#and ​no I don’t know anything about GoT I just give all my OCs white hair and purple eyes as default 😭

[drenched-in-sunlight]

elden ring OCs.

Raimes and Mirai. they hail from one of the main houses that made up Erdtree’s upper echelons.

[2hightocare]

INFATUATED!

“In a world of boys, he’s a gentleman.” — mini series ❦︎

Synopsis: The feeling of finding a person who makes your tummy do cartwheels everyday, no matter what the situation is.

Pairings: nonidol!jungkook x fem!reader

Warnings: super cute duper fluff, jk being the epitome of every girls dream man. Argument, oc crying, Jungkook wasting money on oc, banter, cussing, flirting. Js super cute cliché shit…

a/n: they’re my babies… they’re so ‘tear in my heart’ coded but after this I might be inactive. I have a paper due in three weeks 10 pages long so…. Plus in my free time I’m working on a series that I will drop the teaser and aesthetic maybe later or tmr🤍🤍🤍 enjoy!! Kithes.

Falling in love with Jungkook was so easy that it scared you. He did everything right, and whenever there was something wrong, he would do anything in his power to make it right. You thought it was too good to be true, and he would just disappear into angel dust if you blinked too fast.

“How do you feel?” Your boyfriend moves your hair out of your face, kissing your forehead in the process. “Warm.” You talk about the fever you have. The covers that were wrapped tightly around you are shredded from you. “Hey!” You pout, shaking from how cold you feel even though the air is off and it’s not cold. “You’re not going to get better, baby.” He pouts back at you, holding the covers tightly on his chest as you try to fight back for it.

“I'm freezing,” you whine, your eyelids fluttering shut as his palm touches your face.

“You’re burning, baby,” he lets you know while sighing.

You had gotten sick yesterday, which had started with a sore throat. You had thought when you would have woken up today it would’ve been gone; spoiler: it got worse.

Jungkook makes his way to his kitchen, opening up the gray cabinet in front of him. He pulls out the tray filled with medicine his mom gave him whenever he moved out around four years ago. He pops open the pill container, taking two small white round pills out before grabbing a water bottle and making his way to you, who’s curled up on his couch.

Jungkook feels like shit whenever he can’t do anything to make you feel better. It didn’t matter what it was; he would do anything in his power to make you feel better. Seeing you sick, your face red from how hot you are, your eyes closed, and curled up from how cold you felt had him thinking that if he could take away your sickness and be sick instead, Jungkook would choose that option in an instant.

He hands you the pills and the water bottle and watches you take them one by one. He remembers when you gawked at him when he took 4 pills at once and learned that you have a fear of the pill going down the wrong tube.

He also remembers that you prefer pills and injections instead of just medicine syrup. Which baffled him, to say the least; how could someone prefer an injection instead of just strawberry-flavored syrup? He laughed at you, which you just shrugged because it was the truth; you preferred to get poked by a needle than just drinking something.

“That’s actually crazy.” Jungkook throws his head backwards as a laugh rips out of his chest. “It’s nasty. I don’t care what flavor it is. I would literally throw it up.” You scrunch your nose, remembering the taste of the medicines your parents literally shoved down your throat so you could get better.

“Don’t get me started on how anything medicine strawberry flavored gives me PTSD till this day.” You shiver from the thought, which has your boyfriend laughing at you.

“I can’t breathe,” you say, your voice scratchy from your sore throat as you breathe from your mouth. “I should’ve enjoyed breathing when I could,” you joke, watching your boyfriend's eyes twinkle. They had a small glimmer to them, making you wonder how that could possibly happen and why you haven't seen it before with anyone else.

Jungkook had no clue how he ended up here… with a girl he met in a chemistry class that accidentally dropped sulfuric acid all over the floor alongside the beaker smashing into tiny pieces. He watched how your eyes widened as a small piece of your hair dropped beautifully in front of your face out of the low ponytail. You had tied it with a blue latex glove as a hair tie since you didn’t have one after no one in class had one to let you borrow.

That was two years ago; now here he was taking care of you as you struggled to breathe from your congested nose.

“Can I get my blanket back?” You pout at him, which he only shook his head with a chuckle.

….

“Get whatever you want,” Jungkook gave your ass a little tap as you entered the makeup store, your eyes widening from excitement. “Don’t say stuff like that,” you give him a look, which has him tilting your face up with his hand.

“Why, baby?” He chuckles, pecking your pouted lips.

“Because it makes me feel things, duh,” you whisper into his lips. He smiles into your mouth. His lip piercing sends cold shocks through your body that has you playfully shoving him away, remembering where you guys are.

“Get whatever you want, and then we can go to the bookstore,” Jungkook picks up the black and white striped little Sephora bag before pointing in front of you to walk.

You giggled as you started looking for the things that have been sitting in your phone cart for a while now. Jungkook follows behind you, stopping whenever you stop to look at the shelves for something before you drop the product in the basket in your boyfriend's hand.

“That’s really cute,” Jungkook mentions the lipstick tester you have in your hand. “You should get it,” he says, tilting his head at you, watching you open the lid being met with a reddish-dark color.

“Don’t you think it’s too dark?” You look up at your smiling boyfriend.

“What?” You giggle as you stare back at him. “You look beautiful,” he says casually, reaching for your beanie and pulling it down a bit more, fixing it. “You literally want me to die right now,” you joke. “Baby!” Jungkook laughs at the tone of voice you used.

“You can’t keep saying things like that without expecting me to literally melt away,” you lean your body onto him while he wraps his strong hands around your much smaller frame as you look up to him.

“I just say whatever is in my mind at the moment, princess,” he explains, giving your waist a small squeeze, making you squirm as the feeling made you ticklish. “Ah!” You laugh as his fingers dig into your rib cage, tickling you.

You push him away as he tries to continue to tickle your tummy. “Stop!” You laugh, trying to get away as far as you can from him.

Jungkook stops when he sees two girls around your guy's age pass beside you both with judging eyes. “Someone’s mad...” Jungkook whispers into your head as you just shake your head with a laugh.

“Let’s leave, I got everything,” you giggle, intertwining your fingers with him, making your way to the line.

When you guys finally get to the line, you are met with a pretty blonde girl, her dimples carved into her skin when she smiles up at you both. “Hi, is that all?” The girl said, you take notice of her name tag.

“Yes, that's all, thank you,” you smile back. “Find everything you wanted?” Genesis asks, as she starts scanning the products. “Yeah, thanks,” you say, playing with the strings of your hoodie as you see the price rise with each scan.

“Card or cash?” Genesis says, as she points to the credit card reader.

“Card,” Jungkook says before you could reply. He pulls out his black card from the back of the phone case, before scanning it through the white card reader without looking at the price. The machine makes a small sound, “here you go, have a wonderful day!” The girl says ripping the receipt before putting it into the white and black bag, handing it to you.

“Thank you, baby,” you say as you walk out the door of the store, Jungkook smiles at you before shrugging. “The least I could do, princess,” he gives your hand three small squeezes, which feels like he’s squeezing your heart as well. “It was expensive as fuck,” you pout at him. “How much?” He asks, “a thousand.” You cringe, scrunching your nose up at realizing the astonishing price. “That’s it?” Jungkook raises an eyebrow before reaching to the passenger side of his car.

“What! You’re crazy,” you say, giving him a slight swat. You watch as the side of his lips quirk up, making you mirror his actions.

“I love you,” you pout, as he leans into his car. “And I love you so much more,” he says, pulling you into him from your waist.

You tipped toe to reach for his lips, his lips mold with yours perfectly as you both were pieces of a puzzle. “How do you want the kiss?” He asks, giving your waist a squeeze. “What is this, a drive-thru? I get to ask what type of kiss I want,” you giggle, letting your forehead drop onto his chest which rumbles with a laugh.

“You get to ask whatever you want from me,” Jungkook rubs your back softly on top of your thick hoodie. “Oh shit,” your eyes widened as you saw the small print of your makeup on his black shirt when you raised your head upwards. “What?” He looks down to his shirt where you’re rubbing your fingers on the dirty print.

“I just ruined your shirt, baby, ahh!” You freak, which has Jungkook laughing while trying to reassure you that it’s fine and he’ll just wash it when he gets home.

As much as you guys had moments like this, you guys had your disagreements. They weren’t as bad where they ended in screaming matches or end up not talking for days, you guys usually make up the same day before going to bed. Jungkook loathed going to bed whenever you two fought; he felt compelled to make things right before even considering sleep.

“Why are you making me feel bad?” You say, your voice cracking, which echoes the fractures in Jungkook's heart. “I’m not, baby. It’s just... I can’t do anything about it,” Jungkook tries to reason with you.

“She was literally all over you, and you didn’t stop it,” you feel your eyes start to water before staring down at your converse.

“She’s my mom's best friend's daughter; I can’t just tell her to fuck off, y/n. I backed off. I can’t control what she does,” Jungkook raises his voice, a tear falling down your cheek as he addresses you by your first name, a departure from his usual endearments, which feels like a knife to your chest.

“Okay, then,” you nod, tears starting to cascade down, smudging your makeup in the process.

Jungkook's throat tightens; he feels like he can't breathe, feeling like shit. He watches you wipe your tears, small sniffles escaping your mouth. “I’m going to go,” you sniffle, turning your back to him and reaching for your bag.

“No, don't leave, let’s talk this out,” Jungkook implores, turning you around to face him. He reaches for your cheeks, wiping away the tears that continue to fall down your puffy cheeks. “You’re hurting me,” you say, with a sniffle.

“I know. I’m fucking sorry, baby,” he feels his heart racing, wanting to die for making you feel bad for caring about him.

“Why didn’t you push her away or say something? You made me look fucking stupid, Jungkook,” you cry, recalling the pang of feeling as Kailey flirted with him in front of his family, and he did nothing to stop it, leaving you feeling small and insignificant.

“I’m so sorry, baby,” he kisses away your tears, trying to soothe the ache in your heart. “I promise I’ll shove her off whenever I see her, and if I have the chance to avoid her, I will,” he whispers into your cheek with each kiss he leaves on your face.

“Promise?” You whisper, finally meeting his worried eyes.

“Promise, baby,” he whispers back, holding eye contact with your red, puffy eyes.

“I hate making you cry; please forgive me,” Jungkook pulls you into him, hugging you tightly as if afraid you'll slip away. “I forgive you, just don’t do it ever again,” you sniffle into his chest, feeling the throb in your heart melt away.

“I love you,” he says, swaying you both in the middle of his living room.

“I love you,” you sniffle.

….

"But the Maze Runner is so good," you literally whine at your boyfriend, who is in the middle of changing his shirt.

"Yeah, but not as good as Spiderman," he says, poking his head out the shirt hole with a grin.

"Okay, true, but the Maze Runner is just as good; you need to read the book to understand," you mumble, trying to separate a piece of hair from your mouth as you curl another strand with your wand.

"You just have a huge crush on Dylan O’Brian, let’s be honest," your boyfriend chuckles, sending you a look through the mirror, to which you just roll your eyes back at him, acknowledging a) that he was right. b) he was literally right.

“Says the boy who had a crush on Fluttershy when we watched My Little Pony,” you say, giving him a 'don’t try me' look. His jaw falls before giving your hair a tiny soft pull.

"You said you wouldn’t bring it up," he laughs before shaking his head with a chuckle. "Well..." you just shrug.

“Fluttershy reminds me of you,” Jungkook stands behind you, his fingers playing with your freshly curled hair. “Until you act like a brat,” he tugs on your hair, making your head snap backwards, where he leaves a big fat smooch on your lips.

“Okay, princess, let’s go,” he says before unplugging the curling wand wire, grabbing your bag and coat, before holding your hand and leading you outside.

[vngelicc]

⋆ TAGS — really soft and domestic, TW: this deals with postpartum depression, baby daddy!jk, soft lil kisses, insecure!oc, angsty as hell, this is more of a comfort fic, mentioned baby, oc rlly struggles but jk is super supportive, mentioned past pregnancy, this made me cry, soft hours, jk pampers his lovely gf, CANON AUUUU JK’S JUST JK HERE LMAO

⋆ WORD COUNT — 2.4 k

“vámonos a comer un heladito, tu princesita, cómprame cositas. en mis tacones casi todo el día, dame un foot-rub and ice out mi tobillo,”

Your eyes fluttered under the feeling of lips sliding across your forehead, eyelid, and nose. You hear Jungkook laughing quietly as he envelops you in his strong arms and tugs you close. His murmurs and pestering have you pulling a face in your sleep, nose scrunched cutely given the way he coos teasingly.

“What time is it?” You mumble softly and blankly stare back at him, eyes heavy from sleep.

“Noon.” This has you going stiff, “Relax baby, he’s okay your mom came early to pick him up.” He comfortingly strokes over your side and backside.

You sink back into the sheets and nod, “Why didn’t you wake me?” You mumble under your breath as your eyes flutter shut.

Jungkook pressed more gentle kisses to your forehead with a low rumble, “You need a break, figured maybe we could go out–do some shopping, go to that sushi place you’ve been dying to try.. That sounds good, yeah?” He murmurs.

You hum, “It does, feels like I haven’t been out in forever.”

He waits with a bated breath and smiles softly when you open your eyes and stare back with more clarity, all traces of sleep etched away. “You’re so pretty, y’know that?” He brushes a strand of hair out of your face.

A subtle heat rises in your cheeks as you smile back, “Even with baby barf and spit all over my shirt?”

“The prettiest.” He leans over to kiss your nose, looking into your eyes with a twinkle in his own. He looks at you like you’ve just hung the stars for him.

Shyly, you press a soft smooch to his lips before flopping flat on your back with a sigh, “The fridge’s nearly empty isn’t it?” You mumble, “I’m sorry, I meant to go the other day but I ended up—”

“You’re fine, it’s okay. You know I’m here too right?” Jungkook reaches over to hold your hand, “Don’t worry about it baby, you’ve got your hands full right now and I get it. ‘s okay to ask for help too.”

You look at him with a soft smile, “I love you.” You lay a quick kiss on his cheek and roll out of bed to head to the bathroom.

Jungkook huffs, “Only one? On the cheek too..” He grumbles like a petulant child, sitting up in the messy sheets tangled around his hips and his bare chest out for your viewing.

“Get ready, it was YOUR idea to go out too so don’t make us late.” You fondly roll your eyes, you can hear him whine about something else behind you as the door shuts.

“…..” You pass in front of the body length mirror, pausing for a moment to observe your appearance. Your hands come up to rest over your tummy as you stare long and hard. “…”

You better get ready.

.

“y/n.”

“y/n?”

You snap out of your daydream and look over at Jungkook curiously, “Yeah?”

“I asked if you wanted to check out the fruits, it’s strawberry season and I’m sure they brought out all the fresh stuff.” Jungkook doesn’t seem at all bothered by the fact that you’ve spaced out for a second time since entering the store.

You shake your head, “I don’t like strawberries.” You say disinterestedly.

‘But you ate them your whole pregnancy, what’s wrong now?’ Your brain is screaming at you to just say yes and deal with it but you can’t.

He gives a soft hum, “That’s fine. Is there anything you wanted to get?” He steers the shopping cart away from the fruits, leading you down an aisle filled with spices and other cooking ingredients.

“Um, what was that thing you bought last time? When you made that white stew.” You scrunch your nose, “Ugh I forgot.”

“Ohh, you mean the cream stew mix? Uhh I think it’s down this aisle lemme check.” Jungkook leaves the cart with you as he trails down the aisle looking up, down, and around.

You pick out a few things to try out later on and happily make your way over. “Did you find it?” You curiously peek over his shoulder, damn near yelling because he shoots back up with a ‘ah-ha!’.

“What?” He innocently says after noticing the scowl on your face.

“You scared me.” You huff and punch his arm gently, “C’mon, I wanna get some chips and the aisle is back that way.” Jungkook happily trails after you, telling you all about his upcoming Calvin Klein campaign.

.

“Look,” Jungkook snorts as he holds up a pair of lace g-strings, “you mean to tell me this tiny triangle covers your entire pus–”

“Jungkook!” You hiss quietly after noticing a few older women turn their heads, “Put those down.” You snatch the panties away and toss them back into their respective drawers.

He cheekily grins and picks up another pair of underwear, “What? I didn’t do anything, I was just asking.” He chuckles.

“You are so dumb.” You giggle quietly, “Stop!! You’re going to get us kicked out, I thought I had one baby not two.”

“But babyy this is so boring, jus’ a bunch of girlie stuff and these women keep lookin’ at me like I’m a creep but I swear I’m just trying to help you.” He pouts.

You shake your head fondly, “Here, go find something to buy or do while I finish up here.” His eyes light up and he presses a messy smooch to your cheek before practically sprinting out.

Your eyes slowly turn over to the mannequin sitting tall on the platform donned in a new lingerie set. You stare at it for what seems like eternity while the world goes on about their day around you. Eventually a staff comes to break you out of your bubble.

“Is everything okay miss? Were you interested in our new spring collection?”

“Oh, um yeah, well I’m trying to surprise my boyfriend you know? I don’t know if he’ll like it ‘n stuff.” You murmur softly, eyes lowered and averted from the mannequin.

“Mmm.. what do you like?”

“Silk, maybe a babydoll or teddy..? I think.” You can’t stomach the idea of wearing a two piece, because then that means your….

“We have just the set then, we got a ton of new items for this spring. ” She grins while leading you away.

When you come out of the store, Jungkook’s barely walking back. He has this goofy little smile on his face as he stops in front of you, barely containing his excitement. “Guess what.”

“What did you do?” You giggle softly and eye the bag in his hand.

“I got this for you.” He brings out a large shirt and holds it up proudly, “It says: Best Milf Ever.”

You stare at the words with disbelief and then you’re breaking out into uncontrollable laughter. People around you look in curiosity but you can’t stop, you feel like you’re about to pee from how hard you’re laughing.

And Jungkook?

He stands there with a fond smile, gazing at you lovingly as he puts the shirt back, “You like it?”

You haven’t laughed nor felt this much joy in a while. “I love it.”

.

After having dinner Jungkook takes you out for ice cream. You were a bit burnt out from being out all day so you waited in the car while he went inside to buy the ice cream.

You think back to everything that happened today, it feels nice. You make a mental note to ask Jungkook to take you to a cat cafe sometime later on in the week. “Oh my god.” You mutter in embarrassment.

Jungkook’s walking back with a monstrosity of a ice cream sundae and then your perfectly NORMAL scoop of sherbet with gummies on top. “Jungkook what is all that mess?” You whine.

“What? I wanted triple chocolate with sprinkles and fudge.” He slips into the car and hands the small bowls over, “C’mon you gotta try it.”

“Hell no! This looks like it can either send me to do number three or I’m gonna puke my guts out.” You hiss.

“Number three doesn’t exist, nice try.” Jungkook scoffs softly while pulling out of the parking lot.

“It does now.” You mumble, ignoring his loud laughter.

You can’t hide the face you make while Jungkook eats that horrendous dessert. He doesn’t even care that you’re judging him as he happily watches his little Netflix show he’s been yapping about as of lately.

“I knew it, it was her all along..” He mutters to himself as he eats a large spoonful of ice cream.

“I’m going to the kitchen, you want anything?” You can’t take it anymore as you stand abruptly and pass by.

“No.”

You put your ice cream away and drink a glass of water in the kitchen. You enjoy the peace and quiet, it’s been a cool minute since you’ve had some time to yourself. Between caring for a newborn and balancing your everyday life, shit’s been hard.

Not that Jungkook doesn’t help, but sometimes you feel like you put too much on him. He says he doesn’t care but.. you do.

With a heavy sigh you leave the cup in the sink and trail over to your bedroom. The dainty lingerie bag sits on the corner of the bed, you have yet to try it on but you don’t know..

“Fuck it.” You mutter while stripping down and slipping on the pretty babydoll top and matching thong to go with it.

The soft pink and silky smooth feeling of it has you smiling to yourself over how pretty it is on you. The set even came with a robe so you slipped that on too and tied it securely around your waist before heading back out to show your lover.

“Jungkook.” You call out, “What do you think?”

He pauses his show and looks over, his eyes visibly glaze over as he takes you in from head to toe. “Pretty, I like it—pink suits you.” He beckons you over.

Right, he thinks it’s just a robe.

You walk over with a soft hum and stand between his legs, “I got something else, it’s under.”

His eyes darken and he licks his lips, “Can I?” His hands hover over the sash. You can’t help but shiver with the way he looks at you like he wants to eat you alive. Makes you feel hot.

“Yeah..” Your voice comes out breathier than usual, a hint of excitement underlying your tone.

Jungkook unties the knot and slowly pulls your robe off. “Fuck.” He whispers when he sees the pretty babydoll underneath, he gets a peek at your thong too and he’s nearly drooling.

“Shit baby you look so fuckin’ pretty, look at you,” he gently twirls you around with a low whistle.

His hand hovers over your ass, not quite touching but there. You gently pull his hands closer with a soft, “You can touch.” You murmur.

Jungkook audibly gulps and grabs a fistful of your babydoll, he lifts it up enough to slip his hands around both cheeks. He gives both doughy cheeks a tight squeeze before he’s jiggling it in the palms of his hands.

“Can I baby?” He asks softly, “I wanna take you to bed.” To that you nod.

Before you can get another word out, he abruptly stands and hauls you up into his strong arms. You squeal in shock and hit his shoulders, “Jungkook..! Put me down!” You whine.

“No.” Jungkook smirks as he lands a sharp smack to your ass, “Let me take care of you yeah? Just sit ‘n look pretty for me.” He carries you down the hall and kicks the door open, gently tossing you onto the center of the bed.

You bounce back on the mattress with a soft ‘oof’, he doesn’t let up because he’s already crawling over you and landing a sweet yet heated kiss on your lips. You wrap your arms around him and hug him close, enjoying the soft touches.

Jungkook takes his sweet time kissing you, the kiss is slow and his touches are light and feathery. He holds you like you’re made of glass or something, gently cupping your hips and massaging them. It tugs on your poor heart strings and you find yourself tearing up for no reason..?

He pulls away with a soft pant, pressing his forehead to your own as he stares into your eyes with devotion. “Why are you crying baby? Hm? Why’s my pretty girl sad?” He wipes your tears with his thumbs.

“B-Because, you’re so good to me.” You softly hiccup, “Feel safe with you.”

He brushes your hair out of your face and smooches your nose, “Yeah, what else baby. Talk to me.” He murmurs patiently while cupping the side of your cheek.

“You don’t make me feel alone.” You whisper, and his heart breaks seeing you this vulnerable, “I-I know I haven’t been there for you b-but with the baby and–”

“And who said you needed to take care of me? You already have enough with the baby, you spent nine months carrying our baby and you worked hard to bring him into the world my love. Makes me proud of you baby, strongest girl I know.” He softly smiles.

Your heart races and you feel a knot in your throat as you continue listening to him, “You’re going to be okay—we’re okay. You know I’m always going to be right here for whatever you need, you’re doing so good my love.”

You let out a soft sob and bury your face in his shoulder. These past two months of silently struggling with coming to terms of your newfound motherhood and changes with your relationship finally come to a stop. You feel good knowing that Jungkook is so understanding and supportive.

For a while you thought you were going insane, that it was your fault and you were a horrible mother for feeling so…bad.

Even when you were bedridden for days, void of any life and emotion, Jungkook is still here.

“I love you.” Jungkook whispers.

“I love you too.” You sniffle.

Jungkook helps you slip into one of his shirts as the two of you cuddle for the rest of the night watching silly rom-coms. You know the future will be okay.

Everything is okay.

TAGLIST: @fragmentof-indifference @jungkooksseuphoria @kooliv @angelarin @jjeonjjk7 @lilliankoo @pb-n-juju @ellesalazar @saweetspoiled @laylasbunbunny @prettyprincejk @cherrysainttt @hyunjinswifeee @joongraduatewithonor @hellbornsworld @leire-mia @m1sss1mp @lissful @winkii @lifeless-firefly @exactlygreatcoffee @taestoess @ayalies @floweryjeons @softtcurse @lilspinachwrld @tearyjjeon @littleobsessedkitty @lovelovelovebts @angeljmnie @rerefundslocals @bangtans-mama @thvhoe @maddkitt @tvse @ohjeon @teteswtnr @jkslovey12 @kelsyx33 @milfpo1ice @sluttydidi @ztyur @beomgyuult @shescharlie @sweet-sourhotcoco @lalita-7 @hazzzelsdimension @p34rluv @kook-net @bonita0-0 @vmapy @dahliadaenerys @frieschan @lilyflowerguk @sayokodiary @babycandy111 @looneybleus @ash07128 @gyukookswhore @rrosiitas

[lupinqs]

CHAPTER SIX ━━ Shattered Glass

☆ ━ pairing: hopkins!paige x oc (dani callan)

☆ ━ word count: 3.8K

☆ ━ warnings: mentions of conversion therapy

☆ ━ links: my masterlist, take me to church masterlist

☆ ━ author’s note: finally bro

DANI STANDS in the dimly lit darkroom, watching the chemicals slowly bring her latest batch of photos to life. The soft red glow of the safelights fill the room, casting long shadows across the black-and-white prints hanging on the drying line. The hum of the machines and the faint smell of chemicals are oddly calming, giving her a momentary escape from the chaotic mess her life has become. She likes it here. The darkroom is one of the few places that still feels like her own—maybe her safe space.

She adjusts the print in the developer tray, her hands moving automatically as her mind wanders. It’s hard not to think about the other night, about Paige’s basket. The note stays with her, a flicker of warmth that she hasn’t felt in a long time. She wishes Paige hadn’t done it. She wishes she could’ve just stewed in her misery, in the mess she’s made. It would be easier that way.

Now, Dani can’t stop thinking about it. Paige is always there, lurking at the edges of her thoughts, no matter how much Dani tries to push her away.

It’s frustrating and comforting at the same time.

The door to the darkroom swings open, flooding the room with harsh light from the hallway. Dani blinks against it, silently cursing as Serena Corren struts in. The blonde cheerleader makes no effort to close the door softly, the bang of it slamming shut making Dani wince. Serena isn’t supposed to be here, at least not right now, but here she is anyway, crashing into Dani’s quiet space like she always seems to do.

“Hey, Dani.” Serena drops her yearbook materials on the counter with a loud thunk, her sharp voice cutting through the low hum of the room.

“Hey,” Dani mutters, her eyes fixed on the developing photo, hoping Serena will take the hint and keep her distance. But that isn’t how Serena works. She never really does subtle.

Serena leans over, peering at the picture. “You’re still working on that football game? Don’t you have, like, a thousand of those already?”

Dani shrugs, her jaw tight. “I’m trying to be thorough.”

Serena scoffs. “No, I think you’re trying to be alone in here, avoiding everyone.” She straightens, fixing Dani with a pointed look pursing her lips into a line. “You’ve been weird lately, you know that?”

Dani’s shoulders tense. She knows where this is going and she doesn’t want to deal with it. “I’m fine, Serena.”

“Yeah, sure,” the blonde drawls, pulling up a stool and plopping down on it without asking. “That’s why Beau’s been bitching to everyone about you. Says you’ve been acting all ‘distant.’”

Dani doesn’t say anything, keeping her eyes locked on her work. Beau. Of course, it’s about Beau. Everything is always about him—her boyfriend, her obligation. The person she’s supposed to care about. Except she doesn’t. Not really.

Serena crosses her arms, eyeing Dani with a mix of disdain and curiosity. “You’re lucky, you know that? Beau’s, like, the hottest guy in school, and you’ve been treating him like shit recently. So, spill, and tell me what your deal is.”

Dani’s grip tightens on the edge of the counter, knuckles turning white. “I’ve just been dealing with stuff,” she mumbles.

“Right, ‘stuff.’” Serena’s tone drips with sarcasm, her eyes narrowing. “You’ve got everyone worried, Dani. Not just Beau—though, let’s be real, he’s the only one actually trying. The rest of us? We don’t know why you even bother hanging out anymore if you’re gonna be so… ugh.”

Dani’s stomach twists, but she keeps her mouth shut. Of course, Beau’s trying. That’s the narrative. That’s always the narrative. But neither him or Serena or any of their other friends are ever actually trying to help. The blonde isn’t even asking if Dani was okay. She’s here to make a point, to make sure Dani knows she’s out of line for daring to withdraw from the group.

Serena’s lips curl in a half-smile, her eyes sharp. “Look, I get it. Maybe you’re going through something or whatever, but seriously? You’re not the only one with problems, Dani. Beau’s been putting up with a lot from you.”

Dani lets out a short, bitter laugh before she can stop herself. “Putting up with me? Are you serious?”

Serena’s smile falters for a second before she narrows her eyes. “Yeah, I am. You’ve been flaking on him for weeks, acting all moody, and he’s still there. Most guys wouldn’t stick around if their girlfriend was being such a—” Serena throws her hands up in the air, searching for a word, “—headcase!”

Dani’s vision blurs with irritation, but she swallows it down. It isn’t worth it, arguing with Serena. Sure, the girl was nice and welcoming at first, but it didn’t take Dani much time to realize just how fake Sersna can be. By now, Dani can hardly stand her, but she’s inevitable—Serena’s a part of Beau’s circle, part of this whole sick, suffocating dynamic Dani’s been shoved into. At this point, she has to hang out with them, even though Serena and the others have no idea what’s really going on, and even if they did, they wouldn’t care. They’d probably just mock her even more.

She can’t explain why she’s acting “weird.” She can’t explain why the thought of being around Beau makes her feel like her skin is crawling. She can’t explain how much she hates who she’s become since she got back from camp. She can’t explain that the more she’s sucked into this straight girl, quarterback’s girlfriend, Catholic princess persona, the more she feels the girl underneath it slipping away, caught in between two worlds that don’t meet.

Serena’s still watching her, waiting for a response, her lips frowning in faux concern. “You’re lucky he hasn’t dumped you yet.”

Dani grits her teeth. Lucky. She’s not lucky; she’d be much more lucky if he dumped her. Beau’s controlling, selfish, and she knows he’s never given a damn about what she wants or how she might feel. He’s only gotten worse lately too, like a few nights ago—leaving her stranded, making her walk home alone in the dark while he drove off, doing who-knows-what.

But none of that matters, because in Serena’s world, Beau can do no wrong. In fact, Dani wouldn’t even be surprised if the two of them have fucked by now. “Maybe I don’t care if he dumps me,” the brunette mutters under her breath.

Serena snorts, “Yeah, right. Please. You’d be miserable without him, Dani. You wouldn’t have anyone left.”

That is what hits Dani hard, the words sinking into her like ice. She wants to that Serena’s wrong, but the fear is there, gnawing at her. Because who will she have without Beau, without this group she’s been forced into? She’s already lost her real friends, the ones who actually matter. Paige, Thaliah, Jalen.

“Look,” Serena continues, her voice smug, “just stop acting like this. Whatever this moody, weird thing you’ve got going on? It’s not cute. We’re all getting tired of it.”

Dani feels the anger bubbling up again, sharp and hot in her chest. She can’t do this anymore—can’t sit here and listen to Serena drone on about something that doesn’t even really fucking involve her. “I don’t care if you’re tired of it, Serena. You know what? Maybe I’m the one tired of it, tired of hanging around all of you, tired of hearing you bitching, and tired of the fact that none of you have a nice fucking bone in your body!”

Serena’s eyes flash with surprise, but she quickly covers it with a smirk. “Wow, okay. You’ve been one of ‘us’ for months now. So what the fuck does that say about you then, hmm?” She pauses, letting the words sink in, before continuing, “You’re just like the rest of us. And if you’re really gonna throw away everything just because you’re in one of your moods, then I guess I thought you were smarter than you really are.”

Dani’s heart pounds in her chest, her hands shaking slightly as she turns back to her photos. She doesn’t respond. She refuses. Because if she does, she isn’t sure what will come out—whether it would be anger or something worse. She doesn’t want to cry in front of Serena. She refuses to give her that satisfaction.

After a long, tense silence, Serena stands, brushing invisible dust off her skirt. “Whatever, Dani. Keep being weird if that’s what you want. Just don’t be surprised when Beau gets tired of your shit and moves on. You’re replaceable, you know.”

Dani bites the inside of her lip at the venom in Serena’s words, but she doesn’t look up. She doesn’t let herself react, no matter how badly she wants to lash out.

The door to the darkroom creaks open again as Serena leaves, slamming it shut behind her.

PAIGE HASN’T heard a single word her financial algebra teacher has said the entire class period. Her foot taps against the floor incessantly, the low thud thud thud filling her head. She’s restless—scratch that, obsessed. Her is was stuck in one place, on one person.

Dani.

Dani, Dani, Dani, Dani, Dani, Dani, Dani.

Paige has been like this since Halloween, unable to focus on anything except the basket she left on the girl’s porch, hoping it would be some kind of olive branch. She’s spent the last few days replaying every interaction in her mind, trying to decipher Dani’s walls, to figure out what exactly is going on inside her head.

For how well and how long Paige has known the brunette, she simply can’t tell. She’s tried—but she has no idea what’s swirling in her ex-best friend’s mind that prompted her to create this entire situation. But what Paige does know is that she can’t keep sitting in this classroom pretending to care about math when all she wants to do is get Dani to talk to her. Really talk to her.

She lets out a sigh, barely noticing the way the teacher glances up from her notes. Paige bites her lip, her foot tapping even faster now, her knee bouncing. She can’t take it anymore.

Shooting her hand up, Paige catches the teacher’s attention. “Ms. Greene?” she asks, her voice a little shaky.

Ms. Greene, who’s in the middle of explaining some equation Paige can’t even begin to follow, stops mid-sentence, raising an eyebrow. “Yes, Paige?”

Paige swallows, feigning discomfort. “I don’t feel well. Can I go to the nurse?”

Ms. Greene studies her for a moment, clearly weighing how bad Paige looks. Then, she nods. “Sure. Go ahead.”

Paige quickly packs up her stuff, barely caring about leaving her things behind, and bolts out of the classroom. She isn’t going to the nurse. She has somewhere else to be—somewhere Dani would be.

She hates to admit it, but she knows Dani’s schedule like the back of her hand. It isn’t like she meant to memorize it; it just kind of happened over time. Call her a stalker—maybe she is—but she’s always paid attention to Dani, even now when they aren’t even friends anymore.

And she knows exactly where Dani is during this period: the darkroom. Paige has seen her slip into it on more than one occasion during this period. Paige has been in there herself several times, all with Dani, all last year. She’d sit on one of the stools and watch Dani work, infatuated like she always seems to be by the brunette. She misses it. She misses everything.

And she can’t stand it anymore. She has to get through to Dani. Today.

The hallways are mostly empty as Paige strides down them, her heartbeat quickening with every step. She isn’t sure what she’s planning to say, but she knows she has to say something. If she can just get Dani to open up—to explain why she’s shutting everyone out, why she’s pushed Paige away so violently—then maybe, just maybe, things can go back to how they used to be.

As Paige turns the corner, she slows her pace, watching someone step out of the darkroom. Serena Corren struts out, her face twisted in an annoyed scowl. The cheerleader’s blonde hair whips behind her as she slams the door with enough force to make Paige raise her eyebrows.  Serena’s eyes flick up as she passes the basketball player, and for a brief moment, their gazes meet. Paige can see the disdain in Serena’s eyes—she looks irritated, almost as if she’s blaming Paige for something, but neither of them say anything. The silent exchange is fleeting and Paige thinks it’s a little odd, too.

Paige reaches the door of the darkroom, her heart thudding in her chest. She doesn’t hesitate, doesn’t knock. She just pushes the door open. The low red light of the darkroom washes over her like a wave of unease, the smell of developing chemicals hangs in the air, and the soft hum of the machines fill the silence.

Before Paige can even step fully inside, Dani’s voice cuts through the air, sharp and biting. “God, if you’re gonna keep berating me about this—” Dani snaps, her tone dripping with irritation, clearly mistaking Paige for Serena.

But when Dani spins around, her words die on her lips. The fiery annoyance in her eyes quickly evaporates, replaced with shock. “Paige,” she breathes, like the wind has been knocked out of her. She blinks, her body stiffening. “What are you doing here?”

Paige steps further into the room, letting the door click shut behind her. She swallows, her heart racing as she locks eyes with Dani. “I’m here because we need to talk,” she says steadily.

Dani’s face hardens. She turns back to her photos, ignoring Paige like she isn’t even there. “There’s nothing to talk about,” Dani mutters, flat and dismissive.

“Yes, there is,” Paige responds firmly. She refuses to let Dani shut this down again. “You know there is.”

Dani quickly turns back toward Paige, a faux smile on her face. “You’re so right, Paige, we do need to talk,” she says, her tone sickly sweet. “Thank you for the basket, I appreciated it.” And then she turns right back to the photos.

Paige clenches her fists, frustration boiling up inside her. She’s spent months tiptoeing around Dani’s moods, giving her space, hoping she’ll come around on her own. But that isn’t working. She isn’t going to stand by while Dani pushes her further away, destroying herself in the process.

“Stop it,” Paige replies, shaking her head. “You know that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s wrong, what exactly has been going on with you.”

Dani scoffs, shaking her head as she continues to work, refusing to look at Paige. “What, you’re just going to barge in here and demand I spill my guts?” she asks incredulously. “That’s not how this works, Paige.”

Paige steps closer, her voice firm but pleading. “I’m not trying to make demands. I just… I need to understand why you’ve been acting like this. Why you’ve been pushing me away. You don’t even look at me anymore, Dani. And I—” Paige’s voice cracks, and she swallows hard, fighting the emotion rising in her throat. “I don’t understand what I did wrong.”

Dani’s hands still over the photo paper, her fingers trembling slightly, though she quickly balls them into fists to hide it. She doesn’t respond, but Paige can see the tension radiating from her.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Dani finally mutters under her breath, her voice barely audible.

Paige’s heart clenches. “Then why are you pushing me away?”

“I’m not,” Dani rebuttals, though both of them know she’s lying. “I just—I can’t do this right now, okay? You should go.”

“No,” Paige says, shaking her head, her voice ready to rise at any second because she’s tired of this. “You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to shut me out like this after everything we’ve been through, and then lie and say that you aren’t. I care about you, Dan. I always have. And I know you care about me, too. So, why are you doing this?”

Dani shakes her head profusely, almost like she’s trying to shake something out of her brain. “You wouldn’t get it.”

“Try me,” Paige shoots back, her frustration rising. She can feel the walls between them, the weight of everything Dani isn’t saying, and it’s suffocating. “I’ve been your best friend since we were kids. You can’t just cut me out of your life without an explanation. I know something happened over the summer. Something had to have happened, because I know you wouldn’t do this without reason I know it. But I don’t know why you won’t let me in. Why you won’t even talk to me.”

“No!” Dani responds, her voice rising slightly to meet Paige’s. She stays stubborn, not breaking. “You won’t understand.”

“Then make me understand!” Paige bursts out, her frustration finally spilling over. She throws her hands up in the air in disbelief. “God, Dani, I’m trying so hard to be here for you, but you’re making it impossible. Why won’t you just talk to me?”

Dani slams her hand down on the counter, making Paige jump. “Because talking won’t fix anything!” she snaps, turning to face Paige. The blonde can see the tears glistening in Dani’s eyes. “You think this is all about you, don’t you? That I’m pushing you away because of something you did. But it’s not about you. It’s about me. It’s about everything I’ve been through, everything I’m still going through. And you can’t fix that.”

Paige’s heart clenches at the sight of Dani’s tear-filled eyes, but she doesn’t stop. She steps closer once more, her voice soft but firm. “Maybe I can’t fix it. But I can be there for you. I can help you if you just let me. Please, Dani. Just tell me what’s going on.”

Dani shakes her head, her hands trembling. She averts her eyes, looking at the corner of the wall, refusing to meet Paige’s gaze. “I—I can’t,” she whispers, her voice cracking. “You don’t know what it was like…”

Paige’s breath hitches. Dani’s breaking, right in front of her, and Paige can feel it—the dam about to burst.

“What what was like?” Paige asks gently, her heart pounding in her chest. Her voice drops to a low murmur. “What happened, Dani?”

Dani stares at the ground, eyes shimmering with unshed tears. Paige watches as Dani digs her nails into her thigh and she fights the urge to take the brunette’s hand in her own. “My dad…” the Callan girl starts, hardly a whisper. “He—on the Ring doorbell—he saw us kiss. You know how he is. You know what he believes in. He couldn’t accept the fact that his daughter liked other girls. So, he sent me to camp. And—and it wasn’t just any camp…” she pauses, finally meeting eyes with Paige. The blonde watches as her tears begin to spill, and she feels her own heart break with every word that comes out of Dani’s mouth. Dani shrugs, “It was conversion therapy.”

Paige freezes. “What?” Her mind reels, the words not fully sinking in at first. “You… you went to—”

“Yeah,” Dani laughs bitterly, her voice thick with tears. “All summer. While you were at basketball camps, traveling, I was stuck in that place. Being told every day that who I am is wrong. That what I feel is… is disgusting. That I was disgusting.”

Paige feels like the ground has been ripped out from under her. She stumbles forward, her hand reaching out to touch Dani’s arm, but Dani flinches away.

“Dani…” Paige’s voice is shaky, her heart aching. “I—I had no idea. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I couldn’t,” Dani whispers, and her voice breaks with a sob. “I couldn’t tell you, Paige. I wanted to. You don’t know how much I wanted to. But—y’know, I felt ashamed of the fact that I loved you just as much when I left camp as I did when I got there, even after everything they put me through. And I—I wanted to protect you from all my problems.” She pauses, sniffling slightly, trying to wipe her tears with the back of her hand. It doesn’t matter; they keep coming. “My dad, too. He’s friends with Beau’s parents. They started it—the thing with Beau and I. It made my dad happy; that’s all I really wanted. I’ve never wanted or liked Beau, Paige.”

Paige stares at her, eyes flitting across her face. She wants so badly to reach out and touch Dani, hold her. But she doesn’t want to scare her away. So, instead, she asks, “You never did? Not at all?” She thinks she already knows the answer, and she feels almost guilty for being relieved at it.

“Never,” Dani confirms, her arms wrapping around herself, probably trying to stem the sobs. “I wanted someone else.”

Paige’s heart skips a beat.

“But my dad,” the brunette chokes out, “he told me that if he ever saw us together again, that he’d send me back.” Dani looks up at Paige once more, her eyes bloodshot and filled with more fear than Paige has ever seen. Dani shakes her head, sobbing as she says, “Paige, I don’t wanna go back.”

Paige feels her heart shatter at the sight of Dani’s pain finally laid out before her. The blonde takes the final step forward, her hands going to cup Dani’s cheeks, making Dani look at her. Paige says firmly, feeling more protective of the girl before her than anything else in her entire life, “You’re not gonna go back, okay? He can’t you send you back. I won’t let him.”

Dani sobs again, and Paige pulls her in closer, was wrapping her arms around Dani into a tight hug. She holds her so tightly that it feels like they might both stop breathing, but Paige doesn’t care. She isn’t letting go. Not now. Not ever.

“I’m so sorry,” Dani whispers through her tears, clinging to Paige like she’s the only thing keeping her grounded. “I’m so sorry, P. I—I didn’t want to push you away, but I was so scared. I still am.”

“You don’t have to be scared anymore,” Paige murmurs, her own tears slipping down her cheeks as she holds Dani even tighter. “I’m here. I’ll always be here. Everything’s gonna be okay, I promise.”

They stay like that, locked in each other’s arms, both of them crying, both of them holding on like the world is falling apart around them.

Because maybe it is.

But for the first time in months, they aren’t facing it alone.

[420days]

KISS AND MAKE UP

Carmelo Hayes x Black female OC

Summary: Carmelo and Saniyah get into an argument and it’s tearing them apart.

“Y’all still not talking?”

“Nope, he pissed me off and I don’t want to be around him right now.” She rolled her eyes at her best friend.

“Now girl, I know you been walking around all sad and shit. You know you miss being up under that man.”

“I do but I just feel like he’s in the wrong. Like don’t tell me you not answering your phone isn’t that serious.”

“That’s true but I think the situation just escalated. You were already upset and he was drunk.”

“If you say so girl.” She mumbled and looked down at her phone. She knew both her and Melo were both stubborn so at this point it was a waiting game.

The two hadn’t spoke since yesterday morning when she cussed him out for not answering her the previous night and it was eating her up. She was craving her man’s touch, his kisses, and his scent but her pride wouldn’t allow her to call him.

“Isn’t he leaving to go back on the road Friday?”

“Yeah.” She mumbled.

“So y’all just aren’t going to talk? He’s going to go back on the road and then what? You’re not going to get any going away dick or anything?” Jania asked her best friend.

She knew how much her best friend was in love with Melo and it was only a matter of time before they were all up under each other again. Saniyah was a stubborn person that at times would escalate situations beyond where they needed to be.

“Ugh, I hate when you’re right. Let me go call my man.” She rolled her eyes and stood up from her bed.

“Alright girly, make sure you use protection!”

“Bye Jania!” She laughed before hanging up with her.

Saniyah got dressed in a black matching set and her furry slides that showed her freshly done white toes. She brushed her hair into a neat ponytail and added a bit of lip gloss on her thick lips. Leaving her house she nearly sped to Melos apartment complex and patiently waited for him to let her in.

“What’s up?” He answered the door wearing nothing but a pair of black sweatpants and the typical gold chain he always had on. Saniyah wanted to jump his bones right then and there but knew it wasn’t the time for that.

When she didn’t respond he sat down on the couch and sighed, mumbling something under his breath that she couldn’t make out.

“You shouldn’t be mad. You’re the one that’s in the wrong.” She pursed her lips at him.

“Did I not apologize three different times. You can be mad but I’m not about to kiss your ass Saniyah.”

“I’m not asking you to. I just want you to act like you care and stop being mean to me.” She sniffled making his heart ache. He hated when they got like this.

“Come here.” He reached his hand out and grabbed her by her waist, pulling her between his legs.

“I’m not being mean to you. Stop crying mama.”

“Yes you are. I haven’t heard from you since yesterday and all I wanted to know was you were okay. Now you’re mad at me.” She spoke between her sniffles.

“Im not mad at you and I understand why you were angry. That’s why I apologized but baby you gotta work in the way to talk when you’re upset.” He told her as he looked into her eyes.

He knew she was a big ass baby when it came to him but when she was upset her mouth was something serious. One thing he didn’t tolerate was disrespect not even from her.

“I know and I’m sorry. I was just scared that something happened to you.” She reached her hand up and rubbed his face.

“I ain’t mean to scare you baby. My phone died and when I got home I just crashed out. It won’t happen again, okay?”

“Okay baby. I love you.” She nodded her head.

“I love you too, give me a kiss.”

[bookuce]

Change My Mind

SUMMARY: Josh and Alina are great friends most days. Other days, they want to tear each other apart. Some days, they’re in love with each other, but neither of them will admit it. 

*DISCLAIMER: This is a multi-part series. I do not own any of the characters in the writing except for the OC. The book uses actual names of wrestlers. Josh is Jey, Jon is Jimmy, Trinity is Naomi, and Alina is Alina. The book is not realistic and does not take place during real events, but some actual events (matches, storylines) could pop up in the story eventually. I DO NOT GIVE ANYONE PERMISSION TO TRANSLATE OR REPOST MY WRITINGS ANYWHERE. THAAAAAANKS. *

PAIRING: Jey Uso x Black OC

TROPE: Friends to Lovers

WARNINGS: Language

WORD COUNT: 2,574

PART SIX

PART SEVEN

(1/2)

TWO WEEKS LATER

Wedding days were always hectic. When Cassie got married, it seemed like everything that could go wrong was going wrong. It rained on the day of her wedding, and it was outdoors. Lucky for them, they were able to find another venue nearby to get married. Though it wasn’t the dream wedding she had planned, it was unique to them—making the day even more special. Today’s wedding was sunny, not a cloud in the sky. The only issue now was that the hairstylist who was supposed to do Tasha’s hair today had to cancel—sick kid, she says. 

Finding a credible, available hairstylist in the metropolitan of Atlanta on short notice would be challenging, but lucky for Alina, Cassie was in charge of that. Alina was in charge of making sure everything stayed on schedule. With a clipboard tucked beneath her arm, she and Josh walked towards the Gentlemen’s Hall, where Michael and his groomsmen were. “I’ll come get you when I’m through talking to the decorators.” She says as they cross the yard to a small white house on the side of the winery.

“You do not have to worry about me,” Josh starts. “I’m a big boy; I can handle myself.” He promises. They stop on the porch steps, Alina now turning to him.

“I know,” She says, glancing towards the door. “I just want to make sure you’re comfortable.” Josh knew none of the men outside of Michael; he and Michael had only spoken a handful of times. 

“I’ll be fine.” He assures her. They exchanged stares for a moment before Alina slowly began to nod. 

“Okay,” She breathes, moving up the steps. Josh was close behind, his hand reaching out to open the door for her. Blaring music poured out of the house, with loud laughter following behind. She walks in, instantly greeted by the smell of cigars mixed with expensive cologne. She fans her hand in front of her face, looking at the Eight men peering up at Alina with grand smiles on their faces. A chorus of whistles would come in for the woman, but she ignored them. She was too distracted by the fact that the air was too damn thick in this room. “Damn, can y’all breathe in here?” She asks, making a face of disgust. 

Josh stood close behind her, his eyes scanning the room. For someone who interacts with strangers on a daily, he couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous. He wouldn’t admit this to his girl; she hoped he’d make friends with these men. For her, he would try. After all, they’ll have to get used to him being around for a long time. He wasn’t going anywhere. “It’s to keep the ladies out.” Samuel, Michael’s brother, says, making the men laugh.

“You’re doing a great job then.” She mutters. “Y’all need to make sure yall have this smoking shit wrapped up soon though. Tasha will throw a fit if she smells anything but cologne on y’all.” She says, pointing at the glass of liquor in Michael’s hand. He glances down at the glass, a slight grin on his face.

“I can’t calm my nerves?” He asks.

“With one drink.” She tells him. “You can get fucked up after the wedding. I don’t care what happens after, as long as my best friend is happy.” She tells him, earning a few groans from the men.

“Can always count on you to keep us in check.” A man says, his eyes finding Alina’s. There was a flirty grin on his lips while he spoke, his eyes trailing down her body. Josh notices the look, his brows furrowing slightly. She would peer over to that man, an unreadable expression on her face. She’d take in a breath, reaching behind her to grab Josh’s hand.

“This is Josh. I’m leaving him with y’all.” She points her index finger at the men, allowing it to go around the room. “Play nice.” She says before turning to her man. “Be nice.” She whispers to him. Before he could say anything, she leaned in to peck his lips. “Love you.” She says.

“I love you too.” He replies. With a wave, she spares the room one last glance before exiting the house. Josh watched as Alina left before turning his attention back to the men in the room. They were all quiet, staring at him. “What’s up?” He greets them with an upward nod of his head. Michael steps forward, his hand open for a dap up. Josh would close the gap, their hands coming together for the greeting and hug. 

“Make yourself comfortable, man,” Michael says, pulling back to look at him. “You want anything to drink? We got a cigar left.” He says. Josh shakes his head at the cigar offer. He didn’t care much for cigars. 

“I’ll take a glass, Uce.” He says, moving to sit in an open seat next to the man who eyed his woman. Josh and the guy briefly exchange glances before he returns his attention to Michael. The groom turned to the mini-bar behind him, pouring Josh a small glass of bourbon from the decanter on the counter. When he finishes pouring his glass, he turns to pass him the drink. Josh takes it, saying a small thank you to him. 

“No problem. Let me introduce you to everyone.” Michael says, lifting his hand. He points to a guy seated in a red recliner seat. “This is my little brother, Sam,” He moves on to the next. “My fraternity brothers, Calvin, Malcolm, Shawn, Kenny, Nate, and Theo.” He finishes, ending with the man sitting next to him. There was something off about Theo—Josh could tell, but he wasn’t sure what it was just yet. 

Josh nods once at everyone, giving them a slight smile. “Ay, nice to meet y’all.” He says. 

“So you and Lina, huh?” Shawn asks.

“Yeah, she’s a great woman,” Josh confesses. “I’m lucky to have her.” He adds. The eight men in the room looked after Lina, always ready to protect her. She was like a sister to most of them.

“How long have y’all been together?” Theo asks suddenly. Instead of looking at the man who asked him such a question, Josh glances down at the glass in his hand.

“A few weeks,” Josh answers. “We’ve been friends for two years, though.” Theo hums at the answer. Michael and Sam would exchange glances at the interaction, the brothers sharing some unspoken agreement. “How do you know her?” Josh asks. 

“Ex-fiance.” Josh becomes incredibly still at the answer. “Dated all through college, engaged for two.” Theo finishes. In the two years Alina and Josh have known each other, she had never mentioned that she was engaged. Josh swirled the brown liquid in his glass before bringing it to his lips for a sip. Michael and Sam both knew this conversation was going to happen eventually. It didn’t cross Alina’s mind that it would happen today. Josh was for sure going to bring it up to her later.

The brown liquid warmed Josh’s chest, causing him to clear his throat slightly and clench his jaw. He sniffles before turning to look at Theo. “I didn’t know she was engaged.” He says. Theo and Josh watched each other in silence for a bit.

“I’m surprised she didn’t tell you.” He says.

“Must’ve not been important,” Josh replies, his gaze becoming cold. Theo continued to stare at Josh, a faint grin on his face. The room became silent while everyone watched the two men tied to Alina McLemore stare each other down. The grin on Theo’s face made Josh’s blood pressure rise. He could feel his body warming by the second, his ears getting hot. 

Kenny’s eyes flickered between everyone before he leaned forward on the sofa he sat on. “So, Josh, what do I gotta do to get a few tickets to Smackdown?” He says, pulling Josh’s attention from the man next to him. Theo stands to his feet, walking to the kitchen. Josh’s eyes would flicker in his direction before moving back to Kenny.

“Nothing, what show you looking at?” He asks, giving him a grin. 

“Y’all got a show coming to Savannah later on.” Kenny answers.

Josh answers with a shrug of his shoulders and shakes his head. “It’s done. Just text Lina when the time gets close, and we’ll make everything else happen.” He instructs him. Theo walks back into the room, sitting down next to Josh again. 

“So you’re a…wrestler?” Theo asks, chiming into the conversation.

“Yeah, I fight,” Josh says, looking back at him. It was a subtle warning to the man next to him. Theo peers over, a smile coming to his face again. Warning received.

“And you and Lina work together?” He continues. “Wouldn’t that complicate things?” He asks, insinuating the relationship was due to fail. Theo was on a mission to piss Josh off to the point of no return, it seems. These are typical ex-boyfriend fiancé shenanigans. Josh and Theo would begin another stare-down before Josh looks away from him. Slowly, he put down his drink. He didn’t need that anymore. 

“You want to elaborate, Uce?” He asks, turning his entire body to face Theo. Samuel and Michael looked at each other once more before the youngest brother stood. He glances at his phone before glancing over at Josh.

“I think the DJ just got here. Josh, you want to come with me to grab him?” He asks.

Without breaking eye contact with Theo, Josh stands to his feet. “Yeah, I’ll go.” He says, finally looking away from the man. He looks over to Sam before heading out the door. Sam points at Theo.

“You’re an asshole, I hope you know that.” He says before following the man who just left. Fresh air hit Josh like a ton of bricks, making him close his eyes and gather himself. He wasn’t going to get out of character today. He will be on his best behavior, but that Theo character? Ooh, he ought to kick his ass. Alina had some explaining to do. “Ay, let’s go,” Sam says, appearing beside the man. They’d stepped off the porch together and headed towards the pavilion where the reception was taking place. “I’m sorry about that, man. Theo’s a jackass.” He says.

“It’s all good,” Josh says, his eyes fixated on the ground. “I’m sure he was just looking out for Alina—trying to see if I’m a good guy.” That’s what he planned to tell himself. Theo wasn’t grilling Josh because he was jealous and wanted his ex-fiance back. No, he just cares about her a lot. It’s not because he still loves her—he just cares about her like he does. Yeah, that’s it. Delusion is the solution. 

What he doesn’t see is the expression of concern on Sam’s face at his words. If he would have noticed, there was no telling what he’d do. Sam looks down at the ground briefly before looking off at the vineyard. “It’s not my place to speak on that,” He says finally. “But to my knowledge, Lina ain’t paid that man any mind in years. She just tolerates him because he’s in the friend group.” He explains. Lina is notorious for putting distance between herself and others when she doesn’t want to talk. Josh knew it firsthand. There had been plenty of times she had ducked and dodged him when she was upset. 

“I get it,” He sighs. He had nothing to worry about, really, but still. Four years is a lot of history to have with someone—especially when you almost married them. “I’ll have to ask Lina about it later,” Josh says.

“Ask me what?” Sam and Josh stop walking, their eyes meeting the woman standing on the steps. Alina had just stepped out of the side doors of the winery when she spotted Josh and Sam walking towards the pavilion. They hadn’t noticed her yet, but she spoke up when she heard her name. 

“About your ex-fiancé.” Josh says immediately. Sam looked away from her, his hand going to his neck. 

“I’ll get up with you, bruh,” Sam says, tapping Josh on the arm. He rushes off towards the pavilion, not wanting to be in earshot of that conversation. Alina glances down at the ground. She tucks her bottom lip in between her teeth before taking a deep breath.

“Josh—.”

“You set me up.” He says, pointing at her.  “You knew damn well that man was in the wedding party, and you ain’t say a damn thing.” He says, louder than he should have. Some of Tasha’s relatives had walked by, their eyes now on the couple. Alina glances around them before reaching to grab his hand. “Nah, man.” He pulls his hand back from her grasp, causing her eyes to widen.

“Can we not do this here?” She says through clenched teeth. She snatches his hand up, now pulling him inside the winery. They’d march through the halls of the old building, her eyes darting from left to right for an open room. When she finds a room, she pulls him into it, closing the door behind them. 

Josh leans against the desk, his arms clasped tight in his lap. “I should’ve known something was up with his ass the moment he looked you up and down.” He says, shaking his head. “If I would have knocked his ass through the wall,” He gestures to himself. “I would have been in the wrong.” Alina rolls her eyes at his words, moving to stand in front of him. She grabs his hands, unclasping them to fill with her own. He allowed her this.

 “Me and Theo haven’t been together in over ten years.” She explains. “We don’t see each other, we don’t talk to each other. He doesn’t know me anymore, Josh.” It was true. Who she was at twenty-two was not who she was now. She has grown and lived an entire life since then. 

“Shit, I didn’t know strangers look at each other like that.” A mix of jealousy and insecurity was getting the best of him. Even if it’s been ten years, there’s still something there. He saw it with his own eyes. Delusion has reared its ugly head to work against him.

Alina drops his hands, taking a step back. “Alright,” She chuckles. “You can go home.” She says, moving towards the door. “And I don’t mean my house; cross that state line.” She wasn’t about to argue with someone who wasn’t trying to listen to her. 

“Lina—.”

She spins around. “Don’t Lina me! You just accused me of having feelings for someone who cheated on me. That man got a woman pregnant behind my back and defiled my trust! He broke his promise, Joshua! I don’t give a damn about that man! I love you!” And there it was, the truth he wouldn’t allow her to speak. “That man—hurt me!” She says, her voice breaking. There was a lump forming in her throat, a sign that sobs were soon to come. “And you’re hurting me right now. I–I don’t have time for this right now. I don’t—.” She was not about to ruin her makeup over him. 

“Lina, I—.” He starts once again. Before he could finish, she had already run out the door, leaving him alone in this office. “Shit.” He hisses, running his hands over his face. 

He fucked up.

(2/2)

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

A/N: Welcome to the Chaos! There are two parts to this chapter! So be on the lookout for the next half of it soon! I would like to attach what Theo looks like!

His name is Lance Gross for those who don't know him! Fiiiiine actor. Anywho, if you need an idea of what Alina's bridesmaid dress looks like, it's a spaghetti strap brown satin dress ruched on her left hip. I don't have a picture bc I imagined this lmao sorry

BUT ENOUGH ABOUT THAT. LETS CHAT

JOSH WHAT DID YOU DOOOOOOOOO!!!

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[die-pink-maus]

A Weekend in Vienna 🇦🇹

While vacationing in Germany, Chantelle’s (OC) best friend, Adrian (also an OC), books an impromptu trip to Vienna to visit extended family. Chantelle decides to join her for the last few days of her trip, where she meets an interesting friend of Adrian’s family who offers to show the two around the city for the weekend🤭

TW: Pretty much none, not for this chapter anyway, but things will get 🌶️spicy🌶️ in the next parts. Also there is an age gap between OC and König, she is 25 and he is about 36-37.

CW: FemOCs, female pronouns used, while both characters are technically OCs please feel free to imagine them however you’d like, ultimately the main character is the reader, I just didn’t want to use “Y/N” so I gave them names 🙈

Word Count: 1,516

*DISCLAIMER*

This is my first time EVER writing any kind of fan fiction so please go easy on me 😭 if you like where things are going, likes and reblogs would be greatly appreciated! If you’d like to see anything in particular in the next part or part(s), I’d love to hear it!

This version of König is based on the above interpretation drawn by @lettaniko (I hope you don’t mind me using it! I absolutely love this drawing it’s perfect! 🫶🏼)

I like a nice build up to the smut so if you like to get right into it this is probably not going to be for you…but if you can wait I it out I promise it’ll be worth it 😂

Enjoy! 💋

7:30am. There’s approximately 30 minutes before my train departs for Vienna, and I still haven’t reached the train station yet. I scrambled as I dashed out of my hotel room, hoping I’d left the place in a somewhat decent state and I hadn’t forgotten anything valuable as got into the elevator. I’ve been exploring Munich for the past two weeks and I’ve been having the absolute time of my life. Although traveling alone can be quite scary, oddly enough, I’ve never felt more at home. Munich is such a vibrant city, filled with all kinds of exciting things to do and I’ve met so many incredible people, it’s definitely been the experience of a lifetime. To say that I am not looking forward to going back home to Vancouver would be an understatement, but all good things must come to an end. I’d spent about a year and a half learning to speak German, and promised myself that I would plan a trip in celebration of achieving fluency, so here I am! Now, Vienna wasn’t initially on my list of places to visit when I decided to come to Germany, but my best friend, Adrian, ended up booking a spur of the moment flight last week to visit extended family in Austria and suggested I come hangout with her during the last few days of my trip. Seeing as its only a 3-4hr train ride from Munich, I figured why the hell not! I’ve heard Vienna is beautiful, and Im at all not opposed to exploring another city.

Upon arrival at the train station in Vienna I was greeted by Arian, excitedly jumping up and down while holding up a large white sign that read “Willkommen in Wien, Schlampe!” I rolled my eyes and shook my head, laughing as I got off the train and ran over to her, tackling her in a tight embrace as she laughed hysterically. “Did you have to let the whole station know that I’m a bitch or…?”

“Honestly, they should’ve known the moment they saw you.” She said jokingly. “How was the ride over?” She asked.

“Amazing, I haven’t slept that well in years. It also didn’t feel like a 4 hour train ride.”

“Trains in out here are quite quick so I wouldn’t be surprised if it somehow took less time. They definitely shit on the ones we have back home.”

“Oh for sure.” I agreed as we began walking over to the car.

“So a family friend of ours just came back from a mission in the states, he’s in the military bee tee dubs —“

“Yeah kinda pieced that together when you said ‘mission’.” I chuckled.

“I don’t drive out here so he’s gonna give us a ride back to my aunts, cool?”

“Sounds good.”

“He’s also a lot more familiar with Vienna than I am, so he offered to show us around a bit later on this evening.” Aw how nice of him. Knowing Adrian, the first place she’ll want to be taken to is the nearest bar, that girl can drink! If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my time in Germany, and my 10 years of friendship with Adrian, it’s that Europeans love their liquor. There are people from all parts of Europe in Germany and that’s one thing that remains quite consistent across the board. I also love my liquor, which is probably why I ended up fitting in so well.

We finally arrived at the car and opened the trunk to begin loading all of my luggage inside. I’d brought a small carryon suitcase, a duffle bag, as well as a large suitcase that was full of clothes I’d over packed from home, and a bunch of other clothes and souvenirs I’d bought in Munich. “Okay this one’s gonna be a tad heavy.” I warned as Adrian grabbed hold of the handle on the top. I reached forward to try to help her lift, but neither of us could manage the weight. “I got it.” His voice was low, but gentle. He had an accent, but it wasn’t overwhelming or harsh, nor did it make anything he said hard to understand. I wasn’t expecting to see the person I saw when I’d finally caught a glimpse of him…I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man like this in my entire life. Adrian and I stepped back as he grabbed hold of the suitcase, lifting it with absolute ease, as if it were light as a feather. His arm muscles bulged within the confines of his olive green long sleeved shirt as he tossed the suitcase inside the trunk. My heart began to race, It felt as if I was watching him move in slow motion. “Easy peasy.” He smirked as he turned around and looked down at me, his dazzling dark blue eyes awash with amusement at Adrian and I’s prior struggle. Jesus Christ…This man is an absolute unit. He’s gotta be at least 6 foot 7, if not taller. He’s incredibly easy on the eyes in a rough and rugged kinda way — a nice low trimmed beard, medium length dark brown hair, and a smile that is captivatingly dangerous to say the least. His presence alone exudes a confidence that causes me to grow weak in the knees. “I’m König,” he smiled knowingly as he stretched his hand out towards me. I know I’m definitely not the first woman to look at him the way I am. Even though I’m trying to keep my composure, it’s very clear that he can see right through it. “And you must be Chantelle?” He asked, eyes slowly roaming about my frame from head to toe. He bites his lip slightly as they return to my gaze, suggesting so much without saying any words at all. “I — yes.” I blushed, sheepishly brushing my hair behind my ear as I shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.” He said. “Oh yeah, König Chantelle, Chantelle König.” Adrian yelled from the backseat. He laughed and shook his head as he closed the trunk.

We arrived at Adrian’s aunts house about 45 minutes later. König helped us load all of my things into the foyer before letting us know he’d be coming back in a few hours to take us out to this bar that he and a few of his buddies on his task force frequent whenever they’re home. I’ve been thinking about him ever since he left — those mysterious blue eyes, the way he slightly bites his lower lip just before laughing at something ridiculous Adrian has said, the way his arm muscles swell beneath his shirt with the slightest movement…God, he’s sexy. I could think of a million different ways I’d want him to ruin me. The thought alone of being trapped beneath his large brawny frame writhing in pleasure as he thrusts into me over and over has me clenching around nothing. Though I’m not usually one for a one time fling, I have a feeling he’d be able to convince me. “So, you wanna tell me what all of that was about?” Adrian asked as she helped me settle into the guest room. “What are you talking about?” I asked. “Since when are you a shy girl?” She giggled. Sigh. I figured she was referencing my unusual silence during the car ride over here. “He’s hot as fuck but I’ve never seen you like that before.”

“Ugh!” I groaned as I covered my face with a pillow. She’s right. I’m not very easily intimidated. I’m quite the confident woman and I ensure everyone in the room knows it, but this was different. Almost as if our energies were fighting for dominance, and mine didn’t stand a chance. “Hey if it’s any consolation, my jaw dropped the first time I saw him without his mask too.” Mask?

“Mask?” I asked.

“Yes…the last time I was here he was on base training recruits, so I’d see him often in full tactical gear. He’s a snipper, so he wears a mask to hide his face in the field. I mean, that was hot too, but in a Ghostface kinda way”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the comparison, but I was curious to see what his entire ensemble looked like. “How old is he?” I asked.

“I think he’s in his mid to late 30s? I’m honestly not too sure, and it doesn’t matter to me either way.” She winked. “I was sensing some unspoken vibes between the two of you in the car though. Don’t think I didn’t see both of you stealing glances at each other every now and then.” She smirked.

“Stop,” I scoffed. “A man like that is definitely not single, and even if he is…I don’t know” I blushed. “I didn’t see him looking at me..”

“K well I see everything, he definitely likes what he sees, and clearly the feeling is mutual on your end as well. Looks like tonight will be interesting.”

“Nothing’s gonna happen, Adrian.” I laughed as I rolled my eyes. Nothing’s gonna happen…right?

PART II 👉🏽 A Weekend In Vienna 🇦🇹: PART II

PART III 👉🏽 A Weekend In Vienna 🇦🇹: PART III

[sunshine-theseus]

White Noise | Alessia Russo x trans-masc. OC

Word Count: 1.6k Summary: Being trans masc. can be hard but Alessia will always be there for you – also the request did say trans masc., not trans man, so I hope this is what you wanted! I’m so sorry if it isn’t😭 I can adjust it to be. Warnings: dead naming and use of wrong pronouns, not really a warning but just stating that Calum uses they/he pronouns Request for - @sky-the-trans-guy00 - i really hope this is good!

“Are you sure you don’t need me to come with you?” Alessia’s arms wrap around my waist as I brush out my hair.

“It’s just a haircut Lessi, I’ll be okay.” I turn around and look her in the eyes.

“But last time they were pieces of shit and ruined it. You ended up buzzing it and I’m sorry to break it to you, but you do not have the head shape to be bald” I give her a faux offended look but laugh.

“This place is run by a non-binary person. And most if not all their employees are trans or queer. Plus, you have training.” She groans and her head falls into my chest.

“Fine. But call me if you need anything.” I lean down to kiss her lips before ushering her out, so she isn’t late, again.

~~~~~

The haircut goes well, something only few people understand is so important to me, and I decide to visit Alessia at training. She’s been begging me to come with her for months, but I’ve been too nervous about how her teammates will be view me to ever go through with it.

I sign in with the lady in reception, who calls Lessi to take me to the locker room before they head to the gym. I rub my sweaty hands against my jeans, but Alessia slips her smaller one into my own, rubbing her thumb back and forth against the back of my hand.

“Your hair looks good.” Her blue eyes shine as she smiles up at me, reaching with her other hand to run it through the newly cut locks.

“You think? It’s not too feminine?”

“Not at all! I can’t believe you went with blue instead of red though, they’re all going to think you’re a Chelsea fan.” Alessia stands on her tippy toes to kiss me before opening a door, letting shouts and… questionable singing, ring throughout the halls.

She grabs my hand again and pulls me into the busy room. Everyone stops talking as the door slams closed again and all eyes fall onto us. I cower slightly next to Alessia, but she wraps her arm around me and says

“Girls! This is my partner I’ve been telling you about! Calum, these are the girls.”

“Yo, your hair looks fucking awesome dude!” an Irish accent is the first to break the silence between the 20+ bodies.

“I told them to go red, but they insisted blue was cooler.”

“You’re not a Chelsea fan are ya? Cause then we’ll have problems.” Lotte, the one person I did know, jokingly asks me.

“I promise it’s just my favourite colour. I’m a Gooner through and through.” A group of laughs echoes throughout the room and I chuckle with them.

“Are you joining us for gym?” Less pokes me in the side.

“No, I just wanted to come say hi. Show off my super awesome new hair.” I kiss her goodbye and am halfway out the door before another voice calls out.

“Wait! We’re having a team + partner dinner tomorrow after training. You down?” I look at Alessia then back at the room of her teammates.

“Uhh sure! Yeah I’ll be there.”

~~~~~

“What’s the dress code for this dinner?” I ask Alessia as we lay curled up in bed, neither wanting to make the move to get up as the sun slowly brightens in the sky.

“Semi-formal. You can wear that cute button up with the flower pattern I got you! It matches the dress I’m going to wear.”

“Sounds perfect.” I kiss her on the nose before groaning as I roll out from under the covers and get up.

I make us both breakfast before she leaves for training, and I take some time to myself before having a zoom meeting with my team to discuss our project.

And then I get a call from someone I hadn’t planned on hearing from ever again. I hadn’t seen or heard from my older sister in 4 years. I tended to avoid any family gatherings if I knew she’d be there and had removed her from all social media and my contacts, a call is the pinnacle of unexpected. So I leave it to ring, face down on my desk, as I look through the closet for an outfit for tonight’s dinner.

An hour or so later, Alessia rushes through the door, kicking off her shoes and dropping her bag at the door. She barrels into our room and beelines to the closet.

“Whoa what’s got you in a rush? We don’t have to leave for another 2 hours.”

“No no, I texted you. We had to move it up an hour. You didn’t see it?”

“I haven’t looked at my phone in like 3 hours I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, but you gotta get changed. Like now.”

We both rush to get into our outfits and get out the door in time, Lessi giving up on putting on her heels as we walk to the car, opting instead to put them on when we arrive.

“I’m so excited to meet the girl’s partners and show you off. Lia’s bringing her new girlfriend she won’t stop talking about.” I just smile, taking her hand in my spare one, the other clinging to the wheel as we wait at a light.

“You look so handsome too. I told you this shirt was the go-to.”

“You look beautiful.” I park the car and race around to help her out.

We make our way into the restaurant, spotting the group from the door. We’re almost at the table when I stop abruptly in my tracks, jerking Alessia back with me. Why the fuck is she here?

“Cal? What’s wrong?” my mouth gaps open and closed but I don’t get the chance to come up with a reply.

“Bella! Oh my god what are you doing here?” I feel the colour drain from my face as my older sister pulls me into hug.

I’m frozen in place as she pulls back, a wicked smile gracing her face, and I can see everyone’s confused faces out of the corners of my eyes. There is a deadly silence that falls across the group/ My throat dries up as I try to reach for Alessia’s hand again.

“Bella? I thought his name was Calum?” Caitlin’s the first to speak up.

“Oh no her name is Bella. Calum is just a weird person she plays for attention.” That’s my breaking point.

“Oh, fuck off Tahlia! You’d think four years would be enough time for you to grow up. You’re still the piece of shit you always have been.” I hear some gasps, but no one makes a move to stop me.

“I’ve always been Calum; I’ve just had to pretend not to be because of miserable fucks like you who can’t fathom people being who they truly are. Just because your life isn’t working out doesn’t mean you get to ruin mine again.” A tear pricks at the corner of my eye.

“Non-binary isn’t even a fucking thing! And they/them is fucking stupid you’re not multiple people.”

“It’s good to know you wouldn’t be able to pass a first grade English test. You never were that smart.” Tahlia’s fist comes swinging but a hand that most certainly isn’t my own stops it right before it hits me.

“You need to leave, and never come back. Never talk to Calum or any of us ever again.” Katie shoves Tahlia towards the door and she stomps her foot, looking at Lia expectantly.

“You’re just going to let them talk to me like that!?”

“Uhh, yeah. I think I will.” She stomps her foot again before turning and running out.

I let out a sigh and my shoulders sag in relief. Alessia pulls me to sit down at the table between her and Katie’s girlfriend.

“Are you ok?” I nod, leaning my head on top of her own as the others take their seats again.

“That was fucking wild.”

“I’m so sorry Calum. I had no clue she was your sister, or that she was insane.” Lia gives me an apologetic look, but I smile reassuringly at her.

“It’s not your fault, she’s a good manipulator, always has been. She’ll tell you what you want to hear to get close then show her true colours.”

“Hey, you don’t have to answer this but how do you identify? Because I’ve been calling you dude a lot.” I chuckle at Manu before answering.

“I’m non-binary trans masc., they/he pronouns. I don’t mind being called dude of whatever, just absolutely no feminine terms please.” Everyone nods in agreement, and it doesn’t take long for conversation to continue on between everyone.

I’m talking to Katie’s girlfriend, the owner of a small book café, when Alessia tugs on my sleeve. I excuse myself before turning to her, the overhead lights reflecting in her stormy blue eyes and making her freckles prominent.

“I’m so proud of you.” I kiss her softly.

“I love you.”

“Hey hey! No smooching at the dinner table please.” Everyone laughs and I flush red.

~~~~~

A week later I find myself in the Coloney changing room again, surrounded by sweaty bodies preparing for gym once again.

Instead of leaving as they slowly trickle out, I follow behind Alessia. It takes five minutes for me to start being teased by Katie for blushing as I watch Lessi work out, her biceps very prominent as she lifts the weights.

It takes me another five minutes to swiftly walk over to Alessia after she finally drops the weights, and kiss her passionately, before swiftly exiting, blush burning my cheeks. It may take a completely new hair colour to persuade me to make an appearance at training again.

[whatdoeseverybodywant]

You're The Only Girl for Me - Chapter 9

yes, i did post this already, but I wasn't happy with it so.... 🤷🏽‍♀️

I do NOT give permission for my work to be translated or reposted on here or any other site, even if you give me credit. DO NOT REPOST MY FICS

Reblogs, comments, likes, and feedback ALWAYS appreciated ❤ 

Trigger Warning: mentions of domestic violence

All OC Characters belong to me

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if your name is bold, tumblr won't let me tag you

DECEMBER 28th 2020 - Pensacola FL

Whatchu’  wearin?” Josh asked as he and Airielle were talking on the phone. She looked down at her white long sleeve shirt and jeans and rolled her eyes. “I’m wearing lingerie at the supermarket.” He had flown to Georgia the day after Christmas to spend the rest of the week with his kids. She had thoughts about him and his ex-wife, but she had to remember that she and Josh weren’t technically together, they had gone on a couple of dates but they weren’t exclusive. He was technically a free man and could do what he wanted to.  

“Shit, bet the bag boys are loving that.” She laughed loudly at that, causing people to stare at her. “I can’t wait to see you.”

“Awe, You miss me?.” She asked teasingly. 

“Mmhmm.” He hummed. “You know I do.” He paused, “ I told my sons I was seeing someone.” That stopped her. 

“You did?” She asked, surprised. She didn’t know why she was surprised. They had met each other's family already. 

“Yeah, they old enough to understand why me and they mom not together. They want to meet you.” Airielle almost hung the phone up on him and blocked his number. “You still there?” He asked after she didn’t say anything for a full minute. 

“Yeah,” She breathed out. “I would love to meet your kids.” 

AIRIELLEJONES

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“Wait, he said his kids want to meet you?” Airielle nodded and took a sip of her mimosa. As soon as she got off the phone with Josh, she called her cousins and set up an emergency meeting at their favorite brunch spot. 

“What did you say?” Airielle groaned and put her head in her hands. 

“I lied and said I want to meet them too.” Yasmine and Ashley looked at each other before bursting into laughter. “Shut up.” She said, throwing a piece of toast at each of them. “I panicked. I ain’t know what to say.” Airielle sighed and bit her lip. She was so close to texting Josh and telling him that they were moving too fast. 

Yasmine narrowed her eyes at Airielle. “Don’t you try to run away from that man Airielle.” Airielle opened her mouth but Yas cut her off.  “No, You knew he had kids and you still went on dates with him. Did you think you were never gonna meet them?” Airielle shrugged. 

“I don’t know.” She stressed, throwing her arms up in the air. 

“He ain’t Christopher. And you need to understand that.” Yasmine placed a couple of dollars down on the table before standing up and walking out of the restaurant. 

“She just wants you to be happy, Rih. And from what I seen at Christmas, Josh makes you happy.” Ashley smiled and patted Airielle’s hand before getting up and following Yasmine out of the restaurant. 

“Fuck.” Airielle whispered and placed her head in her hands. 

JANUARY 1st 2021 - Friday Night Smackdown

Josh was pissed. After he talked to Airielle the other day she had went ghost on him… again. All his calls and text messages went unanswered. He had thought about flying back to Pensacola to pop up on her but decided not to.  He was angry as fuck and didn’t want to say something he regretted. 

The first thing Josh did once he stepped foot into Tropicana Field was go search for Airielle. The last time she went ghost on him was because she was feeling him. And now this time he was sure it was because he brought up his kids. 

“Yo, you seen Airielle?” He asked Kayla as he walked over to her. Kayla looked up from her phone and rolled her eyes. 

“No, I haven’t seen your little girlfriend.” Josh rolled his eyes. He didn’t even know why he asked her bitter ass anything. When he tried to walk away she stopped him by grabbing his arm. “Is that all you have to say to me?”  Josh sucked his teeth and pulled his arm free of her grasp. 

“I ain’t got time for this Kayla.” 

“You haven’t said one word to me since September.  Since Airielle got here.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “It’s like you just threw me to the curb for her.” 

“It was never like that with us and you know it Kay. You and I both know we was drinkin’ that night and one thing led to the other.” 

“So you never felt anything for me?” She felt her eyes water. Kayla was beyond embarrassed. 

“Shit, don’t cry aight? I’m sorry if I made you feel that way okay?”  She nodded but a tear still slipped out her eye and down her cheek. 

“Fuck, I’m sorry.” He said and pulled her into a hug. 

Airielle felt horrible about avoiding Josh. She knew her cousin was right about Josh not being anything like Christopher but she couldn’t help it. Christopher had put her through hell for six years. From the verbal abuse to the actual domestic abuse that had landed her in the hospital with a broken nose and two broken ribs. 

After she was finished getting her hair and make-up done she decided to go and find Josh to apologize to him. She walked around the arena, checking catering and Joe’s locker room but not finding him. She turned down the corridor that led to the Gorilla and came to a stop as she saw Kayla and Josh hugging. 

“Oh.” Airielle said, making them both look over at her, her eyes bounced between the two of them before she turned around and started walking the way she came from. 

“Airielle wait.” Josh let go of Kayla and went to chase after Airelle.”Lemme explain -”  She sighed and stopped walking and turned to face him. 

“Josh, it’s cool. You don’t have to explain anything.” She said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “It’s not like we were together anyway.” She shrugged 

“Don’t give me that bullshit Rih. You know damn well you my girl.” 

“How? How was I possibly supposed to know that?” She felt her heart rate increase and her palms start to sweat. 

Josh frowned his face up at her. “Am I trippin? You met my family, I met yours and I told you that my kids know about you. You think I tell my kids about just anybody?”  Airielle crossed her arms and looked away from Josh. I need to get outta here. She thought. All she wanted to do was apologize, not get into a debate on whether they were together or not. 

“I was coming to look for you.” He said, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at him. “I stopped to ask Kayla if she seen you-” 

“Josh, you don’t have to explain anything to me.” He just blinked at her before continuing. 

“And she said she didn't, so I was gonna go on my way. But she wanted to talk about me and her and I had to tell her there was no me and her. She started to cry so I gave her a hug.” He summarized. 

“Look. I gotta go alright? Gotta see what I have to do tonight.” She removed his hand off her face before walking away.

Reblogs, comments, likes, and feedback ALWAYS appreciated ❤ 

[blackroseguzzi]

TENDER

A new Joel Miller x female!OC story!

Summery: Unfortunate events lead to the meeting between you and Joel Miller, but the spark between you both ignited a fire.

When Joel becomes worried he can’t give you what you deserve you both do and say things you’ll eventually regret- one In particular incident leaves you with intense guilt and loneliness. You decide to strike up a deal with Marlene. You would bring that kid to where she needed to go as long as you could get information on Tommy, to secretly give to Joel. You hoped that would lead him to forgive you, and your disappearance wouldn’t be for nothing. Life had other plans, as you’re now bringing Ellie to the fireflies with Joel as your companion. After all, there was hope that your fragile and broken relationship might just be able to be fixed?

Enjoy! I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments ❤️

You’re transfixed with the dancing flames, lost in your own thoughts. Joel knew that you were trying to suppress the tears that  threatened to spill from your eyes. Tess was gone.

He wanted to stand, walk over to you as he watched you hugging your knees close to your chest. He yearned to pull you to his warm embrace, whispering promises you that he would protect you. Except he knew that he couldn’t do that because you were both strangers now. He was the last person who knew how to protect anyone he loved. He had learned that from experience. He cursed himself when he let his guard down the first time he met you.

“You got a lot of freckles.”

You were so close to his face, and other than an occasional wince, his eyes were now studying your face as you worked.

His observation caught you off guard, and you suddenly felt a wash of embarrassment run through you. You had always been self conscious of your freckles- inherited down to you from your father. The two of you were the only ones with an array of thick brown dots scattered about your face. 

He must have sensed your discomfort, “My Momma, she used to tell me girls with freckles were kissed by angels.” 

“Oh is that so?” 

“Yes ma’am, and if you were kissed by angels you bring good luck.” His eyes landed on the ceiling, prepping for another ping of the needle, but you were already done. You watched him for a moment. His skin tanned from the sun, and his dark eyes full of mystery. You were anything but lucky, but you were thankful for the one thing that had made your junior high years relentless torture had made this man feel something good for a moment.

“I.. I flinched,” He suddenly spoke, his chest rising and falling as he took a deep breath.

“You don’t need to explain yourself, but for what its worth I’m happy you did.” 

He hummed a response and closed his eyes when your needle dug into his head.

“Just be happy it’s not Tess doing this. You’d look like Frankenstein when she was finished with ya.”

Clearing your throat from your own emotions, you patted his shoulder, letting him know he can raise from his lying position on the couch. For a few seconds there was complete silence between the two of you. His eyes landed on your lips you felt your face flush red.

“Thanks…Freckles.” He whispered before slowly getting into a sitting position on the couch. He winced as he adjusted to the feeling of the stitches. 

He remembered that day to the very last detail of every second of the day. It was on one had the very lowest he had ever been. Entering the QZ, meeting Tess, getting into smuggling. All after the shit he had been through to get to Boston and he was still traveling down the darkest path. He remembers the way the barrel of his gun looked. It was etched in his mine because he thought it would be the last thing he would ever see before the permanent darkness took over. 

But he had flinched, and then he saw you. The way your eyebrows turned down in concern as you approached him. Your white tank top, showing your sunburnt skin and the way a little sweat beaded at your collar bones from being in the stale heat of his apartment. 

Now, so many years later you still had those perfect freckles. The ones that he would memorize as you slept next to him in his twin bed after you had sneaked out after the Zone’s curfew. He could have sworn that those freckles made out the Cassiopeia constellation across your right cheek. It would only make sense, because you were so full of love, yet you fucked him like a comet- otherworldly, and always gone too fast.

“I’ll take first watch,” Joel spoke out in the darkness across from his two female travel companions. 

Ellie grumbled, already half asleep as she  snuggled into her sleeping back and facing away from the fire.

The silence between you became louder than the crackling wood and distant cricket songs in the night as Ellie fell into a deep sleep.

You started to get up from the ground, avoiding his eyes.

“Where you think you’re goin?” Joel questioned, that yearning to warm you up against his chest rising inside of him again as you tugged your jacket closer to your body.

“I know you’re not my biggest fan, Joel. I’m… I was trying to make things right.” 

His breath hitched, and that burning feeling that had been overcoming his chest was starting to creep up as you finally made eye contact. He was frozen. It wasn’t from fear, or anger. He was frozen from guilt. 

“Just please…” A tear escaped her eye, and if the back of her hand hadn’t swiped it away so fast he wouldn’t have even noticed at first. “Please don’t be a dick to me in front of the kid.”

The burn was like fire now, sitting in his ribcage. He pressed his lips together looking over at Ellie and nodded slowly. 

You walked over to the pile of all of your gear. You reached in your black backpack and pulled out a thick flannel, retreating quietly back over to Ellie who curled up in the fetal position. You laid the thick jacket over the young girl and her sleeping bag before getting into your make shift bed, “Night Miller, wake me when its my shift.” 

But Joel kept his eyes on Ellie, his old Flannel he had left at your place in the QZ now dropped over her.

Maybe not all hope was lost.

[yanderepuck]

Salai-Chapter 5

WELCOME TO SALAI'S ROUTE. This is a FAN MADE route of my oc, Salai. This means this route contains my headcanons for the characters and in no way is suppose to represent the canon story. This is just a fun little time because I know many of you enjoy Salai. Feel free to engage, talk theories, send asks (even to @ask-salai ).

DISCLAIMER: His route his not canon to his character. Also, all of his lore in not in the route for simplicity reasons plus please feel free to ask about him.

Banner by @spooscribbles

You are pretty sure this is exactly what Sebastian was trying to warn you about but at the moment you didn’t seem to care.  It wasn’t until you were walking with Salai to his apartment that you realized this may not go as you had planned.  You are pretty sure this is the side of town Arthur and Theo warned you about.  You think you just walked through the red light district, but with it still being daylight you aren’t completely sure.  You look around at everything as you walk.  You’ve never been on this side for a good reason.

Salai stopped in front of a building and set his things down to dig out his keys.  You would be lying if you said you didn’t feel uneasy. Maybe you should tell him another time. Your thoughts are going at a hundred miles an hour but yet you stay there.  

He gets the door opened and lets you go in first as he picks up his things.  He insisted that you don’t carry anything.  He shows you up to the third floor.  You don’t want to judge, but this had to have been one of the cheapest places in the city to rent.  Now you understand why he was about “the boarding house”.

Still having the keys in his hand, he unlocks the door.

You walk into the apartment.  It’s a studio layout, so everything is in the open. On one end is a small kitchen with a small island separating that with the living space which is in the middle, and on the other end is what would be a bedroom, there are half walls separating the living space with the bedroom area.  It seems like he mainly uses the living area as a small studio.  The only furniture is a fairly new couch and a coffee table.

The apartment isn’t a mess because of him, it's simply because the place is run down.

Salai:  Sorry. It’s not the best.  I tend to move around a lot.  I promise everything is clean though.

He sets his things down and takes his cape off, hanging it on a hook next to the door.

Salai: Batuffolina~  Come here bella~

You hear a soft meow and the sound of little paws pattering against the hardwood floor.  But you weren’t expecting a giant cat to appear.

A large gray and white fluffy cat came out from behind the half wall and trotted to Salai.

Salai: There she is~

He kneels down and kisses her head and picks her up like a baby with no issue.  After seeing her stretched out she’s got to be three feet long.  She’s almost the size of a medium dog.  She lets out a soft meow and purrs loudly.

Salai: Mitsuki, this is Batuffola.

Mitsuki: she’s beautiful..and large for a cat. What kind is she?

You let Batuffola sniff you to give you the go ahead to pet her. Salai shrugs

Salai: I’m not sure.  I found her as a kitten and she looked like a normal cat, other than the fact that she was so fluffy that you couldn’t see her legs

He laughs.  Batuffola purrs from all the attention.

Salai: she’s harmless though. Aren’t you bella~

He gives her a kiss on her nose and sets her down.  She trots over to the other side of the room to look out the windows that line the back wall.

Mitsuki: Now I get why you were asking about the boarding house

You didn’t realize you were saying that out loud until you finished.  You nearly slapped your hand over your mouth.

Salai looks over and sees how embarrassed you got and chuckles.

Salai: It’s okay.  I know it’s a dump.  But I don’t think I’ll be in Paris long so I’m not too worried about it.

Mitsuki: Still…I was warned about this area.

Salai: to be fair a beautiful polpetta like yourself should be cautious anywhere you go.  Weirdos are lurking around every corner.

Mitsuki: Weirdos like you, you mean?

You walk over to the other side of the room where he has a few finished paintings.  Salai sets up his easel by the window and sets his painting on it, then sets down his bag that he keeps his paints and brushes in.  You kneel down and go through them.  You pull out one painting.

Mitsuki: Is this from a story?

Salai: It’s from The Odyssey. There are these bird women, sirens, they are like mermaids with how they use their song to lure men to crash their ships so they can eat them.  Odysseus wanted to hear their song, but knew he would go insane and try to jump off the ship so he had his crew tie him to the sail, while they all covered their ears.  Because he did not give himself to them the sirens drowned themselves.

You moved it to the side to look at another.

Mitsuki:  This one is Medusa, right?

Salai: right!  There are two versions of her story, both are basically the same but in one Athena is upset with her, and in another she pities her.  Either way she’s deemed a monster and doomed to die.

You keep looking through them, asking about the stories with each one, and he gives you a semi shortened version of most of them.

Mitsuki: And what about the one you are painting?

You look over at the almost completed canvas.  You know he told you but you can't remember the names.

Salai:  Hyacinthus and Apollo.  They were lovers. Hyacinthus was one of the most beautiful men to walk earth.  Even though he already had the attention of Apollo, Zephyrus was also interested in him.  Since Zephyrus couldn’t have him he made it look like Apollo killed him when they were throwing a discus to each other.

He seemed sad while telling the story, more so than the other somber ones he talked about.

Salai: Apollo wasn’t ready to lose him and turned him into a flower, and that’s how hyacinth flowers got their name.

The painting was of a man holding another man in his arms, and you could make out another figure in the back watching them.

He had about a dozen finished paintings with him, all with some sort of tragic ending.  But then again, what Greek story doesn’t have a tragic ending.  You look back at the finished ones.

Mitsuki: Why do you think your paintings won’t sell?

Salai: I was told that only certain kinds of paintings are permitted to be sold.  What kind of snobby upper class rich guy decided that should try painting once in his life.

He had a scowl on his face.  Something tells you he’s not a fan of the upper class, but most people aren’t.

Mitsuki: Theo helps small artist’s that don’t fit into that category.  He has held a bunch of galleries and it helps the artist’s get commissions and be able to sell their artwork.  He and his brother even helped open a studio for artists to come and work.

Salai: Really?

He pauses for a moment.

Salai: I might have to take you up on that offer then

~~~

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Ko-Fi

[rafecameronsslxt]

Hooked

Warnings: Toxic relationship, drugs, and angst.

Synopsis: Your boyfriend Rafe Cameron throws a party, but things go south rather quickly ending in tears and anger. 

Rafe cameron x OC

Part ONE of series. (Can be read as stand alone)

Part TWO- Part THREE- Part FOUR- Part FIVE- Part SIX- Part SEVEN

My first ever Rafe Cameron Fanfiction and first time posting on tumblr, yes I’m nervous.

Word Count:  2,335

      Adriana didn’t want to cut the conversation short of JJ talking crap about her boyfriend TO HER, but Adriana needed to get ready for the party. 

 �� “OK, JJ, I get it. Just shut up for a second, and let me get this on.” I’ve been listening to him for an hour about Rafe, how I NEEDED to break up with him, and that JJ would be the best boyfriend ever. As much as I loved JJ, I’d never date him, but he wishes.

   I made a twirl motion with my finger for JJ to turn around. He did. “Wait, so if I were to break up with Rafe, you think I’d date you? A kook dating a pogue!” I gasped dramatically. “Rafe would kill you. We’ve been dating since high school, J.” I laughed a little at the thought. He turned back around, seeing me in a tan bikini. “It’d be worth it for my kook best friend and my true love.” JJ takes my hand and kisses it. I throw my head back, laughing. “Go away.” I put on white flowy shorts that fit my waist perfectly, a tan button-up long sleeve, and then tied it. 

  I spun around, showing JJ my entire outfit. He looks me up and down playfully and checks the time. “We have to go!” He says quickly. I mumbled ‘right’ and rushed out with JJ running behind me. He picked up all the belongings I’d forgotten, like my purse, which had about everything in it and then my phone.

   We arrived at the party. “Why can’t you come?” I gave JJ my best pouty face. “Rafe would have a fit like usual, and I got shit to do, unlike others.” He coughs, hinting at me being a kook, and gives me the worst excuse. I roll my eyes at him and shut the truck door. Like JJ has EVER cared about what Rafe thought. 

   The first thing center and in the middle was Rafe- snorting coke. You didn’t linger on the sight you’d just seen as it was something you guys had argued about almost every day, it seemed. I walked away and went to find Kie or Sarah, knowing the two would be around somewhere.

   I decided to walk outside to the pool. There she is. “Sarah!” I called out to her. Sarah ran up to me and hugged me. “I missed youuuu.” She says, giggling. Sarah takes my hand, forgetting she’d just been sitting with Topper and the others. She takes us into the kitchen and starts mixing alcohol. At most, I’d seen was vodka, maybe Tequila, and something else. “I don’t want to get wasted tonight.” It was meant to come out in a way that didn’t seem like I was questioning my logic or the words that just came out. 

   “Come on. Rafe has been bringing you down for days now.” She slurs her words while a frown stays on her face. She shoves the cup of ease in my hand and leaves me to it, but just before she goes, Sarah blows you a lovely kiss. ‘Drink it,’ she mouths to you and stumbles away laughing. 

   I swish the liquid around in the red solo cup, deciding whether I should drink it. I take sips of it while I walk around. I spot Rafe again and turn around quickly. I bump into Kie. “KIE, where have you been.” I smile at her. “Just having fun.” She winks at me cheerfully. “No way my Kiara is macking some Kook.” I run a hand through my hair, laughing. I take another sip out of the cup Sarah poured me. “Boyfriend alert!” She coughs, moving her eyes behind me. “I’ll see you later, and give me details,” I whisper while laughing. She gives me a thumbs up and cheers me. 

   I feel him put his arm around my shoulder. “Hey, baby.” I clear my throat, looking up at him with a smile. “Who was that?” He questions with a look in his eye. I was too tipsy for his games today. If Rafe were to ask me to do coke with him right now, I’d say no but hesitate, and I’m not one to hesitate for anything. This is why I stopped drinking alcohol; it makes me vulnerable to bad decisions. 

   “It was Kie. Why?” He shrugs his shoulder. “Just asking, babe. You know how about you and me- me and you go up to my room.” I nodded, but I did it with reluctance at the pure fact that he was hiding something physical or he was going to tell me he was cheating. So instead, he kissed my neck and then took my hand, leading me upstairs. 

   I take my sneakers off and sit on his bed. “Ok. Just listen.” I let out a nervous breath. He takes out a bag of coke. “Ra-” He shuts me up by talking over me and then stops when I do. Rafe cages me in as both arms go on either side of me. “Listen, baby. You should let me,” He pauses, looking into my eyes. I can tell it’s something I’m not going to agree with, especially since it has to do with this. “Just let me do coke off your tits.” I scoff.

   My back hits the bed as I laugh sarcastically at his brilliant idea. I sit up on my elbows. He takes this as an opportunity to get on top of me. “Last time I let you do that, you- you fucking held it over my head every time I asked you to get better.” I shake my head in disbelief. To this day, he holds it like a poster high in the air when I force him to stop doing this or when we get into arguments. 

   He unties my shirt, throwing it onto the ground. “Rafe. I’m not doing this with you.” 

   “Baby, if you let me do this, I’ll let it go. I will. Promise.” He holds out his pinky finger as his other hand finds the bag of coke. I think about it and then link my pinky finger with his. He smiles at me. “Mhm, I miss the badass, Adriana.”

   Rafe gets on his forearms so that he’s closer to me. I pull him in for a kiss. He takes it. It was rough and fast-paced. Then, Rafe starts kissing my neck, undoubtedly making his marks for others to see later on. He moves to my cleavage and looks up at me. I nodded, trying not to smile. Rafe takes off my tan bikini top, looking almost primal in a way or whatever it means. I start feeling hot and sweaty with him on top of me, smothering kisses all over my boobs, giving me too much time to think about what I’m doing. 

   “Rafe fucking pour the coke on me before I say no.” He opens the bag of white powder and dumps some on my boobs. He mumbles, ‘Fuck’ getting off of me. “Rafe, I swear to god if you leave me here.” I feel like I’m on coke. “Baby, I’m right here. Calm down. I’m going to look for a dollar bill. It should be- oh right here.” He smiles at me but then realizes how anxious I look. He gets back on top of me. Rafe kisses me softly. He rubs my cheek with his thumb gently. “We will have the best sex after this. I promise that I’ll fuck you as hard as I can.” He winks at me, which makes me feel a little better, knowing I’ll get some solace out of this act. Right?

   I feel the dollar bill on my skin and look at Rafe. He pauses; he doesn’t notice that I’m looking at him. The rolled-up bill glides across my chest quickly. Rafe lets out a sigh of relief. His face turns red, and I watch his pupils dilate. I feel like crying. “Shit, baby, ready.” He grabs my hips, pulling me closer. I try to stop crying, and I do, but I don’t want to ruin this because he’ll get mad. “Why are your eyes red.” He questions me and puts his face closer to mine. He sighs.

    “Why are you about to cry.” He tries not to look mad, but I can tell he’s getting there. I look away. “Adriana, I’ve been calm with you all night. Don’t start this shit now!” Rafe’s hands make their way to my face forcing me to look at him. His thumb was under my chin, and his index finger held my chin in place. “I’m sorry. Can we just do this, please?” I try and go in for a kiss, but he gets off of me. 

   Tears start falling. Like a lot of tears start coming out. Rafe throws me the top of my bikini. I don’t put it on yet; instead, I cross my arms, covering my boobs. “Put your fucking top on, Adriana. It’s over. You already fucked it all up.” 

   “Please, Rafe, I can fix this.” He turns his back away from me as I try to make him turn around. “Why are you crying. Adriana why!? I mean, make me fucking understand, ADRIANA.” Rafe starts yelling as he points at himself, angry at me. “Can you help me?” My voice turns shaky as I ask him. I’ve tied enough of my own tops to know how to do this, but maybe he’ll calm down. “See, I can fucking help you, and you can’t help me. I just wanted to do some cocaine and fuck, but you can’t even do the simplest thing.” Rafe whispers in my ear threatenly as he ties my top too tight. 

   “Look at me.” He demands. I look up at him. I can feel him press against my lower back, although I don’t think he’s doing it on purpose. His hand snakes up my stomach to my neck. He squeezes my neck and then kisses me hard. I kiss back, but not with the vast amount of intensity as him. He lets go of my neck as I let out a breath that I was holding in, and It was hard to breathe. “I’m going to go back downstairs. Ok, baby. I love- you.” He raises his eyebrows at me, obviously calming down. “I love you too, baby.” I barely smile at him and decide against giving him a soft kiss like I usually would in these situations, which we also seem to be in more because of me. 

   Rafe left me alone in his room, not bothering to ask if I wanted to come with him. Of course, I didn’t, but still. I sit down on his bed and start breaking down. I look down at the floor and see my shirt that I don’t care to pick up or put on. 

   I lay down and get under the comforter as his smell envelops me. I start to hyperventilate. My organs feel like they're stopping, and my lungs are out of oxygen. As I try to breathe, I feel someone sit down on the bed and hug me. “Adriana, what did he do,” Kiara asks me, concerned. “Nothing- I just need to breathe, Kie.” I count in my head, breathing in one, two, three, and then breath out. I do it a couple more times. Finally, I reach a stable point where I can breathe without it being ragged. 

   Kie lays in the bed with me. “Ad, you have to tell me what happened.” She puts her arm around my waist. I take a deep breath in. “After I talked with you. Rafe took me upstairs obviously and- and asked to do coke off my boobs, and I let him and then started crying because I just-” My voice starts cracking, and I start sniffling. “Hey, it’s ok. It’s not your fault, Ad. You just wanted to make him happy.” Kie hadn’t been sure of her response to this situation and was still unsure about what had happened. Kiara rests her head on me. We lay here for another five minutes in peaceful silence.

   I am so grateful to have Kie. I don’t know what I’d do without her. “Hey, the party is probably ending. I have to go, ok. I love you.” She smiles at me and then gets up. I pull her in for a hug. “I love you too. Make sure to tell me details tomorrow.” I laugh a little. She waves at me, smiling and shuts Rafe’s bedroom door leaving me all alone.

   I started to get uncomfortable in my clothes, ergo I changed into one of Rafe’s button-up long sleeves neither did I put shorts on, just panties. I usually never used my phone, but I always kept it with me just in case something happened, and I wanted to see if Rafe had maybe texted me. There was nothing other than JJ telling me goodnight. So I texted with a simple ‘gn.’ I wasn’t in the mood tonight for his B.S. 

   I put my phone on the bedside table and went to sleep. I didn’t see tonight ending like this, and I wished it hadn’t

   Rafe entered his bedroom, turned the light on, and saw Adriana sleeping. “Adriana, you awake.” He asked her, but there wasn’t a reply. He wanted to make sure she’d been asleep, plus he felt like shit and couldn’t handle another argument tonight. 

   The tired boy took off his polo shirt and shorts, throwing them on the ground next to his girlfriends’ clothes. Then, he got into bed with her as her sleeping body faced him. He felt terrible that he made her think that the whole argument was her fault when it was all his fault.

   Rafe pulled his body closer to Adriana’s. She moved closer to Rafe as she tried to get comfortable in her sleep. “I’m sorry.” He said sincerely to the still beautiful sleeping girl.

[eyes-of-rock]

Two Dishwashers?

(Eric Singer X OC)

This fic was inspired by this post @sluttery-withoutshame posted. Hope you enjoy this! Imported note I don't really write reader inserts because I like the freedom of creating backstories and whatnot, so that's why it's an OC :)

I was relieved that we had pulled up to Eric’s house, which I found relatively modest. It’s a lovely house from the outside, in a nice neighbourhood, but it's not massive or fancy. It's just a regular house—the perfect size. From the outside, you'd never know the drummer of one of the biggest rock bands in history lives in it and thank god for that.

I’m not into flash and glitz. It's not my thing.

I'm not that kind of girl. I didn't grow up with money and still don't have much. So, being around that always freaks me out. I don’t know how to act. So, I'm beyond thankful Eric doesn't appear to live that lifestyle.

I was nervous about this date, to begin with. I never expected to be going on a date with Eric Singer. Of course, I've always admired KISS; they've always been my favourite band.

Yet, I'm not the type of girl to catch a rockstar's attention. So when my sister spotted Eric at the bar, they forced me to talk to him. She pushed me into him. I still feel wrong about that. What a way to meet someone. I didn't expect anything to come from it. After all, I'm awkward as hell.

It turns out he is, too. At least when it comes to women, something about that was oddly comforting. Plus, once he starts talking, he never stops. I find that super cute, personally. I could listen to him ramble all day.

The date has been lovely. Dinner was great, but the company was better. I loved hearing Eric's stories; sharing some of my own was nice. Of course, my life is way less exciting than his, yet he never made me feel that way when sharing.

I didn't want the night to end. So when Eric suggested we go to his house. I agreed. So here I am at Eric Singer’s house.

“Home Sweet Home,” Eric says as I follow him to his front door.

Eric unlocks the door. Then, he clicks on the light and holds the door open as I walk into his house.

I first notice the pile of opened mail sitting on what looks like a drum stool. It seems like he's using it instead of an actual shelf or side table at his entrance. The walls are all painted white. He plunks his keys on top of the pile of mail. Interesting.

There are two doors off the entrance, both leading to separate rooms. He first takes me to the doors to the left—their glass and double.

“This is the living room.” Eric tells me, “TV, couch, coffee table, all the typical living room stuff.”

That's true. He has a nice flat-screen TV, flair DC with massive speakers hanging above what looks like a 1970s brick fireplace—red brick with a wood mantle in that orangy wood they loved so much back then.

The ’70s was twenty years, give or take, before my time. I did grow up in a 70’s house, though, like I said, I didn't grow up with money. The mantle has a single, very dead-looking plant sitting on it.

The coffee table looks like I came with the house. It got that '70s flare as well. It is a rectangle with ornate legs attached to a rectangular bass. In the middle of the table is a place to store stuff, and it has those pulley nobs to open it.

On top of the coffee table are various magazines and papers, the remote for the TV, and a pair of drumsticks. The magazines have rings where people place cups on them. So they've sat there for quite some time, I'd guess.

The couch is just your typical brown leather loveseat. It's well-worn. He's probably owned it for years, which I respect.

One thing that strikes me about this room is nothing matches. No element has anything to do with the last except the colour brown. It's kind of refreshing. He's not living in one of those all-white homes celebrities seem always to have these days. I will say it could be cleaned, but that's okay. He is a single man, so he has no one to kick him in the ass.

I then follow him to the kitchen. The first thing that strikes me is that the kitchen looks a lot like the one in the house I grew up in. My home is more than 80’s style right now. The wooden cabinets are the same orange wood as the mantle.

The countertop looks like it must have been replaced at some point. However, the style is also outdated, and I'm betting it wasn't by Eric. Its speckle-looking stone is black and brown.

The walls are oddly painted grey. It looks like the previous owners were trying and failing to cover up the fact that the kitchen hadn't been remodelled since the house was most likely built.

On the window still, of the big window above the sink. There is a little collection of pill bottles, eye drops and what looks like glue. Of course, I can't get close enough to read the label.

Below that in the skin, he's an assortment of dishes. None of them match. They’re cleaned; he never put them away but left them in the sink.

Now, those two things are very everyday. I mean, we've left our pills out on a random surface and left clean dishes in the sink because we've been too lazy to put them away. So that's refreshing to see.

His kitchen is attractive because he has a massive speaker cabinet on the countertop beside the sink. It doesn't seem like a good spot for something like that.

Below the speaker is what looks like a vintage 1970’s dishwasher. Then, a sleek stainless steel dishwasher is on the other side of the sink. It takes me a second to process that. He had two dishwashers in his kitchen. I'm interested as to why.

It must be written on my face because Eric turns to me.

“It’s the two dishwashers, isn't it, Maxine.”

“Well, yeah-”

“This is the moment you make some excuse and leave,” Eric sighs, disappointed and hurt.

“What?” I say, taken aback. People have just skipped out on him over his kitchen. What the fuck? Who does that?

“No, of course not,” I reassure him. “You’re house is fine.”

“It doesn't bother you? That my house isn't perfect?” He sounds shocked as if no single woman has ever accepted that.

“It's a relief.” I admit, “I don't own fancy things, and it's nice to know that doesn't matter to you.”

“Unless it watches or drum-related, yes.” He laughs, “It doesn't bother you?”

“No.” I repeat, “It reminds me of the house I grew up in; it could be clean. That’s okay; I don't mind helping; I love cleaning and organizing.”

“You say that now, but wait until you see my office.” Eric laughs, “That usually sends the girl running.”

“I’m sure it's fine; it just could use some organization and decluttering,” I tell him. I haven't seen this office yet, but I can make an educated guess. It looks like he's never thrown out anything by the amount of clutter hanging around this house.

It's okay, though. It's not like it is unhelpable. It makes me sad to think so many girls have walked away from such a sweet, funny and sexy man over something so trivial. It just goes to show what they were after.

“I wouldn't expect you to clean it up.” Eric clarifies, “Sounds like an awful next date. ‘Yeah, he invented me to clean his hoarder's office.’ Nothing sexy about that.”

“I know, but I wouldn't mind.” I laugh, “I like spending time with you, doesn't matter what we’re doing.”

“I’m happy you hear it.” Eric smiles at me.

“But I'm a grown man, so I should be doing it myself, it's just well-”

“You hate organizing and cleaning?” I say, finishing his sentence for him.

“Yes.” He laughs, “I wonder what gave that away.”

I can't help but laugh a little at that. I’m still astonished that someone would give him up that easily. Well, their loss, my gain.

[seastarblue]

Tumblr Games: OC Prompts: Character Profile

thanks for the tag @bardic-tales here !

Rules: Answer the prompts for an OC—buttttt I kinda wanna do the interview style again! Partway at least. Gotta work on them character voices, ya know?

So I’m already making profiles for my OCs, but I figured it might be fun to do one for an OC I wasn’t planning on profiling:

✨Saffron✨

Let’s go!

———

Full name? “Saffron of Gentlebright. At least that’s the one easiest to pronounce for humans.”

Age? “Er… maybe… 450…? Give or take a few decades— I’ve lost count. Whoopsie!”

Gender? “Gender? I hardly know her! HAHAHA! You can use she/her for me though.”

Species? “A ✨fairy✨.”

Appearance: Saffon is a short (nO im NOT), red headed fairy with bright yellow eyes and shimmering purple dragonfly wings. She’s got a collection scars here and there.

Occupation? “I’m the captain of the Fifth Order.”

Family:

Spouse? “None. Never was one for romance!”

Parents? “…No.”

Siblings? “…also no.”

Best Friends? Tell me a bit about them!

“Alrighty! First and foremost, we’ve got Aris! Aris min Qultaar, if we’re being specific. He’s my partner-in-justice! Now as for the rest of my team: I love them equally—some are just… more equal than others, HAH! Like, uh, Nero di Accardi, Thannis of Spring, Tembris Quicksilver, and Percival Whitlock.”

Pets? “No, but I did have a cat called… Baby Kitty. He died :(“

Describe your room? “Ah, there’s not much. A bed, nice soft blue sheets, it’s got holes in the mattress for my wings—I tuck em in, don’t want them to get crushed, ya know—I’ve got a nice little nightstand that Thannis carved for me with some knickknacks Aris gifted me. I don’t spend enough time in there to really decorate.”

Way of Speaking: Saffron’s speaking style wildly changes depending on who she’s talking to. With her team, it’s casual, easy, gentle at times. With superiors, it’s formal, tense, very eloquent. With criminals… well let’s just say she doesn’t stop to chat much.

Physical Characteristics: Apart from what was listed above, Saffron has white diamond shaped pupils, and blue blood, as she is a Fae.

Items in your bag RIGHT NOW: “Oh, uh, let’s see… a knife, some food, a broken pencil, another knife, some vials of potion, and… another broken pencil. Who put those in there…?”

Hobbies: Sparring, planting, dancing, writing, interrogating people

Favorite Sport: “Hm… I’m a fan of wingball, but I don’t play often.” (Wingball is just football but in the air)

Abilities: Saffron has a lie detecting ability, as she is a fairy. She also has some very good Glamor skills, as well as mean Fire magic.

Relationships:

Her team: very good! :>

Lloyd Santhuff: very bad :<

Vivirette Hawthorne: she thinks the noble is weird.

Fears: She fears losing her entire team without being able to do anything. It’s a very real fear… also slugs.

Faults: She tends to freeze up, which isn’t a good quality to have as a leader. She also has a problem with taking things seriously—she doesn’t.

Good Points: Saffron is very honest (not by choice—long story, still counts), and she’s very good at giving advice, having lived for literal centuries (don’t make me feel old :[ )

What they want more than anything else: all Saffron wants is to be free to keep them safe.

———

phew this took a while. Note that you don’t have to answer as an OC, just for one!

Tag game list! Lemme know if you want on/off via DM or ask!:

@sableglass @vsnotresponding @dioles-writes

@paeliae-occasionally @astor-and-the-endless-ink @allaboutmagic

[nkirukaj]

Our Renaissance (4)

Pairing: Human!Alastor x Fem! OC

Warnings: Swearing; Racially Degrading Language, Graphic Depictions of Violence, 1920s Slang

Genre: Angst/SMUT(& Humor!)

Word Count: 13.8K

1928

Dear Alastor,

I will be heading over to where you are in a month! I do hope to see you, perhaps we could meet? 

Maybe at the coffee place that you showed me the last time we were together?

You did say you would treat me to tea when you got the money, and I am assuming you have the funds now! Haha! I cannot wait to see you!

Sincerely xo,

Vera

That was a month ago. Alastor had been looking forward to this since he received the letter. Ever since it had come in the mail, he had been studying the bottom of it. 

Sincerely xo,

Vera

Hugs and kisses.

He waits at the airport for her in his best blazer and dress pants, waiting and waiting as many men and women exit, each one further disappointing him as he waits for his girl. When he sighs in defeat, he feels a tap on his back, turning around, he sees Vera, standing there in a lovely loose pink dress, clearly taking advantage of her newfound freedom.

“Hello stranger,” she greets him, her voice lower and full of maturity

“Bonjou cher,” he grins, winking

“Did you miss me?” she grabs his arm and pulls him into a hug

“So it’s just you this time? No Daddy?”

She shakes her head, smiling “It’s just me,”

“Lovely,” he says picking her up by her waist and swinging her around as she laughs

“You look spiffy,” she tells him

“You look quite ritzy yourself, my dear. What have you been up to? Any shows you’re in lately? Tell me everything,”

Vera puts her hand up, palm facing him “How about you treat me to tea, and I can tell you everything there,” her eyes glow brightly

Simple things like this, sitting in a coffee shop and being able to pay for it were a dream of his. As they sat and sipped their drinks in silence, the actress broke it.

“I read about you in the papers.”

“I could say the same about you. ”

“It’s funny, my father actually sent me a newspaper with your picture in it. And he left a note asking if I ‘remember my little friend’.” She chuckles 

“It was my mother that showed me the pictures of you. I still have them on my dresser.”

She covers her face “Oh my goodness that is so embarrassing! Which picture?”

“The one where your hair is all curly, and your dress is cut low...” he smirks

“Oh gosh!” she blushes “That one is a mess!”

“I saw one photo with you and another woman, who was that?”

“Oh, that was Fredi Washington, fabulous woman. She’s phenomenal, we were in a short film together.”

Alastor seems impressed “Oh my, you’re getting to know everyone. Doing anything soon?”

“I’m actually here for a show. It’s playing at the Lyric Theatre. So I’ll be here for a while rehearsing and while the show runs.”

“Well, that’s just perfect. The stars have aligned for us, my dear.”

“How so?” She places a napkin on her lap, folding her hands above it before giving him her attention

“I have an idea that could benefit us both.”

“Oh?” Vera raises her eyebrow

“It’s clear that we have some sort of chemistry.”

“Chemistry?” she repeats incredulously

He laughs at her “Yes, Chemistry, that’s what I said. Don’t tell me you don’t think about necking with me” he winks

She looks around “Pipe down! You can’t just say that in public!” she whispers

He can’t help but look amused “Now is the time for sexual freedom! Isn’t that what you said?” He leans back in his chair

“I know what I said,” she leans forward “But I have a carefully curated image to uphold as a celebrity”

He crosses one of his legs over the other “You think I don’t? I’m a celebrity too. It’s actually a bit dangerous for me to be here unguarded.” he jests “I put myself at risk, for you.” he grabs her hand with his, both gloved. His black, and hers white.

She smiles and rolls her eyes “You still wear the gloves I gave you?” she lowers her voice “I’m guessing nobody knows they’re women’s gloves?” she teases him

“And they don’t need to know,” he shoots back

“Besides, your face isn’t even what people most recognize. It’s your voice! So as long as you keep it down, you should be fine. My face, unfortunately,” she places her hand on her chest “Is a commodity.” She seems pleased with herself “My face is on posters, newspapers, and magazines.” She humble-brags “I even saw myself on a billboard!” she sips her tea gracefully “My image helps shape the current beauty standard for Black women, along with Josephine, Gladys, and of course Fredi,” 

He leans forward to her, whispering slightly flirtatiously “And you love it.”

Vera breaks out into a grin “I do. It’s a dream.” She leans back and takes him in more “Looks like we were wrong about each other when we first met.”

“And I couldn’t be happier for it.”

She places her hands over her skirt “We’ve changed a lot Alastor. We’re grown.”

“Indeed we are,” he drinks from his mug

“By the way, what is that?” 

He raises his brows “Hmm?”

“The way you’re talking. You were not talking like that before, I’m sure of it.”

He places the mug back on the table “Oh! This is the voice I use for my broadcasts, the accent is quite popular amongst other radio stars.”

“Stars.” she smiles “You callin’ yourself a star?”

“It’s what I am. It’s what we are, be'be.” he gestures with one of his hands

Vera’s eyes flit from his hands up toward his lips, remembering more about the day she gave him those gloves “Be'be?” 

“Baby,” He leans back, gazing at her over his glasses, his light brown eyes bright and dilated slightly “Now would you listen to my idea?”

Vera scoots up in her chair “Sure Alastor, tell me.”

“I want to court you.”

Vera covers her mouth with her hand. It was all she could do to stop from laughing out loud and making a scene, though she did let out an obnoxious snort. Alastor looks annoyed at this reaction, simply waiting for her to be finished. She looks up at him and removes her hand “Oh, you’re serious? Alastor, is nobody home? Where did you pull that idea from, your ass?”

“If you’d let me finish, I could explain.” he huffs “We’re both stars, meaning we’re in the limelight, are you seriously telling me that no one has commented on your lack of a husband?” Vera glances away from him “Because I know that many have commented on my ‘inability’ to find a Jane suitable enough to marry, and there have been some groups of people who take that,” he clears his throat “Personally.”  her eyes goad him to continue “If that’s been happening to me, I can’t imagine what’s been happening to you. A swanky dame, oozing with sex appeal, and yet still hasn’t landed a husband? What would the papers say?” He drinks from his mug once more. 

“So what are you proposing exactly?”

“I’ll level with you. I have certain….interests and…hobbies that I don’t need getting out. If enough people start wondering why I’m still not married at this age, they could start digging and find some things they do not want to see.”

“And what do I get out of this arrangement?”

“The public favor, the ability to open a bank account where you can control your own funds, and of course, a sexy husband.” he leans back in his chair and smirks at her

She can’t help but smile at him and all his brazenness. Sometimes he made her feel like she was 19 again “And I suppose you get a sexy wife then?” She says jokingly

“I do indeed, my dear.” He responds fully serious

The seriousness of his tone causes her to blush “You’re just too much Alastor,” she says, not meeting his gaze

He leans forward “I think I’m just enough baby.” She scoffs, not knowing what else to say, overwhelmed by his charm “So it’s a deal then?” He reaches his hand out in front of him, and Vera stares before embracing it.

“Deal.”

______________________________________________________

Vera and Alastor are taking a stroll through town, occasionally stopping to marvel at the constant music in the air, along with the smells of delicious food hitting their nostrils from every direction.

“God, I never get tired of being here,” Vera says to no one in particular, twirling on a whim

Alastor smiles softly at the sight of her. He understood why she was able to make her dream come true, she was truly a wonderful sight to behold “You could live here if you like.”

She stops to ponder the idea“ I suppose that if I am to become Mrs. Fontenot, then I would have to, no?”

He chuckles “I go by Baudelaire now, but not necessarily. I’d be here, but I’d just have to miss ya.” He teases

Vera scrunches up her nose “Baudelaire? Why ever would you change your last name?”

He shrugs “It’s easier to digest for some people.”

“Well that’s ridiculous, just about everyone here has a bit of French in them, but somehow that French name is too hard to get through their thick skulls? No, absolutely not. If we marry eventually, I shall be Mrs. Fontenot and nothing else. Of course, I will still be going by ‘Bates’ in regards to my work.”

“Oh of course,” He turns and stands in front of her grabbing her shoulders and shaking them. They both laugh as she pushes him playfully.

Alastor walks up to a street vendor, picking some Encore Azaleas, and casually paying the man all before Vera could see him. He presents her with the flowers and she gladly accepts, not expecting the gift.

“Oh thank you! I love these flowers!”

“I know,” he smirks. He loved this feeling, of being able to walk into town and participate in the city. Able to sit down at a coffee shop and take care of the tab. The ability to treat his intended to something as small as a flower that could make her day. Being on the radio was a dream in itself, but it made many other dreams come true as well.

“Look at you Mr. Moneybags,” she teases

“I don’t have that much money,”

“You never would’ve bought me a flower a few years ago,”

He shrugs “Hm, maybe plastic ones,”

“Oh please you hated me,”

“Hmm not as much as you hated me,” he grins

She giggles “We were quite the pair of enemies,”

“We most definitely were,”

“What changed, Mr. Baudelaire?” she says his new name mockingly, yet flirtatiously

“I suppose I simply grew up,”

“And realized that us girls, don’t have cooties?”

“Oh no, I still believe that,” he laughs

She laughs with him “If I have cooties, you’ve definitely caught them,”

“I may need a doctor then,” he puts the back of his hand on his forehead

She laughs heartily “Goodness Alastor, you are such a character!”

“Why thank you!” He spins her by her arm

She falls into his chest “Anything else planned for the day Alastor?”

He thinks for a moment, shrugging “Unless you would like to go hunting, then you’re out of luck.”

“I can go hunting with you.”

He raised a brow “Are you sure?” she nodded “Why?” he crossed his arms

“I like to be well-rounded,” she smiles

“Fair enough,”

Alastor lines the shotgun up to his eye, taking a moment to breathe in before the loud crack pierces through the air. Out in the distance, the loud thud of a deer that was hit square in the eyes is heard.

“Think you can do that?” He turns to Vera and cocks the gun once more

“I’m certain I can,” she tells him

“First let’s take this off,” he swipes her hat and she reaches for it “This is going to mess up your vision,” he plops it on his head and Vera chuckles at how funny it makes him look

“Should I remove my gloves as well?” she puts her hands on her hips

“No! The gloves are perfect. Now here,” he hands her the gun and helps her steady it “A little heavy for ya?” he snickers and she rolls her eyes at him

“These were clearly not made for a lady’s hand,” she holds it up to her eye the same way she saw Alastor do

He stands behind her, one hand on her hip and the other on the gun “Don’t hold it so close, you’ll get hit in the face,” he warns

Vera stomps “Show me then!”

Alastor holds the gun in front of her from behind her “Just focus on pulling the trigger,”

She takes a deep breath like she saw him do, taking a shot but missing it by a long ways

He cocks the gun “Okay do it again, but…better,”

Vera rolls her eyes again, focusing and concentrating, pulling the trigger and hitting a doe in the neck, she covers her mouth in astonishment, falling backward into Alastor, who shoots the gun in the air accidentally. In an instant he takes her to the ground, covering her body with his.

His breathing is heavy when he asks “You alright?”

She nods and starts laughing uncontrollably, she covers her mouth again to stop herself, but it doesn’t work.

“What’s so funny?” he breathes onto her face

“I can’t believe that just happened!” she cackles and from his proximity, he can feel her heart palpitating as he pulls her up to her feet. She’s still breathing heavily from all of the laughing she’s doing, and Alastor can’t help but crack a smile.

“Someone is hysterical,”

She stares up at him “I am not hysterical,”

“Then whatever are you laughing for?”

Vera catches her breath and thinks “I’m not really sure if I am being honest,”

Alastor wraps his arm around her waist and comments “Absolutely the strangest doll I’ve ever seen,” and flashes her his award-winning grin.

“Why do you hunt? I never understood the idea of it,”

“It passes the time my dear, and when I fire I feel like I am on top of the world. The universe at my beck and call,”

She grins back at him “You are the most dramatic man in the world!”

“That’s why I’m a performer darling!”

“You want me to be on your radio show?”

“Of course! It would be great for both of us! We can play up our chemistry so our marriage doesn’t seem out of nowhere”

She ponders it “Fine, then you have to be photographed with me,”

“Of course! What would it look like if I never took pictures with my beautiful wife,” he put emphasis on the word, making Vera’s stomach flutter. She was going to be Alastor’s wife.

“Alright, when do you want me on your show?”

He taps his chin “How about tomorrow?”

Her eyes widen “That is a bit short notice, but sure I believe that I can work it into my schedule,”

Alastor grins “Our courtship begins now,”

“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, you know who I am, Alastor Baudelaire and you are all our delightful listeners of WWL, thank you all for tuning in!”

Vera sits behind him and mouths ‘Fontenot’ while making hand gestures. He rolls his eyes in an amused fashion before continuing. “Tonight we have breaking news! Connor Glass, the oldest banker in town has been found dead with his throat slit and stab wounds in his mouth and both of his eyes. Oh my!” He covers his mouth with his hand “How gruesome. Apparently, he was found in a dark alley near his own home. No one is safe anymore!”

Alastor waited in the woods near the old man’s house, he tripped him and fell into the alleyway, giving him a concussion. He remembers digging the knife through the man’s eyes and the groans the man let out as he died. He reached inside the man’s throat-

“He seemed to have been found without his vocal cords. How spooky. If the elderly aren’t safe, who is?”

It was odd though as Vera watched him, did not seem like he was concerned for the news that he was reporting on. Of course, to be in this line of work, one must be desensitized to the things one is saying. However, he did not seem unattached, but very involved. Involved and pleased. The grin he wore was something evil, something immoral as if he thrived on the demise of these people. Even more odd was how Vera found herself drawn to this sinful energy, the curve of his nasty grin sent shivers down her body, aching for the attention of his fingers.

“Are you ready?”

She snaps her head up “Yes?”

He snickers “Are you sure? Because you’re up next,”

“Really?”

“No. Of course you are!” He sits back down and gestures to the chair beside him “Sit here, darling,” she does and he pulls her closer to him to share the mic.

“Do I not get my own microphone?”

“I think it’s better if we share,” he smirks

“We have to be really close,”

He pulls her even closer “Much better,” he leans into her face, opening his mouth “And we’re back!”

She rolls her eyes at him, smiling. 

“I’d love to introduce the most wonderful, incredible, talented, and beautiful doll this side of America, my darling, Miss Vera Bates.”

She giggles “Hello Alastor,” 

“Now Miss Bates is not only a highly esteemed member of the Black elite of New York City, she is also a new coming accomplished actress. Gracing New Orleans with her presence for a run of an original musical, opening later this year.”

“Well, when you say it all like that it sounds amazing.” They both laugh at her faux humility

“Not only is Miss Bates talented but she’s very smart and drop-dead gorgeous. Unfortunately for you all, you don’t get the view that I have right now”

Vera giggles again “I do hope that you plan on attending opening night, Mr. Baudelaire” she speaks very breathy and flirtatiously, raising her eyebrow

Alastor’s voice turns slick and sultry “Of course Miss Bates, I wouldn’t miss it for the world ma chérie,” he peers at her over his glasses “Not only do I adore theater, but I also adore you.”

She blushes, not knowing where the line between performance and reality is drawn “Then I’ll be sure to reserve you a seat at the front, Mr. Baudelaire,”

“The better to see your beautiful face, Miss Bates”

She blushes and doesn’t respond.

“Now Miss Bates, do you think you can give a snippet of your show? Maybe a line or a song?”

“Now, I can’t do that. That would be against my contract,”

“Oh, that is quite unfortunate. We would have loved to hear that voice. But I suppose good things come to those who wait,”

“Indeed they do Mr. Baudelaire,” she teases

“Tell us Vera, how did you acquire such a gorgeous voice?”

“Well I did take voice lessons as a child,”

“Lessons? How interesting! Here I was thinking you were born with all this talent,”

“Okay, wise guy I was born with talent,”

He raises his eyebrows “Oh? Well, why don’t you show us? Or is your voice under contract as well?”

She clears her throat “I suppose I can sing something, are you ready?”

“Yes!”

I'd rather be blue, thinking of you

I'd rather be blue over you

Than be happy with somebody else

I'm crazy about 'ya, without 'ya

For you I'm strong

I can't do without 'ya

Oucha-ma-goucha, don't stay too long!

I need a little ah, little ooh, little oh

And I'm knocking on wood

Honey hurry up, hurry up, hurry up

It's so hard to be good

I'd rather be blue, thinking of you

I'd rather be blue over you

Than be happy with somebody else

Will I be good? Will I be bad?

Don't be a fool, you fool

My little flat, I'm turning that

Into a Sunday school

While you're away I'm here to say

There'll be no ice man there

Singing the blues I'm gonna use

Nothing but Frigidaire

I'd rather be blue, thinking of you

I'd rather be blue over you

Than be happy with somebody else

Blue over you

I'd rather be blue over you

Than be hap-hap-hap-happy

With somebody else

When she looks up, he’s staring at her with no words. Vera clears her throat once more “Fanny Brice? I don’t know if you know the song,”

“I know of it. Now ladies and gentlemen, if you aren’t applauding in your living rooms then either you’re deaf or you’ve gone completely screwy!”

“Oh stop, Alastor! You’re such a charmer,”

“Oh now…thank you!”

“What about you? Any other talents besides the gift of gab?”

Alastor looks to the side “Well I suppose I’m fond of taking things apart and putting things back together. I started somewhere in my adolescent years,”

He thought of a moment when he’d dismembered another boy.

“I wonder what you would get if you put the arms where the legs should be? I supposed you’d be doing a handstand!!” He sings and devolves into laughter while clapping the severed hands.

He’s sitting in front of his mic with an interested bright, psychotic smile. Vera examines him and his tone.

“Wow, what an ominous way to say that,”

“Well, I have to keep people on their toes!” his smile grew brighter “Have you always been interested in acting?”

“Why of course! It’s my lifeblood? And you with radio?”

“I could never imagine doing anything else,”

“Well, the world is better for it,”

“For you or me?”

She grins back at him “Yes,”

They both cackle, on the air. 

“This has been the lovely Miss Vera Bates, give her a hand.” he sighs “Do you hear that applause?” he asked her

“No!” They cackle some more as he turns the show to some music.

________________________________________________________________

“You may be wondering why you’ve all been gathered here today,” Vera announces to May and her family “Well, Alastor go on,”

“Go on what?”

“Tell them!”

“Tell them what?”

“About your…plan?”

“My plan?”

She furrows her brows and whispers to him.

“Oh! I have the intention to court Vera,” he tells them.

Their audience is stunned.

“Oh! This is amazing!” May pipes up

“Does this mean he’ll be my brother?” asks a grown-up Brynn

“Well, it’s just courting, it doesn’t mean it’s going anywhere else. Right, Vera?”

Vera’s eyes dart away “We’ll see,”

“Miss Vera, I would love to have you as a daughter-in-law! Promise me that I can make your wedding dress,”

“Now don’t get so excited May, we don’t know how far this is going to go. My Vera has many prospects,”

“Any serious ones?” Alastor raised his brow

“Yes, they’re very serious,” Cassius squints his eyes

“But is she serious about them?”

“Yes indeed,’

“Then why am I courting her?”

“Perhaps you just adore wasting your time,”

Vera interjects “Hello, I am right here! A human being with a mouth, thank you,”

“I apologize, darling, I only meant so many gentlemen would love your hand in marriage,”

“Like me,” Alastor responds

“Of course,” Cassius says flatly

“Of course, it doesn’t have to lead to marriage, but I know my boy has been stuck on Miss Vera for a while now,”

Cassius seems tense “Has he?” he asks through his teeth

Vera looks to Alastor, who looks away from her “Really?”

“But I must admit you have raised quite a young lady,”

Cassius boasts “Well thank you, it was a bit harder than raising other children, but I did my best,”

“What do you mean by that?” Alastor cocked his head

“It’s not any of your business now is it?”

“If she is to be my wife I feel as though I should know,”

“Well there’s no guarantee that she’ll be your wife, so it’s not necessary,” Cassius stands 

Vera goes between the two men “All right we do not need a blind meat fight,”

“Language Vera!” “She is a grown woman, Cassius,”

“Watch it,” he leans in and Vera physically pushes them away from each other

“That’s enough! I’ve had enough of this. I will make my own choices, I am a woman now father! And Alastor, stop starting things because you think it’s funny,”

Alastor smirks behind her “No promises,”

Cassius sits back down “So, what do you have planned for my daughter?” Thank you

“I was just thinking maybe I could do what you do. Treat her like a child maybe and see how things work out?”

May put a hand on her son’s shoulder “Alastor,” she warns him “I’m sorry, he can’t help himself. Just like his father,”

Alastor chuckles “No I’m not,” he speaks with the utmost seriousness “I was just teasing of course,”

“Oh May, I am so sorry that you have to deal with this kind of behavior,”

“Oh yes, and I am so sorry to you as well Daphne,”

“Do NOT speak to my wife!”

Vera puts her head in her hands “UGH!”

“Vera, what have we talked about, inside voices,”

“I am upset father! You refuse to cease this nonsense, not even for me! Your ego is more important than me!”

“Do NOT raise your voice at me!”

“I AM A GROWN WOMAN FATHER!”

“Well, what about him Vera? Huh?! You just let him disrespect your family?!”

She looks towards Alastor “No, I just-“

“You don’t know what you want! And it’s time for this little experiment to be over!”

“What experiment father? Doing something and choosing something on my own?! You know I invited you here to tell you, not ask your permission!”

The silence is deafening, the tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Cassius turns to Alastor “Things were so much better before you got into my daughter’s head,”

“Better for who?” Alastor examines his nails “Because it was much worse from my perspective,”

“I think we should get-“ Cassius gets cut off

“Yes, I do believe I should get going!” he starts jaunting off toward the door and Vera follows him

“Where are you going?”

He fixes the collar on his jacket “Emergency down at the station. I do believe I should fix it,”

“You are making a horrible impression!” she whispers

“From the looks of it, it seems that your father was,” his tone light and playful

She crosses her arms “Who said that I was talking about with him?”

“I am sorry, I don’t know what you mean my dear,”

She sighs “I mean me Alastor, this is how it may be if we marry? I don’t want every meeting with my family to be a fight. If this is how it’s going to be then I may have to call this deal off,”

Alastor’s expression darkens slightly “Now now, let us not get dramatic over one conversation,”

She put her hands on her hips “Dramatic??”

He sighs “I apologize. I’m just in a bit of a rush, but we can discuss this when I return, all right?” He cups her chin

Vera smiles “All right,”

He strokes her cheek with his thumb “Good girl,” 

A blush rises her cheeks as she allows him to walk out without another word. The door slam rings throughout the house.

___________________________________________________________

Cassius was not pleased to hear that his daughter was being taken to a club.

“A night out of dancing father, what is the issue with that?”

“Of course, nothing wrong with a night of dancing with a bunch of hooligans?”

She gathers some nice earrings “Who is to say that they are hooligans father?”

“Only hooligans go to clubs,”

“You go to clubs, for business correct?”

“High-end clubs. This is a lousy club where the poor link,”

Vera fastens her earrings “How could you possibly know that?””

“Because I know how hooligans act. You’re being courted by one as we speak!”

“Father, Alastor is not a hooligan. And you forget that is a certified celebrity. You can’t possibly know the type of club he will bring us to,”

He snickers “Ah yes, a certified celebrity that got help from one of my good friends,”

“Is that a problem?”

“I got to where I am on my own, he needed help from me,”

Vera looks around “Well, me,” she corrects him 

“Semantics darling. Are you wearing that?”

She dons a light pink fringe flapper dress “Indeed I am,”

He raises an eyebrow “Hmm,” he lifts his drink to his lips

“What?”

“Enjoy your night, I’m sure you’ll fit right in,” he says with a slight grimace.

Vera slid on her gloves, then her headpiece, making sure the feathers didn’t fall into her face, and took a look at herself in the mirror. She felt ready to dance.

Alastor insisted they take the trolley “Do you have this in New York?” 

Vera chuckles “We do, however, our family personally prefers to take the train. Or perhaps a car,”

“Well, I’ll show you something that New York City could never match,”

He brings her inside a small-looking building with a small number of people scattered at different tables and a bartender cleaning glasses behind the bar.

“Wow, you sure have New York beat,” she says sarcastically

He rolls his eyes at her, grabs her hand, and approaches the bartender. “Sir,” he calls out, the man looking up “Open sesame,” he tells him, knocking on the wood of the bar twice.

The man smiles “Welcome back Alastor,” and pulls on a rope, opening a door in the back of the building. Alastor leads her through the door and down the stairs, closing it behind them. At the bottom of those stairs was a lively party. A full band playing jazz music and people dancing like there’s no tomorrow, switching partners and swinging the fringe on their dresses so it looks like they’re about to fly.

On the stage, there’s a short blonde woman, chubby in body singing her heart out with the band. She was clearly comfortable on the stage as she danced around with no choreography. Her dress fits her body slimly and her hair stops at her shoulders. When Alastor walks in her eyes widen and her smile increases tenfold. She comes down from off the stage, strolling up to him with a confident smirk as she sings. She taps him on the chest and they share a knowing look as she climbs back on stage to complete her set with a big finish. The audience applauds for her and she soaks it up before approaching him again.

“Alastor!” she approaches with her arms open

“Mimzy!” he hugs her tightly with a squeeze 

Vera stands to the side, feeling quite awkward, not knowing how to introduce herself, or if she was even welcome to speak.

“Where have you been? Haven’t seen you in forever!”

“Oh Mimzy, it’s only been about..two months?”

She scoffs “Two months too long!”

He waves her off “Oh you!”

“I’m so glad you came to see me sing,” she bats her lashes

“I had no idea you were singing tonight!” he laughs

She smirks “Oh really? You know everything that goes on here, but not this? Yeah right, Al,” Al? She’d never heard anyone call him Al. “Well, come on! Don’t just stand there, you know you always have a seat reserved for you!” She pulls on his arm.

Vera reaches for him, and he glances back at her “Well, make that two seats. Have you met Vera?”

Mimzy finally acknowledges her. Vera waves slightly and Mimzy looks her up and down. “I don’t believe I have,” she spoke in her nasal voice

“This is Vera,” he gestures to her “We’ve just begun courting,”

She squints “Oh! I didn’t know you were seeing anyone,”

“Well, I’ve been keeping it hidden until now,”

“Could’ve told me Alastor! The line for you is out the door!” they laugh and Vera feels like an outsider. She now finally understood what her father meant earlier in the night.

“They’re here for you darling!”

Mimzy snorts “The ladies? Don’t flatter me! They’re always here for my ‘handsome friend,’” 

“Well, I am certainly handsome,”

“How charming are you?!” They start cackling together as they walk and Vera follows them. Vera quietly orders a drink and stirs it when it comes. “Come on! Let’s hit some shots then hit the floor!”

“Couple rounds on me!” Mimzy tells the bartender and they down them once they’re slid over. 

Mimzy dragged Alastor to the dance floor and cut a rug like nobody’s business. Vera sips her drink, knowing that she could never dance like that, or act like that, or be like that. Alastor had brought her to a place where she was an outsider and then left her alone.

When he stumbles back over he shouts to Mimzy “Let me take a break Mimzy! You’re hounding me like a dog!” He laughed and took a sip of another drink. “Having fun baby?” he looks towards her for the first time since Mimsy arrived

She shrugs, stirring her drink further “Sure,” she crosses her legs on the stool.

“Is something wrong?” he licks the whiskey off his bottom lip.

“No,” she lies, not looking at him

“You do know that I cannot read your mind, my dear,” he leans in closer

Her eyes dart away “I do. I am just fine. Everything’s jake,”

“Would you care to dance?”

She scoffs “Aren’t you dancing already? With Mimzy???” she says her name mockingly while she takes another sip of her drink

Alastor smirks hugely “Are you jealous?” he raises an eyebrow, clearly loving this

She blushes “No! I just… don’t like how close she is with you. When did you meet her?”

Alastor’s grin takes up his entire face “When you were gone, in New York City,”

“Oh,” her face drops, still not looking at him

“Have you not also made friends?”

She shrugs “Well my friends do not flirt with me!”

“Flirt? Who was flirting?”

“Her! And you!”

He slinks up behind her “I’m just being friendly…” he purrs in her ear

“Too friendly,” she looks away from him

“What would you like from me? Hmm?”

She sighs “I just want to make sure you still want me. Want to…marry me,”

He wraps his arms around her “Of course I want you, how could I not?”

“Are you sure?”

He nods “Can’t wait to slap on the ol’ handcuff,” he laughs while Vera seems less than pleased. He looks down at her “What’s eating you now dollface?”

She turns away from him in avoidance and he turns her chin back to him. She lowers her eyes and stirs her drink with a stirrer “I don’t like that,”

“Don’t like what?”

“I don’t like that people call the engagement ring ‘handcuff’,”

Alastor rolls his eyes, smiling “It’s just a saying baby,”

“No, it’s not. Not to me,”

He turns his whole body toward her, giving her his full attention “Why? What’s wrong with it?”

She furrows her brows “Calling it ‘handcuff’ makes it seem like getting engaged is like getting pinched. Like it’s so horrible to get engaged.” She jerks away from him “And I certainly don’t want a fiancé or a husband who does not want to be married to me,” she walks away from him

Alastor leaves the bar and comes up behind her, swiping her glass from her fingers and placing it on a table. He enveloped her with his arms, holding her close to his chest. He lowers his head, nudging into the crook of her neck, pulling a small smile out of her.

“I would be honored to marry you if you’ll still have me,” He sways their bodies back and forth

“Don’t push it, you haven’t even proposed yet,” she looks at him smirking

He smirks back “But you know I will,”

“I don’t think I do know, it’s been so long,”

Alastor bites her ear “I’m waiting for something special,”

She looks up at him “This isn’t special?” 

He just gives her a smug look without answering. She knew he had something devious up his sleeve. He always did.

Alastor took her by the hand and pulled her to the floor during a slower number.  He places her arms around his neck and his around her waist, pulling her so close to him that their chests touch. They sway back and forth to the sultry sounds of slow jazz as Vera moves her fingers to play with his loosely curled hair. She stares up at him as he tells her

“These are my favorite dances,” and she giggles “I’m so glad you’re here with me,”

“Really?”

“Of course, I love showing you off,” 

She giggles once more “Well, then I’m happy to be here,” 

He smiles warmly “I apologize for making you feel unseen. I just wanted to catch up with Momizy, but that’s no excuse for ignoring my intended,”

“I forgive you,” she hums as he spins her

“Lovely,” he kisses her neck, making her giggle further. 

Once the song ends he guides her back to her spot at the bar. He glances just past her and says

“I apologize, however, I need to make use of the facilities,” and he runs off to the john.

Vera sips her drink waiting for Alastor to return when Mimzy approaches her.

“Ya know, you don’t babysit the shot. You just drink it,” Vera stares at her confused “Too good for our drinks?”

“No, they’re just…very strong,”

Mimzy hums and examines her nails “Ya can’t handle a drink. Can you even handle being here…toots?”

“I am doing just fine,”

“I see that,” she says passive-aggressively “What’s with you and Al anyway huh? You a stray puppy?”

“Why are you calling him Al?”

“Because he’s my best friend,” Mimzy bats her lashes “Is there a problem?”

“Of course not, Just wondering. And he told you, we are courting,”

Mimzy looks her up and down “Right. Quite a dress you’ve got on,” the look is similar to her father’s “What trash can did you find that in?”

Vera squints “I had it made,”

“Yikes,” she grimaces then giggles

“Is there a reason for you being over here?”

She rolls her eyes “I just wanted to see…what my Al is ‘courting’, but I see you’re no threat,”

“No threat because there is no competition,”

“Right, ‘cuz I’m his best friend and you’re a nobody who wants to ride on a meal ticket,”

“Ha!” She stifles her laughter “Do you know who I am? I’m Vera Bates!” The blonde’s face reeks of confusion “Award-winning actress? Part of the Bates family of the Black elite? From New York? We’re something of an aristocracy there” She gives the blonde a faux humble smile “Ever heard of the ‘Harlem Renaissance’?”

“No,” Mimzy’s nasally voice responded

Vera leans down to speak to the shorter woman “Yeah, that’s ‘cuz we’re living in it. The bottom line is I do not need your friend’s money.” 

“Oh, so he wants you for your money. Haha, now it makes sense!” Mimzy soothes herself with this possible conclusion

Vera laughs again “I assure you, money has nothing to do with it. Do you know that he practically begged me to let him court me?” Vera smirks cockily “He simply came to me with his concerns about needing a wife, and I agreed to help him out.”

“But why would he ask you?”

“Why wouldn’t he? I’m rich, smart, talented, and beautiful!”

Mimzy scoffs “He could’ve asked me.” she mumbles under her breath

“Oh! Is that what this is about? Do you love him?”

Mimzy’s pale face turns red “Well, I wouldn’t say that-“

“Ah yes, I know about the trend of white women being interested in Black men these days, but I must remind you that it is in fact illegal.” she gives a smug grin “Besides, even if it wasn’t, he was quite clear that it had to be me.”

“You’re lying!”

Vera raises her eyebrows “Ask him,”

“I don’t have to do anything you say,” she huffs 

“Aww, is bunny scared? You were the big cheese a few moments ago,”

Mimzy scoffs and disappears back into the crowd.

“I apologize for taking so long my dear,”

Vera giggles “Did you have to drop a load in the john?” he laughs along with her. When they calm down, Vera notices his collar and reaches up to pull it. “What’s that?” she reaches and wipes off a small red stain. “This stain?”

Alastor widens his eyes “Oh that, well I just got a bit of a nosebleed while in the bathroom,”

“You know you’re meant to take your jacket off when you use the toilet?” she chuckles 

He waves her off “The quicker I get it all done, the quicker I can come back to you,” he steps towards her

She pulls back “Does that mean that your jacket has toilet germs on it?” she laughs

“Hmm? It might, do you want to check for me?” he teases her, coming closer

“Eugh!!” they both laugh together and Alastor takes a breath of relief

“Did you have fun with Mimzy?” 

“I don’t need you to mock me,” she rolls her eyes

He waves her off “But did you enjoy yourself tonight?”

She nods “I am a huge fan of the jazz music the band played. I loved it and all the dancing,”

“But?”

She smiles “I think Mimzy has a crush on you,”

“I know,”

“You know?”

“Yes, I am aware. We have had that discussion, and I’ve informed her that we are just friends,”

Vera smirks cockily “You may need to have it again,”

“I certainly will,”

She jokes “You plan to invite her to the wedding?”

“I don’t know, maybe,”

“Why didn’t you tell her ahead of time?”

“I thought she would take it better this way,”

She stares at him incredulously “Did you really?”

“Yes! She seems better at it on the spot,”

“Well, she knows now. She is not my competition,”

“She was never your competition”

Vera smirks “I know,”

______________________________________________

Vera began to wonder when it was that Alastor planned to propose to her. They’ve walked in the park, gone to fancy French restaurants, jazz concerts, and they’d even danced in the street. She’d been on his radio show many a time, and now she was wondering if he was ever really serious at all.

“So tell us again what the show is called,”

“The show is an original musical called The Moon and the Stars. I play a character called Sunshine,”

“And how are you feeling, now that the opening night is in a few days?”

She sighs happily “I honestly think it feels so surreal. It’s as if this is all a dream that I haven’t woken up from yet. I can’t believe that this opportunity is going to me, but I am eternally grateful for it,”

“Well, you deserve every moment of it. How do your castmates feel about you?”

“We’re all a big family, that’s how it is when you’re in a show. Everyone becomes your brothers and sisters,”

“Do you have a favorite?”

“Of the cast?”

“Or anyone,”

She flutters her lashes “Well, not to be sappy, but my favorite is you,”

“Oh stop,” he waves her off “You’re making me blush,”

“And just like a family would, my castmates are very interested in knowing when you plan to propose?”

Alastor leans back in his chair, bringing his mic with him “What did you tell me? Good things come to those who wait, my dear,”

Opening night was magic. Right before going onstage, she felt her nerves almost get the better of her. However, the moment she stepped out into those lights, it felt as though her body moved on its own, the lines, the songs, the dancing, her mind was no longer in control, it was her soul. She knew that this was what she was meant to do. Her entire family has front-row seats, as well as May and Alastor, as he’d promised. And when the show had ended she felt as though she’d just blinked and just like that it was over. Standing ovation and all. 

Sitting in her dressing room, staring at herself in the mirror she heard the door open.

“Knock knock!” said her father as he entered

She stands to greet her parent and little sister

“Congratulations!”

“You were so amazing!!”

She was so long lost in the whirlwind of love and praise from her family that she didn’t even notice Alastor walk in with a large bouquet for her until Brynn called out his name.

“Alastor?” she called

Vera turns away from her parents and runs to him, embracing him in a hug.

“Did you like it?”

“It was a masterpiece, my dear, you were immaculate,”

She blushes “Oh you,” she waves him off as she takes the bouquet and places it by her mirror. She hugs him, staring up into his eyes and he stares down into hers, when a bright flash goes off in their faces.

“Mr. Baudelaire, Miss Bates! When are you tying the knot?”

“Are you still planning on marrying??!”

Vera pulls away, pushing hair out of her eyes “I’m not sure. I guess that’s up to Mr. Baudelaire,” she laughs, hugging herself

“Well, it seems he’s already decided!” 

Vera seems confused “What?” she laughs and questions as the flashes go off over and over again. She takes a moment to stop and slowly turns around to see Alastor’s Chesire grin as he knelt on the ground on one knee. 

She covers her mouth and screams, the flashes going crazy behind them, but they don’t matter at all at this moment. Nothing but the two of them mattered when he slipped that ring on her finger, laughing at her reaction all the while. Hugging her stiff body while she stares at the ring in shock. The flash goes off over and over as he kisses her cheek.

Even Cassius is shocked and holds Brynn by her shoulders, but even he can’t find any fault with this beautiful moment.

Alastor whispers in her ear “This is something special,”

______________________________________________________

After the opening night, Vera decided to ditch the party and sit by the river with her new fiancé and watch the moon rise in the night sky. 

  “Wow, this truly is something special,” Vera says in hushed wonder “It’s so beautiful,”

“Not as beautiful as you,” Alastor chimes in

She playfully shoves him “Ugh you are such a dope.”

“Mhmm,” He agrees lying her down on the grass and climbing on top of her

“Alastor!” she whispers

“Hmm?” He says planting small kisses on her lips. She cannot resist these kisses.

She tries speaking between each kiss, “Alastor!” she manages to get out his name once more

“Yes..?” he goes down to her neck to let her speak

“I… uh, umm…” she tries to remember what she was going to say between moans of pleasure “What-w-what. Oh! What if someone sees?” She warns him

He lifts his head “We’re engaged now, what does it matter?” he goes back to kissing her neck

“Oh, umm…” she bites her lip “I guess you’re right.”

“You know I am baby,” he kisses her lips once more, trapping her in bliss under the beautiful night sky.

His hands travel up from her waist to the buttons of her blouse, undoing them expertly. 

“What are you doing?” she questions him

Alastor doesn’t answer, but slowly inserts his hand inside her blouse and under her bra, beginning to rub the sensitive nub in the center of her breast.

“Alastor!” She sits up, pulling her blouse together to cover herself “We are outside! In public!”

Alastor seems very hypnotized by lust “So?” he says shrugging, a constant lazy grin on his face

“Ugh!” she groans “So…I do not want to be caught with my tits out!”

“Like I said, we’re engaged,”

“That wouldn’t matter if my bubs were all on display for everyone to see!”

That grin does not waver “Not everyone, just me,” he leans forward, kissing her again and reaching back into her blouse

“Ugh!” she groans, slapping his hand away

He finally looks annoyed “If you can tell me that you seriously don’t like it, I will stop,”

Her eyes dart away from his face “I-“

“No,” he stops her “Look at me,”

She swallows some air “I….” 

Alastor raises his eyebrows in anticipation.

“Keep going,” she wraps her arms around him and his grin returns

“That’s” he drags his tongue up her neck at a snail’s pace “What I thought,” reaching inside her blouse once more to rub her hard nipples with his cool fingers, making them harden even more. “Mmmmm,” he hums, pulling her breast out of her shirt and placing it in his mouth

She gasps “Alastor!”

He turns his eyes up at her and drops her breast from his mouth “Baby, I know you love saying my name, and I do so love hearing it,” he flashes a smile “But you don’t have to pretend that you don’t like it. There’s no one around. I promise if you actually don’t like what I’m doing just say so. I will stop,” he kisses her nipple “All right?”

She stares up at him as she lies in the grass. His loose curls fall over his smooth warm beige skin. He was so beautiful, especially on top of her. She takes his glasses off and puts them to the side. “All right,” she smiles sheepishly as he removes hers. 

“Lovely,” he states trailing his thick, long tongue around the bud

“Uhhh,” Vera lets out a high-pitched whine as he flicks one bud with his tongue, and the other with his fingers, pulling the other breast out of her blouse. He starts sucking on the other breast, leaving the initial one exposed. The night air hits the saliva he left on her nipple, intensifying the cool feeling on it.

He switches back and forth between her breasts, then pulls them together to suck on them at the same time. 

“Fuck!” It slips out of Vera’s mouth before she realizes it. She blushes and covers her lips in embarrassment. Alastor moves her hand away. 

“Say it,” he growls “Say ‘fuck’ baby,”

“Fuck,” Vera moans as Alastor expertly twists her nipple in his thin fingers

“Say it again,” he commands

“Fuck!” She breathes out louder

“Now say my name,” he orders, pulling said nipple

“Alastor,” she breathes out “Fuck Alastor!”

He pulls her so she’s sitting upright on his lap, both of their cores aching under their clothes. His bulge is obvious, and her heat soaks through her panties and tights, wetting his trousers as they meet, blocked by barriers of decency.

Alastor pulls Vera forward onto his bulge, making her gasp. 

“What is that?” She asks him

He furrows his brows in concentration and smirks “You don’t know what that is?”

She blushes “I do,” she looks away, “I just didn’t know it could get…hard like that,”

“It’s for you,” he jokes 

She looks back quickly “What?”

“I’m supposed to use it on you, but that I’ll save for later,” he bites her neck, then her bare breasts hanging outside of her blouse.

“Oh,” her blush deepens “A wedding present?” she jokes

Alastor throws his head back, his cackling turns into him sucking in air and letting his jaw drop as he stares at his intended, filled to the brim with lust. He pulls her back on forth on top of his twitching bulge, running between her clothed lips, making her moan into the night sky. Alastor returns his mouth to her nipple, sucking like he expected milk to come out. Vera’s moans turn gravelly as she stares down, meeting his eyes as he looks up with her breast still inside of his mouth. She begins grinding against him on her own, holding onto his shoulders like handlebars. She hugged and pressed his face against her breast, obsessed with the feeling on his lips around her nipple, grinding faster according to the pleasure she was feeling. 

“Yes…” she growls into his ear as she holds his head

Alastor’s eyes widen, and he’s surprised by her reactions, expecting something a bit more prude, however, he then remembers the woman that he was marrying. Her prudish nature was simply a facade that he saw through immediately, a mask that she insisted on wearing, but he was attracted to the woman underneath. Vera sucks in some air, her eyes lidding as she stares down, not paying attention to anything but the man hanging onto her breast. She wants nothing else but him. 

“Yes…mmm…fuck, switch to the other one,” she orders him

Alastor’s cock jumps in his trousers hearing her take charge as he does what she tells him. Rocking her back and forth as she grinds onto him.

“Mmmm…yes!” she shuts her eyes, holding him as tight as possible as he juts up into her. The cool, night air does nothing to stop them as Alastor feels the tension rising in his cock and Vera feels the knot tightening in her core. She grinds into his bulge once more, slower this time, to feel every inch of his throbbing clothed cock, dragging her juices all over him in the process. At the same time Alastor thrusts up into her clothed core faster and faster, his trousers being wettened by the dewy grass and her clothed cunt, Alastor automatically knowing which one he liked better. They ride this pleasure out together as they both release, creating wet spots over their respective garments, all done within the light of the New Orleans moon.

She pulls him off her nipple and up to her face, hands on both sides of his head, she kisses him. 

“You….” Vera breathes heavily into Alastor’s mouth, their noses touching and his arms still holding her in place “Better go through with marrying me,” she threatens

“Oh I am,” he grins wickedly, staring up at her, and pulling her closer, giving her a lick on her neck that has them both grinning like crazy. They kiss as if they may never see each other again.

_______________________________________________

“What do we think indoor or outdoor?”

“I think indoors would be nice,”

“Flowers?”

“Azaleas of course,”

“And what about theme?”

“Why are you asking me everything this is his wedding too,”

Daphne grabs her daughter’s shoulder “Sweetheart, everyone knows that the wedding is all for the bride. The groom is just lucky to be marrying such a beautiful woman at all. So what do you want?”

Vera puts her finger to her lips “I want Alastor to help me plan it,”

“You don’t need Alastor, weddings are a woman’s event,”

She purses her lips “It’s a lot to do on my own,”

“That’s why you have me and Brynn. We’re women, here to help.” she puts her hands on her daughter’s shoulders “I remember my wedding, it was the most beautiful day of my life up until that point, and I had to do the planning all by myself because my mother hated that I was marrying up,” she pushes hair behind her ear

“Father didn’t help you at all?”

Daphne laughs “I told you, a wedding is a woman’s event,”

Vera looks off past her mother when Alastor comes into the room “Oh I apologize, is this a bad time?”

“Well Alastor, we are planning your wedding to my daughter,” Daphne says looking down

Vera smiles “Hi,” she waves

Alastor smiles softly “Hello my dear,” he holds up an envelope “I happened to catch the mail as I walked up. It’s for you my, sweet,”

Vera skips over to him “Oh! Thank you, how sweet,”

She opens the letter and reads it while Alastor comes up behind her and kisses her on the hair. He wraps his arms around her waist “What is it, my dear?”

“It’s a letter from the producers of The Moon and the Stars…we’re being transferred to Broadway,” she looks up

Daphne gasps and runs over prying her daughter out of Alastor’s arms, she screams in excitement, while Vera doesn’t know how to react.

“What’s all the hubbub?” Cassius enters the room

“Vera’s going to be on Broadway!!”

“Well we can calm down with the screeching Daphne, let’s keep our manners,”

Daphne calms herself “You’re right, my apologies,”

“But that is exciting. Great job sweetie!” he hugs his older daughter and Brynn hugs her as well

“What does that mean about the wedding?” Brynn asks, breaking the moment

Alastor runs his hand through his hair “I was wondering the same thing,”

Cassius has a huge smile on his face when he says “Well, I suppose we’ll have to cancel it!”

“Well, it could just be moved…”

“Nonsense! Weddings should not be rushed, no need to do all that work for it to turn out low quality am I right sweetie?” They all look over at Vera “Vera?”

She snaps out of her daze and says “The Broadway run would start after the wedding, but right after.” She looks up “Only about a week,”

“No time for a honeymoon!” Daphne comments

“Well, thank God for that!” 

Vera looks toward her fiancé “Alastor?”

“Normally I’d say your husband comes first, but this is my daughter’s dream! You wouldn’t get in the way of her dream, would you?” Cassius grins mischievously 

Vera stares up at Alastor, waiting for his response “I don’t understand why anything has to change. We can have the wedding and Vera can attend the Broadway run of the musical after,”

“But who knows how long I’ll be gone,” 

“True as well!”

“I’m willing to sacrifice the honeymoon for you my dear,”

“Really?” her eyes light up

He strokes her cheek “Anything for you, dearest,”

Vera looks down at the letter once more “Then it’s settled! I’m going to Broadway!”

“Huzzah!”

Brynn speaks up from the couch “Has anyone heard about the New Orleans killer?” she asks unwrapping some chocolate and popping it into her mouth

They turn to her “What?”

“The New Orleans killer, people have been talking about it for quite some time. Have you not read the papers lately?”

“I thought that was a myth if I am honest,” Vera tells her

Brynn shakes her head “No, he is real. And no one can guess his motives. He has killed men, women, elderly. No one knows where he will strike next,” she smirks

Daphne scoffs “That’s it, no more morning papers for you. You bring this up now of all moments?”

The younger sister raises her eyebrow “I suppose it’s my turn to give her the heebie-jeebies,” she smiles at her sister

“If there’s a killer on the loose, perhaps we should postpone the wedding” Vera looks around, worried

“Looks like someone getting cold feet,” Cassius jokes

“She is right about there being a killer,” Alastor defends, turning to her and grabbing her hands “Vera, don’t you worry about a thing. I will make sure nothing happens to you and no one hurts you. I guarantee it.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll be fine, my dear.”

“That’s what you think,” Brynn eats another chocolate and Daphne takes the can from her.

“This is so exciting I can’t believe this is happening! Thank you for being so understanding,”

“Of course! We made a deal!”

Vera’s face falls slightly “Right, our deal,” she quickly changes the subject “How are you going to feel finally living on your own?”

“Well, I won’t be lonely. I’ll have you… and of course my mother,”

Vera’s thoughts stop like a record scratch “I’m sorry?”

“You and my mother,”

“You mean that your mother will always be in your heart?”

“No..well of course she will. But, she’ll be with me,”

Vera shakes her head in disbelief “Pardon me but, we are to be married,”

“Yes?”

“Which means we will have to complete the marital act,”

Alastor smirks “We can do that,”

“And you plan to have your mother with us?”

He shrugs “In a separate room of course,”

She shakes her head again and scoffs “No,”

Alastor furrows his brows “So my mother has to be alone?”

“Alastor we are about to be a married couple, surely your mother understands that,”

“Of course, but I can’t have her alone,”

“Why not?”

“Because she will be alone. She does not have a husband like your mother, or any other children. She only has me,”

“Have you considered that maybe she wants to be alone?”

“Why would she want that?”

“Because she’s had to live with you your entire life,”

He steps toward her “I’ve helped her my entire life. Why does this peeve you so?”

She lowers her voice “I am not comfortable with the idea of doing, husband and wife things, while your mother is in the other room,”

“She can be down the hall,”

“Alastor this is ridiculous,”

He gestures with his hands “I know that your family has money to keep them company, but the only things my mother and I had were each other,”

Vera drops the objects in her hands “No no no no no! This will not stand!”

“What would you like my mother to do alone? What if she needs help and I am not there?”

“Your mother is a grown woman, why do you think her incapable?”

“My mother has no one, you always have. All she has is me,”

“That does not answer my question, why do you think her incapable?”

“It confuses me on why this is such an issue for you,”

She slams her hands down “It is not the life I dreamed of with you!”

He doesn’t respond for a while then speaks up “I understand. But do you understand why this is necessary?” “I do not. I cannot,” she storms out of the room

When Alastor returns home, he hears voices inside which is abnormal. He enters the kitchen to see his mother sitting at the table across from his fianceé.

“Hello Alastor,” Vera greeted him

He looks around “What is going on?”

“What is going on is that I decided to visit your mother. And being the amazing woman that she is, we decided to compromise on her living with us, only to find out, that she had not heard anything of the sort whatsoever. Is that not strange, my dear?”

His eyes dart around, face turning warm “I-“ he takes a step backward “That is quite strange,”

Vera turns to May, “What do you think about it May?”

“I think you two will have a lovely time, by yourselves,”

“I agree, do you not Alastor?”

His face falls, not responding. His fianceé approaches him 

“Alastor, we are going to be fine,” she lowers her voice, touching his chest

“Vera baby, let me talk to him,” May touches the small of her back

Vera looks back at the mother in slight confusion “All right,” she says, touching Alastor’s face “I will see you later,” she tells him and she exits the house

May steps closer to her son “Alastor, I know that for a long time we’ve only had each other, but you’re about to become a husband. You cannot have me by your side forever,”

“I know,” Alastor throws himself into his mother’s arms “I will miss you,”

“I know. I will miss you as well. But I will be all right, and so will you. I will be here for you whether we live together or not”

Alastor doesn’t respond, but the sound of small sobs is all May needs to hear to hug her son tighter.

When Vera arrives home, Brynn is sitting in the living room reading. She sits down next to her and undoes her shoes.

“What are you reading?”

“The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” she says without looking up

Vera’s eyes widen “Really? You’re reading that by choice? I had to read it in school and it was oh so boring,”

“I find it quite interesting. I think it serves as a metaphor for the way women are treated in modern society,”

Vera thinks “How’s that?”

“Well, Dorothy was not believed despite having memories and proof of her adventures, just how women are not taken seriously in real life.”

Vera sits back and ponders her sister’s words. “Huh, you’re a real person,” she says

Brynn seems bewildered, she scoffs and laughs “Of course I am!”

“You don’t understand, I remember when you were just a baby. And all you knew how to say was mother and father. Now you have thoughts, opinions, and ideas.”

She shrugs “I grew up, and so did you,”

They sit in silence as Brynn continues to read.

“Do you want to know what I did today?” Vera asks, turning to her

“Sure,”

She props her chin up with her elbow “Well, today Alastor and I were discussing our house and he wanted his mother to live with us. I forbid it of course, and he couldn’t understand why it was so horrid of an idea. What I could not understand was why a grown man would want to live with his mother well into his 30s,”

Brynn doesn’t look up from the book “Well, it has only been just them two yes?”

“Yes?”

“Perhaps he will miss her?”

“Sure, but to do that?”

“I am sure he knows the idea is impractical, but surely he is speaking from emotion.” She puts the book down “Did you know that men can get emotional as well? I was flabbergasted when I heard of it. Father tried to shield me, but I heard it anyway.”

“Yes, it is something unknown to me,”

“Anyway aren’t you going to miss us?”

Vera thinks “I should not think so,”

Brynn blinks “I will miss you,”

“Pardon?”

“I will miss you. We will return to Harlem and you will be here. We will see you once a year at most. Hardly enough time to play,” 

“A lady does not play,” Vera speaks mockingly “Remember when Mother used to say that all the time?”

“And we would play anyway,” she puts down her book “Oh! Remember when Mother tried to convince us that sugar on top of a lemon was a delicious girl snack?”

Vera claps along with her laughter “Yes! And I took my allowance and we snuck out for ice cream?!”

They laugh together for a while until it fades into nothingness, Brynn leaning on her big sister’s shoulder. Vera realizes, in the silence

“We won’t be able to do that anymore,” Vera states monotonously

“Well perhaps not as often,” she hands her big sister a chocolate and unwraps one for herself

“Did you sneak these from mother’s room?”

Brynn nods “Yes,” and the sisters giggle together

As Vera eats the chocolate, she thinks some more, and the feeling she hadn’t understood finally clicks to her. “Then I suppose I will miss you,” she says, wrapping her arms around her little sister for the first time in a while.

“Okay,” Vera says sitting at Alastor’s kitchen table once more

“Vera? What are you-?”

“We may live in the next neighborhood over, where the houses are a bit bigger. I get more space, I get you to myself,” she walks up and puts her arms around his neck “You get to be near that hunting ground that you love so much, and you get to be near your mother.”

Alastor’s eyes widen 

“I understand now. She won’t live with us, but she will always be nearby if you want to see her.”

Alastor lowers his head and kisses his fianceé with the burning passion of a thousand suns.

__________________________________________________

Traditionally flower girls are very young, though Vera insisted on having her sister fill the role, as well as be a bridesmaid. And what a flower she made. Azaleas of every color all over purchased directly from the Fontenot garden, this wedding meant May could afford groceries for the next year. 

As for the actual wedding, Vera didn’t really remember, she knew she’d spent hours getting ready, including the time took to fit into her dress and do her makeup. She knew her father had walked her down the aisle and that Mimzy was in the audience. She knew the crowd grew quiet when she reached the altar, that the priest was saying something but she wasn’t focused on that. She mostly wanted to make sure she was standing right and that she didn’t pull her ears like she usually did when expected to stand still. She only came to attention when it came time for the vows, and that was when they had to look at each other.

"In the name of God, I, Alastor Fontenot take you, Vera Bates, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. And even after that!” He grins as the audience laughs “This is my solemn vow”

"In the name of God, I, Vera Bates take you, Alastor Fontenot to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow"

Vera grins back at him, giggling “And even after that!” She adds on

“Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife,”

“Of course I do!”

“Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

Alastor raises his brow as if this were a real question, Vera giggles while stating

“Indeed, I do,”

“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride,”

Alastor lifts the veil from her face and Vera instinctively looks away, blushing “Do not hide from me, my dear,” he turns her chin back to him, tilting it up and kissing her square on the lips as the crowd applauds.

And just like that she was Vera Fontenot, Alastor’s wife.

Vera wasn’t a party gal, but it was clear that Alastor was a party guy. She watched as he danced with everyone from his mom to her little sister, who she now thought was his little sister as well. He even danced with her mother, whose opinion of him definitely changed after she was taken on that whirlwind. Her husband really was quite the charmer. Vera on the other hand preferred to sit and only dance occasionally, but she let him have his fun. She thought about that word, husband. Alastor was now her husband, they were married and she was a wife. 

She was approached by a man that she knew through her father, one of the many men who had wanted to marry her before she entered her courtship with Alastor, James Richards was his name.

“Hello Vera,” he greeted her politely

“Hello James,” she responded, still enamored with her husband on the dance floor

“Funny seeing you here,”

“It is my wedding James,” she said

He nods “Ah yes, what a shame that is,”

She turns to him “Why is that?”

“Clearly your father set this marriage up between the two of you,”

She sits up “Actually my father was quite opposed, why did you assume it was arranged,”

“Because of the chemistry you and I so clearly share,”

“James, I did warn you to stay away from certain berries on your camping trips,” Camping was one of the big reasons she had turned him down amongst others

“I mean it Vera, we had something special, did we not?”

“We did not James, if we had, you would be the groom at this wedding would you not?”

He recoils at the venom in her words “Yes, instead you went screwy and married a mulatto,” 

Vera looks up at him, standing straight and backing up “Why would you say that?”

“I heard his father’s white and wants nothing to do with him or his mother, is that true?”

She scrunches her eyebrows “I don’t know what you’re talking about,”

“Oh come on! You have to know! You’re his wife!” he cackles “Right?!” 

Vera glances down at the glass in his hand, knowing that this situation could turn very dangerous for her very quickly “Please walk away James,”

“I don’t want to,”

She doesn’t look him in the eye “P-please,”

“I don’t want to!” he drops the glass on the ground, loud enough for the band to stop playing and the guests’ attention to turn to them. Cassius steps between her and James, while Alastor wraps his arms around Vera.

“There’s the mulatto himself ain’t he?” He cackles as he’s held back by Cassius and some of Vera’s cousins

Alastor’s arms wrap tightly around Vera and he makes eye contact with James, after which James smile drops instantly. Vera looks up to see the absolutely icy stare from her husband as James is dragged out. He looked down and asked, “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I am, just startled,”

He smiles “Well I know just the cure for that,” he holds out his hand for her to take and she does. He pulls her onto the dance floor for a nice slow dance, just was she loved.

“What?” She asks the man as he grins wildly 

“Oh nothing,” he says still looking down at her with a Cheshire grin that made her blush 

“Alastor,” she looks away, self-conscious under his piercing gaze. He turns her head back to him

“What are the odds that out of all the women in the world, I end up marrying the one star that shines brighter than me?” He raises his eyebrow, grin widening 

“Alastor! Oh my goodness!” He twirls her to the music “Ugh that smile!” She playfully hits his chest

“Get used to it be’be, because I will never stop smiling as long as you’re my wife,”

“Stop,” it’s almost too much for her to handle

He shakes his head “No,”

A house on the bayou is where they spent their wedding night and immediately were her husband’s hands on her.

She bites her lip “Yes baby,” she moans “touch me like that,”

“What do you want doll?”

“I want my husband to touch me,” she spoke, her eyes lidded

Alastor yanks off her gloves with his teeth and throws them to the side as she giggles 

“I want to feel my wife’s bare hands on my skin.”

“Why are you always trying to undress me?” She asked with a hint of teasing. 

“I’m dying to see what’s underneath,” he presses his lips together harder

“All of those interesting people you met in LA, right? Why would you want to be here with me?” He speaks into her neck while kissing it

Vera pushes him back to look at him “Alastor, are you jealous?” she looks quite confused

“No, I just-“

“Don’t be jealous baby,” her smile turns sultry “I’m here with you,” she pulls back down, catching his lips with hers “And I didn’t marry anyone in LA, I married you. You’re my husband, Besides, you’re a star” she whispers in his ear

“Mmm, my bèl.” he hums into her throat

When he goes to remove her tights she snaps her knees shut, he looks up at her confused

“I thought about something,”

Alastor sits back “Yes?”

“I don’t want to give you my body and then leave right after, you know? Maybe we should wait until I get back?” she offers

“Who knows when that will be?”

She pleads with him using her eyes.

“Alright, what would you like to do then?” he asked her

Vera blushes and chews her lip “Well, I can think of one thing, but you have to take your gloves off,”

Alastor rips his gloves off with his teeth, so eager at the chance to touch his wife, she giggles. Vera stands and turns her back to him

“Could you take this off me?” she looks at him over her shoulder

Alastor zooms to undo the fastenings and when the dress hits the floor, Vera turns to stare him in the eye, as she removes her shoes, her tights, and panties all in that order. She stares him in the eye as he sweats, her daring him with her eyes to look down at her bare cunt. She strolls over to him, removing his blazer, shirt, and tie. She takes the tie for herself.

“I would like to try something,” she bites her finger

“Anything,”

“I want to lay on the couch and you use your fingers on me,” she pulls out his tie “While pulling this around my neck at the same time,” she looks back up at him, “Is that okay?” 

Alastor nods quickly and clears off the couch and she giggles as she lays down,”

Vera places her left ankle on Alastor’s shoulder and her right by his torso, leaving her legs spread for him to enter. Her lips already glistening with slick. Alastor stares at her pussy in awe. Reverently he drags a finger from the bottom of her entrance to the tip of her clitoral hood. He does that again and again with his thumb, gathering enough slick before grabbing his tie that she’d tied around her own throat and pulling slightly, not a lot but enough to create a slight tightness. Alastor slips one finger inside of her cunt, very quickly and easily as she had already been warmed up. Vera moans, short and low, arching her back from the sensation of the finger opening and gracing her warm, wet walls. He pulls the finger out slowly and reenters it at the same speed, getting the same reaction from her. Cautiously, Alastor entered another finger, remembering that she had said ‘fingers’. Index and middle fingers drowning in her warm waters as she squeaked sweet little cries. She gripped his wrist, gasping

“Faster,”

Alastor pumps his index and middle finger at a quickening pace, using his thumb to rub her clitoris in small sweet circles. She pulls at his left hand to make him pull the tie tighter and he does, constricting her breath that much more. Alastor watches as his fingers disappear inside her wet cunt, hearing the delicious squelching made him slip another finger inside, eliciting louder and more guttural moans from Vera. Suddenly he had to contend with the tent in his pants just from seeing feeling her wetness and twitching pussy. Now he was thrusting with his entire hand, holding her clitoris like a button forcing out choked, helpless, filthy moans from her mouth.

“Alastor,” her breath barely allowed her to say

Faster his hand pumps so much so that the couch begins shaking. Alastor could feel himself reaching climax simply from watching her, how gorgeous she was, even covered in sweat. The twitching inside her pussy became much more intense as she grabs his left hand, displaying their wedding bands side by side, reminding him that she was his and his alone, this itself was enough to coax the wetness into his trousers

“Alastor, make me cum, make me-FUCK!”

“Yes baby yes,” he climbs on top of her his fingers continuing God’s work, “Who am I, baby? Who am I to you?”

“My husband! FUCK!!” just hearing that made him hard once again, the golden rings shining in the light 

Alastor kisses her throat and chest “I want you to cum for me,”

“I want to cum for you,” she holds on, squeezing his wrist “I-oh fuck!” she whispers 

“Just let go,” he coaxes her

“I-I-“

“Don’t think, just let it happen, baby. You can do it,”

Vera closes her eyes and pulls her lips in to focus, creaming all over his fingers in the next second with a hoarse, strangled, whine coming with it.

“Yes that’s it, baby, let it out. Oh, you’re such a good girl,”

Her body jerks before collapsing onto the couch. A blush rises up her neck when Alastor releases her, tasting her juices on his hand.

“Thank you,” she gasps out

“No, thank you,” Alastor licks off his fingers as Vera laughs

At dead of night, not very far from where the reception was held, James had sobered up and went out for a smoke, rethinking his actions at the wedding reception. He didn’t know that this would be his last smoke. He especially didn’t know that as he faced the river a knife would stab him from behind and be dragged up along his spine while he was still conscious. He had no clue that a boot would hit his back, knocking him to the ground, where he would get stomped and stabbed in the neck once for good measure. Good thing he didn’t have a wife or child to mourn him. And he had no clue that the person who did it would take his last few minutes of life to whisper in his ear.

“Price to pay for being right James,”

No, he had no clue. 

_______________________________________

“Everyone, I have some awful depressing news.” Vera heard Alastor’s voice on the radio from the car she rode in “You all know my wife, Miss Vera Bates? She is leaving me for New York City!”

The driver could tell she was listening and turned up the volume “Miss Bates just finished up a successful run of a brand new musical, titled The Moon and the Stars, fittingly enough, considering that’s what she is to me.”

Vera can’t stop herself from smiling and looks out the window to hide it. The driver can see her and smiles a little himself.

“The show was so successful, that it is making a transfer to Broadway! In which Miss Bates will reprise her role as the lead, Sunshine! And shall be staying there for an indefinite period of time, which means she won’t be here with me!” The driver glances back toward his passenger, smiling some more.  “Now I must say that I am happy for Miss Bates, but oh so sad for myself! I will miss you mon amour!”

The driver peeks one more time in the rearview mirror, seeing Vera biting her lip to keep from laughing “That Vera Bates is a lucky gal,” he says, his eyes returning to the road

“Yes.” Vera smiles wide “Indeed she is.”

[sl-newsie]

A Clean Slate (Balkan x OC)

I also have a request. Balkan x OC. Idc what happens in it, I just need him!

Another sunny day. Too bad I have to spend it working indoors.

“God I hate this place,” Rita groans from across the shop. “I can’t wait to get outta here!”

“Calm down, mi querida!” Valentina assures her. “You may not like it here, but some of us had to work hard to get here!” 

My coworker goes on complaining while I zone out and scrub the counter. Rita’s always complaining because of her position in the Jet gang. Apparently the Jets are a big deal, but I’ve never personally met them because I just moved from Brooklyn. My father’s in the police force and he transferred to the West Side, which meant I had to wipe a clean slate and start over with making friends. Turns out the goils of the West Side ain’t so friendly and instead of being social I’ve decided on keeping a steady job during summer vacation. Doc’s is the perfect place because Valentina needs all the help she can get.

I hear the door bangs open and a man wearing jeans and a white tank top steps in.

“Ey, Rita! Ya done woirk’n yet? We’s got business in ‘Hattan to deal with!” 

“Alright, alright.” Rita follows the brute out, strangely looking more bored than before.

Time slips by, only providing us with a few customers, and before I know it it’s already 5:30.

“Time to clock out, Lottie.” Valentina walks out from the back room holding the keys. “Don’t worry about the clean up. Tony’s stopping by to mop. Buenas noches!”

“Good night, Valentina.” I grab my purse and head into the cool summer night. The sun hasn’t set yet and a gorgeous collage of orange and pink spreads across the sky. I clutch my purse close and begin the walk home-

“Hey! Runaway coin!”

The clinking sound of metal draws my attention to a silver-colored coin rolling down the sidewalk. It nearly reaches the sewer until I step on it with my blue heel.

“Much obliged, doll!” A man jogs up from behind and kneels down to look for his coin. “Um, where’d it go?”

“Oh, sorry.” I lift up my foot to reveal the gleaming coin. “Here it is.”

The man keeps his face down as he retrieves his possession. What I don’t expect is for him to lean down to kiss my foot.

“Excuse me?” I jerk away. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Now the man stands up and I can see him. He’s wearing an olive-green shirt with the sleeves rolled up under a blue vest, along with dark jeans and sneakers. At first I think he’s too bizarre to trust, however the thankful expression on his face makes me reconsider.

“Sorry, doll. ‘S just that this coin means everything to me. Guess I overreacted.” He holds out a hand and we both shake, causing my heart to respond by racing much too fast than I’d like it to.

“You ain’t from here, are ya? I’d remember you if you were.”

I shyly shake my head and fidget with my purse. “No, I just moved from Brooklyn.”

“Brooklyn, eh? Well then let me be gentlemanly enough to officially welcome you to the West Side!” He gives me a quick salut. “Name’s Balkan, from the Jets.”

My breath catches and I step away. “Jets? That’s the gang everyone talks about. I heard some people were almost killed in a fight last month.”

Balkan pockets his coin and holds up a steady hand, eyeing me with a calm demeanor.

“Yeah, there were a few close calls. But that was before the peace agreement. You got nothing to worry about.”

I want to believe him, but my father’s teachings are spinning through my head.

“My father’s a police officer. If you do anything to me, he will find you.”

There’s a noticeable spark in Balkan’s eyes, something that imitates fear. But it only lasts a split-second. He steps a few feet back and holds his hands out for me to see.

“I’m unarmed, I swear. I don’t want you to feel unsafe. What’s your name?”

He knows his law procedures. This is how dad says criminals are supposed to stand when they’re arrested. Has he ever been arrested? Calm down, Lottie. He asked a decent question. 

“I’m Lottie.” My voice shakes a little. “Nice to meet you, Balkan.”

Balkan nods respectfully. “That’s a pretty name. If you want you can call me Marcus. That’s my real name, Marcus Jackson.”

I’ll have dad run a background check on him later.

“Since you’re new, would you want me to show you around?”

Keep calm, relax. He’s just being friendly.

“Um, maybe some other time? During the day?”

It’s strange how Balkan isn’t getting annoyed by my paranoid behavior. He’s been nothing but respectful, which is something I don’t expect from a gang member.

“I get that. Is your home nearby? I wanna make sure you get there safely.”

I inch further away towards the direction of home. “I’d rather not have you know where I live, if you don’t mind. Now if you’ll excuse me.”

Taking a deep breath, I swiftly walk past the now-stuttering Jet.

“What’s it gonna take for you to trust me?”

I keep walking. “In Brooklyn I learned to trust nobody. People are disappointing, they will take what they want and spread lies when they’re through with you.”

Now Balkan is walking to keep up. “I’m sorry that happened, but not everyone is like that. It doesn’t have to be too serious. I’ll start.” He clears his throat. “Hello, my name is Marcus. I come from a broken family because my own father left when I was 5. I met the Jet leaders Tony and Riff a few years ago, and since then I've become one-a the Jets’ best fighters. I know that sounds whacky to you, but to me the Jets are my family.”

His sad background sounds like lots of the cases dad talks about at home. He says delinquents are unpredictable. But this is the first time I’ve heard the other side of the story.

I stop walking and look at Marcus with a different perspective. “I’m sorry you’ve had to go through that. We both have conflicted pasts, but that shouldn’t define the future. Would you, um, still be willing to walk me home?”

Dad’s going to kill me.

Marcus grins in delight and offers an arm. More gentleman than delinquent. “I’d luv to, Lottie.”

I take his arm and we resume walking. Another trait that surprises me is his smell. It’s mint. Like a fresh peppermint pattie.

“Why is your coin important to you?” Just keeping up the conversation.

“It was my old man’s. He gave it to me before he left, said a million-dollar fortune could be made out of a single coin.” Marcus shakes his head and laughs. “Some fortune now, huh?”

His unfaltering optimism is something to admire. “What is it you plan to do for a living after school?”

“Dunno, maybe something with mechanics. I’m pretty good with building things. Have you met Jackie yet?”

The name brings no familiarity. “No?”

“She works with me in the shop. Jackie’s Velma’s little sister.”

I grit my teeth. “I do know Velma. Her and Grazie are… interesting.”

Marcus chuckles. “Yeah, they can be a handful. Jackie ain't like that, though. She’s nice.”

I give him a questioning look. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you’re new here and I can tell you’s looking for friends. Am I right?”

Ok this guy’s growing on me. First he offers to take me home, now he’s taken interest in helping me fit in.

“Y-Yeah. I’m not too good at finding friends. Thank you.”

“No problem.” We turn the block and start walking down my street. “So what’s your plans for after school?”

I don’t wanna lie, but I feel that my planned career will make him feel embarrassed.

“Um, I’m looking into being a professor of anatomy.”

Marcus’ head swings to look at me with wild eyes. Here it comes. Go ahead, make fun of the weird, nerdy outcast newcomer-

“That’s amazing!”

What?

I stare at him. “You’re not upset?”

Balkan repeatedly shakes his head, still smiling. “Why would I be? That’s a top-notch job! You must be one smart cookie, Lottie!”

I slowly realize that my brain isn’t going to get me mocked. “Thank you! Normally people hear that and think it’s crazy for a woman to be teaching at a university.” I bite my lip. “That’s- that’s actually part of the rumors I had back in Brooklyn. The girls used to say I was less feminine for wanting to take up a man’s job.”

Balkan stops walking and puts a hand on my shoulder. Earlier my instincts would’ve been to kick his crotch and run, but now I’m not afraid anymore.

“Those bitches don’t know what they’re saying. They’s jealous because you’s smarter than them, Lottie. Being smart don’t mean you’s less feminine. In fact, lots-a guys admire a goil with brains.” A smile grows on his face. “I know ‘cause I’m one-a them.”

Oh God. Steady, Lottie. But it’s no use. The walls I’ve built to keep people out are cracking. How has this man been able to make me feel special when he literally just met me?

“Who are you, Marcus Jackson?” I whisper. “You show up chasing a coin, a complete stranger. And now you treat me like an actual person.” My body reacts by giving him a soft hug, one that Marcus accepts gently.

“You’s a real nice goil, Lottie. Anyone should treat you like one.” I hear him sigh. “I’m probably gonna get killed for this.”  Before I can ask Marcus pulls away and looks down at me with soft eyes. “Lottie, would you maybe wanna go out with me sometime? It don’t have to be much, just- Maybe as friends?”

It’s a good thing Marcus is still holding me because if he wasn’t I’d be crumbling to the floor.

“You mean that? An actual date?” I can’t hide my excitement. “No one’s ever asked before. Are you sure?”

The Jet boy’s eyes widen. “Yes! Yes, a thousand times yes!”

Through my sudden happiness I feel tears beginning to form. “I’d luv to, Marcus. But first-” I give a small laugh. “You should probably meet my parents first.”

He doesn’t even flinch. “Absolutely!”

“Good! Because… This is me.” I point to the door of the small house we’re standing in front of.

“Nice place,” the Jet compliments.

“Thank you. Would you like to come in? Dad won’t be home for another hour but I can ask if you can stay for dinner.”

Marcus looks as if I’d just offered him a million dollars. “Um, yeah! I mean, if it’s alright with your folks- Am I dressed well enough?”

I can’t help but laugh at his adorable statement. “You’re fine, Marcus.” Taking his hand, I lead him to the front door and lead him deeper into my life.

“Mother! I’m home! I brought some company.”

“Hello, dear!” Mother comes bustling from the kitchen. When she sees Balkan she freezes and her eyes narrow. “Lottie, who is this man?” she asks in a stern voice.

I give Marcus’ hand a squeeze. “Mother, this is Marcus. He walked me home from work.”

The Jet sets himself in a respectful stance. “Good evening, ma’am. I just wanted to make sure your daughter got home safe. I meant no disrespect.”

“Could he stay for dinner?” I ask hopefully.

Mother stews over my words with a conflicted expression. “Could I talk with you for a moment? Your friend can wait outside.”

That’s not exactly a no. Balkan doesn’t seem to mind because he gives a nod and walks back out without question. Once he’s gone, mother rushes over to put her hands on my shoulders.

“Sweetie, I am so happy you are trying to socialize. But is that boy the kind of crowd you think is right to be around?”

My confidence doesn’t slip. “I didn’t trust him either, but Marcus is a good man even if he is part of the Jets. You know how hard I’ve had it trying to find friends, mom. Well, Marcus and I are both starting with a clean slate. He’s not like the criminals dad deals with.”

Mother lets out a deep sigh. “Your father may not be happy at first.”

“I know. But please at least let him stay for dinner? Give him a chance for you to warm up to him.”

I think my goose is cooked. My parents have always been strict, and someone like Balkan isn’t exactly the prime example of dinner company-

“Very well, he can stay.” Mother’s worried look changes to a smile. “We’ve raised you well enough to have good judgment. I’m sure this young man is quite catching enough for you to bring him home. You’re growing up so fast, Lottie!” She gives me one last squeeze. “Alright, let him in.”

Feeling full of giddy hope I rush back to the door and open it to find an anxious-looking Balkan.

“My mother passed her blessing for you to join us! Come right in.”

Marcus looks like I just hung the moon. “O-Ok!”

I show him to the dining room and we both help set the table. Mother keeps a watchful eye as she brings out dishes of chicken and potatoes, but relaxes after she starts to see Marcus isn’t a threat.

“We usually eat before dad gets home,” I explain as we sit down. “Sometimes he gets overbooked with paperwork and doesn’t want us waiting too long.” I lean in and whisper: “You’ve met my mom, now you just need to survive my dad.”

Balkan’s face freezes in a look of new-found terror, but mother just laughs.

“I’ll talk him into it,” she assures. “Your father may be the head of the house, but the mother is the neck. And she can turn the head any way she wants.”

Marcus and I grab hands under the table, and for once in my life I’m glad we moved from Brooklyn. This new start is refreshing for both me and Marcus, one that I hope will lead to something special.

(Sneaked in a My Big Fat Greek Wedding reference!)