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pur-pled-aw-thor · 4 years

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Same House, Different Sides

Draco Malfoy x Slytherin!Reader(F)

Summary: Being friends with the Golden Trio has its perks and of course cons. Plus being in Slytherin means someone is against you or not.

W.C: 3.7k

Warning/s: bullying, mentions of blood, mentions of self-harm, a loved one passing away..(if I miss any or got something wrong correct me, I'm willing to learn.)

A/n: this story mentions self-harm and please, if you are thinking about it, don't. Your skin is beautiful, so beautiful that it doesn't need any scars. If you need to vent out my inbox is open, have a wonderful weekend! <3

Y/n’s POV

“Oi Y/l/n! I see you’re with Weaslebee, Mudblood, and Potter again!” I heard someone yelling behind us and I walked faster. The three caught up with my speed but he was faster. He went beside me, almost in front of me, and grabbed my arm.

“I’m talking to you, traitor!” He said and I shoved him off, “Stop it Malfoy! Can you just shut up for a day?! That would be helpful!” I shouted at him and continued to walk away, I didn’t look back or waited for the trio or an answer from Malfoy, I just wanted to go to our last class.

Defense Against the Dark Arts

I entered the room and sat in front. I aggressively took out my book and turned to the lesson we have today. The trio entered the room and sat beside me, while Malfoy and his posse sat behind us. I was about to move tables but Hermione held my arm and looked past me nodding. I looked beside me and the boys smiled.

“What is it you three?” I asked, “If anything more happens, we’ll beat him to a pulp.” Hermione whispered and I giggled. I tried to look behind us without suspicions and saw Malfoy and his goons talking too.

The pink frog lady came in and the room became quiet. Hermione and I exchanged looks and exhaled. She started talking more and more about basic spells and I started to doze off. Hermione nudged me and I came back to Earth.

“I hate this class, ever since she taught it.” I whispered and Hermione just shrugged her shoulders saying she’s also tired with the same spells being taught to us, “At least we get to do other spells after.” She said a hint of mischief in her tone. I smirked and made that into my inspiration.

We know something others don’t.

“Come on, Y/n! Hurry up!” I heard Ginny at the end of the hall and I started running. But before I reached the end, a person came out of nowhere and I groaned knowing who it is.

“Where are you going, traitor?” “None of your business, Malfoy,” I said passing by him, pushing him. “It’s my business you know!” He yelled and I stopped in my tracks. I let out a laugh and slowly turned towards him.

“How dare you say that. Who are you to ask my business?” He took steps so he was behind me to block my way, “I’m a member of the Inquisitorial Squad, and I’m here to make sure you won’t lose us house points. You’re not even helping make more house points if I might add.” He said crossing his arms, I rolled my eyes and walked past him. He grabbed me by my arm and I shoved him, harder than earlier.

“Can you just, go away and leave me alone!” I yelled and he was taken back, “Please.” I added this is the first time I shouted at someone that shocked the person. Everyone is used to my caring and loveable nature. They’re used to my bravery at standing up to Malfoy but no one ever knew I can yell at him.

Especially if it is because of anger.

“Y-y/n, I’m so-“ “What?! You’re sorry now?! Sorry, can’t fix 5 years of your bullying! Sorry, can’t fix your attitude! Sorry. Can’t. Fix. Anything!” I exclaimed, stepping towards him at every word but he backs away. When I made sure his back is against the wall, I started walking- no- running away. Tears brimming, breath shallowing, and mind fuzzing. Every step of the run made it seem it was my last.

I reached the room and noticed the others are lined up, Hermione and Ron in the middle, “Come on, Y/n! They’re about to duel!” I heard Ginny say and I dropped my bag, got my wand, and wiped away a tear.

The whole room was silent but it was dismissed by Hermione’s cast, “Stupefy!” I cheered and went to Hermione. Ron stood up and went to the twins, they’re looking at him not believing what he said.

We continued training and It got my mind to forget whatever happened before I got here, I stood aside and rest for a while. Looking around, seeing other students from different houses gather up to learn how to fight, made me realize we’re all fighting for the same reason. I smiled at them and went to Hermione, “’Mione, I think I need to rest for today. Tell Harry I’ll make sure I know the other spells next meeting.” I said and she looked at me like she knows something’s up but just nodded.

I got my bag and carefully opened the door, looking side to side to see if anyone was around. When the coast was clear I walked out and went to the library. ‘I know Malfoy won’t disturb me there.’ I thought and I turned a corner and entered the library. Madame Pince smiled at me and I went to my spot. Took out my essay and started it.

I got to the part where I can’t add more to it so I stood up and went to get more books for references. I got to the last shelves and saw the book but I heard someone talking, I know eavesdropping is bad but they’re talking about Harry so I can’t help it.

“I know Potter is hiding something and one of our own is joining him. I need to know.” “You want to know because she’s always with him or just to spite him?” I lost my focus to go back to my essay and leaned back on the shelves.

“I’m guessing you’re jealous.” One of them said and the first voice started babbling. “W-what n-no, why would I be jealous of Potter?” He said trying to fix his statement but failed. “Come on, don’t tell me you’re denying it.” The second voice said and the first one got irritated. “We saw you staring at the back of her head every time we sit behind them.” “That’s because her big head is blocking the way!” “Shhh!” we heard Madame Pince from the other side of the library and they hushed down.

“Here’s another one, you keep on teasing her and grabbing her if she’s ignoring you.” “Indicating you want her attention.” “And if you keep on denying, it will just go on forever, making you miserable for not saying a word.” The two exchanged lines and I realized something one of them said.

“If you both are saying I like traitor, keep wishing.” I turned around fast enough to push a few books off the shelves and dropping at the other side. I dropped the book and ran outside the library and towards the common room. I entered the room I share with the others and noticed they aren’t there. I sat down behind the door and locked it.

“I shouldn’t have eavesdropped,” I said and I hugged my knees trying to comfort myself.

“You shouldn’t be eavesdropping, Y/n!” “Calm down, Arteus.” “No, Mom! She’s been eavesdropping and you’re protecting her?” “She’s just a kid, Arteus.” “That’s what you always said to me, Father! But you still disciplined me! And why can’t I discipline her?” “That’s it! Arteus Y/l/n, you get out of this house and stay with your Aunt!” “No! I’m the heir!” the mood in the room is turning gloomy that smiling would be deemed inappropriate.

“You are just adopted! Your Last name is Lynn, your father was a mudbood and we just got you for the sake of our name! Now, I regret that decision. You are not allowed to use Y/l/n anymore!” the silence was deadly. Arteus stood up and walked away.

“Arteus, I’m so-“ “Sorry? Y/n, sorry can’t fix anything! Sorry, can’t clean up this mess. Because of you, this family is ruined!” “Get out Arteus!” Father is pointing his wand towards Arteus and he just laughed. “Sorry and lies? This family is nuts.” “Avada Kedavra!” “No! Arteus!” I ran towards his lifeless body and father walked away. Mother made me stand up and hugged me.

I heard someone knock on the door and I unlocked it letting one of my roommates in. I wiped the tear that was rolling down my cheek and sat down on my bed, “Have you finished the essay, Y/n?” she asked and I forgot my satchel and essay back at the library. “Oh, Merlin.” “What, what is it?” “I forgot my stuff back at the library,” I said and she’s confused.

“I was in a hurry,” I said scratching the back of my head. She looked at me and she knows something’s up. “I’ll just, get it. Wait for me?” “Yeah, sure hurry up, Y/n!” I heard her yell after me and I was already exiting the common room.

I ran towards the library but carefully went inside. I went to the table but it was gone. I asked Madame Pince and she said she never saw my stuff, I nodded and walked back towards the common rooms but I bumped into my roommate and she has my essay.

“There you are, somebody brought your stuff and I got your essay! This girl keeps on running off away from me.” I ran up the stairs and saw my satchel at the foot of my bed. ‘Guess she placed it inside.’ I looked inside if anything was missing but its complete. I placed it on my chair and sighed.

“Just think of a happy memory, any happy memory,” I said to myself and saw the other’s patronuses frolicking around. “What’s troubling you, Y/n?” I heard Luna’s voice and I smiled at her. “It’s hard for me to think of a happy memory, ‘cause you know,” I said pointing at my sweater and she tilted her head in confusion.

“You are still capable of having a happy memory, you just need to focus on the memory, not your house.” She said and I nodded. I closed my eyes and remembered every memory I have, with the trio, Ginny, the Twins… Arteus. I opened my eyes and cast my Patronus. It frolicked around with the others, I smiled and I felt a tear slide down. I immediately wiped it away and smiled harder.

‘I miss you Arteus.’ I lowered my wand and I felt a quake. I thought it was just me but everyone stopped what they were doing. We felt it again but this time the chandeliers are shaking. I went up front and it quaked again, stronger. Stronger that the glass shattered and the Twins raised their wand and I did too. Harry went closer and closer until there was a hole on the wall. I came closer to the hole and I heard her voice.

“I’ll make short work of this.” She raised her wand again, I pulled Harry and he pulled Creevey away from the hole, “Bombarda Maxima.” A huge explosion happened and it was a good thing we got out of the way. An enormous hole took over and we saw Umbridge, Filch, the Inquisitorial Squad, and Malfoy dragging Cho.

The others stared at Umbridge and Cho, while Malfoy and I stared at each other. He was shocked that I’m a part of this but my stare at him is anger, pure anger. I clenched my hands into fists that I forgot I’m still holding my wand, Luna noticed this and she tried to open my hands and she succeeded in opening the one with my wand, she took it and looked at it.

“Y/n, your hand is bleeding.” She whispered and I looked at the wand and down my hands. I hid it away but by the time I looked up, Percy is holding Harry and Cho while we are separated.

“Because of Cho, we’re in big trouble.” “She was under the influence of Veritaserum, Ronald.” Hermione and Ron looked at me confused and I just sighed. “Y/n do you know your hands are bleeding?” Ron pointed out and I looked at it, “We should bring you to the Infirmary. You might get an infection.” “It’s fine, I’ll go by myself, you guys wait for Harry to come back,” I said picking up my satchel and went to the direction of the Infirmary, but when I knew I was out of sight, I took a turn and went straight down the common room.

Most of the Slytherins are out, either celebrating the downfall of Harry, going around with Umbridge like lost puppies, or just studying. I stayed here and let my hands bleed. I looked at it and sighed.

“You really should be in the Infirmary you know. You might bleed to death.” I looked up and saw Malfoy, I rolled my eyes and just stared at the fireplace. “Me bleeding to death is marvelous, I want to be free from this hell hole,” I said and he sighed. He took off to his room and I heard him close the door.

When I thought that was the end of our discussion, I heard his door open again and closing, his footsteps, and him sitting beside me. “You are turning pale, Y/n.” He said and I felt his hand holding my wrist to raise my hand and carefully tended the wound.

He started to raise my sleeve but I retracted my arm away from him. “I just need to roll your sleeves up so it won’t get wet.” “I don’t wanna,” I said plainly and he placed the rag down and adjusted himself so I’m looking at him. “Is it me? Am I the cause?” he asked and I didn’t answer.

“Y-y/n, If I’m the cause te-“ “My brother, well, family. My family is the cause.” I can’t believe I’m telling him this. I gave him my hand again to finish with the wound, he carefully rolled the sleeves up and I heard a gasp from him.

“I was around 10 that time and my brother was just a graduate here at Hogwarts. He was special, he’s in Slytherin and no one suspected a thing that he was a muggle born. Well, a perk of being a Y/l/n, I guess. He was adopted by my parents because they couldn’t wait any longer for me to be born. They only adopted a muggle born because who would abandon a pure or half-blood right?” I said trying to remember their explanations. Malfoy moved to the other side and tended the other wound.

“Anyways, he was having a meeting with the others and I was accidentally by the door. Trying to wait for him to finish. But he thought I was eavesdropping. He yelled at me that my parents went to us and they both protected me. In the heat of the fight, my father admitted he was just adopted and that he shouldn’t be talking to me like that. Father told him to go live with his biological aunt but before he could even leave the house, he-“ I felt a tear sliding down my cheek and Malfoy wiped it away. “It’s okay if you won’t tell.” I shook my head and took a deep breath.

“He died, father used the unforgivable curse on him and I was beside him when he was targeted. I went to his lifeless body but mother made me stand up and hugged me. She made me walk away and every time I remembered that scene, me walking away, crying, mind fuzzy, I feel like it was my last step. That if I look behind, I’ll faint. I started cutting myself this year. It is his 5th death anniversary. And I added more than I can handle every day because he promised me something.” I felt Draco rolling up the other sleeves and a few of them are still new.

“He promised me that he’ll be the one to help me study for my exams. That he’ll train with me before the quidditch matches. That he’ll be the one going to my graduation. But because of his passing, before I came to Hogwarts, I tried my hardest studying for exams like I have him beside me, I train twice as hard just like he wants me to, and I’ll graduate giving him all of the credit.” I felt Malfoy finishing up with the bandages and he hid the supplies away.

“Thank you, Malfoy. But you should’ve just let me be.” “I couldn’t let you bleed to death, Y/l/n.” He said and I cracked a small smile. He smiled back but we’re interrupted by the wave of Slytherins coming in. “See you, Y/l/n?” He stood up and waved. “Yeah, see you, Malfoy.”

“Hey, Y/l/n, Professor Umbridge is calling for you.” My roommate said and I stood up from the chair. I gathered up my stuff and she walked with me. I took a deep breath and opened the door, she stayed outside and I closed the door.

“Sit down dear.” “Professor if this is about being in the D.A, I can accept any punishment. I- I can join the others with their punishments or-“ “No dear, the only punishment that you have is the deduction of house points, that’s all.” She said and she placed her quill down.

“I called you here because of the essay you made, it's marvelous. Because of the essay, I couldn’t make myself think of any punishments but to deduct house points but this also made your house gain points.” She said and I thought back to what happened when I left that. ‘It was incomplete and it was only 2 pages.’

She handed me a 4-page essay and I saw that it was complete, I read the other pages but it looked like it was my writing. I handed her back the papers and she smiled at me. “I hope I can see more essays like this in the future. Thank you, Ms.Y/l/n, You may go now.” I stood up and exited the room.

“Hey, how’d it went?” “She’s only deducting house points instead of punishing me.” I said and her eyes widened, “But I gained a lot of house points because of the essay.” “Oh yeah, I read your essay on the way before passing it. It’s really good, where did you get those references?” We passed by the library and we parted ways.

I went back to my spot and finished the other assignments. When I was just reading a book, I heard someone sit in front of me and I thought it’s just Hermione until I heard his voice.

“Now turn around, love.” I blushed at the name but mostly because he is wearing my hair tie on his wrist. “Chin up, Y/n.” he held my chin and he continued fixing my hair, when he’s finished, he’s the first one to smile and the first to speak up.

“So, what did she think about the essay?” I lowered my book and stared at him, “Are you gonna answer or should I wait?” “You? Did you finish my essay? Why?” “Well, I know you weren’t coming back after what happened so I finished the essay for you and returned it to your dorm.”

Then I realized it, he knew I was eavesdropping. “You knew I was-“ “Yeah, your signature hairstyle gave it away. There was a gap between a few books and I saw your ponytail.” He said and I played with the end of my ponytail. “You know you can put your hair down right? Like this.”

He sat next to me and made me turn around. He removed my hair tie but I caught my hair before it fell. He held my hand and I gently let my hair down and he fixed the back.

“And because I know this is your favourite spot to study, where you can see the whomping willow out the window and when you look inside, the never-ending shelves of books that give you comfort.” He said like I said it to him before. We continued looking at each other’s eyes and he brushed off one of the hair strands that fell. “Don’t let the strands hide your face, love.” He said and I nodded, he slowly moved his fingers away from the back of my ear and towards the underneath of my chin.

He leaned in and I did too, he gently held my face with both of his hands. It’s a passionate kiss and when we pulled apart, he has this big goofy smile. I tried to hold back my giggles but he started giggling too.

“Why are we giggling, Draco?” “Because I feel giddy inside that I kissed the girl I’ve been crushing on since 2nd year.” He said and I stared at him, “Well I’m giggling because I realized the whole time I’ve been with the trio, was only because it was the only way I can get your attention but you’re here crushing on me since 2nd year?” he nodded and he kissed me again, this time I felt safe holding his hands. We pulled apart again and he smiled at me, genuinely.

“I didn’t want to miss a chance to admit that I like you, Y/n.” “And I didn’t want to miss a chance to say, I like you too, Draco,” I said and he held my hands near to his lips and give them a peck. He held my wrists and gently rolled up the sleeves, “I will help you heal, not just physically, but emotionally and mentally, love. I don’t want to see another tear leave your beautiful eyes love.” He said and I felt a tear roll down.

“I just said my part love and you’re crying?” “No, it’s because I’m glad you’re staying even though you saw and heard the worst of me. You saw me supporting a different side of the problem but you’re here. Why Draco? Why would you do this?”

“Love, we’re at the same house but we have a different side we go with. But our love for each other is the same, and that’s important more than anything. That we love each other no matter what.” He said and I hugged him, he hugged me back and continued with comforting me. We stayed there loving each minute that passed by.

No matter which side you’re on, love will always win.

#draco x reader #draco malfoy #draco malfoy smut #draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy x female reader #malfoy #order of the Phoenix #harry potter #slytherin #slytherin common room #slytherin house #x reader

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strawberrylemonz · 3 years

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Dinner Surprise

Part 8

Part 9 [CURRENT]

Part 10

@lynn-draws-blog @artistconk @snapdragonfirefly @bargledblocks @abnormal-normality

“Watch your fingers, er, paws?”

“Close enough, TomTom.”

Tommy snorted as he continued to demonstrate to Fundy the basics of sewing by hand. The two had some free time before dinner, so Fundy finally worked up the courage to ask Tommy to teach him to sew. So there they sat, going over the basics in the castle’s library.

“So Fundy, what do you want for your seventh birthday?”

“Candy castle!”

“I expected nothing less. I’ll see what I can do, okay?”

“M’kay!”

Laughter came from the two as Fundy finished his stitches, following Tommy’s direction as he explained what to do next. Just as they finished their first project, a fabric coin curse, they were called to dinner. Happily reaching up to hold Tommy’s hand, Fundy skipped as the two made their way to the dining hall. Techno was already there, greeting his sons as they sat in their respective seats. As they began to eat the food that was brought out for them, Fundy filled in the staff and Techno about how his day had gone.

“And I made this piggy coin bag! TomTom helped me.”

“Of course I did! We make a great team! Theseus and Fundy, the Princes of Awesomeness!”

Techno smiled as he watched his sons high five each other in celebration. Shaking his head, he changed the topic of conversation.

“So, Theseus, did you come up with the concept and color scheme for the ball? Seventeen is a big number, after all.”

“Yup! I got it all down in my journal. I’ll bring it tomorrow, for breakfast.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“I can’t wait until I can host balls to celebrate my birthday!”

“You gotta wait until you’re older, big man. I had to, so that means you have to.”

“This stinks!”

The conversations carried on during dinner, smiles all around. Midway through the meal, however, they were interrupted when a butler rushed in. Running to the King’s side, he frantically whispered into his ear. In an instant, Techno rose to his feet. Without saying a word, he rushed out of the dining hall. Tommy and Fundy exchanged looks, only nodding to each other before rising as well. Letting Fundy latch onto his back, Tommy hurried after their father. They finally found him at the entrance gates. Running to meet his side, Tommy opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by the sight of two strangers. Stepping behind Techno in order to shield Fundy, Tommy kept his guard up. However, his intense stare was wavered the moment the strangers spoke up in unison.

“Tommy!!! Look how big you’ve gotten!”

#For the Blood Bird #For the Blood Bird AU

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cutiepisenpai · 4 years

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Dear Stranger (Spencer Reid x Female OC) Ch.1

Warning: Drug Abuse (mentioned briefly)

August XX, 2004 Dear Stranger, You have not received this letter by mistake. I know this may seem strange since you don't know me and I may be crazy for sending this in the first place. Anyways I've sent this letter because I have been in France for a year and a friend suggested if I was feeling homesick to send a letter to a random person I don't know in my hometown. It’s supposed to be like meeting someone new but who knows the places you know. I don't know if you'll actually send a letter back but here's to hoping. , M

This is the letter Spencer received in the mail today. Random doesn't even begin to describe it but he is intrigued. Considering his work he should be extra cautious but there just something about this letter that seems so genuine. It takes a few days but Spencer he decides to write a letter of his own.

August XX, 2004 Dear M, I am not even sure I should be writing you back, but I am. I am not really sure what I should say but I guess I should start with a bit about myself. I guess the first thing I should let you know is although I currently live in D.C. I am not from here. I'm from Las Vegas and I moved to D.C. for my job. Is that why you are in France, for work? Or are you a student, studying abroad? Sincerely, S

They begin to send more letters back and forth over the course of 2 months. In that time he learns that M's name is actually Melinda Warren and she is in France for work even though he doesn't know exactly what she does. He does know she loves books and architecture, and likes to take photographs. He has received a photo took of the Wiblingen Monastery Library at while in a trip to Germany. In one letter early on he joked about her being a spy and since then all of his letters he addresses her as Agent 007. To counter that nickname she refers to him as Dr. 187. Their letters are sent weekly sharing everything from there week aside from work. Spencer doesn't know how he can feel such a strong connection with a person he's never met.

There relationship continues like this for four years. Weekly letters with the random goings-on in their lives in such a normal part of Spencer life he can't imagine a time without it. In this time he has learned that she isn't close with her father and her mother passed when she was young, the only family she is close with are her maternal grandparent and they live in Connecticut. He shared about his mother's condition and his father leaving and eventually even about Tobias Hankel and his addiction with Dilaudid. He never felt judged by her she did ask many questions but it felt like she only wanted to help. The most surprising thing Spencer learned about Melinda was something they share in common. She was also a child prodigy and had numerous doctorates of her own in psychology, neurobiology, and music composition. She said she knew music made no sense considering her other degrees, but she studied it because of her love of music. Spencer just wishes that one day she will at least visit, since she hasn't ever returned to the U.S. since she moved away.

June XX, 2008 Dear Dr. 187 I hope you are doing well. I regret to inform you this will be the last letter you receive for some time. But please do not be upset, this is good news. I'm finishing up my final job here in France and will be heading back to the U.S. soon hopefully in the D.C. area so we can finally meet. Since I don't know exactly where I'll be don't write me back just yet. I'll send you another letter as soon as I can. Take care and you'll hear from me soon. ❤ always, Melinda

Spencer received this letter nearly 3 weeks ago and had yet to hear anything else from Melinda. He was beginning to worry that she may have already forgotten him, that he may never receive another letter from her again. He's become strangely attached to this letter keeping it with him rereading it constantly believing that there may be hidden context he missed. He's currently waiting in the BAU room so enthralled in the letter again he doesn't notice Morgan coming up behind him. "Watcha got there pretty boy, a love letter?". This question makes Spencer so flustered he starts flailing his hands saying it's not like that. By now JJ, Emily, And Penelope have all showed up and are now curious. "Pretty Boy here has a secret girlfriend he never told us about." Spencer still flustered, "It's not like that. She's not my girlfriend she just a friend and I've never even met her in person." This statement gets some concerned looks from all of them, but Penelope is the first one to say anything, "So you're "friends" with someone you've never met? You hunt serial killers for a living and this didn't seem suspicious or dangerous at all? Did you even look up her name in the database to make sure she isn't some sort of crazy unsub? Or ya know if she is a real person?" Spencer didn't like them thinking you could possibly be an unsub or some crazy stalker. "She's isn't crazy! And I don't need to look her up in the database." The team share another look before Morgan grabs the envelope from Spencer and passing it to Penelope. Now holding Spencer back, "It's for your own good." Penelope types in the name on the envelope and 1 result comes up which she clicks immediately. On the screen appears Dr. Melinda Lynn Warren along with her photo. She is beautiful long dark brown hair, sapphire blue eyes, freckles on her cheeks and beaming smile. Spencer has tried to imagine what she would look like but seeing her beauty was indescribable. Even the other team members are shocked. Before anyone can say anything Hotch appears, "What are you doing?" "Checking out Spencer's secret girlfriend." Penelope beams. Hotch gives them all a stern look before saying, " I don't think that's such a good idea." But before they can take the photo down, they all turn hearing an unfamiliar voice. "Wow, I don't think I've ever seen my own face on a screen so big." All except for Hotch are surprised to see the face they were just looking at on the screen right in front of them. Melinda walks in with Rossi taking a seat on the other side near Hotch. Hotch clears his throat," Everyone this is Dr. Melinda Warren coming from Interpol's Lyon office, she will be joining the team starting today and also serving as a temporary replacement for JJ one she goes on maternity leave." Before Hotch can get further with introductions Rossi chimes in, "She is also my favorite God daughter and here because I asked her to be so don't mess with her. I'm not going to do anything though she is more than capable of handling herself." Everyone mutters a welcome to the team except for Spencer, who hasn't stopped staring since she walked into the room. As Hotch goes around introducing everyone, lastly Spencer. His name catches Melinda's attention and her gaze stays on him just a little too long. During the briefing Rossi leans over to whisper, " Is there something going on with you two we should know about?" Melinda whispers back, "It's complicated and I'd rather not discuss that here with you, plus we should probably be focusing on the case." Although she was definitely not focused on a word JJ was saying she was trying to steady her breath and stop herself from looking over towards Spencer. The last thing she expected coming to the BAU was meeting him. She always thought of him as possibly being a professor or a researcher, but she for sure didn't think he would be a profiler. Melinda is so engrossed in her own thoughts she zones out on most of the briefing only to focus we she hears Hotch say," wheels up in 30." As everyone begins to shuffle out both Melinda and Spencer hang back. Once everyone is out of earshot the silence is uncomfortable and the tension is thick. Melinda is the first to speak, "Sorry, I don't want you to think I'm some sort of crazy stalker. I really didn't know you would be here otherwise I would have said something earlier." She can feel blush creeping up her neck and covering her ears, all of which were thankfully covered. Now it's Spencer's turn to say something but he didn't even know where to begin,"I.. I don't think you're crazy, this situation is crazy sure but not you. And I wasn't looking into earlier I've never actually tried to find out more than you would tell me. I wanted to hear if from you. I was just so fixated on your last letter its been a while and was worried that you wouldn't send another. Then they all showed up and they saw the letter and started pestering me about talking to someone I've never met and all the possibilities..."He was talking a mile a minute, luckily Melinda could keep up but she cut him off, pulling 3 envelopes out of her purse and hands them to him. "Sorry about that, the move has been so hectic I didn't want to lose them before I could mail them I kept them in my purse haven't had a chance to get U.S. postage." Her explanation leaves them in another awkward silence until she begins again." I am really happy to be meeting you finally, although I was hoping for something less awkward." To this Spencer can only nod in agreement. "Maybe once this case is over we can go get coffee and go to a bookstore?" Spencer offers. Melinda breaks out in an ear to ear smile. "I would like that." They had out together, perhaps becoming random pen pals with a strange isn't such a bad idea.

#spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x oc #bau x reader #spencer reid #derek morgan #Jennifer Jareau #emily prentiss #Penelope Garcia #aaron hotchner #david rossi #Dear Stranger Series

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cxmetery-gates · 4 years

Text

OBSESSIVE TEACHINGS - DARK!TOM HIDDLESTON

CHAPTER TWO: FOR THE FIRST TIME

SUMMARY: Lynn meets the attractive English teacher, Mr. Tom Hiddleston. WORD COUNT: 3.1k NOTE: it’s 3:00 am but I don’t have a sleep schedule. Enjoy! WARNINGS: dark!tom hiddleston, teacher!tom hiddleston

OBSESSIVE TEACHINGS MASTERLIST

INSIDE IS HAVOC.

For some idiotic reason, most students somehow forget what classes they signed up for three months ago or lost their schedules (I still wonder how that happens) and thus, the front office is a mess of students asking for theirs, the lines bleeding out into the hall. Given this, getting around to head to the commons will be a mission in and of itself. I'm not hating on all of them. As a freshman I was in the same place, my shaky hands and nervously stuttering voice mirroring the kids that smell brand new. Hopefully, to avoid this debacle again, they'll write the classes down. I guarantee the already exhausted looking receptionists would agree.

I almost want to tell the small, thin girl who wrings her hands 'good luck' but I guarantee she'd faint by the time I open my mouth. Instead, Ellie and I keep walking past the crowd. Poor souls.

It takes a minute or so to reach the commons, the booming echoes of chatting teenagers on their first day back is a sound like no other. The voices create a paved path any newcomer could easily follow. It dawns on me now that this will be the last time I'll hear this sound. I solemnly smile.

"I'm telling you, Dunmer is the better race."

"Only an idiot would spew such ignorant bullshit! Everyone knows Khajiit are the superior race!"

"Says the guy who could pass as a furry."

My eyebrows raise once the familiar voices are heard. Of course, they sit alone and look as normal as ever. My heart dips into my stomach when one of the two glances up and bashfully raises a hand to wave. In his awkward state, his hand barely moves.

Ellie is the first to speak. "What are you guys fighting about now?"

The boy with the long black hair speaks first. "Dumbass over here thinks Dark Elves are the best characters in Skyrim." Gabriel Ahoka is one of the oldest friends I have and if there's anything I've learned from him, it's that he's right the majority of the time. Oh, and he has beautiful hair.

"Because I'm right!" I take a seat next to the self-proclaimed judge. His name is River Adams, and I think I've been in love with him since he told me I reminded him of Hermione Granger back in the fourth grade. I smile in his direction then tuck some hair behind my ear. A nervous twitch that doesn't get past Ellie's ever watchful eyes. I refuse to acknowledge her small smirk. Instead, we both join in on the two dorks' conversation.

Ellie rolls her big brown eyes at them. "I don't see what the fuss is about. You guys take your games too seriously."

Both River and Gabriel audibly gasp at her comment.

"Fine," Gabriel huffs looking in my direction. "What about you, Lynn-ykinz?"

I don't visibly react to his nickname. It's something I've been called for years now. Though I'd like to agree with River, it's something I can't do. "Dunmers—"

"Ha!"

"— are for pussies."

"Ha!" This laugh comes from the boy sitting across from me. Beside me, River makes a small "oh" and lowers his raised fists, his hooray coming to a short and final end. I chuckle at his reaction as I pass Gabriel a solid high five.

"What are your guys' schedules?" River asks a tiny bit of gloom and annoyance coating his words.

Fortunately, most of us are in similar classes and only have to be here for a little over half the day. Due to all of us sticking to the scheduling plan, we all were able to get almost all our required course and electives done. Instead of having seven classes in one day, we all have five. By the time lunch rolls around, we're free the rest of the afternoon, meaning much longer DND matches with the nerds and more gossip and jam times with the only other female in our group.

"So meet up at the library for lunch?" I confirm once more as the morning bell rings, signally to all the student and staff that the first day is about to begin. The three people around me reply in agreement, and we head out. For the first hour of the day as well as the last, we're in different places. I'm not sure where the others are going, but I begin my journey to the library, one of my all-time favorite places.

I walk through the doors and slide over the counter, careful not to be seen but not careful enough. I plop in my seat at the front desk as someone walks up behind me.

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you to go through the gate. It's literally five feet away, Lynn!" I send a humored smile to the woman walking behind me, a rather large stack of books in her arms.

I stand up and begin taking ones off the top. "Five feet of unnecessary effort, in my opinion."

"And playing parkour in the library is?" Mrs. Gibbons says, deadpanning.

"To each their own."

She sighs but then laughs. "How was your summer, kid?"

"Pretty decent." I now have half the stack in my arms, and I follow behind her. "My mom and I went to Arizona for a few days and then Seattle for a week. We didn't have much time, but we drove through somewhere in Canada on the way back just because."

Mrs. Gibbons sets the books down on a cart where there are a couple of rows on the bottom already filled. Taking her lead, I lower my stack to the opposite side and begin placing them side by side. I presume these are outdated and to be sold or given away. "What's in Arizona and Seattle?"

A smile hits my face immediately. "There's a college in Flagstaff with a great writing program. I went on a day trip around the campus. And Seattle is just someplace we wanted to visit."

"That's so good to hear, hon! Are you considering?"

I lean back against the counter right behind me as my mentor continues to shelve books. "It's a little far."

Turning to face me, Mrs. Gibbons send me a confused stare. "I thought you wanted to get away from this god-forsaken state?"

She's right. All I've wanted since my father left was to get out of Missouri (or Misery, if anyone's asking). My mom and I left Maine a long time ago go escape unimaginable horrors, but I wasn't expecting those nightmares to follow me here. The move was negligent in getting us away from memories a selfish prick poisoned and to start new somewhere far away, where no one knows me as the girl with a deadbeat dad. In this small town, everyone knows everything. I'd like to escape, to be a complete stranger to everyone.

But Arizona is a couple of thousand miles away from the place I grew up in, my home. I feel incredibly guilty about considering a college so far away from the woman who has taken care of me on her own since I entered elementary school, who has taught me that voicing my opinion and being honest is valued more than timidity and who told me that no man should ever keep a thumb on me. The other influencers in my life are also staying around here. Ellie has been accepted in a very pretentious private school for the Fine Arts a couple of cities over while River and Gabe are thinking about community college before making the jump into university. While solitude and adventures are what I crave, everyone who keeps my sanity in control is here.

I sigh, crossing my arms. "I do, but... I'm just not sure what I really want. Like, I would kill to get out of here, but what if everywhere is worse?"

"Trust me; there's nowhere worse than southwest Missouri, hon."

Again, she has a point.

I hum in response. There a brief moment of silence as we shelve old, dusty books. "So how was your summer?"

Mrs. Gibbons smile kindly, fawning over memories I doubt. "Richie took two weeks off, and we went Fiji. It was so beautiful. The water is clear, the people are wonderful, and the food– oh my God, the food." I secretly have a small thing for Richard Gibbons, or, as his wife calls him, Richie. This "thing" isn't a crush or infatuation by any means, but when he walks into the library on random occasions, he has a natural gift to swoon anyone he encounters. I've unfortunately fallen victim to his charisma a few times. He's an image of the wealthy 1930's businessman with modern values and beliefs weaved in his fine suits. Mr. Gibbons might be my mother's age, or possibly older, but I have to say, Mrs. Gibbons is quite the lucky woman.

I chuckle at her. "I'm sometimes surprised you haven't filed for early retirement."

"Richie makes quite the cash, but how and I supposed to entertain myself when he's gone ten hours a day and then for weeks on end?" Mrs. Gibbons pauses and looks around her library, then back to me. The growing crows feet wrinkle into a smile. "And besides, I can't leave my favorite kids behind, now can I?"

"I guess you can't," I reply.

Ten minutes later, I'm back at my desk. Well, technically mine, Mrs. Gibbons, and the other kid who helps out during school hours. I've never met them, so I'm not sure who exactly they are. Anyway, the "desk" is a long bar that has a foot-high wall that stretches all the way down to the ends, creating a divider between my computer and a student or faculty member. The top of this divider is flat, forming a plane in which books or arms can be set on. Most of the time, books scatter the top, but since it's the first day, the library is not only spotlessly clean but deadly empty.

That is until someone catches my attention. Sitting at the far side of the desk, I'm able to see who is coming a mile before he steps through the open library doors. This time was no different.

With long, lean legs and a towering height walks in none other than Mr. Tom Hiddleston.

Easily being the hottest teacher of all time, I feel a blush beginning to creep up my cheeks just at the mere sight of him. Apart from his 6'2 figure, he sports tame yet still curly reddish-brown hair, divine enough for the gods, if he isn't one already. Mr. Hiddleston's cheekbones and jawline remind me of razors, which I would feel honored to be cut by. However, his eyes are a color I can't pick out. Because I've never been in close proximity, my guess, from my distance, is green, or maybe blue. The ambiguity makes him all the more interesting. I wonder if he has some long-distance vibe because as soon as I look up to see him, Mrs. Gibbons is right out front— and missing her cardigan. I raise my brows at her from the swivel chair, but her eyes are focused down and away from me. Elbowing her slightly, I nod once, doing a run over of her exposed arms and a little cleavage. Jokingly, she swats my arms and blushes scarlet. I begin to laugh, somehow holding most in when Mr. Hiddleston walks in.

"Hello, Ruby," he smiles softly. As if he wasn't attractive enough, the man has a damn British accent. It's almost as if he's trying to stick out among the hicks. "It's good to see you. How was your summer, darling?"

If her fingers weren't wrapped around the edge of the desk, I guarantee she would have fallen over. Honestly, I would have done the same. "Absolutely marvelous! Fiji is a beautiful place. I imagine you would like it there."

I make the snarky note that she left her husband out of the conversation. Thinking about it, I try to glance over at her left hand to check if anything is missing.

Zoning out the best I could, I file through the library's emails and begin writing down books teachers are requesting. Like usual, the freshmen English teachers ask for The Great Gatsby, and the sophomore teachers need 1984. Due to being taught-in-class books, I scoot back in my chair to make a beeline to the back room and take the note with me, the sticky top staying attached to my fingertips.

"Oh, Lynn?" I hear Mrs. Gibbons call out.

I just entered the back room, so I comically poked my head out. "You called?"

I seem to humor both parties, a smile etched on their face. "Could you get the copies of Of Mice and Men?" My vision glances over to the teacher behind the desk for a short moment. His tall frame leans on the counter, arms crossed on the platform, apparently indicating familiarity and comfort in the room. I catch his stare. I realize now his eyes are in fact blue.

Nodding, I duck back into the room, setting my sticky note to the side. During the time I have to gather the fifteen or so books, I allow my reddening cheeks to cool off by taking long breaths. "Don't be weird, Lynn," I whisper to myself, extending my arms out towards the collection of novels. "He's just a hot teacher. Calm yourself."

Finishing the stack, I wrap my arms around the tower, huffing as I do. I carefully whisk myself towards the open door, making a mental note to go back to my list.

Mrs. Gibbons and Mr. Hiddleston chat among themselves not too far from where I left. Now sitting in her swivel chair, typing away feverishly on her computer, and keeping a conversation going, the librarian doesn't notice my return, though the man across does. He nods in my direction. The simplest gesture is somehow insanely attractive. Mrs. Gibbons looks over her shoulder, sending me a smirk. "Oh, there you are! Thought I lost you."

I fake a small laugh. "I'm surprised I didn't; it's quite the mess back there," I tease, waddling over to the counter. "Where would you like 'em, boss?" I'm not sure who I would refer to, glancing once at Mr. Hiddleston, to Mrs. Gibbons, then back to the stack in my arms.

"Would you mind escorting me to my classroom? I tend to be clumsy at times." With a warm smile, Mr. Hiddleston glances down to Mrs. Gibbons, awaiting her approval.

At that moment, I'm not sure if I would love or hate to go. On the one hand, I get to spend time with Mr. Hiddleston, every horny teenager's dream. On the other, I'm alone with Mr. Hiddleston, someone I've never had a conversation with let alone a 'hello' until minutes ago. Knowing my luck, I will somehow embarrass myself in front of him. It wouldn't be the end of the world since I don't have any of his classes nor do I have classes near his, but God I would feel like a fool for the rest of my life.

But, hey, he's something pretty to look at.

"Yeah, I don't mind. Is that okay, Mrs. Gibbons? I promise I won't bail on you," I say.

The librarian nods her head, fixing her glasses. "Of course, go right ahead! There isn't much to do now anyway. Just make sure you're back before the bell rings."

"Don't worry, Ruby. I won't keep her long," Mr. Hiddleston reassures.

I wouldn't be opposed if you did, I think to myself. The comment makes me blush, even going to my ears. Some reasons how I could be kept late quickly flash by and I find myself wishing I had not taken Mr. Hiddleston's offer. With my skin still burning, I make my way around the front desk as he follows me on the other side. The gate is shut, and due to my arms being preoccupied, I realized I might have to swing it using my hip, nothing too abnormal. I helped out Mrs. Gibbons last year and would do the same thing when my arms were full. However, Mr. Hiddleston was not accustomed to my way of opening the gate. Just as I go to butt it, Mr. Hiddleston reaches out. In an awkward exchange, Mr. Hiddleston's hand, which was aiming to wrap around the gate, collides on my hip instead.

It's nothing terribly exciting but enough to get a gasp and a jealous exchange from Ellie, and damn right I'll take that.

He pauses barely a second before quickly retracting his arm to his side. A blush of the same shade of scarlet cover our cheeks, an awkward laugh bubbling out.

"I'm sorry," I shyly push out.

Shaking his head, now making sure his hand is on the gate, Mr. Hiddleston bashfully looks down and opens up the exit for me. "Don't be, love. It was my fault."

"If you want to be the culprit, be my guest," I reply sassily. I don't want to see if my comment amused him or caused a cringe, so I don't look up. Instead, I look around for something to make our trip easier. "Did you want me to get a cart instead of carrying them up? It's up to you."

Shrugging, Mr. Hiddleston begins taking books from the stack, leaving me with less than half. "I don't mind walking if you don't mind. I missed my morning jog, so I'm trying to compromise the best I can."

I nod and kindly smile, even though my insides and my weak muscles are upset I took on the mission. "Walking it is then. Lead the way!"

Mr. Hiddleston turns on his heel, passing a smile to Mrs. Gibbons. "Thank you for letting me steal your little helper."

"Just return her the way she's leaving," Mrs. Gibbons retorts.

"We'll see," he replies, sending me a smirk and a wink. If the man wanted to turn my knees into jelly, he already succeeded from the first introduction. Now he's just teasing my flustered heart. "Just this way, love," Mr. Hiddleston tells me. I'm too afraid to speak, so I nod, smile, and follow beside him up the staircase.

#obsessive teachings #dark!tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston x ofc #tom hiddleston fanfiction #teacher!tom hiddleston #loki #high school #stalking #obsessed love #obsessive #dark!fic

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optimistic-dinosaur-nacho · 4 years

Text

Chapter XI

Warnings: Violence, Murder, Mentions of Murder, Language, Mentions of Rape Summary: Y/N is Andy and Laurie Barber’s 14-year-old daughter who is a high-grade student in Archer Middle School. Her best friend, Alice Miller had been gone for a while. They search for the lost student and find out that Alice Miller’s body has the prints of Andy and Laurie Barber’s daughter, Y/N.

Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V Chapter VI Chapter VII Chapter VIII Chapter IX Chapter X Chapter XI Chapter XII Chapter XIII

---DEFENDING JACOB SPOILERS---

This story is getting close to its ending. I’m positive there’s three chapters left.

~~~

Fixing the buttons on her shirt, she rolled her sleeves up and began to walk down the stairs. Y/N steps into the dining room where Laurie sat, looking over her formal outfit.

Y/N sighs, “Is it okay?” She asked. “Let me see,” Laurie scans the high-waist pants with a nice leather belt and a white button up. Though she picked out the small details. Laurie shakes her head at the sight, “Your pants are too short, they look big.”

“They’re fine,” Y/N says. “Your shirt’s long. Shit,” Laurie mutters as she stands up to roll them up a little. “Mom, it’s a trial, not some fashion show.” Laurie lifts her head up and strokes her daughter’s hair. “I just want you to look your best, okay? Let people see how beautiful you are. These things are important,” She says.

Milo barks and the front door opens, “Hello?” Andy calls. Laurie perks up, “We’re in here,” She bent down to fix Y/N’s pants and Andy walks in. “Her suit needs altering again.”

Andy walks in, “Only if there’s a trial.” Laurie and Y/N face him, “What do you mean?” Laurie asked. Andy turns, “Lynn approved a search of Patz’s house.” Y/N looks over to Laurie once, “They think it’s him?”

Andy sighs, “Well, no. Not yet. Obviously if they find the knife, that changes everything,” Andy grins, “But at least this puts him back on the radar.” Laurie reaches for his arm, relieved, “Well, that’s something, right?”

“Yeah,” Andy says, his takes her hand and holds it, “I know it’s him. I know it is.” Andy’s phone goes off in his pocket so he pulls it out, “Sorry, girls.” Laurie gently placed her hand on Y/N’s back. “You go change, honey.” Y/N walks off to go change upstairs while Andy walks away into the office.

“Hello?”

“There he is,” A familiar voice grumbles through the phone. Andy lifts his head up, “How’d you get this number?” He asks.

“Your wife gave it to me-”

“Bullshit,” Andy says, his father chuckles on the other end, “No. No. We got out own, um... you know, we call it economy in here. Believe me, there’s tougher things to get than a phone number.”

“Well, you wasted your money,” Andy said. “Hey, don’t hang up. Come on,” Billy says, “I did what you asked, didn’t I? She’s a real doll, your wife. I mean, even better-looking in person.”

“Don’t,” Andy says sternly. His father pauses, “What? It’s a compliment. She’s my daughter-in-law. Jesus. What kind of a sick fuck you think I am?” He asked. “I know exactly what kind,” Andy says, sighing softly he sits down in the chair.

“Look, I appreciate your helping us.”

“Yeah, well, it’s all right. You see, that was on the news the other day, how you’re my kid,” William says. Andy lifts his head up, nodding, “Yeah, I saw.” Andy wanted this phone call to end or it’ll end up in another fight. “I want you to know, I had nothing to do with that. I said nothing to nobody,” He says.

“These things get out,” Andy said.

“Yeah, these reporters,” William scoffs, “They’re real fucking vultures, right?”

“Is this why you called?” Andy asked. William took a second to respond, “Yeah. I mean, yeah. That and...” William sighs, “I thought we could talk some more.” Andy tilts his head, “Talk?”

“Look, I know I’m a shit father.”

“I don’t have a father,” Andy shook his head. He knew that would piss him off, William scowls, “You don’t have-- Huh,” He says, “How does that work exactly? What are you, a fucking tree?”

“I gotta go,” Andy said.

“Yeah, some other time, maybe,” William says. Andy shook his head, “I don’t think so.”

“Maybe though.” Andy sat there in silence and pulled the phone away, hanging up. That day he didn’t want to worry about his father. He wanted to worry about Leonard Patz’s search.

The next morning, Laurie stepped out of the house, sliding on her cap for her morning run. She began to jog down the road, taking turns on the intersections in the neighborhood as her usual routes. She continued to jog for at least a mile.

Sweat appearing on her back and sweat covering her neck and chest.

She heard a faint sound of a car, pulling up behind her. Laurie made sure she was close enough to the side of the road for this car to pass.

But it never did.

She glanced over her shoulder once, not fully getting the vehicle in her peripheral just yet. She started to get chills as this car continued to stay directly behind her.

Turning, she saw the blue Lincoln. The one Andy spoken about. She felt her heart beat faster and it felt like needles were jabbing into her heart out of fear. Laurie takes a turn on a road, making sure this wasn’t the one Andy was talking about. The one following them.

She looked over her shoulder once again to see this Lincoln slowly turn onto the road she chosen. Her arms swung for frantically as she tried to find some way to escape this Lincoln.

Turning her feet, she stops to face this car. Once she did, the car stops. She barely could see the drivers face, seeing smoke come from their window. Her chest heaved up and down.

Could she take this person on herself?

She choose it at the last second. Twisting her foot, she runs into the neighbors yard. Heading for the wooden fence that separated the homes, she skids her shoe on the fence.

Throwing herself over, she stumbles on her knees. Running off onto the road, she runs straight back to the house. No stopping, looking back every few seconds.

She turns down the road to make sure this Lincoln wasn’t following her.

She made a beeline to the red door to their house. Milo barks when Laurie bursts in. “Andy?” She calls, rushing over to the kitchen, she walks in to Duff and Andy at the dining table.

She pants. “No knife,” Andy says.

“What?” Laurie asks.

“They didn’t find the knife,” Andy said, Pam looks over to the distress mother, “At least not one that matches the weapon.” Laurie goes back to the Lincoln car incident, covering her mouth. Pam noticed before Andy did. He shook his head, “Doesn’t mean they’re gonna stop looking at Patz though.

Andy looks up to Laurie’s stance and stood up in concern, “Honey?”

“I, uh--” Laurie stutters, “The blue car, the Lincoln, it was following me.” Andy looks at the door, “Now?” He asked. Laurie grabs his hand, “No, no, no. It’s gone.”

He turns, “Did you look at the driver?” Pam stood up. Laurie shook her head, “No, he was too far away.” Andy sighs softly and reaches for her, pulling her into a hug. “Sorry, Honey.” Laurie exhales.

“Someone’s been watching us. I don’t know if it’s a reporter or some psycho trying to scare us or what,” Andy states, turning to Pam. She nods, “Do you wanna file a report?”

“What good would that do?” He asked, knowing the answer. “Honestly, uh, not much. If it happens again, call me immediately. If I’m in the area,” She says, Laurie nods. “Okay.”

Andy rubs her back, “Thanks, Duff.”

Andy then walked out with Pam back to her car, “You are gonna stay on Patz, right?” He asks. “We’ll comb through everything again, his statement, his movements,” Pam states.

“He lied to us that day. He said he didn’t know Alice Miller,” Andy says, “Or said he went to that party.”

“According to your girl, McGrath,” Pam says, Andy drops his shoulders, “Look, I’m just saying, the kid already admitted to trying to frame Patz on the whole library thing.”

“Yeah, I know. I know, but I believe her on this one. You’ve heard about Y/N, she was sexually assault, I’m sure those tests can’t be run now, can they?” Andy asks, Pam sighs. “I’m not sure. And we’re not sure if they’ll come back with tests.”

Andy sighs, “I’m begging you. Please do not give up on Patz,” He shuffles, “We’re running out of time.” Pam nods at him with a grin, “I’ll do my best.”

And after that, she left.

Days just before the trial, Andy had been going over the case with Duffy at her house. Turned into nights and days. The day when he first came up to Patz.

Face-to-face.

Andy watched Patz pull out of his spot in from his last shift. Andy followed him a little away from people. This lying thing wasn’t gonna get Leonard far from jail. Andy needed him to be gone.

He saw Patz stop at the sign of the intersection. Andy’s foot never goes for the brake as he hits the back of Leonard’s car, enough to jerk him forward. Andy does it again and he sees Leonard frantically move in his car.

Andy steps out when Leonard does, “Hey, what are you doing?” Leonard asks. Andy slams his door, “I know.” Andy walks up to him. “What?” Patz asks, completely confused.

“I know what you did,” Andy steps up to him. “What are you talking abo-- You just--” The small man looks up to him and his face drops at the sudden reorganization.

“Oh, fuck, you’re the father.”

“I know you killed her!” Andy grabs him, Patz stutters, “Oh, Jesus, you’re the father. Okay. Um, you need to leave me alone,” Patz goes for his door. Andy glares at him, “My daughter’s not gonna go away because of you. You understand me? You go near her-!”

“Stay away from me,” Patz says, he closes his door. “Hey!” Andy leans to look in his window, “I know what you did!” He growls. Leonard skirts off as Andy hits the side of his car, “I know it was you, Leonard! I know it was you!” He shouts.

That day. Andy would’ve done something far worse.

Four days before the trial, it was their important day. A happy day. Y/N sat at the table, listening to her second grade teacher talk about interior angles. Andy walks in with Laurie, grabbing the keys.

“We’ll be back in a few hours,” Andy comes over to Y/N and placed a kiss on her head. “Okay,” Y/N grins. Laurie smiles, “Bye, birthday girl.” Y/N smiles at them and they leave.

Their last day with Dr. Vogel was with Joanna this time. Andy and Laurie sat on the one side while Joanna had sat in front of them, waiting patiently. Glancing over at Laurie, Andy reaches over and takes her hand in his.

Seconds later, the door opens to Vogel, she smiled at them, “I’m ready for you. Come on in,” She says. Andy and Laurie stand up. Walking Laurie in first, Andy gestures Joanna in the second.

“As you know, I’ve been evaluating Y/N for the last several weeks using a number of diagnostic tools: a Basic Personality Inventory, a Problematic Traits Inventory, and all the results, they’re in the report,” Andy looks down at the packet in front of him, “I also tested her IQ which is unusually high and her EQ, her empathy quotient.”

Laurie tilts her head at that, “The report also contains the results from the genetic testing that I conducted, and it includes the MAOA mutation, what’s commonly known as the-the warrior gene or the murder gene.”

Laurie stared blankly at her, “And?”

Elizabeth gestures to her husband, “Andy’s father tested positive for the mutation, as did Andy. Uh, Y/N did not,” She says. Andy was more relieved and shocked at the most as he turns to the doctor, “No?” He asks.

“The thing is, that’s not, um...” She pauses, “MAOA wasn’t really central to my evaluation, since it’s actually inherited from the mother and not the father.” Laurie furrows her brows at that. “Well then, what was the purpose of the testing?” Andy asked.

“Because there are similar genes that are passed down from father to daughter. Um,” Elizabeth flips through a page, “For instance, GRIN-1, which is a glutamate receptor subunit. It’s been linked to traits like impulsivity and recklessness,” The couple go through the packet as well.

“All three generations of Barber males and female tested positive for the GRIN-1 variant, including Y/N. There’s also a dopamine gene linked to a limited capacity for empathy. Uh, again, all three generations of Barber males and female tested positive. And, uh, finally, there’s a form of testosterone receptor known to induce violent behavior in adolescents shortly after puberty--”

“And Y/N--” Laurie cuts off, “Y/N has that form?” She asks. Vogel nods, “Y/N does, yes, as do Andy and Billy.” Laurie glances at Andy who looks up at her. “But if a young person is already capable of moral reasoning there genes won’t just cause the brain to flip a switch.”

Laurie seem to zone off at Vogel’s words as she looked down at the form in front of her. Scanning through the paragraphs of so much information.

capable of violent behavior.

antisocial tendencies.

Laurie continued to lose her hearing towards Vogel’s explanation as she flips through the page again. She scanned through the words again.

manipulative.

cause for concern.

Her hearing seem to come back when Andy speaks, “Well, now we know,” He says. Laurie ignores his gaze as she turns to Dr. Vogel. “And is she capable of moral reasoning?” She asked. Vogel tilts her head.

“There are things in here... um, ‘antisocial tendencies’--”

“Laurie, that’s just psychobabble-” Andy starts, she doesn’t even turn to tell him, “I’m asking Dr. Vogel.”

Dr. Vogel tried to grin but it only caused her lip to twitch, “It’s not a simple yes or no answer,” She replies, “I think you should read the entire report, and then, if you want, we can have a conversation on how to best address Y/N’s issues. But obviously right now the concern isn’t therapy, it’s the trial.”

“So there are issues?” Laurie asks. “She’s a teenager. They all have issues,” Andy says, dropping the packet by his thigh. Dr. Vogel nods, “Andy’s not wrong.” Laurie turns to her again. “However, if there was one area of concern, it would be her capacity for empathy. Once again, the report goes into full detail.”

“How do you mean?” Laurie asks.

“Laurie,” Joanna spoke, “This isn’t really the time to have this conversation.” Laurie points at Vogel, ignoring Joanna, “I want to know what she means.” Andy glances over at Joanna if he or her were to cut in and tell her to stop.

“Well, for example, I brought up Alice Miller in one of our sessions, and, uh, Y/N’s response was that... people die every day by the millions. And when I tried to prod her, to express some-some emotion around Alice’s murder. Y/N’s answers felt, um... practice.”

“That’s because you don’t know her. I mean, she’s not a touchy feely kid, that’s--” Andy looks at Laurie’s side profile and sighed, “She has empathy.” Laurie nods at Vogel, “You think she did it.”

Dr. Vogel shakes her head, “I didn’t say that.” Laurie shook hers, “You didn’t have to.”

“Laurie,” Joanna interjects. Vogel grins, “I have absolutely no way of knowing if Y/N did or did not do it. And it’s also not my job.”

“But you think she might have done it,” Laurie implies. “Laurie, this isn’t productive,” Joanna defends. Laurie ignores Joanna again, taking that grin as a lie, “You do. You think it’s possible.”

“Will you stop?” Andy asks, “Anything in there you could say about a million other teenagers.”

“Very true,” Vogel says.

“Then why won’t you answer me?” Laurie asks. Andy turns, “Laurie-”

“Don’t,” She snaps, “You never see these things, you never saw them then.” Andy sits there in silent, “You were so desperate to be normal, for us all to be normal.”

“We are normal,” Andy says. Laurie gapes, “Oh, my God, Andy, do you think this is normal?” Andy’s shoulders lift, “This situation?” He asks, “Of course not, but Y/N, yes. I know she is. And this-” Andy grabs the packet, “-this doesn’t change anything. This means nothing!” He waves it around.

Laurie turns back to Vogel, “Just answer me,” Laurie demands. The two watch Laurie and Dr. Vogel stare at each other for a while till Vogel sadly frowns, “I wish I could.”

With that answer, Laurie couldn’t push it any further but to give her a gently nod. Ending the session there.

Laurie storms out of the elevator with Andy following behind. He looks up to her, “Look, we can just call this off and do something at home.” Laurie shook her head, “No. She’s about to go through hell. We’re doing this.” Andy follows her out to the car, on their way to celebrate their daughter’s 15th birthday.

Y/N had her hands in her lap as Andy and Laurie sat in front of her at the table. Plates and drinks on the table, a woman comes in, “How’s everything?” Andy turns with a smile, “Good. Thank you.” The waitress nods with a grin as she closes the door.

Andy turned back to his daughter, pulling up the small cup up to his lips. Y/N blankly stared at them, “I don’t see why you guys won’t tell me,” She mutters. Laurie pulls her bowl away, “Because it’s between us and Dr. Vogel.”

Y/N switches her gazes at them, “What happened to me being treated like an adult?” She leans in her chair, “This is such bullshit.”

Andy looks at her, “Hey, enough with the swearing. It’s like every other word with you.”

“I have a right to know about my own brain,” Y/N says, “I took every one of her tests. I answered every single one of her stupid questions.” Andy tilts his head forward, “She thought you were a good kid, which we already knew. This whole thing’s formality,” He grins softly at her, “Okay?”

Y/N never grinned back, “I don’t believe you.” Andy loses the grin. “Sweetheart, it’s your birthday. Let’s talk about something else,” Laurie says. Y/N looks over and pulls her bottom lip in between her teeth.

“What about the murder gene?” She asks.

“You don’t have it,” Laurie says, managing a smile. Y/N looks over and she licks her lips, “Really?” Laurie nods at her. Andy grins, “Really.” Y/N looks over to him and slightly lifts up the corner of her mouth to grin.

“So there’s nothing wrong wit me?”

Laurie and Andy didn’t answer that, guess they didn’t have the time to when the waitress walks in. Holding a cupcake on a plate, it had a candle that was lit. Andy and Laurie smiled. “Happy birthday, sweetheart,” Andy says.

The waitress comes over and places the small plate in front of her, the couple look over to Y/N with a smile. “Happy birthday,” Laurie says. Andy grins, “Make a wish,” He said.

Y/N manages a grin and pulls the plate over, “I guess I have one,” She says. She stares at the cupcake and lightly blows on it, blowing the light out.

Later that night, they went home. The drive was silent halfway through. Laurie staring out the window and Y/N sitting behind her. A long day and night for the Barber family on their daughter’s birthday.

“Thank you for tonight,” Y/N utters out, she paused, “It was nice to go normal again, even if... it was just pretending.” Andy quirks a grin and sighs, “It was your mom’s idea,” He says.

Laurie turns to look, “Glad you had a good time.” Andy stolen a glance over to Laurie, knowing that their daughter did have a good time after what’s been going on for the past months. Even in a few days it was scary.

Y/N shook that off, lifting her head up, “I think I’m ready for Monday,” She says. Andy peers up in the rear view mirror. “Yeah?” Y/N nods in response, humming as a yes. “Mrs. Mandel had me write an essay about it the other day. I said it was like sailing towards an iceberg. This little white peak in the distance, getting closer and closer...”

Andy peered up at her again as she stared out the window, “...but really, it’s been underneath us the whole time.” Laurie and Andy look at each other. Andy seem to grin at her sudden words of phrases and metaphors. Y/N was not into that sort of things in school.

“I thought you were anti-metaphor?” He asked. Y/N turns to look in the rearview mirror to see Andy, grinning at her. She laughs softly and turns away. The rest of the ride was quiet once they reached their neighborhood.

Andy on the other hand, his blood ran cold when he sees a car parked outside, at his neighbors house. The same blue lincoln, that followed Laurie. Laurie noticed as well, “Oh, my God. It’s that car.” When Andy pulls in, Laurie kept her eyes on him. Andy didn’t even pull up all the way, he needed to get the guy before he runs away.

Y/N sees Andy turn off the car and popped the truck open. “Andy, don’t-”

“Wait here,” Andy says. “Dad?” Y/N calls, he shuts his door and walks to the back. Going to the open truck, he takes the car socket wrench and shuts his trunk. “Mom, what’s he doing?” Y/N asked. Laurie opens the door, “Andy!”

Andy turns, “Take Y/N inside.” The two step out of the car, worried and afraid. “Mom, what’s he doing? What’s going on?” Y/N asked, looking over to see her father storm towards the car.

Laurie takes her shoulders, “It’s all right. Come on.” Milo starts barking in the house, giving the neighborhood a nice echo of it. Andy stared at the Lincoln car, storming his way over with a weapon, the man in the car didn’t seem to start his car and drive off. He sat and took drags from his cigarette.

He comes over to the drivers side, “What the hell do you want with us?” Andy asks harshly, the man turns, “Excuse me?” Andy stops at the open window, pointing. “You’ve been watching my house and following my wife.”

The man turns away, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, pal.”

Andy grits his teeth, “I’m not gonna ask you again.” The bald man looks up to the distressed husband and father. “Easy, tough guy. You don’t want to be a tough guy tonight, believe me.”

“I don’t want to see you on this street again,” Andy says lowly. The man nods towards the road, “It’s a public street.” Andy raises the wrench to the man, warning him, “Not for you it’s not.”

The bald man turns away, not phased by Andy’s little wrench threat. “You should get back to your family,” He nods, “It’s good to have a family.” Andy slowly lowers the wrench.

“Take care of that family of yours, Mr. Barber.” And after that, the man drove off. But Andy was lucky enough to catch the plate number on his car. He took it to Duffy immediately.

“Yeah, 75K SA2. Yeah,” Andy stood on the phone as his daughter and Laurie were in the kitchen with him. Milo laid on the hard floor, peering up at the family. Andy curses under his breath, “No, I figured as much. It’s okay. Thanks, Duff. Okay,” He hangs up and stared at the phone in hand.

“It’s registered to a Honda Accord,” Andy says.

Y/N turns, “So, it’s stolen?” Andy walks over to the counter to put the house phone away, “All it takes is a screwdriver.” Laurie looks at him, “So what now?” Andy turns to the family, “Duff’s gonna have one of her guys patrol the neighborhood for the next couple nights,” Andy shakes his head, “I doubt he’ll come back. He’s probably just a reporter.”

Laurie sighs and shook her head, “I’m tired. I’m going to bed.” Andy and Y/N watch Laurie go up the stairs. “Good night, Mom.” Laurie stops to look at Y/N, she grins at her, “Thank you for tonight.”

Laurie nods, “Good night, sweetheart. Happy birthday.” And after that.

They hit the iceberg.

Laurie and Andy stood at the end of the stairs, waiting for their daughter to come down. Today was her first trial. Anything during that trial could end there or could go downhill at any moment.

Andy never felt that way to be on the other side of his job. Looking down at Laurie, his wife didn’t smile. In fact, she was fidgeting, afraid and nervous on what could go on during that trial.

He knew there will be ways to tell the jury Y/N’s innocent.

Y/N stepped down the stairs, high-waisted dress pants with a brown leather belt. Her white buttoned up was nice and pale. It would probably be as pale as Laurie was.

Andy tried to grin. Who knew if he’d see her step down those stairs in a prom dress. Or a wedding dress. He may or may not see that. Her hair was up in a bun, a neat one. No makeup because Y/N knew she’d be doing too much and asking for people to say she was innocent with all the makeup.

Once Y/N met the floor with them, they managed to smile at her. Reassuringly. “You look beautiful, sweetheart,” Andy says. Y/N forces a grin on her face, “Thanks, dad.” Laurie forces one as well to stroke the small strand behind her ear. “You ready?” She asked.

Y/N looks up and nods slowly. The confidence she had on her birthday, it all changed when it was the day. She was scared. The family headed to the garage, knowing that reporters and police would be at their house. They could hear them clamor on the street. Andy opens up the garage door and revealed the driveway.

News reporters and journalists all clamoring around, taking pictures and shouting. Andy and Laurie look at each other before Andy drives forward. Y/N instantly laid her head low as reporters took pictures of them through the windows. Andy was careful enough to not hit any of the reporters.

Safely they away from the crowd and drove to the courthouse.

Y/N sat with Joanna in the courtroom, her leg bouncing up and down nervously. Andy and Laurie sat behind the two. Her eyes looking at the back of Y/N’s head, she drew them away once Joanna leaned in to whisper something to her.

Andy looks over to the commonwealth stand, seeing Neal and what was his assistant. He turned away and looked up to the front. He felt someone stare in the corner of his eye.

Eric. Alice’s father. Andy turned to realize Eric had been staring, he quickly turned away from Eric and stared up in front again. Seconds later, Joanna turns to nod at Laurie and Andy.

Then Y/N did, Andy was the first to smile at her reassuringly. You got this. Y/N nods at them with a small grin and turned away.

“Court, all rise!” The woman shouts, Joanna grins at Y/N and everyone began to stand, “Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye. All persons having anything to do before the Honorable Judge French, a Justice of the Superior Court, now sitting within and for the Commonwealth, draw near, give your attendance, and you shall be heard.”

Judge French sat down in his chair and looked down, “God save the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and this most honorable court. This court’s not open. Please be seated,” The woman finishes off. Everyone in the court sat down. And the woman in front of French stood up.

“Number 08-44-07, Commonwealth versus Y/N M/N Barber. A single count of murder in the first degree. For the defendant, Joanna Klein. For the Commonwealth, Assistant District Attorney Neal Logiudice.”

French sighs softly, “Any preliminary motions before we begin the voir dire.” Joanna grins, “A couple of things, yes, Your Honer,” She stood up. “First the defendant’s father, Andrew Barber would like to enter an appearance in the case on the defendant’s behalf.”

Andy gets a look from Neal when he turns around, “With the court’s permission, he’s going to second chair me at trial.” French folded his hands, “Is this a wise decision, Ms. Klein?” He asked.

“It is the family’s wish, Your Honor.” French stares at the man before nodding, “All right, Mr. Barber, you can come forward. What else?” He asked. Andy stands up as the Miller family look over in shock. Andy gets a chair pulled up next to Y/N.

Joanna continues, “Your Honor, I have filed a motion in limine to exclude any mention of the defendant’s grandfather William Barber who is currently serving a life sentence for first-degree murder. We believe the Commonwealth may try to introduce this fact to prejudice the jury.-”

Neal stands up, “Your Honor, the Commonwealth contends that the family’s history of violence is of great relevance.” Andy glances at Y/N and he gently placed his hand on her knee. She relaxed under his touch.

Joanna turns, “Your Honor, my client has never once met the--”

“I get it,” French says, “I read the motion.” He thinks for a bit and spoke again, “Defendant’s objection is noted and tabled. Should the Commonwealth decide William Barber’s criminal record is critical to his case, he will first notify the defense, and then we’ll have a hearing on the matter. Otherwise, not a word about this to the jury.”

Joanna grins, “Thank you, Your Honor.” Neal nods towards French, “Yes, Your Honor.”

“Lastly, the defense moves to expand its witness list by two: Madelyn McGrath and Leonard Patz.” Joanna takes the paper and hands it over to the Judge. “Commonwealth?” French asked for an objection.

“We’re fine with it, Your Honor.” French takes the paper, “All right, let’s bring in the jury venire.”

“All rise for the jury,” The woman declares.

Y/N sat down with Laurie, Andy, and Joanna in a small room. Andy and Joanna were going over things, “Retired bus driver, works with kids. That’s good.” Joanna nods, “Yeah, I liked her. Thanks, Ellen,” She says to the woman who walked in.

Y/N lifts up her head, “They kept staring at me,” She says. Joanna turns, “Oh, you’ll get used to that. Just keep your eye on the judge as much as possible--or on your dad and me.”

Andy looks up to her, “Don’t give ‘em any reason to not like you. No faces. Okay?” He asks. Y/N nods, “You’re doing great so far,” Joanna states. The woman sets up a small snack plate in front of her. “You all are,” Joanna adds. Laurie doesn’t even grin.

“You see, this wasn’t just an average girl, the defendant. No, something set her apart,” Neal says, looking towards the jury. Neal points at Andy, “Her father. A father who was the first assistant district attorney. Top man, right here in this building.” Andy looks towards the jury.

“For years, the defendant watched her father prosecute every major murder case in this county. She listened to dinner conversations. Overheard calls, shop talk,” Neal walks forward, staring at Y/N.

He never met her once. He heard about her a million times though. It’s all Andy would talk about. “You might even say that murder was the family business.” Andy peers up at Neal. You’re pushing it, Logiudice.

“But still, the question remains ‘Why’?” He looks at Y/N who returned with a cold look. She kept her face cold and blank. “Why?” He asked, “Would an eighth grade girl kill her classmate? Well, we’ve all been to school. We know kids can be mean.”

Neal turns away from the girl and looks onward, “You’re gonna hear testimony that the victim in this case, Alice Miller, teased the defendant.” Laurie turns to see the Miller family. Eric reached for his wife’s hand.

“Nothing shocking, but still mean,” Neal says, he stood directly in front of the jury, “Alice foolishly mocked this young girl, unaware of her hidden capacity even desire, to kill.”

“Objection,” Joanna calls out. Andy sighs and glared at Neal. “Sustained,” French says, “The jury will disregard the last remark about the defendant’s desire, which is speculation.”

Neal never turns, “And so, on April 12, the defendant walked into the woods of Cold Spring Park after the party of Emily Winston’s with a knife in her pocket and an idea in her mind.” Y/N looks away and stared in front of her. Joanna and Andy both watched Neal closely.

“Did she ambush the victim, or were there words exchanged first? Maybe Alice called her a name. Or even threatened her. We don’t know,” Neal says, “All we know is that the defendant punched her knife three times into Alice Miller’s chest, killing her.”

Softly he says, “Three.” Laurie looks up to Y/N again, “Evenly spaced wounds,” Neal adds. Neal holds out his hand as if he were holding a knife, he gently moved it forward, “One.” He looks at the jury, “Two.” Then he turns to the girl who looked over to him as well.

“Three.” Y/N stood her gaze on him. Not moving a muscle.

“You see a tragedy as enormous as this, and it makes you furious,” Joanna turns to the jury, “You want someone to pay. I do, too. I do. It’s only human. But Y/N Barber is innocent. And I want to say that again,” Andy looks over to his daughter who had her eyes on Joanna the whole time she spoke. He tilts his head to see her whole face, seeing her cold stare.

“So that there is no misunderstanding. Y/N Barber is wholly and completely innocent,” Joanna takes her hands and holds Y/N’s shoulders. “When you understand what really happened that day, you’ll see this case for what is it-- a rush to judgement.” She holds her hand out.

“The fingerprint, for example, that the prosecution made such a big deal about, you’re going to hear how that print got there, just as Y/N told the police officer who arrested her the moment that she was asked. She saw her classmate lying on the ground, and she tried to help. And when she discovered that Alice was dead, saw all that blood, she panicked.”

Eric pulls a tissue up to his eyelids, catching the tears that fallen, holding his wife Marla. “She feared that if she told someone about the body, she’d become a suspect. After all, this was Alice Miller, the girl who bullied her. Everyone knew that. How would it look?” Joanna asks.

The jury sat in silence, “Does Y/N wish that she had been braver from the start and told the truth? Of course she does. It was the worst mistake she’s ever made. It was horrible, terrifying mistake. But she was a girl. And I don’t give a damn how the state chooses to try her. She was a 14-year-old girl. And girls make mistakes.”

Joanna sighs, “But we are adults... with a grave responsibility before us. A child is dead. Don’t destroy another child’s life to make up for it. That isn’t justice. That’s just another tragedy.”

After a few hours. Morning to the afternoon, the Barber family went through those doors to the outside. Reporters and journalists all clamoring around each other as they surround the family. Joanna was in front as she made space for the family to come by. Andy was behind, protecting Y/N as he looked up to spot the same man.

He stops to see him nod at him. He snapped back when reporters called out his name so he follows behind and catches up to Y/N. He held her shoulder. Once they stepped into the garage, Andy had his phone up to his ear.

“It’s definitely the same guy. Yes, I’m sure. Blue Lincoln. Right. You still have that plate number I sent you?” He asked, Joanna turns to him, “Okay. Thanks, Duff.” He pulls his phone down and Joanna looks at him.

“What was that about?” She asked. Andy shakes his head, “Long story. I’ll tell you later.” Joanna sighs, “Okay, well, make sure they get some rest. I’ll call you tonight.”

“Okay,” He jumps in the car with Y/N and Laurie.

That night, Y/N sat at her desk. Milo laying down on her bed as Y/N watched the news. A news reporter sat in front of their house that night, giving updates about the trial that day. Y/N looks out the window and saw the exact man on her laptop.

She turned away and heard her phone ding. Looking over she sees Matt’s name pop up.

From Matt hey

She reached for her phone and began to type. She replied with the same thing. Y/N relaxed in her chair and leaned back, kind of glad to have him back. Along with Sarah if she was okay.

Sent So how was YOUR guys day?”

She waited for his response, seeing the dots pop up every once in a while. Matt seem very unsure what to say.

From Matt LOL. r u ok? it looked intense on tv. sarah and i were watching

Y/N grins softly at the thought of ice cream and began to type away.

Sent Free ice cream would help.

And that night, they continued to text.

Laurie holds her glass in hand, staring out the window to the news reporters who just finished off their shooting in front of the house. Taking her pill, she swallows it and heard footsteps come in. Andy appeared and leaned on the counter, “Just got off the phone with Duffy,” He says, “It’s not good. Just hear me out.” Laurie placed her glass down.

“What?” She asks.

“His name is James O’Leary, the guy in the Lincoln. They call him Father O’Leary,” Andy says. Laurie furrows her brows, “They?”

“I guess he’s an old gangster. He’s got a record. Duffy said he used to be some sort of muscle. Now he hires himself out to do, you know, small things, roughing people up, that sort of thing.”

Laurie gapes at him, “Are you kidding me? What does he want with us?”

“I don’t know,” Andy replied. Laurie throws her arms out, “What are we supposed to do? Can’t they arrest him? Question him?” Andy sighs, “Not unless he explicitly threatens us.”

“Oh, my God,” Laurie says and turns away, covering her face. “Duffy said she’s gonna keep an eye on him. I know it doesn’t sound good, but odds are it’s probably just someone trying to scare us.”

Laurie turns to him, “Because we’re not scared enough already.” And with that, she passed by him.

“My heart was kind of pounding then, because she wasn’t answering me. Uh, still, I couldn’t see how she looked until I got close,” The woman says, sitting at the witness stand.

Neal stood in front of her, “And did you call for help?” The woman nods, “I remember crawling backwards up the slope, dialing 911.” Neal nods and turns away, “Thank you, Mrs. Gianetto.”

The judge turns to Joanna, “Ms. Klein.” Joanna rested her head on her hand, “No questions, Your Honor.” The next witness was an old man. Said to have heard voices in the park.

“So you said this was heard in the dog park?” Neal asks. The man nods, “The dog park, yes,” He confirms. Neal looks at him, “What time was this?” Neal asks.

The man shrugs, “Around nine, nine-thirty pm,” He says, “Like I said, it sounded like a girl’s voice I heard. She said, ‘Stop. You’re hurting me. Stop. You’re hurting me’.” Y/N looks over to the jury and saw that one of them looked at her. A cold stare.

“Could you tell what direction that girl’s voice came from?” The words in Y/N’s mind was distant. Clouded in her mind when the woman looked away from her. “West, I think.”

And after that. The next witness came up to the stand. “Detective, is it standard procedure for an assistant district attorney to direct a homicide investigation?” Neal asked.”

Peterson glanced at Andy, “Yes.”

“And who was the assistant DA assigned to the case that day?” Neal asked. Joanna calls, “Objection. Relevance.” Neal scoffs at that with a grin. French raises his hand, “See counsel at side bar.”

Joanna and Neal walk in front of the judge. Joanna leans forward, “Your Honor, I don’t see how Mr. Barber’s brief involvement in this case has anything to do with his daughter’s innocence or guilt,” She says. Neal looks over to him, “Your Honor, the jury is entitled to hear that the defendant’s own father was in charge of the early stages of the investigation.”

French sighs softly and looks back at them, “I’m going to allow it, but I warn you counselor. Mr. Barber is not on trial here. Remember that.” Neal nods and Joanna looks at him, “Yes, Your Honor. Understood.”

The two head back to their original spots and French pulls the microphone back, “Witness will answer the question.”

Peterson looks back to Neal, “Andrew Barber was in charge.” Neal turns to him but his body faced the jury, “And did you find it strange that Mr. Barber was handling a case that involved his own daughter’s classmate?” Peterson shook his head.

“Not really, no.”

“And once his daughter was charged with the murder? Any concerns?” Neal asks. Peterson thought about it, shaking his head, “I wasn’t happy about it.” Andy was twirling the pen between his fingers, staring at Peterson.

“Detective, have you ever heard of a prosecutor being involved in the investigation into his own child?”

“Objection,” Joanna says.

“Sustained,” French calls out, “You’re made your point, counselor. Let’s move it along.” Neal shakes his head at him, “No further questions, Your Honor.” Neal went to sit back at his table.

“Ms. Klein,” French called. Joanna stands up and walks over to the witness stand, coming face-to-face with Detective Peterson.

“Detective Peterson, you were among the first at the crime scene. Was there a murder weapon found that day?” She asked. Peterson shook his head, “No, ma’am.”

“Besides a single fingerprint on the victim’s sweater, was there any evidence recovered that day?” Joanna asks. Peterson shook his head again, “No.” Joanna nods, “And of course, the fingerprint wasn’t identified until later. Yes?”

“Yes. Correct,” He said. “So is it fair to say that at the beginning of the investigation neither you nor Mr. Barber had any obvious suspects?”

“We did not.”

“And was the defendant the first suspect to emerge?” She asked. Peterson thought and realized from before they got to Y/N. Patz. “No. We initially just--”

“Objection,” Neal interrupts, “Relevance?” He called. French swayed in his chair and kept a plain face, “Overruled.” Joanna was able to continue her questions. “We initially pursued a suspect named Leonard Patz. He had a record for indecent assault and battery on kids, things like that.”

“So a registered sex offender, and that’s what made him a person of interest?”

Peterson nods, “That, and he lived near the park.”

“He didn’t just live near the park. He was know to walk in the park most mornings and nights. Isn’t that true?” Joanna asks. Neal blinks at them, “Objection. Leading the witness.”

“Overruled.”

Peterson spoke, “Yes. In fact, he admitted to being in the park that same night.” Andy nods in approval knowing they’re gonna get something on Patz and bring him up. He didn’t grin but he knew this was close. “No more questions. Thank you,” Joanna says.

Neal stands up once Joanna turns away from the witness. “Detective, whose idea was it to pursue the investigation into Leonard Patz?” He asked. Peterson draws his gaze down, then looked back up, “Andy Barber brought it to my attention.”

“Andy Barber. I see,” Neal said, “And Mr. Patz was then cleared when Mr. Barber’s own daughter was charged with the crime.” Andy holds his pen and began to write things down, his brows go inward in focus.

“Yes,” Peterson states. Neal shook his head, “No further questions, Your Honor.” Andy slides the note across the table and Joanna looks down, reading it. “Your Honor, we’d like to recross,” She calls.

“Go ahead.”

Joanna stands up again and walks over, “Detective, when Mr. Logiudice asked if you had cleared Leonard Patz, were you certain of his innocence?” She asks.

“Certain? No,” He said. “Did you agree with Mr. Barber’s decision to investigate Leonard Patz?” Peterson nods at her question, “Yes. Absolutely.” Joanna nods, “What about other decisions Andy Barber made? Any concerns at all?”

“None I can think of,” He replied, he nods at Andy, “He’s the best they got. The best they used to have anyway.” Neal reaches for his face and rubs it frustratingly. “Thank you, Detective. No further questions,” She says.

French sits up, “Commonwealth, you prepared to call your next witness?” Neal looks at him and then down at the table, “Uh, yes, Your Honor.”

“The beam refracts through each slit and makes a pattern of light and dark stripes on the other side. Why?” Joanna asks towards Y/N, “Because light isn’t made of particles, but...”

Y/N grins, “Waves?” Andy grins. “Exactly,” Joanna says, “And it is the intersection of the waves that make the patterns.” Laurie grinned towards the old woman and Y/N, having takeout in their home was warming. “So these physicists decide that they’re gonna solve what’s going on by installing a device that allows them to see exactly which slit each electron is passing through.”

Y/N was listening closely to Joanna, like she was in a science classroom. Y/N loved to learn knew things and it was nice to have her bond with her lawyer. “Only the moment that they try to observe it, the electrons stop behaving like waves and behave like particles again.”

“What?” Y/N asks, “That’s impossible.” Andy’s phone buzzes and he reaches for it.Reading that it was a caller from Connecticut. He knew the phone number was familiar. “Google it,” Joanna says. “I’ll be right back,” Andy states, standing up and heading into the other room.

Hearing Joanna talk, he answers, “Hello? What the hell did I say about calling here?” He asked.

“I just want to now how it’s going,” His father says. “What?” Andy asks. William scoffs, “What do you mean, ‘what?’ The trial. She’s my granddaughter. I got a right to know,” He said.

“Listen to me very carefully. You don’t have a right to shit. Okay?” He asks.

“Maybe I got a right to call one of these reporters that keeps trying me, huh?”

“Do whatever you want,” Andy said. “Come on. I just wanna know what are you thinking, I mean, what’s your strategy?” William asked. Andy rolls his eyes, “I’m watching it all day on the news here. I think the kid’s got a chance. But, you know, you gotta be smart about this.”

“Oh yeah? I didn’t know they gave out law degrees in prison,” Andy says.

“That’s funny,” William sarcastically says, “You think prison’s a fucking joke?” Andy sits on the edge of his desk and lowers his head. “Let me tell you something. This is sure as hell no place for a kid like Y/N. Now one of the, uh, witnesses today, this cop who was on the stand, he mentioned this guy Patz.”

“What about him?” Andy asked.

“Well, you think he did it?” Billy asked. Andy doesn’t respond and lifts up his head. “Do you?” Billy asked. “Yeah,” Andy replied.

“Are you sure?” He asks. Andy sighs, “Look, I gotta go.”

“Guy’s a child molester, right?” Billy asks. Andy stands up from the desk, “Sort of.”

“How-- How the fuck are you ‘sort of’ a child molester?” Billy asked. Andy kept his eyes narrow, “Same way you were a murderer before you actually murdered someone,” He says.

“Why you gotta make it about me? Huh?” He asks, “Why don’t you fucking quit worrying about what I am and start worrying about my granddaughter?”

“Don’t call here again,” Andy says. “I mean it. You keep her out of this place! You hear me? I spent my whole fucking life in this shithole. I’m not gonna stand by while my granddaughter’s life--” Andy pulls away and hangs up, leaving Billy on the phone.

Walking back into the kitchen, he sees Laurie put plates away. He looked over to the table, “Did Joanna leave?” He asked. Laurie looks up, “Yeah. Who was that?” She asked.

Andy looks down, “Oh, it was, uh... credit card company, just confirming some charges.” Laurie nods slowly and grins, “Joanna seemed... optimistic.” Andy nods, “You know, I’m starting to think she should be.”

That night, Laurie had finished cleaning Y/N’s outfit for her next trial, hanging them on a hanger and began to head towards her room. Hearing a boy’s voice, she knocked and walked in.

Laurie grins, “Hey,” She says. Y/N looks up, “Hold on one second,” She says to the screen. Y/N looks up, “Hey.” Laurie reaches over to put her outfit on the door knob, “I’m hanging these on your door.” Y/N grins and nods. “Thank you.”

“Who you talking to?” Laurie asked.

“Matthew and Sarah,” She replies. Laurie lifts up her brows, smiling, “Oh. Okay. Tell her I said hi.”

“Okay,” And after that, Laurie closed her door. Y/N turns back to the screen and grins, “Sorry about that.” Matthew laughs, “So, anyway, um, this lady comes in with her kids, right? And they’re just so loud and obnoxious. And we were like ‘Oh, my gosh. Shut up already-”

Laurie hears Y/N laugh and they continued on with their story. Not knowing what could ha en next in their trial.

~~~

There’s a chat that’s so toxic right now and my anxiety is getting to me so I need to calm down. I’ll continue to write

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@chrisevans-imagines @sophieelizebeth-01 @ssebstann @irishfaulk97 @avengerswon @wandascarlett @marvelouspottering @jtargaryen18 @sweater-daddiesdumbdork @justimagaine @captain-a-rogerss @donutloverxo @joannaliceevans-fanficblog @iguessweallcrazyithinktho

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#chris evans x reader #chris evans #chrisevans #andy barber x reader #andy barber x daughter!reader #andy barber as a dad #andy barber #defending jacob #job #season one #episode 7 #episode 6

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artificialqueens · 4 years

Text

Not Nineteen Forever (18) (Branjie/Scyvie/Ninex)- Ortega

a/n: heeey heyheyhey! i tried not to leave u all on a cliffhanger for too long. thank u so so much for all the love on the last chapter, it honestly made my whole week! again if u like this one feel free to send some love either to AQ or on my blog. hope u all enjoy! P.S. i knew i forgot to mention something! the song the girls sing at the end is called Good Girl’s Gone Bad by Booty Luv (lmfao) if u want to get the vibe of how it actually sounds, because i hate trying to convey a song via simply italicised lyrics lolol)

trigger warning: alcohol xo

please note: this fic contains young adults often behaving in irresponsible/unadvisable ways with regards to alcohol, drugs and sex. if you are someone who feels as if they could be heavily influenced by fic and incorporate what happens in the plot into ur own life, pls steer clear!

summary: Brooke, Yvie and Nina are three flatmates who forged a friendship in their first year of university and picked up some other waifs and strays along the way. Now in their final year, there are feelings that need to be unravelled and confessions to be made whilst navigating drunk nights, hungover mornings, takeaways, group chats, library meetups, cafe gossiping, and the small matter of getting a degree.

last chapter: the gang headed to a big house in the country and things between Brooke and Vanessa got a little more than civil in the hot tub.

this chapter: the girls have to pick up the pieces for the 195th time. but karaoke and gin solves everything, right?

***

Scarlet lay back in bed, panting and looking up at the ceiling as Yvie emerged from the covers underneath her, her cheeks red. Holding her arms out for a cuddle, Scarlet’s heart swelled up as Yvie, exhausted, threw her head down against Scarlet’s chest. Scarlet knew Yvie would be able to hear her heart beat. She liked that. She liked being intimate with Yvie in ways like they just had been, when Yvie’s tongue was between her legs and Scarlet was crying out into the silence of the house without a care for who heard them, but she also loved the intimacy of Yvie knowing parts of her that nobody else knew, like a secret they both shared.

“I love you,” Scarlet sighed, pressing a kiss to Yvie’s chaos of curls as the other girl wrapped her arms around her waist and squeezed.

“I love you too, baby. So much,” Yvie replied, Scarlet able to feel how she smiled against her skin and unable to stop herself from smiling too.

They lay there for a moment in the foreign room, Scarlet taking in their surroundings. A green carpet, scuffed and worn. A white ceiling with endless cracks snaking across it like a map. An inexplicably out of context painting of a hunt in the countryside, and a window with no curtains where the bright sunshine of the new day shone in unrelentingly through the unpolished glass.

“How are you this morning, you hanging?” Yvie asked her, Scarlet frowning.

“Nah. I never drank that much. You?” she asked, sitting up a little and causing Yvie to shift.

“I’ve got a little headache but I’m not sure if it was the alcohol or just this bed.”

“We were drinking red wine, to be fair. That was a bad call,” Scarlet rubbed her temples, concluding that she’d had a lucky escape. They’d bought it when Plastique had stopped at the small Co-Op in the village nearest the house to stock up, and they’d giggled in the wine aisle as they had decided to buy something civilised to pretend they were characters in an Agatha Christie novel and swan around the big house dressed to the nines. Although when Scarlet had seen Yvie last night she’d immediately wanted to rip her dress off. It had turned out Yvie had thought the same, and a little smile spread across Scarlet’s face as she remembered them, pressed up against the bedroom wall, messy and passionate as they hitched their dresses up and touched each other frantically and came apart. Scarlet wriggled, crossing her legs and squeezing them together.

“Jesus, what is with you this weekend? You’re so horny, like, all the time,” Yvie laughed, noticing her reaction. Scarlet gave a guilty smile.

“I can’t help it that I have the sexiest girlfriend here,” she shrugged, Yvie rolling herself onto her back and throwing her fists in the air into a triumphant stretch.

“Actually I think you’ll find I have the official hottest girl in the room as a girlfriend, so. Check and mate, princess."

Scarlet gave a snort. "Hey, I was merely a pawn in the huge game of fucking chess that is Vanjie and Brooke at the moment, I don’t think I was anything more than a jealousy crash test dummy.”

“Hmm, well. You got dummy right,” Yvie said playfully, laughing as Scarlet pushed her slightly off the bed, then pulled her back again. Scarlet pulled her close, unease forming in the pit of her stomach.

“You know I’m just yours, right? I only-”

“Oh my God Scarlet, relax!” Yvie laughed, squeezing her. “I know there was nothing to that kiss at all, shut up. I trust you. I love you. It was a dare, these girls are our friends, and Vanjie’s about as harmless as an actual cucumber. Chill.”

Scarlet obediently relaxed, glad to have reassured Yvie even if she didn’t need reassured in the first place. She paused, then spoke again. “I don’t know, you could do a bit of damage to someone with a cucumber.”

“I’d do a bit of damage to you with a cucumber,” Yvie wiggled her eyebrows, Scarlet screeching a laugh and swatting at her.

“You’re disgusting. I hate you.”

“You wish you hated me,” Yvie stuck her tongue out at her, and Scarlet sighed.

“It would make my life a lot easier if I did,” she replied playfully, a loud rumble from her stomach cutting her off. She frowned. “Hungry.”

Yvie gave another stretch, her ankles cracking loudly. “Do you want to go down, get the glasses from the living room and stick some bacon on a pan or some shit?”

“Stick some bacon on a pan or some shit. Gordon Ramsay, love your work!”

The two girls continued to bicker as they threw their pyjamas back on, bounced down the stairs and collected the glasses left in the living room from last night. Scarlet was glad to see that there were no rings left from any drinks on tables, her airbnb account safe from a scathing review from whoever even owned this place. Looking at the sofa her and Yvie had sat on last night, she laughed as she remembered her and Vanjie’s ridiculous kiss. The girl got no points for subtlety.

“How did Brooke get more jealous than you when me and Vanj got with each other? You’re my actual girlfriend and you gave less of a shit,” Scarlet mused, walking into the kitchen behind Yvie and setting the glasses down beside the sink.

“Because I know that I’m yours and you’re mine and Brooke knows that she fucked it with Vanjie so she can’t kiss her whenever she wants to like I can with you. I got to have you back in my arms after that kiss and have you reassure me, she didn’t get that,” Yvie shrugged, getting the bacon out of the fridge. She ran her tongue over her teeth as she locked eyes with Scarlet. “Plus it was hot, not gonna lie.”

“Fuck, are we going to have a threesome now, is that what this is?” Scarlet asked dryly, secretly flattered.

“Bad enough having to throw your fuckin’ teddy across the room whenever I’m dicking you down at yours.”

“Just once I’d love to talk about sex with you and not want to blow my own brains out,” Scarlet continued deadpanning, snorting as Yvie began to laugh in her own goofy way. Scarlet loved the old married couple bickering that they always seemed to fall into, having absorbed so much of Yvie’s humour the longer she spent with her. It was one of just so many things she loved about her. “Did something go on between them last night, by the way?”

“Oh, hundred percent,” Yvie rolled her eyes as she wrenched a frying pan from a cupboard. “Yay, another Brooke Lynn shaped mess me and Nina are gonna have to pick up the pieces of! Can’t wait!”

“Yves,” Scarlet warned, dunking the glasses into the hot, soapy water she’d filled the sink with. “Be nice. She’s your best friend, we all make mistakes.”

“I want to grab her by the shoulders and shake her like a fucking maraca. It’s like she’s been challenged to make as many bad decisions that she can and if she gets to a certain amount she wins a prize. What do you think her target is? Two hundred? Five hundred?”

“Stop,” Scarlet laughed, her smile almost cracking her face as she turned around, hearing a set of footsteps pad softly down the steps to the kitchen. Akeria emerged, her makeup from the night before smeared across her face like a child’s painting and her long, blonde hair twirled up into a bun. “Morning, Kiki. You sleep okay?”

“The sleep was fine. It’s the awake part I’m strugglin’ with,” she groaned, sliding into one of the wooden chairs and resting her head in her hands. “Is this what a hangover’s like when you turn twenty two? I don’t want it.”

“No, that’s what a hangover’s like when you drink three bottles of six pound Shiraz,” Yvie raised an eyebrow at the suffering girl, Scarlet feeling guilty as she laughed.

“Leave me alone, it’s my birthday,” Akeria whined, Scarlet’s stomach rumbling again as the smell of bacon began to waft through the kitchen.

“Are you gonna use that excuse for the entirety of March?” Yvie chuckled, turning around from the aga. Scarlet took the rolls they’d bought out of the cupboard and got the butter out of the fridge.

“Yes,” Akeria rubbed her eyes so hard Scarlet worried for her eyelash extensions. “Tell me I didn’t do anythin’ embarrassing?”

“You honestly didn’t,” Scarlet said kindly, her heart going out to Akeria. “I don’t think you have any bad decisions to worry about.”

“Apart from the whole drinking three bottles of wine thing,” Yvie shrugged.

“Vanjie, on the other hand…” Akeria sighed, Yvie growing animated at the stove.

“Right? We were just talking about this. Do you know what happened?”

“Not yet. She better be in that fucking room with Silk and Plastique or I’ll personally whoop her ass,” Akeria narrowed her eyes.

“She’s not,” came Plastique’s voice from the stairs, Silky following after.

“Good morning campers! How are we?” Silky’s voice boomed cheerfully into the echoing kitchen, making Scarlet flinch even though she wasn’t all that hungover.

“Silky, I’m honestly going to murder you in your sleep,” Akeria said flatly.

“You think this is bad! The bitch decided to give me a full one-woman show of The Bodyguard last night before bed!” Plastique cried in outrage, filling the kettle up and flicking on the switch.

“It was BEAUTIFUL and EMOTIONAL and GROUNDBREAKING!” Silky yelled, throwing herself down into the chair next to her flatmate dramatically.

“Please someone kill me,” Akeria sighed.

“Were you guys talking about Brooke and Vanjie?” Plastique steered the conversation back as the kettle bubbled. “They’re in Brooke’s room. She didn’t sleep in ours.”

“I’m losing the will to live with her, I swear to Jesus,” Akeria sighed woefully, shaking her head like a long-suffering mother.

“So wait, what exactly is going on between them? Like, we can build quite a unique perspective here. We got me and we got Yvie to tell you what Brooke’s thinking, and we got you three to give us Vanjie’s perspective,” Plastique said, with all the energy of a detective solving a mystery. Yvie snorted.

“Yeah, good luck with that, we all know Brooke’s mind is like fucking Alcatraz,” she rolled her eyes, distributing the bacon between the rolls Scarlet had sliced open and buttered.

“And Monet can give us the Monique tea. Once she stops banging Nina,” Plastique shrugged. “Who wants tea, who wants coffee?”

“I want the sweet embrace of death,” Akeria murmured.

“TEA!” Silky ordered at top volume.

“Or failing that, to be deaf.”

Scarlet helped Plastique dish up teas and coffees. She remembered Monet and Nina were both tea people, and how they both took it (she’d spent enough time round at Yvie’s to be a tea-making expert for everyone that lived or was frequently round at the flat) so she made one up for each of the girls in case they emerged within the next five minutes or so.

“We should set up a charity. Flatmates Living with Absolute Pisstakers,” Yvie laughed humourlessly, Scarlet laughing as she realised something.

“FLAPS,” she abbreviated, causing the girls round the table to snort out a few giggles.

“Okay so what do you know?” Silky pointed a finger at Scarlet, the girl jumping a little in surprise. “We wanna see if it matches what we know.”

Scarlet shrugged. She’d had lectures with Vanessa and hung out like she always did, but if she was honest Vanessa hadn’t given away much about how she was feeling about Brooke. Scarlet had tried to prise something out of her, mentioning how it was good they had seemed to get along at her birthday party, but Vanessa had just shrugged and said she had to grow up and be civil eventually. She relayed this to the girls, Silky sighing deeply.

“Okay, good. So we know about as much as you,” she said, voice full of regret.

“She’s treating the whole thing as a massive joke, but we know different. We were there when she cried herself to sleep in the flat, we made her food when she couldn’t get out of bed. None of which she fuckin’ ate, but still. We know how much Brooke affected her, even if Brooke doesn’t,” Akeria explained. Scarlet’s heart hurt remembering how badly Vanessa took the breakup.

“She’s pretending that she’s over her and fuckin’ around with Monique ain’t helping,” Silky hissed.

Plastique made a face. “I think Brooke knew how much Vanessa liked her. She felt really bad about the breakup, but she was just doing what she thought was best.”

“Which is okay if that’s the decision that she’s sticking to! But it’s not! The bitch got up last night, kissed her in front of all of us and then probably slept with her!” Akeria sighed irritably, tearing into her bacon roll with aggression. Scarlet mirrored her sigh. That was the thing, she did have to agree with Akeria- Brooke breaking things off with Vanjie was fine, but changing her mind so violently? It had to mess with Vanjie’s head.

“Well, basically,” Yvie began, exhaling a little as she presumably knew what she was about to say would cause tension. “I get the impression from Brooke that she has changed her decision.”

Silky laughed harshly in disbelief. “What?!”

Yvie raised her hands in the air. “I mean, don’t shoot the messenger, but yeah. She was big pressed when V started sleeping with Monique. I think she feels like she fucked it.”

“Well, she did,” Akeria said venomously, just as footsteps came from the little steps to the kitchen. The girls held their breath, Scarlet’s eyes growing wide as she craned her neck to see who was coming.

“Morning!” Nina’s sing-song voice cut through the silence happily, pausing abruptly when she felt the atmosphere in the room. Scarlet felt sorry for her; she had no idea what she was walking into.

“Hey, girl. We made you both tea,” she smiled, addressing Monet who had traipsed in behind Nina in her huge baggy pyjamas, looking every inch still half-asleep.

“Okay, and what is the tea? Because you’re all suspicious as fuck right now. In the time I’ve known these girls, they’re never silent,” Monet raised an eyebrow, taking her cup and leaning against the counters. Silky leant forward, her face conspiratorial.

“We’re talking Brooke and Vanjie.”

“Oh, good,” Monet flared her nostrils as she celebrated sarcastically.

“Good, so you’re about as done with them as we are,” Akeria rolled her eyes. “V didn’t sleep in her own bed last night. We think she slept with Brooke.”

“Well, that was obvious enough when they never came to watch the film.”

Scarlet pulled a face, eager not to jump to conclusions. “Maybe they talked everything out? We can’t assume.”

“Scarlet, come on. If there was talking involved, it wasn’t gonna be U rated,” Yvie smiled indulgently at her. Scarlet had to concede.

“You’re Monique’s flatmate, girl, where does she come into all of this?” Plastique asked Monet, bringing her knees up to her chest and balancing her coffee cup on top.

“It’s none of my business,” Monet threw her hands up in the air. Akeria rolled her eyes.

“Come on, bitch, give us a crumb.”

Monet sighed, relenting. “Aight, well. Monique is well aware how much Vanjie still seems into Brooke, because from what she’s said Vanessa has made that perfectly clear to her.”

“Oh, Jesus Christ on a crucifix,” Silky exclaimed, rolling her eyes.

“So Vanjie’s still hung up on Brooke?” Scarlet asked, trying to clarify the situation.

“And Brooke’s still into Vanjie,” Nina said casually, some of Yvie’s coffee splashing onto her pyjamas as she whirled around to face Nina.

“What?!”

“She told me after Scarlet’s birthday. Shit, I wasn’t meant to tell you guys that,” Nina clamped a hand over her mouth involuntarily, worry etched onto her face. “Guys, fuck, you can’t tell her I told you.”

“Nice of her to let me know, Jesus!” Yvie snarled, Scarlet reaching a hand out and stroking her knuckles soothingly.

“I wouldn’t take it personally, babe. You know it’s like trying to get blood from a stone with her and her feelings. I guess it’s good she at least told one of us?” Nina gave a sympathetic shrug, clearly feeling bad.

Plastique tore a hand through her hair. “So wait, Brooke likes Vanjie and Vanjie likes Brooke? Why don’t they just get back together then?”

“Because like fuck is my girl getting hurt again when Brooke changes her mind for a third time,” Akeria scowled up at Plastique. “And anyone who thinks they’re gonna be good together after everything that’s happened is trash, sorry.”

“Kiki, c'mon. That’s harsh,” Nina frowned, disapproving. Akeria shot her a nasty look.

“Nobody wants to see Brooke or Vanjie get hurt. They’re both our friends,” Scarlet cut in, trying to play peacemaker.

“I’m just sayin’, Vanj would do well to just focus on Monique, who from what I’ve heard actually treats her right. She certainly doesn’t use her like a fucking sex doll whenever she wants,” Akeria spat. Scarlet grew tense as she saw Yvie bristling.

“Actually that’s exactly what their entire friendship is built on,” Monet cut in with a laugh, keen to ease the tension.

“Akeria, come on, we both know that’s bullshit. If Brooke and Vanj did sleep with each other last night it was one messy fuck after a bit of drinking, they weren’t thinking straight.”

“Did you see V top up her drink once last night?” Akeria shot back instantly, the lawyer jumping out. “Yeah, exactly. And Brooke had what, three, four beers? I was sinking more than that in parks when I was fifteen, that’s fucking children’s numbers. Weren’t thinking straight my ass. They both knew exactly what they were doing.”

“Brooke doesn’t exactly know that V still likes her back, does she? For all she knows this is just a bit of fun to her. Let’s not be too quick to judge,” Nina soothed. Silky snorted with derision.

“Nina, I love you, but the blind man’s fuckin’ guide dog can see Vanjie’s still got feelings.”

“Ah, but you have to remember Brooke’s got the emotional intelligence of a Build-A-Bear,” Plastique pointed out, Akeria shrugging slowly and nodding.

“I guess.”

“I have a great plan for you all,” Monet said suddenly, frowning ever so slightly. “Why don’t you just let the pair of them make their own fuckin’ decisions and mind your own damn business? This has nothing to do with any of us.”

“Sorry Monet, but if it involves our best friend getting her heart broke again then it damn right does have something to do with me!” Akeria objected, Plastique breaking out into awkward laughter at the tense trajectory of the conversation.

Monet calmed down, taking a deep breath. “Look, Kiki, it’s hard for me too watching one of my best friends sleeping with someone that’s clearly still hung up on someone else. But it’s their lives, not ours. We can’t make them do anything. You just have to be the good friends I know you bitches are and be there for them if it all falls down.”

“When it all falls down.” Yvie raised her eyebrows and took a long sip of her drink.

“Yvie, you’re not helping!” Scarlet hissed.

As Monet’s words sank in, the girls had a small moment of silence to reflect on their conversation. Before Scarlet had time to generate any new thoughts, however, there came a sharp thud of footsteps down the stairs and Vanessa emerged, her hair brushed, her makeup removed, and wearing plain jeans and the orange jumper Scarlet had seen her wear so often. Her face was grave, and she pulled her trainers onto her white socked feet as she spoke.

“Kiki. I’m packed. Ready to leave when you are."

The room was silent as she haphazardly tied her laces, stood up, and left as quickly as she had come in.

The rest of the day was decidedly tense. Vanjie hardly spoke a word to anyone that morning, and when Brooke emerged she was similarly silent. Nobody ripped into them about the obvious- usually they would, but this time was different. Feelings were on the line, and people were getting hurt. Scarlet and Yvie spoke about the situation with Plastique all the way home, and by the time they both got back to the flat Brooke had already barricaded herself in her room. Yvie would usually try to talk to her, but not today. Today, Brooke was best left alone.

It took her three days to say something.

Scarlet was round at the flat and she and Yvie were in the living room with Nina, watching Coronation Street (Yvie’s choice, of course) when Brooke came into the kitchen, walked calmly through to the sofa, threw herself down on it and let out a small sigh.

“Hey, babe! How’re you- oh shit. Oh, girl, what’s wrong?” Nina sighed, seeing two tears fall from Brooke’s face that she quickly hid in the sleeves of her black hoodie.

“I’m a fucking terrible person,” she cried quietly, still burying her face in her hands as Nina launched herself into the armchair Brooke occupied and wrapped her arms around her in a hug.

“No, Brooke, you’re not. You’re not, honey,” Nina sighed, shaking her head and murmuring into Brooke’s hair.

“Everything’s ruined. Vanessa hates me…and you guys probably all do too,” Brooke sniffed. Scarlet sighed.

“Brooke, nobody hates you. Least of all us! You’ll always have us!” she smiled comfortingly. Brooke brought her head up to face her, resentment in her eyes.

“Oh, Scarlet, come on, I know your loyalties lie with Vanessa.”

Scarlet let out a displeased laugh, appealing to Yvie. “Fuck me, right!”

Brooke let out a sob as if she’d immediately regretted snapping. “I’m sorry Scarlet, that was unfair. Shit, fuck, there I go again. All I do is just push people away and bottle up my problems and never tell anybody anything. What the fuck is wrong with me?”

“Nothing’s wrong with you! And you can always tell us anything. You know that!” Nina shushed her, tucking her hair behind her ears. Brooke smiled gently at her.

Yvie piped up, leaning towards Brooke. “Yeah. And you could start by telling us what went down between you two the other night when we were away, because I don’t understand what’s happened.”

Brooke took a long, deep breath and sighed. “We got carried away…she’d been joking with me all day. Like she was flirting and being touchy…anyway, we were in the hot tub and we were talking about us. Kind of. How long I’d liked her for before we got together, and the fact we’d kissed. And then everything just sort of happened. You know we slept with each other, I know you all know. You’ve all got brains. Things were said…and I don’t think she believes any of it. Even though it was all true. And even if she wanted to speak to me, I wouldn’t even know where to begin…fuck-”

“What did you say to her?” Scarlet asked gently, holding her breath a little.

“That I missed her. That I was sorry. But I feel like she thinks I was saying it because I just wanted her so badly. I mean, I did. I do…fuck,” Brooke sighed, rubbing her face with her hands.

“What happened when you woke up? That morning. You were both obviously…not yourselves,” Nina said, trying to word things tactically. Brooke let out a huge exhale.

“I woke up and she wasn’t even in bed with me. She just pulled on her bikini from the night before, had a face on like she wanted to kill me. I tried to talk things out, but she just told me there was nothing to say. She didn’t want to speak to me…” Brooke hung her head. “And that night, after we’d slept together, we’d just…lain there and held each other. We never said anything, she didn’t leave to go back to her own room. She put her head on my chest and I put my arms around her and just felt her breathing. It was like everything was back to normal, back to how it was. Jesus, I’ve absolutely fucked it.”

This time it was Yvie that fell forward and hugged her as Brooke sobbed, quiet and resigned. Scarlet felt her heart hurt for her. As much as Brooke had behaved inconsiderately and rashly, she’d clearly recognised the mistake she’d made. Scarlet believed that she did genuinely care about Vanjie, that she wanted to make things right with her. The only issue was how to try and make Vanessa see that.

“Right,” Nina said decisively, slapping her thighs. “I’ve got an idea. Let’s go out. Let’s put all of this out of your mind and just remember what it feels like to have fun being silly and drinking with friends before all this drama happened.”

Brooke, to her credit, let out a genuinely humoured laugh. “Nina, I was silly and drinking with friends three nights ago. That’s exactly what got me into this mess.”

"No,” Nina said firmly. She was going to make such a good teacher, Scarlet thought, as she watched the girl’s face snap into a frown. “This time you’re not going to think about V. If she turns up, you don’t interact. If Akeria makes a fucking nippy as shit comment, you blank her. This is going to be a fun night, with no drama. I promise.”

Nina was clearly some level of convincing, because Brooke rubbed her eyes and sighed. “I mean…getting drunk and turning our speakers up so loud I can no longer hear my thoughts sounds pretty good.”

The three flatmates shared an indulgent grin with each other. Brooke laughed, letting out a resigned groan.

“Yves, Scar. You down?“

Scarlet smiled at Brooke so hard she felt her face hurt. Reaching out and squeezing Yvie’s hand, she knew what her answer would be. “Always, angel.”

Impromptu nights out were always the best ones, Scarlet thought, and she hoped tonight would be no exception. To be fair to Nina, it seemed as if it had been a good idea. Brooke had smiled and laughed as she helped the other girls decide what to wear, cobbled together pre-drinks from the random assortment of spirits and mixers they had around their flat, ordered Nina to either skip or turn up songs on the playlist. Nina, seemingly the one in charge, had heard about this karaoke bar from Monet which seemed to simply be a karaoke machine in the middle of a quintessential old man’s pub named The Swan, but Monet had posed it to Nina as one of the best nights out she’d ever had so of course her word was gospel. Secretly Scarlet kind of hoped Vanessa wouldn’t turn up, which was harsh but Scarlet was as much Brooke’s friend as she was Vanjie’s and she just wanted Brooke to have a good night after so much upset.

“We don’t have to message the others, you know,” Scarlet shrugged as she emerged from Yvie’s room in a borrowed red cropped jumper and the jeans she’d worn to the flat in the first place. She got the vibe that this night out was not a fancy one.

“Noo, I wanna see Plastique. And Silk’s always fun,” Brooke pouted, apparently a little tipsy already.

“If we have a night out without at least offering it to Antigua Road it’ll only start more drama,” Yvie rolled her eyes. “Besides, they’re still our friends. Also I would live to see Plastique doing karaoke.”

Scarlet laughed, agreeing as she typed out a message to their group.

Yvie’s Bitch: Ladies, we are thinking karaoke tonight??? Anyone down? Xxxxxxxxxx

okay then: omg yesyesyesyesyesyes!!!!

okay then: can Ariel come too???

Scarlet was glad of the prospect of a new addition to their night. Ariel’s presence would hopefully diffuse a bit of the drama, nobody could exactly kick off when someone new was there.

Yvie’s Bitch: Yes absolutely!!!

There was a pause. Scarlet flicked her eyes over to Brooke, who had an insincere smile on her face as Yvie and Nina did every horrific TikTok dance imaginable. Scarlet saw her turning her phone over in her hand, looking at it anxiously. When Scarlet’s phone buzzed, so did Brooke’s, and she watched as the girl practically pounced on the message.

large incongruous silkworm spiced praline: KARAOKE BITCH????? OH LAWD WE COMIN

Pres that evening were divided up between the three flats, a mutual and unspoken understanding that it was probably for the best if they met at the bar. Scarlet was glad that Brooke seemed to loosen up as the evening went on, and by the time they were in the taxi she was chatty and giggly, her words spilling out of her like liquid. When they arrived the pub was packed, and they nearly couldn’t see the girls sitting cramped around a small table that was clearly only meant for four people but was also the best they were going to get in the crowds. Scarlet didn’t miss the way Vanjie blanked Brooke as if she wasn’t there, going for a hug with Yvie and then with Nina who were on either side of her. Scarlet vowed to speak to her about things at lectures on Monday. They only had a week of classes until the Easter break began, and then they would all start basically living in the library as dissertation hand-ins and exams would start looming over them like a huge stress boulder. Scarlet tried to focus her energy into chatting politely with Ariel, who was sitting beside an already very drunk Plastique. Scarlet had met her only a few times before when she’d been with Plastique on campus, but she’d never come to any big group nights out with the girls and Scarlet wanted to make her feel welcome. Although that was currently hard with the tension between Vanessa and Brooke, and by proxy Akeria, who had a protective arm slung around Vanjie like a mother lioness. Scarlet was distracted from the scene for a moment by Yvie, who had bought her a gin and lemonade. Scarlet thanked her and squeezed up on the chair she was sitting on to accommodate her girlfriend. She felt herself smile involuntarily as Yvie kissed her cheek. Yvie, the drink in her hand, and somebody new to get to know. Those were the three things Scarlet would focus on.

And that worked out. For a while. But Brooke had wanted to drown her feelings and it looked as if she was giving that a pretty good attempt. She’d returned from a simple drinks round with Jagerbombs for everyone (even Vanessa, although as peace offerings went it was one of the worst Scarlet had ever seen) and had been quite happy to sink the ones that some of the girls had refused. Then she’d dragged Nina up to sing a duet of Beyonce and Shakira’s Beautiful Liar which Brooke was essentially making into soft porn judging by the way she was flipping her hair and grinding on Nina, who was dying of laughter as she tried to get her notes out. Scarlet was nudged by Yvie who nodded to Akeria and Vanjie. The two were frowning at the girls on stage and muttering disapprovingly.

“I’m going to say something. This is a joke, they’re acting like they’re in high school,” Yvie rolled her eyes, as the girls got up from their seats and moved in the direction of the bar where Silky was in the queue for drinks.

“Don’t, Yves. Kiki’s only looking out for V, and she’s still upset. Brooke’s taking it a bit too far, to be fair,” Scarlet winced as Brooke hit a note that definitely wasn’t written anywhere in the song.

“She’s trying to have a fun night, Scarlet. But she can’t, because Judge fuckin’ Judy’s giving her death stares any time she so much as breathes,” Yvie seethed, whipping her head around and trying to find the girls in the crowd. It appeared they weren’t in the queue any more.

“They’ve probably gone to smoke. Yvie, leave it, baby. Brooke is having a good time, look!” Scarlet insisted, as the song came to an end and the girls laughed and hugged each other. Brooke almost took a tumble going down the steps from the podium the stage was on, and flopped back onto her chair.

“I’m the next Beyonce. I’ll take autographs later,” she murmured, Scarlet laughing at her ridiculousness. “I also need to pee. Anyone else?”

Scarlet indulged her and went with her. She didn’t actually need, but she also needed to make sure that Brooke wasn’t about to pass out on a toilet floor, so the two of them crammed into the only cubicle that wasn’t out of order or already in use.

“You’re having a good night, then?” she asked, looking at the grubby floor as Brooke pulled her jeans down.

“I’m actually having…the best time,” Brooke nodded emphatically, carelessly ripping bits of toilet paper out of the dispenser. Scarlet watched it fall like gigantic blossoms as Brooke rambled on. “This was the best idea, Nina is…Nina’s just so good with ideas, she’s going to be a primary teacher…and she’s going to be so good at it…they’ll probably make her a headteacher within the year…”

Brooke finished, stood up, flipped the lid of the toilet seat down unnecessarily loudly, yanked up her jeans, then fell back onto the lid. Scarlet sighed.

“Jesus. This is like babysitting. Come on, zip up your jeans.”

Brooke obeyed, her limbs moving as if she was made of jelly. As she did up her zipper and the button at the top, she kept speaking. “I’m having such a good time, oh my God, Nina just has the best ideas ever…you know this whole thing was her idea? She’s going to make the best teacher ever…I wish I had a teacher like her when I was little…”

Suddenly, Scarlet froze as she heard quiet sobs come from the cubicle next to them, and judging from the way Brooke had stopped talking, she’d heard them too. The two girls were still and silent, and Scarlet could see the same hope dawning on Brooke’s face that she felt in her gut.

Please don’t let this be Vanjie, please let it be some random drunk girl instead…

“Shhh, shhh, babe, c’mon. It’s gonna be alright,” Akeria’s voice was soft, lilting through the wall, and Scarlet felt her heart sink. Fuck. She snuck a quick look at Brooke, whose face was blank and expressionless, just blinking slowly with glazed eyes as she looked in the direction of the voices.

“But it ain’t alright, is it? None of it’s alright,” Vanessa’s voice came, thick with emotion and sadness in a way that made Scarlet’s heart crack.

“Vanjie, the goddess herself Miss Whitney Houston told us that it’s not right, but it’s okay,” Scarlet was unsure who spoke next until she realised that it was Silky, her voice softer and more gentle than she’d ever heard it before. She’d coaxed a blessed laugh out of Vanessa, and Scarlet was glad she was there for her. “You’re here, you’re doing the hard part. It’s gonna get less hard every day.”

Vanessa’s sobs quietened, and a huge sigh came through the wall instead. The next time her voice came it was quiet, nothing more than resigned and sincere. “I miss her…so fucking much, girls.”

“I know you do, angel. I know you do.”

There was a pause, a sniff, and a small stifled sob.

“It just hurts that…I’m still in love with her, and I never got the chance to tell her in the first place.”

Scarlet felt as if she’d just been launched out of a plane on a parachute jump with no goggles, safety gear, or parachute. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. This was bad, this was so bad. She looked frantically to Brooke, who had a single mascara tear rolling quickly down her face, her eyes threatening to overflow.

Akeria’s voice was strict. “Who do you love more, Brooke or yourself?”

There was a pause as Vanessa let out a breath. “Myself.”

“Correct answer. Come on, girl, look at you. This ain’t how you spend a night out.”

Another small laugh from Vanjie, meanwhile Brooke looked more broken than Scarlet had ever seen her. Back in the bar, whoever had been singing had finished, and the host’s voice was now booming over the speakers. The loud noise was muffled as it came through the bathroom wall.

“Alright, up next we have the dreamgirls! Do we have the dreamgirls?”

Silky let out a screech. “BITCH! It’s us!”

A little pause, then Akeria’s voice. “Your call, V. Home or stay, what do you want?”

There was a small sniff, a pause, then a scramble from the cubicle. Silky let out a cheer, and Scarlet heard the bathroom door swing open then shut again. Scarlet and Brooke were silent and frozen. Scarlet didn’t know what to say- didn’t know what she could say, so she simply held out her arms for a hug. Brooke stood up, shuffling forward and wrapping her arms around her, Scarlet trying to convey how sorry she was through squeezing her tight. The ditzy, drunk girl from before had been replaced with this quiet statue, and Scarlet didn’t know if she was imagining it or if it had been the confession they’d both just heard but Brooke seemed to have managed to sober up slightly. There was silence, and then Brooke gave a murmur against her shoulder.

“I’m in love with her too.”

Absolutely nothing about Brooke’s admission came as a shock to Scarlet. She sighed, rubbing the taller girl’s back. “Then tell her.”

She felt Brooke shake her head and let out a breath, her ribcage shrinking in Scarlet’s arms then blowing slowly up like a balloon as she took a shuddery, verge-of-tears intake of breath. “No. It’s…no.”

Scarlet nodded understandingly, then stepped back, tilted Brooke’s face up to look at her and swept two fingers underneath each of her eyes, catching her tears before they fell. “Hey. We’re not gonna let this ruin your night, okay?”

Brooke nodded silently. Scarlet knew the words were bullshit as soon as they’d left her mouth but she had to say something vaguely positive, she had to at least offer a speck of hope. She took Brooke’s hand and squeezed it, forcing a grin. “Besides, Silky singing is going to be a mess that we need to experience.”

Brooke let out a snort, a smile gradually creeping onto her face as Scarlet led her out of the cubicle. They washed their hands rapidly then grabbed fistfuls of scratchy paper towels before re-emerging into the bar and sitting down at their table. Plastique, three sheets to the wind, put her hands on either side of Brooke’s face.

“Where were you, bitch?! The girls are doing a song!”

Almost on cue, the lights began to flash purple and pink and a dance bassline blew out through the speakers. Silky’s voice cut through it loudly, the three girls already assembled on stage and holding microphones.

“Good evening, Swan! We are your Dreamgirls, show us some love!”

Scarlet couldn’t help but laugh as she whooped along with the rest of the bar, Akeria launching into her verse in a moderately tuneful voice.

“So you think that you can play around,

And that she will simply stay around,

Did you think that she’d just wait around for you?

Wait ‘til you get the news, wait ‘til you get the news that she’s,

‘Bout to do the same thing, ‘bout to play the same game!”

Scarlet risked a look at Brooke before the girls launched into the chorus. She was sure the song choice had been a coincidence. Maybe not. Scarlet always tried to be optimistic, but Brooke was smiling tightly as Plastique clung to her arm and screeched with excitement. The three girls hit the chorus, attempting and half-succeeding at a harmony.

“When ya good girl’s gone bad, whatcha gonna do,

When she’s out there doin’ the things that you do?

When ya good girl’s gone bad, whatcha gonna say,

When she’s out there playin’ the games that you play?

Whatcha gonna say to that, whatcha gonna do when she hurts you,

Whatcha gonna say to that, whatcha gonna do?”

Scarlet’s attention was pulled from the song as Yvie sat down next to her with two drinks, sliding one across to her. “This is like cats being strangled.”

Scarlet bellowed a laugh. “Aww, come on! They’re not that bad. Plus everyone seems to be loving them.”

She watched Yvie looking around the bar. There were a group of five middle-aged women in front of the stage, dancing around and cheering them on. In the corner, a big stag night group were shouting approvingly during Silky’s current verse, Silky of course winking and waving at them mid-solo. The rest of the bar was either punching the air for the girls or singing along incoherently. Yvie laughed, kissing Scarlet’s temple lovingly. “Babe. Everyone’s pissed.”

Scarlet laughed, shrugging as the three girls launched into the ever-so slightly cutting chorus again. She didn’t look at Brooke, even though she wanted to. Plastique would be looking after her, she hoped anyway. Suddenly Vanessa launched into the breakdown, her voice loud as she sang out into the microphone.

“She’s been watchin’ everything you do,

She’s been learnin’ everything from you,

And it won’t be too long before she shows you just how it feels…”

Silky and Akeria grabbed Vanjie by the waist as they backed her up, making their flatmate laugh as they belted out the last chorus together. Scarlet felt her heart swell up. As much as the whole situation was messy and people were getting hurt, Scarlet supposed it had brought out the love everyone had for their friends. Akeria had said she was done with Vanessa, but she wasn’t, not really. Scarlet could see that as she twerked against her on stage, making Vanessa laugh through her final lines.

“Whatcha gonna say to that, whatcha gonna do when she hurts you,

Whatcha gonna say to that, whatcha gonna do?”

As the pub roared their approval, Silky yelled into the microphone. “Thank you, Swan! Gentlemen…I will be at the bar.”

Scarlet grabbed Yvie’s arm as they both burst out laughing at Silky’s no-fucks-given approach to finding her men. As Scarlet turned to Brooke in the hope that Silky’s comment would’ve made her laugh, she saw with a small flash of panic that her chair was completely empty- no jacket, no bag, and no Brooke.

“Plastique! Where’s-” Scarlet shouted over to her, then realised that she’d had her back to Brooke’s chair and had been talking to Ariel. As the girl turned to face her, Scarlet shook her head. Casting her eyes to Nina’s chair, she found it equally empty. She knew they’d both gone home, and Nina would make her tea as Brooke got upset over the confession she’d overheard earlier. Casting an eye over her friends that remained in the bar, Scarlet did a small calculation in her head. Just over three months until graduation.

Scarlet hoped to God they would all get their shit together soon.

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brookelynnsanders · 4 years

Photo

The First Fall

A/N so here is a little side rp with @ladyreggiewright - thank you casshew, it was so much fun. again no beta, just me, grammerly and god.

Brooke Lynn's mind has become a hoarding monster over the past weeks. Too much time on her own as she barely passes by someone she knows. Her maids the only steady companions she can rely on, too bad two of them are selectively mute and the other constantly scolds the blonde.

And just like most times in her life, she decides to run away from her problems on the daily. So it's no surprise to find her running through the royal garden blasting upbeat music in her headphones. Focusing on her breathing instead of the burning in her thighs. Until she reaches too deep inside, scratching the core of emptiness again.

Don’t cry, don’t cry. Everything will be alright. The pain in her legs now the only thing keeping her float. So she keeps a steady pace, one step after another. Welcoming the empty paths around her as sweat gathers at the base of her neck. The blonde jogs around a corner Bush, letting her ponytail swing from left to right, while admiring the cherry blossoms adorn the cloud-free sky.

Until the world suddenly falls down.

"Fuck," Brooke groans into the grass beneath her face. Inhaling too many bugs and plant particles for her liking. Her headphones now hanging around her neck instead of fulfilling their purpose.

A voice suddenly appears above her. "Are you... alright?"

Yeah sure, we all know this is a fake garden with a bouncy flooring.

The blonde hastily gets back up into a sitting position, resting on her soles as she removes the grass pieces from her lips and lashes, before dusting of her pink leggings.

"Yes, I am. Just wanted to hug the grass. It seemed lonely," the blonde answers coldly. Already annoyed by the world prior to her stumble.

"I would advise against that for in the future."

Brooke barely focuses on the female voice next to her, to absorbed by all the misfortunes the universe has thrown at her.

"My apologies, it was not my intention to make you... hug the grass as you put it."

With a small sight and a flip of her ponytail, the blonde woman gets up and finally allows herself to take in the owner of the smooth yet slightly confused voice. The girl opposite her has brunette waves covering her shoulders and a stern look on her face. A face that seemed familiar but didn't elicit a certain memory.

"I accept your apology," Brooke states with a smirk on her lips, "What are you doing out here anyway? I rarely see any other selected when I am out on a run."

The gardens always seemed to be lonely once Brooke is on a run. Most ladies probably keeping each other company in the women's room or exploring the palace on their own. Or Brooke just went outside at odd times.

The girl opposite her simply blinks at her, before glancing at her book. Giving Brooke nearly enough time to find constellations in the freckles splattered across her cheeks. "I was reading." Brooke's appearance doesn't go unnoticed either as the girl gives her a brief once-over. "Brooke Lynn Sanders, was it?" A polite smile now gracing her face, lighting up her earlier demeanor.

"Yes. And you are?" Pursed lips and furrowed brows exposing her obvious confusion.

"Regina Wright, but Reggie is fine."

Brooke Lynn takes the her outstretched hand, attempting to use the etiquette lessons she had to endure for some good. "Nice to meet you Regina."

The blue-eyed gaze now resting against the book in Regina's hand, covered in more sticky notes than she could count. "Were you studying or do you passionately cover each book of yours with sticky notes?" She wonders out loud, amused at the sight and clicks her tongue.

"Studying, in fact,” Reggie counters as she rolls her shoulders back, sitting back on the bench with her legs crossed delicately. The picture of a true lady. Glancing at the book beside her with the notes in it. “Just covering them with notes sounds pointless. How has your stay been so far?” An awkward smile on her lips tells Brooke that she might not really care.

So Brooke furrows her brows and brushes over the question and shots back her own. “Why are you studying? Didn't your university extend your studies because of the selection?” Petty drips from her chin. What a poor soul, if that’s really the case.

“And delay them? I don't see why I simply can't do both.” The scoff before the words pour of her mouth and the sudden ignorant demeanor, nose and chin raised high, only add to the sudden dislike overcoming the blonde.

Nevermind.

“Two months of a study break won't kill a career that hasn't even started.” A playful tone in her voice an attempt to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she doesn’t allow herself to rest.

Dark orbs stare into her ocean ones as her counterpart presses her lips together, clearly suppressing her thoughts. Or at least rechoosing them. “Well, it's clear we differ in priorities...”

Blonde bushy brows raise high. Ohhh. So she thinks she is better than all of us for actually studying.

“Well one of us can appreciate when the universe throws a break at her so she won't end up with a burn out at 28.” She might sound like an egghead, but she is a proud egghead.

Regina just flips through the pages of her book, lifting a brow shortly as if she hadn’t properly heard Brooke. But if the blonde wasn’t mistaken she could hear a slight whisper of the word “unachieved”. The smile on the brunette’s lips says otherwise. “I doubt any universe would concern itself with someone's need for a so-called break, but I suppose that's a way to... Make use of an opportunity.”

“Well while we are we can work on our selves and take care of our mental health. Do some yoga, meditate, go on a run, find our chi.” Brooke could go on and on about self-care methods and the benefits those have. But she doubts that Regina would appreciate her lecture so she asks her what she studies instead.

“Political Science.” Her gaze barely lifting from her book. Seemingly waiting for the blonde to depart.

“Political Science... In a monarchy.” Brooke Lynn’s double in size at the mention of the woman’s major. With a small cough, she tries to cover up her disdain but still asks: “Interesting choice. What job opportunities does this major offer?”

”You are not aware of how our country works?” Regina shakes her head, probably already judging the blonde, and begins listing: “There's advisors, multiple political functions within each province, not to mention ambassadors- and if none of those interest you somehow, there's lawyer, political journalist, professor- “

The blonde feels her cheeks heat up as she tries to deflect from her knowledge gap. “Well, that sounds like a diverse field. But wouldn't make it more sense for advisors to be experts in their fields and not experts on politics?”

Yet that only leads to a rub of her counterpart’s forehead and a deep sigh. Yes and no. Yes if you're talking specific advisors, however, they would still need a general knowledge of the procedures and laws. No, if you're talking head advisor of the Monarchy for example, who should have a basic understanding of all things.” Brooke hums, still not completely convinced, but unable to offer better arguments.”I suspect you don't aspire such a career.”

Brooke bops her head before answering. “You are right, I don't. My place is in the natural sciences.”

“What major specifically?” A pinch of condescension in her voice, while her eyes keep her thoughts tightly hidden away.

“Psychology. Aiming for a Master's degree in Neuropsychology.” The blonde throws her ponytail behind her back, refusing to break eye contact.

“That is... actually interesting.” Gotcha. “Yet, you wanted a break from it?”

“I don't want it, I just know that opportunities to solely focus on yourself with a clean slate and barely any distractions are rare. So I'll take it.” And everyone should, she adds mentally. Deep down being concerned about the seemingly overworked woman with a perfectionist nature. “And I already handed in my Bachelor Thesis, so my work is already done.” Not that she needed to defend her mental health break, but she would have spend the coming weeks looking for Master programs anyways. Maybe had helped out in some more projects.

“Interesting. Better than your running capabilities then,” Regina adds with a heartfelt smirk and regally gets up from the metal bench.

A scoff passes Brooke’s lips before speaking up: “I run perfectly without any death traps!” A giggle escaping her lungs involuntarily.

“Little hyperbolic to call my feet that, but alright. “ Thi is the cue for the brunette to grab her sticky notes covered book, hug it to her chest, before straightening her spine even more. “The library has quite some Poli Sci books, so you can... catch up.” A single nod is her goodbye gesture before turning around. Leaving Brooke a bit dumbfounded on her running path.

The blonde mumbles the words “as if I cared enough for a pseudoscience,” before plugging in her headphones and continuing her run. Attempting to forget about this strange encounter. Hoping it was her last.

#Brooke lynn Sanders #side rp #reggie wright #selection oc #((before first date))

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mikrowrites · 5 years

Text

all hail the magic man

•part six•

Doctor Strange x Apprentice!OC(platonic)

Charlie ran into the Sanctum, eyes wide with desperation as the portal closed behind her. She was met with overwhelming silence, causing her heart to drop further with every beat.

“Wong?” Charlie gasped out, looking around wildly. “Wong?!”

“Charlotte!”

She whipped her head around to see the top of the staircase, ignoring the pain. Wong stood at the top, his usually stoic face contorted in despair and relief.

Charlie let her face crumple, tears mixing with dried blood as they cascaded down her face, the girl sinking to her knees. Wong raced down the stairs, his eyes analyzing the girl for injuries. His hands rested on either side of her face as he obsevered her blood-crusted nose. The bridge of it was misshaped, purple and yellow.

Wong began casting a spell to fix it, gently wiping the blood away. Anybody who knew Stephen knew Charlie was his soft spot, but they’d be surprised to see that it was more so the case for Wong.

“They-they just—“ Charie stuttered over her tears. “—disintegrated... B-Bucky and Wanda a-and so many people... he-he did it.”

Wong finished healing her nose, pulling the girl in as she sobbed into his robes. After a few minutes Charlie pulled back, wiping the dried blood and tears from her face.

She spent a couple days at the Sanctum before Bruce began blowing up her phone. Charlie packed her robes and a few extra sling rings, donning a tee shirt and jeans.

Funny. That’s how that fateful day had started.

Charlie approached Wong in the library. He had definitely seen better days, but hadn’t they all?

“I need to go back to uh... to the compound. They’re trying to find Tony and where Tony is Stephen is, so um... I need to be there.” Charlie murmured.

Wong nodded in understanding, the two sharing a knowing look.

“Bring him back when you return.”

- - - - - -

A couple weeks had passed. Charlie has been scouring Stephen’s books for a tracking spell to cover such a wide range. She had been aided by Carol Danvers, who had arrived a few days after the snap. She was finally able to pinpoint a location and had set off to find them.

Charlie sat on the steps of the compound, shivering against the cool breeze that spread across the landscape. Her eyes were trained on the sky, her foot anxiously tapping on the concrete.

She felt a piece of fabric, looking to see an oversized sweatshirt over her shoulders and Steve Rogers giving her a sympathetic smile.

Charlie chuckled. “I know it’s late. Tell me to go back inside, I’ll catch a cold.”

The super soldier sighed, sitting next to her. “Nah. You wouldn’t listen anyways.”

Charlie smirked, turning back towards the sky. “If he’s not with Tony... I don’t know what to do. Besides Wong... he’s like the only family I have left.”

“He’ll be there. I promise.” Steve responded smoothly, clasping his hands together in front of him.

“It’s funny... if he was snapped... he would’ve gone out being disappointed in me.” Charlie laughed brokenly.

“If Strange is the man you’ve described to all of us, that’s just not true.” Steve turned to Charlie. “I promise you.”

The two were snapped back to reality by a strong gust of wind, Carol bringing a ship down to land in the grass before the compound. Charlie and Steve sprung up, Steve running ahead.

Charlie grinned, pulling her arms through the sweatshirt sleeves and running after him. She ran up to Tony, who was being helped down from the ship by Steve. Charlie kept looking over Tony’s shoulder, waiting to catch a glimpse of Stephen’s red cloak.

“Kid...” Tony croaked, causing Charlie to turn to him. Her grin slowly began to subside as her joy and relief was exchanged with confusion and terror.

“Kid, I’m sorry... he’s gone.”

- - - - - -

Five Years Later...

Steve and Tony drove through the Honduran streets, an air of tension strong between the two men. The car stopped in front of a concrete building, the two stepping out, thanking, and paying the driver. A wooden board above the door read “La Clinica de La Ceiba”, the two stepping inside.

A soft spoken American nurse greeted them, gesturing to an outside playground. Steve and Tony exchanged a look, both of them approaching the area.

Several kids ran around screaming with laughter, some in wrist casts or bandages around their heads, some with facemasks or crutches. Their attention was held by a grand display of orange sparks and sigils, entrancing them all in wonder.

And in the middle crouched a woman.

She was taller, leaner. Her hair was choppy and short, and eyes a brilliant green. She donned a pair of scuffed military combat boots, an olive scrub shirt, and khaki cargo pants.

And her smile, though wide and beaming, was broken.

Charlotte Lynn Greyson overjoyed the kids with the Mystic Arts, hoping to take away as much suffering as possible.

She had been thrown into a crisis, five years ago, her life coming to a halt. What was she supposed to do? So she poured herself into studying, Wong teaching her the Mystic Arts until two years later, when she was declared a Master of the Mystic Arts.

Charlie then set off on a quest to help people. Do what Stephen would’ve done. First Mexico, then parts of Finland. She helped a bit in Norway in New Asgard, before she got a call from Honduras, where she had spent the past two years volunteering at a hospital in La Ceiba.

The nurses called the children back inside, Charlie dispersing the sparks and smiling fondly at them as the left. She turned to see the two familiar men, her smile fading into a thin line.

“Hey kiddo.” Tony softly called. The woman ran her fingers through her hair, approaching the two Avengers.

“Tony. Steve.” Charlie smiled slightly, nodding. “Long time no see.”

“Charlie.” Steve nodded back.

“Thought you’d need some recovery time from O’ Canada.” Tony smirked, referring to when the man had the “genius” idea to take Charlie to Toronto for her nineteenth birthday and order five tequila poppers.

Charlie snorted before pulling Tony into a hug. “Yeah, almost a year of recovery time, you asshole.” They both pulled away, Charlie sharing a firm handshake with Steve. “So... what’re you guys doing here? Not that it’s not nice to see you, but cmon. This isn’t your vibe.”

Steve inhaled deeply. “We figured it out. Time travel.”

Charlie tensed, narrowing her eyes. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I cracked it. We found a way to fix something. And we need you.” Tony begged.

Charlie frowned to herself, biting her lip.

“Charlie, no one knows more about time travel than you right now. And Wong’s got his hands full in Nepal right now.” Tony continued.

She nodded, sighing. “Too busy or not interested?” Charlie smirked at the two, before walking away, poking her head into the clinica and shouting something in Spanish. She then walked back over creating a portal of orange sparks.

“What are you two grandpas waiting for?”

- - - - - -

A few weeks passed and soon enough Charlie was standing on a platform with the other remaining Avengers, clad in protective suits, as they all reviewed their tasks. Bruce (or the Hulk? The whole situation was just confusing to Charlie) walked up to stand next to her, the two sparing a glance to each other.

The reflective mirrors gleamed as the ground opened up underneath them, swallowing them into the quantum void. Charlie narrowed her eyes, following Steve and Tony as themselves, Scott, and Bruce as well branched off into a separate dimension together. As they reached their step-off point.

Charlie remembered that day very well. The day she first met the Ancient One.

New York, 2012.

- - - - - -

A/N: a little background: I actually went on a two-month long mission relief trip to Honduras a month and a half ago and worked in schools and clinics (in La Ceiba too for a couple days) and based a lot of this off working in a clinica there! The American nurse? Yeah, dat me :)

Taglist: @knightofreaders @imabookworm31 @lizlil @viarogers

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libertyreads · 5 years

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February TBR:

This February I’m going to try to keep my pile down to 7 books and only read those because I’ll be on vacation for the next 10 days and so I won’t have a ton of time to read this month. All but one of these is coming from my TBR shelf and two of them have been on there for over two years. I’m also rereading and rewatching To All the Boys I Loved Before for Valentine’s Day.

1. Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton-- The continuation of a desert fantasy I started in January. I am hopeful for this one given how big of a size jump it is from the first one (at least I’m consistent?). I really don’t want to read the synopsis because I’m afraid it’ll give too much away. 2. To All the Boys I Loved Before by Jenny Han-- I wanted to reread this one for Valentine’s Day because I like to read a romantic/contemporary story around this time of year for fun. It’s about a girl’s old love letters getting sent out by mistake and the ramifications of that. 3. Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton-- The final book in the Rebel of the Sands series. Just like Traitor to the Throne, I really don’t want to look up the synopsis for this, but I’m still excited to read this desert fantasy. 4. The Little Paris Bookshop-- Monsieur Perdu recommends novels to help others deal with heartbreak and pain. The only person he can’t seem to help is himself. This is the journey he goes on to heal from his own loss. I picked it up on a buy 2 get 1 free table because it looked good so it’s finally time I read it. 5. The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas-- Again, another book that’s been on my TBR forever. This one is about a girl taking a stand when her friend is killed by a police officer. I think everyone has heard of this one or at least seen the movie. I think the hype is what has made this one hard to pick up for me, but I’m going to try to do it this month. 6. The Wicked and the Just by J. Anderson Coats-- This is another library sale book I got back in November. I liked the cover and thought it sounded good. It’s a historical fiction set in Wales which already sounds up my alley. Two very different girls meet when a Welsh woman becomes the servant of a English woman. 7. The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes-- This is one that I had to get after I heard someone describe it as “Criminal Minds for YA readers.” With Criminal Minds ending this month (uuuuuuggghhhh), I thought it was fitting to read this one after the finale.

#february tbr #monthly tbr #traitor to the throne #to all the boys I loved before #hero at the fall #the little Paris bookshop #the hate you give #the wicked and the just #the naturals

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agrippinaes · 5 years

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books i read in 2019

this year i read a total of 109 books. i lost track of some things i read and didn’t list them on goodreads, so the actual total is probably higher than my official reading challenge number. i’ve added at least a couple i can distinctly remember reading as they were christmassy novellas.

this year i leaned more heavily into reading romance of all types. i’ve found it easier to read books with a guaranteed happily ever after this year, and i’ve not had much enjoyment in my other type of common read which is a murder mystery/thriller. as the year ended though i did find i was reading a wider variety of books, which possibly is because i now work for a library and i can’t seem to help myself from taking books home.

i’m hoping to continue reading a bigger variety of books in 2020, but i’m also happy to continue down my romance route. i’ve decided to set my challenge at 30 books this year to feel a bigger sense of achievement, as for the last two years i’ve set it at 1 and whilst this obviously softened the pressure on me to read quickly i’ve definitely felt it less of a ‘challenge’. i’m confident i’ll be able to get to 30 fairly quickly.

rereads are italicised, books i really enjoyed are bolded, and my standout read of the year is both.

mystery man by kristen ashley

breathe by kristen ashley

the gamble by kristen ashley

raid by kristen ashley

knight by kristen ashley

the hookup by kristen ashley

law man by kristen ashley

rock chick renegade by kristen ashley

rock chick rescue by kristen ashley

rock chick by kristen ashley

rock chick revenge by kristen ashley

rock chick redemption by kristen ashley

jagged by kristen ashley

sebring by kristen ashley

motorcycle man by kristen ashley

heaven and hell by kristen ashley

fix her up by tessa bailey

i dared the duke by anna bennett

my brown eyed earl by anna bennett

to catch a spinster by megan bryce

idol by kristen callihan

fall by kristen callihan

lord of scoundrels by loretta chase

dashing through the no by k.b. cinder

his forsaken bride by alice coldbreath

wed by proxy by alice coldbreath

an ill-made match by alice coldbreath

her baseborn bridegroom by alice coldbreath

the master by kresley cole

the professional by kresley cole

the scandalous, dissolute, no-good mr. wright by tessa dare

the wallflower wager by tessa dare

his bride for the taking by tessa dare

meet me in mayfair by tessa dare

duke in darkness by nicola davidson

well met by jen de luca

the exit by helen fitzgerald

the hunting party by lucy foley

the witch of willow hall by hester fox

the unromantic lady by lucy gordon

the silverton scandal by amanda grange

a christmas gone perfectly wrong by cecilia grant

coldhearted boss by r.s. grey

his royal highness by r.s. grey

the narrow bed by sophie hannah

the book of life by deborah harkness

kiss me not by emma hart

kiss me tonight by emma hart

kiss me again by emma hart

the grand sophy by georgette heyer

the black moth by georgette heyer

three weddings and a scandal by wendy holden

admit you want me by taylor holloway

the beast of beswick by amalie howard

of valor and vice by k.j. jackson

the rumour by lesley kara

to catch a killer by emma kavanagh

twenties girl by sophie kinsella

can you keep a secret? by sophie kinsella

the deserted heart by mary lancaster

the wicked baron by mary lancaster

the masterful mr. montague by stephanie laurens

a lady of his own by stephanie laurens

the designs of lord randolph cavanaugh by stephanie laurens

swear by adriana locke

come back to bed by kayley loring

green by kayley loring

a rogue by any other name by sarah maclean

9 rules to break when romancing a rake by sarah maclean

11 scandals to start to win a duke’s heart by sarah maclean

brazen and the beast by sarah maclean

wicked and the wallflower by sarah maclean

the duke of christmas present by sarah maclean

the psychology of time travel by kate mascarenhas

perfection by r.l. mathewson

devastated by r.l. mathewson

a nefarious engagement by lynn messina

a treacherous performance by lynn messina

the power by naomi alderman

the failing hours by sara ney

just a little prick by adele niles

enemies with benefits by roxie noir

the way of all flesh by ambrose parry

now you see her by heidi perks

this lie will kill you by chelsea pitcher

the touch of love by meara platt

happy trail by daisy prescott

ruin beach by kate rhodes

the prayer of the night shepherd by phil rickman

the lamp of the wicked by phil rickman

an enchantment of ravens by margaret rogerson

the dark vault by v.e. schwab

whiskey chaser by lucy score

one bad idea by sabrina stark

wordless by sabrina stark

flipping his script by sabrina stark

death in the spotlight by robin stevens

top marks for murder by robin stevens

the raven boys by maggie stiefvater

sleep by c.l. taylor

99 percent mine by sally thorne

jess castle and the eyeballs of death by m.b. vincent

fleanbag by phoebe waller-bridge

the turn of the key by ruth ware

times like these by julia wolf

luna and the lie by mariana zapata

the wall of winnipeg and me by mariana zapata

wait for it by mariana zapata

under locke by mariana zapata

#2020 books #diary

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pixieungerstories · 6 years

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Darkness - 10

Brie was almost done with her shower when she noticed the weird scar on her ass was gone. She finished up and looked in the mirror. It was really gone. No red skin, no raised area, no sign that she had been cut badly enough to need stitches.

That was…. Weird. It was inexplicable, really. She hadn’t done any kind of scar care or anything. How could it have… No. No. That was ridiculous. Except now she needed to know. The key was under the door mat as Mr Lynn had promised. Brie knocked hesitantly. This should wait until morning. Her dorky little flash light aside, hadn’t every horror movie she had ever seen taught her to never go into the creepy house alone? Especially after dark. She knocked again and waited. Nothing. This was completely ridiculous. She unlocked the door and pushed it open. “Mr Herne?” she called. There was no answer. She turned on the flash light and looked for a light switch. She couldn’t find one. On the floor were her foot prints in the dust, headed up the stairs when Mr Lynn had brought her to visit. Only her foot prints, not his. Headed to the left were … she didn’t want to say hoof prints, but the marks of something walking the way the monster had taken her. She should just leave. “Mr Herne?” She followed her foot prints up to the sitting room where she had waited. She knocked on the pocket doors, not really certain what she would say if there was an answer. There wasn’t. She carefully pushed them open. Inside was a library full of old books. Legal books, several sets of encyclopedia, books on gardening and mushroom and she was avoiding looking too closely at the entire wall that seemed to be in latin. With one outlier. A green cloth cover with a single word title, Darkness. She plucked that one off the shelf. There were some sort of mystic circles etched on the front cover and when she opened it, the writing seemed to swim before her eyes, as though it was fighting not to be read. She flipped ahead and found a picture. Of her nightmare demon. “What are you doing here?” Brie jumped, screamed a little, dropped the book and spun around to find Mr Herne standing there in a black pair of pyjama pants. “I… I’m sorry!’ she blurted out and tried to run past him to leave. He caught her easily, “Why are you here, Ms Moreno?” She struggled back and away from him. “I didn’t come to steal!” she felt it was important to get that out, then realized how guilty it made her sound. He was watching her. “I never suggested you were. Why are you here?” Brie tried to explain, “Yesterday…. I had a nightmare about the house and … oh god!” Mr Herne flinched. “It… seemed so real. I just needed to see…” She trailed off uncertain how to continue. “And was it?” he asked, sounding curious. Brie felt completely ridiculous. She wanted to say, no, of course it wasn’t real. Except she couldn’t. After a few moments, Mr Herne sighed, “C’mon. I’ll make us a cup of tea.” As he turned, she could see where his back was covered in scars. Stripes that looked like he had been whipped, a burn mark over one hip, and two deep gouges, one on each side of his spine. Brie followed him to an old but functional kitchen and watched as he made a pot of camomile tea. He took a sip, made a face and got out a squeeze bottle of honey shaped like a bear. It was completely out of place in the kitchen. He offered it to her. She shook her head. He shrugged and set it on the counter. He took a long drink of his tea then set the cup on the saucer and said, “Everyone has bad dreams, Brie. Not everyone breaks into someone else’s house in the middle of the night.” Her head hurt. She was looking at Mr Herne, and something was wrong. It took her a moment to realize that the kitchen behind him was distorted like bad photoshop behind him. She looked away. The rest of the kitchen was fine. She looked back. His form sucked at her eyes, but as she tried to concentrate on the space behind him it looked… smushed. She closed her eyes and rubbed her face, then panicked and snapped her eyes open. The monster had told her something. She hadn’t been paying attention. Something about his name. “How tall are you Marbus Herne?” “Nine feet, approximately, plus a couple of feet of horns,” he replied promptly. Then stiffened as though he hadn’t meant to say that. Brie felt her already rapid heart rate jump even further. She was struggling to breath. This was wrong. It wasn’t possible it was- The world went very white. “Ms Moreno? Brie?” The world went dark.Darkness was pacing, his tail swishing angrily. He had the girl in his bed, but this was not how he had imagined getting her there. Calling Lynn had been no help. His advice was to dump her in the garden and pretend this never happened. That wasn’t going to happen. What if she died from exposure? Who would do the weeding and cook his supper? Honestly, the goblin needed to get his priorities right. OK, so it was still late summer and it didn’t get that cold at night, but the grass was wet and what if she got sick? What if she woke up scared and couldn’t get back to her cottage in the dark? What if she tripped in a rabbit hole and broke her leg? Fuck, he missed being able to blaspheme. He needed a higher power to curse right now. How had he ended up in this mess? See! This is why the damned fell back on wailing and gnashing of teeth! Sheer bloodly frustration at the injustice of the universe and - Oh, shit. Was she awake? “Brie?” “What are you?” A lie would be the easiest thing, but he had given her his true name. “I was a forest god more than a thousand years ago. I am the guardian of The Great Tree. Now I am a refugee from days gone by.” “What happened to your back?” “Witch hunters. Demonologists. A very long time ago. I was bound to the property and can not leave. I spoke the truth about living in a refugee camp. It is just that I am still here.” “You look like a human sometimes.” “Sometimes,” Darkness agreed. “It takes energy to hide. It doesn’t work perfectly.” “Have you been haunting me?” Darkness considered his words carefully, “I have been guarding you since the attack. Talking to you in your sleep was a way to make sure you were safe.” “You tried to kill the man who attacked me.” “No,” he assured her. “If I wanted him dead, he would be. I wanted him to stop and never do that again to you or anyone else.” Brie blanched and tried to sit up, the room swam around her. “When was the last time you ate?” “I had… no, you came for me before I ate breakfast. Then I was going to make toast but burned my hand instead. I guess it was the picnic last night.” Brie admitted. “That was only half a sandwich - ” “I was out of chocolate,” Brie snapped. Then she hesitated, “Did you carve a symbol on my… back side?” Brie interrupted. “Only, it isn’t there anymore.” Darkness rocked back on his heels, “It was my true name. It was an indication that you are under my protection. Lynn convinced me you wouldn’t appreciate it, so I healed the scar and took back my mark.” “Isn’t that a bit like branding cattle?” Darkness shook his head. “It was never like that. It is an honour to wear the mark of a god. Or at least it used to be. How did you burn your hand?” Brie flopped back down and stared up at the ceiling. It had a mural. It was of an orgy. Of course it was. “How is this my life?” she asked no one in particular. “Just lucky I guess.” That was the final straw, Brie burst out laughing. She covered her face with her hands and laughed, then cried then got up to leave and was hit with another wave of lightheadedness. She managed to stay sitting up but had to ask, “Is this you?” “This is not having eaten in more than twenty four hours.” He watched her for a moment. “I can send someone to fetch food from your cottage if you would allow it.” Brie shook her head. “I just need to get home.” “Did you find what you were looking for when you came here?” “I… I don’t know. I never see you when I am a reliable witness.” Darkness considered this. He nodded to the goblin in the corner of the room, “Bring us a plate of fruit from the garden and a bottle of good wine from the cellar.” Brie closed her eyes as the room started to spin. She opened them again when a plate bumped against her arm. The room was lit by candles, the fruit was all things she recognized. She tried a raspberry. It was perfect. “Why no electric lights?” Darkness snorted, it was a very impressive snort. “Have you ever heard of knob and tube wiring?” While she was eating her fruit, Darkness stabbed one claw into the cork of the wine bottle and pulled it free. He poured two crystal glasses and held one out to her. Brie shook her head, “Sorry, but I am a lot more careful about what I drink these days.” Darkness cocked his head, “It would have been easier to poison the fruit.” Brie froze. “I would not. I enjoy having you around too much to harm you or drive you off.” Brie pulled a red apple slice off the plate and held it out for him. He did not take it with his fingers but rather leaned in and sucked it from her fingers. Brie shivered. “Are you always this… way?” Darkness considered this as he chewed, “It has been a long time since there were humans in this house.” He tactfully stopped before adding other than the occasional trespasser, but free lunch doesn’t really count. Brie hesitantly went back to eating. Darkness tried again, “Tomorrow, there will be food for you here.” Brie coughed, “What? Did you put on human skin and go grocery shopping?” Darkness managed to look hurt, “No! I went online shopping. It will be delivered tomorrow.” Brie considered this, “That raises so many questions. Like how does an ancient demon - um… elder god know what the internet is?” Darkness laughed, “A hedonist utopia primarily used for the distribution of pornography? Who do you think invented that?” Brie considered this, “A science boy with no chance of getting girls in real life.” Darkness nodded, “Alight, that is true. But my kind assisted in the mass marketing and distribution.” Brie finished chewing her apricot, “My next question should be fairly obvious. How do you get internet without electricity?’ Darkness just shrugged. Brie frowned, “You are going to say magic aren’t you?” Darkness considered this, then once again went with honesty. “I contact Goblynn and he arranges it for me. And if you are done eating, I am taking you for a bath. Collapsing onto a dusty carpet isn’t the best idea.” “I should just go back to my cottage.” Darkness took a step back and waited. Brie watched him for a moment, “I don’t understand you.” “What is not to understand? I have done nothing with the intent to harm you.” “Yeah. That’s what I don’t understand.” Darkness said nothing, but offered her one of the wine glasses. This time, Brie took it.

----

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#darkness #demon #demon boyfriend #monster #monster boyfriend #terato #exophilia

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