and Nathaniel.

Chloe Pov

I then I thought of a way to get at least few of those mindless sheep to our side. I whispered something in Mari-bugs ears making her nod in agreement. Then she says

"Hey Rossi, Cesare!" She calls out. the whole class turns to her. "What do you think of Bi and gay people?"

"They are straight out disgusting!" says Cesare

"They are so weird. who would want to kiss the same gender" said Rossi and continued talking about her and 'Dami-boo' Then Rose, Julika, Nino, Kim and Nathaniel come to us. I raise an eyebrow at them.

Then Nino clears his throat and said "We are sorry. We figured out she was lying."

"Yes I understand why Julika, rose and Nathaniel are here but why you two?" I ask

Nino was really uncomfortable with that so he looked at Mari-bug and asked her to tell me "Bee Nino and Kim used to date." She says

"How did you figure out the bitch was lying?" Mari-bug says, to which they all let out a gasp.

"Di-did you just cu-cuss?" asked Nino

"Oh she was never sweet with any body in the class except six particular people, She was never a klutz nor was she a sniveling child, She has had a bad past" I say

Then Nathaniel askes "were we part of the nice people?"

"Yes you apparently happen to be the 5 people who I was genuinely nice to" She answers

They let out a deep breath Then Nino says "I know about your past"

Mari bugs eyes widen and she drags us to a secluded area. and unleashes her Katana and brings it to his neck "How?"

He looked scared and says "you were ranting it to me when we were young."

She curses then says "explain it to the others and don't tell anyone" She warns and pushes the Katana to his neck.

Marinette's Pov

I let go of the Katana and go out in time to hear that the tour is over and we are going to the Wayne Manor for our stay. They were the ones doing our tour.

We were in the bus when Nino finished the story of my past then Rose chimed in "I am really sorry you had go through that"

"Ya I don't think I would be able to stay away from my true love for so long" said Julika said glancing at Rose who blushed. I chuckled inwardly on how cute they are.

"I doesn't really matter I met him today after all" I said. And that caught their attention and they whisper- yelled "What!?"

"We saw him and I gave him the rings and left. It is just to much hurt"

Nino comes behind and comforts me and soon we reached the Wayne Manor.

We got off the bus and held our bags. Then a man came and said "My name is Alfred Pennyworth, I am here to escort you to your rooms" He went in and we soon followed. He sent me an aura of a miraculous holder, oh and I forgot we defeated Hawkmoth and I found out he used to abuse poor Nooro. I fixed the peacock miraculous and took away Chat's Miraculous Turns it was that spineless idiot.

Monsieur Alfred reached Chloe's room. Next was Mine as we reached my room Monsieur Alfred said something that shocked me " Ho is Nooro doing Great guardian?" I blinked once then twice then said

"I knew you gave some sort of miraculous vibe. but... something bad happened to Nooro" I said

"Is Nooro Harmed?" He asked Worry evident in his voice

"we need to go in" I said motioning towards the room He nods and we enter the room thank god it is not pink and instead black. Then I let Nooro out "Nooro do you want to meet someone?" I asked quietly

she nodded so I asked her to turn around. She turned and saw Monsieur Alfred. She got excited and literally screamed In her soft voice "Master Alfred!" And nuzzled his cheek. I smile softly and say "This is the most she has spoken. She as abused by the last holder" "You can keep her for the time being." He nods and leaves with her hidden in his pocket. He peaked in and says "you can change into your Night wear and Thank you" I just nodded.

I changed into my night wear:

This hoodie was Damien's It still is big for me, I keep it to remember him.

I got out of the room and went down to see Alya and Lila in the most babyish night wear. I looked at Chloe and we both shared the same thought. We went to the dinner table and found seats.

(This is how they sat

Bruce

Richard Timothy

Damien Marinette

Jason Chloe

Julika Nino

Rose Kim

Nathaniel Ivan

Sabrina Alix

Adrien Max

Mylene Alya

Lila

That is how they sit on the dinning table)

I sat next to Chloe. In front of me was an empty spot. Then an elderly man in his 40-50 came in and sat at one end of the table. He then said

"My name is Bruce Wayne, and these are my sons, Richard Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake and my youngest son is yet to come. You are welcomed to stay."

Then Alfred comes and sets the food and everyone digs in. I was eating when a familiar voice "Father I am Home."

And then those toxic green eyes. I gasped and dropped my fork. Everyone was looking at me. I looked at Chloe in horror Then back to Damien. and Mind Linked him. Yes Mind linked because of the Lazarus pit I have a connection with him. I look him dead in the eye and start with the mind talk.

'What the hell are you doing here?!' we both ask at the same time

'I am here for my class tour' I reply

'I live here' he replies

'Y-you- what?' I say

'Yes, and who is that sausage hair girl that is glaring daggers at you? If you want I can kill her'

'Oh she is Lila Rossi, biggest Liar alive. turns out the class I was in was the one with people without braincells. Pretended to be their friend. Now Rossi thinks I am their friends and decided to destroy me.'

'Does the bitch know who she is messing with'

'No. and do you have a gym'

Jason's Pov

So the French class is here and I hope that girl from WE listens to what Damien has to say. So now we were all sitting on the Dinning table. Then she walks in wearing an overly sized hoodie with a Katana and I think she is wearing shorts underneath. She sat down next to her friend Chloe I think as her name. Luckily it was in front of Damien's seat.

Bruce comes in starts his speech then allows us to eat. While we were eating, Damien comes in and says "I am home father" and the girl dropped her fork. we all saw how she looked horrified. Then Damien sat down and looked directly in her eyes while she did the same. It looked like they were having a conversation with their minds. Their facial expression turned from confusion and shock to anger to almost smiling. Suddenly the sausage hair girl said

"It is horrible. She is checking him out!' She shouted it to get our attention, and that is what it took to get those two out of their trance. and Damien did not look happy.

"What did you just say?" he asked in a deadly voice

[elonscult]

The Awakening - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The weather in Los Angeles was colder than usual, the disturbing heath had been replaced with light rain and uncertainty. Days somehow managed to blend in together into a weird complicated loop.

Elon’s strong footsteps resonated throughout the -now- empty factory. He was internally grateful that no one was there to see the obscure mood he was in. A lot of things were happening, things that were out of his control. He didn’t specifically like that, he liked to take situations and blend them as he wished, being in control made him feel powerful and important, not having the upper hand made him weak. At least that's what he thought, even though that wasn’t the truth at all.

He stretched out his hand to push the glass door standing in front of him, inside, on one of the chairs placed around a giant oval table, sat his lawyer. Vin. One of L.A.’s finest legal practitioners.

“You better have good news. I’m not in the mood for your incompetence today.” Elon said sitting in front of him.

“I- uh. Not a lot of good news today.” He responded.

Elon sighed, annoyed, while Vin went through a folder of papers.

“The divorce papers have not been signed yet.” Vin looked up. “She says you’re working things out.”

“No, we’re not. I need those papers signed.” Elon said.

“I’ll file another motion. Also, by any chance, do you have any proof I can submit for the cheating allegations.”

“What do you think.” Elon frowned. “Do you think I had the time to take a fucking picture?” He stood up and moved towards the mini bar, pouring himself a glass of Whiskey.

“Okay, just making sure.” Vin said raising his arms in a pacific way. “I’ll get that done one way or another. It would be easier if you had proof but whatever.”

“That’s what I’m paying you for. What the hell have you been doing then?” Elon responded.

“I’ve been doing that but she’s not easy to deal with. Neither is her attorney.”

Elon sat down again and took a sip from his glass.

“Get that done. And quickly.” Elon said.

“There’s another thing. About your current girlfriend…”

“What about her?” Elon interrupted, his whole body now suddenly feeling tense.

“The guy from the break in. He’s out on bail, he got out yesterday. I heard from my connections that there’s not enough evidence to press charges.” Vin continued.

“Fuck.” Elon raised his hand to massage the bridge of his nose.

“I’m trying to understand why you say there’s not enough evidence when he literally broke into

her house, tied her up, -punched her-, almost assaulted her”

“I agree with you but that’s how things went. I’m just telling you what I heard.” Vin interrupted.

“You know what? Next time I see you I want good news or you’re fired.” Elon chugged what

was left in the glass and stood up to finally go home.

 The sound of the car engine managed to silence the thoughts flooding through Elon’s mind while he drove home, when he arrived, he felt a sudden mix of dread and anxiety.

Uncomfortable with the course his thoughts were taking, he glanced at the large house in front of him. He wasn’t one to get attached to material things, to be completely honest, he could’ve lived in a one-bedroom apartment without a problem. But this house was capable of accommodating his children comfortably and now Sabrina as well. At least temporarily, how he wished it was forever.

He found the black-haired girl in the kitchen. Wearing a black halter crop top and some artistically-stained dark blue jeans. Nothing really special, but to him, it looked like the most amazing outfit merely because she was wearing it. She was pacing around, cooking something, her hair down in messy waves.

“You’re home!” Sabrina said, finally noticing him. Her previously concerted face now shining with a wide smile.

Elon smiled back as soon as he felt his lover’s arms wrapped around his neck followed by a trail of kisses all over his face.  He hugged her placing his head on the small of her neck.

“Are you hungry? I cooked something.” She spoke.

Elon sighed, not wanting to let go, inhaling the sweet smell of Sabrina, he hugged her tighter.

“Baby is everything okay?” She asked, her voice slightly quiet.

“Nothing for you to worry about.” He pulled away and kissed her forehead. “And I’m starving.”

Sabrina looked at him confused.

He shrugged it off, taking her hand and guiding her back to the kitchen.

Elon watched as Sabrina served the food and then they walked towards the backyard, a cold breeze hit her face as soon as she stepped out. On the grass, surrounded by a row of flowers and plants, Sabrina had laid out a small blanket along with candles that decorated the atmosphere, making it quite romantic.

“You made all this?” Elon smiled, helping Sabrina with the food and then sitting down across from her.

“It’s just a blanket and some candles.” She said, visibly proud despite of what she said.

Sabrina watched closely how Elon's jaw moved as he chewed. Was there no part of his body her mouth wasn't watering for? Suddenly wanting to be close to him, she moved so that she was now sitting on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her almost instantly, holding his plate in front of them both. She smiled and caressed his chin as he chewed. The way that muscle tensed under her hand… she loved the way his body moved, the way his muscles relaxed and contracted, no matter how small the effort. She took a sip of wine and raised the glass to his lips. Unfortunately, she miscalculated and pushed it away too soon, causing the wine to spill down his neck and onto his shirt.

“Shit, I’m sorry.” Sabrina said, cleaning his jaw with her fingers. His incipient beard scratched her skin.

Elon didn’t seem to mind at all. He took her hand and licked the wine that was dripping down her fingers. He licked her fingers and nibbled on them, very gently, and she shuddered from head to toe, attentively watching. One by one, he cleaned them meticulously. And when he finished, he lifted her chin and captured her lips. The kiss wasn’t the demanding, fierce kiss she was used to. The one he used to seduce and devour her. This one was soft, gentle, tender. Then he pulled away.

“Are you still hungry?” He asked.

“Yes” Sabrina mumbled, not referring to the food, but to the appetites her body was experiencing with him.

And so, they continued, feeding and reveling in each other's company, until they ended their food. Sabrina leaned into his arms as he embraced her.

“I need to tell you something.” Elon said.

“Yeah?” Sabrina responded, placing her hand over his and softly caressing it.

“I had a meeting with Vin today. He said the guy that broke into your house is out on bail.” He finally said, dragging each word as if it was difficult for him to say.

She looked up at him, the soft light of the moon and the candles around them softening her -already- soft features. Still, he could see the concern on her hazel eyes.

He held her closer. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Sabrina couldn’t find words to express what she was feeling. Remembering everything that happened that unfaithful night made her want to throw up.

“I promise.” Elon whispered, worried about her.

She nodded. He leaned in and kissed her cheek.

 Sabrina woke up before sunrise the next day, surrounded by Elon’s reassuring arms. She got into the shower and got ready for the day. After she was done, she went back into the bedroom and placed a soft kiss on Elon’s cheek, trying not to wake him up. When she turned around to leave, she felt his hand take hers and pulled her closer.

“Mmh” He groaned.

“I’m going to the office, I didn’t wanna wake you.” She whispered now sitting by the side of the bed.

“Give me 15, I’ll go with you.” He spoke.

“You will?” She asked, suddenly excited.

“Yeah, I wanted to spend the day with you anyways.” He softly smiled, still with his eyes closed.

Once they were ready, Elon drove towards Sabrina’s Company’s building, situated in the city center. She had a knot on her stomach so big that she was having trouble breathing. All thanks to the information Elon had given her the previous night. But she couldn’t shut down, she wasn’t going to let fear control her life. However, she was thankful for Elon’s presence. He recomforted her.

He walked in front of her while holding her hand guiding her to the elevator where he pressed the floor number and then the button to close the door. He winked at her and smiled.

Sabrina squeezed his hand smiling. What was it about him that made her feel happy? No matter what, Elon always managed to make things so much more fun, better, brighter.

The elevator doors opened and they walked into Sabrina’s office, taking a minute to say hi to her assistant.

“Are you really gonna spend the whole day here?” Sabrina asked.

He shrugged.

“I got nothing better to do.” He answered.

“You’re going to get bored.”

“I could never get bored being with you.”

She tiptoed and kissed him tenderly.

“Thank you for joining me today. I don’t think I could have been here if it weren’t for you.”

He nibbled on her lips.

“It’s my pleasure.”

Mary called through the intercom.

“Ms. Vanderbilt, your 9am appointment is here.”

“I’ll go outside to make some calls.” Elon said placing a last kiss on her lips before leaving the room.

During the next hour, Sabrina wasn’t capable of concentrating. Her thoughts flew to the man waiting for her outside, and they kept circling back to how much he meant to her.

As soon as it was over, she walked her client to the door. Mary was playing Solitary on her computer while Elon was nowhere to be found.

“By the way, your 3pm appointment has been canceled and the 10am one has called to say they’ll be a couple minutes late.”

“Okay.” Sabrina pointed at the door with her thumb.” I’m going to my car, I forgot my phone.”

Mary nodded.

Angry at herself for not being able to concentrate, she walked towards the elevator and pressed the button to go down to the parking lot once again. Once she reached the car, she opened the passenger’s door and leaned in to look for her phone, which was nowhere in sight. When she finally found it, someone grabbed her arm and pulled her outside of the car, moments later pushing her towards it and covering her mouth with one hand. She froze.

“You thought you were going to get away?” The familiar masked man said, too close to her face for her liking.

Sabrina couldn’t even move, her whole body was frozen.

In a few blurry seconds, Elon was there. He smashed the guy against the car with so much force that Sabrina thought they had left a mark on the door. He then grabbed him by the shirt and slammed him against the car again.

“Go call the police!” Elon urged her. “Run inside.”

Without completely understanding what was happening Sabrina ran inside of the building, leaving Elon alone with the masked man, who then proceeded to throw a kick at Elon’s stomach. He punched him in the jaw with shadowed eyes.

“Ever find you near Sabrina again and there will be no force in this world or the hereafter that will keep me from tearing you to shreds. You don’t know who you’re messing with. Do you understand?” Elon spoke.

“What the hell, man?” The guy said, rubbing the side of his face. “This isn’t what we agreed on.”

“Huh?” Elon frowned.

“I talked to your wife, she paid me.”

“To kidnap her? She paid me good money.” He continued, as it was the most obvious thing.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Elon asked, police sirens wailing in the distance.

Seconds later the police arrived and handcuffed the guy, taking the mask off, revealing a rather average- tattooed man in his 30’s.

Elon limited himself to stand there, processing everything that the guy had said to him. He was sick to his stomach.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” He heard Sabrina running towards him.

He reacted to her voice and hurried to meet her, surrounding her in his arms as soon as he could.

“Baby, are you okay?” He asked.

“Everything’s okay now. I’m okay.” He continued, feeling her sobbing underneath him, holding her tight.

After the whole ordeal with the police, he took Sabrina home, where she slept for the rest of the day and through the night. The next morning, she woke up to the sound of voices coming from downstairs. She looked for Elon in the bedroom but didn’t find him, she assumed he was downstairs with someone. Without losing any more time, she hopped in the shower and changed Elon’s old shirt into some high waisted denim shorts and a white long-sleeved white button-up shirt, which was also Elon’s.

She walked downstairs to find Elon having breakfast with his children in the backyard accompanied by his mom and brother. Sabrina felt suddenly out of place, wondering if she could fit into that loving family. Like as if he was reading her mind, Elon turned to see her and got up to find her in the hall.

“Hi” Sabrina softly said, smiling.

“Hi” He stood in front of her for a second before briefly kissing her. “I wanted you to rest, that’s why I didn’t wake you. Are you hungry? There’s plenty of food. The kids are here, they’re asking for you, I forgot to tell you I have them this week.”

Her eyes squinted trying to get all of the information in.

“Sorry.” Elon laughed, trying to act normal. The truth was that he had been up all-night thinking about what to do about their relationship, his ex-wife, he felt incredibly guilty for what had happened.  “I-uh. Are you hungry?” He continued.

“Not really, I’m… I think I’ll eat something later. But I’d be delighted to join you.” She smirked.

After greeting everyone, she sat next to Elon, where they spent the next couple of hours just catching up and enjoying each other’s company.

The remaining of the day they spent with the kids, how much it warmed Sabrina’s heart to be with them, they were always so kind and loving. She thought about their mother, Elon’s first wife, who had not been anything but good to her, even if her and Elon didn’t really have a relationship.

However, Sabrina’s tranquility was attacked by Elon’s sudden estrangement. She wondered if he was worried about something work-related, or if there was something else making him distant.

“Do you wanna watch something?” Elon asked. “There’s some shitty movies in here, I believe.” Sabrina’s thoughts were interrupted by his husky voice.

“I don’t mind, whatever you want to watch.” She almost whispered. The young woman laying next to him, with her head resting on his chest, feeling sleepy.

Elon allowed himself to look at her for only a brief second, something he had tried to avoid almost all day. He couldn’t bear it, he couldn’t be with her knowing what he knew now. Knowing that he was the one responsible for all the chaos in her life.

He incorporated, cupping her face and kissing her. Almost involuntarily, she kissed him back. Before he could say anything, she grabbed the inferior border of his shirt and pulled it up until it was out of the way. Once out, Sabrina threw it on the floor and rested her hands on his chest, right above his heart. He stood still as a statue while she slid her hands over his skin, sending shivers down his spine. Elon noticed she was trying to unbutton his pants.

“Sabrina” he warned her, not wanting to take things further, it hurt too much.

“Mmm?” She mumbled, frowning, her lips slightly red from their previous kiss.

“Nevermind.” He whispered.

She pulled away and positioned herself on the bed. Elon held his breath as he watched her body move in that sensual way of hers.

Taking his pants off, he joined her. He made her lie on her back and, in that position, unbuttoned several buttons on her shirt, the deep neckline exposing one of her breasts. He took advantage of the situation. He felt her shiver beneath him as he flicked his tongue around her hardened nipple. Her body was liquid fire and it screamed out, demanding that he possess her. But he didn't just crave her flesh. He wanted her.

And abandoning her would tear him apart.

With great tenderness he caressed her face, keeping in his memory every little detail. His precious Sabrina. He would never forget her.

He slowly took her shorts off and parted her thighs with his knees. Elon shuddered involuntarily as he felt her almost-naked skin beneath his. And, at that that moment, he made the mistake of looking into her eyes. Those hazel eyes that looked at him with so much love.

She grabbed him by the head and pulled him close for a deep, passionate kiss. He returned it fiercely, and with a powerful and sudden thrust, he thrust into her. He threw his head back and grunted as Sabrina’s wet body welcomed him in, enveloping him. The shock to his senses was so powerful that he shivered from head to toe.

With gasping breaths, he looked into her face and was mesmerized as he felt her, warm and tight, around him. He slid his hand down her arm, until he captured her hand and gripped it tightly.

“Am I hurting you?” He asked.

“No” she answered him with a tender, sincere look. She brought Elon’s hand to her lips and kissed it. “You’ll never hurt me by being with me” He felt his heart drop.

She wrapped her arms and legs around him, then ran her tongue down his neck and delighted in the feel of him vibrating in her arms. He lifted his hips, very slowly, torturing her with the movement and, without warning, he plunged into her with such force that Sabrina thought she was dying of pleasure. She held her breath as she felt him all the way inside her. It was incredible, unbelievable. It was wonderful to feel the thrusts of that strong, agile body. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the movement of Elon’s muscles as they contracted and relaxed over her body. She had never felt anything like it before, she limited herself to breath and express her love for him with her body.

Exhilarated by the weight of his body on top of hers, she ran her hands down his back to his hips and pushed against him, urging him to go faster. Elon moaned as he felt Sabrina dig her nails into his back. How could such small hands have the power to defeat him? He would never understand, just as he would never understand why she loved him.

“Look at me, Sabrina.” He said, sinking deep into her again. “I want to see you.”

She obeyed, his eyes were narrowed, and by the way he was breathing and the expression on his face, she knew he was enjoying every single moment. She felt her abs contract each time he moved and she lifted her hips to meet his furious thrusts. Nothing could be better than having Elon on top of her, kissing her passionately and sliding in and out of her. Just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, her body erupted in a thousand shudders of pleasure.

- Oh god -She silently cried out, arching her body more towards him.

He sank into her all the way down and remained motionless, watching her as her muscles contracted around him.

When she opened her eyes, she was met with a satisfactory grin.

“You liked that, didn’t you?” He asked, rotating his hips so she could feel him inside. It took Sabrina an enormous effort not to moan with pleasure.

“That was good” She said.

“Good? I guess I’ll have to keep trying” He turned and pulled her with him, careful not to slide out of her. She moaned as she found herself on top of him.

Elon reached up with one arm and undid the rest of the buttons on her shirt. The piece of fabric fell open. The look of pure joy in his eyes was far more pleasurable to Sabrina than feeling him inside her. Smiling, she lifted her hips up and lowered them to absorb him entirely. She felt him shudder.

“You liked that, didn’t you?” She playfully asked.  

“That was good” But the strangled voice betrayed his carefree tone. She let out a laugh.

Elon lifted his hips and thrust even deeper into her. Sabrina hissed in pleasure as she felt him fill her completely once again, as she felt the hardness of his body and the strength it boasted. And she still wanted more. She wanted to see his face when he climaxed. She wanted to be the one to give him that. He slid his hand very slowly down Sabrina’s body until he reached her navel, and moved even lower, towards the center of her body, caressing it slowly. She bit her lips as Elon’s fingers fiddled with her, matching the rhythm of her hips. Faster and deeper.

He grabbed her waist and helped her keep up with the frantic rhythm. He smiled at the sight of her on top of him.

They both lost track of time as their bodies caressed and delighted in each other’s company. She felt the room begin to spin under his expertise and, she let herself be carried away by the wonderful sensation of expressing the love she felt for him. They were both covered in sweat, but they did not stop savoring each other, they were still enjoying the passion they were sharing at last.

He bit his lip hard and moved even faster, grunting and closing his eyes. With one deep, certain thrust, he spilled into her and his whole body convulsed under hers. Elon was unable to breathe and his head was spinning from the ecstasy he had just felt. The intensity of his orgasm had been unbelievable. His whole body ached, but even so, he could not remember ever having experienced such an orgasm before. Seconds later, when Sabrina followed him, she collapsed on top of him.

Elon’s deep laughter reverberated through her body as he ran his hands up and down her back, her hips, and down her legs. Sabrina shivered. He was ecstatic to have Sabrina naked and lying on top of him, he felt her breasts squashed over his torso. His love for her welled up from the depths of his soul.

“I could lie like this forever.” He spoke softly.

“So could I”

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her even closer to him. He noticed how her caresses slowed and her breathing became more relaxed and even. In a few minutes she was completely asleep. He kissed her on the head and smiled.

“Sleep, precious. It’s still a long way to sunrise.” He whispered, enjoying this moment. Knowing what was to come the next day.

-----------------------------------------------

This chapter is cheesy as fuck, that’s all I have to say

[rosyredlipstick]

guess who watched high school musical 2 and got caught up in the ryan/chad of it all: a conchell AU

this is pure 100% cheese. thats ur warning. also unbeta-ed.

Spending the entire summer at their mother’s golf resort had sounded like a dream for exactly 3 seconds, until Mitchell remembered the…. Everything about his siblings. 

When he wasn’t pulling Sebastian away from flirting with all their guests and the entire staff, he was lecturing Scarlett and Drew about taking advantage of the concierge service, making sure Stefan and Valentina weren’t spending too much time in the sun and were definitely drinking virgin cocktails, reigning in Lacey and Sophia’s pranks, and making sure Sabrina was happy in her first summer enrolled in the youth program. Oh, and he was choreographing a major number for the end of summer talent show. So. Full plate. 

Still, it was nice he had convinced Will to come along for the summer. While he was one of Mitchell’s official guests, he had quickly befriended the entire young staff in the kitchens and by the poolside. More than often, when they were on their walks around the resort, Will would no doubt be called out to or greeted by grinning teens in red and white polos. 

Mitchell, used to his friend’s sunflower attraction toward attention, smiled knowingly and let it happen without a complaint. At least Will was enjoying himself--he’d been way too stressed about his pre-med program the last few months and, with Mitchell spending most of his time at the resort trying to rein in his power-drunk sibling, he was glad his friend wasn’t spending the summer alone at the poolside. 

Of course, with all his new acquaintances, that also meant that Will’s tendency to interfere with Mitchell’s personal relationships appeared. 

“I’m telling you, you need to hang out with friends more, you’ve been busy all summer!” Will was smiling brightly. “This is the perfect opportunity!” 

“Yes, the perfect opportunity to intrude on a social gathering!” Mitchell protested, “It’ll be weird if I go. You should just go and have fun, don’t worry about me.” Mitchell sighed, “I don’t want them to be uncomfortable! This is their down time, I don’t want to ruin it by being the boss’s kid.” 

Will rolled his eyes, “It’s a baseball game, Mitchell.” 

Mitchell shook his head, final. “Sorry. But I don’t think so. Text me afterward, okay? We can grab ice cream.” Will said nothing. He peeked a look back to the other boy, “Unless there’s something else?” 

Will sighed and looked off to the side as his cheeks colored. “Okay, listen, of course I really want you there because you’re my best friend and everything but also -” 

“There’s a guy.” Mitchell guessed, bored. Will found the love of his life at least once a week. “Who is he?”

Will didn’t even put up a fight. “I’m not sure if you know him. He works in the coffee shop? Pale, dark hair, sharpest cheekbones I’ve ever seen?”

Mitchell thought for a second, “Nico?” He guessed. Nico, for the past few months, has consistently served him the best caramel macchiato he’d ever had every morning. Mitchell dreamt about that drink, on especially good nights.  

Will melted into a dreamy mess. “Yeah. Nico.” 

Mitchell blew a puff of hair up into the hair around his face, “I mean…” He grimaced, “If you need a wingman or something -”

“Yes!” Will was already celebrating, “Thank the gods, thank you! I mean, I think you’ll enjoy yourself at the game and everyone’s really cool, but yes! Okay, if you could just like, set up a really good opportunity for me and Nico to be together like, alone, I’d so appreciate it -” 

Will continued to ramble about the perfect situation Mitchell could set up, including the ideal mood lighting, when Mitchell interrupted him.

"Is Percy okay?" Percy had just rushed by, looking upset, and hopped in his mother’s car without a word to either of them--odd, as he usually offered at least a hey guys! If not a full on conversation that left Mitchell feeling like a better person for having it. It was kind of his thing. 

"Oh, he's in turmoil because he feels like he has to choose between swimming or singing with Annabeth at the talent show and he doesn’t know which to choose." 

“Oh.” 

Will wrinkled his nose, “Yeah, he’s kinda got his own thing going on right now. I saw him dancing by himself in the golf course earlier, but I thought I’d just give him some space.”

“Smart,” Mitchell commented, growing a bit uneasy as they approached the field. There was a crowd already assembled there with a smaller circle throwing a baseball back and forth. As they approached, a few people called out to Will in excitement but it wasn’t until they were faced with a smaller inner group of people that Mitchell was addressed. 

A tall, smirking guy with wild curls was the first to greet him, lightly tossing a baseball into his own mit as he spoke. “Brought a friend, Will?” 

Will smiled brightly. “Yeah! This is Mitchell.”

“Trust me, I know who Mitchell is.” His humor-filled gaze flickered to Mitchell himself. “Nice to finally meet you.” 

Mitchell’s cheeks heated. “You know me?” 

Travis let out a small disbelieving laugh. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.” Travis elbowed the guy at his side, who shared similar curls and features. “And this is my brother, Connor.” 

“Hello, I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.” Mitchell held out his hand with a smile. “I’m Mitchell. You’re on the staff, here?” 

Despite the incredibly stupid question Mitchell just asked considering Connor’s bright red LIFEGUARD tank top he still wore, Connor was kind enough to nod along with Mitchell’s obvious question, his eyes wide. Mitchell’s hand, still extended out to him, wobbled in the air. 

He was a second away from dropping his arm and shaking it off completely when Connor seemed to realize that he was waiting for a handshake in the first place and nearly dived for it. In his haste, he almost completely tripped over himself and onto Mitchell. 

“Oh, well,” Mitchell caught him before he could take them both down on the dirt field. “Are you okay? Is it too hot or something?” Connor’s face was strangely pale compared to his brother’s, despite the mid-afternoon summer sun. Mitchell resisted the urge to reach out and touch his skin for sun stroke. 

“So hot,” Connor whispered, in his arms. Mitchell stared down at him in concern.

A girl--Katie, maybe--came up beside him and physically took Connor out of his arms, a tight smile on her lips. “This is nothing, he’s just dehydrated.”

“More like thirsty.” A girl across from them muttered.

Katie continued on like no one said anything. “Let’s get some water in you, dude.” 

Will was smiling on like this interaction was completely normal. “So anyway I was wondering if Mitchell could join our game?” 

“Hmm, well this is an employee-only game.” Despite his words, the light tease in Travis’s voice kept Mitchell from getting nervous about the whole situation. “But it does raise the stakes.” 

That Mitchell could work with. His lips stretched out into a wide grin. “Yeah? What were you thinking?” 

Travis clicked his tongue, “How do you feel about being Captain? I take one team, you take the other.”

He thought it over then nodded. “That sounds fair. What’s the prize?” 

Travis shrugged, messing with the baseball in his mit as he spoke. “Any ideas?” 

Mitchell pretended to think, already knowing what he wanted. With a group this size, his choreo could really expand into something great. “If you lose, you guys have to join my dance group for the talent show.” 

“Hmm,” Travis looked to the girl at his side--Phoebe, he thought, another lifeguard. She once helped him with Sabrina’s floaties. “We’ll consider that. Guys?” The circle of employees gathered a bit closer to talk it over. Will shot him an excited look. 

Suddenly, in the midst of their talking it over, Connor burst from the huddle and pushed his way over to Mitchell. “I’ll give you fifty dollars if you let me on your dance team.” 

“Wait, no -” Travis grabbed his shoulders from behind to push him back, “Connor, we’re trying to negotiate with him!” 

“Oh,” Connor nodded seriously and turned back to where Mitchell was waiting, amused. “I’ll pay two hundred -” 

Katie slapped a hand over his mouth and dragged him back to the crowd, him protesting all the way. Travis looked back to Mitchell, tired. “Just ignore him, please.”

Mitchell watched him sink back into the crowd, something small curled at his lips. “I don’t think I can.”

“Anyway,” Katie was the one to speak now. “We talked it over, that sounds fine. If we lose, we’ll be in your show.” 

Mitchell had to resist punching the air in excitement. “Great.” 

Travis leaned back with his arms crossed, looking him over. “And what do we get if we win?” 

“Well, what do you want?” 

“Dinner and a movie,” Connor choked out, almost like he didn’t mean to.

Mitchell raised an eyebrow, “An catered employee afternoon in the movie theatre?” He thought it over, then shrugged. “I could probably arrange that.” 

Travis rubbed at his forehead, “I - sure. Yeah, that sounds fun.” 

“Alright,” Mitchell smiled with a small shrug of his shoulders. “I guess it’s game on, then.” 

...

Of course, against a batch of peers who had been playing baseball all summer, Mitchell was bound to lose. However, they didn’t lose as hard as he expected. 

After the match, when Mitchell was left aching from the game and loss but proud despite it, Will sunk down next to him at the picnic table. “Good game. I didn’t think you’d get so into it.” 

At the last moment, Mitchell had ended up diving for a ball, completely dirting up his outfit. He had caught it, and it had counted, but two players had already made it home in the meantime. Still, it was a close loss. 

Mitchell smiled slightly. “Me neither. But it was worth a shot at a full dance group.”

Will laughed softly, “Still. Great catch.” 

“It really was.” They both looked up at the new voice--Katie, from before. She’d been on Travis’s team with Connor, Jason, Leo, Annabeth and a few others. The rest of the group was mostly dispersed by now, most of them arranging rides home or plans to grab food. “We haven’t had a game that fun in a while.” 

At her arrival, Will stood and offered her his seat. Which was kind, but also definitely just a ploy to escape and run off wherever Nico was lurking. Mitchell waved him off with a roll of his eyes before returning back to the conversation. Katie took his place without a word. 

“Well, I’m happy to help. It was a good time, you guys work well together.” Mitchell shot her a knowing grin. “I’ll start working out the theatre rental. Any movie requests?” 

She shrugged, “We can take a vote on it. But we’ve also been talking.” Katie had an amused twinkle in her eye. “We’re in. We’ll still do your show, it sounds fun.” 

Mitchell sat up completely, a bolt of excitement hitting him. “Wait, really?” At her nod, he absolutely lit up. “Oh my god, it’s gonna be such a fun show, I promise!” He got to his feet in excitement and threw his arms around her shoulders in a hug, pulling away promptly. “Oh my god, wait, I’m covered in dirt I’m so sorry -” 

She waved it off but stood herself. She, too, was covered in dirt from the game so didn’t seem to care much at any additional. 

He couldn’t help but babble on. “It’s going to be so much fun. You won’t regret it.”

She smiled at him, looking like she was indulging him. “I know. Anyway, just a moment,” She disappeared for a few moments only to return, dragging Connor by the wrist. She pushed him toward Mitchell, almost bumping them into each other. “Connor will be your contact point for organizing this. Trade numbers, will you? For planning.”

“Oh, sure!” Mitchell fumbled to get his phone out and hand it over. Connor’s phone appeared under his hand faster than he thought possible. 

Katie left them alone as he punched in his own phone and name, drifting back to where Travis and a few others were waiting. He handed back Connor’s phone, suddenly closer to the other boy than he had realized. He paused. 

“You have grass in your hair.” Connor breathed out. 

“Oh,” Mitchell dipped his head in embarrassment and rubbed at his head. “Oops.” 

“I -” Connor gestured to his own temple. “Other side?” 

He tried but Connor only stepped forward slightly into his space, reaching out slowly. “Let me -” Mitchell felt a slight pull on his hair, not painful. Connor pulled away with a blade of grass in between two fingers. 

“Got it,” Connor said weakly, staring down at him. 

“My hero,” Mitchell teased. Connor nodded gravely at that, like he was accepting a mission.

Connor licked his lips before he spoke. “That was a really good catch. You’re a good player.” 

“Baseball’s just a dance of its own.” Mitchell shrugged, joking. “What can I say? I’m just that much of a star athlete.” Connor nodded, looking like he completely agreed. 

Before either of them could say anything further, Will called out to him and ran their way, grinning, with another guy at his side. “I heard the news! They’re still doing the show, that’s great!” Will was glowing, “See, coming to this was a great idea!” 

Mitchell stuck out his tongue, “You just wanted to brag that you were right.” 

“No!” Will looked behind where he had ran from and lit up, “Actually, I wanted to introduce you to Nico!” 

Nico, who trailed after him a few steps, walked up beside Will with a sarcastic roll of his eyes. Mitchell liked him already. “Next time you’re going to run off mid-conversation, can you at least give me a warning first? I’ll die before I jog after you in jeans.” 

“You’re the one who wore jeans to a baseball game!” 

“And why not? You think I’m gonna participate in this?” 

“Well, you’re an employee at an employee baseball game. Perhaps I thought you were going to play.” 

“Where would you get that idea? Have you not seen the everything about me?” 

“Hi, I’m Mitchell.” He stuck out his hand with a grin. He could sit here all day, truly, but he did have things to do. “You’re Nico?” 

“That’s me.” He raised an eyebrow. “You look familiar.

“Mitchell is one of Aphrodite’s kids. He’s a good one, don’t worry.” Will explained, shooting Mitchell a wince like he didn’t know exactly how his siblings were. 

Mitchell snorted, “On behalf of Drew and Scarlett, I can’t apologize enough.” 

“That… helps.” Nico winced. “I messed up Drew’s chai latte my first day on the job.” 

Mitchell groaned, “Again, I’m so sorry. I’ve been trying to get them to act like, you know, normal people -” 

Nico cut him off. “We work at a golf club. I get more cranky boomers in an hour than an AARP meeting.” Nico shook his head, “They’re a lot, but definitely not the worst customers to have. At least they tip well.” 

He could have wilted in relief. Across from him, Will’s eyes were nearly hearts. God, he was already lovesick. 

Which reminded him --

“Actually, Connor and I were just leaving. We’ll leave you two be.” Mitchell lightly grabbed Connor’s elbow to start steering him away. “Will, can you get a ride home? I’m probably going to be staying late.” 

Next to him, Nico perked up. “Oh, I can give you a ride? If you want? I’ll have to pick up my older sister but, um, it’s not that out of the way -” 

“I would love to.” Will looked perfectly composed, despite the screaming excitement that must be running through his head. He even managed to grab onto Nico’s hand as he led them away toward the parking lot. 

“Young love,” Mitchell commented, shaking his head fondly as the other couple walked off. “Must be nice.” He stepped back and dropped his hand from Connor’s elbow. “Oh, sorry!” He laughed lightly. “Sorry, I was recruited as Will’s wingman and I wanted to give them some time alone. Cute, right?”

Connor’s throat bobbled. “So cute. Um,” Connor made a jerky movement, like he was gonna run his hand through his hair but decided not to. “So you’re, uh, staying late?” 

“Yeah,” He blew some air up into the hair hanging over his face. “If you guys are gonna join the number, I want to have the choreo adjusted for a group before we start rehearsals.” 

“Cool, cool.” Connor nodded slowly, “Cool.” 

Now that he was closer, Mitchell could almost recognize Connor from his many shifts poolside. His lifeguard chair was almost right across from where Valentina would occasionally drag him to tan in the afternoon sun. Didn’t he once help Mitchell apply sunscreen, when Valentina ran to get slushies right when he was reapplying? 

His hands were cold, Mitchell remembered, or maybe his own skin was just that hot. He shivered when Connor applied the first handful of cream on his back. Mitchell had to advise Connor to take some of the sunscreen himself, after his own skin started to stain red. 

He was kind, was the point. Or at least, that’s what Mitchell remembered. 

Mitchell gestured at his parked golf cart as they approached it. “You want a ride anywhere? I’m heading toward the main pavilion.” 

Something wobbled in Connor’s expression before he spoke. “I could, um, go with you?” He said it as a question, looking slightly nervous as he spoke. 

“Yeah, sure! The employee entrance? Did you forget something?” 

“No, no, like -” Connor made another awkward gesture toward nothing. “Like, if you need help with the number? I could come? I mean, it’s never too early to get started on learning the dance, right?” 

Mitchell smiled, “Oh, sure! Do you have experience with dance routines?” 

Connor nodded confidently. “Yes.” 

“Really?” Mitchell turned to him in excitement. “Have you been in any dance groups before?” 

“Um. No.” 

“Oh, so like private lessons or something? A club?”

“Uh. No again.” His confidence was fully wavering now. 

Mitchell raised his eyebrows, “So what experience do you have?” 

“I sometimes dance in my room?” Connor scratched at the back of his head. “I, um. I didn’t think you’d ask many questions, actually.” 

Despite his awkwardness, Mitchell was… charmed by Connor’s fumbling. 

“Um,” Mitchell bit his smiling lip, looking away then back. “Actually, I was supposed to get ice cream with Will after the game.”

Connor deflated before he could finish. “Oh. Okay, yeah.” 

“No!” Mitchell was quick to correct. “I meant like, with Will going off with Nico, I still want to get it. With you. If that’s okay?” 

Connor’s expression bloomed into something so joyful, Mitchell was almost taken back. “I would… adore that.” 

“Adore?” Mitchell couldn’t help but tease. “Why’s that?” 

“I just,” He turned to Mitchell, his eyes wide. “I just really, really like ice cream.”

Mitchell bit his lip, “Me too. I mean, I really like ice cream. Ice cream is… sweet.”

Connor huffed out a small laugh, “Yeah. I, uh, agree.” He made an awkward little motion with his arm at the golf cart. “Um, shall we go?” 

Mitchell stepped forward and looped his arm with Connor’s. “Actually, I thought we could walk?” 

“I will do literally anything you want.” 

Mitchell laughed, “I’ll hold you to that.” 

To Mitchell’s amusement, Connor’s face turned a dark, dark red. He looked away, his lips pressed together in a small excited smile. Perhaps the baseball game hasn’t been such a bad idea.

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

Never Find Another Like Me

Summary: Adrien and Marinette break up after two years of dating, both seeing each other as friends. This doesn’t stop some people (Lila) from saying that Marinette cheated on Adrien or that she was using him. All Marinette can reply when the class begins to pull away is that they’ll never find another like her, before she heads off for New York for the summer.

 She’s right.

Pairings: MC/Hades, past Adrinette, Marinette/Cerberus

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Breaking up with Adrien had been hard. It had been really hard. 

 They had started dating when they were sixteen and firmly sick of Lila and all the bullshit. They started dating and it was fun and light and… well, charming.

But that was it.

 Charming, like a fairy tale. But it wasn’t… it wasn’t romantic. Not really.

 It was all the romance of flowers and chocolates and candlelit dinners. Which she did enjoy but then she saw the others in their class

She saw Juleka light up when Rose got her a murder mystery book or saw how happy Nino was when Alya surprised him with tickets to some random indie movie she knew he liked.

 Hell- Kim was super attentive to his girlfriend and boyfriend and knew things about them most didn’t. She remembered being weirded out Kim had picked up a bird skull to give to Odine before learning she liked bones. 

 But her and Adrien? Flowers and chocolates and pastries and the technical movements of romance without actual romance. It was fun. It was light.

 But it wasn’t… it wasn’t romance. Not really romance, not the romance of people actually in love. 

 They broke up age eighteen, both smiling and hugging each other goodbye after they had finally fully spoken to each other.

 He knew she liked sewing and cooking and video games but when he thought romance he didn’t think of her interests. When she thought romance she didn’t think of his interests. And that was okay. 

 “We should have stuck to friends,” Adrien said, hugging her tightly.

 “Yeah, but hey- we’re smarter then we were before.” Marinette pulled away with a smile. She gave him a long look before chuckling. “I’m never going to find another like you.”

 “I’ll never find another like you.” Adrien shrugged. “It sucks but…” Marinette laughed and hugged him again.

 “But it’s the best for us.” 

 It still hurt. She had held onto her fantasies for years, dreaming of being with him, of dating him and having a life together. But the more time spent with him the more she realized that they were incompatible in many ways.

 He was a romantic who enjoyed the big displays and the grandness of romance. She enjoyed a day spent with her partner and having a quiet dinner together. She wanted kids, a family with a pet and to grow old together. He wanted to travel the world and meet new people. He didn’t want kids, to scared to be like his dad- and in a way wanted to piss off his father by never continuing the Agreste line- something he always said in a mocking tone. 

 In the end, their last few months of dating was more them pretending for the public so people- Lila mostly- would leave him alone. But now, Marinette was going to New York for the summer break. They were eighteen and Adrien was finally allowed to do what he wanted thanks to a clause in his trust fund that let him move out of his house and move into a small apartment. He was allowed to go after what he wanted. She was happy for him.

 They announced their break up to the class, and Marinette was not surprised when Lila began speaking in a ‘low voice’ about how odd it was that Marinette was suddenly breaking up with Adrien after getting her internship. 

 It split the class.

 Lila had been a thorn to Marinette ever since they were fifteen and she had not mellowed. Sure, she had stopped some of her lies when it became obvious that the class might actually know better- Lila learning Marinette designed for Jagged and that Rose knew Ali was a highlight for Marinette- but she was still an utter bitch. She also had gotten nasty in her pursuit of Adrien, and it took him going to the police and to social media to tell her off for her to back off.

 The class…  only Nathanael knew the truth- because he remembered she knew Jagged way before anyone else- Rose and Juleka only knowing because of Ali. The others followed Lila like dogs. It had hurt at first but… well,  Marinette didn’t mind it much now. She had come to the conclusion- after losing Fu, after her break down and her parents making her go to therapy- that she didn’t care anymore. She was going to love herself and move on. There was no one like her, she was a ten out of ten and she was done trying to protect people who wanted to paint her as jealous or mean.

 Alya had been the worst and Marinette had to really look at their friendship to realize that she and Alya had never had an equal friendship and that both had bigger priorities over each other. It wasn’t like one of them was more important in the friendship but neither had really told each other everything and both were a little focused on their own issues. 

 It didn’t help that Alya had the expectation that Marinette should always be willing to help her out, even when she was busy. Marinette had finally had enough when Alya tried to dump the twins on her again and she’d gone to Alya’s mother about it. Alya had been furious until she had been told off by almost everyone in the class for her actions in randomly dumping the twins on Marinette. Even Nino didn’t think it was cool. Marinette said she wouldn’t have minded covering a date or two but not as much as Alya dumped the twins on her.

 Alya had to face facts after that and the two sat down to finally lay their crumbling friendship to rest, both agreeing that in the end they hadn’t been good friends to each other with Alya ditching her for her blog or foisting the twins off her so much and the various Adrien plots while Marinette admitted her ditching Alya cause she was terrified of Akumas and her disinterest in the blog and Alyas reporting classes wasn’t that great either.

 They parted as ex-friends but remained friendly. Alya as well had toned down her ‘Marinette is jealous’ spiel. She still believed Lila but had given up trying to make Marinette like the girl. 

 She was among the few who didn’t seem to think Marinette would use Adrien, and it was the first time Marinette had seen her and Lila argue. It made Marinette send the Italian a smug smirk before she walked off.

 As for the others? Kim, Max, Ivan, Mylene, Sabrina and Nino? Well, she looked them all in the face and told them, loudly.

 “You think I’m that conniving? You think I’m like that. Fine, but we aren’t friends anymore. And let me tell you- you’re never going to find another like me. You’ll never have another friend like me. To bad, so sad. Goodbye.” she left with a wave and headed to the airport, Miraculous Box in her backpack.

 She was heading to New York- not with the asshole that was Audrey but to intern under someone Jagged knew. It was going to be fun and she couldn’t wait.

She would have to go back to Paris every once in a while to deal with Akumas but Hawkmoth had toned down his actions in recent years. He seemed less into the whole thing honestly. She remembered talking about it with her class and Alya had jokingly suggested he was getting laid.

 Maybe he was.

 -0-

  New York was amazing and Marinette loved her work. Her grandma had contacted the daughter of a friend of her’s- Melody Conners- and the woman had agreed to let Marinette stay with her. Melody was some sort of government person from what Marinette understood who baked for fun and thus Marinette enjoyed joining in when she could.

 She saw so many interesting things, ogled cute boys and girls and was just happy in general. Paris and even Lila were far from her mind. 

 More so when Melody asked if she minded if she had a dinner party at the apartment for her and her coworkers and boyfriend.

 “Hades, my boyfriend, is technically my boss but not? I’m not directly under him but he is higher up and has a lot of clout. We’re revealing we’re dating to a few people and his apartment building is being renovated for some reason.” 

 “That’s fine.” Said Marinette. “Whose all coming? Is it alright if I’m here?”

 “Yeah it’s alright and there’s me, May- you’ve met her- Alex Cyrpin who we all call Cyrpin, Suzan, Jeff, Cerberus, Persephone and- okay you’re gaze is weird.”

 “Your boyfriend is Hades and you know a Cerberus and Persephone.”

 “Hades parents were weird and his brother Zeus- yes I know- decided to name his daughter Persephone. She lives with her uncle though and no they’re not dating they both make faces when the Old Myths are brought up.” Melody put a lot of emphasis on the words old myths for some reason, making Marinette frown and plan to speak with the Kwami. “My brother Josh will be here to.” 

 Marinette has met May and Josh, and briefly saw Cyrpin one day when they had come to grab Melody for something neither spoke about so it’s not a big deal.

 Speaking with the Kwami that night, in hushed whispers, reveals a lot.

 Like the fact that the people she’s about to meet, Hades and Persephone are probably actual gods.

 “They aren’t like us. They reincarnate into new bodies when their old ones die. The Old Myths were real but it changed over time. Or they were misinterpreted.” Tikki explained. “I know Persephone went to live with Hades to avoid her father and stepmother not to marry him.”

 “Is Cerberus human?” Asked Marinette- honestly just curious. Tikki laughed.

 “He is. Now. He doesn’t remember being a dog. I don’t know what happened but most of the monsters started reincarnating as humans. They don’t remember their pasts like the gods but they’re around to.” Tikki told her. “Their powers became what they call Auras, taking various shapes.”

 “Huh. That’s good to know thanks.” It also made  Marinette think she could probably tell them about the Miraculous. She loved Paris but the more time she spent in New York the more she loved it. As well Paris was full of memories of Akumas and fighting for her life. New York wasn’t. She didn’t want to stay in a city that every time she turned around she remembered seeing Chat die or remembered being stabbed. She knew Chat felt the same and so did their fellow heroes. They couldn’t stay. 

 If she spoke to the gods maybe they would ignore her a little or at least keep an eye on her but not bug her. It was an idea anyway.

-0-

 The dinner party started out nicely. The apartment was filled with people and Marinette had to put away the cot she used to sleep but it was really nice to meet so many people. And apparently, Cyrpin knew her boss- she was their sister apparently- and enjoyed talking fashion enough that Marinette had fun. 

 But the real fun was with Cerberus. He was handsome and had been so confused, standing in the middle of the room and obviously out of his depth. Marinette had smiled and gone up to him to see if we wanted to talk about anything. Perhaps video games.

 He did but he was also very enthusiastic about her designing when he recognized her name as designing for Jagged Stone. He was a fan apparently and the two quickly began talking about music and video games.

 Marinette even found herself agreeing to go frisbee golfing the next day with him after a while after they discussed sports. Marinette had found that while fencing was a bust she loved parkour and frisbee golf- Luka and his sister played- and she was eager to have fun and play again.

 “So, do you actually know anyone here?” She asked him, later and when she stole a glass of wine. Though no one actually cares. Jeff- a coworker on the floor of Melody’s - is British and had some truly spectacular rants about how stupid Americans are about drinking. He’d given two already. One when he saw her picking up a glass and another when another person named Mandy egged him on. Everyone else didn’t care and Melody said she was eighteen and could do what she wanted as long as she did it under her roof and not in public.

 “I know Hades and Melody. Cyprin a little bit I know their mom more then them.” Cerberus answered. “I’m off duty and Hades likes to have us around when he can.” But he looked happier speaking with her and she really liked speaking with him. They have enough in common it’s fun and enough not in common it’s interesting.

 Marinette was about to open her mouth and chat again when the Akuma alarm on her phone went off. She sighed, loudly and pulled it out. “... oh wow.”

 “What’s going on?” Cerberus asked but Marinette was to busy checking out the new Akuma. Lila again but… huh. Looked like she had been finally fully exposed by someone. 

 Marinette looked up to see most of the room looking at her and she made her choice with a quick thought. After all, if there were gods in the room…

 “Tikki, can you come out?” The Kwami did and she looked amused as she did so.

 “Really?” Marinette shrugged and went to her bag to pull out the box and get the glasses, putting them on as the entire room stared.

 “Sorry, have to go save Paris!” She left with a wave and a quick transformation before making a portal and skipping off.

 Beating the Akuma was easy. Lila was a common foe and wrecking her wasn’t a big deal. Dealing with Chat as well wasn’t a pain. He seemed thoughtful and quiet. He did ask if they could talk later and she agreed. They would talk in two days. She wondered why he would ask her to chat with him.

 Going back to the party, Melody was waiting with a first aid kit that Marinette was thankful for because while the cure took away the big things it didn’t always get the smaller stuff on her and she had some cuts. She got herself patched up and chatted with Hades who was more than willing to add her name to their registry of individuals with magic. He was also delighted to speak in some language with Tikki, Persephone joining in, and the other Kwami coming out of the box to join in.

 “You sure you can go frisbee golfing tomorrow?” asked Cerberus and she laughed.

 “Yeah, I’m sure.” It would be fun.

-0-

 Back in Paris, everything had fallen apart. Marinette was gone for the summer and none of them had really realized what it meant. More so when she broke their friendship.

 But they slowly began feeling it.

 The bakery didn’t give them discounts anymore which shocked them. They had been getting discounts? 

 They had known the bakery was pretty well known but not to the extent they learned. It was an incredibly expensive and high-end bakery and they had never known. Why would they? They bought food for the same price as other bakeries.

 But learning the truth, and looking it up, they were shocked. 

 And then came more. Marinette had always been a sounding board for them. She could point out flaws in their viewpoints and offer different ideas. She could figure out how to actually make their ideas work too.

 The first time Max tried to text her an idea, she sent back a reminder she wasn’t his friend and blocked him. He never finished it.

 The time Nino texted her, asking about where to get cheap clothing for a movie he was directing for fun, he was told his number was blocked.

 They felt lost, adrift. But they tried to keep going. At least until they saw the amazing video Kitty Selection did, full of cool clothes and effects, a special mention given to Marinette who helped them out. And then they were lost again.

 Alya was the one it all clicked for. It was when Lila fake sobbed Marinette had sent her nasty messages. Alya was the one to stare at her and ask to see them. Lila said she had deleted them had Alya shaking her head.

 “You know, the more I think about it, the more I see you always blaming Marinette for everything,” Alya told her. And Lila had sobbed and said Marinette was a bully who had tripped her the day before. The class had been angry until Alya said, dryly and colder than ice. “She’s in New York you fucking moron.”

 That shut up the entire group, Lila going pale. Alya walked away without a second thought.

 That was the beginning of the end for Lila. They all looked back and ripped apart each lie she had ever told. She was done, ruined. 

 And when Ladybug came to deal with her, Alya finally got confirmation of something.

 “I don’t know her other than the pest who lies every five seconds.” 

 Lila was done.

 And so was the class. They had broken their friendship with one of the most amazing people they had ever met. They had destroyed their friendship with her and now they had nothing. They didn’t have an amazing friend. They instead had only memories.

 They were never going to find another like her.

-0-

Marinette smiled as she and Cerberus walked around the park, ice cream in hand and Cerberus pretending his brothers weren’t following them. It wasn’t working. 

 “You’re adorable,” she told him and he laughed.

 “You too.” she giggled and leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’ll miss you when you’re in Paris.”

 “I have the Horse Miraculous.” she pointed out. “And I am totally coming here for school. And staying afterwards. Cyprin’s sister knows about me and will totally look the other way when I run over to save Paris, and her employees are mostly monsters or demigods.”

 “True.” Cerberus hugged her sideways. “...Uhh Marinette I… ummm…”

 Marinette lifted an eyebrow and waited. Cerberus opened his mouth then closed it. He shifted on his feet and looked down.

 “Umm… I know you and Chat aren’t together. I mean, you told me about the conversation you two had and stuff…” 

 Ah yes. That one. After she had gone back to Paris for her chat with Chat, she had told Melody everything but only told Cerberus that she had talked with Chat about not getting together.

 In reality, it had been emotional talk filled with yelling and them both unloading their feelings. Chat demanding to really know if she felt nothing, and herself just ripping into him for not listening.

 It had been exhausting but it left them feeling better when they finally got it all out there. They both agreed they cared for one another deeply. More than family or friends. You couldn’t fight magic together and not feel that.

 But it wasn’t… romantic. Not on her end and she was done with him not getting it. He had backed off in the last few years but she had assumed he was dating and wouldn’t do that to his partner. But now he simply needed to know. Would they have a chance?

 “No,” she had told him. “I care for you so deeply, but… Chat you ruined any chance of romantic feelings by not listening when I told you I was in love with someone else. When you threatened to give up the ring when I couldn’t tell you a secret that was not mine to tell. When you agreed to let Alya post that kiss on the Ladyblog without thinking of my feelings. Chat- you are my dearest friend. My best friend. But I’m just not into you.”

 It had been raw and hurtful but they ended their conversation knowing where they stood. Friends- closer than most and probably really leaning into platonic partner territory- but just friends. 

 They still worked well together but it was awkward and probably would be for a while. Like her and Adrien honestly. Sure, they’d been more like buddies then dating but it had been awkward before she left. 

 “I uhhh, welll…” her mind was pulled back to the present and she chuckled as Cerberus tried to stutter out what he wanted.

 “If you’re trying to ask me out, the answer’s yes.” She told him. She heard cheers and Cerberus turned to glare at his brothers while Marinette just laughed before turning his face to her to kiss him.

 She would never find anyone like Adrien. And that was okay.

 Because she found someone in Cerberus. 

 And she would never find another like him, so she was going for it.

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 I don’t hate Adrien but I really wanted Marinette to be upfront and blunt with Chat that he had ruined any chance of her liking him at all. Because he had.

 Look, I know some go oh it’s not harassment but it is. As soon as someone says no and you keep going, that’s harassment. Marinette has said no, that she likes someone else but Chat just won’t knock it off. It’s not okay, it’s not cool and I totally think that Marinette would just full on stop seeing him as an option if he keeps going. Because as a kid, he doesn’t know better. It’s taught by media, by society that a man chasing after a woman should ignore her firm nos. That she doesn’t mean it. So I can make allowances for his actions to a point. 

 But I also know that as someone who has seen people being harassed in real life, that once the line is crossed it can never be taken back. Marinette stopped seeing him as an option when he wouldn’t stop. She still considered him a friend because the two years he didn’t press were some of the best of her life, spending time with him. And the time she spent with him when he wasn’t hitting on her was amazing. 

 But romantic? No, that ship sailed.

But I didn’t want to bash him? I admit this started out really salty, but talking with @anastasian-dreamer I changed it so it was less salty towards him. 

 Also this was mostly me getting a random idea and playing with it. Hope you guys liked it even if most of you probably haven’t played Astoria.

[ellewritesathing]

Infernal  -  II

Summary: In your sleepy little town of Greendale, nothing ever slept for long. And ever since October, everything felt like it was waking up. Everything except for you, that is. One teensy trip to Hell (and an infuriatingly cute guy) later and suddenly you felt wide awake.

Word-count: 2.5k+

Masterlist Prev. | Part 2 

A/N: thank you guys for all the support for Part 1!! i really appreciate it and i hope you enjoy this one 💕 (also this is my first time making a tag list, could please you let me know if it worked properly?)

Things went back to normal so quickly that your trip to Hell almost felt like a dream that you just couldn’t shake - the only visible sign that it ever happened being the carefully covered bruise on your forearm. That’s just the way life was now; spikes of supernatural intervention and then the lull of Baxter High. But then Sabrina burst into Harvey’s garage again, holding a gigantic book in her arms and calling for a Crisis Fright Club meeting. Another spike.

She explained how one of her new duties was dragging souls to Hell and that she needed your help to get the next guy. Jimmy Platt. Her plan was that once she took Jimmy’s soul, you guys could grab his newly-dead body and she could use it to house Lucifer and free Nick.

“So, it’s like Freaky Friday!” Harvey said. His enthusiasm made you laugh, which you quickly stifled when you noticed that your friends were still on edge about the whole ‘reaping the ice-cream man’s soul’ thing.

“It’s called a soul transference, but kind of,” Sabrina said. 

The four of you agreed to take the Spellman hearse and steal Jimmy’s body while Sabrina took his soul to Hell, but she grabbed your arm before you could follow the others to Harvey’s pickup truck. 

“What’s up, Brina?” you asked, trying to hide the hesitancy in your voice. She seemed unsure for the first time since you’d met her, and you doubted it was because of the body-snatching. “Do you need to talk about being Queen of Hell?” 

“No, it’s not that,” she answered. She bit the inside of her lip for a moment as she chose her next words. “Well, I mean, it kind of is. Do you remember Caliban, the guy from the beach who’s also trying to rule Hell?” 

A face like that was hard to forget, but you didn’t want to tell Sabrina that. 

“Yeah, why?” 

“I want you to stay away from him,” Sabrina said. The words tumbled out of her mouth and she worked quickly to explain what she meant to your arching eyebrows. “Not in like an ‘I forbid you from seeing him’ kinda thing, just be careful if he shows up. I don’t know anything about him except that he’s bad news and clearly has a thing for you.” 

“First of all, I don’t think demons have things for anyone,” you said, overcompensating for the rush you got when she said he was interested in you. “And second, this is the same guy that wants to enslave all of humanity, right? Not really my type.” 

“Yeah, I wasn’t really into the bad boy thing at first either-” Sabrina looked over at Harvey and Roz for a second when she spoke - not long enough to seem significant to anyone who didn’t know her, but long enough for someone like you. “But things change and I just want you to be careful if they do. I don’t want to see you get hurt.” 

“Trust me,” you said, using your other hand to move Sabrina’s off your arm and interlace it with yours. “The only way I’m going to get hurt is if the ice cream man tries to make a break for it.”

She gave you a not entirely convinced smile before the two of you piled into the back with Theo. You picked up the hearse, played musical chairs with the seating chart, and then waited for something to happen after Sabrina left to reap her first soul. 

Rather disappointingly, the only thing that did happen was Sabrina coming back empty-handed and confused. Undisappointingly, Jimmy had kidnapped a little girl in order to extend his contract, and if he died then she rotted away somewhere in Greendale. 

---

The last thing you felt like doing was going to the pep rally after Sabrina accidentally got locked in Jimmy’s murder-freezer and Lucy got returned to her mom, but there was nothing else you could do. They had a plan and you were just backup if it went south. The plan did not include you trying to kick Jimmy's teeth in. 

You didn’t want to third-wheel Theo and Robin or Harvey and Roz, so you picked a spot against the fence where you could still be a part of the pep rally but you had some distance from the over-eager teens. Leaning against the fence, you got lost in your thoughts until a voice woke you up.

“I thought it was tradition for all the pretty girls to dance up there in their little outfits, not for one to be left behind in the shadows.”  

You turned your head to see Caliban waiting for you to respond, so you rolled your eyes and crossed your arms over your chest. He was bad news, even if he was attractive bad news. Like a car crash that you just couldn’t keep your eyes off. Did car crashes usually have such phenomenal bone structure?

“And I thought it was tradition for all the demons to be in Hell, not hitting on unaccompanied minors,” you said, doing your best to seem unrattled. Ignoring the smirk on his face and turning your gaze back to the cheerleaders, you continued, “You do know that Sabrina will kick your ass if she finds you here, right?” 

“I think the Morningstar has other priorities at the moment,” he said. The sand crunched under his feet as he came closer. “But you can try to kick my ass, if you’d like.” 

Casting a glance at him before turning away, you reminded yourself not to get involved. A pretty trainwreck was still a trainwreck, no matter how much you wanted it not to be. The ground shifted again and Caliban was right next to you, lifting his hand slowly to move your hair off your neck. The places where his fingers brushed your skin lit up. 

“You truly have no idea what you are, do you?” He asked it like he was telling you a secret. Despite your attempts to seem unnerved, your jaw clenched. He moved in your peripheral vision and took something out of his pockets. Stepping in front of you, his hands lifted to drape a necklace over your head. “The shell is from the Shores of Sorrow. When you’re ready to find me, just break the shell. Use it wisely, love, because it only works once.”

Choosing to look at his face instead of the necklace, you noticed something in his eyes that made you think at least part of what he said was true. There was something else that made you feel like you didn’t want to find out which part it was. 

Determined not to be unnerved, you put on your best war face and straightened up. “And why should I believe anything you say?” 

“Why should I have any reason to lie to you?” he asked, seeming amused by your standoffishness. 

“Because you want to get the Throne, which means you have to go through Sabrina,” you said, taking the necklace off and wrapping the rope around the seashell as you spoke. The shell was white with specks of faint color creating patterns along the outside. A very pretty trainwreck indeed. You reached for his hand and lay the necklace in his palm. “And you’re trying to go through me to do that.” 

“Do you really think so low of me?” Caliban asked. 

You couldn’t tell if he was genuinely hurt behind that stormy expression of his or just trying to manipulate you. You looked down at your hand, still holding the back of his, and saw your sleeve had rolled up. Pulling away, you tugged your sleeve down to cover the ugly yellow- purple that had been sticking out. Looking back up to say that yes, you did think that low of him, you found Caliban staring at your forearm. 

“You didn’t get that in Hell.” 

He said it so matter of factly that it sent shivers up your spine. 

“How would you know?” 

Harvey called out to you, breaking your staring contest and signaling that it was done. When you looked back, Caliban was gone. The necklace lay in the sand where he had been. Telling yourself it was better if you had it than some unassuming girl, you picked it up and shoved it into your pocket. Then you rushed over to your friends like you hadn’t just consorted with the enemy. The very distracting enemy.

--- 

In an effort to prove that you were right to distrust him, Caliban challenged Sabrina’s right to rule with a challenge to find the Unholy Regalia. The first part was finding the Crown of Herod, so you spent the day at the Academy with Ambrose trying to figure out where it could be. Zelda was hardly enthused about your presence, but Hilda asked what the harm was of letting you poke around under Ambrose’s supervision. Besides, she said, they had bigger problems to worry about than you reading about witches. 

After scrambling to find the location of the crown, Ambrose left to find Sabrina, leaving you alone in the Academy’s library. Figuring this was the only opportunity you’d get, you started looking for books about … something. You didn’t know what Caliban meant when he asked about what you really were, and your dad had told you countless times that Delilah was based on you. If she wasn’t human, that had to mean that you weren’t human either, right? 

Or that your dad was crazy. Either option seemed equally possible, if you were being honest with yourself.

One of the books you pulled was about changelings; fairies or demons that replaced human babies and terrorized their host families. But you knew it wasn’t right. It just didn’t click with you, and you doubted that they’d just dump a fairy with humans without an evil instruction manual or a card with the time and place of Evil Babies Anonymous. If you were a demon or a fairy, you felt like you’d know about it. 

Sighing, you checked your phone. Multiple texts asking where you were, if you were coming to the carnival, and did you need a ride. You sent off a few texts that all essentially said the said thing: you’d meet them there as soon as you could.

You made your way back home and dumped all your school things and research on your chair in the corner of your room. You grabbed a jacket and pulled your hair up into a ponytail before heading out the door so none of your friends put out a missing person’s report on you. 

“Bye, Dad! Don’t wait up!” you called. 

Just before opening the door, you heard your dad say something that you didn’t quite catch. Hand hovering over the doorknob, you had to decide between heading out or see what was responsible for the nagging feeling in your stomach. The nagging won. 

“I thought you were going to the carnival with your friends,” your dad said with an easy smile when you leaned in his doorway. 

“Yeah, I am but I thought you said something,” you said. 

He seemed to be doing better today at least. The good days used to be the norm, the bad days were a foggy nightmare that you woke up from with a stack of your dad’s homemade pancakes, and then you turned sixteen. Now you could count the number of good days on one hand. 

“Oh.” He straightened up in his chair. “I just said to be careful. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and all that. Have fun.” 

“Wait, what did you just say?” you asked, muscles tensing slightly. He couldn’t know about Herod’s crown. 

“To be careful,” your dad blinked. 

“After that.”

“Have fun?” 

“Right,” you said. He’d forgotten what he said. Another lapse in memory, did this still go in the good day pile? “Will do.” 

The Carnival was way more unsettling than you expected. You couldn’t find your friends anywhere, all the sounds were too loud, and the lights got brighter and brighter as the sun set. Your dad’s words ringing in your head didn’t do much to ease the anxiety either. 

You jumped as one of the games rang out next to you and a hand reached out to steady you. You pulled your arm away and caught the hand with your own, twisting it at an angle and waiting for the wrist to snap. 

“Easy,” Caliban warned, leaning into the movement to protect his wrist. “You could hurt someone like that.” 

“That’s kind of the point,” you said, dropping his hand and crossing your arms over your chest again. Even though you acted like it didn’t, this place felt a little bit safer with him next to you.

“Oh, I know,” he said with a devilish smile. He ran a hand through his hair as he stepped closer to you. “I see you kept the necklace.” 

He couldn’t have - you were very careful to hide it under your clothes - but you knew he expected you to check. That would give him an answer as to if you kept it. You didn’t move or say anything, but you did jump when another game celebrated a victory with loud chiming. 

“A little on edge tonight, are we?” 

“Only because there’s this guy that keeps popping up whenever I’m alone,” you said, turning and starting to walk again. “People are telling me to get a restraining order, but I’m not sure it’ll do anything to stop him. I think something more dangerous and less orderly might be what I need.”

“Perhaps I could be of some help,” Caliban said, making it clear that he understood what you were implying but refusing to acknowledge it. “I happen to have an affinity for doing dangerous things.” 

“Oh, I bet you think you do,” you said, stopping and turning back to look at him again. 

A dangerous thing with an affinity for doing dangerous things looked back at you. Maybe it was your anxiety clouding your judgment or maybe it was the way the Ferris wheel lights caught in his eye, but all you wanted in that moment was to forget Sabrina’s warning and kiss him. After all, one dangerous thing never hurt anyone; it was always the harmless things that got people damned. Like apples. And Caliban was hardly an apple. Though if you thought about it hard enough, maybe that meant he was the snake.

Realizing that it had been almost a minute since either of you had said anything and a smile was slowly etching its way across Caliban’s face, you shifted your weight and asked, “Don’t you have places to be, people to torture?” 

“Now that you mention it, I do have somewhere I need to be.” He ducked his head slightly as he spoke and took a step back, readying his hands for whatever spell he was about to cast. Looking back at you with a smile that managed to be both conniving and grim, he added, “Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and all that.” 

“Wait, what did you-” 

But he was already gone, a few burn marks on the ground the only evidence that he’d been there at all.

Taglist:  @peachesandknives  @caliban-is-my-girl  @t-a-i-l-o-r-m-a-d-e @music-movies @miss--moose

Part 3

[flamencodiva]

Getting Back To You 8 - Just Sit There and Look Pretty

Description: Amaya Campos and Dean Winchester had a playful rivalry. what happens when Dean is no longer her Dean. Will this change make one of them realize what they really desire, or will they continue to keep secrets?

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Amaya Campos (Original Female Character) , AU Dean Winchester x AU Amaya Campos

Warnings: Language, Violence, Smut, Fluff, Angst

Word Count For Series: 100K+ words

Beta: @superfanficnatural​ and @emoryhemsworth​​​ and @jensengirl83​​

Book Cover by @talesmaniac89​

A/N: Special thanks to - @crashdevlin​ @atc74​ @smol-and-grumpy​ @winchest09​ @waywardbeanie​ @deanwanddamons​ @malfoysqueen14​  @emoryhemsworth​ @janicho88​ @jensengirl83​ @whatareyousearchingfordean​ @katehuntington​ @anathewierdo​  and to all my friends who listen to me ramble about my writing. your words of encouragement mean the world to me! Without you I don’t think I could have found the courage to come back and share what I love most to do, WRITE.

Getting Back To You Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Checking herself out in the mirror, Amaya couldn’t help but smile. She had decided to go with her slightly ripped jeans, a long sleeve Sabrina style crop top shirt, and her high heeled timberland boots. She decided to leave her hair loose and flowing. It had been a while since she could relax that way. Grabbing her black clutch, she made sure she had the right weapons that would fit in it. Nothing too big, but deadly enough to kill a monster if she needed to. With one last look, she applied a quick thin layer of makeup and made her way towards the garage. 

Dean sat with Sam in the kitchen of the bunker. He watched as the familiar figure walked by the door and rushed to see Amaya. 

“You heading out?” He asked casually. Or at least as casually as he could. 

“Yeah,” Amaya said as she turned and bit her lip. “I’ll probably be out late, but I’ll send Sam a signal if anything comes up. Don’t wait up.” 

She made it out to the garage before Dean could ask any more questions. Looking at Sam, he watched as the tall hunter pulled out his laptop and began typing. 

“You’re tracking her phone?” Dean smiled. 

“Yup,” Sam said as he popped the ‘p’. “And it looks like they’re headed for an Italian place in town. Or at least she is on her bike.” 

“She rides a motorcycle?” Dean asked as he raised an eyebrow at Sam. 

“Yeah,” Sam chuckled. “Ever since we met her, she’s been riding one.” 

“My Amaya only rides one when she has a solo hunt. She used to do it before they stuck us together for assignments.” Dean remembered fondly. 

“Good to know that there are similarities there,” Sam said as he got up from the bench seat. “You know, there is a part of you that’s not all that different from my brother.” 

“How so?” Dean looked down at the clothes he was wearing. 

He wasn’t used to the jeans and multiple layers of shirts and flannel. He felt out of place not being dressed in a suit. 

“Dean… I told you how we had a hard life here. Mom died, killed by a yellow-eyed demon.” Sam reminded him. 

“Yeah,” Dean nodded. 

“Okay, well,” Sam cleared his throat. “He likes to have this hard, mean exterior to him. And, he thinks that people don’t notice, but I notice when he cares.”

“He says otherwise,” Dean nodded. 

Sam smiled. “You got it. He always puts on this hard face, and he'll be gruff and serious. But then he’ll look at the person we are saving, and he will do everything in his power to save them. He’ll offer them words of encouragement when he thinks I'm not listening. My brother...he is one of the most kind-hearted people I know. He would move mountains if it meant people surviving and Heaven and Earth to make sure the people he loved are okay. I should know,” Sam said as he looked down at the floor in shame. “Sometimes, I forget that he sacrifices a lot, especially for just me.”

“You guys have been through a lot,” Dean looked around the empty bunker. “I’m sorry you guys had to live through that without the proper support.” 

“We survived,” Sam shrugged with a soft smile. “And we just keep fighting.” 

“As hunters, it’s a good motto to have,” Dean assured him. “Now, let’s go chase after Amaya and make sure that she is single for when your idiot brother gets back.” 

“You can say that again,” Sam chuckled. “He is stubborn. But so is she.” 

“I noticed,” Dean followed Sam to the garage and froze. 

He slowly walked up to the black Chevy Impala. She looked to be in pristine condition, which was surprising. He didn’t think that they would keep a car like Baby, but if what Sam told him was anything to take into account, the car itself held sentimental value. Dean could tell that this world’s version of him took good care of the old car. 

“Dean is really good at fixing her up,” Sam smiled. “I sometimes wish he would have come with me when I left for college and worked in what he wanted.” 

“He never went?” Dean looked at Sam. “Did he graduate high school?” 

With a shake of his head, Sam walked up to Baby and ran his fingers over the shiny car. 

“He uh,” He cleared his throat. “He dropped out to help dad and got his GED. Always said it was good enough and that he wasn’t worth anything else.” Sam huffed. “I should have encouraged him more, but…” Sam trailed off before snapping back from his own thoughts. “Let’s follow Amaya. We need to make sure my idiot brother can stop being stubborn long enough to grab the girl when he comes back.” 

Dean couldn’t help but smile at that. He had to think about his own Amaya and wondered if his counterpart would try and help him as much as he was willing to help.   

Amaya sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. She hated going to these stuffy events. It was worse, though, that Dean was in another universe and in his place was a low brow podunk hunter. She looked over herself and sighed. The dress was fitting too tight for her liking, but it still just fit. Her H-shape halter strap dress was one she always wore to events where both Henry Winchester and Samuel Campbell would be present. This was more of a family gathering than an event, really. Once a month, they would gather and talk, but now, she felt out of place. She wasn’t going to be a part of the family anymore. 

Dean flipped through the channels of the TV in the living room. He sat up and stared at Amaya as she walked out and fixed her earrings. His eyes roamed up her legs, taking in how the dress fit her nicely, hugging her in all the right places. Her hair pinned up in a tight French twist. His throat suddenly felt dry as he watched the double of the girl he loved grab a shawl. 

“Where are you off to?” He said when he finally found his voice.

“Family dinner at Girard’s,” Amaya grumbled as she took one last look at herself in the mirror before grabbing her clutch bag and keys. “Don’t burn my house down and make sure that Zeppelin goes out to do his business.”  

“Shouldn’t I--” Dean began before Amaya held out her hand to stop him. 

“Going to stop you right there.” She growled. “You are not going to do anything while you are here except stay out of our way and stay inside this apartment.” She walked up to him and poked him on his chest. “You are not this world’s Dean and trust me, and I wouldn’t want him at that dinner anyways with the announcement I’m going to make, so please spare me.”

“Amaya,” Dean sighed. “I don’t like this situation any more than you do.” he gently grabbed her hand. “So whatever you and the other me have going on… that’s between the two of you.” He acknowledges, trying to get her to meet his gaze. “I can help you out here. If you really are done with my double, I can help you make it a smooth break.” 

“Why?” Amaya huffed as she crossed her arms. “Why would you help me?” 

“Because you clearly don’t want to be in a relationship with the other version of me,” Dean pointed out.  

Amaya swallowed the lump in her throat at his words. It was strange for it to be coming from the double of the man she loved. It was his voice, his eyes, his broad shoulders, but it wasn’t him. Closing her eyes, she thought back to everything that had transpired. 

“It’s not that--” she hesitated. Why should she tell this look alike her troubles? What could he do? 

“It’s not that, what?” Dean pressed. “You either love him, or you don’t. Why else would you be running to London?” 

“How do you know that?” Amaya gasped, her eyes wide with fear. This man could ruin everything for her. How could he know what she was planning? 

“I overheard your conversation. It was with a guy named Ketch?” He questioned and was unsure of what to make of her expression.  

Amaya scoffed, “Ketch has been nothing but a valuable and loyal colleague.” she defended, making her way to the kitchen for a glass of water. “I don’t know how things are done in your world, but here,” she gestured around them. “Here, monsters know their place and they are all but eradicated.” 

Dean frowned, he didn’t know a guy named Ketch,  and who the fuck names their kid Ketch anyways? If this was anything to go by, it could have been a good thing or a bad thing, but either way, he hated the thought of his own Amaya doing anything with ‘Ketch’. Any guy for that matter. Wait… why the fuck would he care if Amaya was with someone else? She would be safer and definitely out of harm’s way.  

“Eradicated? You mean, they are almost wiped out?” Dean questioned. This was something he would have never thought possible. 

“Well, when you have a network of operatives like we do,” Amaya went on to explain. “It’s easy to try and keep the monsters at bay.” 

“Well, you don’t want to be late, do you?” Dean raised an eyebrow at her as he looked at the time. “I’m sure you have a way to talk to my double’s family about what is going on.” 

Amaya tilted her head at him, “What are you up to?”

Dean raised his hand innocently, “Nothing. I swear. I just don’t want to take too much of your time.”    

Amaya glared at him before letting out a soft hum, “alright, just remember what I said don’t--” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Dean interrupted. “Don’t burn the house down and make sure the mutt does his business outside.” 

“Right,” Amaya drawled. “I shouldn’t be back too late.” 

“Okay,” Dean said as he casually walked back to the couch to sit. 

Amaya eyed him cautiously before walking out the door. Dean made sure to wait until he could hear the car drive off in the distance. Walking to the phone, he smiled when he saw a number and Sam’s name next to it. Picking it up, he dialed the number and waited for someone to answer. 

“Amaya?” Sam’s answered. 

“No, it’s roughneck,” Dean huffed. “I need your help. Have you left for Girard’s yet?” 

“Why?” Sam demanded. 

Dean rolled his eyes and sighed, “I want to help your brother with Amaya. Even if one of us is happy,” Dean chuckled. “I think I can be okay with that.” 

Sam let out a sigh, “what do you need from me?” 

Sam and Dean sat in the Impala as they watched Amaya get off her bike. The boys watched as she adjusted her clothes, fixed her hair, and checked her make-up before walking inside. 

“Do we go inside?” Sam asked as he looked over at Dean. 

“Huh?” Dean snapped out of his thoughts. 

Most of what was running through his head was about his Amaya. Was she safe? Did she meet his alternate self? Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath before looking at the man who was his brother’s double. 

“I’m okay for the most part,” He admitted. “I just can’t imagine this Amaya not being happy with your brother.” He scoffed slightly. “From what you’ve told me, you have had a hard life, sure… but that shouldn’t stop you both from being happy.”          

“It’s--” Sam shook his head as he took in a small breath. “It’s been hard, and… I know Dean loves Amaya, he does, and I don’t want him to regret not having her when he can have her.” 

“I understand,” Dean muttered. “Let’s get in there and try to stay hidden for a bit. Tail them lightly.” Dean strategized. 

“Sounds good,” Sam agreed as he moved to leave the car. 

“Sam?” Dean breathed. 

“Yeah, Dean?” 

“Thanks for helping me with this,” Dean whispered. “I know you shouldn’t, and you don’t really know me but… I don’t want anything bad to happen to Amaya, in any universe. And if helping your brother realize that she’s good for him is what I have to do, then so be it.” 

Sam smiled at Dean’s admission, “Thanks. I know how stubborn they both can be. So let’s get in there and make sure she and Jason stay friends.”

“Okay,” Dean breathed. “Let’s do this.” 

Sam smiled as Dean got out of the car, and both men made their way into the restaurant. For Lebanon being a small town, the restaurant was full. Sam tapped Dean on his shoulder and pointed to a small corner of the restaurant where the familiar brown hair with purple highlights shone. It was still strange to Dean to see Amaya with such a color in her hair. His Amaya was trained to be proper and ready for anything.  

Dean followed Sam, who had asked for a table, and sat in a booth they were shown too. The booth was not too close, but not too far from where Amaya and Jason were sitting. Dean couldn’t help but frown at how easily Amaya laughed. It made his heart ache for his Amaya, to hear her laugh, to see her smile, to kiss her lips.

‘It’s over’ Amaya’s voice echoed in his head. 

Taking in a shaky breath, he knew he had to find a way to have Amaya be available for this world’s Dean. In some way, he hoped that the other Dean was realizing that Amaya was worth having in his life. Was worth loving and fighting for. 

“Dean?” Sam called to him. “Dean?” He waved his hand in front of Dean. 

“Yeah?” Dean snapped out of his thoughts. 

“You sure you want to do this?” Sam asked. 

“Yes,” Dean breathed. “I lost my Amaya, and when I get back, I need to fight for her. So I need to find a way for your Dean to have a chance.” 

 “What if this is what the witches want?” Sam wondered. “What if they wanted to get My Dean to never be with Amaya?” 

“Why?” Dean tilted his head as he asked. “That would mean there is an important connection. I mean why care if--” his eyes widened. “You don’t suppose that they think that your Dean and this Amaya are soulmates do you?”  

Sam opened and closed his mouth as he thought about it, “I never thought about it like that. I thought they were targeting Dean because we had been knocking out their network for a while now.” Sam ran a hand across his face. “I might need to look at the spell they cast. They also may have given Dean something to drink.”

“What makes you say that?” Dean asked as he leaned in and folded his hands on the table.  

“I was knocked out for a while, but when I came to, I noticed Dean was out of it,” Sam explained. “I noticed his lips had some sort of residue.” 

Dean let out a soft hum, “I noticed a small after taste in a whiskey I was drinking. In our Universe, witches can hide very cleverly. They know we can track them quickly.” He leaned back and ran his fingers through his hair. “We need to figure out what kind of ritual they performed.”  

“Guess when we get back, we can look through the books,” Sam suggested. 

“Yeah, that’s--” Dean froze when They saw someone familiar walking their way. 

“¿Qué demonios están haciendo aquí?” Amaya growled as she crossed her arms. (What in the goddamn hell are you guys doing here?) 

“Puedo explicarlo,” Dean began as he slid out from the booth and stood up. (I can explain). 

“¿Oh? por favor dime cómo tú y Sam me están siguiendo?” Amaya growled. (Oh? please tell how you and Sam are following me?)

“Look, Sam was showing me around,” Dean argued. “I mean, what better way to get the brain stimulated to think than to be--”

“Dean!” A male voice interrupted them. 

“Hey, Jason,” Dean said as he gave the man a thin lined smile. 

He looked exactly like the Jason he knew in his world. The Jason who was Ben’s real father. At least in his world, he wasn’t sure about this one. Jason rocked on his heels as he looked between Amaya and Dean. He could feel a small bit of tension between them. 

“You guys taking a break from something?” Jason asked casually trying to ease the discomfort he was feeling. 

“No,” Dean replied as Amaya answered, “Yes.”  

Dean and Amaya glared at one another. 

“Dean and Sam came to have a nice meal, and then they have to go back to researching,” Amaya clarified. 

“Actually,” Dean gave a small chuckle. “We are going to call it a night. I need a good drink and--” 

“We’re headed to the local watering hole if you want to join us,” Jason said. 

Amaya let out a groan. “Jason, are you sure? I mean I’m sure they’re tired.” Amaya sent Sam a pleading look. 

“I haven’t had a nice night out in a while.” Sam ponders. “I mean, if I don't use it, I will lose it, right, Amaya?” He gave her a smug grin. 

Amaya closed her eyes, as it was a losing battle. The teasing she and Dean did before this whole mess happened came back to bite her in the ass. Sam was sure that if looks could kill, he would already be dead. But he couldn’t help but smile at the thought that he was helping Amaya and Dean out in the long run. 

“I guess when you guys are done, you can join us at Spurs,” Amaya drawled and turned to Jason. “I’m going to grab my bike,” She rubbed at her forehead, letting out a small sigh. “Jason, I’ll meet you at Spurs,” she opened her clutch to look for her keys and walked out of the restaurant. 

“How long has it been since we last hung out?” Dean stated casually. 

“It’s been a while, haven’t seen you since that Wendigo hit up Yosemite.” Jason stated. 

This gave Dean a few clues. “Right, good thing I saved your ass.” Digging in to his memory of Sam’s clues of this world’s Dean being slightly arrogant. 

Jason let out a laugh, “Dude, I saved your ass. If it weren’t for me, you would have been hanging in that cave as a feast for the monster.” 

“No, I clearly remember having to light the bitch on fire and saving YOU from being its winter feast.” Dean said as he gave Jason a gentle slap on his shoulder. “Come on, let’s head to Spurs. Don’t want Maya to get too much of a head start, right?” 

Dean rushed out before he could mess up anything. Sam hot on his heels. When both men reached the Impala they breathed a sigh of relief. 

“You might need to fill me in on what happened on that hunt,” Dean said as he started the car.  

“Yeah,” Sam agreed. “I can start from the beginning.” 

In the alternate world, Dean paced in the living room, waiting for Sam to arrive. He helped himself to a glass of whiskey while he waited. It also gave him a chance to explore the house and look at everything inside. All the pictures that decorated the walls made his heart ache. He missed his Amaya. The way she was always able to calm him after a nightmare, the way she flirted, hell, he missed the feel of her lips on his. 

He started to kick himself mentally for what he said to her. He could have told her a different way, could have not been a dick. But what was done was done. He made a mental note to try and fix things with her. The knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts. He smiled when Sam stood there, garment bag and shoes in hand. 

“Anything bad happens,” Sam said as he pushed past Dean. “I blame you completely.” 

“Yeah yeah, Bitch,” Dean sighed. 

“Why did you call me a bitch?” Sam huffed crossing his arms. 

“Sorry,” Dean muttered. “It’s something my brother and I do. He calls me Jerk, and I call him Bitch.” Dean ran his fingers through his hair. He missed his brother. The guy in front of him looked like his brother, but he was far from being Sam. 

Sam nodded at the explanation, “I can see that. You are a bit of a Jerk.” Sam chuckled hoping to make Dean feel better. 

“Bitch,” Dean muttered automatically. “Thanks,” he said when he realized what Sam had done. “Okay, you brought the suit?” 

“Yup,” Sam pointed to it in the garment bag. “But, I am going to have to drill you on what to expect at this dinner.” 

“I figured as much.” Dean sighed as he opened up the garment bag to look at the suit. 

He let out a small whistle. The suit was nothing to scoff at. It was a tailored black three-piece suit complete with matching tie. Taking the garment bag, Dean made his way to the bathroom to shower and change. Sam looked around the apartment. It was strange being inside it with a man who looked like his brother, sounded like his brother, but was not his brother. The pictures around the room only made him cement the idea of bringing his brother back, even if it meant working with his counterpart.  

Sam watched as Dean came out of the bathroom and stood a bit straighter. If he hadn't known any better, he would say his brother never left. But then again, looking the part and playing the part are two very different things. 

“What?” Dean huffed as he looked around himself. “Am I missing something?” 

“No,” Sam sighed as she ran his fingers through his hair. “You look fine. Now on the way there, I’ll give you some information. Think of this as another ‘case’ if you will.” Sam suggested as he grabbed the keys. “I will feed you the information, and you will only answer if you are directly spoken to. If you mess up, we’ll just play it off as something having gone wrong on your mission.” 

“Still can’t get over the fact that you guys call cases, missions.” Dean scoffed. “I mean, you guys make it sound like you’re spies or something.” 

Sam let out a chuckle, “I guess that’s one way to put it.” He was walking to his car when he noticed Dean stop in his tracks. “What?” 

“You drive a charger?” Dean pointed to the car. 

“Yeah,” Sam acknowledged. “I mean, I’m not like Amaya and my brother who have two separate cars. One for hunting, although Amaya prefers her bike when she hunts alone. And the other car for everyday things.” 

“So, you don’t drive a  ‘67 Chevy Impala?” Dean inquired. His shoulders slumped at the thought of not being able to drive his baby.  

“Oh we have an Impala,” Sam said as he began driving towards the restaurant. 

“You do?” Dean shifted in his seat and looked at Sam. “So then why aren’t you driving her?”   

“She’s a special car. Dean takes care of her, and he only uses her for missions.” Sam explained. “Besides… he added some features that are only to be used on missions and not everyday outings. That’s what he has his more modern Impala for.” 

“And why didn't I know that he had a more ‘modern’ Impala?” Dean sneered. “I could be driving us to --” 

“You are not touching the cars!” Sam snapped as he stopped at a red light. “Let’s get this straight. You are nothing more than a visitor here, understand? And I will be damned if I let you touch anything that belongs to my brother.” 

Dean let out a chuckle, “You assholes really think that highly of yourselves here.” He ran a hand across his face. “I know how to take care of cars! For fucks sake I’ve had to rebuild Baby from the ground up a few times.” 

Sam cleared his throat as he continued the drive. It wasn't long before he drove up to the valet and both men made their way inside. 

“There you are!” 

Sam and Dean turned to see an older woman walking towards them.  

“Forgive us Grandma Millie,” Sam leaned in and gave her a kiss on her cheek. “Dean had a small incident on his mission and we were just going through the debrief.” 

Millie turned her eyes to Dean, “Are you alright? Does this have anything to do with the incident at the school?” 

“No,” Dean looked at Sam who mouthed ‘mamaw’. “Mamaw!” Dean smiled. “Just got my head knocked around that’s all.” He hugged her tightly and closed his eyes. 

It was strange seeing family members for the first time. Strange to hug them and pretend they had any form of relationship. He froze when he saw Samuel Campbell walking up to them. 

“Boys!” He pulled both Sam and Dean into a tight hug. “The best of the Winchester and Campbell clan!” 

Sam let out a laugh as he gave Samuel a pat on his back. Dean on the other hand froze. The man who betrayed them, the man who sold them out to Crowley, hugging them and saying he was proud. 

“Dean?” Samuel’s voice broke through his thoughts. “You okay, son?” 

“Yeah,” Dean snapped out of it when Sam punched him lightly on his leg. “Sorry, my head’s still jumbled.” 

“I have never known you to get all jumbled like that?” Samule’s eyes roamed over Dean. He seemed to be checking for anything else. “Must have been some mission. Was it the same witches that have been giving us trouble?” 

“That’s what it looks like Pops,” Sam interjected with a smile. “We need to say hi to Nana Deana, Mom, and Dad. So if you could excuse us.” Sam pulled Dean away as they made their way deeper inside. 

The Campbell-Winchesters had rented out the restaurant for the whole night. Dean was maneuvered around the room, having to give the same story over and over. It was tiring. Dean wasn’t sure how much more he could take. Excusing himself, he made his way to the bar and ran a hand across his face. 

“Whiskey, double on the rocks,” he ordered with a sigh. 

“Son?” 

Dean’s body froze at the familiar rumble of the deep voice. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath before turning to face the man that the familiar voice belonged to. 

“Hey, Dad,” Dean let out as he swallowed the lump in his throat. 

“You okay son?” John said, placing a firm hand on his son’s shoulder. “I know you’ve been saying that the mission really knocked you out… but I know you’re made of stronger stuff than that.” John shifted to stand beside Dean as he ordered himself the same drink his son had ordered. 

“Yeah,” Dean assured him. “I’m just… everything has been kind of spiraling.” 

John took in a deep breath as his son’s words sank in. “I know it can’t be easy trying to get Amaya back. But son… kissing Lisa Braden? You know better than that.” 

“I know,” Dean whispered. “I was… it… it was a momentary lapse of judgement.” Dean repeated what Sam had told him to say. “Sam thinks it was something the witches could have done. Seeing that Lisa said she felt like she was under a spell.” 

John let out a soft hum and nodded. “I can’t say I disagree with your brother.”  

Dean let out a huff with a smile, “Yeah, Sam is smart about those things.” He took a sip of his drink and smacked his lips together. 

“You okay son?” John turned to face him. “I know that what happened with Amaya wasn’t ideal but I know you can win her back.” 

“I--” Dean froze for a bit. He closed his eyes composing himself. “I can try.” He said after finding his voice. “But you know how stubborn she is.” 

John let out a chuckle, “That she is, son. But you are just as stubborn as she is. It’ll be okay.” 

“Excuse me, gentlemen,” a voice called from behind them. 

 Dean's back straightened at the sound of the voice. He turned slowly to come face to face with Amaya. Clearing his throat, Dean gave her his best smile. 

"I was wondering when you were going to join us for a drink," Dean said as casually as possible. 

Amaya plastered a smile on her face, "I was talking to some of our London associates." 

John seemed to tilt his head at that. "Everything okay?" 

"Everything will be talked about when we sit for dinner John." Amaya reassured him before turning her attention to Dean. "I thought you were going to rest?" 

“Oh a quick nap and I was feeling great,” Dean said as he smiled at her. “Sam was on his way and he swung by to pick me up.” he lifted his glass and nodded to Sam who made his way towards them. 

“Really?” Amaya looked over at Sam and raised an eyebrow at Sam. “John would you excuse us? I need to talk to your sons.” 

“Of course,” John agreed. He walked away from the trio. 

As soon as John stepped away, Amaya grabbed Sam and Dean by their arms and dragged them out to the terrace. 

“What in the hell do you think you are doing bringing this… this.. Jackass here to pretend to be Dean!?” 

“I am Dean!” Dean whined. 

“Not OUR Dean,” Amaya growled. “You should have stayed back at the apartment and you,” she turned to Sam, “Should not be encouraging this.” 

“If he doesn’t make an appearance, they will be suspicious,” Sam said cooly as he grabbed his glasses from his case and put them on. “Besides, this way, there can be a clean break since you are determined to not marry Dean anyways.” 

“I am not marrying Dean,” Amaya acknowledged. “But more because I don’t think he ever really wanted to. Four years Sam, we were engaged for four years. We could have married anytime after any of the incidents that plagued us. But we kept putting it off. Lisa was just the tip of the iceberg, with or without the witches interference.”  

“You don’t really believe that, do you Amaya?” Sam argued. 

Dean watched the interaction between the two of them. There was something hidden in Amaya’s demeanor that made the hunter curious as to why she was really pushing this world’s version of himself away. He tilted his head for a moment as she bit her lip. 

“Sam…” Amaya’s voice broke. 

“Amaya I have seen you and my brother love each other since you first showed up at the academy.” Sam walked up to her and tilted his head, “What aren’t you telling me Maya?” 

“I can’t have children,” she whispered. 

Dean could see her turn her head away in shame looking out into the night sky.

“What?” Sam breathed. “Maya, are you sure? I mean… did you--” 

“Eileen told me after she checked me out when Hecate attacked.” Amaya’s voice broke as she spoke.   

“What if she was wrong?” Sam inquired. “What if it’s all a part of the witch's plot to tear you and Dean apart.” 

“It’s too late,” Amaya shook her head and wiped away the tears from her eyes. “The wedding was set for next week and now…” Amaya turned and glared at Dean. “He is in Dean’s place. I can guarantee that the universe is working against us Sam. So I will be leaving.” 

“Leaving?!” Sam’s eyes widened at her admission. 

“Yes,” She nodded her head. “I have decided to transfer to London.” 

“London? To join the British division?” Sam shook his head in disbelief. 

“There is nothing to stop me Sam. I talked to Ketch and I signed the transfer. I just need Henry’s final approval.”    

“Excuse me,” A voice interrupted the trio. 

The three of them turned to come face to face with Millie Winchester. The older woman stepped out and looked at the trio. Her eyes went to Dean and she tilted her head slightly before turning to Sam and Amaya. 

“Your grandfather is ready to eat, boys. Amaya, I believe he wants to speak to you after dinner.” Millie Winchester said as she walked up to the trio. Her eyes lingered on Dean first. 

“You okay, Mamaw?” Dean asked after clearing his throat. 

“I’m fine, dear, “ she sighed as she walked up to him. She placed a hand on her cheek. “That mission must have been tough,” she muttered, placing a hand on her cheek. 

“I’m fine, mamaw,” Dean gave her a smile. 

“Your eyes though,” she leaned in. “Your eyes look like they have seen hell and back. Pain, loss, heartache. Whatever happened on this mission… you look like you’ve changed.” she gave him a knowing look.

Dean felt his breath get caught in his throat. What the old woman said, sent a shiver down his spine. Could she tell that he wasn’t her real grandson? Dean looked into Millie’s eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat, before giving her a smile. 

“I promise mamaw,” He let out. “I was just taken by surprise. I know it doesn’t happen often but it does happen.”   

Millie let out a soft hum as she nodded, “It can happen to the best from time to time.” she nudged his face to look into his green eyes. It was almost like she was studying him. “Still, there is something… off.” 

Dean closed his eyes before gently grabbing the old woman’s hand and removing it from his cheek. 

“I’m sure Grandpa Henry is hungry,” Dean reminded her. “We should head inside.” 

“You are absolutely right,” Millie chuckled with a smile. “And we know how he is with that Winchester appetite.” 

Sam walked over and led Millie inside while Amaya grabbed Dean holding him back from walking inside. 

“You are not going to open that mouth,” she breathed. She stood in front of him and adjusted his tie and jacket avoiding looking into his eyes. “You are going to keep conversations short and sweet. But other than that, you will sit there, be quiet, and look pretty.”    

“Awwww,” Dean mocked. “You think I’m pretty.” 

“Shut up, jackass.” Amaya drawled as she walked inside with Dean following behind her. 

Chapter 9

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[gloomyhearts]

Always by your side || Luke Patterson

Chapter seventeen~ we're not going to leave you, again

2020

Willie rushes to the blonde girl who’s still playing the drums, “I need to talk to you,” he mumbles into her ear. She winks one of the bandmates over to take her place.

“What?”

“Your brother and his friends..”

“What did you do?!”

“I didn’t thought he’d use his stamp. I’m so sorry. I didn’t,”

“Back off!”

Caleb heard the growing anger between the young adults and puffed in between them, “what’s wrong dear?”

“This. It's repulsive, you’re a psychopath, you’ll kill them and for what, so they could play for you for eternity?!” she disappears before another word could be said.

“Lexi? Luke?!” she moves around the garage, “this isn’t funny. I have something important to tell you,” she presses a few keys on the piano.

“Alex.. Alexander, Reginald, Lukas,” she repeats.

Suddenly the three boys approached behind her. “Guys this is really important..” she studied their faces, “what’s wrong?”

“We messed up and now Julie isn’t in the band anymore,” Luke sighs throwing his body on the couch.

“You didn’t forget about her right?”

“Well, we lost track of time while dancing with the chikas.”

“That’s bad, that’s whack, shit.”

“What’s that thing you wanna talk about.”

As she was about to answer the shaggy haired boy a jolt passed through her body, bringing her down on her knees.

Alex was next to her, “you’re alright Will?”

“What was that?”

“It looks like the same thing that happened to us earlier.”

Sabrina inhales sharply, the pain was still in her body, “he.. he wants you to.. wants you to play for him, everytime the jolt haults, it’s getting worse. He wants your souls, he puts pressure on you to give in. Never, please, never let it happen.”

“Was this the thing you didn’t want to talk about?”

“He’d said he’ll give me space to use my abilities but now I have to play in his stupid band and when I’m away for more than five minutes he uses his jolts to call me. I’ll find a way to free you from this. I got this.”

“No Will, what’s with you, who’s helping you? Is it Willie?” she shakes her head, “then who?”

“Nobody, okay? I got this, remember I’m always by your side, I love you, all!” she poofed out and was back at the club.

“My dear, you’re back, good. Are they well?”

“Yet, yes!”

“Let us make a compromise, you’ll get to see them one to three hours per day and the rest you’ll stay here, deal my dear?” he holds his hand in front of her body, the exact same gesture as when he put the stamp on her wrist.

Hesitant the blonde shakes the large hand and he smirked at her, “always a pleasure to make deals.”

The guys were seated on the couch when the blonde girl approached again.

“You need to finish your undone business to cross over.”

“Wait, what?”

“Why are you here?”

“I’m ashamed but I made another deal for you,” her eyes well up, her graze glued on the ground.

“I don’t want to cross over. What will happen there? Is granny there? It’s another change I can’t stand, Will talk to me.”

“Can you keep your mouth shut for a damn second I try to think, Lexi!” she threws her arms besides her body, teeth grinders. "I didn’t meant to scream… I’m sorry.. I really am.” 

“It’s fine Will but I don’t wanna loose you again,” he pouted.

“He’s right, we’re not gonna leave you again Brina!”

Sabrina pins around to Reggie, the corner of his lips turned down as he saw the desperate in her eyes, “don’t you get it? It’s the only thing that’ll help you.”

“We’re doing it if you’ll do yours,” Luke suggests.

“There are so many things I wanted to do, it’s impossible to find the one.”

“Brie I know it’s hard but we’ll make it!”

“I think what it could be and we’ll meet here again tomorrow exact same time!”

[vgckwb]

ML: Isolation Chapter 19: Half-Truths

It was Saturday. As had become tradition, Adrien met up with Marinette on her day out. “Hey” he said, approaching her.

Marinette smiled, but averted her eyes. “Ummmmmmmmm.”

Adrien sensed her concern. “What’s wrong?”

“Well, um,” Marinette said. “I’m just a little concerned is all. I mean, you’re you. Sooner or later somebody’s bound to notice you doing this. And they’ll find me...”

“Oh” Adrien said. “Well, if you’re that worried, I guess we can stop.”

“NO!” Marinette yelled. “I mean, well, ugh…”

Adrien smiled. “It’s OK. Take your time.”

Marinette had to think a bit. “I… I don’t want this to stop. But I’m just worried about what would happen if this gets found out.” She sat down.

Adrien met her. “Are you worried people will find out you're Ladybug?”

Marinette shook her head. “Well, maybe a little. I’m more worried about people finding out that you’re hanging out with me. What with me still being a pariah and all…”

Adrien smiled. “Don’t be,” he said. Marinette looked up. “I mean, if that were to happen, I might lose a bit of my social standing, sure. But I don’t think any of what we have would change. We’d still fight to expose the truth. I’d still be the ever elusive Cat Noir. And we’d still have Kagami and Chloe in our corner. Sure, it might be more of an uphill battle, but the most important thing to remember is that you’re not alone. We’re in this together.”

Marinette smiled at Adrien’s kind words. “Thanks. You always seem to know just what to say.”

“Don’t mention it” Adrien replied. “So, what are you thinking of today? For designs, I mean.”

“Oh, well, I was thinking,” Marinette began, “I want to see what the sky has to offer.”

“The sky?” Adrien question.

Marinette nodded. “The sky's the ultimate bastion of freedom. On an especially sunny day like this, it makes me feel more free than ever. I want to see what I can glean from it, and capture that essence, so that others can experience the freedom you’ve been gifting me.”

Adrien giggled. “That sounds amazing.” The two of them laid down on the grass and started staring at the sky.

Meanwhile, Chloe was working on an important job. She peaked into her dad’s office to see that he was working on a few things. She went back around the corner and took a deep breath. “OK Chloe, you can do this. You’ve asked him to do all sorts of things before. Besides, this is all to get back at that stupid Rossi girl. COME ON!” She grew determined. She stormed into the Mayor’s office. “DADDY!”

“Gah!” Mayor Bourgeois exclaimed. “Oh Chloekins, you startled me.”

“Oh… sorry…” Chloe apologized. “Wait, no, I’m here for something!”

“What is it pumpkin?” the Mayor asked. Chloe had to remain determined. The entirety of the plan hinged on her getting the security information. If she didn’t get it, she couldn’t guarantee safe passage for Kagami, which means there would be no guarantee that she would find what she was looking for.

She slammed her hand on his desk. “What’s security going to be like at the charity auction?!”

“Charity auction?” Mayor Bourgeois inquired.

“Uh, yeah!” Chole responded with vigor. “If I’m going to this thing, I want to know that we have the best possible security for the event.” Mayor Bourgeois was a bit stunned. “Well?!”

“Ah, pardon me,” the Mayor said. “It’s just, you haven’t told me you were going.”

“Huh?” Chloe said, getting caught off guard. She remembered she was lukewarm on the event until this whole crazy plan came together. “Oh, right… Well, I’ve decided that I’m going, and I want to know what security is like!”

“Of course. Anything for you, Princess,” the Mayor said. He picked up his phone. “Hello, Roger? Yes, I am calling to ask to review the security for next Friday’s charity auction. … Why, my daughter’s going! I want to make sure it’s up to snuff. I can’t have anything bad happen to her. … Thank you Roger. See you soon.” He hung up.

20-30 minutes later, Roger and Sabrina were in the Mayor’s office. Together with the Mayor and Chloe, they were reviewing the security plans. “As you can see, Mr. Mayor, our security is state of the art. We’re leaving nothing to chance.”

“Magnificent Roger!” the Mayor congratulated. “Is that great Chloe?”

Chloe was taking detailed notes. “Yeah!’ she answered enthusiastically. “This is perfect!’

“If my daughter likes it, then I know it’s perfect!” the Mayor said. “You’ve done a splendid job.”

“Thank you,” Roger replied.

Sabrina was staring at Chloe. “Um, is that everything?” she asked.

“Of course sweetheart” Roger answered.

“Then, um, if it’s alright with you, would you mind if Chloe and I hung out the rest of the day?” Sabrina asked.

“I don’t see why not,” Roger said.

“I concur,” the Mayor added. “Now that you know you’re perfectly safe, why not relax a little Chloe?”

Chloe finished jotting her notes down. “You’re right. Thanks for doing this daddy.”

“Anytime pumpkin” Mayor Bourgeois said. Roger left while the Mayor got back to work.

The two girls started walking out. “Oh MAN Sabrina, you really know me” Chloe said. “After all of that, I could use a nice break. How ‘bout a spa date? Just the two of us.”

“Chloe…” Sabrina said seriously.

“Uh oh” Chloe said. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Sabrina looked at Chloe intently. “Last week, you told me you probably weren’t going to attend this event. Now today, you were intently listening and taking notes on the security detail.”

Chloe was surprised by Sabrina’s diligence. “Well, I decided to go, and I want to make sure I’m safe.”

Sabrina shook her head. “Chloe. I’m your best friend. I know something is going on.” Chloe looked away. “Is there something you’re not telling me?” Chloe continued looking away. Sabrina picked up her head and met her gaze. “Be honest. We’re best friends after all.”

Chloe was between a rock and a hard place. She didn’t want to give away Adrien’s whole secret, and by extension Marinette’s. Nor did she want to let it slip that she was doing this to out Lila as a liar and manipulator extraordinaire because Sabrina still liked Lila. But at the same time, Sabrina was asking this as her best friend. Chloe wanted to keep this relationship because it was important to her. She’d hate to see Sabrina disappointed in her.

She didn’t want to lie outright. That would make her no better than Lila. She settled on something she knew was risky, but given the nature of this plan, and this whole operation, it was her only option.

Chloe sighed. “Ugh, fine. Just promise you won’t tell anyone.”

“I promise,” Sabrina said. “Now what’s up?”

Chloe hesitated for a second. “The truth is, Cat Noir is making an appearance to help somebody with something. And he asked me to be there to make sure everything goes smoothly.”

Sabrina was a little shocked. “I didn’t see anything like this on Noir Notes.”

“Yes, well…” Chloe stumbled, “Cat Noir’s reach is greater than just Noir Notes, you know.”

“Huh” Sabrina thought. “You were really asked by Cat Noir himself?”

“Of course” Chloe said. “Cat Noir is second to none. As such, anyone who helps him also has to be second to none.”

“Wow Chloe!” Sabrina said. “I can’t believe it! My best friend is working with Cat Noir!”

“Shhhhhh!” Chloe shushed. “Remember, not a word to anyone.”

“Oh, right, right,” Sabrina said. She smiled. “Now, how about that spa date?”

Chloe smiled. “I’d like that.” The two of them continued off to the spa.

Meanwhile, Marinette and Adrien were looking at the sky together. Marinette was drawing all sorts of things. She noticed a cloud. “Hey, doesn't that look like that one sheep?”

Adrien looked at her. “Um, clouds tend to look like sheep Marinette. Big, white fluffy.”

Marinette chuckled. “I mean a specific sheep, silly. The one on that Fall Out Boy album. You know, with the wings?”

“Oh, Franklyn. On the Infinity on High album. Yeah, I guess it does” Adrien said. Marinette looked at him. ”You learn a lot when you’re bored at home with nothing to do.”

“I guess I haven’t learned as much as you have...” Marinette said.

Adrien giggled. “Well it’s because you haven’t been doing nothing.” Marinette was more confused now. “You’ve been working diligently as Ladybug to bring smiles to people's faces with your designs.”

Marinette blushed. “Thanks Adrien.” She started laughing. Adrien joined in as well.

“Adrien?” said a voice. Adrien sat up and turned towards the voice. Marinette sat up as well and turned away from it.

Adrien looked. “Kim? What are you doing here?” She stood up.

Kim, who was with Ondine, walked up to meet him. “I’m just on a date with my new girlfriend. This is Ondine.”

“Hi” she said, waiving gently.

“What are you doing here?” Kim asked.

“Um, well…” Adrien began.

“Who’s that?” Ondine asked, pointing at Marinette.

Adrien started to panic. Marinette was just worrying about this. I can’t let her down. Think Adrien, think! Suddenly, something came to him. “Um, promise you won’t tell anyone about this, but that girl over there? She’s Ladybug.

WHAT?! Marinette panicked in her own head.

“Huh, really?” Kim asked.

Adrien nodded. “To be honest, I kind of figured her out by accident, and we’ve been meeting in secret.”

“But why?” Ondine asked.

“Well, because she wants to remain reclusive and mysterious,” Adrien said. “She wouldn’t be able to be Paris’s number one designer if people found out she was going out with Paris’s top model.” Marinette tensed up.

“Wait, you’re going out?!” Ondine said, in shock.

Adrien nodded. “But we’ve only been doing these little excursions for now. So please don’t tell anyone. I don’t want to ruin this.”

Kim nodded. “It’s OK. I understand. Love is worth protecting. Well, see ya!”

“It was nice meeting you,” Ondine said. The two of them walked off.

Adrien sat back down next to Marinette again. “Whew, that was a close call. I think I handled that pretty well.”

“Did you just say we were dating?!” Marinette asked.

“Yeah” Adrien answered. It then hit him. “Wait, did I just say we were dating?!”

“YES!” Marinette shrieked quietly so as not to draw attention.

“Oh” Adrien said, befuddled about what just came out of his mouth. “Huh.” Marinette groaned. “That… That was an accident…” Marientte groaned some more. “But on the plus side, they probably aren’t going to tell anyone.” Marinette continued groaning. Adrien sighed. “I’m sorry Marinette. I’ll do whatever it takes to make it up to you.”

Marinette took a deep breath and calmed down a little. “No. It’s fine. For now. They did promise, and I know Kim is very serious when it comes to love. BUT, the way you can make it up to me is to get the truth about Lila out there.”

Adrien smiled. “Well, that’s the plan isn’t it?” They both giggled again. They continued looking at the sky for a little while longer.

After they got back home, they found a message from Chloe.

Chloe: I screwed up.

Chloe: I had to tell Sabrina I was working with Cat Noir.

Chloe: She picked up on me gathering the intel and confronted me about it.

Chloe: But I didn’t say WHO Cat Noir is or why he’s doing anything.

Chloe: And I did make her promise not to say anything.

Chloe: Still… I’m sorry.

Kagami: First off, Cat Noir is no longer just a “he”.

She posted a picture of herself in the same sweatshirt as the Cat Noir one.

Kagami: I think I look good in this.

Kagami: Once I get the mask, I’ll look even better.

Kagami: But second, I think you did a good job.

Chloe: Really?

Kagami: Yeah.

Kagami: You didn’t say anything too revealing while remaining honest.

Kagami: I find that admirable.

Chloe: ...Thanks.

Adrien: Sorry. Just got back.

Adrien: But yeah, you did good.

Adrien: Better than what happened with me and Marinette today.

Chloe: ??

Kagami: What happened?

Adrien: Well, it’s kind of embarrassing…

Chloe: Spill it!

Adrien: Well, um, Kim and Ondine came by and Kim recognized me…

Adrien: So to get out of it, I told them that Marinette was Ladybug, but they didn’t know it was Marinette. So that’s good.

Marinette: You forgot to tell them the other thing.

Kagami: What other thing?

Adrien: Well, I may have accidentally said that Marinette and I were dating.

Chloe: WHAT?!

Adrien: It just slipped out of my mouth. I didn’t even realize I said it until Marinette pointed it out.

Chloe: Ugh, honestly Agreste, sometimes you’re just too much to handle.

Marinette: It’s fine. Kim said he wouldn’t tell anyone.

Marinette: And I have to agree Kagami, you look really good.

Kagami: Thanks.

Kagami: So Chloe, did you get the information?

Chloe: Ugh, of course. I have it all written down.

Adrien: If only you were that diligent in class.

Chloe: I don’t need a lecture on smarts from someone who just did something so incredibly stupid.

Adrien: You’re right. I’m sorry.

Chloe: Apology accepted.

Marinette: Well, it sounds like we’ve all had eventful days.

Marinette: But we’re also this much closer to getting that piece and returning it to Alix.

Marinette: Which means one step closer to Lila’s exposure.

Chloe: You’re right. We need to keep our eyes on the prize.

Chloe: Let’s hope Adrien can keep his eyes off of you for long enough to make that happen.

Adrien: It was an accident.

Chloe: Don’t care. This is gonna be fun.

Adrien: Very well.

Adrien: Well, have a good evening everyone.

Kagami: Seeya!

Chloe: Later.

Marinette: Talk to you soon.

Marinette turned away from her computer. She placed her head in her palms and sighed. “He said it was just an accident. Of course it was. He couldn’t possibly like me for real, right?” She sighed again. “He’s just helping me out. Like a friend would. That’s all.” Tears started to stream from her eyes. She wiped them and got back to work.

[makoto-nanami]

Miraculous Rewrite: Origins Part 2 (Chapter 5)

Been a long time... whoops... Welp, Adrien and Marinette meet, Chloe attempts to threaten Alice (fails badly fyi) and Alya makes bad life preserving choices! Have fun!! Also if Alice seems harsh this chapter, the people who need to listen aren’t listening and she has to deal with dumb people, you’d be stressed too! It’ll get better by the end of Part 2 I swear!

Marinette storms into the classroom glaring at the boy, ah jeez not good. “Hey! What are you doing?” Adrien struggles to answer the angry girl, confusion crossing his face, I let go of his arm and raise my hand to cover my cringe at the situation. Chloé and Sabrina laugh at the girl, I don’t see what’s so funny, it’s disgusting and unsanitary. Marinette looked at the two girls before her eyes widen in realisation at what she thinks has happened. “Okay. I get it. Good job, you three. Very funny.” Her voice blunt and tired, upon looking closer she looked a little red around the eyes like she had been crying and a little sleep deprived, I couldn’t help but avert my gaze in guilt.

Adrien tries to defuse the situation, grabbing Marinette’s attention. “No, no, I was just trying to take it off!” I step forward.

“Wait, Marinette, he’s…” I’m cut off by the two witches cackling even louder.

“Look, Alice. I appreciate you trying to look out for me, but just stop.” The blunette avoids my face as she stresses. She spins to face Adrien. “And you! You’re friends with Chloé, right?” Adrien looks at her in shock.

“Why do people keep saying that?” He whispers, but Marinette hears him and scoffs, returning to her seat before pulling out a tissue and covering the disgusting blubber. Adrien looks to me as if asking for help. I stare at him.

“After school. Kid… Get new friends.” He looks even more shocked and the blond witch glared at me.

“What? Do I need to teach you to respect me too? Adrien is way out of your league!” Her shrill voice worsening my already growing headache.

“Oh Chloé, I assure you, if you try that with me, I promise you’ll regret it.”

“Is that a threat Wattson? I’ll have you know my Daddy, THE MAYOR, can have you deported you know!”

“Yeah, but I’m sure you’re Daddy would be thrilled to hear that his daughter is trying to put bodily fluids onto people. If your fathers not interested, I’d be happy to spread that info around to everyone who is, and let’s say I do somehow get deported, I’ll happily plead my case and sue your precious daddy. I may not like lawyers, but I know a few who have a licence to practice globally, plus… I wonder what kind of dirt I could pick up on poor Mayor Bourgeois before I am deported huh?” I sneer at the blond in front of me as she huffs and goes back to her seat. Adrien looks at me as if disappointed in the way I handled the situation. While I may have been a little overdramatic, for people like her, you have to be or else they don’t get it. Not doing anything, let alone not saying anything would be worse! Also… I can’t afford to be deported because some rich brat is throwing a tantrum, I better try to dig up some dirt on the family, for insurance. I take my seat in the back and watch the two interact with their seatmates… I sigh… teenagers.

Bustier walks in and greets the class with a smile like nothing happened yesterday. I look to Ivan and notice he’s not in his seat. Where is he… Oh no… this feeling, it’s gotten to the same intensity as yesterday. An Akuma? Could it be…

“Agreste, Adrien?” Bustier called, patiently waiting for him to answer. I need to get out of here, with them. Nino leans over and whispers into the boy’s ear, only for him to jump up eagerly with his hand raised. “Uh, present!” He squeaks, the others laugh at him, his cheeks turning red as he sits down and fist bumps his seatmate, hey… at least he’s following my advice, wait, no, focus Alice, gotta hurry.

Bustier giggles at him, moving onto the next name. “Bourgeois, Chloé?” Chloé says present back to the woman and I raise my hand nervously.

“Miss? Erm, may I go to the toilet?” Alice? Toilet break… five minutes after class starts? Really?

“You should have gone before class. Let me get through attendance and today's task, and then you may go.” Marinette turns her head to look at me suspiciously. “Bruel, Ivan?”

Suddenly, the Akuma from yesterday, busts down the door, crap, too late! “Present! Mylène?” The giant scans the chaotic classroom, people running away from the room. Adrien jumps over his desk and runs out of the classroom. “Wait!” I try to get his attention, but he’s too quick, at least he’s quick to react. Ivan, no Stoneheart spots Mylène and reaches to grab her.

“Let go of me, Ivan!” She screams, but not in pain, even when taken over, he’s still so gentle…

“I’m not Ivan anymore. I’m Stoneheart!”

“Why are you doing this?”

“So you and I can be together forever!” Anger fills me, a part of me remembers that this isn’t how the Moth Miraculous should be used, it allows those possessed to reveal and obtain their true desires, but not like this tainted with darkness, instead of loving her, the Akuma has made him obsessive.

My anger is interrupted by the annoying ring of Mayor’s Brat on her phone, speaking loudly… is she that stupid? “Daddy, the monster is back!” Stoneheart growls at the girl and grabs her tightly, making her let out a small shriek of pain. He breaks the wall of the classroom and jumps down onto the street level, crap oh crap… that’s a problem. I turn to Marinette to find her cowering under the desk, the same fog in her eyes from yesterday lingered, swirling in deep fear. Alya slides to see her with a grin. “Come on! Let’s follow him!” She’s almost vibrating from the excitement; does she not care that her classmate is probably going through the roughest time of his life?!

“Uh… Oh, no. You go. I’m finding myself a safe place to hide.” She stutters. Alya just shakes her in her excitement.

“Girl, you’re gonna miss Ladybug in action!” Marinette looks at the bag on the table before picking up, it’s Alya’s bag. Wait… the energy coming from it… no! That idiot!

“You and Ladybug will both be better off without me…” She murmurs, ashamed of her past mistakes. She holds the bag out for Alya to take. The fangirl just shrugs ignoring the girl’s gesture and runs out the room. I sigh in relief but Marinette panics running after her. “Wait! Your bag!”

I run after her, taking my hoodie out of my bag and wrapping it around me. Marinette notices me and cries in annoyance and frustration. “Why are you following me? I told you to leave me alone!”

“Well if you would just listen to me instead of wallowing in self-pity, I’d be happy to! What the hell do you think you’re trying to do?! You can’t just give away your Miraculous to some girl!” I know this makes me sound like a hypocrite, but now is not the time!

“H-how did you know?! And self-pity?! I failed, what else could I do!” I was about to answer, but we were coming closer to Alya who had started filming the disaster in front of her.

“You have no idea who you’re dealing with. My daddy, the mayor, will bring in the police, the army, the entire cavalry!” I’m pretty sure he already has… Swinging in on his baton, Chat hits Stoneheart only making him bigger.

“And don’t forget the superheroes! …Oh no. My bad…”

“Ugh. Super incompetent, you mean!” Chloé screams at him.

“Focus Chat! Just keep dodging!” I shout out, he nods, not taking his eyes off the giant golem.

“Ugh! You wanted the cavalry? Well, here it is!” Crap, I hear the rumbling of the smaller giants running amok and they begin to surround Chat. “Seize him!” I dodge the ones that run in from behind us, Marinette curls up into a ball, making herself as small as she could to avoid the stampede, while Alya jumped onto the pavement. Mylène screams.

“Ivan! Where are we going?” Terror clouding her eyes.

“To deliver a message. Then we’ll be brought together forever by a pretty black butterfly!” A message? From who? My thoughts cut short by his other captive.

“Ugh. All this lovey-dovey stuff is making me sick.” Is she trying to get killed?

“Don't worry, little monster. I'm gonna take care of you, too.” Chloé cringes at the implications behind Stoneheart’s words as they get away.

I turn my attention back to Chat and notice Alya moving closer, what the hell is she doing?! Chat is suddenly slammed to the ground, holding them back with his baton. “If you can hear me, Ladybug, I could use a little help!” His voice strained and they begin to pile on top of his stick. Suddenly one of the giants flip over a car, sending it flying towards Alya, I reach out in vain, but the boy quickly throws his stick to save her, however, it still pins her, and the baton is slipping. The giants grab Chat and carry him away. “Let go, let go of me you rockhead!”

“HELP!!” She screams. I turn to the frozen Marinette, she stares at the trapped girl conflicted on what to do, her body twitching as if trying to react. I skid in front of her and shake her.

“I- I… It’s all my fault if I had given it to her sooner… If I had become Ladybug…”

“Oh, my Kwami! Will you quit it with the pity party! Marinette, you made a mistake, so what! You have the power and ability to fix that, so what exactly is stopping you?! Your partner and friend need you! I know you’re scared but you need to be brave! Marinette, what do you want to do?!” Her eyes instantly clear up, burning with courage and determination, that-a-girl! She pulls the box out of Alya’s bag and puts on the Miraculous. Tikki zooming out with a smile, happy to see her chosen again.

“I think I need Ladybug!” Tikki’s eyes brightened at Marinette’s words.

“I knew you’d come around!” Marinette shook her head and looked at me.

“Well… I’m still not sure I’m up for this, but… Alya’s in danger! I can’t sit back and do nothing! I want to save her!” I smile, understanding her desire and fears.

“You know the magic words then!”

“Tikki, spots on!”

[kittinoir]

Phantoms Ch. 8

Read on Ao3

It had been hours since the fight at the Louvre and Marinette’s hands refused to stop trembling. Not from the fight, or the adrenaline, but because of him. She could swear she could still feel the phantom touch of his thumb, gliding over her wrist bone, the echo of his voice in her chest, the press of his shoulder against her cheek. 

It was torture, these glimpses of things she could never have.

But she was stronger now. Strong enough, to tell him the truth she’d seen. Strong enough to keep him at arms length. Strong enough to say goodbye. 

So why wouldn’t her hands stop shaking?

“You ok, girl?”

Marinette glanced up to see Alya looking at her fingers, her brow furrowed. 

“Not really,” Marinette said, pushing down the urge to lie and brush it off as nothing. Honesty had become their new policy that first night Alya had stayed over and the truth had come pouring out - every insane detail, every excuse, every action explained. Every thing she could remember. And at the end of it, she’d sworn to never lie to her best friend again. “But I’m not really ready to talk about it.”

Not yet. Not until Adrien knew first.

Even if he didn’t feel that way about her - not now that he knew ‘his Lady’ was just his friend.

For the best, she told herself. It was for the best. 

But it didn’t make her feel any better. 

“I’m here for you,” Alya said, gently squeezing Marinette’s fingers. “We all are,” she added quietly.

Marinette glanced behind them at the group of girls that had arrive for their biweekly sleepover. Rose was braiding Juleka’s hair, away from her face for once, while Alix painted a new pair of roller skates. Kagami and Mylene had yet to arrive, and Chloe and Sabrina were running late. No surprise there. 

“I know,” Marinette whispered. “Amazingly.”

“There’s not a single one of us who wouldn’t have done the same thing,” Alya said, waving the words away. “Besides, it’s not like you didn’t try to warn me. And how many times did you do me favours as LB when you didn’t have to? Those interviews, the shout outs? You were always my best friend, Marinette, I just didn’t always know it. If anything, I’m the one who didn’t - ”

“Hey.” Marinette put a hand on Alya’s shoulder, stopping her. “Let’s agree to stop apologizing, ok? We’ve both done things we’re not proud of, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love each other…right?”

“Of course,” Alya said, pulling her friend into a hug. “Deal.”

“Ugh. If this is what I’m in for, I’m going home.”

Marinette pulled away to see Chloe coming up through the trap door as Sabrina pulled her up. 

“We’ll spare you,” Alya said drily.

“Glad you could make it,” Marinette added with genuine warmth.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Sabrina said, “Especially now that…” She traced the clip in her hair with a finger and Ziggy popped out of her purse to grin.

“Speaking of,” Alix said, “Is it safe for them to…?”

“Sure,” Marinette said. “They know how to be careful.”

As if on cue, Tikki, Pollen, Trixx, Ziggy, Fluff, Daizzi, and Roaar burst out of their hiding places and swirled up to Marinette’s bed as they cheered.

“Remember…” Marinette called after them, unable to stop herself.

“If your parents knock, play hide and seek,” Daizzi chirped.

“Hide and seek?” Juleka asked with a smirk.

Marinette shrugged, a small blush warming her cheeks. “It seemed to be the only way to get them to actually hide.”

“Here.” Chloe handed Marinette what looked like a bag of cookies from her own bakery as Alya and Sabrina drifted over to the others. “A hostess gift.”

“Uh, you didn’t have to,” Marinette said with a short laugh. “But thanks.”

“I did, actually,” Chloe said with a sniff. “It’s rude not to. I thought about getting something else, but this is the best bakery in Paris. Seemed like a waste to go anywhere else.”

Marinette blinked, but took the compliment in stride. She’d learned the hard way that acknowledging those comments was a great way to make sure they stopped coming.

“Can I get you anything?” Marinette offered. She didn’t know how to act around this girl, how to be friends with her. Chloe had turned her nose up at her so often in the past, but she wasn’t doing that now.

“I’m fine,” Chloe said, but she leaned in. “Did you you talk to him?”

For a second, Marinette’s heart stopped beating. “Wh…what?”

“Luke,” Chloe huffed, rolling her eyes. “Please tell me you didn’t throw away that opportunity after I practically gift wrapped it for you.”

“Oh.” Marinette grit her teeth, desperately trying to convince herself that strangling Chloe for the heart attack would not improve their relationship. “It’s Luka. And yes. Yes, I did, thanks.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“What did he say?” Chloe demanded. “Was it as awful as you thought it would be?”

Yes. It had been. Every bit as awful as she’d thought it would be, and worse. Hearing her future out loud had been so much worse.

But it was real now, and she could deal with it. She would deal with it.

“He was really nice,” Marinette said instead. “Very understanding.”

“That made it worse, didn’t it?” Chloe said with a sigh. “I get it.”

She would get it, Marinette suddenly realized. Probably more than anyone else. The girl who lashed out at everyone, who pushed everyone away - how much of that was to see who would finally snap, finally yell back, finally treat her like a person instead of a doll? Was that why Chloe had treated her so badly for so long? Because she felt like she was finally getting what she deserved when Marinette pushed back?

“I took advantage of him,” Marinette admitted. “I don’t feel like I deserve to just be let off the hook.”

“I can’t even believe I’m doing this,” Chloe said, “But you didn’t ‘take advantage of him’; you tried to move on and be happy with someone else. It’s not the same thing.”

“But I knew I didn’t feel the same way.

“So you’re not even allowed to try?” Chloe demanded. “He wasn’t a distraction, he wasn’t some toy you threw away when you got bored, was he?”

“Of course not,” Marinette said with a frown. 

“Well, then?” Chloe said. “What were you supposed to do, be miserable and alone? Wallow?”

Marinette couldn’t believe she was about to say this to Chloe of all people, but even with her new honesty policy with Alya, there was no one else to say it to. “No one’s mad at me. Not even Adrien.”

“Didn’t you literally just tell Alya no more apologies?”

Marinette flushed. “How long were you standing there anyway?”

“Long enough,” Chloe said with a smirk. “Now come on, no more moping. Did you ever think that maybe there’s nothing you need to be forgiven for?”

“The apologies thing was more for her than me,” Marinette protested, but Chloe threw a look over her shoulder that brooked no arguments as she pulled Marinette over to the other girls.

And the longer Marinette sat with them, the more she thought Chloe might be right, a thought she didn’t think she’d ever have. It wasn’t that their friendships seemed unchanged; it was that they seemed stronger, brighter with the truth out in the open, happy to share the secret and the burden.

Even Chloe seemed to strike up and tentative conversation with Rose and Mylene, who had come in with Kagami just a few minutes after Chloe and Sabrina had arrived. 

Warmth bloomed in Marinette’s chest and her cheeks hurt from smiling. She recognized love when she felt it, but it was nice, for once, to feel it unencumbered by the weight of keeping it to herself. 

“I’m glad this happened,” Kagami said suddenly over the group.

Individual conversations trailed off, hands stilled, as everyone turned to look at her, but Kagami didn’t even blink as she surveyed the group.

“Not the akumas,” she clarified without flinching under the weight of a dozen eyes on her. “This. You. All of you. I’ve never really had people I’ve wanted to...share things with.”

“I’ve…always been afraid,” Mylene chimed in. She blushed. “Of…pretty much everything. I thought I’d be too afraid to ever use a Miraculous, but being able to do something, having some control…having you guys around me. For the first time in my life, I’m not afraid any more.”

“I’ve never been a part of anything,” Chloe said suddenly, and then all eyes were on her. “My own family wanted nothing to do with me. As long as I’m happy or content, they consider their job done, and so I’ve always pushed everyone away. Before they could leave.”

“You treated all of us horribly,” Kagami said, her eyes narrowing. “Even your own supposed ‘bff’.”

Chloe flushed. “I didn’t say I was proud of it.”

“You kind of acted that way,” Alya said, the harsh words just barely softened by an apologetic shrug.

“At the time… I was…” Chloe admitted. The words came haltingly, as though dragged from some dark, horrible, lonely place inside her. “I thought I was better than everyone, and I needed to make sure everyone knew it. I needed to make sure my parents knew it. I needed them to know that I was…worth it.”

“And now?” Rose asked, a small smile on her lips, as though she knew Chloe’s future was brighter than her past had been.

Chloe looked up at the group of them, but her eyes stayed clear. “I’m embarrassed. I behaved…horribly. It’s not an excuse. I’m not saying I deserve to have it all forgiven or forgotten, but… I don’t want that to be my life anymore. It was too lonely. Even when I won, I felt empty. I know that some of you…most of you…probably don’t want to be my friend. All I’m asking for is to be allowed a place here…with all of you. To help fix what I broke so many times.”

Marinette didn’t blink as she felt all the eyes swivel to her. She tried not to see them. It wasn’t her choice to make any more, and she suspected Chloe needed more than just her say-so.

“Everyone gets a say,” Marinette said, finally meeting her friends eyes. “A vote. Right here, right now.”

“Not privately?” Sabrina said, glancing up at Chloe as she bit down on her thumb nail.

“If you can’t say it to Chloe’s face, you shouldn’t get a vote,” Marinette said. “But we’re a team. We need to be able to trust and rely on each other.”

“Then I vote yes,” Rose chirped, bouncing a little on her heels. “Chloe’s done amazing so far, and she’s an awesome spokesperson for the team!”

“Sure,” Juleka mumbled. “Everyone deserves a second chance.”

“Well, it’s a no from me,” Alix said without missing a beat. “We all have issues, but you’re the only one who took them out on everyone else.”

“Fair enough,” Chloe said, meeting Alix head on. Marinette flinched, but she didn’t miss Alix’s appreciative smirk as Chloe took the criticism in stride.

“I say yes,” Alya said. For the first time, Chloe actually looked surprised. “For what you did for Marinette.” Chloe frowned, but Mylene chimed in before she could ask any questions.

“I say no.” Mylene fisted her hands on top of her knees, ducking her face. “It’s not that I don’t want Chloe to have a Miraculous, it’s just what Marinette said - I don’t think I can trust her. I want to, but…”

“It’s fine,” Chloe said, saving Mylene from her rambling. “I get it.”

“I also vote no,” Kagami said. Marinette couldn’t say she was entirely surprised. Kagami didn’t elaborate, and Marinette supposed she didn’t have to. What else was there to say that she hadn’t already said?

“I vote yes,” Sabrina said as she regarded her best friend. “Chloe is…a lot of things. Some of you think she treated me badly, but it’s my friendship, too. I could have changed it at any time. I was her friend because I wanted to be, not because she made me. Still am.”

For the first time, Chloe actually looked a little misty, but it cleared quickly. 

“Then it’s decided,” Marinette said. 

“Not yet,” Kagami interrupted, her voice a blade. “You have to vote. It could cause a tie.”

“I made my choice a long time ago,” Marinette said. “Chloe stays as long as she wants to. Now that that’s been decided, if anyone has a problem with that, they’re welcome to leave - after they returned their Miraculous.”

Kagami glared but remained silent. Alix simply shrugged, and Mylene wouldn’t look up, but no one left.

“Who wants to see the submissions I’ve gotten on the Ladyblog for identity guesses!” Alya said, whipping out her phone. “Someone got one riii-iiight!”

Marinette could have kissed her friend for changing the subject as the girls nearly fell over themselves to peek at Alya’s phone screen. 

“I thought ‘no more apologies’ was the theme of the night?” Marinette said as she switched seats with Sabrina to sit beside Chloe.

“It wasn’t supposed to be an apology,” Chloe muttered. “It just kind of happened. I just meant to…participate. I’ve never really had friends before. I’m not really sure how this all…works.”

And for a moment, Marinette was no longer in her room, but standing outside her school, her flat so close but so far away as the rain poured down and a boy in white said the exact same thing. 

“You’ll figure it out,” Marinette said softly.

“I’ve never had to figure anything out by myself before,” Chloe groaned, dropping her chin into her upturned palm. “Couldn’t I figure out something easier first, like Hawk Moth’s identity or something?”

For once, Marinette actually laughed. “If you do, let me know. Adrien and I have been trying to do that for years.”

“Seriously?” Chloe said, frowning. “You have zero clues? Not even one? A suspect, even?”

“I mean I’ve looked over the submissions to the Ladyblog from time to time,” Marinette said, referencing the submission box Alya had made for Hawk Moth’s identity after she’d been akumatized a second time. “None of them have ever panned out. Although…”

Marinette felt the blush work its way across her cheeks as a dim memory resurfaced.

“Although what?” Chloe demanded, sitting up.

“At one point I thought it was Gabriel Agreste.”

Chloe’s eyes widened. “Adrien’s dad?” she demanded, just barely managing to keep her voice down. “What on earth made you suspect him?”

Marinette shrugged. “He had the book. The guardian’s manual. Master Fu said the peacock and butterfly Miraculous were lost at the same time, and that whoever had one probably had the other.”

Chloe blinked. “Um, ok. Pretty solid evidence. So…why’d you change your mind?”

“Gabriel was akumatized shortly after we began to suspect him.” Marinette flinched as her eyebrows shot up. “That’s why Chat Noir was so upset that day. I’d just told him his dad might be…uuuuuuuuuuuuggggghhhhh.”

Marinette buried her face in her hands but the images wouldn’t stop playing against her closed eye lids.

“You told Adrien you thought his dad was a supervillain?” Chloe laugh, and for once, Marinette found herself giggling along with her. “I can’t believe you’re still friends.”

“Well, like I said,” Marinette said, lifting her face, “He got akumatized by Hawk Moth shortly after. Hawk Moth has to be transformed to control the akuma. And if two kwamis were living in the same house, I think they’d notice. Besides, I’ve seen them in two places at once. So it’s back to square one, with no leads and no answers.”

Chloe nodded and didn’t object when Marinette was dragged into the conversation with the other girls. Ladybug and Chat Noir might have ruled out Gabriel as a suspect, but as she watched the other girls squawk over the Ladyblog, one thought would not leave Chloe alone:

 Hawk Moth and Gabriel Agreste were not the only ones who’d been seen in two places at once.

[thelittleredheadedmusician]

That October Mood

Rating: G 1,838 words Gen AO3

Courtney wasn’t really in a mood, despite what her mother might say. She was just… antsy. Sure. That’s why she hadn’t been able to sit still all day. Had bounced off the bus, grabbed her gear and headed towards the Brownstone. She’d maybe been a bit surly to her mom and Pat on the way out. Definitely snapped at Mike. But he was her little brother, these things happened.

No, Courtney wasn’t in a mood because how could you be in a mood when you were flying at dazzling speeds across the country. Her curls whipped in the wind and the cosmic staff hummed under her. The weather was clear and clouds fluffy as she made her way to New York. She didn’t even get caught in the passing shower outside Cleveland. So, definitely not in a mood.

Landing on the roof, Courtney headed for the aviary and the elevator. It was a Friday afternoon, even two time zones ahead, so the place was bound to be filling up soon as members of the JSA came for their weekend meetings and trainings. She just had to find someone to talk to because despite the flight Courtney was still in her not mood. Which was getting worse as she waited for the elevator, the birds swooping overhead reminding her of the fact Kendra had left. Moved out and joined the League. And how Courtney missed her.

But it was fine, everything would be fine. She’d just find someone else or – and though she kicked herself for thinking this – there’d be some catastrophe and Courtney could expel this whatever it was with some punches and shooting stars. Except the halls were weirdly quiet. Almost eerily quiet. There was chatter from the lab as she passed and mention of Ted being down in the gym but that didn’t pique her interest. She headed for Jakeem’s room, only to see the door was still closed meaning he wasn’t here. Courtney grumbled and went in search of Maxine and remembered that she was at rehearsal until well after dinner. Pivoting, Courtney headed back for her own room and silently cursed Billy for having quit.

The not mood maybe be boiling into an actual mood. Which sucked.

Courtney threw herself on her bed, letting the staff bounce beside her and her backpack fall to the floor. She wasn’t going to wallow. If Courtney allowed herself to wallow then she really would be in a mood. She sat up and considered her options. There was clearly no point in disturbing the Brownstone’s other occupants but she needed to do something otherwise Courtney might just burst.

A thought struck her and Courtney pulled her phone out of her bag. She could always call Jack. Since giving her the staff he’d wiped his hands of heroing but delighted in hearing her adventures. Though he usually hid it behind liberal amounts sarcasm and lots of “Ohmygod, kid you’re going to kill yourself”s. In her heart, Courtney knew he loved it. Except, calling Jack meant he’d also want to chatter and it’d probably be about his kids, who were adorable, but Courtney dealt with enough smelly diapers from her little sister and she didn’t really want to hear about them from Jack. He was just as likely to go on at her about potty training as about old records anymore. Loathe as she was to admit it, Courtney would much rather hear about the records. She actually liked swing music. A lot. Not that she’d tell anyone. She blamed all the forties holdouts she found herself surrounded by.

That was it. Courtney wasn’t going to lay here and stew or sour further. Nope. She was getting up and going to find something, anything, to do. Hell, she’d even find Ma Hunkle and offer to clean the bathrooms at this point.

Leaving the staff and her phone on her bed, Courtney headed towards the kitchen. There was the distinct possibility that she was just getting hangry. Besides, eating was something to do. A wind sent her hair falling in front of her face and static electricity tingled down her spine. Jay must have just passed her. She kept walking, except Jay now stood before her.

Unlike Courtney, he wasn’t in uniform. Instead, worn jeans and a polo shirt that really sold his grandfatherly vibe. “Just the girl I was looking for,” he grinned. “Obsidian said you were here early; I’m hoping you might be able to help us out.”

Suddenly everything clicked. No wonder she felt out of sorts and no one was around, Courtney was early! Normally she had a football game to cheer at on a Friday night, except the other school’s coach was in the midst of a scandal and their season had been suspended. Meaning Blue Valley had no one to play against this week and so the game was cancelled. Which meant she missed hanging out with Mary at one of their houses or the diner downtown before getting ready. Courtney also missed the challenge that cheering provided: trusting in her squad to catch her instead of the staff, pushing her own strength and reflexes without the help of the belt as she tumbled and jumped. Pat was always on her about how important balance was, especially for superheroes, and she’d come to really rely on the games to just decompress and reset before the weekend. Be Courtney Whitmore, not Stargirl.

No wonder she was in a mood.

With this realization, Courtney felt the jitters and acid words building in the back of her throat begin to drain away. It was a slow process, but it was something.

Courtney grinned back at Jay. She could help, she definitely could help. “What’s up?”

“You are our resident teenager so Alan, Ma, and I were hoping to pick your brain. Some of the other kids are downstairs already too. You can get changed and I’ll meet you in the kitchen,” Jay said with another smile. Then he was gone.

Standing there Courtney couldn’t stop herself from smiling at the empty air. Jay had asked for her help, not Stargirl’s but Courtney’s. She was in fact going to go put on some jeans and a t-shirt before heading to the kitchen. Her mood was slipping away with each step.

In the kitchen, there was a group of people all clustered around the table. Ma Hunkle bringing a platter of snacks over when Courtney walked in. She couldn’t hear what they were talking about but she had a clear view of Grant and he looked like he was seriously considering getting up, walking to Titans Tower, and asking them to take him back. Though that wasn’t necessarily a bad sign since Grant normally looked like that. Especially with Rick and Jesse flirting at each other from either side of him.

Courtney took the empty chair next to Jay. “What’s up?” She glanced around the table and got the weird sense they’d been waiting for her because the side conversations stopped.

“Well,” Alan started, “the Brownstone always participates in trick-or-treat but we were thinking about doing something else for the teenagers and college kids this year too.”

“And I nixed the haunted house idea already,” Ma added as she slid the platter closer to Courtney. “There’s enough things that could go wrong with the stuff in that museum without the addition of jump-scares.”

Giggling around her carrot stick, Courtney shared a look with Jesse across the table.

“So,” Alan picked back up again, “we thought about hosting a movie night. We figured there was enough space and we certainly have large enough screens.” He smirked at a private joke. Courtney looked to Jay for some sort of explanation but he just seemed to shrug back at her.

“Is there a point to this?” Grant sighed. Though he did pick up a piece of pointedly passed celery.

“We hoped you might have ideas for some movies. Our list so far mainly consists of Hitchcock and Ghostbusters,” Jay broke in with a self-deprecating chuckle.

Grant’s eyes seemed to light up. “You mean like horror movies?”

“We’re open to suggestions,” Alan nodded.

“I’ll make a list,” Grant said excitedly. He was already pushing his chair back and heading for the drawer with the pens and notepads.

“Hocus Pocus is a classic,” Courtney offered. She wasn’t into horror like Grant obviously was, but she did like Halloween movies. “Corpse Bride and Coraline and all those other stop animations are fun.”

“There was one I used to watch when I was a kid,” Rick drummed his fingers on the table. “This girl found out she was a witch-”

“Sabrina the Teenaged Witch is a show, not a movie,” Jesse interrupted.

Rick laughed. “No, not what I was thinking of. She found out she was a witch and snuck off with her siblings after their grandma to this other world.”

“Halloweentown!” Courtney yelled excitedly. “Those are great! There’s four of them, though they changed the actress who played Marnie in the last one. The two Twitches movies are other classic DCOMs.”

Grant brought back his list and laid it on the table. “Here. The Goth movies are really great but the fact he turned out to be a literal demon and a supervillain kinda ruins them.”

Courtney screwed her face up at Grant in the same way she did whenever Mike said something incredibly stupid. Which in her opinion was a lot. “What?”

“Uh, the Titans files have it.” He scratched at the back of his head awkwardly as he sat down again.

“We could run an all-day marathon with these alone,” Jay said as he glanced at the list.

“Why not? A sort of come and go as you please?” Jesse suggested.

“Do some of the darker stuff later with the Disney and like Beetlejuice in the afternoon,” Rick nodded.

“Run Rocky Horror at midnight,” Jesse shared a grin with her husband.

“Oh!” Rick seemed positively thrilled by the idea. “And Lost Boys right before. Great bad movie.”

“Lost Boys?” Courtney turned her skeptical look on Rick.

Rick seemed scandalized. “Only the best vampire movie there is.”

Courtney gave him her most skeptical look.

“No no,” Grant shook his finger towards Rick, “he’s got a point about Lost Boys. Cult classic.”

While Courtney didn’t entirely believe this – The Rocky Horror Picture Show on the other hand sounded like a great idea – she did have to admit the guys’ enthusiasm was fun and infections. “I guess we’ll just have to watch it,” she smirked.

“That’s a great idea, Court,” Jay patted her back. “We could watch a bunch and pick our favorites to narrow it down.”

“Advertise it as the JSA’s favorites too. Be great for marketing,” Jesse nodded.

Ma shook her head, “We better get started then, there’s a lot to get through.”

“I’ll rally the troops then,” Jay was already gone.

Courtney took the initiative to make some popcorn. Her mood really had disappeared. Amazing what the prospect of a movie night did.