#and for community college classes if I couldn't get a lift it was an over forty minute walk

[mzminola]

[Image: tweet by Dan Wentzel which reads ""My hot take on "15 minute cities" is if you can get to the coffee shop within fifteen minutes, but the barrista who makes your drink can't afford to live closer than a half-hour away then you live in a theme park." - Gareth Klieber." /end ID]

[wlntrsldler]

hii, could you maybe maybe do like luke x reader human au and their eachothers gym crush and their always asking one another to spot eachother?? preferably fluff????

you promised yourself that you'd start going to the gym again once the new year and spring semester started. you'd been feeling bogged down by the responsibilities and workload of fall semester and it left you unmotivated to go work out. but one thing about you, if you were going to pay thousands of dollars to attend your college, you were going to use every. single. amenity.

which is how you found yourself at your school community gym ending your ten-minute, intense warmup on the stair master. you severely overestimated your stamina. you were hunched over, gripping the hand rail as you tried to catch your breath. you took a sip of water, wiping the sweat off your brow as you made your way to the weights.

you scanned the room, taking mental note that not having noon classes was a good thing because the gym was virtually empty with many students in class. there were a few people in the gym but not enough to have to wait for people to finish up on the machines. your eyes landed on a boy doing arm curls in the mirror. he grunted after every pump, scrunching his face in exhaustion as his muscles constricted under his tank top. his curls were stuck on his skin, sweat dripping down the side of his face. you were glad his eyes were closed because the way you were staring at him was borderline creepy.

you couldn't help it. he was insanely attractive.

you blinked, shaking your head as you looked down at your feet. you walked by in front of him, trying to get to the weight racks. his eyes fluttered open at the sound of you shuffling in front of him. you met his eyes on the mirror in front of you, sending him a shy smile. he stopped his actions, dumb struck as he watched your lips curl into a smile. it took him a minute to return your actions, but then he smiled, and your knees almost buckled. he was so handsome.

you picked up the ten pound weights, which seemed silly compared to the fifty he was lifting, and waddled to the empty bench two spots away from him. you could feel his eyes on you as you adjusted the bench to the correct position. you tried to tell yourself that the flush on your cheeks was due to your workout and not because of the boy shamelessly staring at you.

eventually, he peeled his eyes away from you, but he still snuck glances at you. there were a few instances where your eyes met and you'd both blush furiously before looking away, embarrassed that you were both caught. when he finished his reps, he stacked the weights where they belonged and made his way to the machine in the corner of the room, where you had a perfect view of him.

he seemed to know exactly what to do. it seems like he was in the gym often, which was unsurprising given his build. it was clear he worked out or played a sport, at the very least. you re-racked your weights and walked over to the leg press. you tried out a few weights before finding the right level for you. you breezed past the first two sets of your workout, but found yourself struggling on your third and final set.

"shit," you mumbled, straining your legs. note to self: start out slow. don't get cocky or else you'll put yourself in a position where your legs might snap off.

you were pushing the leg press with all your might, hand fumbling to find the emergency lever on the machine, but to no avail. and then the pressure disappeared. and when you opened your eyes, the cute gym boy was hovering over you, a concerned look on his face.

"you okay?" he asked, offering you a hand to get up from the machine.

you accepted his hand and cringed, "yeah, i haven't done this in a while and i pushed myself too hard, i think."

"pushing yourself is fine, but you gotta be careful," he said, voice still laced with concern. "wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"thanks," you replied, reaching for your water bottle on the floor to take a sip.

"i'm uh-- luke," he introduced himself, a timid smile on his lips. up close, he was even more gorgeous, which felt a little unfair. he had a scar on the side of his face that made him look rugged. you wanted to reach over and trace the raised flesh with your thumb.

"y/n, nice to meet you."

"do you need a spot?" luke questioned, a shade of red creeping up his neck. he was looking down, scruffing the bottom of his converses on the gym floor.

"oh, i don't wanna take time away from your workout," you waved off.

"no, it's fine. i'm almost done, anyway." this was a lie. he wasn't even half-way through his workout, but he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to spend time with the pretty girl at the gym. he'd been watching you since he saw you, waiting for the right time to strike a conversation. it was unfortunate that an almost-injury was the opening he got. "i don't mind, i swear."

"well, then, yes. i'd really appreciate it," you smiled, getting back on the machine. luke's heart was hammering in his chest as you smiled up at him. "thanks, luke."

he gulped, blushing when his name left your lips, "don't mention it."

luke stayed glued to your side for the rest of your workout. he corrected your form, partly to have an excuse to touch you, and whispered praises in your ear that made your shiver. good job, y/n. one more, you got it. that's what i'm talking about.

after every set, luke would beam at you and raise his hands in a double high-five. you spotted him for his workouts, which deemed unnecessary because he didn't need a spotter, but he liked having you so close to him. he also hit some new prs because of it, but you didn't need to know that.

at the end of your impromptu gym session, luke asked for your phone number (for gym and spotting purposes, of course) which you gladly gave him. he waited for you outside the women's locker room as you grabbed your gym bag and walked out of the gym with you.

luke hesitated before he started walking to his dorm on the opposite side of campus from yours, "so, same time tomorrow?"

"it's a date," you teased, biting your bottom lip.

"can't wait."

you had a feeling you were going to stick it out for this new year's resolution.

[nattysstargirl]

The Beast of my Dreams

Chapter 5

Word count:3349

TW 18+: fingering, cursing, oral (R receiving) edging, overstimulation, praise, begging (reader calls Nat sir briefly) semi-public sex, Natasha being an adorable butch, possessiveness(brief).

A/N: I want butch Natasha to ruin me 😘

Nat disappeared from the lecture hall before the front half of the room could make it out, and Y/N couldn't find her in the hallway either. She kicks herself for not getting her number. She says goodbye to Peter and heads to the exit. Fridays are half-days, so she's done with classes. Which would be the perfect time to hang out with a hot lesbian. After bracing for the cold, she pushes outside and jogs down the front steps. She technically has homework she should be doing, but her whole consciousness is absorbed with thinking about Natasha. And the way her jaw could cut glass, and her deep green eyes, and— 

An arm slinks around her, and panic jumps to her throat as she thinks of the touchy frat boy from last night. Bile burns her chest. But a gentle kiss to her neck from a soft face with no stubble makes her melt. Natasha. 

"Hey," she whispers huskily in Y/N's ear. 

Y/N giggles like she's in middle school. "Hi." 

"Sorry, too much?" Nat releases her and steps into her line of sight. "I guess hooking up once doesn't put us on PDA level." 

"It's sooo okay." Y/N takes her hand. 

She loves physical affection, and there's something possessive and sweet about it happening in front of people. Nat's shoulders relax, and she smiles. It's a cute smile, unrestrained with all of her teeth. It crinkles her eyes and tugs on her cheeks. Y/N's stomach flips again. 

"So, did you want to do something today?" she asks. 

"Name it," Nat says. 

Y/N pulls her onto the sidewalk, and they head toward the parking lots. She doesn't know where she'll take her, but she's lived here for three years and knows all the cool places. It occurs to her that she's never seen Nat before the stats class and knows literally nothing about her. 

"Are you a junior?" she asks. "I've never seen you around campus, but that's definitely not a freshman-level class." 

"I, uh...transferred," Nat says. "I'm a junior." 

"Transferred from where?" 

Nat seems to think it over. "Tiny little community college in my hometown. You wouldn't have heard of it." 

"So you're from a land far, far away?" 

"Not too far," she says modestly. 

"No wonder you're so cool." 

Natasha looks at her. "You think I'm cool?" 

Y/N balks. "Obviously? You scared away four drunk frat bros, you wear a leather jacket, you made me orgasm harder than I ever have—" 

"Oh, did I?" Nat cuts her off. She's smirking hard. 

Y/N considers punishing her for her cockiness, but holy shit, does she deserve to be cocky. "Yes," she says simply. 

Nat thinks that over. "We barely got started." 

Y/N swallows hard. They arrive at the parking lot before she has to answer. 

"Which one's yours?" Nat asks. 

"It's the blue hatchback." She points, suddenly self-conscious about her fifteen-year-old beater. 

What if Nat comes from money and thinks she's lame? 

"Cute," is all Nat says. 

Y/N walks to the passenger door to unlock it manually. "The button is broken," she explains, opening the door and letting Natasha slide in. "You can just...shove all that aside." But Nat gently lifts the stack of textbooks and papers and props them on the floor behind the driver's seat. She's careful with her feet to not disturb the piles of garbage and belongings. "Sorry, it's kinda messy." 

"All good," Nat says with a smile.

Y/N closes the door and hurries to climb in on the driver's side. She cranks Old Navy to life and turns on the heat. "It takes a minute to warm up," she explains. 

"No rush here." Nat's head is leaned against the rest, gazing at Y/N. Y/N blushes. 

"Do you prefer to be called (your name shortened) or Y/N?" Nat asks. 

Y/N tries not to smile. Nat heard Pete call her (y/n/n), and she wondered about it enough to remember through two hours of stats lecture. And she cares enough to ask her about it. 

"You can call me anything you want," Y/N says genuinely. That makes Nat smile. Then she turns to the floor at her feet and picks out a plastic grocery bag. She shakes it open and starts filling it with trash. 

"You don't have to do that," Y/N says. "I'm going to get it...eventually." 

"I'm happy to help." She looks at Y/N. "Really, with anything you need." 

Y/N drops her gaze to her hands. "You're really nice to me." 

Natasha sits up. "Should I not be?" 

"No, I just mean... I don't know, we just met." 

"Am I being too much?" 

"No! No, I like it. It's just... I'm usually pretty fast to catch feelings. Not that it's happened anytime recently, but..." Y/N puffs out her cheeks. "The affection is one-sided, typically. At least for the most part." 

"Are you saying you like me?" Nat asks. 

"I really do, and I know that's weird to say, but I always say the weird thing. I feel really...drawn to you. Like I've known you for a long time. That's stupid and cliché, but there it is." 

"I don't think it's stupid," Nat says seriously. "I come from...a community that operates like that. We skip a lot of social norms and follow our hearts." 

Y/N smiles. "That's really cool. Where are you from again?" 

Natasha holds her hands over the vents. "Feels like he's warm. Ready to go?" 

"Oh, right, sorry." Y/N hurriedly slams it into drive and pulls out of her parking spot. "Where should we go?" 

"Mmm. Bring me to your favorite place off-campus." 

"That's easy," she says. She waits in the small line of cars heading out of the parking lot. "Half-day Fridays," she explains to Nat. 

"Kids are going home for the weekend." 

"I go here," Nat says with a chuckle. 

"Right." Y/N blushes. 

Natasha's fingers thread through hers, and she pulls Y/N's hand to her mouth to kiss it. Y/N's stomach is never going to sit still with Nat around. It feels like it's training to compete in Olympic-level gymnastics. Nat kisses the inside of her palm, then the pulse point at her wrist, acting pretty casual about being the sexiest and most romantic person alive. Nat drops their hands into her own lap, and Y/N rubs her thumb in circles on her thigh. 

"I think I want to call you Y/N," Nat says thoughtfully. 

"Yeah?" She nods. "Y/N it is." She peeks at her shyly, but Nat's glare is now pointed out of the window. Y/N follows her line of sight. "What's that?" Three men are hauling an enormous cage out of the back of a truck. It's a long rectangle box of grid metal, with a large solid piece of metal set inside at an angle. 

"It's a trap," Nat says. "For the animals, I guess?" Natasha's forehead is crinkled in a hard frown. 

"They shouldn't have built a university next to a protected national forest if they weren't ready to deal with animals." 

"I'm sure they'll release them safely somewhere else," Y/N offers. They finally make it out of the parking lot and drive in silence to the destination Y/N has in mind. 

— 

The tension in the car after Nat saw the animal traps fades by the time Y/N pulls into the drive-in theater and parks backwards. 

"What's this?" Nat asks, looking curiously at the large projector behind them in the review mirror.

Y/N giggles. "It's a drive-in. You've never been to one?" Nat shakes her head. "Well, they show a movie on that big screen, and you don't have to leave your car. I'll be right back. Wait here." Y/N hops from the car and jogs to the refreshment stand. There are only a few other vehicles for the matinee, so she's the only one in line. She orders a large popcorn, two sweet teas, and a bag of gummy worms. "Thanks!" she says, handing over a twenty to cover the snacks and two tickets. 

It's way more affordable than going to an inside theater, which is one reason she loves it. She hurries back to the car. Nat got out and is leaning against the car, watching Y/N return. Her arms are crossed, with one foot propped behind her against the tire. "I told you to wait in the car," Y/N says. She shakes her head. "You just can't follow orders." She was joking, but Nat seems to take it seriously. 

"I don't like when I can't see you," Nat says. That stops Ema. She looks at her. "I..." Nat changes the subject, unburdening Y/N of the snacks and one cup. 

"So why'd we park backwards?" 

Y/N crosses to the back of the Subaru and opens the hatchback with two fingers, balancing her tea on the bumper and leaning inside to drop the backseats forward. There's a stack of thick, folded blankets she keeps on the floor for this very purpose. She unfolds it so it spreads over the flat seats. "Tada!" She flourishes her arms toward the film-viewing hangout spot. "Get in." Nat climbs inside while Y/N fetches the wireless speakers from a charging port nearby. She climbs in too, closing the hatchback behind her, then unlatching the window and hinging it open. She leaves her socks and shoes next to where Nat had dropped hers. 

"Now watch this," she says. 

Natasha is relaxed against a stack of pillows she found and distributed, one arm tucked behind her head. She sips her tea through the straw. Y/N rips the curtains loose from their holders and slides them over the windows, then pulls them on their trackers to close off light from the windshield, leaving her leaning over Nat. She looks down at her, hands still on the curtains. 

"Cozy, right?" 

Nat snakes an arm around her waist and pulls her down on top of her. She kisses her mouth gently before pulling away and saying, "Yeah. You're pretty good at making things comfortable. And you're handy, by the looks of that tracker install."

Y/N giggles and rolls off, checking her watch. "Movie starts in seventeen minutes." 

"Sounds like plenty of time," Nat says, finding a cupholder for her tea. 

"For what?" Y/N asks, excited to play along with any idea Nat might have. "Are you... What's that word? Where people like being caught?" 

Y/N's eyes widen. "An exhibitionist?" 

"Yeah."

"Uh, I don't think so?" Then she adds quickly, "Are you?" 

Because Y/N could be convinced... 

Nat smiles. "No. I'm pretty territorial, if I'm being honest." 

She leans to close the back window, tugging the curtains together in front of it. Y/N's been with territorial people before, and she didn't love the experience, but the way Nat's acted so far hasn't thrown up any red flags for her. It's all been kind of endearing. Nat moves toward her, and Y/N gulps. She stops on her knees in front of Y/N and shrugs out of her jacket. She lays it carefully to the side, then presses her body between Y/N's legs. 

"You're so nice to look at," Nat whispers before kissing her. 

Y/N's body reacts immediately, her hands trembling, her hips rising to meet Nat's. It's embarrassing how quickly Natasha can turn her into a pathetic, shivering pile of horniness. Nat moves her lips from Y/N's mouth to her neck, painting slow strokes with her tongue along her pulse before sinking her teeth in. Y/N groans. She wants to tell Nat she can bite her as hard as she wants, but she thinks Nat knows that. 

"I like the way you sound," Nat says. "Your voice, and your moans, and the way your breath hitches when I—" She licks her throat again. And Y/N's breath hitches. She feels Nat smile against her skin. Nat kisses her on the mouth, like she's telling her goodbye, before she moves down to Y/N's belly. She pushes her shirt up and runs her nose from her clavicle to her navel, inhaling softly. "I like the way you smell," Nat says. "Can I see how you taste?" 

Y/N looks at her, and Nat's watching her face. Y/N just nods enthusiastically. "I need you to say it," Nat says patiently. 

"Yes," Y/N says. She nods again. 

"Yes, what?" 

"Yes, you can." 

Nat lifts to her elbows, moving away from Y/N's waistband. "Yes, I can what?" 

Y/N whimpers. "Please lick me, Nat. I want to feel your mouth on me." 

"Lick you where?" Nat whispers. 

"Everywhere." Y/N sounds pathetic, but she doesn't mind. 

Natasha seems to like it, because she smiles, then unbuttons Y/N's jeans, slowly inching the zipper down before tugging them from her hips. "Good girl," she says.

y/n's breath falters. She spreads her legs, eager to remove any possible barrier to Nat fucking her with her mouth. If she made her see stars—constellations—with just her fingers... But Nat's not in any kind of rush. She rubs her nose from y/n's knee, down the inside of her thigh, then skips over her center to trace back up to her other knee. Then she trails back down with little kisses, y/n holding her breath and arching as she gets closer, then skipping over it and working her way up to the other knee. y/n whimpers quietly, which makes Nat smile and bite her thigh. 

"God, you're so hot," y/n mutters, dropping her head back because she suddenly can't support its weight. 

"Thank you," Nat says, kissing her way back to the edge of y/n's underwear. Then she licks her, broad and hard, along the panty line of y/n's left thigh. It feels insane. y/n thinks she's going to jump out of her skin and ascend to another plane. Nat hasn't been near her clit, and y/n feels like she could cum on command easily. She thinks of Nat telling her to and shudders. 

"Mmmm," is all y/n can say, then her eyes fly open. 

Nat is biting her, gently, over her underwear. y/n looks down. Nat drags her bottom teeth from y/n's opening to her clit. y/n knows her mouth is dropped open. Nat does it again. It's rough, but not painful, and y/n feels her pussy responding. It's throbbing, and it's wet. Her panties are already soaked through. Without warning, the teasing is over. Nat pulls the panties off of her and tosses them away, exposing everything. Y/N doesn't feel shy. She drops her knees as wide as they'll go. And Nat's back, swiping her tongue roughly into y/n's folds. It's so abrupt, y/n releases an excited yelp, her hands threading in Nat's short hair to ground her to reality. Her head swims as Nat relentlessly swipes her clit with a hard tongue. 

Y/n bucks her hips, grinding against Nat's face. y/n's had sex on E before. And shrooms. Where the world melts away and you meld with another body, and your animalistic urges matter more to you than anyone's opinion, including your roommate who's definitely hearing you scream, and all that matters is the person you're fucking. This is better than that. y/n leaves her body and enters another being that she shares with Nat. It barely registers that she's definitely shaking the car with her thrusts, and that her cries are too loud, and the woman working the snack stand can probably hear her. All that matters is Nat's mouth on her. Nat looks up, sucking y/n's clit between her teeth and grinning like a devil. 

"Nat," Y/N whines, gripping the blanket with one hand, the other fisting Nat's hair. 

Nat bites her again, with no protection of fabric. It hurts a little, and it's perfect. She knows what she's doing. y/n's body rolls with pleasure. 

"Don't cum yet," Nat says. 

Y/N shudders. "Yes, sir." 

Nat's tongue swipes big strokes, then delves inside of her pussy. It's wide and strong and curls up to pet y/n's G-spot. She didn't know someone could reach that with their tongue. She moans like a porn star, and she's not even trying. She clenches her eyes and focuses on not finishing. Not until Nat tells her to. But God, she's so close. y/n opens her eyes and focuses on the ceiling of her Subaru. Then she bites her lip and slips a hand under her shirt. She pinches her own nipple, hard, hoping that will slow down, but it makes it worse. Pleasure shoots from her tit to her pussy, and it throbs harder. 

"God!" she yells. "That feels so good, Nat." 

Nat's eyes are on y/n's hand in her shirt. She pulls her tongue out and mutters against y/n's mound, "Keep doing that." y/n does, kneading her tits roughly with both hands now. Nat's eyes go so dark they look fully black. Y/N likes that. She pulls her shirt and sports bra over her head and lays back, fully naked. Nat's mouth moves faster, roughly making out with y/n's pussy. 

y/n grabs her tits again, because Nat likes it, and God—she likes it, too. She's so close. She whimpers loudly. "You want to cum, don't you?" Nat asks. Her deep, husky voice muffled by y/n's cunt is even hotter. 

"Yes." 

"Ask nice." 

"Can I cum?" y/n asks between gasps. 

"No." Nat smirks and pushes y/n's knees up toward her face. She tongues her from her clit down—past her pussy—to her asshole. 

"Oh, my GOD..." y/n's never had her ass eaten. She always thought she wouldn't like it. But Nats's ravaging tongue and lips and teeth put her firmly in the Pro Ass Eating camp. Holy shit. "Please can I cum?" y/n's almost sobbing. "Please, please, please, I'll do anything if you let me come, Nat." 

Her mouth temporarily loses contact with y/n. "Good girl," she says. "You learned how to beg so quickly. You can cum, after you count to thirty." 

Y/n doesn't ask a single question. "One! Two, three." 

"Slower," Nat's voice is muffled again. 

y/n grips the edge of the folded seat and bucks her hips. "Four... Five... Six..." She clenches her eyes shut. She's not going to make it. "Seven... Eight..." 

Nat pushes three fingers into her pussy and sucks on her clit, hard. 

"Oh, my GOD, NATASHA!" 

"Count." 

"Nine," y/n is actively fighting back tears from overstimulation and pleasure. 

"Ten, eleven..." Nat pushes her pinky into y/n's ass. 

"Twelve—NAT!" y/n's hips buck hard, crushing against Nat's face, both hands gripping her hair. 

An orgasm rips through her, and she loses track of herself. When she comes to, she's flipped them both over, Nat now on her back against the car floor, and y/n fucking Nat's face. She rubs herself in small circles as she comes down from it. Nat's tongue is inside of her, twirling slowly. y/n's legs twitch, and she falls to her side, panting. She's worried she hurt Nat in the rearrangement, but Nat's still grinning like the Cheshire cat as she flips to her hands and knees and crawls to y/n. 

Y/N can't move or speak, dazed and silent. 

Nat pulls a blanket over her, then lies beside her and spoons her back. She's got a protective arm over y/n as she whispers in her ear. "You're a very good girl. You did so well for your first try." She nibbles at y/n's ear before placing a lingering kiss on her neck. "Next time, let's see if we can get to thirteen."

[princeblack]

it's a shitty night and even shittier week, reg having more homework than usual but unable to do it because he's working overtime to scrape together enough money for bills this month. it's been over a year now since he moved out of his parents' house, cutting them off to escape his arranged marriage and avoid living in their commune. for most of his life their approval was his everything, but the pressure grew and grew until he finally couldn't take it anymore. he doesn't want to be apart of their cult, or be in an arranged marriage with a distant cousin-- what he wants is to pursue higher education and make his own decisions, even if it means living a life like this.

he has one client come in that's been a regular for a couple weeks and he entertains her until she leaves, fortunately early enough for him to prepare for the bachelorette party scheduled tonight. after taking a break and getting some water, he returns to work around the time the party starts filing in. it seems like a few college friends at first, spotting hannah and luna, but then he sees astoria and behind her is the future bride, immediately recognizing her as bee diggory. 

he’s trying to focus on the dance, hands gripped tight around the pole as he lifts his legs, upside down for a moment. as soon as he sees bee, his eyes are glued to her, barely even smiling at the patron who tosses him a big tip because he’s so preoccupied with his crush walking into the club.

he’s liked bee since he met her at the beginning of the semester in biology I, seeing how beautiful and charming she was, watching her answer questions on the material with ease. they haven’t spoken much outside of class yet, despite that he’s seen her in passing at their apartment complex because they’re next door neighbors. usually theo nott is at her side, meeting her after class or going home with her.

he knows they’re engaged because bee mentioned it in class once, but the tiara and ribbon around her body make it obvious that this is her bachelorette party. reg can’t help but feel slightly jealous, thinking it’s a shame that a girl as incredible as she is wound up with someone like theo who probably didn’t know what to do with her to begin with. 

he’s twisting around the pole, arching his back the way he knows clients like, when astoria approaches and tosses him a tip. she seems to want to talk, gesturing him over, so he pauses the dance and starts to get down from the stage. collecting his tips, he turns to face her, green eyes looking her over curiously.

“hey, astoria. you can call me leo here. private dance?” he knows most of his co-workers would be uncomfortable seeing people from their personal lives at work, but reg has never minded it, as long as they didn’t treat him differently because of it. it’s only happened one other time outside of this, with another peer from a different class, but she seemed nice enough and not judgemental.

astoria is also too nice to judge him for it, and he knows bee is too. the girl is smiling mischievously though, as if she knows what she’s about to ask will cause problems. “not for me, no… but for the bride? i’ll pay for it, just make sure she has a good time.” her wallet still in hand, she pulls the money out.

he’s impressed to see she already knew the cost of the private dances and there’s more on top of it as a tip, so he takes it and slips it into his waistband. “happy to,” he says, appreciative of the payment but also secretly glad he has an excuse to dance for bee. “i’ll be right back.”

he makes a stop at his locker in the back room to deposit the money he collected, already knowing he might be naked for her (if that’s what she wants, anyway).

when he returns, he spots bee over by the bar, laughing at something hannah is saying. she looks beautiful, already making his heart race a little even before he reaches her. he’s always admired her pretty face and big blue eyes, and the way her auburn hair curls in soft waves. she looks even more beautiful than usual tonight, wearing a two piece skin tight pink outfit, the fabric shimmering in the neon lights of the club. her body looks perfect, the skirt and top accentuating her curves. it’s hard not to stare at the slit in the skirt showing off her thigh, or the way her breasts look in the top.

he feels more naked than usual when her eyes land on him, suddenly hyper aware of the fact he’s wearing nothing but jewelry and a scrap of leather for bottoms. he smiles when they make eye contact, leaning against the counter beside her. he realizes for the first time how much taller he is than her, and how small she looks even in her heels and tiara.

“hey,” he says, almost shyly despite the fact he never gets shy. “come here often?” he pauses, smiling a little. “kidding. your friend astoria just paid me to give you a private dance…” he leans a little closer to her, gently brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. green eyes flicker to her lips and back, smoldering a little as he holds her gaze. “i think we could have fun together,” he purrs, dropping his hand. “if you want.” / @devcted

[mangodestroyer]

One thing I didn't realize about poverty when I was kid is that there's much more to it than having little money and working shitty jobs.

I'm saying this as someone who grew up in poverty, and had times after my childhood where I struggled. I'm also saying this as someone who was temporally accepted into more "well off" social circles and went to a nicer school for a bit. I think one thing that makes poverty suck is just how people perceive you. I used to work a super shitty job that required lots of heavy lifting and working outside in harsh winter weather for a low wage. And people made it a point to treat me like absolute GARBAGE. I mean being verbally berated to my face and having people play games with me/ignore me when I tried to have normal communication with them. Being expected to work every damn second of the day and to do everything more than perfectly. No care over physical discomforts or pain caused by the job. Limping because you're injured? Expect to be laughed at and told you're too slow.

I've been working a better job for a while. The treatment is definitely better, but I've still had times where people openly expressed that they see me as lesser and hopelessly stupid (although it's not nearly as common as with the other job). And also, there still isn't that much care for my physical well-being (was horribly sick with strep once and was basically told to suck it up and come to work). And I am still expected to always be focused on working and staying busy, while not being able to express myself much or act like I have fun outside of work.

And yeah, some people from upper class backgrounds also made it a point to act like I'm lesser and deserve to be poor. Straight up was smirked at when I waited for money for gloves. By someone from a much wealthier background than me. Person also kept making racist remarks about Natives, knowing full well I'm part Native. Would never do this in front of other people, ofc.

I just couldn't help but notice that when people saw me as a STEM student going to a nice school and all, and don't know all these other things about me, they tend to treat me better. Suddenly, it's okay for me to have hobbies and a personality. It's okay for me to want a break from work. People who see more of the math student side of me just see me as a hard working college student looking for side money when I work part time in retail. They show much more care if I get sick. And also, many more people approach me for friendship/see me as a potential dating partner. Meanwhile, at the low wage jobs I've had, it's more likely creepy men will just bother me for the sake of making me uncomfortable.

Needless to say, I feel for people who are very much stuck in the poverty trap and had less opportunities than me. It really isn't any way to live. It's also made me less trusting of people in a way. Say I get terrible brain damage or something and can no longer do math. Which means there's pretty much no way I could have a high paying job to support me, or take care of myself. Will they just see me as lesser and stop caring as much? I say this too as a neurodivergent individual who was treated very poorly when I wasn't very functional. It doesn't seem like there's much of a safety net. It also feels like lots of people are pretty shallow.

[not-senpai]

This books about turning you fears into strengths all you have to do is conquer your fear Title -pedophobia which means fear of children you’ll figure out why that’s the name just read the story

Society in a world with superhuman powers the less you're scared the stronger you are, but to tell you how the world got this way we’re going to have to go back about 10 years ago.

It was October 5th 2022 a very famous scientist that goes by the name Prevere. Prevere was a very intelligent man. He was doing college level equations since the age of 3 sounds impossible I know. While trying to make a cure for a disease known as 613B a disease that has something we can call magical events that if caught would make your worst fears haunt you. And while making the cure something happened that is still unkown but it caused a world wide disaster that gave everyone 613B which caused many to commit suicide. Including Prevere but before he did he made something that would contain everyone's fears but the only way for it to be contained you must conquer your fear first. Doing that will then give you the ability to control that fear giving what I can only think of as superpowers.

Let's start with the origin of a 9 year old boy named Shisen. Shisen is one of the bravest people ever here and fears nothing but the dark. Shisen is terrified of the dark but with his comfort stuffed fox he can get over that fear. When Shisen got 613B everything about the dark came to life small shadow creatures messing with him several times has he pretended to be ok but the day he conquered his fear was his 9 birthday him and his parents had just returned from a “vacation” i say vacation like that because it was not a getaway for Shisen’s parents but i'll get into that later. Anyways for his birthday his parents got him a stuffed fox for him to feel safe when the shadows start to surround him. He named that fox Roxxy Alright that's a little back story now let's get to the actual reason we’re talking about the boy.

Nyctophobia - fear of the dark. One day while Shisen was at school there was a power outage which caused the shadows to come to life. The thing about 613B is people can't see each other's fears. During the outage the shadows came to life but Shisen always has roxxy on him. He grabbed him and held him to his chest but while doing so the shadows had lifted the kid off the ground causing him to drop roxxy. Shisen started to panic but then he remembered what his mom once said. “Just imagine the room has its own sun. so Shisen closed his eyes really tight and when he opened them the shadow creatures were gone and he was back on the floor. Shisen had conquered his fear but roxxy there was something different about him he looked what i can only describe as animated the fox started glowing like a portable night light.

“Hello” said the fox

“Hello?” Shisen replied confused and unaware of whos talking

“You did it, you conquered your fear”

“Who said that?” Shisen had asked to look at all of his classmates thinking it was one of them, but they all sat there giving him a very confused look.

“Are you ok?” his teacher asked

“Did you hear that? Someone talking”

“It's been silent for the past 10 minutes, are you sure you're ok?”

“ Uh, nevermind,” he replied. For the rest of the day Shisen seemed very confused wondering what had happened if he was hearing things or the class was playing a prank. Shhhh! The boy had heard. But who? He remembers he was home alone so I couldn't have been his parents. “Who's there?” he asked as if he’s in every scary movie ever.

“Its me”

“Who?”

“Roxxy, you know your comfort animal.”

“That can't be, Roxxy is just a stuffed animal.”

“But it can be and it is, you conquered your fear of the dark so that fear was contained in me so now i can communicate with you. And now that I can talk, I must say you really need to clean your room.”

“If you can talk then why can't anyone else hear you?”

“Just like only you can see your fears only you can hear me”

“But how does conquering your fears make you able to talk or contain my fears?”

“That's a story for another time”

Shisen and the fox went on talking that whole night, Roxxy had told him how he’s containing Shisens fears. It was a long story that made everything make a little more sense.

“I think it's time.” Roxxy said

“Time?” Shisen replied confused

“It's time I tell you about what else happens when you conquer your fear.”

“There's more?”

“Much but for now let me tell you about controlling fears” he goes on to say that once conquering your fear you then contain and gain the ability to control it and since Shisen conquered his fear he can control it with something called shadow manipulation.

Now to get to know the others.

Pediophobia - fear of dolls. Mary is a six year old girl who had once been told a story about a haunted house where all the dolls in the house would come to life at night and walk around. Since that day Mary has been terrified of dolls. One day when Mary was playing in her room she heard something drop in her closet so she got to go check. She opened her closet and it was a doll. She dropped to the ground and started to scream for her parents. Her parents rushed to her room asking what was wrong and she pointed at the doll backing up. Her mom looked over and chuckled out of relief. She explained that it was one of Mary's dolls that she loved when she was younger. Mary reached for the doll and once grabbed felt safe for some reason like nothing would hurt her since then she hasn't feared dolls. Anyways later that day she was about to go to sleep her mom had just tucked her in as Mary asked “can i have the doll tonight”

“Sure, but are you sure you want it?”

“Yes I'm sure” she said her mom gave her the doll but Mary just like many kids didn't go to bed right away she started to “pretend” her doll was alive. I say pretend like that because it was alive. She has a very bright imagination so when the doll started talking she kept playing. The doll had said her name was susan, susan was one of those cabbage patch kid dolls with a bright pink dress.(the dress is important). Every day one of Mary’s baby sister's clothes would go missing and end up on Susan Mary's parents were quick to blame her because I mean who else would take them. That went on for a while until one day Mary was at a sleepover with her friends. When her parents had woken up the next day all of the baby’s clothes were gone and it couldn't have been Mary but they checked her room anyway. And there were all the clothes, but there was something odd about the clothes they were moving as if they had come to life but as they were cleaning the clothes all that they found was the doll. The doll was alive.

Usually you can control your fears but since Mary is so young she doesn't know much about the whole fear thing so she can not control it.

Acrophobia - Fear of Heights charm - unknown. Her name is Alexis, She is a 17 year old girl and a junior in high school and she’s terrified of heights. One day Alexis and some friends were hanging out and one of them had the idea to go to the amusement park and obviously Alexis was against it but she didn't say anything because none of her friends knew of her fear. They were there for maybe an hour before someone mentioned going on a rollercoaster and well Alexis trying to seem brave agreed. After about an hour wait in line it was finally her turn to ride the coaster. A little context Alexis has never been on anything high she just feared she would fall so this will be her first time. Anyways, Alexis was shaking and her friend noticed and said that she didn't have to ride it if she didn't want to but of course she denied being scared. The ride had just started and Alexis was shaking more than a max setting blender but as the ride reach the top hight Alexis looked down and it wasn't that bad the ride went on and Alexis loved it her power is still unknown but well find out eventually.

Ok that was all the main characters now lets get into how all of these kids met and tried to figure out a way to stop this whole virus.

[born-to-lose]

And They Were Roommates

Pairing: John Deacon x fem!reader

Requested by anon

Summary: When you found out you're going to share your dorm room with a boy, you hoped you'd be good friends. But it doesn't take you long to realize you might feel more for John...

Tags: fluff, roommates, bed sharing, friends to lovers

Words: 4,026

A/N: I know it took me some time *cough* because of school drama and stuff, but here we have this big mama, which I think turned out pretty good. Thanks anon for requesting a Deaky fic! Haven't written for him in a year or so xx

Tip me if you want!

It was your first day in London. You didn't know anyone in this city and none of your friends moved here to study with you, so you hadn't really been able to choose the person you'd have to live with for the next year at least. You had no clue who it would be, but you had gotten an email two weeks prior that it's possible you'd have to share a room with a boy due to space issues. As long as he wasn't an asshole you were fine with it. Not ideal, but better than having to stay in your hometown and go to community college where your possibilities to become a writer would have been very slim.

On your way through the dorm, you were scanning for your room. When you finally found it on the fourth floor, you opened the door with much difficulty and dragged your suitcase and two bags inside.

"Hello!" You looked up and saw a smiling boy with shoulder-length brown hair sitting on the bed to the right with an open book in his lap. "Oh, let me help you with that," he blurted before you could even greet him.

He jumped up and rushed over to you, taking your luggage and closing the door behind you. "I'm John." He stuck his hand out and you took it, shaking it awkwardly. It was a bit weird for you to shake hands with someone your age, but at least he wasn't obtrusive like other guys.

"Hi, I'm (y/n). Nice to meet you!"

You both sat down across from each other on your respective beds and you looked around. The room wasn't huge, but a good size for two people. The only problem was that you didn't have separate bedrooms. You really hoped you two would get along well, especially because you couldn't even retreat to your own room when it got too much.

"We can go buy some additional furniture and decorations tomorrow if you like," he offered shyly as he noticed you inspecting the room.

"Thanks for the offer," you smiled and nodded. "Still looks quite spartanic."

He laughed in agreement and combed a hand through his hair - probably something he did when he was nervous. "So… what are you majoring in?"

"English, I want to become a writer. I'm currently writing a book and I hope that someone will publish it when it's finished," you explained, but stopped yourself before you'd start rambling about your book and all your detailed plans for the plot. "How about you?"

"I study electrical engineering," he replied.

"Cool! I mean I couldn't do this, I have two left hands when it comes to technology, but that's really interesting."

And another pause before a breathy chuckle escaped John's mouth. "God, we're so bad at small talk! Wanna go out for coffee and unpack our things later? I pay."

He was right - you were both terrible at keeping up a conversation. Hopefully getting coffee together would lift the mood a little and bring new talking points. Definitely better than sitting on your beds and awkwardly talking about college at least.

You gave him a genuine smile. "Would love to."

By the time classes started, you and your new roommate had created a room you both actually liked. Now the beds weren't standing so close together anymore, the desks were located by the foot of each bed and you even had a small sofa and a coffee table along with a microwave and some other kitchenaids. Both of you had decorated your desks with some family photos and personal items. Whereas you were the basic polaroids and fairy lights type, John's wall by the bed was plastered in posters of rock bands and a bass was on a guitar stand next to the window. Admittedly, you had a weakness for musicians and now you really wanted to hear him play...

You and John had become really good friends in a fairly short period of time. When you'd gone out for coffee, you had found you had a lot in common and he was a good listener which earned him some bonus points. You weren't used to having someone outside of your family who was willing to listen to you gush over something you were passionate about. He was a real sweetheart and you were slowly getting worried you might develop feelings for him. One of the reasons you didn't want that to happen was because if he only liked you as a friend - which you were pretty sure about - or things ended between the two of you, you'd still have to live together for the rest of the year at the very least and that would be incredibly awkward. Second, he probably had a girlfriend already because why the hell should someone like him still be single? Besides, you hated how cliché the whole thought was. You hoped it was just a little crush and you'd forget about it after a few weeks.

One day you were sitting at your desk, working on your book when the door opened. "Room service," John called jokingly as he stepped in. "I just did some shopping and got you something."

You closed the laptop lid and turned your head, raising your eyebrows. He grinned and placed an iced coffee next to your notepad along with a dark chocolate bar. "Heard that helps when you're a writer," he added sheepishly before sitting on his bed.

"Thanks, that's really thoughtful of you, but you don't have to buy me things," you said, taking a sip of the coffee. Iced white mocha. He actually remembered what you'd ordered at Starbucks on your first day together. These were the moments you wished he could stop being so adorable because it only made you fall more in love with him just when you thought you'd gotten over your feelings.

The brunette looked up from his textbook and smiled, showing his tiny tooth gap. "No problem."

You opened your laptop again, but as you tried to continue writing, Word crashed right when you were about to save your progress. "Fuck, really?!" You yelled, tugging on your hair in frustration.

"You okay?" John asked worriedly.

"John!" you whined, throwing your head back and kicking your legs, nearly knocking your coffee over, but you caught it in time. "The fucking program crashed!" You'd had a similar problem before, but this time you really didn't know how to fix it yourself.

He climbed off his bed and stood behind you, propping his left hand up on the desk as he tried to figure the situation out. "Did you save the document?"

"No… I wanted to," you murmured, feeling dumb for not clicking one damn button over the course of one and a half hours.

"Alright, wait a minute." You scooted away to give him more space. You watched him as he fixed the glitch, but you rather focused on his concentrated face and how angelic he looked in profile than on how to solve the problem. If someone had asked you, you couldn't have recalled a thing of what he did. Soon he was done and your work was back in its entirety. "Here you go!"

"Oh, thank you! You're an angel!" You half-hugged his torso from the side and he wrapped his arms around your shoulder, chuckling softly.

"You're welcome." When you let him go, he sat down on the couch. "What's your book about?"

That question made you want to melt into the chair. You loved talking about your stories, but no one would listen to all your thoughts. John, on the other hand, seemed genuinely interested. You turned in your chair to face him and smiled. "I start rambling when it comes to writing, you know?"

He nodded. "Got no problem with that."

"Alright, don't say I didn't warn you!"

John listened intently as you talked about the basic outline of the plot and he even asked questions about the characters. How could you say no? You apologized multiple times for babbling, but he just smiled reassuringly whenever you did.

"Can I read a bit?" he asked when you had told him every single character trait and detail about the storyline.

"Er, no... I haven't finished it yet," you stammered as you tried to come up with an excuse. You were a perfectionist writer and never let anyone read a work of yours without editing the whole thing at least twice.

"Come on, I've already read some of it while fixing your computer issue! It's good," he insisted. "Don't you want to give me the honour to be your first reader?" He dramatically put a hand on his chest and feigned a hurt look.

It was only the fifth ring of your alarm at quarter past seven that woke you up after John had already been gone. He usually got up much earlier than you so you didn't have to wait for him to get done in the bath and sometimes when he had to talk about something important with professors before class, he left before you. You figured today was one of those days.

You looked at him skeptically for a few seconds and gave in, hating that you could never resist him. "Only because it's you."

You scrambled to get ready in the bathroom and just when you were getting dressed, you couldn't find any of your pullovers. It was too cold for a shirt and all your other warm clothes were either in the laundry or somewhere in the depths of your closet. You scanned the room for something you could throw on and your eyes fell on John's yellow sweatshirt. No, you can't just steal his clothes! That's only something girls do with their boyfriends! After contemplating for a second, you thought fuck it and quickly put the sweater on - you were in a hurry, after all. Anyway, it wasn't like you were stealing it; you'd give it back to him after school. It still smelled like him and suddenly, you really wanted to know which perfume he used because you loved it. You grabbed your bag and rushed out of the room, praying under your breath that you wouldn't be too late.

Later that day, you met John by the stairs outside the building to walk home. A smirk appeared on his face as you came up to him. "I see you're wearing my sweater?"

You started blushing - you had almost forgotten you were still wearing it. "Uh, yes… I slept through and mine were all in the laundry and this was the only one I could find. Sorry, I barely made it to class in time," you apologized frantically.

John laughed, biting his tongue. "It's fine, really. Actually, it looks pretty cute on you! You can keep it if you want."

"Thanks- I mean, no! You can have it back, it's yours." Did you just hear that correctly or were you fantasizing? He said you looked cute and offered you to keep his sweater? Why did he have to be the literal perfect man at all times? You didn't understand.

He shook his head and grinned. "Well, now it's yours. This is not the only one I own, y'know?"

You stopped arguing and made your way back to the dorm, chatting about your day. Apparently John had tried to wake you in the morning, but you'd been sleeping like a log.

Even when you were sick, he was a real sweetie - even more so than usual. The first thing he did after coming back from class was to make you chicken noodle soup and tea with honey. Most of the time you were sleeping when he came home, so when he was done cooking, he gently woke you up to tell you you could eat. You've gotten into kind of a routine, even though you had told him multiple times he didn't have to do all this and you could get by on your own. He refused. He knew you needed at least some help, but "some help" quickly turned into full mother hen mode.

This time when he came home, you couldn't sleep, so you were sitting on his bed and listening to the unlabeled CD that you had found lying on it. You wondered who the band was because you really liked the music and you'd never heard of them before. Probably some newcomer indie band, you assumed. John was quiet as he opened the door and looked at you in confusion upon noticing you were awake. It was unusual and he was starting to worry if everything was okay.

"(Y/n), what are you doing in my bed?" Not that he minded, he was fine with it as long as you didn't sit on it when he wanted to sleep - and as long as there wasn't someone else in his bed with you.

You pulled your earphones out and put your laptop away. "Oh, just listening to this one CD you left here. It's really good!"

When he understood which one you meant, his face went pale and he climbed up in an attempt to get it back. "No, no! Give it back, you shouldn't listen to it," he stammered nervously, stretching his arm out.

You frowned and lifted the laptop in the air so it was out of reach for him. "Why not?"

"Um… it-it's my band's demo tape," he explained shyly.

"Aww, Deaks! Wait, you're in a band? Since when?" You had so many questions.

John plopped down on his chair, running a hand through his hair. "Since last month. They've written a few songs before with their old band, but they were looking for a bassist and I met the guitarist, Brian, at a party and… yeah, he asked me to join them and that's that."

"What's you guys' name?" you asked and coughed, shifting in the bed so you were lying on your stomach.

"Queen."

You smiled. "That's a cool name! Have you had any gigs yet?"

He shook his head. "No, that's why we recorded the demo with five songs first. We want to send it to a couple of clubs in London, hoping we get some offers. Roger might be able to get us a gig in Truro this summer because his mother lives there. He's the drummer, by the way."

"Tell me when you play a show? I'd love to come!"

"Of course, you'll be the first to know," he said with a wink.

You felt like your heart stopped at his wink, but you quickly got those thoughts out of your head. He was probably just being friendly because you were his roommate and he could use any support he could get. Nothing personal. "Say, who's the singer? Do I know him?"

"Freddie Bulsara. He goes to Ealing and runs a market stall with Roger."

"Hm… don't know him," you murmured and decided to continue asking him about his band because he obviously liked talking about it. "Do you write songs?"

"The others do, but I don't. I only write for myself, but I'm not really good at it," he replied sheepishly.

"C'mon I bet your songs are good, even if you don't think so! Just show them to somebody."

John gave you a warm smile. "Thank you. Maybe I can show you a draft sometime."

Your eyes lit up in excitement. You couldn't believe he actually offered you to be the first to listen to one of his songs. To you, it felt like you had the honour to witness the first steps of a rockstar. "Really? Will you sing it then?"

He laughed and covered his mouth, shaking his head. "I can't sing!"

You made puppy eyes at him. "Okay, maybe I can try, but don't judge me! I've never had lessons, y'know."

The way he looked at you right now almost made you melt. He sounded excited while talking to you about his new project and he always held eye contact, never finding any distractions. His eyes and ears were glued to you and his voice was so soothing, you wished you could fall asleep to it every night.

You yawned into the back of your hand and turned in his bed. "Why is your bed so much more comfortable than mine? That's not fair!"

"Perks of being the first to move in, I guess," he smirked. "I tested the beds and decided this one is better."

You shot him a playful glare and pulled the covers over your head. John chuckled and dragged them back down. "You can take a nap in it if you want, but please don't suffocate yourself. I can't have a dead body lying around in my bed."

"Can I?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I'll just do homework in the meantime. Are you hungry?"

"No, thank you." You rolled over to your side, wrapping the duvet around your body. "Goodnight."

"Night." Unbeknownst to you, John stayed by the bed for a couple of moments, smiling dreamily before finally sitting at his desk and getting to work. Every now and then while doing his homework, he checked on you if you were okay. It was getting a little longer than a small nap, but he didn't want to wake you up because you were sleeping so peacefully.

He was already done for today when you murmured suddenly, "'M cold."

John stood up and grabbed the blanket from the sofa, walking over to you and tucking you in. He slightly rubbed your back, whispering, "Good?"

You shook your head. "No."

"Do you want me to get in and warm you up?" he joked.

"...Please?" You only turned your head a bit, opening one eye.

He hesitated for a moment and almost considered saying no, but you literally asked him to and he could tell you were being serious. Personally, he didn't have anything against it either. It really was pretty cold and the heater hadn't been working properly in the last few days. John turned the desk lamp off and climbed into his bed, careful where to put his hands while wrapping his arms around your waist. He didn't want to make you uncomfortable. It felt strange to both of you, his warm breath tickling your neck as he pulled you close to his chest to warm you up. You were just friends.

"Thanks," you mumbled before drifting off to sleep.

The next morning you woke up with your head on someone's chest. You were confused for a second before remembering what you had asked your roommate to do last night. Your breathing pillow was John and the hand on your back was also his. As well as the hand on your hip... You felt embarrassed for ending up with your legs tangled together because it looked like you had just hooked up, but when you sleep the whole night through, you change your position a lot, right? Anyways, he wasn't awake yet and you used this opportunity to cuddle up to him, burying your face in his Hard Rock Café hoodie that he'd been wearing since yesterday morning, but still smelled of his perfume - Hugo Boss The Scent, as you'd found out recently.

After a moment you noticed him move, but he didn't get very far with half of your body lying on top of him. He tried to open his eyes and murmured, "Morning."

"Morning." Your voice was muffled against his pullover and you didn't bother removing your head. It was just too cozy.

"Slept well?" he rasped, smirking down at you with his eyes at half-mast.

"Yeah. Thanks to my very own heater," you replied nonchalantly, finally looking up.

John nodded and slowly moved his hand from your back up into your hair. You leaned into his touch and closed your eyes, resting your head on his chest again. You weren't actually tired anymore, just too lazy to get up. Besides, he practically initiated it and he didn't tell you to get up.

"Oh, sorry!" he apologized and removed his hand from your hip, clearing his throat. "Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I-"

"Shut up," you muttered and shifted to your back. "It's alright."

To be honest, you were sad that he ruined it by awkwardly apologizing for nullities. You weren't mad at him, you only wished he could have let you stay like this a little longer as you weren't in the mood to get out of bed yet. You rubbed your eyes and looked at the clock above the window. "Shouldn't you be in class right now? It's past eight…"

He shook his head and turned to the side, propping himself up on his elbow. "Nope, all classes are cancelled for today. My professor said we get the day off to work on our battery charger project, but I'd rather lie around for a few more minutes."

You rolled over to face him, surprised by his suggestion to stay in bed. "C'mere," he offered sleepily, pulling you closer.

"Does your girlfriend approve?" you teased, secretly thankful for him to finally do something like making a move. To you, it seemed unrealistic, but why else should he voluntarily cuddle with you in the morning? That's not exactly what friends do.

"Don't have one." He shrugged, adding barely audible, but loud enough for you to hear, "Yet…"

You smiled internally, but it soon faded. Maybe this was the right moment to tell him. Either it would end well or you'd ruin your friendship. Was it really worth the risk? You didn't know; your mind couldn't properly function this early.

"Is there someone specific you're thinking about?" God, this was such a dumb way to approach the topic!

"Maybe." John stared at the ceiling, then glanced over to you. "How about you?"

"Actually… yes," you started carefully.

"Do I know them?"

"Definitely."

He laughed. "Is this gonna be a quiz show? You know you can tell me everything!"

Yes, but not this. You nervously bit your lip. Whatever, go big or go home. "It's you."

"I knew it." He turned his head away, a smile of satisfaction on his face.

Your head shot up and you looked at him in confusion. "W-what do you mean?" Honestly, you didn't know what was going on. Was he just kidding or had he known about it all along? Had somebody told him? But then again, you hadn't told anyone how you felt about John...

"Love, you think you're good at hiding it, but you really aren't," he chuckled, pushing a strand of hair behind your ear.

You huffed and wiggled out of his arms. "Don't be mad at me! I love you too," he said sincerely. "Really. Sorry for laughing, it's just kinda funny how your signs are obvious, but you're so clueless."

You wanted to be angry at him for laughing, but what really got you was the 'I love you too'. And he meant it! It felt sort of surreal.

"Hey, are you still sick?" he asked all of a sudden, drawing circles on your upper arm.

You raised an eyebrow at the change of topic. Why would he bring this up right now? "As in too sick to go to class or…?"

"As in too sick to get kissed without infecting me," he whispered. "I'd rather not be sick for the next week, even if that would mean spending more time with you."

When you shook your head, he leaned in closer to you, holding your face in one hand and softly brushing his lips against yours. You were too dumbfounded to kiss back at first, but you eventually did, although he ended up doing most of the work. He was really sweet and gentle with no intention to get any further. You could tell he was focused on making this kiss as enjoyable as possible for you and he certainly succeeded.

Even the moment you pulled away made the butterflies in your stomach flutter in delight. John was grinning mischievously. "May I quote the Vine at this point?"

"May I say that would totally ruin the moment?"