#and the reason I have endless patience for that is because she IS different. she is extraordinary. she is WEIRD. she’s so needy

[itspileofgoodthings]

Porfiry telling Raskolnikov that at least he was honest and in one bound took the furthest leap to put his theory to the test of actual action——

[multifariousqueer]

Hello girl! how are you? doing well?

Can I request a E 42 yandere miles X reader? Am yes, E 42 reader is dead, omg how original XD

But the E 42 reader had this "church girl" or "flower girl" innocent type persona. And when E 1610 reader arrived with miles, she is a loud, cusses out a lot and has a hammer with her at all times.

E 42 miles sees her and while stunned to see such drastic personality change, he still sees his beloved in her and wants to keep her in his world and in his life? Add flashbacks if ya like! you can change it if you want! whatever makes it be awesome! luv you! <3

Hey, love!! I can totally do this

Suerte- Miles G x Reader

A/n: I hope y’all enjoy this!!

Warnings: strong language, angst, suggestiveness, reader being a spider person, descriptions of blood and yandere behavior, kidnapping, lmk if I missed anymore

You were falling off of a building, it seemed your screams would never end as you looked up into the endless sky waiting for someone, anyone to save you. Miles watched as he tried to run and save you but by then it was too late, the sound of your skull hitting the pavement and the crimson blood that flowed from your nose was enough to indicate that you were gone and there was no saving you. Miles cradled your softer skull as the police and ambulance arrived.

Suddenly, Miles woke up in a cold sweat. It was Sunday now, and he had to get ready for church the only reason he was going was because you convinced him too

You managed to convince Miles to do just about anything; he just couldn’t say no to your adorable face and he hated disappointing you. You two seemed like an odd couple at first, with Miles being tough, cold and closed off whereas you were bright, happy, innocent and it seemed like you could do no wrong. You went to church every Sunday, you prayed all the time, you helped everyone and everything and Miles fell for your soft innocence and your warmth. He fell for your simplicity, your poise, your patience and how you felt like a piece of heaven.

The day he lost you was the day he lost himself. Miles was never the same after you left; he closed himself off completely and adopted the Prowler moniker. He felt like he failed you and that you would be so dissapointed if you saw him now. Miles would have flashbacks to you telling him how much you loved him and how you would always love him in every universe, so he decided to pray and beg God for you back and eventually, he got that.

“MILES WHERE THE FLYING FUCK ARE WE??” you shouted

“I’M TRYING TO FIGURE THAT OUT, Y/N” Miles shouted back

You and your Miles were best friends since you both came to Visions. He found out you had powers the same as him and you two clicked immediately. It seemed you two were fated to be together; same music taste, fashion choices and morals its just you were a bit more harsh than him

“I think we’re home?” Miles questioned

“I don’t remember Brooklyn looking this shitty” you said

“It’s just dark, come on, we can go to my house. My mom loves you” you said

Mrs. Morales loved you because not only were you quick on your feet, you also made Miles happy and you made a great first impression. She thought you were exactly like Miles, just more abrasive and she thought you were sweet.

You went to Miles room and it looked different, almost more grown. Your spider-sense went off and just as you went to tell Miles, Rio was there and greeting him. She looked at you like she had seen a ghost, tears spilling from her...green eyes??

“Y/n?” she whispered

“Yeah? Hi Mrs. Morales” you went, going to give her a hug which she reciprocated just more eagerly

“Oh Mija, I thought you were dead. Gracias Dios, you answered my prayers” she said, sobbing and looking up at the sky

Her and Miles had a conversation and you both revealed your identities in which she was indifferent about. Suddenly, the door opened to reveal an Uncle Aaron.

He saw you and his eyes went wide. He stalked closer to you before grabbing your shoulders and shaking his head

“Is it really you, y/n?” he said

“uhh yeah last time I checked” you chuckled, grabbing your body as a joke

“Where did you go? How are you here?” he asked in disbelief

“Well interesting story actually, we used something called our legs and walked here” you joked, usually Aaron could appreciate your humor because it was one of the things he told Miles before he died

“Miles, you won’t find another girl like her. Girls like y/n don’t come around like that so I’d advise you to keep her"

“Got it” Miles would say

It was like you were looking into a portal of dead people, your entire body clenched when his gaze suddenly went cold.

He lead Miles and you to the roof when suddenly, you felt a strong stinging in your neck and just as you were about to hit the floor, a strong pair of arms grabbed you and you heard voices

“She’s not your, y/n man. She’s meaner”

“I don’t care"

You awoke with a splitting headache on a couch. Your limbs were handcuffed together and it was dark; your eyes immediately went to search for your Miles when you saw him tied to a bag

“He won’t be up for a bit, hes out cold. Maybe we can keep him that way” a voice said

“He’s not the only one who’s gonna be out cold. Who the fuck are you and what do you want?” you snapped

“Hm. So hostile, my Y/n would never speak like that” a man said approaching you

“Dawg are you smoking crack? Speed? Bath Salts? Because you gotta be fucked up if you think-“ you started

“la muchacha sucia(dirty girl), I should’ve put that gag on you while you were out” he said, taking off his mask to reveal your boyfriend just more gaunt

“Listen here you Rick and Morty knockoff, if you try that, I will bite your finger off, comprende?” you said

“Si. Eres muy bonita pero tu boca es tan asquerosa. I can tell you aren’t from here” he smirked

“Just so you know, just because you called me pretty doesn’t mean I won’t crush your nuts the second I get out of these chains. Listen, your knockoff prowler suit doesn’t scare me and neither do these chains, I could break out right now but I’m intrigued” you said

You heard groaning and saw your Miles move

“MILES” you screamed into the other Miles’ ear

“Y/N. GET AWAY FROM HER” your Miles shouted

The other Miles ignored him but he grabbed your throat and forced you to look up at him

“It’s not a knockoff mami and unless you want to find out just how powerful this suit can be, I suggest you pipe down. It’s gonna take a bit of work, maybe force” he tightened his grip at force, causing your eyes to water and your tongue to come out

“But I think I can make it work. You may not be exactly like her, but you’ll be close enough” Miles said, lowly

If the circumstances weren’t what they were, Miles would’ve found your position hot, you were tied up, tongue hanging out a bit and your eyes looked so pretty; in his mind, you were giving him the “fuck me” eyes but in reality, you were using this as a way to escape

The idea of playing along until he got his wish came to mind but you realized this was deeper than that, he wanted you in every form and if it wasn’t you, what’s to stop him from taking another version of you that may accidentally come by.

“What happened, mami? You had so much to say, say it.” Miles taunted, hand still flush against your throat

“Yeah its kinda hard when you’re choking the life outta me” you said

He took his hand off your throat and you coughed.

“Dude just leave her alone, okay? You can have me, kill me just please let her go” your Miles said, his voice faltering at the end

“Oh but where’s the fun in that? Plus cabron, I don’t want you at all, its not about you. It’s about her and her making a promise

“What promise did I make?” you asked

Miles got a flashback of you laying next to him, playing with his braids and giggling

“I’ll love you in every universe, Miles Morales” you said sweetly

Miles teared up and explained this to you

“Okay well bud, I’m not her and in a way, I do love you in every universe, I love my Miles but” you said before he slammed his fist next to you, causing you to yelp

“I am your Miles, mi amor. At least, I will be. I’m never letting you go again” he said close to your face, hovering above your lips before getting up and striding over to your Miles

[aettuddae]

business matter — chapter 108.

↳ synopsis: two of the most important kpop companies covet a partnership with a huge global brand, only to be surprised when the deal is extended to both labels. fearing potential sabotage and cynical strategies to secure exclusivity for just one of them, both CEOs resort to desperate measures. in a bid to maintain trust and prevent betrayal before the signing, they come up with a pact: forcing a fake relationship between the leaders of their star girlgroups. if one side attempted to fail the other, they threaten to expose it all to the conservative south korea.

masterlist | prev | next

[written chapter]

"i'll be back later, okay?" notified sejeong as she pulled the doorknob. "if you need anything just call me." she offered.

"don't worry, you will only be gone for a few hours." calmed serim from the living room couch. "ning is here." she pointed her index finger at the girl who paced around the place looking for pillows to pile up and then lay on top of.

"i'm here." affirmed the younger girl, pointing her thumbs at herself and smiling graciously.

"okay." kim gave them a tender look back. "see you later." she bid goodbye and then left the apartment as she would be going to dinner with her friends.

"there are no more pillows, you've grabbed them all already." joked the owner of the department who, turning her attention back to the other, noticed that she was still on her mission to assemble a bed on the floor.

"it's not finished yet." laughed ningning, focused on continuing her search.

"why don't you just lie on the couch with me?" she proposed, her voice soft, welcoming.

"because you're so restless." she confessed in amusement.

"that was once." she reminisced about one of the many movie nights they'd had where ningning had decided to snuggle up to serim, but the older girl, not being interested in the movie, had been unable to stay in place. "you know i'm not always like that."

"semmie, i'm sorry i have to be the one to tell you." she closed her eyes and put her hand on her chest dramatically. "but you're, indeed, always like that." she sentenced, innocently teasing the older girl.

serim let out a laugh, she couldn't contradict her, yes it was hard for her to keep still and she knew ningning was perfectly aware of that, as no one had as much patience for her as she did. but it was a movie date and it didn't make any sense for them to sit in different places during the night.

other than that, serim would do anything to have a pretty woman in her arms.

jang stood up, walked over to the makeshift bed the girl was setting up to grab one of the cushions and threw it back on the couch, repeating the action with the rest.

"hey!" ningning knew the reasons why the whimsical serim was doing it so she couldn't help but find it funny. "leave my bed." she ran over to where the objects were being shot to try to return them to the place she had put them before, but it only became an endless loop.

"i'm your date!" she remembered. "you have to cuddle with me!" she said with obviousness.

"it's not my fault you have hyperactivity!" the youngest attacked.

ningning realized that trying to reassemble the mattress was pointless if serim didn't stop actively ruining it, so she opted to stop the woman, taking steps towards her, even walking over the pillows, and resting her open palms on the older one's abdomen to exert force, thus pushing her away from her creation. the taller one resisted, using her legs to hold herself in place, she brought her hands to those of the blackhaired one to grab them and pull them away from her body, managing to lift them into the air with some effort, but now facing the struggle of yizhuo who would not give up so easily. they both pushed against each other, slightly trying to see who would lose balance first, while laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation.

serim was now determined not only to get the girl to lie down next to her and watch television, but, because of her competitive nature, also to win this battle of strength and equilibration. since there were no rules, nor was it an officially determined game, she had the idea of bringing her hold on ningning down and to the sides of their bodies. doing so, all the force the chinese was exerting was no longer supported, so her body lost its grip, and she suddenly went forward, crashing into serim's. jang, still holding her, hugged her around the waist, thus keeping both pairs of hands against the younger's back.

the reality is that serim was only doing her best to rest advantages from ning and prevent her from knocking her down, but when she lowered her gaze and met her face directly because of the closeness she had caused, she figured that the next thing to do was to kiss her.

she suddenly leaned towards the girl and joined her lips with hers, ningning still deprived of mobility in her arms could only reciprocate, although she had no objection, she had been waiting weeks for some moment that felt right to do exactly that, and she never thought it would be serim who initiated it. it was a deep kiss, intense, but without any rush, the kind that all first kisses should be, where you get to know the other person and give them a place in you.

serim let go of the shorter and this one almost instinctively slid her hands around her waist, while jang held ningning's face between her fingers subtly keeping it in place so that their mouths could not pull away. silence reigned in the apartment, only the sound of heavy breathing could be heard as they caressed each other with affection and patience, as ningning had always had for serim.

eventually the contact was broken, but they both kept such a short distance that they could have connected again if only they opened their lips, taking in the opposing presence and adjusting to it, enjoying it, their breaths colliding on each other's skin.

everything was fine, so why did it feel wrong?

they were both enveloped in that feeling that nothing made sense. the awareness of knowing that they had done nothing wrong, that they should be satisfied with the display of affection, and the subconscious leave that the natural order of things was being altered.

"was that because you genuinely wanted to do it or because you are desperate to somehow fill jimin's absence?" it was yizhuo who filled that existential void with words, almost without processing what she was saying, she could only find it in herself to be honest.

"ning," serim gave a sigh to then arrange the girl's hair, looking at her tenderly, but also somewhat wearily. "i wanted to do it." she confirmed, and she wasn't lying,

but wanting to do it didn't discount her desperation to get yu jimin out of her head.

[nausicaamusiclover20]

Hello, I've been enjoying your fics, you write so charmingly! A request, if you have the time: reader plays lead guitar in Megadeth - Dave hired her during a post-rehab, clean living phase because she's a kick-ass metal guitarist, but she doesn't drink much, doesn't do drugs, doesn't do hookups. And they tour with Metallica, where hard-drinking, hard-partying, grupies-in-showers James Hetfield falls for her, and of course he has to work to convince her to take him seriously and date him. <3

Thank you so much, I'm glad you like them. I hope you like it❤

Behind the rockstar

Joining Megadeth had always been about the music. I was there to play, not to fall into the notorious lifestyle of rock. I’d seen the wild afterparties, the booze,  the drugs, the endless stream of groupies, and I wanted no part of it. I’d disappear after every show, slipping out as Metallica’s backstage turned into a chaotic free-for-all of laughter, drinks, and fans ready to do anything to be close to their idols. It didn’t faze me — I was there to play, and to avoid the chaos that came with it.

But someone had started to notice my vanishing act: James Hetfield. The first time he stopped me, he leaned against an amp, flashing that arrogant smile, and casually asked, “So, are you ever gonna stick around?”

I could tell by his tone he expected some banter or an easy laugh, but I didn’t give him one. I shrugged, zipping up my guitar case. “Not my thing, Hetfield. Enjoy the party.” 

The polite brush-off was supposed to be enough. But James was persistent, like a moth drawn to a flame, unwilling to give up so easily. The next night, he caught up with me again, this time with a smirk and a drink in hand. “You know, you’re missing out,” he said, holding out the glass. “One drink won’t kill you.”

I gave him a long look, raising an eyebrow. “I think I’ll survive,” I said, walking away without a second glance.

But that didn’t stop him. Instead, it seemed to challenge him, and over the next few nights, his cocky attempts turned into something else. The joking lines softened, the smooth charm replaced by a genuine curiosity. He started sitting out of the parties more often, just to catch me as I packed up. He’d bring coffee, ask me about the night’s show, or share stories about his own journey in music. I tried to keep my guard up, but it was getting harder each time.

Then, one evening, he found me playing alone after a show, experimenting with a tricky solo. He quietly sat down, watching in silence. When I glanced over, he looked different — more thoughtful, less of the rock star I’d first met.

“You really don’t drink, huh?” he asked, his voice softer than usual.

I shrugged. “I just want to keep a clear head. This is too important to mess up.”

He nodded, looking down. “Yeah… I know what that’s like.” There was a shadow in his eyes, and I remembered the stories I’d heard about his battles with addiction. It hit me that the man behind the arrogant persona was struggling too, working to keep himself from slipping. 

After that, he changed. Every night, he’d find some reason to join me, away from the wild parties. Sometimes he’d bring new riffs he’d been working on or sit with me in the empty rehearsal room, teaching me solos with an unexpected patience. He’d focus so intently on the music, his usual swagger replaced with an openness that caught me off guard. His arrogance was just armor, I realized, hiding something more complex, someone who’d been through the same struggles and wanted something more.

One night, after a long set, I was surprised to find him still waiting around, his usual crowd nowhere in sight. He handed me a cup of coffee and asked, “Mind if I walk with you?”

It was just a walk back to the hotel, but it turned into a real conversation. We strolled through the quiet streets, and he told me things I hadn’t expected — stories about his family, his childhood, his demons. He spoke of the toll fame had taken, how the partying had turned into a crutch, how he was trying to change. By the time we reached the hotel, I saw him differently. I could see the way he was fighting against the image he’d built, trying to find himself underneath all the fame and excess.

From then on, he kept showing up in small, thoughtful ways. I’d find new guitar strings left on my amp when I ran low, or he’d save a quiet spot for us at a diner after the shows, away from the noise and distractions. He’d even picked up on little things — the kind of coffee I liked, the music I’d listen to as I tuned my guitar. And he gave up the booze and the afterparties, telling me quietly one night, “I want to be around for this. Around for…you.”

But the moment that sealed it was one night when we had a rough show — technical issues, tensions running high. Afterward, I found him alone in the rehearsal room, strumming his guitar softly. He looked up as I entered, his usual confident mask completely gone.

Without a word, he started playing something I’d never heard before. It was a slow, haunting melody, so unlike his usual riffs, layered with the kind of depth and rawness that only came from true vulnerability. I realized he’d written it for me, a piece full of emotion and sincerity that words alone couldn’t capture.

When he finished, he looked up at me, his eyes open, honest. “Y/N, I know I’m not exactly a safe bet. My life’s messy, I’m still figuring things out. But you make me want to try, to be better. I don’t want to let you down.”

I could see the sincerity, feel the weight of his words. I reached out, touching his hand, and he held it like it was something fragile and precious. “James, if we’re doing this, I need to know it’s real. No games, no halfway.”

He nodded, his gaze steady. “I don’t want games. I just want you.”

From that night on, we were a team. He’d still catch me before I left each night, sometimes just to talk, sometimes to play, and we’d share quiet moments on the road — stolen cups of coffee, hushed conversations in the early mornings, little gestures that spoke louder than words. He became a different person, one who listened, who showed up, who put his all into proving that he could be the man he wanted to be. The man I was beginning to care about.

And so, in the midst of the chaos, we found something real. It wasn’t perfect, and neither of us were, but for the first time in a long time, I felt like I’d found something worth staying for. And with him beside me, I didn’t want to walk away.

[softguarnere]

Hiii!! Hope you're doing well ~ I was wondering, what do you think Dick Winters would be like with a gf that's a ray of sunshine? Just always telling him she loves him and doing little things to brighten his day? I just recently watched BoB and I have in fact fallen for Winters 🫠 thank you and have a great day!! 💕

Hi Anon! Thanks so much for the request - and for your patience 🤗 I wrote these for nurse!reader, so I hope that's okay

Okay, so I definitely feel like Dick's response would definitely depend on what phase of the war y'all are in

So, you and Winters meet for the first time in England. He sees you and the other nurses at an aid station and notices your smile straight away

Things are getting pretty serious as everyone prepares for the invasion. He's not looking for romance, because no one knows what's going to happen during war. And unlike many of the men in his company, he's not about to start something that he can't see through

BUT he really enjoys finding excuses to come to the aid station to chat with you. Your sunny personality is a bright spot even on his most stressful days, and he always looks forward to your chats.

As he gets to know you, he finds that you're very sweet and upbeat, which is such a chance of pace from the personality's of most of the people that he's met so far

Sometimes when he visits you, the two of you slip away to talk, and you break out a chocolate bar that you've snuck out of the rations. You always offer it to him, and he splits it with you. As the two of you eat the shared chocolate, he can't help but wonder what might have happened between the two of you under different circumstances

And he doesn't leave you empty handed! Don't tell Sobel, but he may or may not have used his status as an officer to help you and your fellow nurses get the supplies you need

During the war, the two of you keep up a steady correspondence. Nixon can always tell when Dick has gotten a letter from you, because he can't stop smiling at the pages in his hands as he reads them

Even though you're miles away, he feels closer to you than almost anyone, as the letters become a way for the two of you to vent your frustrations, but also to connect with someone that you have so much in common with

Near the end of the war, somewhere in Germany, the two of you finally get stationed in the same place, and it's like something just clicks

The war is almost over, and it doesn't feel like there's the same reason to be cautious anymore. After all, you've made it this far - it's looking like you're going to make it to the end of this thing

People would notice a change, for sure. Dick smiling to himself, even when you're not around, for example

And let's be real - you're almost always around, because now that you're stationed in the same place, the two of you basically become inseparable

But the way this man would get flustered whenever he's near you! The first time you tell him that you love him he thinks his soul might ascend right then and there because he's so happy

If your letters were a bright spot in his days before, getting to see you every day is like living in an endless summer

He loves your smile. He's absolutely obsessed with it. He constantly surprises you with flowers and surprises, just so he can see that happy look on your face

. . . and it makes him realize that he wants to see it forever and always

One night after the war, back in the states, you ask him how he knew that he was in love with you

"It's easy," he replies. "You were like the sunshine on a cloudy day. Everything just felt . . . easy when you were around. I knew I wanted to feel that way forever."

You lean over, giving him a light kiss on the cheek. "I don't think I could ever be anything but happy with you." You flash him a smile. "So I guess you're stuck with this smile forever."

He caresses your cheek, smiling himself. "That's the best fate I could have asked for."

Thanks for the request, Anon, and I hope you like these!

[hugsandchaos]

Old Arthadow headcanon post I made last year and decided I couldn’t delete it, so here you go, world

Shadow follows the Sidewalk Rule. Arthur barely noticed at first and slowly became more and more confused, until a loose carriage crashes and hits Shadow instead of Arthur. Arthur panics, but Shadow just gets up and goes “Huh, that hurt much less than I expected. All I got was a few splinters.” And continues as normal.

Arthur is as hydrophobic as Sonic, but as king, he doesn’t want anyone to know. Shadow just picks him up and carries him or something.

Speaking of water, Shadow loves swimming and exploring different areas. Arthur is worried because he can hold his breath longer than most and can’t always tell if he’s okay or not.

Shadow has more “animalistic” habits; He’ll shake himself to get water off, he growls if he’s tired and someone tries to talk to him, and he bites to name a few examples.

Speaking of biting, Shadow once told Arthur his bite is dangerous because he has enough jaw strength to break through various metals and bones. The reason he had to say this? Because he did. He bit a sword in half when he was threatened with it.

Because going outside at night was seen as a death sentence in medieval times, Shadow was seen as some sort of demon at first due to him being more active at night, but he later on explained he was simply stargazing most of the time or exploring. Soon enough, Arthur will ask to join him and be amazed by the night sky.

Arthur wants to spoil Shadow, but he dodges these attempts pretty well. Still, Arthur succeeds sometimes.

Arthur, you really shouldn’t have told Shadow that dragons exist. He has an army of loyal dragons now.

If Shadow were to introduce him to Team Dark, he’d at first think that Omega is some sort of metal golem and that Rogue is his actual mother with the way she calls him “honey” and somewhat looks out for him.

Now, let me introduce to you Arthadow + Dadow

Silver was scared of Arthur at first, being a shy kid and talking to a king, so he often clung to Shadow and hid behind him.

Silver doesn’t really like it when Arthur flirts with or kisses his dad, because that’s his dad! What if Arthur breaks his heart?!

Arthur admires Shadow’s patience when it comes to Silver’s seemingly endless questions, and sometimes listens to the lessons Shadow gives him.

[blurredcolour]

PART 5!!! WAS!!!! EVERYTHING!!!!!

Reader really was going through it in the beginning, poor girlie 😭😭ALSO I'm starting the "A New Love For Myrtle 1944" petition. Sing to make this woman happy again. We didn't spend much time with her, but hers is a sad story in need of a happy ending. Every signature counts.

I love that she's knitting now and I love that she's sending it all to Bucky ❤️❤️ You just know that those are his most prized possessions ❤️

And eeeew, where was my Miller trigger warning?? 😭 She's so mean 😭 Like, I get she's a product of her time and I'm judging her with a modern mindset, but YEAH I'M JUDGING HER!! People are dying! Let them be happy! Chase your own bliss, girl! Leave them youngsters alone!

OMG, Bucky's POV is all I ever wanted. Loved being inside that man's head. He is a mess lmfao. But I can only imagine what he was like the first few days since he can't remember himself. Buck was blessed with an endless amount of patience because we all know Bucky talked about that 1-minute at most phone call the entire time.

AND HIS REACTION TO GETTING THAT FIRST LETTER AND THE PARCEL WAS SO CUTE, LIKE MY HEART!!!

Their letters? 10/10. Soooo perfect, it felt like I was prying into other people's private conversations. And I love the little details she adds just for him, like the Yankees winning the whatever it's called (sorry, baseball confuses me severely).

And honestly, the TEASING the boys must be putting Bucky through between letters 😂😂 And he's on cloud nine, he doesn't even care. And I bet Buck is thrilled for him too ❤️ I love them besties, your honor.

AND YAY TO BABY EGAN ON BOARD!!! Coming soon to a hospital far, far, far away from Bucky 😔✊

Despite the little joke I sent in another ask, I get her reasoning for not telling him, but man's not stupid. He's gonna figure out pretty fast he's about to become a father if he hasn't already. What's left for us to find out is if he's going to write to her, saying like "the jig is up. Can we name them after my plane? Not the one that went down, that wasn't even mine" or if he's going to wait for her to bring it up.

At any rate, pretty sure he'll miss the birth since, as he said in the last episode, he's been in the stalag for like eight months already. Hopefully he will learn how to astral project by then 🙏🏻

History question to wrap this up: could POWs send things out of the camp to the people they were corresponding with? Can't imagine they'd want to part with anything, but I wouldn't put it past him to send her something for the baby as a way of saying "I know" instead of having any of them writing about it.

Beatriz you have blessed my inbox yet again

Firstly - I adore how you connected with Myrtle. She’s a complicated, wounded woman who thought she did what was right. I don’t think she anticipated the reader’s poor reaction to it all, honestly…but there’s no shortage of eligible men if she can allow her heart to take another chance.

The knitting! Yes! Inspired by the weird little hat that Bucky was wearing at the start of episode 7, I was thinking it would be a lovely connection and per Red Cross rules very much allowed! You bet he takes very good care of his winter accessories.

But Captain Miller - a woman with very different priorities from the reader and very rigid morals. Interfering and scheming, she is always looking for the next promotion so it is utterly bewildering to her that the reader resented one and then proceeded to ruin her well-laid plans. Good riddance to her.

I honestly hemmed and hawed about including a Bucky POV here but it was demanded by my brain and therefore we got several into his rapidly fracturing psyche. Bless Buck and his patience for the delirious ramblings of head wound Bucky 😬

Beneath any teasing from the boys, there is surely a lot of jealousy - the reader’s letters come faster, and she seems to send more? And the knitting…But they’re also glad because it’s dulling the edges of Bucky’s caged-animal behaviour…or it was 🤦‍♀️

Baby Egan 🥹

Baby Egan to be born stateside and definitely not named after Bucky’s planes because they were - Just A Snappin’, Mugwump, and Mlle Zig Zig. Don’t seem to roll off the tongue 🤣🤣🤣

His reaction is going to be very interesting, wish me luck as I do my very best to bring this all to a close in just one more part 😬😬😬

History answer - as far as I can tell POWs we’re only entitled to send letters, but I will do more digging!!

[clioseeker]

Hazbin Hotel : an Honest Review

Hello everyone ! This took me waaaay longer than expected lmao

Yup I'm coming after everyone, I probably missed the Hype Train, but heh it's not a problem. If you're interested, here's my detailled opinion on the Season One of Hazbin Hotel ! Let's get started.

Before I just want to say that everything I'll say below is just MY opinion, it has the value you give to it. If what I say does pique your interest, I would be happy to discuss it with you !

1 - Qualities

➤ Concepts of the show

The beginning is very promising, to say the least. The idea of a DEMON, the PRINCESS OF HELL, caring about her people's fate is original. I like the idea that Charlie inherited more of her father's angelic side that the demonic one. Like a stain on the painting, you see ? In theory, Charlie has nothing to do in hell, and I thought after watching the pilot that it would be interesting to see her everyday life, how she's living to be in hell and how she can keep a nearly endless hope. There is also the question of redemption, is really everyone worthy of a second chance ? As an Undertale fan, Charlie's ideal of "you can save everyone" is quite appealing. I was sure at that time that Charlie would encounter big difficulties, make enemies and that she would struggle a lot to fulfill her dream.

Some ideas for Sinners are well-thought. I love that their appearance will change depending on their cause of death, their personality or their past. Each Sinner is unique in their own way, it also offers an absolute freedom for creators of the community. Creating you own OC is easier, you just have to listen to your imagination. Also, the idea of Sinners being sterile is coherent, because Hell is already populated and they're dead, we don't need demon children.

➤ Character's designs

My my, it's probably one of the things I love the most ! Most of them are quite creative and lovely. For some, there is a real difference between the pilot design and the official serie's. I share a thought for Husk who was a HELL to animate. To illustrate my opinion, let's comment some of the chara designs :

Let's start with the most controversial character, Valentino ! I LOVE his design, without lying it's one of my favorites. His dominant color is red, which can be refering to passion and love. The hearts on his wings and on his collar fur are also a clever reference to his powers and charisma. His jewelry is a nice little detail, because gold is precious and expensive, it shows his wealth without being too razzle-dazzle. And I don't know who in Vivizie's team had the idea to make his wings his coat, but he/she deserves an award.

My photo editing skills are amazing, indeed.

Also, I really like Zestial's design. He's an hybrid between a spider and a scarrecrow. The fear of spiders is common among people, and the web pattern on his cloak shows his patience. Zestial probably survived though centuries thanks to his intelligence. During the Overlord's meeting, he acted calmly and stayed collected. Being provocative isn't useful to his eyes, he prefers to think and trap his preys in the web. His dangerosity is also reflected by his green and dark color scheme. Green is a symbol of bad luck in some cultures, and the threats are often hidden in the dark. Finally there's his 'scarrecrow' side, another symbol of fear but also of disguise, maybe a proof of Zestial's deceit.

➤ The writing

By writing I'm mostly talking about character's writing. However, this point is mid, because it also contains several problems of the show, I'll say more below. On the bright side, most of the character's are well written and serves their goal well.

What's a "Character Goal" ?

It's the idea behind the character. A character is created for a reason, and most of Vivzie's fulfill it. They have different 'roles' for the story, as little gears of the world's machine. I'll develop that point in future posts, one character at time, but the most popular example is Alastor. He is loved by the fans and has all of a morally grey villain. He's selfish, brutal, violent, but was shown to feel genuine connection with other characters. Rosie, Niffty, Mimzy, Charlie, we can go deep into his relationship with them. It's clear that we can't ignore him, whatever we hate or love him we can't stay indifferent. The show also focuses on dynamics between characters, we know the nature through little details or focused episodes. For example, we can often see Keekee in the background cuddling Charlie, being annoyed by Niffty or showing affection to Sir Pentious. It is really tiny details, but it adds life to the hotel and a watchful eye can catch glimpses of lore and learn more about the main cast outside of the story. Viv is thinking about her lore and sometimes her little winks work very well, it's always very satisfying when we catch something in the background.

Most of relationships between characters have a really strong base as an hidden depth. We see how much Zestial secretly cares for Camilla, how much Angel is/was afraid of Valentino, how much the Vees are a band of chaotic gremlins. It's something that is very clear, plus character's dynamics never stay simple. Husker hates Alastor as much as he fears him, Alastor has pity for him as much as seeing him as a tool. It's never one-dimensional, there is several layers.

➤ Voice actors

Despite coming from Broadway for most of them, voice actors suit very well their character. Like many people I was disappointed that actors from the pilot weren't returning, but this new cast definitely do the job. They're talented and we feel all the passion they put into their roles. None of the characters sound false or artificial, I believed to their existence. In the Masquerade episode, I didn't hear Blake Roman recite his lines, I heard Angel Dust crying about his miserable life instead. I didn't hear Blake play his role, I heard the fear of an abused character. I felt that fear deep in my heart.

Erika demonstrated all Charlie's joyful nature and energy, Keith showed the face of an old man who lost all hope in his own redemption, Stephanie all the wrath of a fallen angel who just desires to protect the people she loves. Thanks to their work, Hazbin Hotel would have feel lifeless.

➤ Songs

They're pretty good in fact ! It was quite easy to sing along with the characters, plus most of the songs are stuck in my head since weeks. I'm often mumbling them when I'm bored. I find Respectless and Hell is forever quite catchy, while Poison is really lore relevant and go in depth in Angel Dust's character and his relationship with Val. Here's my personal ranking of all songs :

1- Poison (how original I am)

2- Out For Love

3- Loser Baby

4- Respectless

5- Hell is forever

6- Hell's greatest dad

7- More than anything

8- Stayed Gone

9- Ready for this

10- Whatever it takes

11- Welcome to Heaven

12- More than anything (reprise)

13- You didn't know

14- Finale

15- Happy Day in Hell

16- It starts with sorry

They weren't 'bad songs', there are really cool ones to mid, I listened to some numerous times and others just once or two times.

➤ The animation

Quick note, I don't have knowledge about the animating process. I'm a writer and barely an artist, I can't judge Spindelhorse's or Viv's skills. I just have my fan opinion.

The animation is really great, I didn't see any flaws (they have to be big as a house for me to notice it but whatever), moments with actions are smooth and pleasant to watch. My retina didn't burn, so I guess it's a quality.

2 - Flaws

➤ The humor

Unfortunately, the humor is unbalanced. I giggled most of the time, but I didn't have a real laugh. Sometimes, the 'adult jokes' seemed forced, artificial. The pilot was more efficient in humor. However, most of them were okay and brought a smile, it's always good to light up a bad day. Niffty clearly carried the humor tho, her savage energy was really funny to watch. Rip her face, she hugged the floor too many times.

➤ The pacing...

If the humor is totally subjective, the pacing is a real issue. The show goes way to quickly, the main plot is crushed in 8 episodes of approximately 30 minutes. 4 hours for a whole season, it's so short ! The consequences are massive, the story feels rushed and we have no time to breathe. Like, Lucifer and his problems with Charlie are introduced in one episode, then resolved in the SAME EPISODE with the song "More than Anything". It felt like the song was a replacement of dialogues and scenes INCREDIBLY important, and it's a severe problem that has the show. The story is so rushed that we never have the time to appreciate the conflict. I saw some people on Internet complaining about the non-existence of Charlie's 'daddy issues', and I mostly agree. The difference is that Charlie has problems with her dad, she's written this way, but we NEVER have the opportunity to see Lucifer act like a bad father. We only had one flashback where Lucifer was shown focused on his creations, Charlie said explicitely that she was 'impressed' by him, 'felt so small', but we don't have any proof that Lucifer was neglectful towards Charlie. In the pilot, it's implied that Lucifer showed disappointment in his daughter's project in the past, and it's never mentionned in the series. Charlie called Lilith, who is never responding, to share her thoughts. Her mother who disappeared for SEVEN YEARS was a better confident for Charlie than Lucifer was. And it's NEVER MENTIONNED. Their relationship is fixed too quickly, and it feels worse than a LeaderPrice-Disney scenario. it's such a waste because the ideas are really good and creative, but executed poorly.

➤ Ways the subject/themes are handled

It's an indirect consequence of the horrible pacing but it's true that some subjects are badly handled. The serie goes so fast that it creates great confusion. I've talked before of the 'daddy issues' of Charlie, so let's take the example of Anthony's abusive relationship with his boss Val.

The Poison song was great showing the complexity of their relationship and how it's difficult for Anthony to free himself from Val's claws (and I'm not talking about their contract) but for me it wasn't enough. It's like we just dig into the surface. I looked at the clip very closely, we have only a few frames when we see Angel taking pleasure with Val. The episode 4 should have been longer to show the 'good days' of their relationship. Don't get me wrong, Valentino is a total garbage and deserves to be in Hell more than anyone else, but a relationship is never totally black or white. I'm deeply persuaded that it existed by the past good moments between the two, and the show lacked showing it. By showing the beginning of their relationship, when it's all pink and marvelous, Valentino would less appear as the Devil himself and more of a really really twisted being. A flashback would be efficient !

The result is like a 'Disney scenario' : a bad guy very bad, the good guys very good and an issue resolution almost unreal.

Thanks goodness Angel Dust is quite well written or it'll be a massacre.

➤ Wobby worldbuilding

The worldbuilding feels uneven and unfinished. I really loved the Vee's building (especially Vox's office), it shows their personality and their specialty in Hell. Same for the Hotel, it was balanced between the decay state of the building and the life brought by the colors, the lights and the residents. BUT THE CITY-, it's appears empty at some places, weird at others.

For the lore, many of our questions are left unanswered while they're essential for the credibility of the show. What are the different quarters ? They are controlled by who ? What are the missions and responsabilities of the Overlords ? Why Sinners can't leave the Pride ring ? Who rules the first ring while Lucifer was absent, it is the Overlords ?

I would rather a slower season (with less action) who introduce the public to the codes of their universe than the rollercoaster we had.

3 - Quick summary

✔ Viv's ideas are good

✔ Character's designs are very good

✔ Characters are well written

✔ Voice actors are amazing

✔ Most songs are definitely enjoyable

✔ Animation is great

✔ It's very promising for next seasons

✘ The humor : "all or nothing"

✘ Awful pacing

✘ Lack of maturity, disturbing vibe of a "Disney story"

✘ Issues with worldbuilding

To summarize in a few sentences, Hazbin Hotel is a fantastic mess. It's far to be the TV show of the year but you can enjoy it quite easily. The first watching is fun, but I can't say it was worth the wait. 4 years for 8 episodes, a mashed lore, it's disappointing. I don't regret watching it tho, and I'll do it again with pleasure. Hazbin Hotel is overrated, and it doesn't make it a bad TV show. To be fair, I find Viv's pathway in the industry quite incredible and I wish her the best. The show has BIG FLAWS that need to be worked on. We'll see where the serie will be going in the future.

Thanks for reading !

[feathersandblue]

Dear Beloved,

I hereby name you FitzIdiot Dumbass because that's who I am.

I don't like the ending of Fool's Fate. It's badly paced. Comes the climax and then pages and pages of letdown and repetitive conversations. Suspending Fitz in time in the skill-pillar is a lazy excuse to save him from having to explain himself to both Nettle and Molly.

The pacing makes Fool's Fate the weakest part of the trilogy for me, both the beginning and the ending should have been more condensed. As much as I love Thick, at some point, describing in detail the loving and nurturing carework necessary to get him through the Out Islands gets fairly boring. Yes, he's important, but we don't really need to know what he had for breakfast each day.

There's too much Skill speech dialogue all around. The brewing conflict between Chade and Fitz, the hints that Chade might be losing control of his skill, ultimately amount to nothing but Chade sure is annoying. There's no development in this final part, too many hints without a follow-through.

And the ending ... after the dramatic and amazing scenes with the Pale Woman and the healing of the Fool, the rest of the book turns into an endless epilogue.

The introduction of the Burrich's family at the end feels like losing the thread. The trilogy is named after the Fool, and Fitz's and the Fool's relationship is explored in great depths, and then, after its dramatic culmination - the Fool's sacrifice and resurrection - the narrative shifts and turns into a lukewarm soap opera that is more tell than show.

It's astonishing, because as well-written as the books are, as skillfull Hobb as wields the unreliable narrator tool, as insightful as she is when it comes to teenage psychology, as good as she is in crafting strong-willed and independent female characters, Fitz ends up the epitome of a man who seeks out a woman not because he's drawn to her as a human being but because she fulfills his need for sex and domesticity, he's drawn to what she embodies for him, not for who she actually is.

The distinction is very clear and sharp-edged. It comes down to this: if Molly wasn't a woman he's attracted to, he wouldn't have any reason to stay with her. He's not interested in her political views. He doesn't admire her for her candle-making. He doesn't truly confide in her. If he didn't desire her sexually, he'd send her a monthly paycheck to help her take care of her offspring and be on his merry way.

In all honesty, if I had read that ending when the books had come out, not knowing there would be another trilogy picking up the pieces, I'd be horriby frustrated because as it stands, the ending of the Tawny Man trilogy seems weirdly regressive both in terms of queer reading and in terms of character development.

It would have been better, imho, if Fitz had been re-introduced to Patience earlier in the series, and if Fitz reconnecting with Molly had been handled differently with less telling, less answering of questions no one actually asked. It could easily have been more open to interpretation - if Hobb had ended it with the prospect of the two of them getting back together, and maybe an acknowledgement on Fitz's part of what the Fool had to sacrifice in order to make that possible. As it is, I find the ending pretty weak.

And all of that is completely disregarding the tragedy of the Fool.

Let's not even start.

[sesshy380]

Omg I need to know about Bunnies 😂

I'll be honest, I didn't even look inside the docs before I posted the list. This particular one has four WiP ideas in it...including the idea behind 'Our Scars remind Us that the Past was Real' lol

The other three WiP's, one is still a WiP AU in another folder labeled 'Meat' (because that bunny has meat on it lol), and one goes with it as a sequel of sorts. The third is where OC is the villain.

I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to share the 'Scars' premise so you can see the similarities and differences between the original idea and where it ended up.

*****

Post Memory-World Arc. TK is wandering the Duat. He is nameless/has no Ren. He knows when he finally makes it to the Scales, Ammit will be waiting. Sanura, the daughter of Anubis, has decided to make him her friend (he finds her irritating). Even with Anubis’ direction, TK isn’t making it very far towards the Scales since he never really cared to remember all the names of the gods.

One day, when Sanura is being her annoying self and wanting to play, TK makes a comment about just showing him a shortcut to the Scales so he can get things done and over with. His patience has worn thin and he’s tired of the endless suffering that he’s already endured for far longer than he feels is necessary. First he had to witness the death of his village, then he made a bad deal, followed by entrapment in a relic for millennia, not to mention ‘Zorcified’, and now he’s stuck wandering in this hell. Sanura doesn’t like how easily her new friend has decided to give up. She thinks it’s unfair that he has to face Ammit due to all the bad things that happened.

Everyday, Sanura asks, “What would make you happy?”. She’d asked him this daily since his arrival. He’d refused to answer before. Finally he does. “I don’t know what would make me happy. I’ve never known happiness. If I had to guess what would, though, it would be for the events of Kul Elna to have ever existed. For the Millennium Items to have never been made. To have grown up surrounded by loved ones and the opportunity to have friends. To have just lived life as it was meant to be lived.”

TK is given the second chance he doesn’t want…in the most nightmarish way imaginable for him. He wakes up to find himself wearing a very familiar school uniform…and in his own body. Even worse, it appears he’s been put in some sort of alternate universe where the Millennium Items don’t exist, and the Kul Elna massacre never occurred. For some reason he and Ryou are not only friends, but part of Yugi’s little friend group as well. That’s not all. Apparently in this universe he and Atem are cousins living together in Domino (he begins to feel murderous tendencies towards a certain daughter of a god right about now).

The whole situation seems surreal, and everyone keeps trying to convince him that the things he remembers never happened. That they are all figments of his subconscious. That his loss of memory in this world is the result of a car accident a few years prior (and the source of his scar).

[zorkaya-moved]

" oh , no . do not get me wrong , while i do enjoy the occasional intellectual conversation as well as the exchange of knowledge , i am currently taking the freedom to enjoy a cup of ... mediocre tea blend , all whilst keeping track of how many mistakes that crane over there has been making over the past fifteen minutes , but of course , if you so wish to partake in this ... little study , then that remains up to you, " and cup would raise to veritas's lips , scarlet gaze shifting upwards , " ... zarina . "

@avaere

Intelligentsia Guild is filled with those who remind her of both MEI and Mobius, living beings in endless pursuit of knowledge. All of them seek out their personal goals, it's such a humanity's thing to do. But will they ever reach their goals or will they fall beneath the toxicity and the impending doom that knowledge will bring to them? Something tells the Apostle that Veritas Ratio is not a person to crumble beneath the pressure, instead facing it with his own scolding gaze and sharpness of his mind. Geniuses or not, they were all alive and living, weren't they? Then again, can a researcher who passes beyond their original body be called 'normal' and 'living'? Perhaps, but it's not the reason for her approaching the scholar.

"If finding faults within another's creation is your way of relaxing, I must say," she looks where he looks as well, ignoring the sharpness of his gaze and the way he says her name so plainly. Intelligentsia Guild is very well aware of the Apostles, it seems. "You are quite dedicated." His patience must be high if he's been counting diligently for fifteen minutes.

The unknown Path of Origin continues to evade them because the Origin is not interested in stepping into the Path of Erudition. Or maybe, he simply did his own due diligence and researched her presence within different worlds before: Belobog, Xianzhou, and several others before that which included her making deals with essential people and avoiding the sharp claws of certain individuals like Duke Inferno. Hidden, avoidant, independent up until her joining the Astral Express. Hiding in the abandoned and forgotten land of Jarilo-VI was a good decision.

But when eyes of gold look away from the crane and meet the scholar's, they do not show any reaction, instead remain oddly hollow and more similarly studying. They always say that when they look into her eyes, they see only a reflection of themselves. It's an irritating look where people cannot find themselves, but can only see that reflection. A mirror. An oddly uncomfortable mirror.

"Veritas Ratio," since he decides to call her by her name, she will not hesitate to do the same. "Mediocre tea blend, watching the mistakes. You certainly require the best company to balance out such mediocre experience," she then lets a small daring smile appear on her face. Not that she wishes to gain his favor or wishes to make him like her, she's only interested in reactions of people like him. But she is also entertained by the thought process he may bring, driven by logic and rationality. "I'll join you in trying this blend."

Mediocre, he calls it. Where did he get it? Who did he order it from? There are several individuals who have such rich and delightful blends around here, but you must search for them. Mayhaps, did he insult one of hem by being honest? It's only her mind process, wondering exactly what could've happened for him to receive a mediocre experience in tea blends around here.

And as Zarina settles down, she feels at a certain peace. The crane is making too many mistakes, which makes her wonder how created its route to its destination.

"How many mistakes has it done since you've started your watch?" Mayhaps, it can be a fitting beginning to their conversation or they can simply sit in silence, watching the crane mess up over and over again until they're both satisfied with that meaningless repeating of mistakes.

... ... ... Oh wow.

"This blend really is mediocre," she suddenly says upon taking a sip, genuinely surprised at the previous comment from Ratio.

[justwordsonpages]

I promised to do it differently this time.

To not let my thoughts control my actions. To not let my anxiousness determine who you are. To let you show me what you want me to see. To tell me what you want me to know.

I promised to do it differently this time.

And so I waited.

I waited, past the day we'd agree to spend together. I waited as the day came and passed. I reserved myself a bit, but I did not react. I held my patience near my heart and kept it there. I waited for you to tell me that you were ready.

For some reason, I felt as though I needed patience. Something felt different about this.

And though my head filled endlessly with venomous thoughts. Though I've spent endless nights wondering what you could be doing, I did not let it choose my behavior for me. Something feels different about this indeed.

And so I waited for you to ask. "When are we going to hang out again?" I waited, and the question came.

You came to me, and I didn't have to beg for it. I was sad it didn't come sooner, but you offered me your time nonetheless. You said you gladly give it to me.

We planned a day the following week. You were already trying to get me to come over on Thursday instead of Friday so we had more time together.

And just like every time before, I walked into your house, into your arms, and it felt like I was home.

I'm not supposed to attach myself to this idea. We aren't there yet, or at least you aren't. I've been there for a while now, but I promised to do things differently this time.

And only once I waited for you, did I afford the opportunity to be glad I did. So many people are constantly asking for things from you. Taking up your time, your energy, your mental headspace. I don't want to be a part of that. I don't want to drain you. I want you to think about me when you want to, not because you are forced to.

For so many reasons, you're becoming my best friend. A truly safe space, though I've never had one before. I thought I had, but I never knew what it meant. The gravity of what it meant to have a safe space.

That's why I promised myself I'd do things differently this time.

And almost immediately after I got there, you began telling me how work has burned you out so deeply. And without even trying, you answered every single unspoken question I had grown to wonder over the past weeks.

This weekend, we talked about everything and nothing, as we always do. You agreed to meet me in the middle. You let me understand a part of you that I knew was there but I didn't fully see before. We both have some adjusting to do, but you said it was refreshing, and that's what you are to me. A nice, cool swim in a calm lake after spending years fight the burns of being submerged in lava rocks too hot to touch.

We come from such polar opposite worlds, but I think it's beautiful. I think you're beautiful.

This weekend, I spent time not wondering how to fix you. You don't need to be fixed. You weren't broken.

I spent time wondering how I could restore you, because that's what you do for me.

And I promised I'd do things differently this time, because for so long I was pouring from an empty cup and nobody ever gave, only took what I had to offer.

But you've spent hours restoring me, caring, listening, respecting me. Giving me a truly safe place. And I want nothing more than to give that back to you.

Your kiss tries to tell me something. You're begging me to understand. Begging me to hear words that you can't say out loud. It is not love, but something else. Something apart from fear, from lust, from adoration. You need time. But you give yourself every part of me that you can manage to.

You'd built a home in another person and watched it walk away, and it left you hollow. I think only now do you see that she took from your cup without giving back too.

And that is why I promised I'd do things differently this time, with you.

Because for once, I met someone who is worth it, and I can only hope that you don't disappear.

[miidnighters]

Have honeyed words ever had this effect on her before?

Have honeyed words ever been conveyed to her with this much sincerity, rather than the smarmy confidence of someone simply trying to get her into bed?

He would wait for her. He would exercise endless patience for her, and Hartley feels her heart skip a beat at the thought of it.

Is this what it feels like? To be known, rather than admired?

More than that, is she falling for him, or the unshakable faith he seems to have in her? She's so used to being fawned over - is this different? Or is it going to break her heart?

And he doesn't think she's going to disappoint him. Gale is probably the first person who ever has - but that's clearly untrue, because it's the very next thing she has to do. Hartley feels the tension - heard his breath catch, would like nothing more than to close the distance between them and kiss him.

But is she doing it for the right reasons?

"Your opinion of me is too high," Hartley murmurs, tone slightly forlorn. "I'll tell you a desire, right now, for free. I want to kiss you. I want to taste the whiskey off your tongue and then have you walk me to the door so I can show you that I'm not just trying to get you in bed." A pause, to let that sink in. "But I'm also going to make you a liar," about being disappointed, "because I won't."

Her thumb brushes over his jaw again as she regrettably shifts back to keep that tiny bit of distance between their faces, though her eyes have not left his.

"I am feeling a lot of things right now, and a lot of them I'm not quite used to. I want to keep you by my side for a long time and I don't want to ruin that by pushing ahead before I know what I really want. I won't hurt you like that."

Is she explaining this right? Is she hurting his feelings? She's never had to worry about this before, and the anxiety of doing it wrong is curling heavy in the pit of her stomach.

"Will you exercise some of that patience for me?" She murmurs. "Give me a little bit of time?"

"That you do."

Gale isn't a fool. Well, perhaps he is, he would argue, what with the trajectory that his life has carven of late; yet, in this matter right here with this maddening hunter? A fool, a blind one, he's most certainly not.

No, he's realizing these feelings aren't exactly of a garden variety. It's deeper, he considers, with roots ever plunging plenty past where he'd sown them. He neither anticipates a fondness nor a spiraling of a yearning upon any first meeting, but he's starting to believe that's exactly where he'd fallen -- or a bit less gracefully, clumsily flailed. It had started with a job. That job became tens became endless severals. And now she would sit there sharing feelings in his lap. The roadmap of it all turns his thoughts like maelstrom.

He should've known where'd this headed as he ferries her knuckles to the press of his mouth. To think that a genius had went on this blind...

Wow. Maybe, gods preserve him, he is a fool.

Hartley studies his face, and from within him, something slides and gives like a crumbling stone. On a good day, it's difficult already to chance upon her eyes and discern her feelings. Now, he's too addled in his brain to properly imagine what would fill her skull, but that naked honesty dripping sweet her words? Traitorously, he's beginning to imagine something's clearly mutual. "Yet?" he echoes back. (Very mutual and traitorous, indeed). "Hm. That would imply that you're planning to reveal them at some later juncture. Perhaps not to your surprise, patience hasn't been a virtue I've consistently practiced," he jokes, "but as they say, all good things to those who will wait."

Her touches make him shiver. "And gods know for you, I shall certainly try."

Where is this going? Just seconds ago, he'd believed she'd been mindlessly teasing. Now, the way her eyes flicker to his rambling, running mouth--

His breath -- most embarrassingly -- audibly catches.

"As I know it, you don't make habit of disappointing, Hartley. I've the unshakeable belief that it will be very well worth it." Oh, no. He likes her.

[k-dokja]

Can I request for Riddle? Established or pre-established relationship with a reader(gender-neutral or fem) who's like the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland? They're always there for riddle and always supported him even before his overblot (I think it would be cute)

a/n: omg omg omg twisted wonderland and riddle request even, hope this isn't too ooc i don't really pay attention to him lol... 💖

— riddle does not have the best relationship with his peers. this has been established since the early days of his childhood. however, sometimes, an anomaly happens. you stick out among children his age because of your family's good relationship with him.

not only that, your background brings a lot of prestige into his mother's eyes, allowing you far more freedom to interact with him than anyone else. he won't admit that he's attached, to the point where it's a bit overbearing.

&. but how can he not develop affection for you? not when you've always been the one by his side, steadfast and loyal in everything.

when riddle developed the rebellious streak to sneak out and play with trey and clover, you were brought along if only because you worried about what riddle will face when his mother discovered this.

it became a point where your study session with riddle became playdates with him and the two other boys. but those fond memories came to an abrupt end when he was found by his mother.

his friendship with the other boys was lost. and you were only spared of her wrath because of your parents' close association. everything goes back to its original place, this time, with a profound sense of loss. and riddle compensates the only way he knows how.

&. deprived of any other friendship, he latches to you more strongly than ever before. and you, knowing what happened to riddle, never have the heart to think about abandoning him.

this also comes with a bit of a negative development to your codependency. before his enrolment in the college, riddle monopolizes much of your time when he's not busy with his own businesses.

even then, you often tag along as the two of you are on the same committees together. people often ask about riddle's absence whenever you stand alone. even then, only moments later, riddle would return by your side.

&. you're always the sweeter and more approachable one between the two of you. but because of riddle's high demands, it soon becomes clear to everyone where your priority lies. those that would become your friends understand that riddle's always at the top of your list.

while you never garnered a reputation of being unkind or uptight, your close association with riddle eventually fends away your romantic suitors, mostly in fear of incurring his wrath. many of them believe you're only a lackey to him, but you know better.

besides his walls, you see a boy deeply wounded by his upbringing, caged by the control of his mother, but you lack the power to undo what damage she has done. all you can do is staying by his side to support him until he can stand on his own feet.

&. in return for your affection for him, riddle has always been kinder to you than anyone else. even if he never stops being strict, he's always softer when it comes to reprimanding you. his patience appears endless in front of your honest mistake.

you can always count on him for assistance for anything as long as the request is reasonable. and the limit of 'reasonable', when it comes to you, is very broad for riddle.

his preference for you above everything else makes his confession no surprise when he asks you out during the last gala before your graduation. you have no reason to turn him down and every reason to accept, so you did.

&. your relationship continues with solid development even when the two of you can no longer study with each other. riddle being accepted to a different academy spells a lot of trouble for a new relationship.

however, the two of you have known each other for long enough to know that your relationship won't be shaken easily by the distance. it also does help that his mother approves of you even with what happened.

the two of you have been taking it slow up until the day both of you have to leave for your respective school. however, you take your chances to kiss him at the corner of his lips before he departs then pulls away in embarrassment.

but before your escape succeeds, riddle grabs you and drags you back into his embrace. his kiss is a touch forceful and clumsy, but his lips find yours and by the end of it, his face is the shade of his hair. it is a funny sight to watch, you'd laugh had your own cheeks not been flushed, too.

&. "you should have done that sooner," he chides, face so red it's comical, "now i will have to spend the entire trip wanting more."

after your melodious laughter and a few more chaste kisses, riddle lets you go after a final kiss on his nose. his reluctance to part is clear, but on his lips is a smile full of promise. "i will text soon as i got the chance." he steps away, intending to leave.

but before you get the chance to say goodbye, he bounces back and kisses you on the lips. this time, he leaves for real. the smile on his face is a new one.

"riddle!" you call after him. exasperated yet all loved up. something tells you that things will become even better in the following years.

&. when it comes to the matter of his relationship, you're probably one of riddle's accidental best-kept secrets. it's not that he feels any shame about his feeling toward you. for riddle, it's a matter of relevance. if you have nothing to do with the conversation, you won't be brought up. it is simple as that.

as it is, he actually mentions you quite often during conversations with trey. you pop up in talks about events that your own college is running or something you've mentioned to riddle recently. he also keeps you up to date with the changes in his school.

for starter, the fact he becomes a housewarden a week into enrolment. you've been excited for him at that time, but both of you acknowledge that the duty would eat away his schedule. the two of you would make it work somehow, you have complete confidence in him, and he in you.

&. the first year of college goes by pretty uneventfully. both of you spend much of your time adapting to the new curriculums. even if you are both busy, you do your best to keep each other informed.

he knows your schedule well enough and vice versa to worry when something goes amiss. if any problem comes up, he'd appreciate knowing even if he can't do anything. vice versa, he finds that sometimes simply talking things out with you helps him find another perspective.

even if you're not together physically, the two of you are always close in spirit. it's pretty cute to see him fret a little and become pouty when you haven't gotten much time together.

riddle has to control every fibre of his being to hold back from running up to you whenever the two of you get the chance to see each other, whether it's during school events or holidays. it does help that you're the more affectionate one of the two.

&. whenever you're involved in important organizations, riddle always shows up at your school's events. to your friends, he always expresses himself with reserved politeness, where you are the only common ground he'll have with them.

but outside of that, if there's any problem you run into, he'll always try to help so that you can have more time to hang out with him later. he loves having the chance to walk around the event area while holding your hand. it makes him unreasonably giddy, even if he doesn't show it on the surface, to be close to you again.

contrary to his strictness toward others, riddle is actually super indulgent as a boyfriend. there are limits, of course, but it really shows how whenever he's with you, he's much more easygoing and open, especially now that the two of you aren't together during his academic environment.

&. now, when it comes to you going to nrc, there are a few differences... to start with, it gets a bit rowdy in the second year. between the prefect, the weasel, and the troublesome first-year, riddle has his hands full.

cater was surprised when he found out riddle is very much taken, but when the freshmen unit found out about your existence... their collective surprise hurts riddle's ears. they know better than to probe him about it, but their curiosity is apparent. in the end, riddle resigns to introduce you to them the next time you visit nrc.

needless to say, he's more than a little protective when the freshmen start to crowd you. he's very proud of you, of course, make no mistake. but he's also territorial and more than a little possessive, others taking up your time just makes him all too pouty.

&. there's no denying that he's far more open after his overblot. he has always been kind to you, but his consideration doubles once he recovered.

you've always been a constant presence in his life, never wavers even in his worse moment, and he's endlessly grateful for that.

and more than anything... his vulnerability has an easier time showing when he's around you now. he knows that you'll always be by his side, no matter what, and he vows to always be there for you.

of course, because of the past, he can't change everything about himself in a day. and you probably wouldn't like that, you love him for him, flaws and all, and he will do anything to ensure that he'll become a better man deserving of your love and support.

[watchmegetobsessed]

PARTNERS IN CRIME

A/N: oof i can't believe im posting this fic! it's been in the making for literally the longest so its a relief that im finally done with it haha! it stretched longer than i planned but oh well!

special thanks to @fallinallincurls for helping me out in the field of ice hockey since i knwo absolutely nothing about sports and i bothered her all the time with questions so thank you for your patience Bre!

PAIRING: prince-hair!hockey-player!Harry X Reader

WARNINGS: a little bit of blood, bullying

WORD COUNT: 20.1k

masterlist

Why on Earth did you have to get a roommate who doesn’t know how to take no as an answer? You swear to all gods above, Zoe has never had to deal with rejection and not because she’s always been the best but because she just refused to take it and pushed all boundaries until she got what she wanted. Tonight it’s her mission to get you to turn your no into yes.

“Come on! You never go to parties, how are you gonna get your full college experience?” she sighs, flopping down to your bed next to you, where you’re curled up with yet another crime book, an obsession that might be a bit too much in some people’s opinion, but you like to call it a passion of yours. Your brother would beg to differ, but you don’t let that ruin something you like. After all, it is what got you figure out what you want to do in life.

“Who said I want the full college experience? I am in college so therefore I’m having an experience,” you retort, laying your book to your chest just in time to see Zoe roll her almond shaped eyes before she narrows them at you. Even pretending to be hurt and mad at you, she is still one of the most stunning girls you’ve ever met in your life.

When the two of you became roommates last year as freshmen, you were afraid she’d the type you tried to avoid at all cost in high school. The popular, everyone’s favorite girl who only cares about herself. Well, the first part is kind of true, Zoe is the kind of girl who gets most people’s attention walking across the campus, but she is definitely not the selfish monster you thought her to be, but a caring and lively bubble of endless energy who tried her best to bring you out of your shell through your first year. It was partially successful, you went to about two parties all year which was already more than what you were planning on, but she also introduced you to a lot of people and helped you find your own little circle. The two of you had a few classes together last year, but this year you both finally chose your majors which resulted in a schedule that didn’t cross anywhere, Zoe chose International Studies while you started Criminal and Social Justice, something you’ve been highly excited about all summer.

Even though you were lucky enough to stay together after moving into another residence hall this year, Zoe now feels like it’s her special task to get you out of the room and your own little room even more since she can’t see you for most of the day usually, but you’re not sure how you feel about that mission of hers.

“It’s gonna be fun! We are not freshmen anymore, we’ll be like the cool kids finally!” she tries again, but you’re not giving in.

“Z, you are already a cool kid and I’m not trying to be one. I don’t see the use of it for me.”

“Okay,” she huffs raising her eyebrows at you. “I didn’t mean to tell you, but this is my last chance of changing your mind. There is an ulterior reason why I want to be there.”

“I’m listening,” you mumble, narrowing your eyes at her in suspicion.

“So, at the end of last year, remember when I went to the party with Callie and Mike?”

“Distantly, but yes.”

“Well, I kinda hooked up with…” She looks away, a soft blush painting her face and now you’re dying to know who got her this nervous.

“Just spit it out!”

“I hooked up with Niall Horan!”

Your eyes widen and your mouth opens before you close it, not knowing what to say. Niall Horan is the captain of Boston College’s men’s hockey team the Eagles, notorious womanizer and in your opinion, a straight up asshole.

Well, if you’re being honest every sport obsessed jock is an asshole for you and though judging a book by its cover is not a nice thing to do, you just can’t help it, not after what happened to you in high school.

Zoe knows your opinion about guys on any of the school’s sport teams, probably that’s why she never told you about Niall, she guessed right that you’d have quite a few issues with her little adventure. But you can’t be mad at her for doing something you would never, it’s her life and her choices, however you’re still not sure what it has got to do with tonight.

“Okay, so that’s one more reason to stay away from tonight’s party,” you tell her, but she sighs.

“We kinda kept in touch through the summer, which was a miracle since he went home to his family in Ireland, but we texted a lot and he even FaceTimed me two times! I was hoping tonight would bring a little more and we could… I don’t know, make it official.”

You can tell how nervous she is about this guy and that she wants it to end well. Zoe broke up with her longtime high school boyfriend after graduation and she hasn’t really found anyone who interested her that much, but it seems like the hockey team’s captain was the person she’s been waiting for all along. You wish it was some nice guy from the robotics club or something. You have quite a few doubts about this Niall guy.

“But why do I need for that?” you ask the most important question. It’s one thing that you’re not a fan of Zoe getting together with a hockey player, but what role do you have in all of it?

“I need you to be there and not let me go crazy!” she sighs desperately. “I really like him and I really don’t want to make a fool out of myself. I need you to be my rational side.”

“You’re a smart girl, Zoe. You don’t need me to babysit you.”

“But I do! Please, I’ll do all your laundry for the rest of the semester, just please come with me!” She is begging as if her life depended on your attendance. It’s really not your cup of tea, but when you look at your desperate friend, you realize you won’t be able to say no.

So a few hours later you are walking up the stairs to some frat house, the music is blasting inside and people are lingering outside, you can only imagine how crowded it is on the other side of the door.

Zoe keeps a firm hold on your hand as she pulls you after her, finding a group of people you both know pretty soon. You all attended Sociology first semester, so you greet each other like old buddies.

Zoe fetches the two of you each a drink and while you stand in a small circle, trying to talk over the music and the noise, you notice how she isn’t even paying attention, only looking around cautiously, probably searching for a particular Irish hockey player.

“Don’t look so desperate,” you hiss at her, which causes her to look down at her feet with a soft blush on her cheeks. For a moment you feel bad for being so harsh on her. It’s not like she can choose who she likes and if it happens to be a hockey player, you can’t give her a hard time for it. You can only hope she won’t end up like you once did.

After finishing your first drink you offer to grab the second and Zoe agrees, saying that she needs the liquid courage for when Niall arrives. You push your way into the kitchen and mix the both of you a vodka orange, the same thing Zoe made you earlier and head back to your little bunch. Slaloming between the people on your own you don’t get stopped for a few words or to take shots, you barely know anyone and it’s honestly fine by you. You never really enjoyed attention that much, it brought you way too much anxiety. Zoe is the opposite, she gets noticed all the time and whenever you are with her you always get stopped, people seek her presence and you don’t blame them, she is amazing. You could easily be jealous of her, but you decided to put your energy into positive things so you’re more happy than mad about her success.

Handing Zoe her drink you zone out for a bit and your attention is grabbed by Zoe when her hand smacks your arm. You cautiously look around as she sucks her breath in and that’s when you see the guys she’s been waiting for all night walk in.

Niall is the first one, loud and vibrant, saying hi to basically everyone that gets in his way as he walks into the house. Then comes Louis, he is a senior this year and he seems a lot calmer and less all over the place than Niall, though you’ve heard a thing or two about him as well. Then a few more guys who are also definitely on the team, because they have the same jacket as the first two, and last in the line comes Harry Styles.

You don’t know much about him, just that he is a promising defense player, as a freshman last year he was on the ice from the beginning of their very first game in the season, which is a big deal. Coach Brahms is known to make the new players work for their spot on the ice, but Harry Styles broke that habit of his. Now he is a sophomore and everyone is talking about how he is going to be the backbone of the team this season. You know all of this because your brother is a big fan, in fact, he used to play on the school’s team. He has graduated two years ago but he still likes to watch their games and be up-to-date with the news. You remember him telling you about Harry last year, how satisfied he was with his game.

“I wish I could’ve played with him!” he sighed longingly, but you couldn’t understand his enthusiasm.

From the outside Harry didn’t seem too friendly. You barely saw him talk to anyone outside of his teammates, sometimes he has this pretty intimidating look on his face as if he was silently judging everyone around him and he already had a bad point at you by being a hockey player. You just know he isn’t someone you should be around.

“Okay, how do I look?” Zoe pulls you back from your thoughts as she turns to face you for reassurance about her look.

“Great, but don’t talk his ears off, okay?” you tell her, fixing a strand of hair before giving her a thumbs up.

“You need to come with me,” she demands, gripping your wrist tight.

“You don’t need me there,” you shake your head in protest.

“But I do, come on!”

Zoe yanks you after her, not even caring that you said no. Typical, as always. The guys are headed into the kitchen so of course, the two of you are following. You really don’t want to be here right now, but Zoe wouldn’t let go of you, chaining you to herself.

Niall is opening up a can of beer for himself when he spots Zoe and his face lights up at the sight of her. You have to give it to them, it’s kind of cute, but that doesn’t change much about your opinion.

“Zoe! Hi!” he greets your friend happily and she finally lets go of you, just so she can return the hug he envelopes her into.

“Hey, it’s good to see you! How are you?” The two of them get into a little chit-chat while you’re standing near, then Zoe turns to you and pulls you closer, into their little circle. “This is my roommate, Y/N. Y/N, this is Niall.”

“Hi,” you smile at him shortly, not willing to hold up a conversation with him.

“Hey, it’s nice to meet you. Z told me a lot about you.”

Oh, so at least he remembers what they talk about. That’s a somewhat good start. He still has a long way to go.

After some usual schmoozing Niall leans closer to Zoe’s ear and you see her eyes lighting up before she turns to you and you already know what’s about to come.

“Hey, is it okay if I have a few words with Niall outside? Or do you want me to stay with you?”

The last question is not rhetorical, you know Zoe would blow Niall off and stick to you if you asked, but you’re not trying to ruin her chances even though you really don’t want to be left alone at a party.

“Sure, I’ll be fine,” you assure her.

“Are you sure?”

“Zoe, just go, okay? I’ll go back to Francesca and the others,” you nod your head towards the people you stood when you first arrived.

“Alright, I’ll come and find you when we are done. Text me if something happens!” she tells you, giving you a quick hug before you watch her walk away, Niall right behind her, keeping a hand on her waist casually.

Chewing on your bottom lip you sigh as you’re left alone and when you look around you don’t see Francesca or any other people you know either. Left alone in a party you didn’t even want to attend now you have to linger around while Zoe possibly gets together a hockey player, the kind you want to avoid from the furthest possible… what a great night!

Finishing your drink you quickly refill your cup and then go on a mission to find a bathroom in this packed frat house. Making your way upstairs you easily spot the room you’re looking for, two girls already waiting in line, so you just quietly join them. They sound pretty plastered, talking about some guys that invited them over to their place and you push down a grimace at how easily they are saying yes to men they literally just met. The two girls go inside together once the bathroom empties, so you wait alone now and when the stumble out a few minutes later you gladly lock yourself inside, having a breather from all the impulses waiting for you outside.

After finishing your business you sprinkle some cold water into your face, the heat in the house is rising with each arriving guest and you really hate sweating your ass off, but you don’t have much of a choice. Maybe you can look around outside, someone you know might pop up so you wouldn’t have to walk around alone. You grab your cup from the sink where you placed upon arriving and with a deep sigh you reach for the doorknob and open it. As you’re about to step out, you straight up mash against someone, a hard chest meeting with you, your drink spilling all over your black top and for a moment you sing hallelujah for changing from that white shirt you originally wanted to wear.

“Holy shit, I’m sorry!” A deep voice with a British accent speaks up as you look down at your soaked shirt. Letting out a sigh you clench your jaw before glancing up and seeing none other than Harry Styles, staring down at your chest.

“Great, thanks,” you mumble, turning back into the bathroom to dry yourself off a bit, though you know the orange juice will leave it sticky either way. You expect him to just disappear, not wanting to deal with the casualties of his actions, but Harry lingers in the bathroom door, not sure what to do or say. Glancing at him you arch an eyebrow at him questioningly. “What? Staring doesn’t help the situation,” you snap at him, your dislike coming off maybe a bit too harsh, but you’ve had enough for tonight.

“How can I help?” he asks, taking a tiny step closer, but still keeping his distance. “You want me to get you another shirt? I know some of the guys here, I could—“

“No need for that. Just go back to the party and ruin someone else’s night instead of mine.”

You’re not this bitter. This isn’t your trait, but you were dragged here against your will, Zoe left you alone and now your shirt smells like vodka orange. There’s a reason why you don’t like parties and it’s because somehow they always end up horrendous on your part.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t see you coming…”

“Surely,” you grumble, peeking at him once again. He stands tall above you, wearing a plain white shirt that has a few dots of your drink on it as well but he doesn’t seem bothered. His black skinny jeans are tighter than anything you own, paired with some trainers, his chocolate curls are messily bouncing around his face. He is definitely growing them out, they’ve gotten a lot longer during the summer compared to the hairstyle he sported last year from what you remember seeing him on campus here and there.

You’d be lying if you said he wasn’t handsome with his dreamy green eyes and pink lips, you can totally see why girls were into him, though out of the whole hockey team, you’ve heard the least about his dating life from people. Absolutely nothing, to be precise.

Throwing the towel to the side that you used to soak up some of the liquid from your chest you just grab your now almost fully empty cup and head out, but Harry stops you.

“Wait, I really am sorry. Is there anything I can do to make up for it?”

“No thanks. Save your pretty boy attitude to the ladies downstairs, I’m not interested,” you simply reply and then walk away before he could stop you for a second time.

“Where have you been?!” Zoe snaps when the two of you finally run into each other a little later. You’ve spent some time with a girl you know from philosophy class last year and you headed outside for some fresh air when you finally found your roommate.

“Where have I been? I’ve been around all along. What’s up with you?” you ask and the moment you see her blushing and smiling you know things went well with Niall.

“We are officially dating. We’re not a couple but he specifically said that he is not gonna go out with someone else while we are figuring things out.”

“Oh, that sounds good!” you say and actually mean it. At least he is not trying to get Zoe into a bigamous mess where he fucks every other women at the same time.

“Yes! I’m so happy, I feel like this can actually work.” Her eyes move down to your chest and though it’s not soaking wet anymore, the stain is still kind of visible. “What happened to you?”

“Just… bumped into someone and spilled my drink. No big deal.”

“Alrighty,” she shrugs. “Come on, let’s find some friends!” she beams and linking her arm with yours she quickly pulls you after her.

Unlike you, it doesn’t take Zoe long to find people she knows. The two of you are in the corner of the living room with a few girls Zoe has classes with this semester, talking about summer and what this school year has for everyone. Now that Zoe is back your anxiety eases a bit, not having to linger around alone has its perks obviously.

Moving to the kitchen to get your next and probably last drink you mentally groan when you spot Niall and his teammates, unlike Zoe who immediately brightens up seeing her man, if you can say that. On top of all that, Harry is with them as well, standing leant against the edge of the countertop, a red cup on his right hand as he mostly just observes the conversations happening around him.

“Hey there! How are you ladies enjoying the party?” Niall grins and curls an arm around Zoe’s shoulders, earning her quite a few jealous glares from girls around who are probably crushing hard on the player.

“It’s great!” Zoe beams and you decide to leave it at that.

Niall’s eyes fall on you and then at Harry who is weirdly eyeing you before looking away which already makes you want to leave this conversation already, but then you see Niall lean closer and saying something to him to which Harry just growls and bumps his shoulder against his. The way Niall peeks at you after that lets you know that it had something to do with you and that makes your blood boiling.

Your hatred towards athletes, especially football or hockey players always gets proven to be valid. They are called players for a reason but in your opinion it has nothing to do with sports. All your life men like Niall and Harry made you miserable for absolutely no reason because they think that the world is lying in front of their feet just because they are considered good in a sport. When you were younger you gave them all the benefit of the doubt, but one asshole of a player turned it all around and rid you of all your trust in anyone who is just the slightest bit like him.

Not quite up to be talked about while you’re very much present, you decide tonight must come to an end for you. Leaning closer to Zoe you try to speak so only she can hear it.

“I’m gonna head home, but stay if you want.”

“What?” she gasps with sad eyes. “No, stay a little longer!”

“I’m tired. Just wanna go back to the dorm,” you shrug, hoping this is going to be one of the rare occasions she takes no as an answer.

“Are you alright? Do you want me to wait for a taxi with you?” she offers and it’s sweet that she is still concerned about you when she could just easily ditch you. You can’t blame her for you not enjoying the party, she tried her best to contribute to you having a good time.

“No, it’s alright.”

“Do you need a ride?” Niall chimes in, putting together the pieces about what you two are talking about. “Harry could drive you home,” he offers with a smirk, nodding towards his friend whose head immediately snaps up at the mentioning of his name, his eyes meeting your frown.

“No thanks, I’m fine,” you simply turn it down. “I’ll see you back at the dorm,” you tell Zoe before walking away, leaving the awkward situation behind you.

From what you saw, it’s been entirely clear that Harry Styles is no different from the athletes you’re trying to stay away from. It’s a good thing your circles don’t meet too often, especially since this was the first and probably last party of the semester you attended.

🏒🏒🏒

It sounds nerdy, but you’ve been excited to start this new semester, all because you finally chose your major. You ended up with Criminal and Social Justice after a long and deliberate process of deciding what you’d like to study and you can proudly say that you’re satisfied with your choice. What got you the most excited is your criminology class you were able to take, held by Professor Rutherford, one of the best professors at Boston College from what you’ve heard.

After a light Monday, when you only had two classes, nothing extravagant, you wake up buzzing on Tuesday, knowing that you can finally dive into the depths of criminology, something that always amazed and interested you.

Zoe is barely up when you leave, but she is already texting from under her fluffy blankets, the two of you agree to get something for dinner together on your way back to Roncalli residence hall, your dorm, since you both finish around the same time, and with that you’re out the door. Making a small trip to the café near the dorm, you head to your class with a steaming black coffee and endless excitement about today’s class.

There are still about ten minutes until nine when you arrive, but the room is almost entirely filled. Walking up next to the rows, you spot that somewhere in the middle, there are two empty seats at the end of one of the rows, so you decide to take that. Sitting into one of them and then putting your bag to the other as you dig up your notebook and pen along with your phone.

You shoot a quick text to Zoe to check if she didn’t fall back asleep, but she replies right away with a mirror selfie as she is washing her teeth in one of the communal bathrooms on your floor. Then you’re just aimlessly scrolling through Instagram and the rest of the minutes pass by quick.

Professor Rutherford arrives and walks up to the podium, the room right away quiets down even though he hasn’t even started talking. You assume everyone else is just as excited for this class as you are. He grabs a stack of paper from his oldschool briefcase and puts his glasses on, making him look like a cute grandpa, but you know more about him than to underestimate him. Marlon Rutherford was the best criminal detective at the Boston Police for almost three decades before he started teaching, first only at the academy, but then he was somehow lured to Boston College and he has been teaching Criminology and Criminal Psychology for about ten years now. He was good at what he was doing and he is now happy to pass on everything he knows to the next generations.

Before Professor Rutherford could start, the door opens and two more students arrive, but you’re not paying much attention as you’re scribbling the date onto the first page of your notebook. But when a figure stops right beside you, your attention is forced away from in front of you.

Standing there a little hunched is none other than Harry Styles, looking down at you with an unreadable expression on his face.

“Can I please… take this seat?” he whispers, pointing to the seat where your bag is and as you glance around you see that there are no other seats left anywhere near, only in the middle of the row and he obviously doesn’t want to crawl in there.

“Sure,” you mumble, grabbing your bag and dropping it under your seat, turning back to your notebook just as the professor starts speaking.

Harry’s sudden arrival pushes you out of your comfort in a second, making you very aware that he is sitting right beside you. He is not staring, not trying to talk to you, just sits there with an old, beaten up notebook and pen, listening to what the professor is saying, doing what you should do, but you’re too busy with the hockey player by your side.

Forcing yourself to look forward and focus on what’s important, you manage to shut his presence out for a whole… five minutes, probably. Then you see him peeking at you at for some dumb and irritating reason your cheeks heat up just by his look.

“Hey, I’m sorry for what happened at the party,” he then whispers over to you, leaning just a tad bit closer and it turns you into stone when his bicep presses against your forearm for a few seconds.

“S’okay,” you mumble, keeping your gaze down, but you just know he is still looking at you, while playing with his pen between his fingers. What was Professor Rutherford just saying?!

“I-it was my fault.”

“Sure it was.” It slips out before you could even stop yourself, but it instantly heats up your neck and ears. As you peek to the side you see a small smile on Harry’s lips before you glue your eyes to the professor at the front of the room.

Harry is just about to speak up again, but then the professor claps and it makes you both jump a little, actually paying attention to what he is saying.

“And so what you can expect for the rest of the semester! We are gonna make it an extremely exciting one! We are gonna be working in pairs and every pair will have to study a famous case of a crime that’ll be assigned to them. We’ll learn about the most important factors in cases and you’ll have to work along those lines, analyzing what went down during the investigations. The outcome will be a five thousand words long co-written essay!”

The students start rumbling, already looking for their pairs and your stomach drops to the floor, since you don’t know anyone in this class, so how are you going to find a partner?

“Before any of you gets too excited, you don’t get to decide who your partner is,” Professor Rutherford announces and the talking just increases in the room. “Silence, please!” Slowly, the noises die down and everyone turns back to the professor who is patiently waiting. “Every second person from this side of the room…” he started, pointing at the side where you were also sitting, so that meant you would be a second person. “Look to your right!”

Your eyes instantly snap over to Harry and your lips part as you realize where this is about to head. Harry looks back at you and then down to the professor who then speaks up again with a small smile under his growing mustache.

“Please, say hello to your partner!”

Harry Styles is going to be your partner for your criminology class for the rest of the semester. Months of working is ahead of the two of you and just the thought makes your stomach jump up and down. Seemingly Harry is just as shocked and surprised as you are and what’s that you see in his green irises? Nervousness? Anxiety? Whatever it is, he seems to swallow it down before he looks at you with an unsure smile.

“Well, I guess we are now partners in crime.”

🏒🏒🏒

Coach Simmons blows his whistle, stopping the ongoing game the boys have been playing for the past twenty minutes. They all stop what they are doing, sliding over to the man at the edge of the ice, breathing heavily under their protective gear. Helmets are coming off as the team waits for the coach to say something. In their skates, they are all taller and definitely stronger than the man in his fifties who is standing in his sneakers on the ice, yet they still respect him as if he could beat them all up with just one hand.

“It wasn’t as bad as I expected for the first time after summer, but you all need to get your shit together. Stop thinking too much about yourself and watch out for your team mates. This is a team game, alright?”

The boys all nod as Coach Simmons gives some personal feedback to some of them.

“And Styles?” Harry’s head snaps up, chewing on his bottom lip as he waits for the man to continue. “Wake the fuck up, you were like a zombie.”

“Sorry, coach,” he mumbles back, kicking some crushed ice with his skate.

“Okay, I’ll see you soon. Don’t do anything stupid,” Simmons dismisses the team and they all leave the ice, heading into the changing room.

“Simmons was right, what’s up with you?” Niall waits for Harry who is almost the last one to leave the ice and the two of them walk back side by side.

“Nothing, I just need to get back to the groove, that’s all.”

“Bullshit. You said you’ve been dying to get back on the ice and now you seemed like you weren’t even here in your head.”

Harry doesn’t answer, just shrugs his shoulders as they enter the changing room, getting rid of their skates right away, but Niall doesn’t leave it at that.

“As your captain, I need to know what’s on that pretty curly head of yours, big boy!” He teases him and though Harry smiles shortly, it disappears fast and it tells a lot to his friend. “Something happened?”

“It’s just… You know that girl from the party?” he starts with a sigh after getting rid of his underclothes, now only standing in his pants. Niall starts undressing too, just like the rest of the team, but they pay no attention to their conversation.

“There were a lot of girls, Harry. You have to be more specific,” Niall snorts.

“The one I accidentally bumped into and her drink spilled to her shirt,” he answers, blushing even at the thought of the incident.

“Oh! Zoe’s roommate, right?”

“Y-yeah.”

“What about her? Wait, did you ask her out? Did you finally grow a pair and went after a girl?” Niall gasps dramatically before he starts laughing, but Harry just rolls his eyes.

“We are paired for the semester for our criminology class,” he answers instead, leaving Niall’s teasing unnoticed.

“That’s great, right? You’re gonna have to spend time together to work on stuff, yeah?”

“Apparently, but she didn’t seem thrilled to be paired with me,” he growls under his breath. They both have gotten rid of their clothes so now they head to the showers. In a row, there are a total of five showers, offering not much of covering once someone is inside, but they have gotten used to seeing each other the way they entered this world.

Harry still remembers when he switched teams in high school and at the new place, they had a shower similar to the one at college and he wasn’t used to baring it all, his previous place offered showers with floor to ceiling curtains. It took him a good six months to get himself over the fact that he was gonna be seeing his team mates without clothes quite often. Now he doesn’t even think about it as he steps under the warm water, carrying the conversation on with Niall as they stand next to each other, basically fully seeing each other’s business.

“Do you want me to ask Zoe why she hates you?” Niall offers and Harry grimaces at his words.

“You think she hates me? We barely even know each other.”

“Dunno, but you did spill her drink on her at a party. Maybe she took is harder than you thought.”

“I literally apologized like ten times already. Even did so in class, but she didn’t seem to be fazed at all,” Harry muses, thinking back at his exchange of words with you from earlier.

“Okay, then maybe you did something against her before that and you just don’t know about it. Girls remember the craziest stuff,” Niall chuckles as if he was such an expert in women.

Harry knows that his friend is known to be a party animal and a ladies favorite and Niall obviously doesn’t scare away from a little flirt, but what others don’t see is that he is not that big of a player people tend to make him be. If he is serious about someone, he’ll be one hundred percent faithful to that person and now he has eyes only for Zoe.

Harry doesn’t realize he has zoned out, just standing under the water, thinking about the possibility that he has met you before, but he can’t think of any other occasion.

“Hey,” Niall catches his attention. “You like her?” he asks, and Harry notices how the playfulness is gone from his words, he has transformed into the caring friend Harry could count on anytime.

“I mean, as much as you can like someone you don’t really know,” he mumbles, keeping his eyes down as he feels his cheeks blushing.

Dating is a field for Harry he is not entirely comfortable with. Unlike many assume, he is not that outgoing and social like his teammates, making friends everywhere they go. Growing up he was always the shy kid, he had to be nagged to participate in activities that required talking to more than just two people. It was one of the main reasons why he started playing hockey, his mother thought it would help him open up and ease his social anxiety and though it did wonders to him, just like she expected, it couldn’t change his entire personality.

He had only dated one girl in high school and even before asking her out, he needed six entire months to muster up the courage and do so. He always envied guys his age that could just easily flirt and pick up girls at parties or even just a coffee shop. Anytime he sees a girl he finds pretty, his brain goes blank and he starts stuttering, so most of the time he keeps quiet and doesn’t even try. He is not a man of many words, that is for sure.

“Alright, then just… try to get on her good side. I’ll talk to Zoe, ask her if she knows anything,” Niall offers.

“Okay, but please be subtle. I don’t need Zoe to go and tell Y/N that I’ve been stalking her or something.”

“Subtle is my middle name, baby,” Niall laughs, his cheeky side coming back in an instant.

“No, it’s James,” Harry rolls his eyes before shutting the water off and walking out of the shower.

🏒🏒🏒

It’s another Friday and another attempt from Zoe to drag you to a party. Unfortunately, you can’t say no this time, because you owe her one after you left your wallet at home on your busiest day when you didn’t have time to go back to the dormitory. She was noble enough to make a detour to your room, grab it for you and bring it across campus between two of your classes. She gave it to you under one condition, though; made you promise you’d come to the next party with her.

Now you are sitting on your bed, dressed in a black dress Zoe lent it to you for the night, paired with your black Converse and a denim jacket, while your roommate is finishing up her last touches on her makeup.

“Whose party is this gonna be, again?”

“Uh, it’s Tanner’s birthday. He is on the Hockey team.”

You take a deep breath before you could open your mouth to question her why she hasn’t shared this information. Obviously, this was her plan all along, because she knew if you figured out who is hosting it, you’d have found a way to get yourself out of it. You definitely don’t want to spend another evening surrounded by hockey players and other assholes. You’ve had enough of all that last time.

The memory of Harry running into you pops into your head, and then when you found out you two would be paired for the rest of the semester for your criminology class. It’s been two weeks since that happened, Harry sat next to you silently at every class since then and when you were assigned to what case you’d have to work on, he asked for your number so you can easily agree on the time when you start working on it. You still have plenty of time, but you definitely don’t want to leave it to the last minute, so very soon you’ll have to spend more time with him.

It’s been a pleasant surprise that he didn’t try to make small talks with you, just sat there, only said hello and goodbye before and after class, but other than that he let you be completely. You figured he would try to charm his way with you, chat you up and expect you to fall to your knees for him, just how you always imagine athletes act, but it hasn’t been the case at all.

The thought of seeing him out of the lecture hall brings you an unfamiliar feeling in your stomach, but you push it down quickly, ignoring it as much as you can.

Once Zoe is all done, you call a taxi, not feeling like walking thirty minutes off campus. This Tanner guy apparently lives with a bunch of other players from the team in a house near school, so you feel like it’s gonna be just like another frat party again.

Arriving at the house, you’re slightly relieved that it doesn’t seem as wild as the one you were dragged to last time, though the music is blasting here as well, a few lingering people on the front porch and you can see more inside through the windows.

“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna disappear this time,” Zoe swears to you, linking her arm with yours as you make your way inside.

The view is what you were expecting, a lot of people drinking, talking and dancing, through the open backdoor you can see a beerpong table out in the back, the small kitchen island is filled with all kinds of drinks, red solo cups everywhere.

Zoe spots Niall right away and she pushes her way through the people, pulling you after her until she finally reaches him in the back of the living room, greeting him with a short kiss. Despite the fact that they are not officially an item just yet, Niall doesn’t seem to mind it, in fact, he circles an arm around her waist and pulls her in gladly, gifting her with a smile once she leans back. It’s almost kind of cute. Almost, because you still don’t trust athletes.

“Can I get you girls something to drink?” he asks, eyes switching between you and Zoe.

“That would be great, thank you!” she beams and Niall is already off to get the two of you something. When he returns, he hands you a cup and judging from the smell of it, it’s probably vodka and energy drink. Not quite what you wanted, but it’ll be fine to start the evening off.

For your surprise, you run into a few familiar faces, two guys you had a few classes together last semester, so you get into a conversation of your own while Zoe stays by Niall’s side, but you’re still only about two feet away from each other.

A second drink follows your first one, Zoe joins the conversation and then new people arrive and you find yourself enjoying being with new people and ones you already know. For some reason, you don’t actually dread being here and you wonder if you’d like parties more if you just loosened up a bit.

However as good as it starts, it soon takes a bitter turn. This guy named Elijah joins your little circle out of somewhere, you’re not even sure if anyone knows him, but he clearly is interested in you. He tries to strike up a conversation between the two of you, but you’re not in the mood and he isn’t even your type. At first you try to hint that the flirting is useless, but he doesn’t seem to read the signs. Then you somehow navigate your way so you have a person between you and him, but he keeps coming after you, asking you stupid questions, trying to get to know you. Zoe is a bit busy with Niall, sitting on the couch behind you and you don’t want to bother her, you can handle the situation on your own.

Excusing yourself from the group, you head upstairs to look for the bathroom, hoping he doesn’t want to follow you there, but oh boy were you wrong. Because right as you reach the top of the stairs and you glance over your shoulder, you see him nearing the stairs as well, clearly with the intention of following you.

“Fuck,” you mumble under your breath and you rush down the hallway, looking for a place to hide, but then you hear his voice coming from way too close for your liking and in a panicked mode you open the nearest door and step into the room, shutting the door closed before Elijah could see where you went.

You hear his footsteps outside the door and even his voice as he asks someone if they saw you, but luckily, they are oblivious to who he is looking for. Waiting a couple moments you hold your breath until you think that he is finally gone. Only then you realize that you’ve walked straight into someone’s room, because it’s definitely not a bathroom. And with your hidden sixth sense, you just know that someone else is there too.

As you slowly turn around you expect many things; a drunk guy passed out on a bed, a naked couple in the middle of pleasing each other or a group of girls who’ll scream your head off for barging in. But instead of any of these, you find someone you weren’t exactly expecting to: Harry Styles.

He is sitting in the middle of the bed, his back propped up against the headboard, a book in his hands, eyes widened as he stares back at you, clearly surprised at your arrival. You allow yourself a quick look around, the room is clearly occupied by a male, but there are a surprising amount of books lined up on the shelves, a pile of clothes in the far corner and a big sports bag near the door, a pair of ice-skates right next to it. You’re about ninety percent sure that this is Harry’s room, judging from the way he just casually reads on the bed, you wouldn’t think he just chose a random place for it.

“I—uhh, sorry for… Sorry for barging in, I was just trying to… find a-a bathroom,” you explain with zero confidence, as he just sits there, staring back at you. For a few long moments you think that he won’t even say a thing, but then he closes the book and pushes himself up.

“I have one, if you want to use it,” he tells you, nodding towards the door that’s beside his desk, probably leading to a bathroom.

“That would be… That would be amazing, thank you,” you nod.

“All yours,” he quietly nods and you rush over to the door, get inside and close the door, running away from his curious eyes.

You don’t even need to use the bathroom that badly, but since you’re already here, you do your business and take a couple of seconds to pull yourself together. It’s uncertain why you feel so nervous around him all of a sudden, but it’s probably because you feel like you’ve just invaded his privacy, but he also got you curious why he is hurled up in his room in the middle of a party in his own home?!

Walking out of the bathroom you find him over at his dresser, throwing clothes into the top drawer, as if he is trying to quickly clean the place up now that you’re here, even though it’s not that messy, you’ve seen way worse.

You stop at the door as you step back into the room, your eyes moving over to the door of the room and you think about how you definitely don’t want to go out, Elijah is probably still looking for you and you just can’t tolerate him any longer.

“Are you really in here, reading while a party is right outside your room?” you ask, nodding towards the book he left on the bed.

“I wasn’t really in the mood to party,” he shrugs, closing the drawer as he watches you wander around the room as if you were invited to check it out. You’re just hoping he won’t ask you to leave.

“What were you reading?” you curiously eye the book that is now lying on his bed with the cover facing down. You walk over to the bed and sit on the edge, but don’t reach for the book as he joins you, sitting next to you before grabbing the book. He shows you the cover and you read the title: The Big Sleep.

“It’s a crime novel, right?” you ask. You’ve heard about it before, but you never had the chance to read it yourself.

“Yeah. My sister actually recommended it.”

“How is it?”

“It’s good, there’s a lot going on,” he smiles gently, mindlessly flipping through the pages before he puts it to his little nightstand that has a lamp and a few rings on it. “I can lend it to you when I’m done if you want,” he offers and your eyebrows rise at the nice offer.

“Oh, yeah. That would be great, thank you,” you nod.

Harry runs a hand through his hair and it catches your attention, gazing over his features while he is looking around in his room, clearly a bit lost about what he should do or say. He looks so different now, a lot more reserved, not like any of his friends from the team. Only now you’re noticing that he is lacking the kind of confidence you see in Niall, for example. He is fidgeting with the sheets on his bed, eyes avoiding to look straight at you, this is all so new and surprising compared to the picture you had of him in your mind.

“So… You don’t want to go back to the party?” he asks, clearing his throat, his eyes finally meeting yours.

“Oh, um…” You think about having to see Elijah again and even just the thought makes you grimace.

“Did something happen?”

“No, I just… Well…”

“Someone hurt you?” Harry asks, clearly worried about you, which is also quite odd.

“No, Just this guy kept coming after me and I was feeling uncomfortable, and… yeah.”

Harry stares back at you, the gears turning in his head as he figures out what it’s really about, and he puts the pieces together.

“Do you… Do you want to maybe start working on the case for criminology?”

In the middle of a party with drunk college kids and so much booze, Harry Styles didn’t only choose to stay in his room and read, but now he is inviting you to stay in his room because you’re trying to hide from an annoying guy. What a surprising turn of events.

You end up staying, though as soon as you started digging up sources, you ended up watching true crime videos on YouTube. The two of you got one of the biggest cases assigned for your project, the disappearance of Madeleine McCann and obviously, the internet is filled with theory videos and articles, documentaries about the case.

Lying comfortably on his bed with his laptop between you, it’s probably the millionth video you’re watching, talking about the behavior of the parents and the evidence that point at them being guilty. The party downstairs is long forgotten, you’re deep in discussion about the evidence and techniques used during the investigation.

“Hey, we should also watch that documentary about the case on Netflix!” you offer, remembering you’ve seen it pop up on your feed.

“Oh, that’s a great idea,” he nods eagerly, already pulling up his own Netflix, searching up the series to add to his list. You’re just about to suggest to start watching it now, when there’s a knock on the door and you both sit up, remembering that you’re not the only ones in the house.

Without waiting for a response, the door opens and Niall walks in, seemingly very much enjoying himself, but he stops in his tracks upon seeing the two of you sitting on the bed.

“Oh shit, I didn’t know you had a guest!” he exclaims, holding his hands up, his eyes switching between you and Harry.

“Niall, this is—“

“Don’t have to explain,” he winks and you feel your stomach drop. The judgment is making you sick and you fight hard not to think back to it when you were targeted in high school.

“No, we were just watching videos for criminology, nothing—“

“It’s all good!” Niall keeps interrupting Harry and suddenly, you can’t breathe. You need to get out of this room, away from Harry before anyone else sees the two of you. What were you thinking? They are all the same, like Dax and his asshole crew in high school.

“Niall, stop!” Harry growls as you climb off the bed, both guys averting their attention to your hurried movements. “Hey, Y/N, you don’t want to stay?” Harry asks softly and you shake your head.

“I need to get out of here,” you mumble, avoiding to look at either of them as you rush to the door. You need to push Niall aside to get out and though you hear Harry jumping off the bed as well, you don’t stop and don’t look back.

The two boys are left puzzled, Harry jolts after you, but Niall stops him.

“Did I say something?” he asks, the playfulness long gone from his tone.

“I know as much as you do,” Harry answers, before running after you.

The house got packed since you’ve disappeared upstairs and you need to push your way through the people to move ahead. Someone calls your name, the voice sounds like Harry’s, but you don’t stop, you need to get out. Unfortunately, you run right into someone and when the person turns around you realize that it’s Elijah.

“Hey! There you are!” he cheers, clearly drunk.

“Fuck,” you mumble and try to move away from him, but his arm falls around you, pulling you to his side.

“I’ve been looking for you!” he slurs, his breath is stinking from the alcohol. Your panic is rising with each second spent pressed up against his side.

“Yeah, I just… Can you please…”

“Come and play beerpont with us!” He tries to drag you outside and you make another attempt to get out of his hold with not much luck, he is sticking to you like glue. Right until a tall figure appears right in front of him.

“Hey man. What’s going on?” Harry asks, his eyes falling on Elijah’s arm around you and then he sees your miserable face.

“Just gonna bring my Y/N to play some beerpong!” Elijah tries to walk past Harry, but he doesn’t let him, placing a hand to his chest.

“Yeah, I think you had enough to drink and Y/N doesn’t seem like she wants to play.”

Elijah looks at you through his glassy eyes and you bet he sees at least two of you. Then he turns back to Harry with a puzzled look.

“You know her?” he simply asks, his words melting into one big mess.

“Yes, I do. Why don’t you just go and find Tanner?” he suggests randomly and it seems like it easily takes Elijah’s attention away from you. His arm falls from around you and it’s a tiny relief, but you still want to get out of here.

“Tanner! Yo!” Elijah calls out, disappearing in the crowd and you’re left with Harry again. He softly grabs your hand, pulling you after him right towards the front door. He doesn’t say a word, but you follow him blindly, his hold on your hand almost comforting. Then you finally get out of the house and it feels like you can breathe again.

“Are you alright?” Harry softly asks as the two of you stand at the corner of the house, only a handful of people lingering around, everyone else is squeezed together inside.

“I just want to go home,” you whimper, trying your hardest to keep your shit together.

“I’ll drive you home,” he offers and your eyes snap up to him. At first you want to protest saying that he has drunk, but then you realize he wasn’t even downstairs, spent most of the evening with you watching videos about your case. Normally you wouldn’t accept the ride, but this is your fastest route home right now, so at last you nod and follow him to his jeep that’s parked on the driveway.

Neither of you talk on the way back to the campus, he is the first one to break the silence just to ask which dormitory you’re living in. The neighborhood is kinda dead, after all it’s Friday night, most students are out somewhere in the city, or at a frat or sorority house, drinking the cheap booze. When Harry parks down in front of your building, you don’t move at first, needing a moment to get yourself together and leave the car.

“I’m sorry if Niall upset you, he can be an ass sometimes, but I swear he didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Turning to Harry you only see bits and parts of his face in the dim lighting coming from the streetlights lining the pavement outside. He seems genuinely worried as he grips the steering wheel tight.

“It’s fine,” you mumble, but it doesn’t sound too convincing, not even to you.

“I’ll talk to him and tell him to apologize and—“

“I said it’s fine. I’m sure he has more important things to do than care for what he says to others,” you snap and flinging the door open you jump out of the car. “Thanks for the ride,” you mumble before shutting it closed, but you hear him get out right away, jogging to catch up with you before you could enter the building.

“Hey, I know he acted like a douche, but it was just a joke, okay?” Standing in front of you he stops you from walking further ahead and you stare up at him with your arms crossed over your chest, jaw clenched.

“What’s funny to one person might be hurtful to others, Harry. And I know damn well that guys like Niall think that everything is just a joke, but they are wrong. Sometimes you should think about what others might feel before dropping these so called jokes!”

You didn’t intend to lash out like this, but it’s been bottled up inside you for way too long. Everything that happened in high school, the way you were treated by Dax still stings, even though you tell yourself you’ve moved past it. Some things just way too deep to forget about them as fast as you’d like.

Harry clenches his jaw as he stares back at you, probably trying to figure out why you’re making such a big deal out of it, but it’s hard without knowing the background of the whole story and you’re not planning on sharing with him.

“Y/N, I—“

“I’ll see you in class, Harry,” you breathe out and walking past him, you finally get inside the building. Glancing back one last time you see that he is still standing there, like a statue, but you don’t wait to see how long he stays, you head up to your floor.

🏒🏒🏒

Harry doesn’t return home right after he dropped you off. He goes for a ride, replaying every tiny bit of what you told him. It doesn’t make sense, you were talking about Niall as if he was part of a group that hurt you, but you barely know him or any of the guys on the team to be honest.

He drives around the campus at least three times, passing by your building, wondering what you could be doing before he heads back to the house. It’s late and he is relieved to see that the party has died down since he left, only a couple more guests left aside from his teammates. He is relieved to see Elijah gone by now, he’s still mad at him for acting like that with you, his drunkenness is no excuse and Harry has a strong guess he was the one you were running away from when you stumbled into his room.

He sees Tanner and a few girls on the couch, a group of football players his teammates are friends with and then Niall and Zoe in the kitchen. When Zoe spots him walk in, she runs up to him right away.

“Hey, have you seen Y/N?”

“Yeah, I took her back to the dorm,” he nods, part of him a little mad at the girl that she lost track of her friend.

“Oh thank God! She is not answering her phone and I’ve looked for her everywhere!”

“Well, maybe you should leave her alone at a party,” Harry mumbles under his breath, the accusation taking Zoe by surprise, but then an expression of guilt flashes through her eyes. Harry didn’t mean to come off too harsh, it’s not at all his style, so he mumbles a quiet sorry before sighing. “She got really upset, I’m not sure why though.”

“What happened?” Zoe asks as Niall walks up behind her, placing a hand to the small of her back.

“I barged into Harry’s room when she was there, just joked around a bit, but she didn’t seem to take it well,” Niall admits, taking the blame. Harry can tell he feels guilty for whatever he did, even if he has no idea what triggered you.

Zoe lets out a tired sigh, her eyes closing and it’s clear she knows more than the two guys.

“You know why she got so upset?” he asks her.

“Well, I don’t know the whole story. She never told me and I didn’t want to push. But… some dumb football player messed with her in high school and it made her hate all athletes.”

“What? She hates all athletes because of one asshole?” Niall grimaces in confusion.

“I’m sure it’s more complicated than that, but I don’t know much, really.”

Harry chews on his bottom lip, theories running wild in his head about what could possibly happen to make you hate athletes this much, but he knows you’re the only one who knows the truth.

With one last glance at Zoe and Niall, he heads back up to his room.

Harry has never been a big fan of social media, but he has learnt that it could easily be a great source of information in some cases. Turning his laptop on he opens Facebook probably for the first time in a year. His profile is as dry as a desert, he hasn’t changed his picture since his sophomore year, but he couldn’t care less. Typing your name into the search bar he easily finds your profile, but it seems like you either keeps everything hidden from people that are not your friends or you use it just as often as he does. Sighing he leans back in his chair, thinking of another way to find out what really happened to you.

Though most of your information is hidden, your previous high school’s name is shown on your profile, so he uses that to get somewhere. He finds the school’s website and starts looking around until he stumbles upon a page where he can search up the digital versions of yearbooks from the past decade. Checking the year he thinks you graduated, he looks for you first just to be sure. When he finds your smiling photo, he takes just a few seconds to look at a version of you he didn’t have the luck to meet. You didn’t change much, just got a different haircut and maybe gained a few pounds, but Harry still thinks you look wonderful. Then he starts digging through the pages with special interest in the athletes.

Judging from the pictures it’s easy to figure out who were the popular kids in your grade, Dax Hackney catching his attention right away with his little group of friends from the football team. It seemed like he was the star player and was most likely breaking lots of hearts through his high school years. Oddly, Harry can’t imagine you falling for him, but he reminds himself not to judge a situation he didn’t witness or wasn’t in.

After a little more digging he eventually finds Dax’s social media and it’s just a few clicks from there to access all his friends’ profile from school. He is now attending school in California with a football scholarship, what a surprise and luckily he didn’t wipe his posts out after starting college.

Picture after picture, Harry scrolls through the pages until he finds what he was looking for. The posts are from your senior year and Harry actually needs a moment to recognize you with Dax and his friends in several photos. At parties, after football games, hanging out in someone’s basement, it seemed like you were part of his circle, until right before prom pictures. He clicks through the posts of several people, but sees no trace of you with Dax or any of his friends, like you disappeared. And then he finds an old video at a girl’s page that has his blood boiling.

It was taken at a party after prom clearly, judging from the outfits and all the booze. The girl took the video in selfie mode, sitting on a couch with Dax and another girl Harry saw in other posts too.

“How do you feel, winner?” the girl asked smiling ta the camera, clearly talking to Dax who smirks at the phone with an overwhelming amount of confidence.

“You mean double winner?” he chuckles.

“Oh yeah. You didn’t only become prom king but also won the bet with Nick,” the girl cackles and Harry can’t stop himself from grimacing as the video continues playing.

“She was an easy bet,” Dax chuckles before the video ends and jumps to the next one. Harry is fuming as he rewatches it, almost entirely sure that they were talking about you. That asshole must have brought you into some kind of nasty bet that ended up hurting you so badly you now hate all athletes. He truly thought shit like this only happens in movies, but apparently, it’s not the case.

The thought of some asshole football player breaking your heart got Harry fuming, bringing out the side of him not many know. He is not that easy to piss off to a level where he wants to throw a punch, unlike many of his teammates. But this piece of information about you makes him want to find every fucker that hurt you to beat them up for what they did.

🏒🏒🏒

You spend the weekend catching up on some assignments and papers that are due later before fall break, but you just don’t want to leave everything to the last minute. You even manage to go to the gym Sunday afternoon, squeezing in some cardio and weight lifting you’ve been putting off for a while now. It’s refreshing and switches your mind off for a while. You’re already heading to shower when Zoe texts you, asking if you want to watch a movie later with her. She’s been up in your case all weekend, asking what happened at the party, but you didn’t feel like talking about it, so now she is worried something might be bothering you. She is wrong, it was just a little something you’ll eventually forget about, you just need to avoid the people who bring these situations on you.

You text her back that you’ll be home soon and that she can choose a movie before you wash off the sweat of your workout. The rushing footsteps behind you send a shiver down your spine, making your inner alarm go off, but when you peek over your shoulder a wave of relief washes over you when you see that it’s just Harry.

“Hey!” he calls after you, quickly catching up with you on the pavement, a giant sports bag thrown over his shoulder. He is wearing an all black outfit that looks quite cozy, the sweatpants and hoodie seems soft and they hang a little baggy on him, but still giving a slight glimpse of his muscular figure underneath.

“Hi,” you mumble under your breath, never stopping moving ahead. “What are you doing here? Didn’t see you at the gym.”

“I wasn’t at the gym,” he smiles softly, nodding towards the building across the parking lot next to the gym that holds the school’s ice rink. You didn’t know they had practice this late and on Sunday. As if Harry is sensing your confusion, he explains what he was doing. “I help coach out sometimes at the kids’ practice.”

It still doesn’t make much sense, practices aren’t usually held on the weekend, it’s not too convenient, but you don’t question it any longer.

“Are you heading back to the dorm?” he asks and you just nod without a word. “I can give you a ride.”

“No need, I like to walk.”

“Y/N, your dorm is all the way across campus, it’s gonna take you at least twenty minutes to get home.”

“It’s nice out here,” you argue stubbornly.

“Y/N, please!” His hand gently grabs your upper arm to stop you from moving and you turn to face him. You see genuine worry on his face and right now you can’t quite point out any reason why he could use this against you and a ride home sounds kind of nice after the workout you just pulled.

“Okay,” you mumble back with a small nod.

“Great. My car is over there,” he nods towards the parking lot so you need to head back. “Are you feeling better?” he asks, peeking at you carefully.

“I’m fine,” you shrug, folding your arms on your chest.

“I’m really sorry about Friday and Niall too. I swear he didn’t mean to upset you.”

“Yeah, sure,” you hum, not quite in the mood to talk about any of it, but you know he won’t drop it.

“Look, I know that he can act like an ass sometimes, but he would never hurt anyone intentionally. He is a great guy, known him since high school. He was actually the first friend I made when I switched teams in high school. He just came up to me on the ice, told me he liked my skates and then invited me to hang out with him and his friends in his mom’s basement later that week. I had about zero friends back then so he really saved my ass.”

“You? Zero friends?” you ask surprised. It’s hard to imagine him not being popular.

“Yeah,” he nods with a small smile on his lips as his hands grab onto the strap of his bag to keep it from dangling by his side. “I actually used to be very shy, my mum made me start hockey to get some friends on the team when I was smaller. I mean, I’m still not a social butterfly, but I’m doing better now,” he admits with a soft chuckle.

“You don’t strike as someone who ever had issues with making friends.”

“There is a difference between always having people around me and actually being friends with them.”

That got you thinking. Because most of the times you saw Harry there were a bunch of people around him, but you haven’t actually seen him talk to anyone outside of his team and a very few people. This just backs up what he just shared with you.

You finally reach his car, the jeep you sat in just a few days ago, but this time you’re in a way better mood as you climb into the passenger seat.

“When do you want to keep working on our case?” he asks as he starts the car.

“Um, I’m pretty sure you’re busier with practices, so you tell me when you’re free.

“Actually, it would be nice if we got a head start on it before fall break. We’ll have a game almost every weekend, sometimes even two and coach is gonna be squeezing in as many practices as possible soon.”

You nod, not minding to work on it before the second half of the semester strikes.

“We can meet on Tuesday and Wednesday before practice and on Friday after practice?”

“Friday? That would mean you’d be late to whatever party is happening that day.”

Harry chuckles softly as he heads to your dorm’s building, knowing the route already.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m fine without parties.”

You push out a small chuckle, remembering how he spent his last Friday evening until you barged into his room. It’s just still weird that a hockey player is not eager to get drunk and party like crazy every chance given.

He pulls up to your building and suddenly you feel bummed it was such a short run-in with him. Reaching for the handle you force yourself to get out of the car.

“Thanks for the ride, Harry,” you smile softly.

“No problem. See you on Tuesday in class?” he smiles back and you swear your heart pitter-patters in your chest. But it’s just the cardio, right? Right?!

You bid goodbye and get inside, chewing on your bottom lip as you head up to your room. Harry Styles has been full of surprises and proven to you that he is not who you thought him to be several times. Maybe you shouldn’t hold a grudge against him for what people he doesn’t even know did to you. But is it worth letting your guards down?

🏒🏒🏒

As the semester carries on and you get deeper into the fall, you get into a series of habits during your weeks. You rotate between classes, doing school work in the library, hanging out with Zoe and some of your other friends and of course, working on your case with Harry. Thanks to your sessions, you see him at least four times a week along with your Tuesday class. You don’t try to keep a distance from him anymore, it’s not even possible with the project going on and Zoe dating Niall. You end up being around him even outside of your study sessions but you don’t mind it, not at all.

You don’t like to admit it, but you’ve grown to like him. A lot. He is great company, he gets your sense of humor unlike many others and he is great with boundaries. It might come from what he told you about being a shy kid growing up. The more time you’ve spent with him the more you saw how reserved he really is and probably that’s why you don’t feel pressure being around him. You just know he would respect your boundaries no matter what.

“Oh shit,” Harry mumbles under his breath, catching your attention. The two of you have been sitting in the library doing research for your case, now he is looking at his phone. “I need to get going, practice starts in fifteen.”

“Oh, I didn’t even realize it was that late,” you chuckle softly, closing the book you’ve been reading and start packing your notes together while Harry does the same. Digging into your bag you get a sense that something is missing. Your hand taps around in your bag when you realize what it is. “Oh shit,” you sigh.

“What?” Harry asks.

“I… left my keys in the room. I was late this morning and forgot to grab them because Zoe was still there.”

“Can you get hers?”

“I uhh… She is in class for another hour,” you sigh, sinking back into the chair. “Guess I’m staying here.”

“You could come to practice if you want,” he offers, zipping up his backpack. “Coach doesn’t mind the audience,” he adds chuckling.

“Oh, no, I wouldn’t want to intrude and—“

“Y/N, I just said it’s totally fine. But if you want to stay here, that’s fine,” he shrugs, not pushing you any further. If you’re being honest, you’re getting sick of the library. Sticking around for another hour on your own doesn’t sound like something you’d want to do.

“Well, if you’re sure it’s okay, then…”

“Of course it is. Now pack up, we gotta run.”

You’ve never seen an ice-hockey practice and didn’t think you’d ever. It feels weird when Harry leaves you on the grandstand to get changed. It’s almost eerily empty until you see the coach walk in, not even batting an eye when he sees you sitting there. Soon the boys come out in their gear, gliding across the ice like it’s second nature to them.

As they gather around coach at the beginning you catch Harry’s gaze that finds you easily and he shoots you a smile before focusing on what he needs to. And you can’t ignore how your heart skips a beat just by a look he shares with you.

Damn it.

“Now you’re bringing her to practice? Shit is getting serious!” Niall jokes with Harry as they keep shooting around to warm up.

“She just left her keys at the room and Zoe is still in class,” he shrugs, but he knows it’s more than just that. Harry likes having you up there, stretching his time with you even longer than the usual amount.

“And coming to practice was her only choice? I doubt that,” he smirks, but Harry doesn’t budge. He will not out anything about you to anyone at this point, not until he feels like you trust him.

Telling you about his shyness as a kid seemed like what got you to open towards him, though he can still feel your hesitance in some cases. It’s alright, he knows the struggle of getting to know new people all too well.

“Ask her out to the Halloween party,” Niall suggests.

“I don’t know about that, she is not a fan of… parties, I guess. Neither am I to be honest.”

“Because you always keep to yourself, but you two could be lonely together this time.”

“It doesn’t work like that,” Harry chuckles at his friend. He glances up at you again, seeing that you have a book open on your lap, but you’re watching him and his team mates messing around on the ice. He could easily get used to having you around more often, it brings him a sense of tranquility.

You sit through the whole practice without even texting Zoe that you need her to get back to the room. You got way too busy watching Harry on the ice, it’s almost a little embarrassing. But you have to admit it was kind of entertaining and it wasn’t even a real game. It amazed you how good they all are on the ice, you could never glide the way they do, probably because the last time you skated was when you were ten.

When practice is over you realize you didn’t read one single line from the book you had on your lap, hopefully no one noticed it. You see Harry glide to the edge of the rink in front of you, pushing himself up a bit over the palisade.

“I can give you a ride home if you want, just have to shower quickly.”

“I’ll be at your car,” you smile back at him, packing up your stuff, watching him get off of the ice and disappear in the dressing room.

You let out a long sigh, taking a moment to yourself before heading out of the building to Harry’s car. As you walk out and head to the parking lot you spot a group of girls at a bench near the exit and you catch their glimpses of you when they spot you. Keeping your head low you just get over to Harry’s car and hope he won’t take long. At last you text Zoe asking if she’s back already and you’re relieved to get a message from her that she just got back to the room.

Boys from the team start flowing out of the building and you don’t miss how the girls say hi to all of them, seemingly knowing them well enough to be friendly to them. Now that you’re thinking about it, you’ve seen them at parties, last time at Tanner’s birthday as well.

Harry is about the fifth person to walk out, wearing his clothes from earlier, but his hair is now damp probably from the shower he just took.

“Hi Harry!” one of the girls calls out upon seeing him. It seems like he didn’t notice them until now and you watch him just send a wave in their direction before walking up to the car where you are.

“Hey, ready to go?” he asks unlocking the car and opening the passenger door for you.

“Thanks,” you mumble before he shuts the door closed and rounds the car to get to the other side. Through the window you see the girls intently talking about most likely you and probably who you are and why you’re leaving with Harry after practice. It takes just a second for you to make wild guesses what the girls could be talking about.

Who is she?

Why is Harry spending time with her?

Are they dating?

Is she really his type?

As Harry shuts his door you snap out of your thoughts, turning to watch him ignite the car.

“Hey, do you know them?” you ask nodding towards the girls. He glances out the window, taking a look at them.

“Um, not that well. They are more like friends with Tanner and Jack,” he shrugs and it’s nice to know he is not friends with them, but you’re still left with a weird feeling in the pit of your stomach. “Hope you weren’t that bored during practice,” he smiles at you as he heads to your dorm.

“It was actually kind of fun,” you admit shyly.

“Really? You should come to a game then.”

“You think I would like that?”

“If you enjoyed practice, you’d be fine with the game. A lot more is happening then.”

“If you say so,” you chuckle.

“Maybe next Saturday?” he asks in excitement, not wanting to pass on the chance to get you to one of his games.

“Um, we’ll see,” you smile at him, but already know that you’ll most likely be there. Zoe’s been already trying to drag you to a game since she’s become a thing with Niall, she’ll be over the moon if she finds out you finally want to go.

🏒🏒🏒

You: You know, we still haven’t watched the Netflix series.

Harry: That is very true.

You: Do you still want to?

Harry: Of course! Want to binge watch it this weekend?

You: I’m in.

Harry: Sunday?

You: Perfect.

🏒🏒🏒

You spend most of the Sunday cleaning. Your laundry has piled up way too much over the past two weeks and it was time to clean out your mini fridge as well. Zoe has been out with Niall, but when she gets back in the afternoon she joins in, cleaning up her side of the room a bit though she’s been keeping it quite tidy.

“Want to make a quick grocery trip with me?” she offers while you’re both changing the sheets on your beds.

“Um, I can’t, I have plans with Harry.”

“Oh! Like a date?” she beams with excitement, but you shake your head.

“No, we are just gonna watch that Netflix docu series about the case for criminology.”

“Mm, some Netflix and chill,” she winks at you, but you just roll your eyes at her. “You’ve been spending a lot of time together.”

“Yeah, we want to finish the project early before he gets caught up with games and practice.”

“But it hasn’t been just for the project.”

“Well, I guess you’re right,” you nod, biting the inside of your cheeks.

“Is there… something more going on?” she keeps pushing curiously.

“Um, not really. Don’t think so,” you shake your head and it’s the genuine truth. It hasn’t been anything but friendly.

“But you want something more to happen, right?” Zoe can’t hide her smile as she stands with her hands on her hips while you busy yourself with the pillows on your bed, not answering her. “Y/N!”

“What?” you huff in defeat.

“You’re into him, right?” Now she is grinning, walking over to you and pulling you with her to sit on your freshly made bed. “I see it in your eyes, you can’t deny it!”

“If you’re so sure then why are you asking?”

“Come on, just admit it! It’s totally fine that you like him, don’t have to be ashamed about it.”

“I’m not ashamed.”

“So you do like him!”

“I guess I do,” you admit with a sigh. “He is just… easy to be around. Doesn’t try to talk all the time, he actually has great manners and I don’t know…”

“You have a crush on him,” Zoe points it out, making your heart skip a beat just by thinking about it. It’s been so long since the last time you had a crush on someone that you almost forgot about the feeling.

“Let’s not get into theories, alright?” you chuckle awkwardly. “We’re just… friends. Don’t want to get into the rest of that mess.”

“Okay, okay, I gotcha. But just so you know, there’s nothing wrong about liking him even if it’s against your rules and all that,” she tells you, giving your knee a squeeze before she stands up and drops the topic finally.

You get done way before Harry told you he would pick you up since he is assisting his coach at the kids’ practice today as well. Not wanting to sit around longer, driven by a sudden idea you head across the campus to sit in on the practice a little, hoping you won’t get thrown out.

Luckily as you arrive you’re happy to see you’re not the only one watching, several parents are sitting on the grandstand. You settle on the side, scanning over the ice that is now filled with little kids instead of guys in their twenties. They are practicing passing, lined up in two lines, passing the puck between each other while Harry is going around, helping them all out, the coach instructing them from his usual spot. You watch them curiously and the more you examine the kids the clearer it becomes to you that this is not just a regular practice for kids.

It takes some time for Harry to spot you and when he does, he waves in your way before getting back to work. You are in complete awe at how good he is with the kids, his patience never runs out and it seems like the kids adore him too. You can’t wipe the silly smile off your face as you watch him for the rest of the practice.

When the ice empties out you follow the parents to the waiting area while the kids change back from their gear. They all flow out at once along with the coach and Harry. Some boys basically cling onto him, their parents trying to get them to leave already, but Harry doesn’t seem to mind.

“Hey,” he smiles at you when he finally frees himself from his fans.

“Hi. Sorry I came earlier, I just really didn’t have anything to do,” you admit with an awkward chuckle.

“It’s alright.” Another boy runs up to Harry, hugging him goodbye before taking his mother’s hand as they walk out of the building.

“You’re really good with them,” you tell him seeing how he interacts with them.

“Thanks.” He scratches the back of his neck, clearly not used to the praise, but you can tell it’s something that’s close to his heart.

“These kids… they are…” You try to find the right words, but luckily he helps you out.

“They are all in special ed. Their disabilities vary from autism through severe anxiety…” he encounters taking a look at the remaining of the kids left in the area. “We have a deaf boy as well…”

“How did you get into helping them out?”

“Coach was asked to start the group and he thought he could use the extra help. He knows me well, knows how much I struggled growing up and he thought I could connect with the kids well. He was right,” he smiles shyly and it feels like your chest is on fire.

There is this tall, sporty guy you thought to be a douche and it turns out that he is a shy, smart and ridiculously nice guy who helps out kids with disabilities… You couldn’t have been more wrong when you judged him just by his looks.

“Ready to go?” he asks, snapping you out of your awe and you can only hope you weren’t staring at him weirdly.

“Yeah, let’s go,” you nod, trying to keep yourself together.

You can’t miss the curious looks the two of you get when you walk into the house together, especially from Niall and you see him pull his phone out right away, most likely texting Zoe that you’re there. Didn’t expect less, to be honest. Harry guides you up to his room and quickly unpacks his bag before starting his laptop so you can watch the series. It gives you a little déjà vu as you both get settled on his bed with the laptop between you, just like not long ago at that party you both were trying to escape.

One episode follows the other and you both get so invested in the series, discussing theories and everything you’ve dug up yourself about the case. It’s interesting to watch the episodes with actual background knowledge about the investigation and techniques they were using, spotting the flaws that could have been avoided.

You don’t even realize how late it’s getting, but not much is left from it so you decide to just finish it anyway. Harry promised he would drive you home after so you don’t have to walk in the dark. However when you peek over at Harry nearing the end, you see that he has fallen asleep. His face is mushed into the pillow, lips slightly parted as he lies on his side, one arm tucked under his head. The light coming from the screen is playing on his gentle expressions.

Fuck, he look so handsome! It would be so much easier to keep yourself guarded if you weren’t attracted to him this much. The amazing personality and his look is a killer combo and as you’re staring at him in the dim lighting, you realize that you are so fucking gone for him…

Not wanting to wake him up, when the last episode finishes you shut his laptop down and put it aside. You think about looking for Niall to ask for a ride home, but it’s ridiculously late now on a Sunday, you don’t want to bother anyone. So instead, you set an alarm early enough for you to go back to your room in the morning and then just decide to spend the night. You really hope Harry won’t mind it as you make yourself comfortable next to him, his bed big enough to easily fit you both. His even breathing is the soothing lullaby you fall asleep to.

🏒🏒🏒

Harry wakes before the alarm in the morning, blinking his haziness away a little confused. When did he fall asleep? He doesn’t remember how the evening ended, one moment you were watching the series, and then…

His eyes fall to your sleeping figure next to him, curled up under the covers, still wearing your clothes from last night. Looking around he spots his laptop safely put aside to the nightstand, your phone lying on top of it. He lets out a long breath, just taking a moment to himself, his eyes glued to you. He adores how peaceful you look and a lot younger. A few strands of hair have fallen out of your ponytail, covering your forehead hastily and before he could stop himself, he is reaching out, gently tugging them behind your ear.

Just right then, your alarm goes off, making you move under his delicate touch and he is quick to pull his hand back before you could realize what he was doing. You stir in your sleep, blindly reaching for the phone and turning the alarm off, a heavy sigh leaving your lips. It takes a couple of moments for your eyes to open, meeting Harry’s green ones.

“Hi,” you sigh with a small smile on your lips and Harry’s heart skips a beat. He could get used to seeing you like this every morning.

“Good morning,” he hums, his voice hoarser than usually. “Sorry I fell asleep last night.”

“It’s alright.”

“You could have woken me up.” “You seemed tired, didn’t want to bother you. I hope you didn’t mind that I stayed,” you whisper, feeling a little shy that you just shared a bed with him.

“I would have been mad if you left alone in the middle of the night,” he chuckles softly, pushing himself up into a sitting position as he checks the time on his own phone. “How about we get some breakfast on our way back to your dorm?” he suggests and your grumbling stomach agrees that it’s a fantastic idea.

Twenty minutes later you’re eating croissants and sipping on coffee on the terrace of a small bakery near your dormitory, having the best morning you’ve had in a while. When Harry drops you off at the dormitory part of you wishes you could spend the whole day with him. And then the next one… and the next one.

Yeah, you’ve definitely fallen for Harry.

🏒🏒🏒

Zoe is over the moon when you tell her you want to go to a game. She’s been going on her own, cheering on Niall and now she’ll finally have someone with her. You feel a little anxious to show up, always thinking about those girls you saw after Harry’s practice that one time. They seem like the kind of girls who wouldn’t miss a game, being close to the guys every given chance. But you try your best to push it into the back of your mind and focus on what’s important: seeing Harry play at a game for the first time.

He’s been all you could think about since your Netflix party. It’s almost ridiculous how you can turn everything around in your head and make it connect to Harry. Because of the game this weekend he had to cancel on Wednesday’s session because they had a double practice. And what did you do? You sat in your room, pathetically wishing you could be with him. Even thought about going to the sports center and watch the practice, but didn’t want to make a fool out of yourself.

Now it’s finally time and when Niall texts Zoe that they arrived, you feel just as excites as on Christmas morning when you were a kid. Niall and Harry picking you up with your best friend, this feels straight out of a teenage movie and you should be laughing at yourself for getting so worked up, but you’re too excited to care about that.

“Hello, ladies!” Niall beams when the two of you walk out of the building. He walks forward to catch Zoe, kissing her so passionately you can almost feel your cheeks heating up. Then you See Harry standing next to the car, smiling at you shyly and suddenly, you want him to greet you the same way Niall greeted your roommate.

Just as you’re thinking about that, for your surprise he pulls you into a hug, wrapping his arms around your frame. For a brief moment you don’t even know what to do, but then you curl your arms around his torso, melting against him gladly.

“Hi,” he greets you quietly when he pulls back, smiling down at you.

“Hi,” you giggle, staring up at him. There’s a moment of sparkle, you swear it’s there, but it’s gone pretty fast when Niall interrupts it.

“Alright, let’s go! Don’t want to be late and get a speech from Coach Simmons,” he scoffs, patting Harry’s shoulder as he rounds the car. Would have been nice to drag the moment a little longer, but whatever…

It’s still pretty early when you get to the sports center, but hockey enthusiasts are already arriving, mostly students from the school. Two of the guys’ teammates come up to the four of you upon arriving, talking about how brutal today’s game will be.

“Wilson needs to pay for what he did last year,” Jack sighs shaking his head.

“Don’t worry, we’ll take care of him this time,” Niall grins, kissing Zoe’s forehead as he pulls her to his side.

“Wilson?” you ask in confusion, turning to Harry.

“There is this aggressive asshole on Princeton’s team, he almost broke one of our guys’ arm last year,” he explains, your eyes going wide.

“And he is playing today too?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry, we’ve been preparing for him,” he chuckles softly, grabbing his bag from the back of the car.

Wilson… the name rings a bell, but you can’t quite put your finger on it and it’s a common name. But why do you have a weird feeling in your gut then?

Just when the boys are about to head inside, a bus rolls into the parking lot. Princeton’s team has arrived. The doors open and the players start flowing off of it, grabbing their stuff from the trunk. Scanning over them you are about to dismiss their existence when you spot a familiar face and it hits you hard all at once.

Now the name Wilson makes sense, as you see Axel Wilson exit the bus, looking just as bulky and arrogant looking as he was in high school.

“Fuck,” you mumble under your breath, taking a step back out of instinct, bumping against the side of the car.

Axel Wilson was friends with Dax back in high school. He played on the football team but he put more effort into hockey and you faintly remember him getting accepted into a school with a hockey team and now here he is, about to play against the Eagles. You can totally imagine him getting too violent on the ice, just as the guys said, he had quite a few troubles back in high school too. He also very confidently made fun of you after you found out what kind of sick games Dax was playing with you, never shied away to call you names in the hallway after you dropped their whole group.

“Y/N? Are you alright?” Harry calls out seeing your reaction. He steps closer, a hand reaching out to tap on your shoulder and feeling his touch you move closer to him as if he was your safe place.

“Y-Yeah, I just… Um, we should…” you stutter around, eyes keep returning to Axel across the parking lot. Harry follows your gaze and his jaw clenches when he realizes that you’re eyeing Axel.

“Do you know him?” he asks, lowering his head and voice, not to draw any attention to you.

“I uhh… Yeah, we-we went to high school together,” you admit and without realizing what you’re doing, you hold onto his hand, moving even closer to him.

You see his eyes flicker back to Axel and you’ve never seen him this… angry? He looks like he is about to launch at him any moment, but he doesn’t even know a thing about that asshole.

When you squeeze his hand it’s like he snaps out of his trance looking back at you. Surprising you again, he pulls you into a tight hug, your face burying into the crook of his neck.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him,” he mumbles against the side of your head before letting you go. It takes a few seconds to process his words, but you can’t question him, because by the time you realize what he just said, he is already on his way inside with the other boys.

“Y/N, you alright?” Zoe asks seeing your shocked expression.

“I think… Shit, Harry is gonna get into trouble and it’s… my fault?!”

You have no idea how he knows about what happened or how he knew that Axel did something against you, but judging from the look in his eyes, you know he is gonna put up a fight against Axel.

🏒🏒🏒

Harry hasn’t been able to get into the right mindset since he saw you looking at Axel terrified and he just knew he was one of the assholes that hurt you. He still doesn’t know the whole story, but that doesn’t mean he is not fuming. Whatever happened was painful enough to leave a scar in you and that’s all Harry needs to know.

Not much is left until the game and he tries to calm himself with the thought of you being out there, waiting to see him get on the ice. But his thoughts keep returning to the asshole in the dressing room next to theirs.

Checking his phone he sees that he had a few missed calls from you since you parted in front of the building and he heads out with the intention of calling you back but when he is out in the hallway, he changes his mind. You must have sensed something on him and now want to talk him down of whatever he might do during the game, but he doesn’t want to hear that, not now. He would rather deal with the aftermath but give Wilson what he deserves.

As if he was speaking of the devil, turning around he sees Axel and two of his teammates approaching him in the hallway, his eyes falling on Harry’s figure.

“Styles! I guess you put on some muscles since last year, yeah?” Axel scoffs, his friends laughing at his comment. Harry wants to launch at him, punch him in the face but he knows if he does anything, he won’t be able to play. So he just stands there, staring back at the three guys. “What? Cat got your tongue?” he continues the teasing. “Saw you outside with your little girl, did she tell you we know each other?”

The smirk on his face makes Harry’s hands itch. This guy just doesn’t know when to shut up and he is really testing Harry’s patience, something he runs rich on, but not this time, seems like.

“Yeah, I know about that,” he sneers back through his teeth.

“Nice choice, she is naïve as fuck. My buddy back in high school made her think he was into her. Ate all the shit up before she got ditched before prom.” Cackling as if he just said the joke of the century, it’s pretty clear Axel thinks it’s a fun story, something he can brag about, but Harry thinks otherwise. Seeing his expression, Axel is just enjoying this moment even more, faking a gasp.

“Oh, is she your girlfriend? That’s your type? Pathetic and ridiculous?”

The last straw snaps in Harry and he is about to jump at Axel’s throat when Niall steps between them.

“Get back to your team, Wilson,” he warns the asshole as Harry is staring at him over Niall’s shoulder with a murderous look. Axel scoffs, backing away from them, but he doesn’t miss the chance to throw one last insult in before he leaves.

“I see you still haven’t learnt to speak up. Guess it’s a good match, Styles. You are both losers.”

🏒🏒🏒

Sitting on the grandstand with Zoe you are basically a nervous wreck. You tried to call Harry to find out what’s really going on but he didn’t answer and you gave up after a while. Now you’re afraid of what will go down during the game.

When the players finally appear on the ice you swear your heart skips a beat when you see Harry in his gear, his last name STYLES printed to the back of his jersey. Unlike during practice, the place is now filled so when Harry runs his gaze over the stands he doesn’t find you at first, but after a few rounds, his eyes finally settle on you.

You wish you could tell him to just stay out of trouble, you wish he could hear your thoughts but there’s no chance, he is down there and you’re up here. You can’t do else than just… watch.

Because you don’t know much about ice hockey, once the game starts it’s hard to keep up with everything that’s happening on the ice, but Zoe helps you out a bit, even though she is not that big of an expert either. She tells you that Harry is a defense player while Niall is their center, and judging from the positions you assume that Axel is a center as well for his own team. You know nothing about tactics or gameplay, but it’s clear that Axel is the most aggressive player on the ice. He gets a two minute penalty in the first period when he trips Tanner so badly he slides several feet from the momentum. Everyone hisses as one when it happens while Axel pretends like nothing happened, but the referees saw it and he gets sent out for two minutes but it seems like he just gets riled up even more because of it.

“Why are they letting him back?” you ask anxiously when you see Axel back on the ice.

“Tanner didn’t get hurt too badly so it’s just two minutes.”

“Didn’t get hurt too badly? Poor guy was sent across the ice!”

And it’s just getting worse. Because you see him move a lot around Harry as if it was his purpose to hurt him and it’s definitely something you expect from a guy like Axel.

Niall scores twice by the end of the second period while the other team scores once, putting your team in the lead. You’re so anxious when the last break starts, your legs are bouncing wild and nothing Zoe is saying can calm you down. When the guys return to the ice, you’re barely breathing.

It happens so fast. Axel is launching forward again and your eyes immediately shift to Harry and judging just by the way he is holding himself, you know he is about to do something stupid.

“Harry!” you find yourself shouting, but your voice gets swallowed in the screaming of all the other students.

They are moving towards each other until they collide, smashing against the other, both of them falling painfully. The screaming elevates and you’re holding your breath as you watch Harry pushing himself up. The referee doesn’t give him a penalty, it surely seemed like an accident, but something is telling you it was far from that. It’s just so shocking to see Harry, your Harry being so violent. Though part of you enjoyed seeing Axel getting knocked down like that, but he doesn’t seem happy about it and it sets the alarm off inside you.

There’s still about ten minutes left when Axel shows just how big of an asshole he is. He and another one of his teammates from his right are attacking, though Niall and Tanner are doing a great job at keeping them away from the net, right until he decides to take matters into his hands. When the puck gets stolen from him for the third time in a row it seems like he completely loses his temper and lashes it all out on Harry.

It doesn’t seem as innocent as the last collision was. It’s clear that Axel lurches at him with the pure intention to hurt him, pushing him up against the board, his elbow meeting Harry’s face so painfully you can almost feel it on your own face. Axel then grabs him by his shoulders and throws him down onto the edge and just when he is about to punch him in the face Harry kicks back and throws him off of himself.

If the referee didn’t interfere it would have surely turned into a full blown fight, but they both end up having to leave the ice and they can’t even return for the rest of the game. Harry has had his back towards you all along but when he finally turns to get off the ice you see the blood flowing from his nose and you pale at the sight of him. Axel shouts at him one last time before he gets thrown into the box for the rest of the game and you don’t hear what it is, but you hear one thing from it.

Your name.

“I need to go,” you jump to your feet when Harry is taken back, probably to get his nose checked out.

“What? Y/N!” Zoe calls after you, but you ignore it. All you can think about is to get to Harry and make sure he is okay.

The rest of the building is almost entirely empty, the game is still on so only a few people are lingering outside of the stands. You rush to the back, running down the unfamiliar hallways hoping to find him somewhere.

“Harry?” you call out, but no answer comes, until you hear the water running in one of the dressing rooms and you head in that direction without hesitation. “Harry, it’s me, Y/N,” you call out again, walking into the room.

You find him leaning against a sink by the wall, his upper body stripped from his gear, jus his underclothes sticking to his torso as he is getting a towel wet to clean his face. His head snaps up at your arrival, surprised to find you there.

“Y/N, what are you doing here?”

“I wanted to check on you. That looks… shit, let me help, sit down,” you tell him and he doesn’t try to protest, just sits down to the nearest bench as you take the towel from him.

Gently, you wipe the blood off, luckily his nose has stopped running so it’s just a matter of time that he gets rid of this horror-like look. You cup his jaw in one hand, keeping his head in place.

“Sorry,” you breathe out when he hisses when you’re working on the bridge of his nose that’s already starting to bruise. “Shouldn’t you get it checked?”

“It’s not broken,” he sighs, but you give him a skeptical look. “I’ve broken it twice before, know what it feels like,” he adds.

“Harry, what happened?” you ask softly when you’re done, dropping the towel into the sink.

“He is just an asshole,” he shrugs, but it’s an obvious lie.

“I know you messed with him on purpose the first time, that wasn’t an accident, right?” you question, referring back to the first time him and Axel collided. Harry clenches his jaw before nodding shortly. “Before the game, you said you’re gonna take care of him. How did you know he did something?”

“I… please don’t get mad, but I searched up a few people you went to high school with. Saw a video that made it pretty clear that Dax guy did something disgusting to you and when you saw Axel at the parking lot I just knew he was part of it.”

Sitting beside him you know you have to share the whole story with him. Especially after what he just took from Axel.

“I was never the popular girl in high school and I always envied the girls everyone knew,” you start and Harry listens intently. “I was surprised when Dax, the star football player approached me. It occurred to me that he might have some bad intentions, but I was so naïve and I enjoyed the sudden attention I was getting not just from him, but all the other popular kids too.���

You’re nervously fidgeting with your fingers in your lap until Harry reaches out and takes your hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze, like he is assuring him that everything is fine, you can trust him.

“Dax kept coming after me, flirting with me and asking me out all the time, but I didn’t want to give in that easily. But he didn’t give up and when prom was nearing I thought that he would ask me out if we went on a few dates beforehand. Looking back at it, it’s so silly this was all I wanted, going to prom with the cool kids,” you chuckle bitterly.

“Don’t feel bad, we all wanted to be them at one point,” Harry speaks up, his words actually bringing you a sense of relief.

“Anyway, there was this party, I finally decided to give in, so I let him take me. Kind of like a date, though it was nowhere near that. He was so convincing, I didn’t suspect a thing… We had a few drinks, it was going as usual, until he brought me up into one of the bedrooms. He kissed me and… tried to take it further, but I didn’t want to.”

“Please tell me he didn’t…” “No,” you shake your head. “I wasn’t as drunk as he wanted me to be and I left him after slapping him across his face. I went home, didn’t think it was the end of the world and honestly, if it was the end of the story I would be fine. But Dax went around and told everyone that we had sex and that he did it all for just a bet he made with his stupid friends. He had to get into my pants before prom or he would be paying for all the booze at their ridiculous prom after party.”

Your throat closes up again, thinking back at how worthless and stupid you felt when you found out that it was all just a bet and Dax lied to everyone about what happened between the two of you.

“All of his friends were laughing at me, when just a week before that we were hanging out together. They chose me because I was kind of invisible so they thought I was a loser. I didn’t think like that about myself before, but after what they did…” You let out a long breath, blinking your tears away. “Anyway, I became a joke in the football team and because Axel was friends with Dax, the hockey team was laughing at me too. I couldn’t wait to graduate and start again, wasn’t really planning to see any of them again, so Axel’s appearance threw me off a little,” you admit with a weak chuckle.

Harry’s hand lets go of yours but only to wrap an arm around your shoulders, pulling you to his side as you sniffle lightly. You lay your head to his shoulder and he presses a kiss to the crown of your head. After a comfortable and much needed silence he is the first one to speak up.

“Axel saw me with you. He came up to me before the game and said some nasty stuff about you and of course insulted me as well, being the asshole that he is.”

Lifting your head you look at him with widened eyes, listening to his words.

“I almost… punched him right then and there, but Niall stopped me. Thought I would channel it in the game. You’re right, the first one wasn’t an accident. I was just done with his shit, especially after he threw Tanner to the ground. The second time was all him and I could have avoided the penalty if I just didn’t fight back, but… I swear I’ve never been angrier at anyone,” he admits with a chuckle. “Then when we were coming off the ice he said that… well, I would rather not say his exact words, but he didn’t talk about you the way you deserve. So now I wish I would have hit him a few more times before we got separated.”

“He is not worth it. Though I would have loved to see him get his ass kicked,” you admit chuckling, finally putting a smile on his face too.

You didn’t tell anyone about what happened in high school, not even Zoe. Didn’t want anyone to know how naïve and stupid you were to fall for Dax’s little game. But now that you shared it with Harry you actually feel relieved. You don’t feel like he is judging you, or thinking about how you could be such an idiot not to see what was happening right in front of your nose. He is just there for you, comforting you and that’s all you need, that’s all you’ve ever needed.

Suddenly, you realize how close you are sitting, basically pressed up against each other, his arm still draped around you and as you lift your gaze to meet his, you know he is feeling the sparkles, there’s no doubt.

Reaching up you run a finger gently over the bridge of his nose, it’s swollen and bruised, he’ll have to deal with it for a little while for sure, but in a way it’s a reminder to you what he did for you.

“I’m sorry you got hurt because of me,” you murmur softly.

“He is a jerk, he would have done something even if you weren’t in the picture.”

“But still, he went straight after you now. Though you look badass now,” you chuckle, making him smile.

“That’s what I wanted all along,” he jokes and you don’t miss how he leans together, your noses almost brushing against each other. “Besides, I couldn’t just let him get away with talking about you like that. After all… we are partners in crime, right?”

You breathe out a chuckle at his words, the last time he called you that you were trying everything to avoid him, now all you want is to be with him. Never in a million years did you think that you’d fall for a player after what Dax put you through, but Harry only plays on the ice, not with you.

Placing one hand onto his thigh you cup his cheek in your other as you push yourself closer to him, he nudges you playfully with his nose, making you giggle before his lips finally press against yours.

This kiss has been long due and for a second you regret keeping yourself away from him for so long, but then you completely forget about anything but him and the way his lips are melting against yours, his tongue sliding over your bottom lip, asking for permission that you give more than gladly, deepening the kiss. It doesn’t even bother you that you’re in a stinky dressing room, that he is still kinda sweaty from the game, you just want to drag it out for as long as possible.

However it ends when you hear the cheering outside and the rest of the team floods into the room, the game must have just ended. You lean back just as the guys appear, tired from the match, quieting down when they see you and Harry all tangled up.

For a split second you think they are gonna make fun of you, like it happened back when Dax played you, but after a heartbeat of silence they burst out in cheers, clapping and celebrating and it’s pretty clear it’s not about the result of the game. They are going wild because of you and Harry.

“Yes! Styles finally got the girl!”

“Harry manned up, miracle!”

“Our boy is now a man!”

They shout things like these, making your cheeks heating up but not with painful embarrassment this time. Harry groans next to you, but tightens his arms around you as you lean your forehead against his chest. Niall steps forward, patting Harry on the back with the cheesiest grin on his face, his hair all messed up from the helmet, cheeks rosy.

“Fucking hell, it was time already!” he cackles loudly. “I was starting to grow tired of watching him gawk at you any given moment.”

“Way to out me, man!” Harry rolls his eyes, but you don’t miss the smirk on his lips. His gaze turns back to you, squeezing you gently as you stare back at him lovingly. “Though I can’t promise I’ll stop eyeing her all the time,” he adds lowering his voice so only you can hear him. As a reply you just pull him down and kiss him again.

🏒🏒🏒

Thank you for reading! Please like/reblog if you enjoyed!

[faroreswinds]

I wrote this elsewhere but I figured I would share it here too because... Well, I can, that’s why.

Claude. Why his accusation of the Church make no sense. 

Let's look at his claims closely. These are almost directly word for word from his mouth:

They use social status to justify prejudice

They have no tolerance for those who come from anywhere else. Or who don't believe in their teachings.

They steal your freedom and give you an endless list of duties and obligations because you have a Crest

They force people into unwanted marriages and positions of power

They forbid any official contact with outside regions.

These are his biggest claims against the Church of Seiros and Rhea. But even if we remove "player knowledge" from the equation and knowledge from other routes, and focus primarily on how his experiences in Foldan would shape these views, it doesn't really add up.

1) They use social status to justify prejudice

Claude interacts very little with Church individuals. How did he come to this conclusion?

The Central Church is, in fact, so far removed from the Alliance that people do not care about whether it dies or not. They follow the Eastern Church more, which is a very neutered and weak branch, weakened by the nobles themselves. It is outright stated in the game that the reason why the Eastern Church has no standing army of their own is because the nobles of the land of which they preach on do not allow it.

You could argue that because many of the nobles themselves are prejudice against commoners, and the doctrine of the Church claims that Crests are gifts from the Goddess, that this indirectly means the Church supports the prejudice expressed by those in positions of power.

However, the issue with this argument is that the Church also has in its doctrine that one must not abuse the privileges of a Crest, and when the people did the goddess grew so sad that she left the world.

Claude does come into contact with nobles who are truly awful to commoners. But he's also surrounded by nobles who are good leaders and do not see themselves above the common folk. Heck, Judith, a woman he admires, is a devote follower of the faith of Seiros and yet has no prejudice against commoners at all.

Furthermore, while Claude does not have access to the library of the Church for a year like he did in Houses, it's not like he was living in the boonies for 2 years instead. He could have done research at any time. Heck, you can actually find the Book of Seiros V in his route around the camp. This book clearly states this:

Dare not abuse the power gifted to you by the goddess.

The goddess cares for and protects all that is beautiful in this world. The goddess will never deny the splendors of love, affection, joy, peace, faith, kindness, temperance, modesty, or patience. Follower her example and, in doing so, abide her laws.

So I have no idea why Claude goes to such an extreme when surrounded by contradictory evidence.

2) They have no tolerance for those who come from anywhere else. Or who don't believe in their teachings.

In Claude's route, you are given Shamir. Just... for free. She is from Dagda who openly does not believe in the teachings of Seiros. And yet, she worked not only for the Church, but for Rhea directly for a while.

Furthermore, you can recruit Petra, who is also not from Foldan, who openly has a different faith than the teachings of Seiros. She was allowed to go to school, run by the Church. And while Claude wasn't in school for a year, he was in school for about two months or so. He would have known about Dedue, another man from outside Foldan who openly is not a follower of the faith of Seiros.

With three individuals that are all foreigners, who openly are not followers of the faith, that have crossed Claude's path at least once in his life in Foldan, you would think he would have noticed that they are surprisingly tolerant. We do see members of the cloth openly be racist or criticize people who aren't followers, but we also see the opposite, members of the cloth who preach love and acceptance to all.

Claude saying "they are intolerant and hate foreigners" when we have examples of the opposite in his very own route doesn't make it very convincing, and makes you wonder why he isn't making note of those people.

3) They steal your freedom and give you an endless list of duties and obligations because you have a Crest

This one particularly baffles me. There are plenty of individuals who actively chose or plan to chose to live a life of a commoner, despite having a Crest. Lysithea is one such individual. She plans to give up her title and go to live quietly with her parents so they can recover together from their trauma. I really can't point to a time where the Church specifically forces the Crested to work. Unless Claude is conflating that all nobles are people with Crests, and complaining that people who are supposed to be leaders are being held accountable for their positions of power and expected to work. Or unless he feels that every Crested person has been forced into nobility. Which... if you are supposed to be a leader, even if by hereditary means, then having a Crest wouldn't change that fact. But that doesn't occur to him. Which is even more bizarre because he comes from a nation with no Crests and yet there is still a King on the throne, and he is prince of that nation. He has obligations as prince there, and there is no Church of Seiros telling him he has obligations there. Same with Petra, whom you can recruit to his route. Her nation has no Crests. She's still princess with responsibilities. No Church of Seiros in Brigid. And look at Hilda! Between her and her brother, she is the one with the Crest. But she has absolutely no responsibilities, because her brother is the future leader of their land. Why would he claim Crested people have no freedoms when Hilda is right there?

And that’s even ignoring the reality of many other lords in other nations don’t have Crests despite being leaders of their house. 

4) They force people into unwanted marriages and positions of power

Again, I feel like Claude is conflating that nobles marry each other for power, a very normal thing that was done in the real world, as if the Church was forcing them. We do see examples of nobles arranging marriages for their children (or in some extreme cases, people trying to force Crested people into marriages to get Crests in their bloodlines), but we never see the Church as the driving force behind it. We just... never see it. Not even the nobles surrounding Claude talk about it. Lorenz talks a lot about finding the perfect wife, but he's motivated by his own ideologies of what it means to be a noble, not because of some Church mandate. In fact, most of the people who talk about being forced into marriages are from different nations. Bernie was Ferdinand's betrothed at one point. Ingrid and Mercedes faced arranged (or forced) marriages. Unless he is considering what maybe his mother went through, and some other past nobles in the Alliance who do talk about s***ty arranged marriages. But... again, we never hear about the Church being the driving force behind it. So, how did he hear about it?

5) They forbid any official contact with outside regions.

We look back to point 2 for this point. Plenty of examples of people from outside Foldan actively living in Foldan. Nothing in their doctrine states you cannot engage with foreigners. And also, there are books you can find around the camp that directly talk about trades done with other nations that we actually don't get to interact with. From Allied Territories of Leicester: Book Two, Edmund territory is stated to be an active hub for trade due to naval ports. Most of Foldan is land-locked, so who are they trading with besides outside nations? The Empire and the Kingdom are also known to trade with continents from beyond the borders as well. Albinea is one such place that is actively traded with. How could Claude not know these things? He's the leader of a large nation. These should be part of his job to know. Yet he is seemingly either unaware of these things, or he doesn't count them because big ol' mean Foldan's Locket has been keeping his people out for a century. It never occurs to him that maybe the reason why Foldan isn't interested in engaging too much with outsiders, especially Almyra, is because the outsiders have been aggressive to them. Dagda invaded. Almyra invaded (for fun, might I add). Sreng invades in the regular. Nader even complains a bit that Claude isn't allowing his men to loot the Kingdom while they are actively invading them. It's no wonder the people of Foldan have major prejudice against them, when they only have bad memories of them and their culture for a generation. Not even Cyril likes his own people.

Heck, technically speaking the Empire and the Kingdom are foreign nations as well. Yes, they share a common language and common ancestory, but they have been separate nations for at least 300 years. Why does Claude, and the game in general, treat Foldan as if it’s a single monolith rather than three independent states with different cultures and identities? Sylvain got it right when the Alliance was invading the Kingdom’s capital:

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

So with all this in mind, Claude's words against the Church don't make sense. There are legitimate grievances to have with the Church, and with the way Foldan runs, but the ones he specifically blames on the Church are not supported by the evidence, even in his own route.