#and especially as I’m in summer I don’t have anyone else to yell about it to

[quibbs126]

So I heard a leak about the new Cookie from the Mystic Flour story, the one with the peach

I guess if you don’t want to hear it, I’ll put it under the cut. It’s pretty minor though, it has nothing to do with the story, just something basic about the character

It included the name, but that’s not the most interesting part to me, since to me it seems pretty obvious with their design

No actually the more interesting thing I heard is that this Cookie is in fact a guy, which fully surprised me

We technically don’t have confirmation, and it could be wrong, but honestly I really hope it’s true, if only because it’d be surprising given the design

And also if it’s true, then this’ll be twice where with a Dark Cacao related character, I mistook them for female on account of the design, but later find out they are men. Just thought that was funny

Oh yeah, this is the original leak I saw btw. While as I said, the leak isn’t confirmed, I also as of yet haven’t heard anything to disprove it either

[yellowbrokenblue]

„Just… Pretend.”

summary: in which harry convinces you to spend your summer in cape cod with his parents as his ‘girlfriend.’ but everything is just pretend, your not actually his girlfriend and you never have wanted to be his girlfriend, you’ve never seen him as more than harry styles, the singer… but by the end of the summer will that change?

tropes (so far) : fake dating

part one

“It’s just for one weekend.” He pleaded, “Then you can go back to hating me. You never even have to talk to me again, I don’t care.”

You sigh, your head falling backwards with a groan. You did not want to do this at all, but he’d been persistently asking you for days.

“C’mon, please?”

You roll your eyes, “You’re on a date with a new girl every week, I’m sure any of them would be up for it.”

“I can’t just take anyone to my parent’s place.”

“Why not? Or how about you just tell them you’re not seeing anyone right now? They won’t care.”

“I just need you to come, alright? I’ll owe you one, I promise.”

“Why me? There’s a million other people you could take, besides I’ve already met your parents at a show, they’ll never believe we’re seeing each other.”

“And they really liked you!”

“There’ll be a ton of other people that they like too, Harry. Choose anyone else.”

“I can’t.” He sighs.

“You can.”

“I can’t.” He repeats.

You look at him with tired eyes, awaiting his explanation. You’d been over this a hundred times, you had no interest in pretending to be his girlfriend while he visited his parents over the summer.

“I already told them we’re together.” He says quietly, avoiding eye contact.

“What?” You scoff, “You’ve gotta be joking.”

“They just… They met you at the show, and they really did seem to like you, and they kept going on and on about how they want me to find someone who makes me happy and stuff and I shut them up by saying we’re together…”

“You’re unbelievable.” You say, annoyed.!

The fact he’d been telling his parents ridiculous lies without even telling you about it, when said lies actually involved you had pissed you off.

Harry’s parents were lovely, and a producer on his latest album you’d met them a couple times at shows- Especially during the LA residence where you and his parents sat through the concerts in a VIP booth. His mum was lovely, always smiling and knew every single lyric. She told you that she was in Harry’s 0.5% of top listeners on Spotify last year.

You thought that was cute.


You couldn’t relate though, 5 Seconds of Summer were your top Spotify artist- Harry could never find out about that.

“They’ve been asking for me to take you to the beach house for months-“

“Months?!” You interrupt, “How long have you been telling them we’re together?”

He shrugged, “Since the end of the Forum residency?”

“Harry that was SIX months ago!” You yell, “I can’t pretend to be in a six month relationship with you, that’s ridiculous.”

He sits down on the couch, hugging a pillow.

“Yes you can. You practically know everything about me already. We spent every day of the tour together.”

“Everything about you in a career aspect.”

“Everything in general.” Harry corrects, “Sometimes I think you know more about me than I do.”

“I don’t. You’re just saying this because you’re convincing yourself that this ridiculous idea will actually work.”

“Name my first pet.”

“What?” You question. He was being stupid. There is no way you’d ever be able to spend two weeks with his parents over the summer, it was never going to work. It was a recipe for disaster.

“C’mon. You know the answer.”

He just kept staring at you. He wasn’t giving up. The longer you stayed silent the more intense his stare got. When he began to raise his eyebrows you’d given up.

“Max.” You mutter quietly, unimpressed with this whole game he was playing.

“And what am I allergic to?”

“Marshmallows, but you eat them anyway.”

Harry was grinning, and it was pissing you off. He was winning and he knew it.

“My favourite Christmas song?”

You rolled your eyes, “Christmas lights by Coldplay, but you tell everyone that it’s Merry Christmas Everyone because it’s a classic.”

Harry was giving you a ‘I told you so’ look. He wasn’t going to quit until you agreed to pretend to be his girlfriend.

You sigh softly, “Even if I agree to this… It could he really damaging for my career.”

“No one will find out.” His face was more serious now, and you could tell from the way he was looking at you that he meant it, “I’ll make sure of that.”

“But if if does-”

“It won’t.”

“But if it does, because there’s always a chance no matter what you think, then everyone will only think I got hired to tour manage because we’re ‘sleeping together.’” You say, using air quotes, just to further elaborate that this was all fake.

Harry had already got his grammy, he was at the peak of his career he’d be fine no matter what happened. But you were a female music producer in a male dominated industry, if people think you were only hired for this album because you’re fucking the singer- your career was over.

“If people find out I’ll kill you.”

“Does this mean you’re gonna agree?”

You nod, reluctantly.

“Thank you!” He jumps out of his chair, “I swear I’ll make it up to you, thank you so much.”

— — —

If you were in Harry’s position you’d be vigilant of everything, everyone, everywhere. You’d be paranoid of someone jumping through your bedroom window while you were asleep. But Harry was oddly calm. Maybe he was just like that. His lips were formed almost in a smile while he slept, and his eyes were moving under his eyelids- probably from a dream he was having. He wasn’t calm very often- recently he’d been very on edge and anxious about everything, it was nice to see him look so peaceful. You hoped for that sort of peace someday soon.

You had been in the studio going on six hours, and when he’d taken a break from recording so you could go over the tracks he’d managed to fall asleep in that short period of time.

You let him sleep while you packed up the equipment, putting things back into their assigned places, and didn’t bother waking him up until you were 100% ready to go.

“Harry,” You said softly, shaking his shoulder lightly, “Harry we gotta go.”

His eyes opened and he blinked a few times to adjust himself to the light.

“Huh?”

“We only had the studio booked until six, we gotta go.”

“Oh,” He sat up, stretching his arms and cracking his neck that had went into a cramp, “Sorry, don’t even remember falling asleep to be honest.”

“Don’t worry about it,” You shrug, “We got enough done today anyways. You deserve a rest.”

There were only three days left until the day Harry had said you were leaving for his parents place, and you had skipped over the subject every time he’d tried to bring it up. You didn’t really want to think about it because you were dreading it so badly.

“I’ll give you a ride home.” Harry said as you left the studio building.

“No, it’s alright.” You say, “I’ll just get an Uber.”

Harry glared at you, “Y/N, just get in the car.”

You glare back. But it had been a long day so getting a free lift wasn’t so bad.

“So.” He said, starting the car. “We gotta go over some things.”

“About the album?” You play dumb.

“… No.” He rolls his eyes, “Stop pretending you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

“I’m not pretending.”

“Love, you gotta tell me some stuff about you. My parents are gonna ask me shit and I don’t have a clue what to tell them.”

You groan. You should’ve stuck to your gut and got an Uber.

“Like what.”

He shrugs, “What’s your favourite colour?”

“Purple.” You reply.

“Mines is blue.”

“I know,” You reply.

“What’s your favourite song?” He asked.

You laughed to yourself a little.

“Jet black heart,” You grin, knowing you’d get some sort of reaction out of this answer, “By 5 Seconds of Summer.”

“5 Seconds of Summer?” Harry scoffs, “They’re punks!”

You roll their eyes, “They turned to pop music and half of them are married, they’re hardly punks.”

“You know one of them dated my sister, right?” Harry groaned.

“Yep,” You grin, “And wrote a banging tune about it as well.”

“Don’t remind me.” He muttered.

“Look, you asked me a question and I gave you an honest answer. You can’t complain.”

“I know, I know.” Harry said, “You got any exes?”

You raise your eyebrows, “What?”

“This is the kind of stuff I need to know! Like I dunno if I’m your first boyfriend and all that.”

“Harry… I’m 24 years old. You’re not my first boyfriend.”

You said it almost as if he was your boyfriend. It sent a chill down your spine. This was going to be a long few weeks.

“Good to know.” He said.

He dropped you off outside your apartment.

“I guess the next time I see you will be for when we’re leaving, yeah?”

You nod. There was no studio session booked until after his vacation to Cape Cod, where his families beach house was, so he was right. The next time you see him would be at the airport.

“Flights at seven.” He says.

“Got it.”

The next few weeks were going to be hell.

part two coming soon…

support me through ko-fi! (buy me a coffee!!)

[bloodyquillink-blog]

White at Your Wedding, Ghosts HC’s

Prompt: How the Ghosts would react to someone wearing white at your wedding.

A/N🪶: Hello again. To anyone who may have been keeping up with my fic “Sugar and Lemon”, I’m sorry I haven’t been writing. Between creative juices for the fic running out as well as school, I haven’t been as motivated. However, I do want to continue it. I just need to find the right time. I’m doing summer classes otherwise I probably would be working on it now. It’s just overwhelming at this point. But I still want to give y’all something with the Ghosts since I know a lot of people in that part of the fandom don’t usually get a lot unless it’s with (typically) Keegan. Nothing wrong with that, I just want to include more of them, especially more underrated characters like Ajax and David/Hesh. Thanks for reading this blurb <3

HC Note/TW: May include descriptions/mentions of weapons, violence/violent intentions, shitty people, harassment. Please note: I’m gonna make this AU style where Rorke wasn’t turned and no one was killed because I said so. Reader is gn so their groomsmen/bridesmaids will just be referred to as your “friends on the side”. 

I made a separate one for David because I love him, find that here

Storyline:

He was almost done getting ready. Today was finally that day, that beautiful day that he never thought would happen. Between the world gradually being broken down each time it was nearly put back up, he had expected to be killed in action like everyone else. But perhaps fate was on his side for now. He knew better than to expect everything to run smoothly, though. 

With two different people from two different families, someone was bound to have some opinions. It was just a matter of whether or not they voiced it. Of course, he had made plans just in case. He was getting married to you and there was no way in hell, heaven or on this Earth someone was going to stop that. They could interrupt the wedding all they wanted to, however they pleased. They could set the whole damn thing on fire, but he’d still marry you. 

He tried not to think about how beautiful you’d look, lest he start blushing. It didn’t work but the attempt was worth it, despite the pestering the other Ghosts would no doubt lay upon him. 

The time came and he stood on the slightly elevated stage, groomsmen and best man at his side. Normally, he doesn’t wear white but this is a wedding… his wedding… his and yours wedding. His back was to the hallway you would walk out of, so he kept looking to the faces of his friends and family for any indication. His heart beat was relatively controlled… and then the music began playing… and they smiled… and the officiant gave him the look to turn around. So he did.

And by God, you were ethereal. He couldn’t tell if his heart stopped or was beating so fast he could no longer feel it. His brain was short-circuiting. You had made your way up to the stage, your friends on the side smiling. He just stared, had he been smiling since he saw you? His cheeks were hurting already. You looked up at him, your smile like the sun, he couldn’t care less about going blind if it meant the image of you would be imprinted in his eyes.

Logan Walker

This man would be trying so hard not to panic.

He almost gets whiplash from how fast his head turned to David who, alongside Merrick, would pipe up and tell off the person.

Logan would have been prepared in a rather classy way. 

See… There’s a thing where, if someone wears white at a wedding, especially a dress, the bridesmaids can take wine and pour it on them, effectively ruining the dress.

Logan absolutely has heard of this and got your friends the cheapest wine possible.

Logan looks at your friends and signals to them to get the wine. 

One of them moves around closer to them so their attention is away from the friends with the wine.

David and Merrick tell them that they need to leave.

As they get up to get in their face, wine is poured on them.

They yell and fuss, claiming you and Logan are going to pay for their outfit as they stomp out of the room. 

You, not having expected this, stand there. Your hands are held by Logans and your mouth hangs open.

Your friends smile at you, David and Merrick chuckling to themselves as they all come back to their original positions.

You struggle to form coherent words.

“Did you- when did- where’d the wine come from?! Was that planned?!”

And the wedding continues, the smell of wine and the sound of laughter flowing through the air.

Elias T. “Scarecrow” Walker'

You know this man would be willing to drag out the guilty party himself. 

I fully believe he’d pick them up and carry them outside. 

Otherwise he’d probably set up his other comrades to be guards so people don’t try to get in.

I could imagine it being an old ex or probably a family member he hates. None of the soldiers he knows would dare do that to someone like him, he’s garnered so much respect from them over the years.

Any one of his friends, whether groomsmen or guests, I know they’d all stick up for him as he just watches with a smile.

Thomas A. Merrick

Roasts the ever loving shit out of whoever is wearing white.

“If you’re gonna wear white, at least pick an outfit that fits you right.”

“Did you get that from Walmart? I think I saw that when I went last week.”

“That would look better on Riley, but hey, who am I to judge?”

I know the person would willingly walk out without having to be escorted, due to embarrassment.

Gabriel T. Rorke

I can’t see him having a very public wedding. There is a very short list of people allowed and if there’s someone he doesn’t know, he’s meeting them beforehand.

If someone dared to wear white, well…

As all eyes are on them as they stand, showing off the color that was only meant for the two of you, he takes the opportunity since everyone is distracted.

He slowly reaches and shifts his white suit jacket, lifting just the edge, enough for the offender to see the gun, or other weapon, he has tucked away.

He lets go so he looks normal again, while the person is left with wide eyes, suddenly nervous.

They leave with minimal issue and everything resumes, people are left confused but eventually shrug it off as Rorke having intimidated them with his presence alone.

Keegan P. Russ

Keegan would be the type where, prior to the wedding, he expects everyone to show what they are planning on wearing.

He makes sure the two of you set guidelines so it is absolutely clear that if anyone tries to come in wearing white, they will be thrown out and not allowed back in. 

This man does not leave room for error. 

He takes advantage of having your friends/family’s (bridesmaids/groomsmen) contact info so he can keep an eye on everything.

Would absolutely sweet talk your grandparents or parents into keeping him informed whenever possible, especially if there’s gossip (Keegan loves gossip and you can’t tell me otherwise).

Alex V. “Ajax” Johnson

He wouldn’t bring weapons like Rorke or make snide comments like Merrick.

This is a man of respect, and while he’d be annoyed, he’d be prepared.

As people turned around and gasped and gossiped, he’d remain calm and relaxed despite his comrades wanting to push the person out.

He’d want them to be politely escorted out and you wouldn’t have to do anything.

Naturally, he’s fuming but this is your wedding after all. He maintains his composure.

If the person speaks up, they’ll be escorted out. If not, I can imagine him letting them stay, not wanting to waste time and probably continuing to marry you out of spite and right before the dinner, they suddenly aren’t allowed in.

They’re edited out of any photos they may have forced their way into, everyone basically ignores them. 

I love you, Ajax <3

Kick

This guy is just getting married privately.

Mostly just because regular weddings are so hectic and frankly, he isn’t much of a people person but he still wants to marry you.

[luvhughes43]

set up | luke hughes x zegras!sister

zegras!sister masterlist

request: for luke and zegras sister what if when they don’t officially tell everyone there together yet but somehow they find out so to get them to tell they set up zegras sister on a fake date and luke gets all jealous and spills that there together 

word count: 0.7k

in the first fic everyone found out they were dating through insta but ! this is a cuter idea

“okay so what about dylan!” alex spoke enthusiastically to a group of your brothers friends. they didn't know you could hear them, but they were talking about setting you up with one of lukes friend. luke … your secret boyfriend. this was a mess ! all summer the guys were pestering you about a secret boyfriend and it was starting to annoy you.

“what are you guys talking about?” you rolled your eyes as you walked into the living room. all of the guys' heads snapped to you, clearly unaware that you had been listening in to their conversation. 

“they’re trying to set you up with someone” trevor sighed. to be honest, he didn't want you to date anyone. especially not one of luke's friends. 

you perched yourself on the edge of the couch and pretended to think about your action plan. you could go on a date with someone just so they’d leave you alone. 

before you had time to really delve into your thoughts though, luke walked into the room. 

“what are you guys doing?” luke asked as sat near you. 

“ohh just setting little z here on a date!” jack teased with a knowing look in his eyes. he couldn't wait to see lukes reaction. he had a feeling that luke and you were secretly hooking up for a while now but he wanted to see how serious it really was !

luke frowned as he turned to look at you.

“for the record, i'm fine with being single” you said and luke turned his head away from you. 

“dylan will be here at 6,” alex spoke as he looked up from his phone.

“dylan?” luke practically yelled as he turned to face you again. “there's no way!” 

“alex, I'm not going out with dylan!” your words were rushed as you attempted to get luke to stop talking. he was going to expose you guys to your brothers and everyone else if he didn't stop talking soon.

“well, if there’s someone else you’d rather go out with…” jack trailed off, watching his brothers reactions with anticipation.

“you can't go out with him!” luke started up again, his brows furrowed and his voice exasperated. 

“Luke, i’m not going out with dylan!” 

“why would that be such a problem luke? how about you go out with ethan instead y/n? I mean he's an attractive looking dude!” jack chuckles as he works his brother get worked up. 

“jack why don’t you just shut up and-”

“okay! guys, I'm not dating anybody!” your loud voice momentarily cuts through all of the boys' voices. 

“yeah she's not dating anybody!” trevor reiterated your words. 

“okay but what about-” jack started but luke cut him off. 

“Y/N AND I ARE DATING SO SHUT UP!” luke shouted and the room fell silent. 

“oh i knew it!” jack screamed as he jumped up from the couch. 

you looked around the room and caught your brothers eye. trevor looked confused, but he didn’t exactly look angry?

you closed your eyes and rested your head in your hands. 

“y/n… im so sorry,” your boyfriend quietly apologized to you. you waved him off. “It’s okay luke. now we don't have to hide?” 

you chanced another glance towards your brother who was still staring back at you. 

Im sorry, you mouthed to trevor. you weren’t really sure what you were apologizing for. maybe it was the fact that you hadn't told him, or the fact that you were dating his best friends brother. 

It’s okay, trevor mouthed back before he was pulled into a long winded conversation with jack. 

“this is great! and if they get married then we’ll be brothers and-” 

you turned towards luke, “do you want to go on a date?” 

luke looked around the room, everyone was still talking about them. “uh, yeah sounds good. I’ll go get my keys” 

you and luke tried to quietly sneak out of the house before anybody noticed. 

“HEY!” trevor shouted, “just because i know about you guys doesnt mean i like it!” 

“yeah sure!” you called back, dismissing trevor with the wave of your hand. “you love us and you know it!”

“nope!” 

“yes!”

“no way!”

“okay, we're leaving!” luke cut both of you off as he grabbed your hand and led you towards his car. now that everybody knew about the two of you, you couldn't wait to go on “official” dates.

[niuniente]

I’m going to tell you a past life related little thingy because why not :3

Since I was very little, I had this obsessive thought of “What would I do if I was locked in a room with no escape, and men storm in with guns and start to shoot randomly?” (mind you this is Finland, gun laws are extremely tight and controlled, and I literally grew up in a rural forest as far away from civilization as one possibly can with a family). I always came into the same conclusion; I would throw myself on the floor and pretend I’m dead and just hope for the best.

When I was 9, we started geography studies. As teacher was showing us a map of East Asia and mentioned Laos, my mind was blown. I literally yelled during the class “Laos! Oh wow, I must go there! Look, it’s Laos!”

Even as a 9yo I understood that I knew nothing of Laos - I didn’t even know such a country existed a second ago - but I had a burning desire to go there. Like, RIGHT NOW. On this second! I found it odd myself but on the other hand, I was just really excited about this discovery of Laos.

Around my teens, I was obsessed with English military words, American military, and Vietnam war movies. I wrote down from an English-Finnish dictionary all military related words I could find - while at the same time thinking that this is absurd, I don’t know why I’m doing this but I MUST do it. I watched all Vietnam war related movies I could find. I also loved guns, I still kind of do but not as much as when I was a younger.

From my childhood to my late teens, I had a white round dot on my stomach. It always confused me because it looked exactly like the scar my father has got when he fell on a motorcycle at age 19. Mine was just smaller. I wondered where I had got it as it clearly wasn’t a birth mark and if I had hurt myself, my gossip loving mother would have told me that story billions of times.

I’ve always disliked Finnish summer, especially in the country side. There’s too much foliage for my taste. I love monoculture forests the best and places where you can see really far.

In my early twenties, when I started to get more into doing readings and meditating, I once decided to see if I could pick up any past lives for myself. What I got was that I was a man during Vietnam war and I died in 1964. That’s all. Over the many years as I mulled this and tried to remember more, I started to have a feeling that I wasn’t hiding from Americans only but from my own people, too. And that there were a group of men, like me, and we needed to hide. Anyone could kill us at any time.

In my early 30′s, I had a vivid dream. I was in a room with other people. American soldiers kicked the door in (3 men) and started to aimlessly shoot at us. I threw myself on the floor on my stomach, pretending to be dead. 3 pullets hit me. I felt them. It stung. I managed to think, horrified “Oh God, I’m hit!” and the next second I was dead. I separated from my body and started to slowly float upwards, feeling really happy, peaceful and serene. Dying was really easy and simple. The dying process - getting shot - that was scary.

I counted 1+1 and concluded that my childhood obsessions were related to this past life in the 1960′s but Laos didn’t make any sense. I knew I wasn’t in Vietnam and the Vietnam war wasn’t the exact thing but I didn’t know what else it could be - nor I bothered to find out.

Recently, I was listening to a podcast of an American man. He said “Everyone knows Vietnam war but how many of you have heard of The Secret War of CIA, which happened at the same time  - except it was in Laos?”

Turns out that while Vietnam War was on, there was the Laotian Civil War in Laos! It lasted almost 20 years, from 1950′s to 1970′s - matching my death decade. Americans weren’t supposed to be there and publicly they weren’t, but in secrecy CIA and American military were involved. I didn’t know!

Suddenly, it made all sense that in the past life, I had to hide from American and my own people, and that the war wasn’t Vietnam War. It was a civil war. Why I don’t still like forests where I can’t see far as the enemy can hide anywhere in there. Sometimes I wonder if my stomach issues are due two of the bullets hitting my stomach. It’s a  very common phenomena that old injuries, especially if the cause of death, carry over as health issues, scars, birthmarks etc. to next lives.

I rarely get official solid proves from past lives as majority of our lives in the past are just ordinary and common ones. Just like you and me today. So, I’m happy about this!

I don’t think I need to visit Laos. Whatever was there has been handled in that life-time. But if I get a chance to go there as “Well, why not!” then definitely well, why not! 

[magmahearts]

TIMING: the first week of june PARTIES: @ariadnewhitlock & @magmahearts LOCATION: downtown wicked’s rest SUMMARY: after seeing a movie together, cass and ariadne converse and bond. CONTENT WARNINGS: none! it's a soft thread

The movie was over and Cass was buzzing. She was a flurry of excited energy as they walked out of the theater, practically vibrating with all the things she wanted to say. She hadn’t said a word during the film, of course — even if she hadn’t been too engrossed in it to speak, she’d never break the sacred bond of movie theater silence. But now that they were stepping out into the sticky summer air? It would be difficult to hold herself back.

“What did you think?” She turned to Ariadne, eyes bright. “I loved it. I mean, I think it’s my favorite movie of all time now. The part where — And then! It was like — Just!” There were no words to her ‘review,’ only exaggerated hand motions and poses. And joy. There was certainly no small amount of joy. “Don’t you think so?”

The movie had been good. Great, even, compounded by the fact that she’d gone to see it with a friend. Ariadne still wasn’t quite sure that she fully believed that this was all real, and not just some sort of fabrication she’d created in her desperate attempt to have more friends. But Cass was real, and Cass was her friend, and when she started talking Ariadne couldn’t help but brighten up herself, pushing the not-so-great thoughts away and out of her mind.

“Yes! I do think so!” She didn’t know if she could entirely match her friend’s energy, but she was going to do her absolute best to try. “It was just so well done, I don’t know - I feel like people don’t like animated movies as much any more but this feels like it should be shown as proof that animated stuff can be better than like, whatever the real people stuff is called. Not that it should need proof but… yeah.” Ariadne offered Cass another smile. 

Ariadne was great. She seemed to understand Cass in a way few people ever had. In fact, few people had ever even attempted to understand her, but Ariadne made it look simple. Like she was easy to be around, like she was worth caring about. Who else would go see a movie with her and listen to her yell about it after? Cass wasn’t sure there was anyone else, even among the friends she’d made in Wicked’s Rest.

And Aria seemed to understand her ‘review’ despite the fact that it wasn’t much of a review at all. Who could ask for more? “People are so lame with animated movies,” she agreed, nodding adamantly. “These movies, like, should totally lead to a new era of animation. I think more superhero movies should be animated, honestly, because some of the CGI they end up with after their whole time crunch thing is cringe. Animation opens up way more doors. And for less money!” It was clear that this wasn’t her first time ranting on this subject.

“They should, and like - if superhero movies are based on comics, which they are, then it’d make like, more sense for them to be animated, right?” She bounced lightly on the balls of her feet as the two of them walked along. “But you’re the expert, not me.” Ariadne offered Cass another smile. “You clearly know so much - it’s - I’m wildly impressed. Which…” she sighed, “I’m not just saying!” Maybe she squeaked a little bit too much. “I do really mean it, I don’t like to lie, especially not to friends.”

Which they were, right? That was what they’d decided, and Cass – cool and nice and way too smart Cass - hadn’t decided that Ariadne was too lame to hang out with, at least not yet. “If you could make any superhero comic into a movie, what would you choose? Even if it’s already one that exists - I bet you’d make the best movie of any comic, like, ever.”

Cass nodded in agreement, pointing at Ariadne with a bright grin. “Exactly!” She exclaimed, clearly excited that her friend shared the sentiment she hadn’t spoken aloud. “It definitely makes more sense. Live action is fine, but I feel like it’s impossible to really capture, like, the spirit of the material with it. They always change the costumes up because things that look good in comics look kind of lame in live action, but animation doesn’t have that costume. And they can make it so much more colorful in animation! Like those scenes in the Mumbattan universe!” 

Her grin grew impossibly wider as Ariadne complimented her, as she reiterated that they were friends. In all honesty, Cass hadn’t been this happy in a very long time. Maybe ever. Friendship was something she’d always longed for, but it had always felt at least a little artificial. Not with Aria. Aria said she was being honest, and Cass could tell that she meant it. And Ariadne asked her the kinds of questions she desperately wanted to answer, the kinds no one else ever asked. “Stephanie Brown and Cass Cain teamup movie!” She replied quickly. “Oh! Or Young Avengers! But I think that one might work better as, like, a miniseries, you know?”

“Right!” Ariadne nodded. It made sense, and it made extra sense because Cass agreed, and she was pretty sure that her new friend was pretty close to being a genius, especially about superheroes. “Yeah! And like, there’s a lost - uh - ele- art - something, to everything being live action. Not that it’s bad or anything, always, but it’s just not the same, and I like animation, there’s an extra level of beauty to that art.”

She was so thrilled that they were getting along so well. Cass even knew that Ariadne was a monster and she had still wanted to hang out. It might not last very long, but she was going to do everything she could to enjoy the time that she did have with her friend. “I’m gonna have to ask about your expertise but - Stephanie’s the blonde, huh, Batgirl, right? Is Cass also a Batgirl?” She nodded readily at her friend’s next comment. “Yeah, I think so, too, there’s so much going on that it’d probably get like, lost in a movie??”

“Definitely,” Cass agreed. The conversation was invigorating. It was so rare that she got to talk to people like this, so strange to allow herself to be excited the way she was now. She had a tendency to hold herself back, to try to be a little less than she was in her natural state for fear of being rejected. But things were different with Ariadne. Ariadne liked Cass the way she was and, more than that, wanted her to go on and on about the pros and cons of live action movies over animated ones. “I think there’s a lot more, um… passion to animation, too. At least in these movies. The way the animators talk about it, it’s so different than the way you hear CGI artists talk about how they’re treated by the industry. Like, they put their soul into it. And the CGI artists can’t do that, because there’s so much time crunch and so many demands.” 

Normally, she’d feel self conscious about this. She’d retreat into herself a little, try to reel herself in. That inclination just wasn’t there when she was talking to Ariadne. And it was so freeing. There were no secrets here, no reason to hide. It felt good. “Yeah! Yeah, Stephanie’s blonde. She’s Batgirl, and Spoiler. And Cass has also been Batgirl, and Orphan, and Black Bat. Those are their biggest titles. They’re both really cool. And, like, at least a little gay.” Which was always a plus, if you asked Cass. “Yeah, definitely. I think movies are a good way to tell some stories, but not all. Like, the Spiderverse stories work really well in movie form, but I think Young Avengers would definitely work better as a miniseries. There’s too much that they’d have to leave out otherwise.”

Cass’s enthusiasm was absolutely infectious, and Ariadne found herself incredibly drawn to her new friend. It was nice, to have someone who knew what she was, still wanted to hang out with her, and moreover, was still thrilled to hang out with her. It felt unbelievably nice, if she were honest. “I could listen to you talk all day about this - and yeah, I agree, there’s more love and care in actual animation. Of course, CGI and whatever can be cool, and there’s absolutely no way that I could ever do any of that, but animation feels warmer - safer - I don’t know if that makes any sense at all.” She hoped it did - and either way, Cass had a special sort of ability to still make her feel heard, even when Ariadne was positive she wasn’t making any sort of sense at all.

“I mean, anything being even a little gay is a win, always.” Ariadne looked back over to her friend. “If that Cass has dark hair, then they’re like us!” She made a small face. “I mean, I’m not a superhero at all, I just mean that uh, like, if they’re friends and they have hair like ours, then that’s pretty neat is all.” She chewed on her nails for a moment. “Yeah, that makes sense. When it’s a - uh - like, told almost in episodes in the writing - in the comic book - and when there’s so many characters who all have their own development, it makes more sense to tell it in episodes so they don’t ignore people.” She glanced over to her friend. “Do you wanna go get uh, an ice cream or something? Or maybe keep walking, if you want? Unless you’ve got somewhere to be.”

When she got to talking about this, most people looked annoyed. If she went long enough, they’d even ask her to stop. Good manners went a long way, she’d learned, but there was only so much people could take. At a certain point, they’d tell you to shut up already. Cass had gotten good at learning when that point was approaching, was skilled at looking people in the eye and knowing when they were starting to grow irritated with her. And Ariadne wasn’t. If anything, Ariadne was the opposite. She looked genuinely intrigued in what Cass was saying, looked like she wanted her to speak more. That was a new experience. “No, it totally makes sense! CGI has, like, a tendency to get kind of… uncanny valley, sometimes? They try too hard to make it look real, I think. Animation doesn’t really have that. You know it’s animated — it doesn’t pretend to be anything else. At least, that’s what I like about it.” People lied to you; art didn’t. In fact, Cass thought that art was probably the most honest thing there was.

“So true,” Cass agreed with a grin. Her chest felt warm as Ariadne pointed out that they could be like Cass Cain and Steph Brown, with their combination of dark hair and blonde. “She does, yeah! They are kind of like us. And I think you could be a superhero, if you wanted to be. You’re pretty super already.” Maybe she could get Ariadne to do vigilante things with her sometime. She thought a mare’s skills could make them good at it in a way that would probably work well with her oread powers. They could have a good balance. And it would be fun, Cass thought, to do it with a friend. “Yeah! With a TV show, you can have one character at the center of an episode. You can’t really do that in a movie. So I think TV shows work better for teams like that.” Smile widening a little, she nodded. “I’d love to get ice cream,” she agreed. “I have nowhere else to be. I can hang out for as long as you want to.”

There was something continuously refreshing about how much Cass talked. Ariadne didn’t prefer to talk a lot, even though she often did, if only to fill awkward silences. With Cass, it didn’t feel forced, it didn’t feel like she was only causing a problem. She was able to lift up her friend and she didn’t have to talk all the time, which was absolutely and entirely the best of every world. “Oh yeah. Yes, that’s what that term is!” She exclaimed, “that’s true. It just is what it is – and there’s something wicked beautiful about that.” She offered her a big smile.

“You do? I -” if Ariadne could have blushed, she was positive she would’ve, now. “I mean, you’re the superhero expert, so I guess I’ll have to believe you?” It would be nice to have a sort of friendship people wrote about; one that people idolized. “You’re more super, but I - th -” she shook her head. “You know. What I was gonna say.” Part of her wanted to grab Cass’s hand - because best friends did that, but she held off for now. “I agree. Besides, no offense, but I don’t want like, Iron Lad or whatever to get all the spotlight and leave Cassie and Kate and America and everyone else out.” She wanted to get ice cream. “Good! Yay! I am craving hot fudge and sprinkles and gummy bears today, I think. I’m also free as long as you want.”

It was exciting, talking to Ariadne. Cass didn’t have to worry about saying too much, about being too much. Aria didn’t think she was a know-it-all when she offered up terms to go along with the phenomenon they were discussing — she was happy to have words put to her thoughts. And she seemed to share a lot of opinions with Cass, too, meaning Cass didn’t have to shift her views and bend over backwards to both keep from making herself sick by lying and keep from saying something that Ariadne might disagree with. There was something so relaxed about the interaction, something so laid back. It wasn’t a minefield, the way conversations usually were for Cass. It was like the animation they were discussing — it just was what it was.

“Yeah! Yeah, definitely. Being a superhero is, like, mostly about just… wanting to help people. You know? A lot of superheroes don’t even have powers. They’re just people who want to help. And you want to help, I can tell. And you have powers, which makes it better. I bet you’d be a really good superhero.” Maybe one day, they could work together. The idea of bringing Ariadne into her vigilantism was exhilarating. They could build their own team, the two of them; like Young Justice or the Champions. They could make up a name and everything. “I know what you were going to say,” she agreed with a smile that said she’d probably utter the phrase right back. “No, you’re totally right. The movies would definitely focus on somebody boring. And they wouldn’t be able to, like, define everyone’s relationships, either! Movies always just focus on the romance. And romance is fine, but I like friends. I want to see more heroes being friends.” Like Cass and Ariadne. Friendship, Cass thought, was more important than romance in the long run anyway. “Hot fudge and sprinkles and gummy bears sound awesome,” she agreed. “Come on! I want to see how many toppings we can fit.” 

 “You can tell I want to help?” Ariadne didn’t want to seem too eager, too much, but she found that even if those worries still existed (and they certainly did), they didn’t show themselves quite as often when Cass was around. Which she was grateful for – grateful and ravenous – there was a certain hunger that came along with the idea of being wanted, of being someone’s friend, and the thought of that made her nearly as hungry as her craving for nightmares did. “I do, I really really wanna help, however I can. Back when I was little, when they’d still come near me, I used to pick up bugs and stuff on the sidewalk so they wouldn’t get squashed.”

Ariadne nodded again. “Also yes. Absolutely. We need more things about friends in general. Friends are the best. You’re the best!” That was what Cass deserved to hear, it was what was true anyways, and that made it all the better. “Let’s go and see!” She grabbed Cass’s hand and pulled her friend towards the ice cream shop.

“Yeah! I hope that’s okay.” She was a little sheepish now, worried that she’d read something wrong or picked up on something Ariadne hadn’t wanted her to. But then Aria confirmed it, admitted that she wanted to help even the bugs on the sidewalk, and Cass felt a wave of intense kinship towards her. She’d do anything, she thought, it it meant she could have more of this. More quiet moments with Ariadne, or late nights of giggling with Nora, or half-baked adventures with Van. This was all Cass had ever wanted; it felt a little surreal to get it all at once now.

She felt warm all over, like she was laying in the sun on a summer day or basking in the warmth of a volcano. Ariadne’s hand fit perfectly into hers, and Cass felt so much less alone when their fingers intertwined. “You’re the best, too,” she replied, smile wide and bright and genuine. “Let’s go get ice cream.”

[27emailsicantsend]

Chapter One: Secret Dating

September

I'm back in your arms, but everything's changed. Now we've been to hell and back again. My biggest regret was walking away; I'm not gonna make the same mistake. I know you're afraid we'll end up the same. And the truth is we might, but if we do this thing right, maybe this time it'll be different.

-”Different”, Joshua Bassett

“I’m here! I swear, I’m on time. I just got distracted- and busy- and-” Ricky Bowen yelled as he ran clumsily down the right side of East High’s theater, guitar case flopping to his side.

“I’m not even going to try anymore,” Carlos remarked, exhausted.

Ricky, no matter how much he tried to be on time, was never going to get it right. However, he knew that even if he was a few minutes late, he was still a loved and valued member of the theater. Theater became a home for him over the last year, especially last summer when he got a second chance with her.

Gina Porter strutted in the room, making no eye contact with the awkward, skateboarding, guitar playing boy (who was now standing in a theater circle). Ricky couldn’t help but stare at her, though. Gina had on an overall dress, layered over a white t-shirt. Her waterfall black curls were pulled up in a loose knot atop her head. Her outfit must have seemed plain to the outside world, but to Ricky, she made it magnificent.

Gina grabbed hands with Carlos and Kourtney on either side of her, as Miss Jenn sang her typical “welcome back to theater” song, in the highest falsetto voice she could muster. This semester’s choosing seemed to be “Now or Never”, which made sense considering directly after Miss Jenn announced they would be putting on High School Musical 3: Senior Year for the fall play. 

Excitedly, the room burst into applause and chatter as each student tried to make their mark on who would be cast as who. Ashlyn was giddy to reprise her role as Ms. Darbus, Seb couldn’t see himself as anyone but Sharpay, and even Gina made a slight comment about being ok not being Taylor again because she didn’t know if she had time for a lead role. 

The latter casting ideation caused some unease for Ricky.

Ricky knew he wanted Gina as the Gabriella to his Troy. It seemed obvious at this point Ricky was going to “Zefron” (thanks, Carlos) his way to the lead. Not that he was cocky about it- in fact, the exact opposite. He was scared to death about getting the lead again. He wanted someone else to get it for once so other classmates would stop claiming favoritism on his name. However, he knew that if Gina was the other lead, he would be able to bare the weight of those rumors. In fact, he would be able to bare the weight of all of the rumors that had been spreading lately.

It had been about a month since the documentary’s (Frozen: The Musical: The Series) preview premiered on Disney+. It got a lot more hype than Ricky was ever expecting and now with it finally being released, the entire cast was constantly on guard for fans or paparazzi. It had completely changed the world Ricky once knew. 

Before the series even began airing at the beginning of the month, people had already started to accuse Gina of cheating on EJ with him. It wasn’t cheating! Ricky found himself thinking any time one of those rumors floated past him. He just prayed for the day the documentary would be finished releasing, so his life could feel like his again. It was going to air until right before Halloween, so Ricky had to just keep telling himself to hold on for two more months. Then it would all be over. Then things would go back to normal.

Unfortunately, Ricky and Gina being leads could also present another edge to the sword: fans might get suspicious that there is romantic involvement between them. Either way, he knew he didn’t want Gina as a side character or someone who shows up when it’s convenient. He knew that this was his last year with everyone he cared about, so it felt important to Ricky that everyone would be a part of his last two plays- including Gina.

“I just don’t get why it’s a big deal that I am there, Ricky,” Gina said as she grabbed her iced latte from the coffee shop counter later that day. 

“Thank you,” Ricky quickly said to the barista, before he half-skipped his way up to Gina, cappuccino in hand. “It’s a big deal because-”

Gina was still walking briskly, obviously a little upset. She had made her way outside before Ricky was able to catch up to her.

“Gina, please, hold up,” Ricky said as he grabbed her arm. He took a peek over his left and right shoulder, trying to spot cameras. 

All clear, Ricky thought to himself. 

Ricky knew he didn’t need to say anything more. He leaned in, giving Gina a soft kiss on the cheek. She was unresponsive, her body language pulled back from him. Ricky nervously rubbed his thumb in circles around her forearm, refusing to let go.

“I joined the dance team, Ricky,” Gina said with a slight huff in her breath.

“Gina, that’s great news! I don’t how this relates to the play though?” Ricky asked, confusion overcoming his face.

“I joined it and they want to go to nationals next year. We only have two performances but they are really going to push us to our limits this year to see if we’re ready. I’m going to have to practice so much. I don’t know when we’ll get to see each other. I’m really scared about it too, Ricky. After not seeing EJ last summer...” Gina began to trail off, worry set in her eyes.

Ricky knew what Gina was thinking. Still holding tight to her arm, he gave her a pointed, yet warm expression as he said, “don’t go there, Gi. I won’t do that to you. I thought if we were in rehearsal together it might give us more time with each other, but it doesn’t mean we can’t see each other”.

“How?” Gina asked, looking around for the same invisible cameras.

“After school, on weekends...” Ricky’s voice quieted down when he noticed Gina becoming tense from the possibility of being watched. “We’ll make it work”.

“But Ricky, that’s not fair to you-”

“Gina,” Ricky cut her off. “It’s not about the sacrifice, it’s about the fact that I want to be there for you”. 

Ricky triple checked the scene one more time, for good measure, before saying, “we better get going”.

“Right,” Gina said hurriedly, as Ricky laced his fingers in hers and led her off to a nearby alley.

Ricky jolted Gina around the corner of the alley way. It was about late afternoon, so there was a slight shadow starting to creep inside it. For a place that was usually trashed, it was cleaner than usual. 

As soon as Gina swung in behind Ricky, he pulled her in for a kiss, savoring every moment with her. He put his hand to her cheek as he noted that Gina was blushing and giggling, probably from the adrenaline they were both feeling. He just wanted to ease the tension she felt- bring her any sort of peace he could about the situation. He hated seeing Gina upset and would do anything in his power to remedy the situation- even if it meant a quick kiss in an alleyway.

After making their way down the alley, the pair headed hurriedly to Ricky’s car, checking both ways every few seconds to make sure they weren’t being watched. They knew when it got late it was time to go home. This mediated others being suspicious about their nighttime whereabouts. 

Secrecy thrives in the dark! This was a saying Gina began to say mockingly because of EJ’s paranoia around the two of them being in the woods last summer. Finally, one day after they had broken up, Gina got tired of EJ droning on and on about their “woods adventure” that she told EJ she enjoyed it, more than she ever would have with him. Ricky knew that would make EJ suspicious, but that didn’t mean the thought didn’t make him chuckle from time to time.

Once the two got to Ricky’s house, Ricky and Gina both took off their shoes, placing them gently by the door. Ricky couldn’t suppress his smile as he remembered the day the pair got the shoes. It was the day after the homecoming dance. Gina had asked Ricky to hang out, so they went around town to window shop. They ended up in the same alley way they had kissed in earlier, when Gina had noticed a sign on one of the alley doors for “buy one, get one converse”. Gina, eager to buy anything pink, rushed Ricky into the store. She begged him to buy the exact same pair, but in black. Ricky, ready to bend to her every whim, obliged immediately. They had arrived at the register to checkout when Gina said, “maybe you’re right, Ricky. We do get each other. Like I said, you’ve got your own style and I’ve got mine. But they work together. We’re a team”. After she said that, Ricky realized that although he knew Gina before, he didn’t feel like he met the real Gina until that day. She had finally taken off the mask the night before. It was also the day Ricky agreed to himself that he would always be on her side, her team. He vowed to himself he’d never let her forget it.

Ricky’s face flushed as he thought of the memory. “Gina?”

“What’s up?” Gina asked from the couch. She was grabbing a blanket to wrap herself up in.

Ricky tossed his empty cup from earlier in the trash before joining Gina on the couch. She placed the rest of the blanket over him while he asked “Do you remember when we got those converse?”

Gina giggled, “of course, I remember. It’s why I wear them so much. It was one of the first times we really hung out together”. Gina snuggled into the nook of Ricky’s arm that he was now resting behind her. “Do you?”

“Of course I do. I’m really happy you’re here, Gi”. Ricky said as he kissed the top of her head.

The next few days were stressful for the entire theater club. Everyone was busy rehearsing lines and songs, hoping to make their previous parts (with the exception of Gina). Ricky didn’t want Gina to feel like she had to be a part of the play (although he would have chosen otherwise), so he worked tirelessly to get the part of Troy. He knew that if he looked like theater was the biggest priority as to why he was there, that it would give Gina a sense of relief. She wouldn’t have to worry that he was only on stage for her.

It’s not that Ricky didn’t like being on stage. In fact, it was the opposite. He grew to love it so much, but the growth came from Gina. He learned about all of these hidden parts of himself that had never been there before, because of Gina. And now with Gina possibly not being a part of the show, it was difficult for Ricky to fully be present on stage. Thankfully, Gina changed her mind last minute and decided to audition once the day came. 

Ricky pulled Gina aside behind one of the curtains the day of auditions. “You came?”

Gina smiled softly, “of course I did. Ricky, I love it here. I just needed to find a way to make it work”.

“What if you get a lead role?”

“I-I don’t know”, Gina said. “I guess I’m waiting to see what happens and then I’ll roll with the tide.”

Ricky had always been a little jealous of Gina’s carefree attitude. After spending time with her, he learned to let things go a lot easier and accept life for what it is, but it didn’t mean some of that resistance wasn’t still there. Ever since he knew Gina wasn’t sure whether or not she would be apart of the play, he had gotten some panicked memories of Beauty and the Beast. At the time, Nini seemed like his rock and not having her around stressed him out more than he could have ever imagined. It was hard for him to feel like that scenario might be playing out again. 

On the other hand, things were also a lot different now. He wasn’t the same Ricky he was before. Old Ricky would have begged Gina to stay, be a lead, anything to keep her around. Caught off guard by this semi-unnatural instinct, current Ricky kind of wanted to follow more in Gina’s lead. To “see what happens” and hope for the best. The feeling was... freeing.

“You’re right,” Ricky agreed. “And I guess the even better news is that even if somehow we both get the leads, no one will know we were dating. Troy and Gabriella are already a couple in the movie”.

No one else in their friend group knew they were dating, except for possibly EJ. EJ didn’t even act surprised when the documentary preview came out. He made a comment about how “we all saw this coming” right before Ricky and Gina kissed. Ricky’s relationship with Gina was the one thing he was trying to keep hidden. Not because he was embarrassed or ashamed of Gina, but because he didn’t want Gina to get the brunt end of all of the rumors. He was trying to protect her from cheating allegations. He didn’t want to let EJ ruin that, but Gina seemed to not share the same perspective as Ricky on the situation.

"Yeah, I guess,” Gina said, pausing to think for a moment after. She continued,” But Ricky, even if others did find out, I would be ok. I know you’re just trying to protect me and are worried about what people will say, but-”

“-Just not yet,” Ricky cut Gina off; he didn’t even want to toy with the idea. “Ok, Gi? I think we should wait for the documentary to fully air and see where it goes before we say come clean... waiting it out will probably provide a happier ending than if we spoke too soon. This will all work out... in due time”.

“All in due time,” Gina echoed, a slight smile on her face. She didn’t seem super comforted by their conversation, but she let it go.

Ricky and Gina watched carefully for other students to start gathering in before Gina walked in first from back stage. Ricky ran around to the other side and came in several minutes later. 

Miss Jenn gathered everyone around in a theater circle once more. Each student held hands with the people on their lefts and rights. Gina was across from Ricky again. He so badly wished it was her hand he could hold, but he knew it would be too soon. He grabbed Ashlyn’s and Jet’s quickly to shake the thought.

“As you all know,” Miss Jenn said in a melodramatic voice, “this is our last year with some of our seniors. I want to make this play count. If not for you, for them. As much as I would hate to see them go,” it was as if she cued Miss Darbus’ voice, “as they say in the theater, the show must go on. Now-”

“Wait, Miss Jenn?” Kourtney cut her off.

“Kourtney, this better be important we have a lot to do today-” Miss Jenn said, irritated.

“It is. I promise. I just want to say real quick that Jet and I are dating. I broke up with Howie the last day of camp when I realized him being away caused more stress than good. We trust you guys; you’re like our family so we felt comfortable telling all of you. Please don’t say anything to anyone else. We want the fans to stay off our backs while this documentary is being released. We’re not sure what else it will say, so we’re trying to keep everything on the DL”.

The room instantaneously burst into loud chatter. Ricky gave Gina a sheepish look and Gina shook her head. They both knew it wasn’t the time, even though they wish it was. Kourtney and Jet didn’t have cheating allegations spreading worldwide about them. She had broken up with Howie after camp and only Jet admitted to having feelings about her on TV. Although Kourtney’s reasoning is valid, Kourtney and Jet had the unfair advantage of being able to come clean at any moment. A luxury Ricky longed for that had since been lost on Gina and him.

“Oh!” Miss Jenn said, squeezing Kourtney in a hug that Kourtney was absolutely uncomfortable in. “I am just so happy for you two! Of course, we will keep your secret, right everyone?” 

Everyone, including Ricky and Gina, nodded in agreement.

“Ok, with that out of the way, any other last minute announcements?” Silence. “None? Good! Time for auditions! Everyone will have one dialogue scene, a solo- ‘Now or Never’ or ‘Walk Away’, and a duet”. All of the students looked around confused.

Duet? Ricky puzzled in his mind. She never mentioned a duet?

“Oh, yeah! Surprise!” Miss Jenn threw her arms out excitedly, contradicting the upset that was showing everywhere else in the room.

“Calm down, everyone,” Miss Jenn said, a tinge of annoyance in her voice. “It’s just a duet. You all are prepared for this. There are multiple duets and I want to make sure I pair people correctly. We’ve got Troy and Gabriella, Troy and Chad, Ryan and Sharpay... I need to see some blended voices”.

As much as Ricky wanted to sigh a breath of relief, he couldn’t. Everything from that moment forward happened in a flash. Kourtney and Jet immediately paired up, Maddox and Red had a slight argument over who got Ashlyn- with Maddox winning and Red asking one of the backup dancers (who also works Slices) to join him, and even Seb and Carlos were immediately arm-in-arm. Although everyone seemed paired up, Gina and Ricky stood awkwardly on center stage- the remaining students surrounding them.

“Gina, Ricky! Find a partner,” Miss Jenn demanded from the music pit. Ricky couldn’t help but note how tiny she looked in that large part of the theater. It made her somehow more intimidating.

“Uh.. I don’t.. I don’t kn-”. “Yeah, we just weren’t sur-” “who would even...?” Ricky and Gina sputtered as they tried to find literally anyone on stage that seemed singled out. Turns out, the only singled out ones were them.

“It’s just a duet, guys. Just sing it together” Miss Jenn said as she sassily flicked her hand, everyone’s eyes now on the two of them.

“Hey, Gi.. you want to...?” Ricky asked, turning to Gina. He began to have visceral flashbacks of him trying to ask Gina to team up with him during last year’s “improv intensive”. He held back a shudder.

“Ricky, it’s ok. We’re still friends, remember?” Gina said under her breath, now facing him.

“Right, right,” Ricky said, trying to maintain his cool.

Gina looked over to Miss Jenn and said, “we’ll be partners”.

“Great! Now everyone get together with your partner and decide what you’ll be performing,” Miss Jenn directed before turning to some paperwork at her desk below.

Gina and Ricky went off to the side of the stage before Gina asked him, “Ok, so what are we singing?”

“Well, we’ve got ‘Right Here, Right Now’, ‘Just Wanna be with You’, ‘Can I Have this Dance?’-” Ricky counted on his fingers.

“Ricky Bowen,” Gina said, impressed. “Have you actually been paying attention to our HSM movie nights?”

Ricky replied with a witty, “anything for you, Gina Porter”.

Gina tried to suppress a laugh as she playfully shoved Ricky. She followed with “Let’s do ‘Just Wanna be with You’“.

“Oh, you do?” Ricky mimicked acting surprised, placing his hands lovingly on his heart.

Gina rolled her eyes saying, “oh, come on,” before walking away and gesturing him to follow.

The next two hours went by fairly quick. Red actually sang in comparison to last year, Jet and Kourtney had amazing soul voices that blended together naturally, and Seb and Carlos surprised everyone by singing “The Boy (and Enby) are back”. Gina’s solo of ‘Walk Away’ was heart-wrenching for Ricky. He didn’t even want to think about college and having to leave Gina for at least a year, something he knew Gabriella was doing at this point in the movie.

Thankfully, Ricky was able to refocus on the play when his name was called. Ricky surprised himself when he was able to sing all of the lyrics to the first verse and chorus of “Now or Never”. Then he and Gina improv-danced together ( with Gina leading) as they sang “Just Wanna be with You”:

I got a lot of things I have to do All these distractions Our future's coming soon We're being pulled A hundred different directions But whatever happens I know I've got you

You're on my mind You're in my heart It doesn't matter where we are We'll be alright Even if we're miles apart

All I wanna do Is be with you, be with you There's nothing we can't do I just wanna be with you, only you No matter where life takes us Nothing can break us apart You know it's true I just wanna be with you

“Great rehearsals, everyone! The cast list will be posted in ten minutes,” Miss Jenn announced at the end of Ricky and Gina’s duet.

“Thank the Lord,” Carlos said loudly in the audience. Ricky could almost hear his eye roll.

The cast huddled around anxiously outside the theater, waiting for the list. No one really talked or moved- they more just stared frightenedly at each other. Seb tried to break the tension by asking if anyone wanted to hear a chicken story, but Carlos quickly- yet kindly- shut that down.

At almost exactly ten minutes later, Miss Jenn came running out the door, giddy with a paper in her hands. Ricky fought the crowd for a minute to see the part he expected to get. While his prediction was correct, another name on the paper made his heart leap, preceding an immediate drop:

Troy Bolton..... Ricky

Gabriella Montez..... Gina

Chad Danforth..... Carlos

Taylor McKessie..... Maddox

Sharpay Evans..... Kourtney

Ryan Evans..... Big Red

Kelsi Nielsen..... Emmy

Miss Darbus..... Ashlyn

Jimmy “The Rocket” Zara..... Kaleb

Tiara Gold..... Seb

Martha Cox.....Dani

Zeke Baylor..... Jet

Ricky watched as the room went from dead silent to overwhelmingly buzzed. He looked over to Gina’s pale face that kept glancing at him and back at the list, before she skirted off to the bathroom. Ricky’s mind went back and forth, not sure whether to follow her and possibly blow their cover, or to just stay still and let her be alone, upset. Ricky felt frozen in place with confusion as he listened to everyone else’s comments on the casting.

“Oh, you already know I am going to make the best Sharpay- no Seb! I didn’t mean that, you’re going to make an amazing Tiara, she’s like the ‘other Sharpay’! I should really stop talking-”

“Who is Zeke? What kind of a name is that?”

Jet got his answer as Maddox quipped, “what kind of a name is Jet?”

“Like you should be talking, Maddox!” Kaleb, the backup dancer that works at Slices with Red, called back.

“I’m Chad? Again? And my lover is Maddox? Are you kidding me, Jennifer? I thought we’d been over this”. Carlos threw his arms up, irate.

“At least you’re not an object again,” a tall brunette girl with a slim figure, a white tanktop, and black sweatpants said coolly.

“Wait- who are you?” Ricky didn’t notice this girl at tryouts, but she carried an attitude that would have made him notice. And he was thinking not in a positive way.

“I’m Dani, your new Martha Cox”, Dani held her hand out and limply shook Ricky’s. “Your director needed a great dancer for the part. And since I’m head of the dance team- as a freshman- your director immediately asked me I wanted to be casted. So, I waited for Miss Jenn to text me that the auditions were posted and ran over as soon as I heard the news,” she replied haughtily.

“That doesn’t make sense,” Ricky argued. “All of us had to try out, you shouldn’t have to ‘skip the line’.”

“She didn’t,” Miss Jenn spoke up from behind Ricky. He wasn’t sure Miss Jenn heard the rest of Dani’s villainous monologue, but he was happy to have her on the defense.

“She asked if she could audition for the show because she could sing and dance,” Miss Jenn continued. “She said she was going to be gone for the tryouts today because she was working with the dance coach to get the team ready for their big rehearsal this year. This was the only day the coach could do it”.

Dance team? Dani? Ricky started putting the pieces together. Gina. She wasn’t just running from the cast list- she was running from Dani.

“Gi?” Ricky said, cracking the girls’ bathroom door open. He expected to hear a sniffle, instead he heard nothing.

“Gi? You in here?” Ricky echoed, pushing the door a little more open.

“Psst!” Ricky jumped at the noise that echoed from the other side of the bathroom wall. Gina must have been hiding between it and the sinks. Ricky noted that Gina’s voice didn’t seem upset. It seemed more... mysterious than anything.

“Get over here!” Gina whispered. Uncomfortably, Ricky proceeded his way fully into the bathroom. He started to feel a little hot as he kept his feet silent walking toward the sinks. When he reached the wall Gina was hiding behind, she snatched his shirt sleeve fast- so fast that his curls flew in different directions.

Gina used the same hand she snatched his sleeve with to grab his shirt and quickly pull Ricky in close. Smug, he started to close his eyes and lean in toward her face. Unfortunately, Ricky had completely misread what was happening in the situation. Gina slapped her hand over his mouth, barricading the attempt. 

“Ricky, this is no time to kiss,” she chastised him with a loud whisper.

“Then what time is it?” Ricky said, his words mumbled with her hand.

Gina let down her hand, keeping the other holding his shirt close. He was so close, in fact, that every scent she carried was immediately noticeable. Today she smelled like fresh mint and vanilla body wash.

“Dani is the enemy. Do you hear me? The enemy!” Gina growled.

“I... don’t... I...” Ricky panicked, eyes widening with fear.

“Listen, Dani knows about us... dating. She told me after dance auditions. I danced better than her and had to forfeit being the head dancer, so she wouldn’t tell anyone”.

“What??” Ricky said defensively, wriggling around in Gina’s grip. “I’m going to go over there and give her a piece of my mi-”

“No,” Gina cut him off, clutching his shirt tighter so he wouldn’t leave. “You can’t. If anyone finds out about this, our secret will get out”.

“She can’t just keep you backstage! You danced better than her! I know you did”. Ricky was nearly yelling before he realized that people might be able to hear him outside the door. His voice quieted again when he remarked, “You deserve the spotlight, Gi”.

Gina blushed as she gave him a crooked half-smile. She rested her hand on Ricky’s chest, simultaneously making his shoulders drop with relief. He knew some upset still showed on his face, though.

“Just for now, Ricky. Maybe once the documentary is finished airing, we can come clean about us-” Gina looked off to the side a little hopelessly.

“Wait-” Ricky remembered something. Gina. Gabriella. Giving up the spotlight. It was like little stems in his brain started to click together.

Gina’s head perked up. “What?”

“Dani is in the show?”

“Ok?” Gina was not getting it. Ricky tried to guide her along.

“Dani is in the show... and she’s not the lead... you are.... you don’t think she’s going to...?”

Gina’s eyes widened. She got it. “Let’s go” she said hurriedly. The two ran for the bathroom door until Gina stopped dead in her tracks, Ricky ramming into the back of her.

“What now?” Ricky yelped.

“If they see both of us coming out of here together-”

“Gi, they saw me follow you in here!” Ricky retorted.

“Right. Move out”. Gina commandeered.

Gina forced the door open quickly, about to take a step forward toward Miss Jenn when Ricky noticed something. He stepped in front of her, throwing his arm up for good measure to stop her. He saw Dani talking to Miss Jenn.

[renai6806]

I hate myself

That’s the first thing I’d say to myself getting up in the morning. Every day while washing my face in the mirror when getting ready to go to work. For years. (Yet it seemed at the time to be marginally better than what I was saying before—“I’m so stupid”—but that’s another story.) It ate away at me. At my self esteem. At my love for myself (I had none). I hated who I was at a person. (Yet I don’t think anyone would have known, I was known as the nice, friendly, happy, supportive, funny, hardworking, smart, capable girl -coworkers said it not me)

I was in a toxic work environment. I realize now that I was angry. I was depressed. My anxiety was through the roof. My mental health was at the mercy of a terrible person. I didn’t know how to get out. Especially with the pandemic and worrying about employment. “I’m lucky I have a job that can pay my bills” (although severely underpaid and overworked—no overtime). But hey, at least I had a job and benefits, be thankful I’d tell myself. I was finally able to quit that job after 4 years and started a new one this summer after I felt my mental health sliding to a dark place that I never want to return to again. I knew the things that happened in the winter was the final straw. If I stayed I would only be disrespecting myself.

The same night as my last day at that job I went home and found myself laying on my bed feeling like something was odd. A constant anxiety and panic that I always felt within my chest was gone. It was silent. Calm. Completely not there. The amount of relief I felt in the realization was astronomical. It wasn’t just me. I thought I was naturally an anxious wreck of a person. While I do have anxiety it is now far less than before. I feel so much more balanced as a human being. Less frantic. Less crazy. Less on edge. Maybe not even. It was hard to believe that a good portion of it was the product of an environment. And it’s only been a few months of healing, reflecting and working on unlearning.. triggers?

Many of my coworkers left before me and after me. It has been weird hearing from them at their new jobs saying how freaked out at people being nice to them they are. Or having anxiety from seemingly benign things (that at the old job would have turned into something incredibly unprofessional and scary-yelling, threats, put downs, etc—all your typical toxic workplace things). I recognized all those same feelings in my first month at my new job. Just waiting for the shoe to drop. Really benign comments sending me into anxiety spirals (comments that were clarified afterwards and really were not meant to be probing, criticising, etc)

For the first time in years, this week I woke up and didn’t automatically say “I hate myself”. I’ve been working on myself the last couple months. Reflecting, learning, growing, taking care of myself, discovering myself. I finally have had the time to care for myself (I used to work crazy hours and by the end of a work day was too exhausted, depressed, beaten down to do much). I admit I’m a little afraid that the feeling or bad habit will come back. But I’m working on being a better person and working on taking care of myself.

I don’t know why I’m writing this except I’m trying to make sense of things and I have no one else to tell.

[mysticalfairylamb]

Astrology Observations!!!

Musicians with water in their chart who make love songs , s3x vibes, or just songs for emotions specifically sadness hit different , and hit deep!!! Ex: Drake, Rhianna, Olivia Rodrigo, SZA, Doja cat ( scorpio venus ), the weeknd ( scorpio moon ), Billie Eilish ( pisces moon ), Ariana Grande , Selena Gomez ( I know more so of her old music like the heart wants what it wants, etc. ), Ari Lennox ( Cancer asc, moon at scorpio degree, mercury pisces degree), < i think it’s estimated. Summer walker ( Cancer asc) < i think one website says sag asc the other says cancer you get it though . Michael Jackson, Pisces moon Pisces ASC.

Musicians with air in their chart have such HUGE influence in the music community and in the public eye. Ex: Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Biggie, Tupac, Snoop Dog, The Weeknd, Doja Cat, Olivia Rodrigo ( libra moon ), Nicki Minaj ( aquarius asc ), etc. Even besides music air signs just are so known and receive SO much attention to the point where it would be kinda shocking if someone DIDN’T know who they are. like Kim K for example, Marilyn Monroe, etc. Air sign energy makes IMPACT 👏👏👏

Taurus moons tend to hold back on what they wanna say, find more comfort speaking up on their needs & wants if someone else already announced they have the same needs & wants. Some of chillest people I’ve came across. Their moon is also in my 1H. Can be pretty introverted and to themselves , the types to not show out & show off for attention , also may have trouble being direct & assertive. can come off super introverted and to themselves , sometimes may even come off secretive or mysterious cause of how closed off they are. The type you just wanna ask questions to, to find more about. What’s the truth type of question. 🤣 They hold water about themselves and it’s not easy for them to crack !!! They mask emotions well too.

MUTABLE moons and their laughs , pisces stands out the most to me. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Pisces mercurys can say the most random stuff during conversation , we can be talking about clothes then a couple seconds later “ Do you think dinosaurs even EXISTED? “ Funny ash though to see how our minds process things, can say random outbursts too, random noises, say something completely off topic. The fishy’s mind IS SWIMMING 😚😚💜

Taurus venus have really gorgeous voices and don’t like to yell a lot. I haven’t met a taurus venus who screams like a maniac. In arguments their voices probably have little to no hostility in it , or anger. Check mars sign too. Anyone I know with a taurus venus has a fire mars but they really don’t be loud. It’s very interesting 🧡🧡

Why are Gemini ASC , placements, either so nosy, messy, or they can’t hold their tongue back & gotta keep it real. Which i’m not surprised because mercury is the planet of messages & communication. Gemini/ mercury energy can get a bit messy & gossipy. Mercury is the planet of talk talk talk. It is pretty stereotypical but literally every gemini placement i’ve met INSTIGATES in arguments, or is like “ oooooou “ , it’s SOMETHING WITH THEM 🤣🤣🤣 whether it’s in public or in private but one thing about my good gemini placements is they ready to get down when it’s TIME. 🤣

Libra risings are so tall and slim. Especially with their sun being an earth sign.

Scorpio Venus and their seductive , HEAVILY sensual, “ I’m the best & everyone wants to kiss me “ music. Embracing that wild sexy feminine energy. Ex: Doja Cat, Nelly Furtado.

Aquarius moons just need a hug deep down, they probably will never admit it cause the way they just neutrally mask their emotions but trust they got a lot going on inside & can use work to distract themselves or to feel more productive.

Y’all !!! Watch out for the people who’s sun falls into your 7th, 12H!!!! Seriously, people don’t be lying when they say they the ones who be talking or plotting. Be safe & be AWARE ☺️

Scorpio placements and their tolerance to physical pain.

Scorpio energy & Psychology JUST GO ALONG.

Leo risings in whole sign have cancer in their 12H, these folks probably deal with their emotions and family issues on their own. Too complex or messy to talk about with just anyone sometimes .

Dear water venus <3 ( PISCES VENUS 111% ) please stop making false situations in your head I know you admire them and love them but sometimes always seeing the best in people only sabotages you. Yes, they have potential but where are they at NOW. In real life, in reality what’s the situation , stop convincing yourself other wise bby. ❤️

Squared Mercurys in synastry during arguments are so stubborn. Can end up going DAYS without talking after the argument from tension & the heat still being turnt up.

Practice embodying your solar return chart placements , i have an aquarius stellium and aquarius ASC and since practicing embodying the traits of aquarius since it’s super significant to me , i’ve been gaining tons of followings and views/likes on my social media platforms. Plus for me practicing the energy of the cosmos aligns me more with the universe , with my natal , solar return & persona.

Sun in the 12H can be confused about their personality , aesthetic , and being in stable in their “ presentation “ of themselves . Get told “ You don’t act like you’re a * enter sun sign * “. Sometimes these folks don’t feel like their sun sign either and resonate more with something else in their chart, or even don’t feel like ANYTHING 🤣🤣🤣 This doesn’t mean they’ll never feel stable in their identity but this is something they could struggle with in life at som point.

6H can show our animals , how our animals are with us, our bonds with our animals, and how people view our animals .

Detriment / Fall placements aren’t tragedy, domicile / Exalt placements aren’t heaven. 🤣

If you don’t feel like your natal chart, check your persona chart !!! I’m a Leo stellium in persona chart and everything in my persona resonates with me. I am a pisces stellium natal so that could be another reason why EVERYTHING resonates with me , feeling the emotions , and shapeshifting internally. Pisces isn’t just water BABY PISCES MUTABLE ALSAAKKAKA.

Wanna know someone’s Venus sign? Observe the colors that look really good on them or that they often wear. Mutable Venus may be a bit more harder to pinpoint. Also may cause confusion on the persons sun sign.

Venus/2H/7H can show the tattoo style someone likes. Or the placement/ body part. of the tattoo I’m a Scorpio 7H and I used to be attracted to crow tattoos, very dark , symbolic tattoos that have a story behind it. My moms a Sag 7H and has traveled good distances for her tattoos. My brothers a taurus venus and has a throat tattoo, taurus rules tongue, tonsils etc. My other brothers a Leo Venus and has a tattoo on his upper back of his zodiac sign, something that has to do with himself. 🤣

11H can show the genre of movies someone likes to watch. Check degree too, and whole sign. Or how they are when watching a movie, the scenes that stand out to them or make impact to them.

Gemini mars energy is very raw when they are irritated. Even when we’re quiet , our faces , tone our whole EXPRESSION shows. Get stimulated by hand activities , ( may apply to other air mars too ) cross word puzzles , video games, games that have to do with hand & eye in union. Check degree & house too.

Thank you for reading my loves !!! Feedback & constructive criticism is welcomed ! Please don’t be a d!ck. ❤️❤️❤️

[gatheringbones]

[“As the fog of pathology burned off and my understanding of my superpower blossomed, I started to see that my C-PTSD did come with a fair amount of badass benefits.

Over the summer of 2020, Lacey started dating an extremely hot dude. Unfortunately, like most extremely hot dudes, he also insisted on being extremely unavailable. He frequently canceled plans without rescheduling new times to see her and didn’t call when he promised to. He blamed it on his busy schedule, but his flakiness was driving her increasingly up the wall.

“Is this normal?” she texted me every few days. “I don’t want to seem needy or weird. But I can’t sleep. I feel all this anxiety and rage. It’s all I think about.”

“Totally normal! Of course you feel that way. Most people would feel bad about this. But your C-PTSD means that you especially value stability and reliability!” I replied. “It’s okay to have these needs. They’re not out of control. They are a part of you, and it’s okay for you to make them known. If he can adapt to meet your needs, then he’s a decent dude! If it freaks him out, good riddance to him.”

It turned out that he was indeed a Grade A prime-cut fuckboy. But by the time the weather chilled, Lacey was Tindering with other men who made her feel safer. That’s when she reached out to me with one of her characteristic voice messages—passionate, sincere missives that she sent when she was too busy or overwhelmed to text.

“You know when I was anxious about that dude?” she said, her voice brisk and breathless as she walked along a beach somewhere, ocean air scraping against her microphone. “I tried reaching out to all my ‘normal,’ non-C-PTSD friends, and all of them kept asking, ‘Why are you obsessing over this guy?’ But you immediately saw that my feelings were not really about this dude. You pushed me to be authentic in my interactions with him. You had a level of insight that I’ve never gotten from anyone, even other therapists! And you never made me feel ashamed. It was such a relief and is still such a relief. I’m actually able to date now and have fun! You’re my knight in shining armor, Foo!”

How about that. My struggles with C-PTSD made me more empathetic. They made me more attuned to what people needed and uniquely skilled in comforting them.

Even the negative parts of my C-PTSD had a silver lining. It was true that when Joey was angry or upset, I had a hard time sitting with his pain and never let him sulk in peace. Instead, I’d nag and badger him until he told me exactly what was up. Once, fed up with me pawing at him like a squirrel analyzing a nut, he yelled, “Can’t you just say, ‘I hear you, that sucks’ instead of trying to solve all of my problems? Not everything needs solving!” But days afterward, once he was feeling better, Joey often thanked me. “In the end, because you pester me, I tell you things I don’t tell anyone else. And then the talks we have about my feelings change me for the better,” he told me. “Nobody makes me feel cared for as much as you do.” I wasn’t loved in spite of my C-PTSD—but, in part, because of it.”]

Stephanie Foo, from What My Bones Know: Healing From Complex Trauma

[zoethespiritwolf]

Chapter 2 - Regrets and nuisances

Crossroads - Jack Frost x autumn spirit! reader

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Artwork possibly made by sakimichan on Deviantart as notified by a lovely reader.

<- Previous chapter

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The destiny I had chosen was not one that was favorable in the long run. Had I known how hard I would fall from grace and become abandoned, perhaps I would’ve chosen a different path.

I have been reduced to almost nothing. A husk of what I once was.

The damage Pitch had done when he left me in the dark, within the shadows that swallowed and lacerated my body, mind, and soul, ripped all my innocence, hope, and wonder from me.

But what does it matter now?

What’s done is done, and no matter how much I or anyone else wished, no one can change the past. All that can be done is move forward with the consequences of past actions.

And so, writhing in shame and guilt, I am forced to hide in leafages, hiding from sight from both the spirits and the living. Although I doubt that the latter could see me in any way, even before I had fallen like the morning star. Less and less children tend to believe in those who have been long forgotten, especially after so many decades and centuries of change.

Regardless, I still continue with my job - painting leaves in wondrous colors wherever I go, sending the migrating birds to warmer lands and the animals to sleep, and most importantly, ensuring the passage from summer to winter. Fortunately, even though the job itself is most of the time boring and repetitive, that hadn’t been taken from me in my darkest times.

But with the job often came some nuisances in day-to-day life.

“You know I can feel you nearby, right?” I called out, gaze staying on my waving palm just above the leafage of a bush, turning the green colors into an assortment of oranges, yellows, and reds.

“Is that how you greet your friends, leafy?” a snarky and youthful male voice teased from a short distance, making me produce a tight smile, still not facing the teen spirit.

“First of all, you are not my friend, more of a bother,” I countered his question, standing up from my crouched position and placing my hands on my hips to admire my handiwork, “and second of all. “Leafy”? Seriously?”

I spun on my heel and raised my head to the branches of a nearby tree where a blue hood-clad man had crouched down. Like always, he had that damned grin on his face, his storm blue eyes narrowed, a clear sign of trouble coming.

“Well, what else am I supposed to call you then, hm?” the boy inquired, tilting his head to the side before jumping from the branch and landing on the softly yellowed grass, producing a small layer of frost on the patch.

“Perhaps I should call you...” he stalked forward, twisting his wooden staff in his hand and placing it horizontally behind his neck. I raised a brow at him expectantly, crossing my arms in front of me in waiting. “Windy?”

“No, absolutely not!” I shot it down without hesitation, shaking my head from side to side.

“Okay, that did sound a bit weird,” the silver-haired boy chuckled, scratching the nape of his neck with his free hand, “Alright, how ‘bout this - chlorosis?”

“No,” I rejected the statement.

“Grumpy!” the teen yelled out excitedly, his blue eyes lighting up like ice on a sunny day.

“Very funny, Frost,” my face had twisted into a tight-lipped smile to his suggestion. I sighed and turned my body away, ready to continue with my job.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” I heard his lithe footsteps crunching the withered leaves from the trees yet I strode forward towards an unfinished tree, already raising my gloved hand above its bark. “What about something sweeter? Like...pumpkin?”

My body froze upon hearing his last words, my hand still hanging in the air. Something about what he said was troubling in a way. Yet I don’t understand how.

Could it be because I haven’t had someone interact so pleasantly with me in so long? Is that it? Has my loneliness rendered me so vulnerable?

What if he is just playing with me? Using me for his own game in the long run?

What if he turns out exactly like Pitch?

The last idea seemed to pierce through my thoughts like an arrow pierced the air to get to the target. On one hand, there could be a chance that Jack isn’t like that. That perhaps, it was just my paranoia speaking.

Yet a different thought wouldn’t leave my mind - what if he is?

“You okay?” The boy’s worried tone broke the train of thought and my eyes widened from it. For a moment I had forgotten that he was still here.

“I’m fine, just tired,” I sighed out, rubbing my face with the hand I had previously raised. From the corner of my eye, I could see his eyebrows furrow and the corners of his mouth tug downwards. “I have a lot to finish and would prefer to be left alone a bit.”

“Well, um,” the winter spirit started unsurely, I’m guessing he couldn’t find words in that empty brain of his. After a moment he sighed and I saw his face relax a bit, yet his eyes still shined in worry, “don’t overwork yourself then, okay? It’s okay to take a break sometimes-”

“I’m fine,” those two words seemed to trip within my throat as they tumbled from my lips. I rubbed my face in my hand and cautiously continued, “But I….suppose that your suggestion isn’t entirely bad.”

“Is that your subtle way of thanking me?” The smug grin had returned to his face as he twisted the staff vertically and leaned against it, his mischievous eyes still gleaming at me.

“Not a chance, snowman!” I shot back at him almost immediately and felt the corners of my mouth lift upwards.

Perhaps, these sorts of nuisances aren’t so bad.

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[Next chapter ->]

A/n:

Hi everyone! I'm back from the dead!

But seriously, I'm sorry that I've been gone for so long. Once again, I have unexpectedly been swamped with work and mental struggles, which is why I haven't been able to post anything for a few weeks.

However, I hope that you enjoy the new chapter of the series! I can't promise, that I'll post regularly from now on, but I'll try my best to have new chapters come out as soon as possible.

Feel free to leave feedback about this chapter and the series as a whole as it will help me improve my writing abilities.

That is all for now. I wish you all a wonderful day and to be safe during this pandemic! :)

[cookiesnt]

Mondo, Gundham, Fuyuhiko, Byakuya and Korekiyo seeing their little sister getting catcalled

tw / harassment, threats of violence

Here are some protective boys for you!

Mondo:

You were going for a walk with your brother.

It was a warm summer day, so you were wearing shorts and a tank top.

Now, Mondo may be a very protective brother, but he’s not the type of guy to tell you what you can and can’t wear.

“As long as nothing’s just hanging out, I don’t care whatcha wear.”

Besides, people usually don’t harass you, especially when he’s around.

Unfortunately, this plan isn’t always foolproof.

As you were walking to an ice cream shop, you noticed a couple guys your brother’s age hanging out in a car.

You ignored them at first, but then...

“Damn, babe! Wanna come over here and gimme some sugar?”

You tensed and looked up at Mondo.

He did not look happy.

But, he chose to be the bigger person and try to continue walking, this time with a firm grip on your hand.

“Aww, don’t be like that, babe! Leave that guy and come have fun with us!”

That was the last straw for Mondo. He let go of your hand and walked towards the car.

“You wanna say that sh*t to my face, you f*cking creeps?!”

The men froze, seemingly intimidated.

“Yeah, that’s what I f*cking thought. You so much as look in my baby sister’s direction again and I’ll ruin your goddamn lives, you hear me?!”

The men nodded, started their car, and drove off.

Mondo sighed and went back to you.

“You okay? I’m sorry you had to see that...”

“I...I’m okay. Just a little shaken up...”

He pulled you into a hug, which you reciprocated.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you, kid. I promise.” He pulled away and wiped a stray tear from your cheeks. “Now, let’s go get that ice cream you like.”

Gundham:

You were making your way to an animal shelter with Gundham.

Apparently, they had just gotten in a very angry cat and needed his expertise.

You decided to tag along, since you had nothing better to do.

It was a beautiful day, so a lot of people were out.

That’s... not always a good thing.

You were about five minutes away from the shelter when you noticed a guy leaning on a building.

You walked passed him, focusing on getting to the shelter...

*whistle*

You turned around, surprised.

“Hey girl. Wanna leave that goth freak and come have some fun? I can show you a real good time.”

You whimpered and looked towards Gundham.

He took a deep breath before locking eyes with the man, clearly upset.

“How dare you say such things?!”

The man seemed surprised to be confronted and scolded, but Gundham wasn’t letting up.

“That is no way to speak to a lady, especially if that lady is my younger sibling!”

Gundham was getting very, very mad. It was rare to see him this upset.

It almost frightened you.

“Now, I suggest you be on your way, and never speak to anyone in that manner again. And if your dare threaten my dark princess, I will send you to hell myself!”

The man ran off in fear. Gundham turned to you with a worried expression.

“Are you alright,” he asked softly. You nodded.

“L-Let’s just get to the shelter...”

Concerned, he agreed, but he took your hand and held it with a tight grip in an attempt to comfort you.

It worked.

Fuyuhiko:

You were walking to a coffee shop to meet up with Fuyuhiko after school.

Peko had chosen to stay behind and study.

You didn’t get to hang out with Fuyuhiko much these days since he was in Hope’s Peak.

That’s why you were so eager to get to the shop. You missed your big brother.

As you skipped towards your destination, still in your school uniform, you heard someone calling something.

“Hey hot stuff!”

You didn’t see anyone else in the area. It was just you and some dude a bit older than your brother.

“A-Are you talking to me?” The guy nodded.

“Why not come over here for a little ride babe?”

You didn’t know how to respond. You usually had Fuyuhiko or someone to help you with this kinda thing.

You were about to answer, when out of literally nowhere...

“Hey bastard! Get the f*ck away from her!”

“Fuyuhiko?!”

He walked towards the scene and pulled you behind him.

“Seriously, chick? You’re gonna run off with boss baby over here?!”

Even though you couldn’t see his face, you knew he was seething with rage.

“Shut the f*ck up, scumbag! You’re lucky she’s too nice to let me tear out your eyeballs and shove ‘em down your throat!”

The man took a step back, dumbfounded.

“Now, I suggest you run off and never come anywhere near me or my little sister again, or everything I said will be more than just a threat! Now f*ck off!”

The man ran off in fear, leaving you with a very angry Fuyuhiko. He turned around, trying to calm himself.

“He didn’t do anything to you, did he?”

“No. You got here in time. Thank you.”

He sighed in relief.

“Let’s go.” He grabbed your hand and walked you to the coffee shop.

There was an obituary for the man in the paper 2 days later.

Byakuya:

You were at a meeting with your brother.

There were a couple big guys from other companies and you could tell a couple of them had been eyeing you up.

It wasn’t unusual, but it still sucked.

As close as you were with Byakuya, you never told him.

He’s not a bleeding heart.

While the meeting was on a break and Byakuya had left the room, you were filing some paperwork and trying to ignore the creeps in the room.

“Hey darlin’! Why not come over here, hmm?”

You sighed and tried to ignore their whispers and whistles.

“Aww, don’t be a bore, doll. Come on over and give us a little show!”

Now you were beyond uncomfortable. You’d even go as far as saying you felt unsafe.

“Repeat that.”

You turned to the door and noticed Byakuya with an angry expression.

“Oh! M-Mr. Togami! W-We were just-”

“Don’t talk. I’m sick of hearing you,” He said as he walked to your side.

“You will all be leaving now. This meeting is over.”

“B-But sir-”

“THIS MEETING IS OVER!” 

You had never heard Byakuya yell like that.

The men scrambled out of the room, leaving the two of you alone. Byakuya turned to you.

“How long?” You took a deep breath.

“Pretty much since I started working...”

He shook his head.

“If this ever happens again, notify me immediately.”

“I promise...”

Korekiyo:

You two were walking to the museum.

They had received some documents that they needed him to look at, and since you’re his ‘apprentice’, he brought you along with him.

He enjoyed spending time with you. He even called you his best friend.

For this reason, he was also very protective over you.

As you discussed potential findings, you briefly caught a glimpse of a man in an alleyway.

Slightly nervous, you stood closer to Kiyo.

He noticed and started walking faster.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.

“Hey baby! Why not let go of that freak and come with me? I can show you a good- Urk!”

He couldn’t finish his sentence before Kiyo grabbed him by the throat and pinned him to the wall of the alleyway.

Most of his face was concealed, but you could tell he was fuming.

His eyes said it all.

“I will stop you right their, sir.”

The man tried pulling your brother off his neck, failing.

“You will listen to me, and you will listen well. You will never, ever speak to anyone in that way ever again. Am I clear?”

The man nodded and tried to get away again.

“I have not finished. If you go anywhere even remotely near my sister ever again, I will tear out your nerves one by one.”

The man swallowed a lump in his throat, nodding again.

“Good.” Korekiyo let him go and watched with disgust and he scurried off like a mouse. Once he was sure the man was gone, he turned to you.

“Are you alright, my dear?” His eyes were filled with concern.

“Y-Yeah, I’m okay...” He sighed and pulled you into a hug.

“I will always protect you, Y/n. That disgusting excuse of a human will never harm you again. I’ll make sure of it...”

[hawkinspostbite]

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨

Words: 5,409

MASTERLIST 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫

A/N: I do not claim to, nor do I own Stranger Things; the concept, characters, plot, etc.

[ᴍᴀʀᴄʜ 𝟸𝟹, 𝟷𝟿𝟾𝟼]

Kate didn’t sleep well the rest of the night.

She tossed and turned all night, phasing in and out of sleep, too afraid to be asleep too long, for fear of being a puppet for another murder.

She didn’t want to scare her friends, they had been through enough.

At some point everyone else had come inside, during one of her awake periods, she heard Dustin and Steve indistinctly arguing about sharing a bed.

After checking through all the windows, she decided the coast was clear, and she quickly ran from the house to the boathouse, slipping inside before anyone could see her.

Steve’s car was gone, she assumed they had gone to get Eddie some supplies. “Munson, it’s me!” She whisper-yelled, announcing her arrival.

Eddie appeared from under the boat tarp again, the look on his face bordering between panic and relief. “You look like hell.” He noted, climbing fully out of the boat.  

Kate smiled sarcastically at him. “Thank you, really.” She rolled her eyes, propping herself up against the back of the work bench. “I don’t normally have a good time sleeping, and especially recently, its been- There’s been-“

“Nightmares?” Eddie asked, sitting down across from her, tucked against the wall.

Kate nodded, playing with a loose string on her shorts.

A few moments of silence passed between them. “You’re really messed up, aren’t you?” Eddie said, making Kate look up in shock.

He shook his head. “Forgive me, for my brashness. I should’ve asked if you were okay first-”

“No. You’re right.” Kate shook her head too. “You’re right.”

“What happened last summer?” Eddie asked, trying not to pry, but also seeming genuinely curious. “You were so different at the end of school last year. Three-star athlete, top of the class, prom princess, you were set to take over the crown from your brother. You had so many friends, top-spot job at the pool, and you seemed so happy.“

Kate looked up from the floor, tears filling her eyes. “I watched someone die.” She closed her eyes, the tears rolling down her cheeks. She used her sleeve to wipe them away quickly, angrily.

“Did Dustin tell you anything? Anything about what we’ve been through?” Kate moved quickly to get away from the hyper-specific topic of Billy.

Eddie nodded. “Just a brief summary. The girl from the lab-“

“Eleven.” Kate smiled fondly.

“Yeah, her. And how Byers didn’t actually go missing. The monsters with teeth for faces, and the smoke monster, and the dogs-“

“Did he call them demo-dogs?”

Eddie chuckled a moment. “Yeah. He did.”

Kate smiled, remembering how simple a problem the demo-dogs were compared to what was to come.

“And about the “flayed”.” He made quotations with his fingers. “But that’s about it.”

Kate sighed. Leave it to Dustin to leave out the most recent, and crucial part of the story (the most heartbreaking and traumatic part of the story) for Kate to tell.

“Last summer was hell on earth for me. I got dragged through the dirt, and then buried under it. And I’m still struggling to make my way back out.” Kate paused, clenching her hand in a fist.

Maybe if she talked about it, it would help her.

“Last summer the smoke monster became the real thing. It was possessing innocent people and using their melted corpses to transform itself into this huge, nasty flesh monster.”

Eddie’s eyes widened in horror.

“I know you probably don’t believe me, but this thing- I have seen some shit in my life. Nothing scares me. But I’ve seen this up-close, inches away. This thing was inside of me.”

She shuddered, remembering the feeling of it’s slimy tentacle invading her body. “It almost got me.”

Kate stopped again, her leg beginning to bounce anxiously. But she went on. “Uh, but it got Billy instead. Billy Hargrove.” She nodded. It was the first time she had fully said his name, in such a long time.

“Billy and I were dating, by the way. For like seven months. It was pretty serious.”

Eddie nodded softly, silently urging her to continue.

“So the monster, that we call the Mind Flayer was killing people, and using Billy as his spy. Making him murder and kidnap people. A bunch of us eventually lured it to the mall, me, Max, Steve, Robin, Dustin, and some other kids- And El.

There’s like a whole other story about how Dustin and Steve infiltrated a secret Russian transport base that was built below the mall, but that’s besides the point.”

Eddie cracked a smile, Kate knew he was going to have to ask Dustin about that story another time.

“But yeah, we got one-on-one with the monster. El got drained of her powers, so we tried killing it with fireworks.

Billy was gonna kill El, it was after her, essentially. But she broke him from the trance, pulled out some memories from his childhood, and he was good to go.

He was free.” Kate sighed, closing her eyes, the moment Billy locked eyes with her playing in her head.

“He was free. And then he turned, and decided that he was gonna play the hero.” Kate chewed at her lip, tears freely falling down her face.

“The Mind Flayer was like two seconds from massacring El, and instead of letting that happen, he turned around and stuck his hands inside of that thing, and he fought back.”

Kate shook her head. “I feel stupid now, because for a second I actually thought that he could win that fight. That he was going to be able to hold it back just long enough for Hopper and Joyce to close the gate. And then it would be over.

We could go home, and listen to Motley Crue and just be together. That’s all I wanted.”

Kate laughed at herself for a moment, but then her laugh turned into a sob. “How fucking stupid of me!” She gasped, trying to catch her breath.

“Because the next thing I knew, that thing was still there, and it had Billy strung up in the air, like a rag doll!”

Kate let out another cry.

“When he dropped to the floor-“ She shook her head. “There was so much blood.”

Her hands were shaking now, as they sat in her lap. “There was blood everywhere. His shirt was soaked, and it was just pouring out of his mouth, every word he spoke- It was just everywhere...

But I got to talk to him, I got to say my goodbyes, but there was so much more I wanted to say.

He didn’t know anything. He didn’t know! I could’ve prepared him, I could have warned him. But I did nothing. I didn’t tell him. I didn’t help him.

I just stood there and watched him die.”

Kate sobbed again, burying her head in her knees and crying.

Eddie didn’t say anything. He simply just sat, and let Kate cry.

They both knew there was nothing he could do or say that would help calm her. And after a few minutes of her heart wrenching sobs filling the boathouse, she looked up from her knees, to find Eddie, still staring at her intently, caringly.

She cleared her throat, wiping away tears. “So… I know I was happy once. I was actually never happier.”

She sighed, eyes trailing up, to the ceiling. “But that happiness is gone. Who knows if it will ever come back, ya know?”

She looked back at Eddie, who nodded. Maybe he did know, Kate, would never know that.

“I’m sorry.” Eddie said, although Kate didn’t know what for.

She gave him a questioning look.

“Everyone at school pretty much put two and two together, when you showed up the first day of senior year looking like a literal ghost. Nobody thought that someone could change that much in just three months, but I get it now.” Eddie nodded, reminiscing.

“It didn’t really take long for them to figure out what was going on between you and Hargrove. You’re blatantly close with his sister, you hated Heather Holland, and weren’t really close with anyone else that passed. So, Billy was the obvious answer.”

Kate wiped away a few more stray tears. “So it was that obvious?”

“Oh it was soooo obvious.” Eddie grinned, making Kate crack a smile. “Ah, there’s that Harrington smile.”

Kate’s smile faded. “That was one of the last things he said to me.” She looked back from the floor, to Eddie.

“There’s that Harrington smile I love.”

Eddie sighed sadly, nodding. “Me and you are just two peas in a pod, huh?”

Kate looked at him quizzically. “What-“

“I mean, granted, I wasn’t in love with Chrissy or anything, but I watched her die too.” Eddie shuddered.

“I watched someone die, you did too. And now we’re both here, in a boathouse, living through the aftershocks.”

Kate nodded, contemplating what he was saying. He was right. They had both seen someone die.

Regardless of personal connection, seeing a life get taken away was frightening, earth-shattering sometimes. Kate had seen people die before Billy too, just none of them touching her quite like his did.

“We are quite alike, after all, princess.” Eddie nodded. “Hate to break it to you.”

“You don’t have to “break” anything to me, Munson. I don’t care about social status. Not anymore, at least.” She shrugged.

“I was in the popular seat for like, barely a year. Forget-you-not I was the head of the AV department up until this year! And, I have also been playing DnD literally since I was ten. So, I know what it’s like to have everyone look at you like you’re a freak. Especially when, to compare, your brother is the King of the school.”

Eddie didn’t say anything, he simply just stared at Kate, studying her face. “And I don’t buy into all that “freak” talk, by the way. Never did.” She clicked her tongue, sniffling.

“If I did, I wouldn’t be here, right now. And I would’ve never said yes to filling in at club last night.”

Eddie’s eyes lit up. “Ya know, you’re not at all what I thought you were Harrington.”

Kate furrowed her eyebrows in curiosity. “Oh yeah?”

“Yes. See, I always thought you were a stuck-up, rich girl from the suburbs, who was sooo pampered, her feet never even touched the ground.”

Kate laughed in shock. “Really! That’s what you thought of me?”

Eddie laughed too, half in embarrassment, half in honesty. “Yep, yes I did. But- But now, I know that I was wrong, and I apologize. Kate Harrington, you’re not half bad…. I’m really glad you’re here.”

“Well, Eddie Munson, you’re not half bad either. And I’m glad you’re here too.”

The two shared a smile, before being interrupted by the abrupt opening of the door.

“Jesus!” Eddie screeched, jumping in shock.

Dustin, Robin, Max and Steve all stepped inside, arms full of grocery bags. “Delivery service!” Dustin smiled, holding his bags up higher for Eddie to see.

They all made their way inside, laying their haul out for Eddie atop the workbench. “What’d you two get up to while we were gone? Sharing epic DnD campaign stories?” Steve asked, mocking their love of the game.

Kate swatted at his shoulder. “We just chit-chatted, nothing important. Waiting for your slow-asses to return.”

Steve glared at her handing a box of Honeycombs to Eddie over his shoulder.

They all gathered around the boat as Eddie dipped hand-first into the box, a bottle of chocolate milk in his other hand.

“So we got some good news and some bad news.” Dustin said, nervously bouncing his leg. “How do you prefer it?”

“Bad news first, always.” Eddie said matter-of-factly.

Dustin nodded. “Alright, bad news… We tapped into the Hawkins PD dispatch with our Cerebro and they’re definitely looking for you.”

Eddie’s face dropped.

“Also, they’re pretty convinced you killed Chrissy.”

Max nodded, chiming in. “Yeah, like one-hundred-percent convinced.”

“I’ve been told a lot of shit today, and yet somehow that is still the most jarring-“ Eddie muttered, his words turning into a groan.

Steve turned to look at Kate, eyes wide. “What did you guys talk about?”

“Curiosity kills, Steve.” Kate snapped, shutting her brother up immediately.

“And the good news?” Eddie asked, still hopeful for himself.

“Your name hasn’t gone public yet.” Robin replied, an optimistic tone in her voice. “But if we found out about you, it’s only a matter of time before others do too.

And once that gets out it’s only a matter of time before everyone and their shallow-minded mother is gonna be gunning for you.”

“Hunt the freak, right?” Eddie asked, fear tinting his voice.

“Exactly.” Robin nodded.

“Shit!” He sighed.

“So, before that happens, we need to find Vecna, kill him, and prove your innocence.” Dustin nodded, explaining his plan.

At the mention of Vecna, Kate’s stomach dropped. She had almost, almost forgotten about the whole mystical-puppeteer act she was being put through.

And now would be the perfect time to explain the situation if the subject of saving Eddie’s reputation wasn’t more important to everyone else.

“That’s all, Dustin? That’s all?” Eddie grinned sarcastically.

“Yeah.” Dustin nodded eagerly. “Yeah, no that’s pretty much it.” He wasn’t picking up on the sarcasm in Eddie’s voice.

“Listen, Eddie, I know everything Dustin’s saying sounds totally delusional, but we’ve actually been through this kind of thing before.” Robin nodded.

“Well, they have, a few times. And I have once. Mine was more human-flesh-based, and their’s was more smoke-related but bottom-line is, collectively, I really feel like we got this.”

“See, usually we rely on this girl who has superpowers. But those went bye-bye- But now Kate has some so we aren’t totally out of luck.” Steve shrugged.

“So technically we’re more in kind of the-“ Robin couldn’t find the right words to articulate what she was thinking right now.

“Brainstorming phase.” Max finished for her, Robin and Steve nodding in agreement.

“Yeah, I know all this, Kate told me earlier.” Eddie said, taking another sip of his chocolate milk.

“So that’s what you talked about-“ Steve smiled at her.

“You didn’t explain how you got the superpowers though.” Eddie peered up at her.

“That’s because we don’t know how she got them.” Dustin answered for her.

Kate nodded. “He’s right, we really don’t.”

“Anyway!” Dustin cut her off. “There’s nothing to worry about. We’re basically pros at this now.”

Eddie looked like he was about to explode, at that statement.

His eyes grew wide as he tilted his head at Dustin. His mouth opened to speak but he was cut off by the sound of sirens flying past the property.

Thankfully, they continued to move, although that didn’t ease anyone’s anxieties about Eddie being discovered.

Robin and Kate rushed to cover Eddie back up with the tarp as the other three ran to the window to see where they were headed.

Although, Kate had a sinking suspicion she already knew.

Fred.

Steve turned around, looking at Robin and Kate with a sense of urgency.  “I think we should check it out.” He said, patiently waiting for one of them to agree.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Robin agreed before Kate even had a moment to discuss with her.

Dustin, Max and Steve were out the door before she could comprehend it.

“Eddie, we’ll be back!” Kate called, practically tripping over her boots in the rush to get out the door. “Lay low and use your walkie for communication, we’ll see you later!”

Kate piled in the back of the car, squeezed between Max and Dustin. Steve took off, following as best he could behind the hoard of emergency vehicles.

Just a few miles down the road, Steve was forced to stop, pulling off to the side of the road behind a police car.

There were emergency personnel everywhere; Cops, EMTs, firefighters, and reporters. And right in the thick of it all was Nancy, being questioned by the new chief of police, Officer Powell.

Nancy visibly relaxed when she saw them arrive. And practically sprinted over to them when she was finally done being interrogated.

She fell into Kate’s arms, hugging her shoulders tightly. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you guys.” She mumbled into Kate’s jacket.

Kate squeezed back, trying to provide comfort for her. “What the hell happened?” Kate asked as they pulled apart.

Nancy stiffened up again, her eyes fluttering back and forth between the five of them. “It’s a long story.” She shrugged.

“You wanna talk about it?” Steve asked, nudging Nancy with his elbow.

She turned to him, eyes softening. “Yeah.” She nodded. “Yeah, I think we should talk.”

Nancy stayed close to Kate, and the six of them weaved their way through the hoard of people, settling themselves on a picnic table in the middle of the trailer park.

Nancy went first, telling them everything that led up to her loosing track of Fred in the trailer park. How they went to investigate Chrissy’s murder, ended up talking to Eddie’s uncle, and then he was gone.

Nancy spent basically all night looking for him before she finally decided to go to the police about it, but by then it was too late, he was already dead.

Dustin went next, accompanied by creative comments made by Steve. Telling Nancy about how Kate searched for Eddie, they found Reefer Rick’s address through the video store’s database, and getting the real scoop from Eddie.

And also their theory about how the murders were once again, linked to an Upside Down-related creature.

“So, you’re saying that this thing that killed Fred and Chrissy, it’s from the Upside Down?” Nancy asked, still unsure of what they were getting at.

“If the shoe fits.” Steve nodded.

“Our working theory is that he attacks with a spell, or a curse.” Dustin shrugged. “Now whether or not he’s doing the bidding of the Mind Flayer, or if he just likes killing teens? We don’t know.”

Kate bounced her leg anxiously. The urge to bring up her suspected connection to Vecna was strong. But something deep inside her was telling her not to.

She feared if she told her friends the truth, that that would open them up to become a victim of the curse. She couldn’t have that on her conscience.

“All we know is that this is something different. Something new.” Max chimed in.

“It doesn’t make sense.” Nancy shook her head.

“It’s only a theory.” Dustin responded.

Nancy shook her head again. “No, Fred and Chrissy don’t make sense. I mean, why them?”

“Maybe they were just in the wrong place.” Dustin shrugged. “They were both at the game.”

“And near the trailer park.” Max said.

Steve’s eyes widened a bit. “We’re at the trailer park… Uh, should we maybe not be here?”

They all became a little paranoid in that moment, each of them turning and looking over their shoulders in fear.

“There is something about this place.” Nancy said. “Fred started acting weird the second we got here.”

“Acting weird, as in?” Robin asked.

Nancy shrugged. “Scared? On edge, upset?”

“Max said Chrissy was upset too.” Dustin looked up at her.

“Yeah, but not here.” Max replied. “She was crying in the bathroom at school.”

Kate nodded, remembering how quickly she had flown past her. “Yeah, she blew past me in my way in, almost knocked me on my ass.”

“Serial killers stalk their prey before they strike, right?” Robin asked. “So, maybe Fred and Chrissy say this Vecman-“

“Vecna.” Dustin corrected, almost as if on cue.

“I don’t know about you guys but if I saw some freaky wizard monster, I would mention it to someone.” Steve said, shrugging.

That statement struck Kate in the heart, making her feel guilty about keeping her connection to Vecna hidden. She couldn’t risk being responsible for, or at least knowing, that one of her friend’s deaths was upcoming.

“Maybe they did.” Max said. “I saw Chrissy leaving Ms. Kelly’s office… If you saw a monster, you wouldn’t go to the police. They’d never believe you. But you might go to your shrink.”

“Anyone know where Ms. Kelly lives?” Dustin asked, getting up from the bench and strapping on his backpack.

“Yeah, I think over on Elk Road.” Max nodded, also getting up.

“Okay then, it’s settled. Roadtrip.” Dustin grinned, walking eagerly towards Steve and Nancy’s cars.

Max followed closely behind him, and Kate too, Nancy, Robin and Steve not far behind her.

Nancy cut ahead of everyone, booking it towards her car. “Whoa, whoa, Nance!” Steve called, stopping her. “Where you going?”

Nancy looked like a deer caught in headlights. “There’s something I just wanna check on first.”

“Something you maybe wanna share with the rest us?” Dustin asked, clearly feeling left out.

Nancy looked down at the ground, as if almost embarrassed. “I don’t wanna waste your time, it’s a real shot in the dark.”

“Yeah, okay… Are you out of your mind?” Steve scoffed. “Flying solo with this Vecna creep on the loose? No, it’s too dangerous. You need- You need someone to…”

Steve sighed, turning and tossing his car keys to Robin.

“Uh?!” Kate scoffed, shaking her head at him.

“Here, I’ll stick with Nance.” Steve smiled. “You guys take the car, check out the shrink.”

Robin looked at the keys like she didn’t know what to do with them. “I don’t think you want me driving your car.”

“Why?” Steve asked, confused.

“I don’t have a license.”

“Why don’t you have a license?”

“I’m poor-“

“I can drive.” Max perked up.

Steve’s faced paled. “No, no, never again, please! Anybody but you! No.”

Dustin grinned, winking at Steve. “No chance.”

Steve turned to Kate. “I’m off the insurance plan, bud.” She shrugged.

Steve was shit out of luck.

“Okay, this is stupid.” Robin snickered, grabbing Dustin’s supercom out of his backpack pocket, and tossing Steve his keys back. “Us ladies will stick together. Unless you think we need you to protect us?”

Kate and Max giggled at that, as Steve’s shoulders slumped in defeat.

Nancy and Robin turned, heading back to Nancy’s car. “Be careful!” Steve called after them.

Max got into the car, Kate did too, beating Dustin to the front seat. “You’re in the back, slick, don’t forget.” She clicked her tongue at him.

“You gonna stand there and gawk?” Dustin snapped at Steve, from his seat in the back.

“Shut up!” Steve snapped, breaking himself from his trance and turning to get into the car.

“Can we just go? Can we just go, okay, you two- Quit arguing!” Kate spoke over the sound of them bickering.

“Did you wipe your feet?” Steve eyed Dustin in the rearview mirror. “On the outside, not the inside!” He snapped, seeing Dustin’s mischievous smile.

“Dear god, just drive?” Kate moaned, growing tired with their picking at each other.

Steve whipped his head around, glaring at her intensely. She glared back, scaring him into submission, and he put the car in drive.

“Always the babysitter. Always the goddamn babysitter!”

Kate shook her head as Steve muttered incoherent complaints the entire ride across town to Elk Road. Max and Dustin sat silently in the back, Max staring out the window, lost in her own thoughts.

When they got to Ms. Kelly’s, Max barely waited for Steve to hit the breaks before she jumped out of the car. “I won’t be long, okay?” She said over her shoulder as she crossed the street.

The three of them watched as Max rang the doorbell, and Ms. Kelly answered. Then Max went inside.

“Okay, she’s in.” Steve announced, as if they weren’t all watching the exact same sequence of events take place.

“I’m missing collarbones, not eyes.” Dustin mumbled from the backseat.

Kate’s eyes widened, and she fought the urge to laugh in her brother’s face at Dustin’s remark, instead she watched as he tensed up, and then nodded, accepting the defeat.

“So, we gonna talk about it?”

“About what?” Steve asked, clueless.

“Your temporary insanity earlier today when you basically threw yourself at Nance?” Dustin replied, as if to say “Duh?”

Steve whipped around to stare at Dustin. “Okay, first of all, that’s not what happened!”

“Pretty sure that’s what happened.” Kate chimed in, eyes still on Ms. Kelly’s front door.

Steve turned back to her. “Okay?!” He snapped.

“It was pretty public. There were a lot of witnesses.” Kate shrugged.

“Are you implying I still have a thing for Nancy?” Steve scoffed, eyes switching between Dustin and Kate.

“No, we’re not implying.” Dustin shook his head. “I’m stating. And as it relates to your steadfast refusal to date Robin, it’s pretty much the only logical explanation.”

Kate’s eyes quickly flicked back to Dustin, and then to the door again. She had to remind herself that pretty much nobody knew about Robin’s sexual preferences, except for her and Steve.

And honestly, she wasn’t even supposed to know. Steve had accidentally outed Robin to her one night, after coming home and complaining about how Robin wouldn’t shut up about a girl she saw in their rival school’s pep band.

Steve felt horrible, of course, but Robin didn’t actually mind. She trusted Steve enough to tell him, and so she trusted Kate enough too. Plus, Kate assured her she didn’t honestly care. It didn’t make her think more or less of Robin, and she was cool with her either way.

And so this made the Harrington siblings, the “keeper of lesbian secrets”, as Robin sometimes called them. (Steve hated that phrase, but Kate found it amusing.)

“That’s not the only one.” Steve shook his head. “And as for Nance, I was just trying to protect a friend. A friend, Henderson, okay?” Steve’s face flushed red as he looked at Dustin in the mirror.

“Okay.” Dustin nodded, a teasing tone to his voice.

“A friend! I don’t wanna find her in the morning with her eyes sucked outta the front of her skull by this Vecna creep-“

Kate’s gaze trailed away from the door and to her brother’s face. “You’re bright red in the face right now Steve.” She said, matter-of-factly.

Dustin all but cackled from the back. “No, I’m not.” Steve said, clenching his jaw. “I don’t wanna talk about it. I’ll punch you so hard in your face that your teeth will fall back out.”

Dustin’s laughing ceased.

“Steve!” Kate’s mouth opened in shock.

“Yeah, too far.” Dustin mumbled.

Steve took a moment before turning around to Dustin. “Not cool, sorry.”

“Not cool.” Dustin agreed. “It’s okay.”

Steve leaned back, the two of them sharing a fist bump before returning to silence and watching the door intently.

It was only a few more minutes before Max reappeared, booking it to the car. “Here she comes, here she comes!” Steve announced again, sitting himself more upright.

Max got into the car, Dustin sliding across the seat to sit behind Kate now. “What’d she say?”

“Nothing, just drive.” Max said, slamming the door shut urgently.

“Nothing?” Steve asked.

“Steve, drive!” She snapped, suspiciously urgent.

Steve put the car into drive, flooring it out of there before anyone could ask another question.

“Where am I driving to?”

“The school.”

They weren’t very far down the road when Dustin’s supercom started crackling. “Dustin, it’s Lucas. Do you copy?”

“Lucas?” Dustin asked, frantically scrambling to dig the radio out of Kate’s bag. “Where the hell have you been?”

“Just listen!” Lucas said through the walkie. “Are you guys looking for Eddie?”

“Yeah, and we found him- No thanks to you!”

“You found him?”

“Yes, he’s at a boathouse on Coal Mill Road. Don’t worry, he’s safe.”

“You guys know he killed Chrissy, right?”

“That’s bullshit! Eddie tried to save Chrissy!” Dustin came to Eddie’s defense, yet again.

“Then why do all the cops say he did it?”

“Really Lucas, believing the cops now? Basketball has gone to your head.” Kate said out loud, although she knew Lucas couldn’t hear her.

Behind her, Max grabbed the walkie from Dustin’s hands. “Lucas, you’re so behind, it’s ridiculous, okay? Just meet us at the school, we’ll explain later.”

A few beats passed before Lucas responded. “I can’t… I think some real bad shit is about to go down.”

Kate’s eyes widened, she turned herself to face Max. “What are you talking about? What bad shit?”

There was no answer from the other end.

“Lucas? Lucas?”

Max looked at Kate, worry in her eyes. “He’s fine, Max. He’s fine.” Dustin shrugged it off. “It’s Lucas, he’ll be fine.”

Kate knew Max couldn’t shake the overwhelming feeling of dread for Lucas. She had experienced it herself with Billy. It was scary not knowing the status of someone you love.

It was dark by the time they got to the school, parking right out front.

Kate used her powers to open the door, a (for once) positive notion that came with psionic abilities. No more breaking and entering, technically. No breaking was taking place.

“Dustin, do you copy?” Robin asked through the supercom as they entered the school.

“Yeah, I copy.” Dustin replied.

“So, Nancy’s a genius.” Kate chuckled, as if they needed a situation like this to tell them if Nancy was a genius or not. “Vecna’s first victims date back all the way to 1959. Her shot in the dark was a bullseye.”

“Okay, that’s totally bonkers, but I can’t really talk right now.”

“What are you doing?” Just by the tone of voice, Kate could practically see Robin’s face.

“Breaking and entering into school to retrieve some confidential and extremely personal files.” Dustin answered like it was no big deal.

“Can you repeat that?”

“Just get your ass over here, stat!” Dustin commanded. “We’ll explain everything.”

Max was lightyears ahead of them, already toying with the lock of Ms. Kelly’s office.

Kate came up beside her, shining her flashlight on the doorhandle so Max could see what she was doing. “Ya know, if you wanted to break in here, all you had to do was ask.”

Max turned to look at her.

“Magic hands.” Kate replied, wiggling her free fingers at her.

Max’s eyes lit up, almost as if she was cracking a smile, but instead she went back to the task at hand, opening the door.

Inside, it was dark, of course. And Max headed straight for the filing cabinets in which Ms. Kelly stored her student’s records.

“It’s like a mini-watergate or something.” Dustin grinned, examining every little detail of Ms. Kelly’s office. “Hawkinsgate.”

“Wait a second, didn’t those guys get caught?” Steve asked, following closely behind him.

“Holy shit.” Max gasped, fingering through the files. “I found Chrissy’s file, but that’s not all. Fred was seeing Ms. Kelly too.”

Max grabbed their files, bushing past the other three to sit down at Ms. Kelly’s desk.

She opened the manilla folders, looking through all the papers. Kate held her flashlight over them, illuminating the paper.

Side by side, Max had laid the notes that Ms. Kelly had been taking during her sessions with Chrissy and Fred. It was a list of what seemed to be symptoms.

Past trauma

Terrible nightmares

Difficulty sleeping

Headaches

“Max, what’s wrong?” Kate asked, picking up on Max’s rising anxiety.

“Max, what is it?” Dustin asked her too, but it was like she was stuck.

Kate blinked, unmoving. Max was no longer in the chair, and Steve and Dustin were no longer in the room.

“Max!” Kate called, frowning in confusion.

The door to the office, that they had shut when they entered, was now open. Kate crossed the room, following her instinct to leave.

The hallway was dark, pitch black, and she didn’t have her flashlight. But somehow she could still see.

She rounded a corner, hearing the sound of a clock ticking from in the distance. It was big, or at least sounded big. Like an old grandfather clock.

“Max!” Kate shouted again, but there was no answer.

She rounded another corner, this time, finding Max. She was standing, stiff as a board, flashlight in hand, staring at the wall at the end of the hallway.

Wedged into the cement was a huge clock, the minute hand ticking ominously, almost like it was counting down to something.

“Max?” Kate called, trying to grab her attention.

She didn’t pay her any mind.

And the clock kept ticking.

TAG LIST

@firefistnoct @chaoticsteve

[deadpoetsmuses]

"inspiration". | neil perry, dps.

in which a summer is spent with the poets, with a significant feature of neil perry.

✧ title: "inspiration".

✧ pairing: neil perry x fem!reader.

✧ genre: fluff, with slight mentions of angst.

✧ word count: 2,733.

✧ warnings: written in headcanon format, home life mentions, the reader lives in meeks' grandma's house, knox being a simp for chris.

✦ author’s note: requested by @mybabysweetascanbe! it's kinda funky how i wrote this as a headcanon but it still ended up being my longest fic lmao. also i wrote the poem that neil made for the reader myself so i'm sorry if it's kinda cheesy 🗿 but i hope you all enjoy this one !! don't forget to take care of yourselves guys <3

✎ The summer holidays had always been a time for the poets’ relief.

✎ Their academic year was constantly filled with difficulties for the poets, but it was harder for some when they were home for the summer.

✎ Neil felt as though he couldn’t be himself-- he loved reading and writing even more so than he did with accomplishing any of his parents’ wishes, like heading into medical school. He especially loved to act, and it was rough to keep that concealed around his dictatorial father.

✎ Todd’s older brother would be at home as well, and it was worse enough being in his shadow; but it had gotten worse with every one of his parents’ daily proclamations.

“We were quite disappointed with your grades from last semester, son,” His father reprimanded, looking down on him with stern eyes. “I just don’t understand what’s gotten into you. Your mother and I raised you quite well and you have your brother to guide you along. You know that he’s remarkably intelligent and well accomplished. Why can’t you be more like your brother?”

✎ Charlie and Knox had been just like Neil. The constant pressure that their parents put on them about becoming a banker and a lawyer was daunting; and all they wanted was to simply live as regular teenagers without concern for their future.

✎ Fortunately, Meeks’ grandmother was a woman who had a colossal and motherly love for the poets with a sizable residence in which her grandson’s friends could inhabit during their vacation.

✎ Thus, the poets resided in the Meeks household in the summer before their senior year so as to escape the stress and troubles brought to them in their own homes.

✎ Even though the summer was fleeting and their time was short, the poets found their time to be everlasting when they met the student boarder of the house.

✎ She went by the name of Y/N, which was a name that sounded just as sweet as the lady to whom it was attached.

“Hello, everybody! I’m Y/N!” The girl said, reaching out her hand to shake one of the poets’. Truth be told, it had been quite some time since any one of the boys had been in close contact with a woman; so they found themselves to be quite the martians in the situation. It took a few moments before one of the poets-- Neil Perry-- could offer his hand and shake hers. “I’m Neil! We’re friends of Meeks and his classmates from Welton.” The boy swore that he felt a spark as their fingertips touched, but he tossed the feeling aside; along with the apparition that he saw of a faint glimmer in Y/N’s eyes.

✎ The boys instantly took her in to their little group, and they all fell in love with her personality-- which was a platonic statement of course; but Neil Perry found this to be otherwise as he actually began falling into love with the new girl.

✎ He loved the way she cared for her new friends, the way she projected her personality through the clothes she wore, and all of the little smiles she gave him.

✎ With every beam and twinkle that she delivered, Y/N found herself to be falling for Neil as well.

✎ He provided a feeling for her that made the blacks of her eyes expand and butterflies to quiver inside-- which was the very same one Neil had felt when he first laid his eyes on her.

✎ She had been a fantastic addition to the band of poets, and the boys could not have had it any other way.

Despite the summer coming into fruition, the poets did not fail to meet up in their little cave every once in a while to read poetry, discuss girls, and laugh. The first meeting of that summer was simply like any other. “Guys, what do we think of Y/N?” Meeks questioned. A clamor of answers that ranged between “I think she’s great,” and “Do you think Mrs. Meeks has any more people in her house like Y/N?” echoed in the dark cave. Clearly, the boys had favored Y/N; but certainly not to the point where they’d be infatuated with her. “Yeah, I think she’s nice. She’s really pretty too,” Knox added. “Woah there Knoxious,” Charlie replied, expelling out a chortle. “I don’t think Chris would like to hear that. And besides, she looks more like she’s Neil’s type than yours.” Charlie’s words weren’t incorrect, but it was needless to say that Neil had strongly agreed with that statement.

✎ Over the summer, they would all begin to get to know each other better.

✎ The poets eventually introduced Y/N to the intricate realm of poetry, and she wholeheartedly fell in love with every line that was recited.

✎ They enjoyed every moment of their fleeting time together. Of course, there would be times where the boys would get into small fights and bickers.

✎ Pitts would always be yelling at Charlie for taking an ungodly amount of time in the shower, while Charlie would be yelling back about how Pitts always seemed to inhale the food that Mrs. Meeks provided for them before he himself could even take one bite.

✎ Cameron did his best to do some summer reading at night, but he found it quite hard as his room was beside Knox’s room, and Knox would spend hours on end talking to Chris over the phone.

“Oh, Chris. How do I love thee?” Knox sighed, lacing the telephone cords in between his fingers. “That’s the title of a poem we learned in Mr. Keating’s class. It reminds me of how lovely you are. Of course, she’s not as pretty as you are,” Knox’s giggles not only erupted through the phone; but it travelled through the walls as well, disrupting Cameron from the climax of his novel. “We get it, Knox! You’re a romantic poet! Now why don’t you go tell Chris about how you finished with a D minus in English!”

✎ While all of the little squabbles took place, they hadn’t even noticed the slight change in Neil and Y/N’s behavior.

✎ Y/N seemed to be keeping to herself more often, while Neil appeared to have possessed an undying smile on his face around the poets; particularly in the mornings when everyone gets up early except for him and Y/N.

✎ Little did they know, Y/N’s room had been vacant for the past few days since the arguments began-- which was approximately three weeks after the boys had arrived to the Meeks’ residence; and Neil seemed to be giggling in his room every night when the rest were asleep.

✎ In the duration of those three weeks, Neil had become more familiar with Y/N than any of the other poets had been.

✎ They’d walk along the nearby river every morning, discuss poetry in the late afternoons, and eventually fall asleep in each other’s arms at night.

“How long have you been living here?” Neil inquired, peering into Y/N’s eyes. His vision didn’t have to stretch too far as his face had only been a breath away from Y/N’s. The pair laid together under the warm covers of Neil’s bed with their legs entangled in one another’s and their hands interlocked, talking about anything and everything that came to their minds. “It’s been two years since Mrs. Meeks took me in,” She replied, gazing over Neil’s chiseled face. “In the whole time I’ve been here, I think you’re the most interesting thing that’s happened to me,” Y/N added, beaming up at Neil. Hearing her words, Neil slowly leaned his lips onto Y/N’s forehead, giving her an endearing kiss. She too had been the most interesting thing to happen to Neil in a long time.

✎ For each and every day that they were together, Neil wrote love poems.

✎ His poems revolved around his time with Y/N and included detail of all sorts; such as how colors appeared to be more bright and more vivid when he was with her and how lovelier the birds had sounded in the morning during their walks.

"My love,

The luminosity of the golden sun

does not compare to the radiance

of your glowing skin.

In this air full of morning dew,

the most beautiful scent in the air

is still you.

The sounds we hear of the melodious

birds are all because of your presence,

and they sing only for your beauty.

I look into your eyes and I see nature

reflected back at me; but it is much more

pleasant to perceive than if I were to do so

through my own set of eyes.

Though the morning lasts for a mere set of hours,

My fascination for you can go for as long as

this smooth river flows.

✎ Neil felt embarrassed about being so infatuated with Y/N, so he kept his poems hidden for the time being.

✎ Somehow, the boys had failed to notice Neil and Y/N’s constant disappearance.

✎ Although, they’d make little remarks from time to time that ran along the lines of “Ooh, Neil found a muse!” and “Y/N definitely likes somebody here. It’s probably me.”

✎ The last comment came from Charlie, which later earned him a smack on the head from Neil.

✎ So, Neil and Y/N did their best to keep their relationship hidden throughout the summer.

✎ The two were rather domestic in their relationship; they did all of the typical-couple activities that everyone else had done.

✎ To anyone else it would have been rather common to witness, but to them it was simply extraordinary being with one another.

It had been a scenic day at the river that morning. The beauty of the nature surrounding it had been ordinarily pleasing to Y/N; but all of its best qualities were magnified for Neil as his hand was in hers and the only thing he could smell was her fragrance. He had been quite nervous for the entire morning as he promised himself the night before that he would finally gather the courage to say those three magic words he’d been imagining to say for quite some time. Unbeknownst to him, Y/N had been thinking the same and had been visualizing how she would say it at that moment for the past few hours since. Just when the cascading waters began to relax and the chirping of the birds started to quiet down, the pair stopped on their trail and those three words were finally professed by Neil in a sudden manner while Y/N had spoken the same in a clear and gentle tone. They looked into each other’s eyes, recognizing the same look of love and eventually realizing what was said. As it was acknowledged, the two lovers simply smiled at each other and kept walking along; their hearts now beating on the same rhythm and their minds thinking of nothing but one another.

✎ Time to time, they would go up to the attic and listen to the music from Mrs. Meeks’ old gramophone, caressing one another as they slowly dance along to the lyrics of Ella Fitzgerald’s songs.

✎ Neil would always sneak a flower out of Mrs. Meeks’ rose garden and leave it on Y/N’s bedside table for her to wake up to.

✎ One of Y/N’s ways of communicating her love would be recommending books to Neil that she thinks is encompassed with his personality. Since then, Neil’s library had enlarged to a great extent.

✎ There would also be some occasions where one of them-- mostly Neil-- would get a little cheeky and try to express their love for the other out in the open.

“Eat up, boys! You know there’s plenty more of where that came from, so don’t be afraid to dig in!” Mrs. Meeks endorsed, setting down a bowl of mashed potatoes. With a jubilant ‘thank you’, everyone at the table promptly began to tuck into the mouthwatering cuisine. The boys soon found themselves distracted with the heavenly taste of Mrs. Meeks’ cooking; and Neil took this opportunity to covertly sneak his right hand onto Y/N’s thigh under the table. A scarlet blush crept its way up to Y/N’s cheek as she sent Neil a glare. Though her eyes expressed the message of “Not here!”, every other signal in her body sent the message of ‘Yes, Please’ to a very triumphant Neil.

✎ The summer inevitably came to an end and the boys were forced to return to Welton, much to their dismay.

✎ They couldn’t stand ending their summer; and they especially couldn’t stand leaving their new friend behind while the rest of them stayed together.

“Oh God, How are we supposed to leave this beautiful girl all alone in this big house?!” Charlie pleaded, theatrically dropping down to his knees and shouting out loud to the heavens. “It’s all just too emotional for us,” Pitts added as he went along with his friend’s act, his head bowing down to the ground in grief as he placed a comforting hand on Charlie’s shoulder. “Just take me with her, God! Let me be with Y/N at her all-girls school!”

✎ Despite all of the inconveniences they put upon Y/N, the poets really did leave a mark on her. These boys showed her a new way of life-- she knows what ‘Carpe Diem’ means, and she knows how to seize her days because of them.

✎ Of course, Neil had a harder time coming into terms with their departure more than anyone else.

✎ Leaving the Meeks’ residence meant that he was leaving Y/N, which was something that he hadn’t prepared himself for.

“I’m not ready to leave you,” Neil confessed. Tears were beginning to form in his eyes, but he quickly blinked them away. After the individual hugs and goodbyes Y/N had given to the rest of the poets, the ill-fated time had come when she had to bid her own farewell to her lover. Neil believed that though their time was short and fleeting, it truly had been something special and something that he’ll never forget. Y/N was his first love, his first muse, his first everything; and no amount of riches could ever sum up to the prominence of that. Y/N placed her hand on Neil’s face, stroking away his tears with her thumb as she felt her eyes begin to swell up as well. “I’ll write to you every day, Neil.” Naturally, Y/N was on the brink of tears as well. She couldn’t bear to leave Neil after everything he’s shown her. It feels like she’s known him forever, yet everything felt so new and exciting with him. She loved him too much, and she knows she’ll continue to love him long after.

✎ Neil was afraid that she would forget about what they had soon after she had left, so he decided to give her all of the poems he had written about her.

✎ As her hands clasped the thick set of parchment, the tears she had been trying so hard to conceal had all poured out, staining the paper and her hands.

“Neil… these are beautiful,” She croaked. Her eyes skimmed over every title and date, realizing that there had been a poem for each and every splendid day that they had been together. “You’re beautiful, Y/N. That’s why I wrote these,” Neil corrected. “Everything I love about you is in these poems, and all of the love I have for you is written in each letter. I just don’t want you to forget about me while we’re apart.” The absurdity of Neil’s words made Y/N chuckle softly before she stepped forward and linked her hands around Neil’s neck, reducing the space between their lips. “I love you, Neil. You’re always going to be in my mind and you’ll always have my heart in the little pocket of your Welton blazer.”

✎ Y/N felt truly fortunate to have met Neil. This summer had come as quite a surprise for her-- she did not expect to fall in love so soon and with such an extraordinary person like Neil Perry. He was everything she’d ever looked for and he gave everything she deserved.

✎ Even though the bright days of the summer had ended and the early falling leaves of the autumn was yet to arrive, the change was of no concern as the only thing that mattered was what had been consistent-- and for Y/N and Neil, the thing that stood still for the two of them despite all odds was each other.

dedicated to these lovely people!! @mybabysweetascanbe @disagreeingpoets @catflowerbean @galaxyrhytm @nananostalgic @ughgclden @towriteabetterlife @neilsemeraldsweater @yourpal @willowestelle

[kouomi]

Golden Touches

Summary: Everyone is born with marks that turn gold when your soulmate touches you. How could meeting someone for the first time turn into meeting your soulmate? (F!Reader x Tsukishima Kei)

Warnings: none!

Word Count: 1,558

A/N: sorry for getting this out late! I don’t think this is my best work as it’s the first thing I ever wrote for Haikyuu but here it is!

My Masterlist

Posted: March 26 2020, 6:15 PM EST

(Pic that inspired this)

Everyone was painted with colors. Each individual was their own canvas that had splotches of paint splattered across their skin that almost looked random had you not known what they meant. That’s how your parents explained it to you, at least. When you’re born your marks are black which are how most people’s are, but when a specific person touches them they turn gold; this specific person being your soulmate. The marks were where the hands of your soulmate would touch you for the first time. The most common mark people had was small streaks on their hands or arms where their soulmates hand would graze their skin temporarily, some had their palm painted black along with the shadow of fingers on the back of their hand, and some even had a hand print or knuckles painted on their cheek where they’d inevitably be hit. Everyone’s was unique to them, and they each held their own future story.

You stated at your marks everyday, always wondering if today would be the day they’d go from black splotches to lovely sparkles. Your marks were much less generic than most, a large handprint angled with the tips of the fingers towards your shoulder splayed across the front corner of the base of your neck, your collarbone, and the top of your chest. It was rather unusual and the way it was positioned made it seem like they’d be behind you which confused you even more. You were happy to have a unique mark as it made the moment you’d meet them feel more special, but it constantly left you wondering about the conditions of when you’d meet, what situation you’d be in where that would be the first place someone would touch you.

It was a rather warm day as it was nearing summer so you’d left the top buttons of your uniform unbuttoned and let your jacket slip off of your shoulders and hang loosely around your elbows. Your eyes lazily skimmed over the crowds of your classmates, jealously spiking in you every time you saw someone with gold splashed across their skin instead of black. Very few people met their soulmates in high school and you envied those that were so lucky as to do so.

“Y/n!” You look up and find Yachi waving a hand in front of your face. “Can you come with me to the volleyball practice after school?”

“Hm? Why?”

“So we can work on the project after school,” She reminded you and you inwardly cringe at the mention of it, “We still have to finish it before tomorrow.”

“Sure, I’ll be there.” You answer, watching as a wide smile crosses the blondes face.

“Great, see you there!” She waves before heading down the stairs and getting lost in the crowd.

A heavy sigh leaves you as you pull out your phone and put in your earbuds, clicking on your playlist and letting the noise of your favorite song fill your ears. You did your best to ignore the stares of others as you made your way to the cafeteria, though you always knew they were there. You’d gotten used to being stared at by people who were examining your soulmate mark but it never made it any less annoying. You’d had some of these “admirers” come up from behind you and not so graciously lay their hand on your chest trying to match up to your mark, always landing a slap to the face after they did so. You didn’t know how many times you’d had to tell them off that it couldn’t be justified just by what they claimed was curiosity but it never changed anything.

“Hey Y/n, what’s up?” Hinata asks with a small wave.

“Hi Hinata, Kageyama.” You greet, slowing your pace for a moment so they can catch up to you. “I’m gonna be at your practice today.”

“Why?”

“Yachi and I have a project,” You reply “what, do you not want me there or something?”

“What? No!” Kageyama exclaims making you and Hinata laugh.

“Calm down I was joking.”

The three of you continue to poke fun at each other all the way to the cafeteria, especially you and Hinata making Kageyama mad as it was easy to do so with the quick tempered setter.

“Do you two ever stop fighting?” Another voice says as they approach your table. You turn around and find two boys, one a very tall blond with glasses and an annoyed look on his face and the other a more timid looking boy with green hair and freckles.

“Who’s that?” You ask your friends as the new boys sit down.

“This is Tsukishima and Yamaguchi.” Hinata says, “They’re on the volleyball team.”

“Hi!” Yamaguchi greets with a welcoming smile, “nice to meet you.”

“You too.” You reply with similar smile.

The other boy, Tsukishima, doesn’t say anything, only glances at you before looking back at his food. He seems like to be the quiet type, his silent judging stare would probably warn off anyone else but you found it amusing. Your eyes scanned them for their soulmate marks, finding them after a few moments. Yamaguchis was mostly covered by the sleeve of his shirt but you could slightly make out the edge of a black mark around his wrist and on the back of Tsukishimas hand you could see a smaller black hand print, the mark going around the side of his hand so the thumb was on his palm.

“Do you make a habit of staring?” The blonde asks, making you look up from his hand as he pulls it away, hiding it out of sight under the table.

“Curiosity’s natural.” You shrug in response, smirking when his expression flashes to shock before he covers it with slight disgust. He clicks his tongue, his eyes temporarily flashing down to look at your mark before he looks back to his food.

After lunch your evening classes dragged by, none of your teachers words sticking to your brain as you watched the clocks hands slowly tick by. Finally after what felt like hours the last bell rang and let you out of your final class, filing into the stream of students exiting the school. As everyone else left you stopped at your locker, leaving your books inside before heading towards the gym where volleyball practice was held. You stared down at your phone as you walked so you couldn’t see anything else around you, the world around you practically lost to your senses.

“Watch out!” A voice yells, forcing you to look up and see a volleyball flying towards you.

You freeze up as the ball cuts through the air, your feet planted in the ground though you knew you should move out of the path of the object. You’re suddenly yanked to the side by someone who was behind you, your phone being knocked out of your hand and to the ground by the sudden movement. Their hand was firm on the front of your body as their arm was crossing your body having pulled you into themselves just as the ball slams into where you were standing seconds before. Your hand flies up to grip theirs, your heart pounding at the close encounter.

The person behind you quickly retracts their arm making you turn around, surprise taking on your expression as you see who’d saved you.

“How could you be so stupid as to not move out of the way of the ball flying at your face?” Tsukishima asks with a scoff, leaning down to pick up your phone. You were about to snap back at him, a rebuttal on the tip of your tongue though it’s quickly lost when you see the once black hand that was on his had turned gold.

“Are you just gonna stare at me again?” He scoffs as he reaches out to hand you your phone, his eyes widening when he sees a flash of gold on your chest.

Almost simultaneously you look down at yourself and he looks at his hand before you look back at each other’s marks and finally at each other.

“No fucking way.” You whisper to yourself, seeing the shocked look in his eyes.

It’s dead silent between the two of you for what feels like a lifetime, his hand still holding out your phone as you both try to figure out something to say. How could he be your soulmate when you’d only met this morning? Had the universe somehow made a mistake?

Tsukishimas eyes bare into your from behind his glasses as for once he finds himself at a loss for words, trying to piece together how this was his soulmate. He doesn’t know you. There was nothing forcing him to talk to you or start a relationship solely based off of the marks. Yet,

Yet there was something pulling you towards him. Something in you was drawing closer to him, taking your hand and dragging you along. There was some part of him that had sparked something in you, and whether it was just the surprise of your soulmate marks or it was a genuine feeling, you found yourself giving into it, a smile crossing your face.

“Tsukishima, right?”

“Uh, yeah.” He responds, still processing what had happened, “You’re the weirdo duos friend.”

“It’s Y/n. We’re...”

“Soulmates.”

You both smile.

“Soulmates.”

[ev-pierce-writes]

Quantum Entanglement

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader

Words: 6.4k (oops)

Rating: 18+ (get outta here ya children)

Summary: Steve Rogers decides to disappear, take some time for himself in the solitude of a small town where he meets you.

Warnings: p in v. oral fem receiving. size kink (reader is much smaller than Steve in more ways than one). soft (very very soft) fem dom.

AN: This is stupid soft. Just simping all over the gd place. I'm so sorry but my baby Steve deserves nothing but the purest, sweetest form of love and that's what he's getting, though I imagine he likes to be ordered around. Took me way too long to feel good about this.

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There had been the snap. And then the resurrection. Steve had lost everyone he loved and then had most of them returned, and it felt good to go back to normal, in some ways. In other ways, it was stifling.

As the world reeled and tried to figure out how to "be normal" in a time that was anything but, normalcy felt forced, rushed, exaggerated. He wanted to be in this world, of course. The 1940s were no longer his home, and Steve had everything he wanted here. But he didn't feel complete. A piece was always missing, something from a past life, that he couldn't quite name but knew he had to find.

So he disappeared. Went undercover as some might call it. Bucky knew, of course, and Sam on some level. But to the rest of the world, he had slipped quietly back into the past to live the rest of his life. In reality, he'd slipped into Herrington, Massachusetts, a small coastal town where he was invisible to the world.

He'd found a little house, a cottage on the beach, and settled in completely. He didn't need a job, the government was more than willing to pay him a severance check of some sort, but he took one anyway, stocking the local grocery store and delivering groceries to the elderly when they ordered. It was just antiquated enough to remind him of a faraway time, of the past, but didn't force him to give up his wifi and color television. That was something he'd come to love.

And that was where he met you. You, the petite spitfire with a bone to pick with the entire world. Fierce, loyal, and slightly terrifying when double-crossed. The first time he met you, you had come out of your great-aunt's house shaking a fist over the groceries.

"I told Mr. Pierce," you were yelling, "not to skimp me on the meat." Mr. Pierce was the grocery store owner. And the meat in question was a roast, for what purpose, Steve wasn't sure, but one that apparently did not satisfy your desires.

You hadn't been the one to answer the door, that was your great-aunt Agnes, a kind, leather-faced woman who liked to tip Steve a healthy amount for "carrying all those heavy groceries for a silly old lady like me."

"It's no problem ma'am," he'd replied and stepped back toward his motorcycle, recently decked out with a basket on the back to transport deliveries. Then you'd chased him down the road until he noticed you and stopped, shouting all the way.

"When you see him," you said, your finger wagging in his face, puffing and out of breath from your yelling and running, "tell the bastard that's the last time he gets away with making me pay for his shitty cuts of meat."

Steve didn't really know what to say, but then your face softened, your voice calmed, and you took a deep breath. Maybe the panicked look on his face had made you have a change of heart. "I apologize for yelling at you, I know you're just the messenger. But that slimy son-of-a-bitch is going to get what's coming for him someday."

"I'll let him know," Steve replied with half a smile on his face.

"You aren't from around here are you?" you had asked, a sudden look of curiosity in your bright eyes.

Steve nodded. "Just moved here."

"Look, I'm really sorry." You stuck out your hand and introduced yourself, and Steve had found that hand to be surprisingly supple and calloused for its tiny size. "Let me make it up to you. Aunt Agnes seems to like you. We're having a potluck tonight, her place. Why don't you come by and meet the neighbors? I'm sure they'd love a new face, especially one as handsome and friendly as yours. Maybe make some friends, even."

You were being surprisingly friendly and sincere, and Steve had no choice but to accept the invitation.

So that's how he ended up in an old lady's backyard, handing off a bowl of his mother's jello salad (it was a potluck after all), and accepting a beer from a man who looked similar enough to be your brother (a cousin, it turned out). You didn't even notice his arrival, flying about, getting everything set up, taking part in the appropriate amount of small talk. Earlier, when you'd chased Steve down the road, your hair had been flung all about your head, wisps of it sticking out from all directions and looking positively a mess. You'd been wearing jeans with mud on the knees and a t-shirt that had more holes than necessary for your arms and head. Now, your hair was pinned back and tamed and you floated about in a soft blue sundress, revealing a delicate plane of skin across your shoulders and tan arms and legs.

The calloused hands and muddy jeans made sense now as well. The backyard of Aunt Agnes' house was primarily a garden, not only beautiful rose bushes and creeping wisteria but rows and rows of fruits and vegetables, cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelon, strawberries. The work was obviously the product of a talented gardener.

Aunt Agnes was the one to welcome him in, having noticed Steve before you did and taking his arm. She began to talk, of you and the neighborhood and her many, many family members. She introduced them one by one, though most of the names he immediately forgot. But it was a blessing to not be recognized and he relished the feeling. Sure, he'd grown out his beard and his hair was a bit longer than the standard military high and tight, and he wore a flannel with the sleeves rolled up instead of red, white, and blue spangles, but it still amazed him that he could pass through the world like this.

Eventually, the conversations became too much, and Steve excused himself to the kitchen to find a drink while he waited for the food to be ready. Really he just wanted some silence, a relief from society. But you'd beat him there, and, ever the busy bee, were scrambling to fill a cooler with more ice.

"Steve!" you exclaimed when you saw him, pleasant surprise plastered across your face. "I'm so glad you came."

You reached out and gave him a hug that took Steve so much by surprise he almost forgot to return it. It was shockingly warm, your arms around his neck, and though he had to stoop down to your level, he wrapped his arms around your waist anyways.

"I hope they didn't overwhelm you out there. My family can be a lot."

"No, not at all. Just needed some quiet. I'll let you get back to work."

"I could actually use your help if you don't mind."

You directed him into the front room toward a stack of boxes, cases of drinks he assumed. When Steve returned to the kitchen, all four boxes piled in his arms, you nearly dropped the glasses in your hands in shock. You recovered quickly, trying to remain polite despite your poorly hidden astonishment, but Steve could already tell you were trying to compute how he had managed to carry over a hundred pounds of drinks in one go.

"You can, um, put them on the counter I guess," you managed to stutter out. Your sudden flustered state was amusing, and Steve noticed he liked the way you seemed almost embarrassed, cheeks flushed pink, though he had no idea why you should feel that way.

But then you picked back up with your normal bubbly chatter, and Steve found himself lingering longer and longer in the kitchen with you until he realized neither of you were doing anything but talking, the work abandoned in lieu of discussions about the town, your stall at the farmers market, and eventually, very naturally, the passing of your parents. The slip into deep conversation was easy, surprisingly easy, easier than it had ever been with anyone else, even though Steve felt himself having to lie a bit about his past. Sure, he could admit to being from Brooklyn and having no family and his stint in the military, but that was about the extent of it. He found himself wanting to tell you more but refraining.

When your cousin called that food was ready from the backyard, the jolt back to reality was abrupt and almost unwelcome, until you smiled and allowed him to put a hand on your back, pulling Steve out to enjoy some food.

As night fell, lights twinkled on in the backyard, and the summer heat reduced to a light thrum as the breeze from the ocean swept through the town. Fireflies glowed in the darkness of the low trees behind the house and you seemed to glow as well, good food and friendly conversation lighting your face up with joy. You caught Steve's eye several times during the night, noticing him watching you from across the garden, but he didn't care. He liked that his attention made you smile.

Finally, the party began to dwindle, as parents with young kids trickled out, followed by the older folks, heading off to bed. Soon, even Aunt Agnes turned in and only the cousins close to you in age remained. They pulled out the stronger bottles of alcohol, sitting in plastic chairs and passing shots around the barbeque that still glowed hot with coals. Steve accepted every pass of vodka that came his way, despite knowing it wouldn't get him even remotely drunk. But the camaraderie of the moment helped ease a bit of that gaping hole in his soul so he clung to it as best he could. And you were sitting next to him, insisting he take a sip, and again he couldn't turn you down.

"And then Jack nearly sunk the boat in the bay," you were saying, telling the story of one of your cousin's finer moments. "Your dad almost killed us."

"Oh you want to bring that up?" he teased. "How about the time you snuck out and Aunt Agnes caught you making out with Michael on the beach."

You blushed bright red at the reminder but protested that was years ago. Then another cousin brought up his own late-night escapades and you devolved into a fit of giggles, leaning so far out of your chair that Steve had to catch you before you slipped right to the ground. Your hand gripped his to recover but, to his surprise, you never removed it, even as you righted yourself in your seat. Your hand just remained in his, your small fingers wrapped in his large ones, as you turned to pester him into telling a story.

"What about you Steve? Tell us an embarrassing story."

He looked around at the group and they leaned in expectantly, curious to know more about the stranger who was quickly becoming a friend. Steve didn't know what to say, most of his stories involving things he wasn't yet ready to reveal about himself. So he picked one from long ago.

"I once picked a fight with a guy at a bar. He was a bit of a Nazi. Got my ass kicked. Fortunately, I had a friend to back me up or he definitely would have killed me."

Everyone looked shocked. "But you're so strong," someone spoke up. "Look at you. How could anyone beat you in a fight?"

Steve shrugged, not wanting to admit to it being a pre-serum story. "Guess I'm a bit of a pacifist."

He turned to you to gauge your reaction. Your eyes were wide, sparkling with mischief and curiosity and a hint of disbelief. For a moment Steve thought you had figured it out, figured out who he was, but then you started giggling again and the only thing keeping you in your seat was his hand in yours.

"That's not embarrassing Steve, that's just the most fucking noble thing I've ever heard. Making us all look bad."

Your teasing words made his heart flutter in his chest and he felt like he could get used to this crowd.

Eventually, the coals of the barbeque started to wink out, and the cousins excused themselves for the night, heading home on foot to the various houses they had come from. It seemed no one lived too far apart in this town. Suddenly, the backyard was quiet.

"Can I give you a hand cleaning up?" Steve asked, not wanting to leave you with the job that looked a bit overwhelming to him.

You looked around and shrugged, a little tipsy but fully aware that it was a big mess. "I'll probably just take care of it in the morning. Can you just help me get the dishes inside?"

Steve obediently gathered up plates and cups, filling the dishwasher in several trips. Finally, the last were inside and you stood in the kitchen filling the sink to wash the pots and pans while Steve tried awkwardly to find a way to say goodbye.

"Um, thank you," he said at last, "for welcoming me into your community. It means a lot. I'll, uh, see you later I guess. Have a good night."

You stopped your scrubbing to look up at him, bubbles up to your elbows, your face flushed from the warm night air and the alcohol.

"Steve?"

"Yeah?"

You paused, hesitant, eyes searching his face for confirmation of a mutual feeling. "Do you ever feel like you were meant to meet someone? For a reason?"

The question hit him like a ton of bricks, and he realized that this night had made him feel exactly that way, that somehow he was meant to end up here and meet you, of all people. Why else had there been an instant connection unless this was just the way you were with everyone?

But your question made him think otherwise. You had to be special. Steve, in that moment, could do nothing but nod in affirmation. And then, like you had both had the same thought at the same moment, you were meeting him halfway, rising on your tiptoes, wrapping your arms around his neck, and kissing him. Really, truly, kissing him.

It was like that missing piece had found itself. You slotted your soul into his and Steve was pressing you to his chest, wrapping his arms around you, and lifting you so he didn't have to bend down to reach you. Your wet hands tangled into his slightly too long hair, pulling him impossibly closer, tasting one another's tongues.

And that was the start of it, of late-night motorcycle rides down the causeway, of Saturdays spent on the beach that tapered into drinks with friends, of dinners filled with your chatter and smiles and laughter, and Steve couldn't believe how lucky he was. He was not used to this feeling, of building friendship and companionship and perhaps even love. And he certainly wasn't used to the intense desire to reach out and pinch your ass every time you showed up at his house wearing those gardening jeans, high-waisted and tight and so goddamn cute.

But he never did, was never sure how you'd react. You kissed him, a lot in fact, every morning that he came over and every night that he dropped you off at home. And you never shied away from telling him how handsome he was, how much you liked his hands and his arms and his short beard, how sweet he was and kind and soft and gentle. So many words, words that made his head spin and his world wobble and sway. But it never came to be more than that, never late at night when he was thinking of you most. And oh lord, did he think about you, how your small frame might fit against his in bed while you spooned and slept, or how tight you'd be if he fucked you until the sun rose. He didn't particularly like sleeping in bed, it was too soft for his taste and he tended to take the couch or even the floor most nights, but he would sleep in bed for you if you would just tell him that was what you wanted.

It was like you were waiting for the right moment. And apparently, that moment was July 4th, during the annual celebration. Steve had whispered to you that it was consequently also his birthday, and had begged you to keep that a secret, but it seemed you had simply forgotten the fact entirely. The day passed without mention that Steve was turning 39 (105 if he'd been really counting) and you kissed him as the fireworks exploded over the ocean, sitting in the sand, hands tangled together. He thought the two of you would sit through the show, but then you were standing and pulling him to his feet as well and slipping away as everyone else's faces were turned to the sky.

At your house, you pulled a small cake from the fridge, just big enough to split between two people, and lit a couple of candles as you sat next to him at the kitchen table. Of course, you hadn't forgotten.

"Make a wish," you said with a happy smile. So he did, hoping this summer would never end. "What did you wish for?"

"Can't tell you, otherwise it won't come true," he replied. But then you pouted and he lost all resolve. "How about I show you instead?"

The look on your face said it all, shock mixed with intrigue and the mischief he had noticed that first night almost a week ago. So he reached down and tugged your chair closer, forcing you to face him with your knees between his. And then he leaned over and kissed you, taking your small cheeks in his large palms, putting all the power of his suppressed feelings behind it. He hoped you understood that he wanted more than to just kiss you, he wanted to occupy space inside you, fill you, complete you. Steve could feel your smile against his lips.

You pulled away. "Did you wish that I was dessert instead of the cake?

"I might have. Should we make my wish come true?"

Again you smiled, bright and guiding like a lighthouse torch, and something in your demeanor changed. Instantly, you were relenting to his touch, letting him pull you further into his lap, straddling his waist and settling into him like that was where you were meant to be. The quiet house, probably as old as him in this New England town, creaked in the silence of the night, only occasionally disturbed by the bang of a firework. But it all faded away with you in his arms.

You fit perfectly, just as Steve had hoped.

"You gonna be gentle with me, big man?" you whispered, that same brilliant smile on your face, wiggling as close to him as possible, the fingers of one hand tangled into the hair at the nape of his neck, the others tracing down the point of his sharp nose and pressing against his soft lips. "You gonna fuck me good? Be a good boy?"

Oh, Christ. Steve nearly lost his mind with your hips so tight against his, lost it at your words that made his heart race and color rise to his cheeks. He could be good. Really damn good. You seemed to know something about him that Steve didn't even know about himself, of how much he liked your praise, your commanding tone. If there was anything he was good at, it was taking orders.

"You just keep telling me what to do and I'm all yours," he mumbled against your fingers, the thump of his heart beating in time with yours somewhere deep in your chest, echoes of one another in the silence of the house. Your hand came to grip his chin, pushing another kiss against his mouth, a kiss with lips parted in a sigh, the mingled palate of you and him, like a glass of wine on the beach and chocolate melted on the tongue, sweeping over taste buds and breathed into starved lungs.

"Mm, you taste so good. Like you were created just for me, don't you think?" you asked.

"Built from the best material, just for you." Built to love you, he wanted to say. Steve shut up instead.

You hummed with pleasure and the hand on his chin gripped a little harder, a little more suggestively. He opened his mouth obediently as you slipped your thumb between his lips, and he let you press it against the soft muscle of his tongue. You wanted him to taste you, so he did, his teeth biting gently down on the pad of your finger, another pleasant hum running down your body and straight to his groin.

He waited for your instruction.

"Undress me."

He complied, obediently. Steve's large hands hiked your sundress up around your waist, revealing the softness of your hips. His fingers smoothed up the length of your thighs, kneading at the flesh of your ass that he had so longed to touch. Your reaction was music to his ears, a soft moan leaving your lips and breathed against his, and Steve closed his eyes, arousal spreading through his body at the thought that he was making you react this way. His length hardened, tight in his pants, pressed against the thin layer of fabric that covered the heat of your core. The thought that he might not fit flickered through his mind but it dissipated at the feeling of your fingers pressing into the rough stubble of his jawline.

Steve's hands continued to travel further up your body, taking time to release the zipper of your dress down the length of your spine, and you answered his quiet, "can I?" by pulling slightly away and lifting your arms over your head. The dress landed somewhere in the kitchen and Steve dragged you close again, arms wrapped around your back to encompass you completely, his lips finding purchase against the skin of your neck.

"Look at you, so perfect," Steve mumbled, face pressed into your hair. If he had looked up he would have seen you blush, but he was too preoccupied letting his senses discover every piece of you he could touch, smell, or taste. He wanted to envelop you, inch by inch, roaming and discovering and satiating his curiosity, but you dragged his attention back to your face.

"Hey, eyes up here," you said, pulling his face toward yours and locking gazes. The intensity of your eye contact was stunning, but there was something else behind those eyes, something other than intense attraction and unsatisfied arousal. Was it doubt? Insecurity? The reason why you kissed him for so many nights and never asked for more? You were searching for something, and it came in the form of a question. "You won't leave me after this, right?"

There it was, the bit of insecurity, a fear of loss, of transience, of lacking control. Someone had hurt you before. Maybe that's why you approached everything in life with such ferocity and sincerity. But Steve would never hurt you like that, never let you feel that way again. He hoped you could see it in his eyes the way he felt about you, but words would be more reassurance. "I'm yours tonight. And tomorrow. And the day and week and month and year after that, if you'll have me that long. Whatever it is you need, I'll give it to you."

You blinked and then smiled and pressed another quick kiss to his lips before murmuring, "touch me" against them. So he did, trailing his hands over every sliver of skin before him. He felt the goosebumps rising in their wake, the downy hair on your legs and arms, the heat of your core against him, grinding almost imperceptibly to find some kind of friction, any friction. He wanted to touch you so desperately, but he got the sense that you needed to take the lead, that it would give the control you felt you lacked. So he slid a hand down the plane of your stomach and stopped just shy of dipping into your panties, waiting for your word. But you were no longer interested in playing games. Your hand found his and pulled him lower, using his fingers to press into the seem of your cunt, and he found you slick and warm with desire.

You urged him forward. "Rub my clit, baby. Slowly. Gently."

Slowly and gently. That he could do. His fingers crept absentmindedly closer to the swollen bundle of nerves and when he landed there, touch soft and circling, you jerked against him, your whole body moving with the force of anticipation and a cry leaving your lips. And though it seemed to burn, seemed to be torture for yourself, you demanded he do it again. Your forehead leaned against his, eyes shut tight, and Steve watched as your face contorted in pleasure as he flicked and circled again and again and again.

"Yes, baby. Perfect. So good. So. Fucking. Good."

Every bit of you was soft, from your neck where he placed his kisses to the curled hair hiding the swollen bud of your clit where his fingers played gently and rhythmically. Even the orgasm that gushed from your smooth cunt and stuttered from your lips was soft. You came with a choked cry as your hand pulled him closer by the back of his head, your tits pressed to his chest. Steve looked up to watch you devolve into pleasure, eyes squeezed tightly shut, your hair messy and swirling about your face, the straps of your bra slipping from your shoulder.

"Bed. Now. Right now," you demanded before you even had a chance to come down from your high. He would have been just as happy to have you in the kitchen, just like that, but Steve picked you up, with you latched to his chest like a koala, and carried you upstairs. You felt feather-light in his arms, easily tossed onto the mattress, your hands reaching out to pull his white t-shirt overhead and grab at the plane of his chest. Even as Steve kissed you again you couldn't stop tracing your fingertips over the lines of his torso, the ridges of his abs, the v-line that led tantalizingly toward the waistband of his pants. He felt his cock twitch and strain against the fabric of his boxers, the rough cotton not enough to stimulate him but enough to make him ache for your pussy. Your fluttering hands were not helping and Steve pictured your thin fingers wrapping around his length.

"Look at you," you said. "You're fucking perfect." It was Steve's turn to blush.

Steve wasn't...inexperienced. But it had been a while, to say the least, since he'd had the time or energy or capacity to even feel attracted to anyone. And even longer, perhaps never, since he felt the way he felt about you, like a bee to a flower, drunk on sweet nectar and high on honey. That was you, the delicate flower, so small and tender beneath him, yet as stunning and resonating and thunderous as the fireworks bursting somewhere overhead.

Fighting to survive was all Steve had known for so long, standing up to the bully and helping the fallen to their feet, that it was a relief to not have to be that man for you. You didn't require protection or help or anything from him at all, and yet you welcomed his presence endlessly. Steve realized he was not a need for you, but a want, and for the first time he felt valued for something real, something that wasn't just his brute strength, but something almost bordering on love. This he understood as he stared at your sweet face, caging you beneath him in bed.

"Earth to Steve," you said softly as your legs wrapped around his waist, pulling his pelvis down toward yours and dragging a deep groan from his lungs. He hadn't noticed he'd stopped kissing you and was getting lost in drinking you in amidst his reverie until your small hand pressed to the back of his neck and gently guided him back to your lips. But you stopped just shy, your eyebrows knitted in concern, taking his leisurely manner for uncertainty. "We can stop if you want."

"No, definitely not."

"Good. Then stop staring and kiss me."

"Where?" he teased.

"Everywhere, big man."

Everywhere was doable. So he started at your lips with one so big and breathless it rivaled Mount Everest. For a moment he let himself forget about everything except how long he could go without oxygen against your lips. But there remained more of you to taste.

Steve's lips connected with your chin and slid down your jawline, taking time to kiss the pulse of your neck and the dip of your clavicle. The fan of his breath tickled across your skin and you giggled, the purest sound of joy bubbling from your lips at his touch. More of that he wanted. So he continued down to the valley between your breasts, full and round despite your stature, removing your bra as he did so, nibbling lightly at the peaks of your chest before replacing his teeth with his pinching fingers and moving lower again. Lower toward the edge of your ribs, arched upward to meet the movement of his mouth, toward the slope of your hips, his sharp nose following each kiss as your underwear joined your bra into the abyss.

Your thighs he kissed, top to bottom, left and right, but it was your ass he couldn't get enough of, filling his grip with handfuls of your flesh, using it to pull you toward the edge of the bed where he kneeled, lifting your hips toward his face, your legs slung one over each shoulder. Steve sunk his tongue into your folds without warning and you gasped, your thighs suddenly squeezing tight around his head.

"Yes, right there," you hissed between ragged breaths.

He responded by burying deeper, gripping you harder, and moaning with delight at your overwhelming taste and scent bombarding his senses. You squirmed but didn't pull away as Steve's hands worked their way back up your stomach to cup the tissue of your breasts, the width of his palms capturing the flesh in one big handful. Your hands covered his, holding them there, forcing him to press you into the bed while his mouth left you twitching and bucking beneath his touch.

And in spite of the urgency with which Steve wished to devour you, he continued on leisurely, doing his best to build you up slowly and gently pick you apart bit by bit the way you had asked him to do it before. Your body betrayed its delight, evidenced enough by the way your legs hooked around him and held him down, but you praised him anyways, rapture falling from your lips between sporadic moans of pleasure.

"Fuck, Steve, you're so good, oh God yes, baby, you're doing so good, taste me like that," you cried, and the words spurred him onward, hurried his movements just slightly, his tongue circling your clit, fingers circling your areolas. He would do whatever you asked, jump off a cliff, take a bullet to the chest, drown himself in a river, if only to please you. But you would never ask anything of him that he couldn't give, and Steve knew the moment you asked for his heart it would be his heart you'd receive. And with that intent in his mind, he made you come undone with a silent cry.

Eventually, the trembling ceased, even as he continued to drink your release with the ministrations of his tongue.

"Oh fuck, you like the way I taste baby?" you asked. His affirmation came out muffled and sloppy between your legs. Even you were breathless, barely getting out the words, but you pushed him nonetheless. "I wanna hear you say it, Steve. You like eating me out? Like drinking my juices?"

"Fuck, yes, you taste like goddamn heaven, darling."

"Kiss me, Steve."

"Yes, ma'am."

He complied without a second thought, crawling back up your body to lean over you, giving you a taste of the heaven he had just dipped into. When your fingers found his belt, he helped you remove the rest of his clothes. And then your hands were roving down his chest again, searching blindly until they found what they were looking for. Steve groaned at your touch on his swollen cock.

You gasped. "Oh, God."

Before Steve could respond you pushed him over onto his back and straddled his thighs, eyeing the length on display before you, fingers around it as if testing the girth and finding them unable to wrap all the way around.

"Oh God," you repeated. A short laugh bubbled up from your throat, the controlling front you'd managed to maintain this whole time slipping from your tone.

"Something wrong?" he asked, feeling slightly inadequate under your scrutiny. Steve sat up to meet your eyes, hands finding their place on your hips.

You gazed at him, eyes wide and glassy. "You're gonna split me in half with that thing."

"We don't have to. Not if you aren't comfortable."

"Oh baby, I'm gonna get real comfortable sitting on your cock." Your sultry grin was back and you rose up on your knees to look down at him. Your other hand swiped between your legs, two fingers gathering the warm, wet juices of your orgasm, before joining the first around his cock. You pumped, rolling a drop of precum off the tip with your thumb and rubbing it down his length, mixing the release of your pleasure with his. Steve barely held back from bucking his hips into your hand. He would save that for your pussy.

"I want you to fill me," you whispered. "I wanna be so fucking full. Just go slowly, okay?"

"Slowly. I got you, baby girl. You can take me. Let me fill you."

Steve lifted your hips and guided you forward, aligning your entrance with his length. You moved at a crawling pace, letting gravity sink your pussy around him, pausing every inch to adjust to his intrusion. His biceps stung with the grip of your fingernails in his skin, but it was a welcome distraction from the rush of pleasure threatening to tip him over the edge prematurely. Agonizingly you dipped further, a cry falling from your lips, until you were fully seated, the tip of him pressed into the cavity behind your cervix. You were warm, so, so warm, and soft and tight and you fit perfectly, just like he knew you would.

"Fuck, Steve, you're so big."

"Am I hurting you?" he asked, wiping away a tear from your cheek with his thumb.

"No, fuck, no, you feel so good. I just--I can't move."

"I got you, darling," Steve whispered, his face falling to your chest and burying it in the soft flesh of your tits. And then he wrapped his arms around your waist and did all the moving for you, lifting you up and sinking you down again, just fast enough to make you gasp for air and whine his name. With every thrust, you cried out in pleasure.

"Don't stop, Steve, please, baby, don't stop."

The fingers of one hand tugged at his hair dampened by sweat, nails scratching lightly across his scalp, as the other fell between your legs. You pressed your fingers around your clit and along your entrance, feeling where Steve's thick cock was pushing in and out of your tight pussy, feeling how big he was, how much he filled you. The meandering touch of your fingers almost sent him straight over the edge.

But it was the slick warmth of your cunt that was too much, and Steve found himself resting his forehead more and more heavily against your chest, willing himself to give you everything you wanted before he even thought about himself. The satin scent of your skin, like talcum and rose and his cologne, intoxicated him with every breath, and he sucked and nibbled on one breast and then the other, mindlessly attending to the most sensitive parts of you. A drop of sweat rolled down your sternum and Steve chased it with his tongue, licking a warm stripe up the center of your chest.

"Tell me what you need, darling."

"Fuck, that's perfect," you whined. "You fuck me so good, baby. Don't stop. Gonna make me come--make me come so hard."

Your fingers pressed against your clit once more and then you were clenching around him, your already tight pussy settling into a pulsing vice grip, your body shaking against his while he kissed the sweat from your collar bones. Steve felt you pumping the life out of him, riding out your orgasm and dragging him closer to his. The hand that had been on your clit moved to cup the weight of his balls, pinching and massaging as they pulled in heavy with the need for release.

"Where do you want me, darling, you gotta tell me."

You practically ordered him to come inside you, told him you wanted to feel him sticky between your thighs all night and it was suddenly Steve's turn to come undone, his hot seed pumping deep inside you, his twitching member finally finding release. He moaned your name against your lips, pulling you into a final searing kiss.

When, after a good twenty minutes of not moving from that position, of breathing heavy and kissing softly, you finally pulled away to lean down and lick his cock clean, the sticky mingling of you and him on your tongue, and he had to fight the urge to get hard again. And when you kissed him again, he tasted that mingling, two souls becoming one, as they were meant to be.

He slept next to you for the first time that night, your small frame encased in his, even though there was no need to share body heat in the dead of summer. But he actually slept, no dreams, no nightmares, no waking up in the middle of the night. Just deep, heavy sleep, your head tucked beneath his chin, back to his bare chest, his hands holding your breasts, and your hands holding his. Tangled together. Souls as one.