#and i figure the person who came out is wendy and she's yelling that there's something in the snow and to hurry because it's safe here

[townofcadence]

"Smoke?" He repeats, trying to make sense of what he thought he heard. She's speaking loud, but the blizzard is doing it's damndest to swallow them both. The snow is already to their thighs. "That's good!" That meant there had to be somewhere nearby. Even if it was the worst option, a cave, or the best, one of those buildings along the trails, that would at least give them some respite from the storm until it passed. Either way, those options were better than standing here. And with the flurrying winds, it couldn't be far, or the scent would've been dispersed by all the air movement. Right?

He pauses as she takes point, a protest on his tongue. He knows how much trust it takes to show her back and there's a bitter feeling in placing her in that position, but what he hates even more is the idea of her taking the brunt of the load. Salena was so sacrificial, she'd hurt herself without a thought to protect him, but he needs to protect her, when she already suffers so much for him and everyone she cares for. She shouldn't have to do this.

But....he can concede that her fur is protecting her, and it was senseless for both of them to face the winds. He can tell how she much this will take out of her this close too. If she even started to twinge in pain, he could step in so she could recover, if need be.

He keeps that thought tucked into his chest like a safeguard. Arms hugging himself, Artair follows behind her in the storm.

It seems worse every minute, and he's glad they have her nose; he can hardly see in the sleeting wrath of the blizzard. It all is just white, drifting, pelting, slicing--- he can only focus on Salena's tail, trying to use it as his guide as she trudges forward. The furrows she leaves in the snow help him keep up, though they fill near as fast as she plows them with her legs. He can see the spires of pines, black and frosted and barely visible in this weather, the needles billowing under the intensity of each snowy gale. They.... won't make it much farther. He's cold-- cold cold cold he can't stop shaking and crying and he's so ANGRY---

Artair lets out a shaky breath, one stolen by the wind before he can even see the fog of the exhale. His shoulder is burning and he feels numb again--- that was--- he wasn't sure. The feelings drop away and then crescendo all at once in his chest before vanishing again. It's exhausting, almost as exhausting as he's starting to feel. He's still crying, and the tears freeze on his cheeks into crackled ice, breaking as his skin tightens in winces.

He's ready to ask Sal to stop, to just dig a space out, and make a shelter. He isn't sure he can make it much further before he's a fucking popsicle, with how soaked and bedraggled he is. His hair is hanging against him, plastered to his face and iced white by snow, and he stumbles from the stiffness in his legs, even if moving them is all that's keeping him from freezing. The prosthetic hardly moves, and when he brushes himself with the metal it feels so frigid it burns. His veins are cold, it feels like his heart is pumping ice through his body, and his breathing feels slow, strained. If he swallows enough snow, can he drown? Maybe? Fuck, he's tired. The cold is seeping into even the marrow of his bones. They feel liable to snap. He keeps coughing--

And then Salena stops in front of him. He peers around her.

Lights. Window panes lit in warm gold.

It's like being struck by lightning. Both their paces increase, moving as fast as they can towards what can only be some kind of outpost. He can barely see the shape of the building, but the yellow casts like a beacon into the dark of the snow; it leaves pools of warm light, shimmering and wavering with snow as drifts of it pass through the light. It can't be more than a hundred feet or so, maybe just a little more than that. They can make it. They came this far, they can do this. A hundred feet is nothing.

At the loping pace they both manage, they're already halfway there. The door opens and he can see fire, warm light, fucking salvation from the cold. Someone runs out, waving their arms frantically and yelling. They must have seen them from the windows, and are trying to flag them over--

Artair feels a gust of wind leave him and his arm lights up in fire. He can't catch his breath, as cold burns into his lungs like thin tendrils of ice, which splinters into spears that pierce through the precious tissue. He almost falls forward, seeing Sal continuing to move towards their destination. She knew he was supposed to be right behind her but---

His thoughts scatter like the flakes stinging his skin and his eyes threaten to droop. He turns his head to the sensation and sees frozen crystals like quartz and icicles growing from the perimeter of the sensation. And there, ringed by that growing ice, was a hand. It is pale and damaged, blue at the palm and black at the tips of their fingers. It clutches his arm at the bicep tight, and the touch sent convulsions through him, flooded his eyes with tears enough to blind and a dizzying vertigo.

He manages a few blinks to clear them, and a zombie turn of his head to follow the hand-- a woman stands there, her hair mid length and sleek, black and tipped with frost until it shimmers, and floating around her like she's underwater. Her outfit is bleached of all color, a coat with fur trim and thick pants, all damaged, tattered with rips and tears. He can see what looks like a knitted hat, tangled in her hair near the crown of her head and vanishing behind her in the curtain of her wavering hair. She's shorter than him, but she seems to stand on the snow itself, so she towers above him by at least a foot as her tattered boots glide over the banks at his side. One leg sits twisted, near all the way backwards, with splinters of bone jutting out where a break likely was beneath her pants. The whole of her visage carries an ethereal glow in the softest blue.

She has a pale face, white beyond life, with parts shorn away like one might expect with biting winds like this. Her lips, her cheeks, her nose and ears-- even the hollows of her eyes were all black and bloodless. Sparkling flakes of ice dapple her eyelashes and brows, the corners of her mouth, and the edges of raw, damaged flesh with white. The rest of her glitters, like freshly fallen snow catching in the golden light of the building ahead. Her eyes were white with a milky sightlessness. Tears flow in streams that froze over themselves in sheets on her face.

When her mouth moved, black dribbled out, dripping down her chin before seeming to congeal where it oozed along her face. Her lips opened more, wider and wider, and her cheeks seemed to crack, to fracture like glass along the skin, revealing black underneath. Still she stretches her open mouth, until they shatter entirely in black and white shards; he can't even feel as some of them embed in his arm where she holds it. They continue breaking away, allowing her jaws to stretch into a yawning chasm, impossibly wide.

For someone alive, that is.

"S-sAL--"

A wail escapes her throat. His own strained whisper cuts away. Artair's vision turns snowy with spots and static as a wave of something wracks him. He swears she doesn't speak, but he hears it nonetheless, even during her endless, unyielding scream.

It's.

MINE.

It bounces in his head like a ricocheting bullet. The woman is still screaming, but he hears the voice in his head with clarity, like those two words were whispered in his ear in a silent room. And the voice-- it sounds tattered, wrecked and raw and desperate and enraged; the torrent of it drowns him to mutism, makes him wish he could rip each rib from his chest to escape the torment. His fingers flex under the compulsion, and he almost collapses, almost drops to his knees--

But this isn't the worst he's suffered.

He bites his lip until it bleeds from the points of his incisors, and inhales through those clenched teeth. A flicker of life restores itself in him with the forced breath. He wrenches his arm in the woman's grasp, feeling the hand break away with a hollow, crackling snap. It twists his stomach, but he focuses on the momentum.

Keep moving.

He stumbles forward in the snowdrift, trying to put distance between him and---whatever that woman was. Hopefully he'll end up closer to Sal and what might be a break from all the freaking perils. He hears a howl behind him, another shriek from the woman, but he pitches only further forward, trying to navigate while blinded by just-- too much.

Admittedly, keeping her attention on something other than the snow was doing some wonders against her own body. Assess the situation, be mindful of the other person with her, figure out the next step they would need to logically take. Her armor and fur were naturally made to withstand the weather, but it wasn't going to last forever. Her shivers from the initial hit would die down, but the blizzard would remain.

More concerning was Artair. He was significantly worse off than she was. Skin rather than fur. Clothing that was going to get soaked the longer they stayed out in the open. All he had to protect his face was his hood, and even that was not going to be enough.

Finding shelter was of the highest priority. Even if she had to dig a hole somewhere for them both to hunker down in, she would.

Or hell, maybe her vial could be a last resort option. A stone body wouldn't suffer much from the snow, and it would make blocking the wind and snow from Artair much easier... trouble was they wouldn't be able to move... not easily anyways. Flying was out too.

So they would walk.

Salena's ears pulled back, eyes narrowing as they fell on his hand. It was already turning red... they needed to move now.

He tried his phone... and while slightly helpful, couldn't give them a direction. Neither could his compass. She couldn't help the way her lips pulled up into a silent snarl. A random direction wasn't going to do them any good. He'd suggested seeing if she could hear or smell anything. Hearing wasn't really doing any good for them either... not over the roar of the wind from the blizzard.

She thought she could hear something else under it... but not certain. Not anything that would lead them to shelter.

Then her nose caught something. Smoke. Smoke was liable to be coming from some kind of fire. There wasn't anything else she could think of that would create such a source, at least not in this storm. If there was a fire going nearby, then it had to be in a covered space.

Salena turned her head back to Artair, "I can smell smoke. I'm going to lead us to it. Fall in line behind me and I'll take the brunt of the storm." Of course... she was aware of what this meant... asking him to do that. It all came down to trust.

She took a deep breath, turned her back to him, pushed against the storm, and began to lead them, following the only smell that might be their saving grace.

[lisannastraussisanangel]

Absolutely begging you do to a part 3 where they somehow manage to bring Lucy back, I need hugs and celebration my heart can’t handle it

I suppose I can heal the pain I've caused lol

It takes way longer than they planned for fix Lucy. I'm talking a couple years.

Because of this, Lucy has gotten used to floating around and spying on people. So now she has a terrible habit of knocking things over, falling over, and getting way to personal (physically and mentally) with members

It's Lucy who figures out how to come back so she get's the joy of surprising everyone

She goes after Happy first. Revenge is sweet

He's walking home alone from the guild and Lucy sneaks up behind him and grabs him. He screams in pure terror

But then when he sees it's Lucy and she's really there, he buries his face in her chest and starts sobbing.

They sit like that on the street for way to long just hugging

Natsu smells Lucy on Happy when he comes home so Natsu knows she's back (or at least he's hoping his nose isn't lying to him)

He runs out of the house and searches for her (because why wouldn't she go see him next)

Lucy is standing there in the walkway, almost sheepishly. Natsu freezes at first and just stares

It doesn't last long because soon he's tackling her. Lucy tries to be mad at him but she's so happy to be actually touching him that she just giggles as he clutches her tightly

Natsu wasn't able to smell her while she was a ghost so he sniffs her pretty hard, missing her scent (Lucy actually lets him do it too)

Wendy had helped come up with the spell to return Lucy to her body, but hadn't actually been there when Lucy successfully did it

So Wendy is stuck in the library trying to figure out new ways to improve the spell (they had several failed attempts so Wendy was always tweaking things)

Lucy simply comes up and sits on the desk next to her. Wendy is so buried in her research that she doesn't even smell her

She just assumes that its Lucy's 'ghost'. Well, until Lucy snatches the book from her hands

Wendy literally shrieks. I'm talking the loudest, most high pitched scream ever

And Lucy is once again tackled. Giggling all the way to the floor

Carla had seen it coming so she simply hugged Lucy and welcomed her back to the land of the living

Having heard Wendy's scream, Erza came running into the room. She was so confused when she saw the three women on the ground giggling

Lucy stood quickly and walked up to Erza. Erza was skeptical of what Lucy would do (ghost Lucy is a bit of a menace)

Without a word, Lucy pulled Erza into the tightest hug known to man

Well, she thought it was a tight hug, until Erza hugged her back and nearly broke all her ribs

Lucy had to tap out of it, but held Erza's hand the rest of the day

Erza didn't cry then, but that night she was the first to go to Lucy's house and cried into her arms about how much she missed her

The rest of the team showed up at Lucy's apartment that night. Something they had been doing since Lucy first turned into a 'ghost' (they figured they should make use of Lucy's space since they were paying the rent)

Everyone apart from Gray knew Lucy was physically back. So while they are all chatting, Gray tries to walk through Lucy (a habit he picked up because she kept trying to block his paths to things)

He ran straight into her and nearly slammed her into the doorframe. Lucy yelled at him because wth and then realized "oh shit, we didn't tell Gray"

He freaked out and lifted her off the ground as he hugged her.

He tried not to cry, but Lucy started bawling instead because now her could touch her whole team. This caused Gray to cry as well

Pretty soon everyone was crying all over again and Lucy was pulled into a group hug

They all cuddled her that night as well. No one wanted to take their hands off her for fear that she would disappear again

(Also Gray was pissed that everyone knew besides him and didn't say anything... there was a fight)

[moonchild-things]

Chapter Nineteen: Making Things Right

Summary: Beauxbaton’s biggest prankster has finally been expelled from the French boarding school. Having limited choices, Iris Evans is sent to join her sister at Hogwarts. As she adjusts to the new scenery, Lily’s twin makes new friends with a different array of people. Though there was no doubt that she would become friends with the Marauders.  

Word Count: 6229 

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---

THE STALE, STILL AIR SUFFOCATED THE THREE girls who had huddled themselves up in the back corner of the library. Piles of books reached toward the ceiling as parchment was scattered across the small table like confetti and ink painting nearly every inch of paper. Ink also was brushed up against the hands and fingers of each of the girls who were beyond tired. 

Curfew was creeping up on them quite quickly and soon enough they were going to have to head to their dorm. They would love to have more time in the library to continue their research, however, none of them would want to upset Madam Pince. Said woman was currently keeping an eye on the girls to make sure that they leave soon. There was no doubt that the strict librarian would start to nag and berate the girls to leave and head to their dorm soon.

As soon as their classes let out for the day, Lily, Marlene and Wendy had rushed to the library to work on their research about Iris. Each had taken their own notes with observations about Iris’ behavior and had set on pooling them together to find a singular cause to her behavior. Yet there wasn’t much they could find.

Marlene had just about been fried out by the amount of work she had to do. Her brain was smoking due to how hard she had been working to figure out what was wrong with Iris. Wendy was tired and had a hard time trying to keep her eyes open. They had spent a good few hours in the library which caused them to become tired beyond belief. Lily was just plain frustrated. Out of all of their notes, they couldn’t find anything!

Iris exhibited a select few of different behaviors that the girls could unanimously agree on. There was a shift in her personality, she had become far more submissive, and she had become friendly with the Slytherins. Wendy had suggested that Iris may have been put under a love enchantment or perhaps a love potion, but neither Lily or Marlene were sure. A love potion or enchantment causes an obsession. If Iris really was under the influence of such strong magic, Iris would be obsessed with one of the Slytherins.

Lily constantly reminded the other two that Iris sometimes appeared confused and angry, like she was questioning what she was doing. That most likely meant that whatever she was under wasn't that strong and she was able to break through slightly. If it was weak, then that meant it would be easier to break. When it came to spells or charms, Lily had commented, she knew that it would be quite easy for her to break them. She didn’t brag at all, but she is the top student in charm and transfigurations, after all. If Iris was being affected by a potion it was going to be a tad bit harder to break. 

With the combination of all of their knowledge and skill, they were going to have a hard time figuring out what exact potion Iris may be under the influence. Then it would be even harder to break. And if it was a concoction that the Slytherins had made themselves, then things would be significantly more difficult for them. They were certainly going to need help from someone if it really was a potion!

Wendy let a loud sigh out through her nose, “come on, Lily. We better get going.”

Lily shook her head, “no, we need more time.” She started, “the more time we spend researching, the faster we can find out what’s happening to Iris.”

“That’s true,” Marlene yawned, “but I’d rather not have to deal with Madam Pince right before I go to bed, I’ll have nightmares for the rest of the week if she yells at us to get out.” The brunette shuddered at that thought. The three girls spared a quick glance at the strict woman to find her staring at them as well with narrowed eyes down her long, skinny nose. 

“Come on, Lily,” Wendy started as she gathered her parchment and quills, “we’re no help to Iris if we have no energy to do anything.”

The redhead bowed her head in resignation as she understood Wendy’s reasoning. However, she didn’t like it that much! She would much rather spend every hour of every day to work on their research. Lily just knew that they were getting close to figuring out what was wrong with Iris. Only a little bit more, she would mutter to herself. Wendy did have a point, however, and that slightly frustrated Lily.

Lily bit the inside of her cheek, “alright, it is getting pretty late, I guess.”

The girls then started to pack their things up and head for the exit. They passed by Madam Pince who called out in a shrill, strict voice, “get to your dorm, girls!” 

Their trek back to the Gryffindor tower was completely uneventful. The girls just trudged their way through the corridors sluggishly as their exhaustion started to catch up with them. Perhaps they should have left the library earlier, but they needed to get as much research done as they could. Trying to help figure out what was wrong with Iris will be worth sacrificing a little bit of sleep.

Marlene was just about to collapse due to her tiredness and had to use Lily and Wendy as crutches. While the two girls were making sure that their friend didn’t tumble over her own feet, they themselves were trying to keep their eyes open.

The trio of girls soon made it through the winding corridors and up the constantly changing grand staircase to the Gryffindor tower. As they approached the entrance to the common room, the guardian of the haven of the brave woke up at their arrival. The Fat Lady groggily stared at the girls with a tired, grumpy expression on her plump face. “Password?”

“Dilligrout,” Lily sighed.

The stout painting nodded her head and allowed the portrait to swing open. Just as the girls were trying to enter the common room and find comfort in the warm familiar walls, four boys came bumbling out of the entrance and bumped into them. The seven of them nearly all fell on top of each other in a pile of limbs.

They were just able to catch themselves at the last moment and all of their eyes landed on the other group. The girls weren’t that all surprised to see the Marauders sneaking out of the common room right before curfew. They’ve known them long enough to not question why the boys snuck out at night as just about everyone knew that they did it. 

“Huh?” Wendy yawned out once she caught her footing, “where are you lot going?”

The group of boys shared a quick glance with each other. “Just out,” James huffed out as he tried to hold his invisibility cloak behind him. His tone certainly didn’t give the girls any confidence in them not doing anything bad tonight. Yet the group of boys always get into trouble after curfew, so the girls weren’t that suspicious about their actions. The question was how were they going to get into trouble this time.

Lily was deadpan, “it’s never “just out” for you guys.”

“Don’t go after the Slytherins yet!” Marlene exclaimed with the last bit of energy she had. 

Sirius tried to scoff as if offended, “what? We weren’t going to do that!”

Lily stared at them tiredly, “sure. Just make sure that you don’t get into trouble. We’re close to finding what’s wrong with Iris. I know it.”

The atmosphere around them dipped slightly as they were reminded of the situation surrounding one of their dear friends. It was one thing to think about going after the Slytherins, but it was another to think about why they were going after them and what they had done.

“Don’t worry, Lily,” James started off with a softness to his voice that he rarely ever used, “we’ll stop this.”

Lily stared at him with her tiredness and frustration on display like usual. However, there was an understanding that she had with the insufferable boy who had been bothering her since they first met. Lily could see that James wanted to help Iris just as much as she did. James is one of Iris’ best friends, it’s expected for him, and the other boys, to want to set everything back to normal. Yet for James, the look in his eyes seemed to mirror that of Lily’s. It was like James was also trying to help his sister. That fact warm Lily’s heart, though she was not going to admit that in the slightest.

The redhead cleared her throat, “well, we best be off to bed, don’t stay out too late.” She briskly walked past the boys and into the common room so she could bury herself into her bed. The only unsettling thing about that was that Iris wouldn't be bugging her as she did so. Even though it’s been a few days, Lily can say that she missed her sisters whining and bickering quite a bit. To just enter the dorm and see her sister sleeping silently and calmly would be heart wrenching. 

The other girls bid the boys a sluggish goodbye and followed after their friend as they too were ready to head to bed. The boys waved them off and waited for the portrait hole to close before they walked hastily away from any of the portraits prying eyes. Once the coast was clear, James pulled the invisibility cloak out from behind his back and they all huddled up underneath it. They disappeared from sight and started to creep their way through the corridors in search of anything(or anyone) that could help them in their quest to help Iris.

---

Severus fiddled with his fingers as he paced in the dark, empty corridor. His mind was running rampant as constant reminders swirled around in his head like a hurricane. It’s your fault Iris is hurt. A venom-filled voice hissed in the back of his head, you helped Regulus and Lusius, which makes you guilty!

There was no denying that he played a part in the other Slytherins plans to take control of Iris, but he tried to justify that he had done it because he was forced to. That fact was true, but he could have done more to stop it. Severus could have gone to a professor and explained what was happening instead of brewing the potion. Or better yet, he could have just said no. However, ever the coward, Severus was too scared to say no to those two. His fear was the reason that his pseudo-sister was acting different. It was his potion that caused her to act that way.

The Slytherin boy cursed himself quietly and moved to sit on the ground of the abandoned corridor. He needed to be alone for the time being as he contemplated what he should do. The Slytherin common room wasn’t the most inviting place, but there were a lot of snakes who liked to hang out at night in the cold room. His dorm was no better as the boys he shared a room with were quite nosy and demanding. Severus certainly didn’t feel like being bombarded with the slimy smiles and hissing words of his housemates at the moment. They didn’t need to know about his internal conflicts. So risking being caught by a prefect out in the corridors was worth his self-loathing.

He let out a long sigh as he let his head fall into his hands and slumped against the wall. The guilt was eating him from the inside like it had been for most of this year. The feeling was bubbling in his stomach and boiling him from the inside. Severus was at his wits end and it was only a matter of time before he exploded. As he focused on his own degrading, reprimanding thoughts, he didn’t notice the sound of footsteps approaching him. 

The shuffling of fabric also was unheard by the conflicted boy as he was too consumed by his own thoughts. Though the presence of four large shadows surrounding him did earn his attention. Much to his horror, the Marauders loomed over him with sharp eyes that stabbed his pale skin with malicious intent.

Growing frantic at his bullies arrival, he clumsily stood up to face the four boys in front of him with wide eyes. From how their eyes tried to pin him to the wall, Severus knew that he was in for a horrible interaction. He could see the murderous intentions that they each had for him, and Severus had an idea why. It was unclear to him whether or not they were just looking at him like this because they detest his existence or because they knew about what had had done to Iris. Honestly, It could have been both.

“Snivellus,” Sirius hissed out as he stood over the teenager with his grey eyes swirling like a hurricane. “You’re just the person we were looking for.” He shared a glance with his friends that mirrored his savage appearance.

It took everything within Severus’ power to keep himself from trembling and showing his weakness. Yet it was pretty obvious that they knew he was physically weak. That meant that they had no trouble cornering him in the deserted corridor by the dungeons. Where were the prefects?! Severus was desperately hoping that one who turn the corner and see what was happening. He didn’t care if he got into trouble for being out late, anything would be better than having to face these imbeciles, in his opinion.

“I am?” Severus squeaked in fear.

James slowly nodded his head in agreement as his then lenses of his glasses caught the dim light of the torch nearby and the reflection caused him to look even more frightening. “We want to know what Regulus and Malfoy did to Iris.” The way he gritted his teeth together just displayed how furious he was.

Severus couldn’t help himself but sigh internally in relief. They didn’t know. They had no clue that Severus had much to do with Iris’ weird behavior. Though he still gulped loudly at the looks they still had trained on him. Even mousy, pudgy Peter looked somewhat vicious! Severus truly was pathetic if he was frightened by a boy like Peter Pettigrew.

“We’ll ask nicely first, because we are gentlemen after all,” Sirius said cooly. “So tell us and you won’t find yourself hanging from the ceiling by your ears.”

Severus knew that they could cash in on that threat if they wanted to. He has been tormented by them since first year, he knew what they were capable of and were willing to take punishment for it. 

He started to fumble with his words, “I-I don’t, I-”

“Don’t try to deny that you don’t know.” Remus seethed, “we know you and the other two must have done something to her, and we want it reversed.”

Severus licked his lips, “if I do know something, why would I tell you?”

It was an understandable question to ask. The Marauders never treated Severus with respect as a fellow classmate or even a normal person for that matter. Severus really was only a plaything that they could use every once in a while when they had nobody else to torment. Why would he, the toy, want to disclose any information to them about the well-being of his sister-like friend? Iris was a mutual friend between them all, yes. However, Severus certainly wouldn’t want the Marauders bumbling around her and possibly making it worse… That is, if he knew nothing about what was happening to her.

He knew exactly what to do to help her and put her back to normal. And the Marauders were just the people to help him do that. Yet he needed to put on a show to make it look like he didn’t trust them. If he eagerly tried to get them to help then it would look suspicious to everyone. Severus didn’t want Lily or Iris to know about his involvement in this, or at least as little as possible. He was already in deep shit with the both of them, and he wanted to try and fix the relationship they had. If that meant lying to them one last time, then so be it.

James sighed, “listen, Snivellus. We all know that we… care about Iris. She our friend. If you don’t want to help her then I guess you’re proving to us that you aren’t really her friend.” James’ logic sounded completely understandable to him. If only he knew what thoughts were actually going through Severus’ mind right now.

All he could do was thank Merlin that the Marauders had presented him with the perfect opportunity. Oh, his luck was just beginning.

Severus turned away from them and bowed his head, to make it look like her submitting to them like he has always done in the past. “If I tell you, are you sure you can help Iris?”

“Yes,” Sirius said quickly with a hint of desperation on his tongue. “I’d do anything to make sure she was okay.” ‘I’ not ‘we’. Sirius was certainly taking what had happened to Iris personally. Considering his brother was involved, it may actually be personal.

“Okay,” Severus sighed slowly through his nose, “but you have to not tell Regulus or Lucius, they’ll kill me if they know I’m telling you this.”

James scoffed, “and we’d kill you if you didn’t. So tell us.”

“Regulus had this plan,” Severus began, “after he met Iris and saw that her and Sirius were close, he wanted to do something about it.” He could feel the atmosphere becoming thicker with each word he tried to say. “He talked with Lucius and they wanted to use Iris. I-I don’t know what for, but it was bad… that’s all I know.”

“What did they do to her?” Remus asked with a sense of horror filled fascination.

Severus gulped, “they used a potion… I don’t know where they got it from,” he took a quick glance at them to see if they may have caught him lying but saw no indication of it. “But whatever it was, they had me give it to her multiple times-”

Sirius became enraged, “you helped them with this?!” James, Remus and Peter had to hold him back. They were furious with him too, but they wanted to get as much information as they could before they started to beat him up.

The other teen coward away slightly and continued on, “they forced me to! Said they would hurt me, Iris and Lily if I didn’t help them! I had to!” Sirius stopped fighting against his friends to let him continue but did let up on his glare in the slightest bit. “It was the perfume that she was using, that’s the potion.”

“And you don’t know who brewed it?” James asked.

Severus didn’t hesitate, “no. They just gave it to me to give it to her. They said that it would make her more submissive, more compliant to them and nobody else.”

Sirius scoffed, “so it’s like a love potion.”

“Not completely.” He shook his head, “she isn’t in love with either of them, but she will do what they say.”

“It’s like the imperius curse,” Peter breathed out in horror. There was no telling what those slimy snakes could do with a potin like that. This had become even far more serious than previously thought. The silence was thick as they digested that information. A moment passed as the Marauders shared glances with each other every once in a while as if they were having a silent conversation.

“What do we do?” James broke the stillness with his question.

Honestly, the group of teenage boys were drawing a blank about the questions. What were they going to do? With a potion as strong as this they were definitely going to need more help than just their little friend group. Even if they wanted to act as thought they could handle this situation by themselves it was goins beyond their capability. Each of them were smart in their own ways and could contribute what they could to the solution… however, there was a limit to what they could do. 

Sirius clenched his jaw in frustration, “we curse those snakes for what they’ve done and fix Iris.” A swell of determination swept of the group, including Severus, as they agreed with that statement. They’d do whatever they would have to do in order to make sure that Iris was safe again. No matter what happened.

“It’s weak,” Severus suddenly piped up.

“What? The group asked simultaneously.

 He clarified, “the potion. Whoever made it, didn’t seem to make it that strong which means-”

“That it can be easily undone,” Remus breathed out. “With the right antidote, we could undo the effects that it has on Iris!”

That certainly was an optimistic fact.

---

Morning rolled around as it normally did during the school year. The only real difference was the fact that Iris had gotten out of her bed robotically like she had for the past few days and exited the dorm as fast as she could. She made it out before any of her friends(It didn’t matter that she may have said that they weren’t friends anymore, she was under the influence of something that made her act strange. By the girl’s perspective, they were still friends with Iris, not matter was she may be forced to say.) could stop her. It is now Tuesday and Iris has been acting strange for just about four days.

Four boring, bland days of Iris trying to avoid her friend and sister as she was constantly hanging around the Slytherins every chance she could. It was four days too long for just about everyone’s liking. Now, even the other students had noticed the change in behavior and mood. The Gryfindor common room, even though it was still covered in its bright red and golden yellow, was dull now that one of the most rambunctious and loud house members was quiet and sullen.

Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, and Slytherins were slightly put off by Iris Evans sudden change in personality. Three out of the four houses found it to be concerning and questionable while the other (Slytherin, no surprise there) found it to be just disgusting that a muggle-born like Iris has been keeping herself busy with their own kind. Regulus and Lucius were questioned by their fellow housemates as to why they were hanging around that “annoying mudblood”. They would only smirk in reply and swiftly walk away from them, not giving them any sort of answer. However, things were starting to approach the breaking point. 

Even though Iris was still automotive and did what Regulus and Lucius wanted, she was starting to rebel. In her own way, of course. She was starting to become aware of her actions and surroundings! Every once in a while, Iris would make a sudden outburst. Whether she was talking to someone or not, it didn’t matter. It was mainly insults or snark jokes that were pointed towards the Slytherins who now had taken her hostage. That always earned her a threat and, on occasion, a slap. Though the more physical reprimanding mainly came from Lucius. The seventh-year had a far shorter temper than Regulus did. Despite her best efforts, Iis wasn’t able to break free of the hold that the potion had on her. 

Meanwhile, as Iris made her way to the Great Hall to meet with her captives, the boys were recounting their experience the other night with the girls.

“You did what to him?!” Lily raged as she stood before the boys with ruby cheeks and a heated glare.

The boys jumped slightly at her sudden outburst of anger, “we did what we had to do to get him to talk.” Sirius justified their actions shakily. He completely stood behind their actions about intimidating and bullying Severus until he talked, but Lily was such a scary woman. Sirius just couldn’t help the slight tremor in his words. His eyes focused on her as she stood in front of them as the Black Lake shined behind her. The group had found a secluded area around the lake’s edge in order to talk freely about their situation. All of them had sat down in a circle but as soon as the boys had started to explain what Severus had told them, Lily had stood up and started to pace.

Lily huffed, “I don’t care what you got, you didn’t have to threaten him like that!”

“Lily,” Remus started off calmly, “you know that I don’t like the way they did it either, but it got the results we wanted. We know how to undo the potion that’s affecting Iris.” The optimistic tone in his voice didn’t go unnoticed by anyone. If Remus, undoubtedly one of the smartest of the group, knew that they could do something, then it might actually happen.

The red head went silent as she digested his words. They could fix Iris and get her back to normal. This was it! They were going to get their friend back. She was going to get her sister back. However….

“How do we know that we can trust Severus?” Marlene exclaimed, “you said that he had helped them, why wouldn’t he do it now?”

Lily went rigid at the mention of Severus. She couldn’t deny the fact that Severus had helped them. Though according to him, he had been forced to do it after he, herself, and Iris had been threatened. She should just trust the words that Severus had told the Marauders because they have been friends for so long. However, there was still a nagging feeling in the back of her skull telling her that something was wrong. Since he helped cause this terrible thing to befall Iris, then who’s to say that he wouldn’t lie again.

Wendy rubbed her chin in thought, “But why would he lie? He’s been friends with Iris for a long time… He couldn’t just completely forget about the years of friendship that they had. Right, Lily?”

Silence was the only response they got as she seemingly tried to gather her thoughts on the matter. They all turned to her as she stopped her pacing and turned to stare out at the calm lake waters. She had to push her feelings and suspicions about Severus aside. He gave them a lot of useful information about the situation. They knew next to nothing about what was going on before, so they had no other choice but to believe Severus’ words.

“We’ll get the perfume,” she started, “we’ll start on that antidote and give it to her as soon as possible.”

The redheads words were strong and determined. It was obvious to the group that there was no arguing with her about her decision. Though it’s not like they were going to anyway, they agreed with her wholeheartedly. They all stood up hastily and gathered themselves. 

Sirius nodded his head, “come on then.” The group started to make their way towards the castle quite quickly. None of them were going to waste any time that they had to get an antidote to Iris.

Lily groaned slightly in frustration as she placed down her well-used quil. The group had spent the better part of their free period trying to decipher how to undo the potion that had been disguised as a perfume. Wendy and Remus had been helping Lily scour as many books about potions that they could find in the library. Yet there wasn’t much for them to find! Of course, since they needed to go to the library, Sirius, James, Marlene, and Peter had opted to head back to the Gryffindor common room and wait. Which was just as nerve wracking as it was boring.

The different arrays of dusty, ancient books covered the tables that they had commandeered for their research. Only a little bit of progress had been made about the antidote and that was starting to upset the trio of researchers. With their combined knowledge, they were able to identify a few of the ingredients, but even then it was only a few. They weren’t even sure if they were the correct ones. 

When it comes to potions, there are so many ingredients that are similar in color, smell and effect that it can be hard to definitively identify everything. Especially when it was already put into a potion! The only way that they were going to get a definite list of ingredients is if they spoke to the one who brewed the potion itself. That certainly wasn’t going to happen considering they don’t know who made it.

Remus sighed and placed down the book that he had his head buried in, “I think that there’s either alihotsy in this potion or a lot of dittany. I can’t really tell.” He ran a hand down his scar ridden face in exasperation.

“Come on guys,” Wendy said optimistically, “we’ve found a few of the ingredients, we must be able to make some sort of antidote for Iris.”

“Maybe,” Remus commented, “but there’s no telling if it would be an antidote or make her symptoms worse.”

Lily placed her head on the table and closed her eyes tightly, “so we may never get this done?” They were silent for a moment as nobody wanted to say the obvious. The odds were stacked against them. There was no possible way that they could get an antidote brewed with only a few of the ingredients. Iris was not going to get their help.

“We could just go to a professor,” Remus started, “they would probably be able to fix whatever happened and punish Regulus and Lucius.”

Lily nodded her head, “Madame Pomfrey will definitely give Iris some medicine to help her. Professor Slughorn probably has a better idea of figuring out this potions…”

“But you know that neither Sirius or James will want to do that.” Wendy said knowingly.

Lily scoffed lightly, “their pride wouldn’t allow them!”

“Why not do both?” The three of their heads turned to face the voice that had spoken. 

Severus stood with his back hunched and head bowed. The nervousness that surrounded him was noticeable to each of the other teens. He played with his fingers and the ends of his sleeves as he tried to distract himself from his own anxiety. It had taken a lot of convincing himself, but he had finally worked up enough courage to go looking for any of the Gryffindors Iris and Lily were friends with. He had already helped the Marauders just a little bit by talking to them in the corridors the other night. However, he knew that he needed to do more if he wanted to make sure that Iris was saved.

Finding Lily would definitely be one way to do that.

The eyes of the Gryffindors in front of him pierced his skin like daggers. He honestly was starting to regret going out to find her. Severus could only thank his lucky stars that neither James or Sirius were around. Then again, they could be lurking around the corner somewhere in the shadows waiting to pounce on him like the dangerous lions they are.

“Severus?” Lily asked in confusion as a hint of suspicion laced her tongue.

He glanced up at her to see if she was glaring at him as heatedly as Remus and Wendy. The redheads pale face was the perfect representation of conflict. It was obvious to him that she wasn’t relieved to see him, yet she also wasn’t repulsed at his presence. That was a good thing.

“H-Hi, Lily,” he cleared his throat, “I want to help with… whatever I can.”

The three Gryffindors shared a quick glance with each other. Within that short time, it seemed like they were having a silent conversation with each other. It was obvious that each of them were skeptical about his presence and whether he actually wanted to help. However, it seemed like Lily was more optimistic than the other two. Her eyes gleamed with something that was trying to convince the other two to at least hear him out. Severus could really appreciate her for that… when she should really be yelling at him for what he has done. She should be hitting him and forcing him to leave her alone after everything he has done.

Lily’s forest green eyes finally turned back to Severus, “you want to help?”

The teen nodded his head vigorously, “yes, I want to help.” He tried to keep his gaze and voice as genuine as possible. “I want to help Iris.” That statement certainly helped convince the group even more that Severus was sincere. 

Remus was a tad bit more unsure about the situation. “Regulus and Lucius didn’t send you here, have they?”

Severus shook his head, “no. If they did, I would tell you. I don’t want to do what they say. I don’t want to be scared anymore.”

The greasy-haired teens passionate words helped his case even more. After one final glance, the Gryffindors came to a conclusion. 

“Then help us,” Wendy commented and gestured to the books in front of them. “You’re good a potions, right?” There was no denying that Severus Snape was known to be very talented with the subject and considering they were seriously lacking some knowledge, they needed his help. 

Yet they didn’t know that they had the creator of the potion right in front of them. Though it’s not like they needed to know that, in Severus’ opinion.

Lily spoke for him, “he’s one of the top students!”

Severus smiled at the fact that she still spoke about him highly. He knew that Lily was angry with him after what had happened months ago with him and Iris. If someone had done the same thing to his sibling, he would hold a grudge like them. Yet now, it seemed like she was going to be nice to him. He knew that she wanted to fix their relationship after this troubling year, and Lily must think that working together on this will help that. 

They invited him to sit at the table which he took as a good sign. Yes, it didn’t seem like they were completely warm to the idea of him being there. However, it didn’t seem like they had any other choice. Despite what they may want, this was a necessity to ensure that they were able to help Iris. The Gryffindors were just glad that their loudmouthed, annoying friends weren’t here to object to this. 

The boys may have gone to Severus to get help the other night, however, it’s not like they would allow Severus to get any closer to their investigation and plans to help Iris. They couldn’t trust him. Especially after what he has done to their friend already and lies he’s told. It was a natural thing to do. 

With Severus’ help, the group of four were able to identify just about every ingredient in the potion. In turn, they were able to brew an antidote quite quickly! It may have taken them most of the day and missing out on dinner, but it would be worth missing out on. Things were definitely starting to look more optimistic than the other day. 

The group had made the antidote in a generous amount just to make sure that they had enough for her. Though the potion was weak already, according to Severus, it wouldn’t take that much of the antidote to fix Iris. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Lily couldn’t help the smile from crawling onto her face. “We actually did it,” she breathed out and stared at the bottle full of the murky potion. Her enthusiasm was infectious and spread across the group. They started to speak excitedly about finally getting their friend back to normal as they collected their things. 

Severus watched them walk towards the exit of the library. He was an outsider to their little friend group and didn’t think that he should intrude on their conversation. Though he had to admit that he was happy with this outcome. As he watched Lily’s expression become brighter as the tension and desperation started to slide off of his face, Severus was happy. He may have been a cause of this, but he certainly wanted to fix it. This was going to do just that. He did what he had to do.

He gazed after them as they disappeared around a corner no doubt to tell others what had happened. Severus could only hope that he wasn’t going to be punished by Regulus and Lucius for this. He wanted to try and avoid any sort of confrontation, no matter who it was from. Though he wasn’t sure what was worse, facing the wrath of the Marauders, Regulus and Lucius, or Lily. 

Lily. By far, the redhead can be one of the scariest people Severus has ever met.

---

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[thesmokingguns]

Wendy and The Lost Boys Chapter Eleven

Nikki had his feet up as he listened to Vince laying the vocals for their next record. How many songs on this record would be about his feelings for a girl he couldn’t have? He was thinking about how she had teased him about writing an album for her and he had delivered.  Vince was singing ‘Ten Seconds to Love’ when the door opened. He looked over his shoulder, expecting to see Tommy coming in with the beer he had gone to buy but did a double take seeing Sasha standing there. Her blonde hair curled, those big blue eyes looking around, landing on Vince as he sang. A small smile tugging her face as if she had missed hearing their music. She looked so cozy and warm in her cream colored sweater dress and he wanted to wrap her up and feel the softness for himself. But there was something about her that the bassist didn’t like seeing. The way that she had this sadness in her eyes he hadn't seen before. She was here because something wasn’t right and he wanted to fix it.

“Angel?” Nikki asked, watching the way her eyes turned, looking at him and giving him a soft smile and wave. Her actions weren’t animated and bright like before but she was almost reserved and slower now as if she wasn’t sure what was between them anymore. This hurt Nikki because he had a very clear image of what he wanted to happen between them now. In the time that they had spent apart Nikki realized exactly what he was missing and what he wanted. It was December of 1982 and he hadn’t been this close to her since the summer when they had the huge fight. It was Iike seeing a ghost which she almost seemed like a ghost of herself.

“Tommy said it would be okay if I stopped by to hear you guys work on the new album.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear moving inside the studio and placing her bag on the couch. She had looked away when she spoke like she was telling a lie. Nikki frowned, wishing away all the stuff that happened between them so he could just go over and talk to her like before; There was something sad in her eyes as she sat down on her couch. Mick looked at Nikki, who didn’t seem to know what to do about her being there in such a shell of how they knew her.

“Are you okay?” Mick was taking in her appearance and even though she was still beautiful she had on more makeup and was thinner than he thought was normal. It was like someone had played Barbie with her instead of letting her run out in Keds and a random tshirt tucked into Jean shorts. Even in her bulky sweater dress he could see something wasn’t right with her. But she was all smiles as she nodded her head, her fingers shaking as she lit a cigarette. The lighter flickering, the flame waving as she tried to calm her nerves.

“I’m perfect.” It had become so easy to lie in the last half year of her life. She had been living what everyone thought was this perfect life on the outside but her world had been a hell. A hell she had signed up for and was to blame for putting herself in.

When she had agreed to everything with Len she had really expected a few changes but it had become life controlling. She couldn’t work her waitress job anymore so she had been given a job as a secretary at his fathers office, where Len had also become an intern. She worked all summer there and when they weren’t working they were expected to be either at the country club or at some party showing their faces. On top of the stress or never having down time and all of her activities being planned out for her Sasha was expected to look a certain way. She had to take tennis lessons and would do aerobics classes with her sorority sisters. All the running around led to her always being exhausted and the pills didn’t help anymore. That’s when Len had started to give her cocaine to help fuel her through a party. School had started and she wouldn’t have been able to make it through without doing drugs.

Len was also not an easy person to live with. She had expected the fun easy going guy she had known for a year but it turned out he was kind of a douchebag. He’d get mad over little things and yell as loud as he could. He seemed to be permanently stressed over something and instead of handling it he’d take out any insecurities he had on her. The way he felt like he had this right over Sasha, controlling her schedule or what she wore infuriated her. She had gone out a few times with her girlfriends or snuck off to see Tommy and the absolute fury that met her when she made it back to the apartment wasn’t worth it.

With winter break Len was headed to Aspen with his family, a trip he had begged her to go on but she refused. She needed time away from him and Len knew if he pushed her anymore he would lose the shield that he needed for the world. He had left in his car for a month an hour before and Sasha had called home finding out where Tommy would be. She wanted to spend a month with him like she had done before. They’d stay in his bedroom listening to records and living off ramen noodles and beers. Sometimes they’d go out and she’d spend the whole night laughing. It felt like forever since she had laughed or even slept. She knew that she needed to get out of the situation.

Nikki had turned away from her to watch Neil. He felt like he was hallucinating seeing her in the studio. She had been so angry the last time that he had seen her and it was the first time a girl had really thrown in his face what a piece of shit he was and he actually felt bad. He hadn’t felt bad enough to pursue her and apologize but he had made small changes. He had broken up with Lita or she had broken up with him when he had been caught cheating but he was single now. He had moved into his own place and bought a car. Nikki was making moves to do better. He hadn’t given up on partying or hooking up but at least he wasn’t stringing anyone along with a relationship. He hadn’t stopped thinking about her, going over and over in his head what an idiot he was for trying to control the situation by letting them be free. He wanted a relationship with her and was willing to have all the things that came with it.

“I have the beer.” Tommy announced, bursting through the door. He looked down seeing Sasha asleep on the couch, his eyebrows furrowing together. He set down the case of beer touching her face, watching her jump awake. The way she looked around panicked her eyes trying to figure out what was going on, scared Tommy and even Nikki was standing up thinking he could calm her down from the panic she was in. “Are you okay? What’s going on?” Nikki felt Mick grab his wrist dragging him back to his seat with a shake of his head. She looked up nervously at the band and they all seemed to realize that she had shown up without their drummer knowing. A soft flush of embarrassment colored her cheeks.

“Can we talk later?” She asked softly. Tommy nodded his head grabbing her a beer and pressing it into her hands before sitting down beside her. It was good to have her back around them but she wasn’t the same person who slept in their cockroach apartment a couple summers ago. She was growing up now and starting to have to make decisions that were harder. What was right and what was wrong was becoming more of a blurry line. What she wanted seemed to be just as confusing.

“You all leave me alone in the booth. Don’t listen to a fucking thing I say and don’t tell me my favorite Playboy waitress is here.” Teased Vince sitting down besides her. Nikki hated how he was always playing past the boundaries with her, “Did they let you keep the outfit when you quit because if they did-“ he leaned into her ear to whisper something that was probably absolutely not called for. Nikki watched her cheeks go pink and wanted to pull Vince off that couch. The singer pulled back after a second smiling widely as he saw her pink cheeks.

“There is no way you can tie a cherry stem with your tongue.” She said shaking her head and sipping the beer. For some reason this started a big debate where all the guys insisted they all could do it and Sasha declared if they all could do it she could do it. They all were spilling out of the studio after about ten minutes of arguing, planning on going to Nikki’s apartment to end this debate. Sasha laughed along with them as she was pulled outside.

“I came with Mick and Vince. You can ride with us in the car but he has a bunch of his shit in there or I can see if Sixx will give you a ride in his Porsche.” Tommy offered. She looked over at the car Mick was trying to stuff another guitar into and was supposed to fit three men and then to where Nikki was standing next to a red Porsche. “Listen, I can ride with Nikki and you could sit on Vince’s lap if you want.” The bassist seemed to hear this and frowned at the thought of her with Vince pressed against her.

“C’mon, Angel.” He held out his hand for her as they all watched to see if she would take it and get into the car with him. Sasha looked at Nikki, the feelings of seeing him with Lita coming back to her. Remembering him telling her all his stupid fucking lies that she believed. The way it felt when he held her, his mouth all over her body. She had been thinking about what her life would have been life if he had picked her and wanted her like she wanted him. It hurt that she couldn’t give up on him despite trying so hard to push him away. Here he was in front of her and she wanted to run to him so bad and just feel safe and okay.

“Vinny, you need to hold me tight because I don’t like how fast Mick takes turns.” She walked over, sliding into the car and onto the singers lap. She knew he would see this and feel angry but he didn't want her. He looked way too smug with the situation and was all too happy to wrap his arm around her. Nikki felt that possessive rage coming back, his hands folding into easy fists. Tommy put a hand on his shoulder pushing him towards the car.

“Let’s go. She’ll be back at the apartment and have learned her lesson by the time we get there.” Tommy reassured him. But Nikki wasn’t sure that he wanted her to learn her lesson. Maybe if she learned her lesson over his lap. He watched Mick pull away and frowned jumping into the car. He wanted to be home as soon as possible.

With every bump in the road she wished that she had just sucked it up and went with Nikk instead of trying to prove some stupid pointi. Vince held her to his lap, pressing into her letting her feel him as they hit each bump. She had given Mick a look and he was doing his best to swerve around anything major but he was kind of letting her deal with the situation she had gotten into. He had no idea why she would willingly volunteer to ride on Vince’s lap when she had the option to ride in a Porsche.

“Can you not?” She said through gritted teeth, feeling him wiggle underneath her. Vince smirked his arm around her waist tightening, “If you don’t stop it I swear to God.” She stopped looking around the neighborhood they were in. This is where Nikki had lived with Lita. They pulled up to a house and she felt her stomach drop wondering if he was still with her and she was going to have to be in an apartment with them. She saw Nikki’s Porsche out front and him standing waiting for them. He practically ripped the door off of the guitarist's car, taking her hand to help her out of the car.

“Did you enjoy the ride as much as me, Angel?” Vince asked with a shit eating grin on his face. Nikki turned ready to smack the smug look off of his face but soft hands on his chest made him stop. She shook her head at him. Vince could be fun to joke around with but he had this issue where he didn’t know when he was going too far.

“Nobody calls me Angel but Nikki.” She said, tucking her arm around the bassists back to push him away from the man she had spoken to. He felt smug hearing her say that to him and felt like he was regaining some control in a situation that felt like it was spiraling out of his reach. She was slightly shocked when he didn’t cross the street to head to the place he had moved in during the summer but walked up the brick stairs, his arm around her waist. “I thought you lived-“ he shook his head.

“We broke up and I moved out. This is my bachelor pad where I live alone.” He was going to add unless she wanted a new place to stay but bit his tongue. He wanted to get it across to her that it was just him living here by himself. That he had gotten this apartment and he had grown as a person well they were apart. Nikki threw open the door, his hand gently pushing her inside and wishing it was just them going inside without the three goons in the band following behind them.

It was crazy how easily they all fell back into their stupid habits. They all were drinking and laughing together, telling stories that had them being too loud. Sasha was squeezed between Nikki and Tommy on the couch when the jar of cherries were passed around, everyone scooping out one to compete against the others. She looked at all the guys who seemed intent on proving they could do this.

“Ready?” Tommy asked, holding the cherry up to his mouth. “Go!” Everyone was pulling off stems and putting stems in their mouth. Sasha glanced at Nikki having full confidence in his ability to be able to do this. She was rolling the stem on her tongue, swirling it down to bend, her tongue was trying to bend one loop in and she could just imagine what her face looked like as she tried to do this. She glanced around seeing how calm Nikki and Tommy both looked as they did this. She saw Nikki put two fingers to his lips pulling out a tight knot and frowned as her tongue slipped losing her loop. Tommy was the next to pull out his knot. Sasha was frustrated watching as Vince glanced up at her, his fingers going to his mouth. She felt the stem slip into the loop of her mouth and opened to pull out her knot.

“Where did you learn to do that with your tongue?” Vince demanded to know, spitting out his own cherry stem. Sasha shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. She was still mad at the way that he had acted on the drive over to the apartment and she wanted to rub some more salt in the wounds. Plus she had an idea about flirting with Nikki and wanted to push the envelope a little bit now that the beer was making her giggle.

“Ask your bassist.” She said leaning back and sipping another beer as she saw Vince give Nikki a dirty look from her answer. Sasha watched Tommy choke on his beer, foam flying out of his nose turning to glare at the pair of them.

“Jesus Christ, can you two not?” Tommy asked glaring as he watched the way her smile broadened across her face seeing him get annoyed with her. “You two need to decide what is going on. Now. It’s been over a year and it’s exhausting. I want answers before our next show from you, Sixx.” He was standing getting ready to leave. He turned to Sasha, “Call me tomorrow.” He warned her, giving her a shorter deadline because he knew there was other stuff going on that he wanted to hear about and help her out. Tommy had taken care of her for so long and he never wanted Sasha to stop trusting him with her problems. Only getting a nod from her he headed out. She watched all three guys shuffle out and an awkward silence settled into the living room between her and Nikki.

“You got us in trouble, Angel.” She shrugged her shoulders, the edges of her turning up at the edges, shifting slightly to turn and face him. Nikki could see her thinking of what to say. It was easy for him to read the emotions on her face.

“I’m sorry that I yelled at you, Sixx. I was upset and I took it out on you instead of owning up to things. It was the wrong thing to do. And I’m so sorry.” He was surprised to get an apology from her over something that happened so long ago. He watched her bring her bare feet onto the couch tucking her knees under her chin. It was like she was trying to make herself smaller. “Can you forgive me for being a brat?” The way Sasha was looking at him could make him forgive her for anything.

“Break up with your boyfriend and I’ll forgive you.” Is what came out instead of the yes or of course that he had been planning to say. She didn’t react for a second. Her eyes looked at him trying to see if he was being serious or if this was just a prank.

“I live with him, Nikki. You want me to be homeless?” She asked, shaking her head like he was crazy. He shrugged his shoulders gesturing around the apartment.

“You said I was all talk and no action. So move in with me and I will take action. I’m sure it will get messy but I’m willing to try. I can’t fucking take not seeing you for months because we’re fighting. I don’t like it.” She had never seen him look at her like this. He wasn’t just asking her to move in, he wanted her here with him and he wanted to try with her.

“We’ll figure out how I can get to school and everything?” He nodded his head trying to see what her next move was going to be. She grabbed her bag, digging through it and pulling out a notebook. She walked over to Nikki’s phone. He watched as she dialed a number, her eyes flashing up to look up at him and then back down. “Hey Len...shit sorry forgot it was 3am...well, I’m going to move out of the house tomorrow...I know and I’m sorry but it’s killing me...I know it’s scary but I can’t Lenny. I can’t see you anymore. It’s just too much with everything that comes with it. I’ll quit the office job so we won’t have to see each other. I’m sure. I’m so sorry. Goodbye.” She hung up her blonde hair being tossed over her shoulder. “Do you forgive me now?” She asked looking towards where he was on the couch. He couldn’t believe that she had actually done that. Nikki hadn’t expected her to be willing to throw away her boyfriend like that. She had casually just flipped her life around and all for him.

“Did you really just do that?” He asked, watching as she tucked her little journal back into her bag. She gave him a soft smile. Nikki had known for a while that he was ready to be with her but he hadn’t really realized until that moment what capacity he could give her. Sasha’s ability to throw it all away to just trust him with her happiness meant more to the bassist than he realized.The way that she could forgive them both after mistakes was something Nikki admired. He also knew they always would find their way back to each other

“You said that’s what it would take to have you forgive me. That’s what was important to me.” His heart was beating as he watched her turn to look at him, “You were serious about what you said, right?” There it was. The vulnerability on her face as she looked at him realizing suddenly what her actions just put in motion how everything would be changing. The fear of knowing how things had been before and realizing she had just thrown caution to the wind letting herself trust this person who had hurt her before.

“You’re spiraling.” Nikki commented, standing up and moving over to her. He let his hands wrap around her waist, drawing her close to him. “What do you want, Angel?” The firm touch of his arms around her had her forgetting everything.

“I just want to know what’s happening. I want to know what I am to you.” His hands ran down her face and he nodded in understanding. “I can’t think I matter and walk in to you fucking someone who ends up being your girlfriend.” He gave her a solemn nod, not even letting himself smirk at the fact that was almost a year ago to the date. “Nikki, I need you to talk and just say stuff now because the words that should be coming out are not and-“ his hands were pulling her face to him, their lips pushing together.

When he touched her she couldn’t think like a normal person. She got lost in the intimacy of him. His hands on her skin and lips pushing, wanting to explain so many feelings with action. She was melting into him and  he slid his hands down her body, the soft curves feeling sharper than he remembered. He reached the hem of her dress, lifting it off and letting his eyes wander over her body.

She knew he saw she was thinner. Always being on the go meant she hadn’t been eating as much. And the working out had shed off the few pounds she usually carried. Instead of being self conscious she tugged his hands to hers. His eyes swirling up her body to meet hers and letting her pull him in with her easy smile.

“Why don’t you take me to bed, Sixx?” He led her down to the room watching how at ease she was climbing into the bed. The big yawn giving away that it wasn’t going to  be an active night. He was besides her drawing her close to him, “I’m tired of making the wrong decision. Can you just make sure by the time we wake up you’re sure of this because I just can't keep striking out.” She said it so softly like she was thinking about all the times she had been hurt before and Nikki knew she wasn’t joking with him. They’d really need to talk about expectations and how this would work. He was going to need to put in the effort

“I worked it all out in my notebook, Angel. We can go over all the details when you wake up.” a smile danced on her lips knowing that he had been thinking about her and an actual future If NIkki wrote things down it was because he wanted it to workout. His journals are where he scribbles down lyrics or ideas for the band. That's where his dreams were written down and planned out.

Tommy watched Sasha sip the coffee in the booth. There was a rosey glow in her cheeks as she sat in front of him. Even after spilling her guts about everything that happened with Len she had this small smile on her face. He didn’t quite understand what was going on but when he had come to pick her up from Nikki’s house that morning she had come outside wearing one of his shirts and Nikki was handing her his jacket as she rushed to meet her brother.

“So you broke up with Len last night?” Tommy tried to clarify what was going on, watching as she nodded, “And what is going on with you and Nikki now?” it wasn’t that he didn’t want them to date each other because he really did think they’d be a good match if they could commit to each other. The commitment was the big issue and the drummer had witnessed first hand Nikki trying to figure that one out.

“Nikki and I talked this morning…” she had done a lot more than just talk with Nikki but that wasn’t something that he would want to know about, “And we laid some ground rules of things that we think will make us work and talked about why he didn’t want to date me before.” when he said the word date he had started staring at her waiting for her to further elaborate on everything but she was sipping her coffee smiling again.

“Did you just say that you were dating him now?” It was always like a girls gab session when she was with Tommy and he wanted most of the juicy details.

“Yeah, we’re dating.” Even though Tommy had his reservations about his best friends dating the way that her smile was spread so wide and just the joy dancing in her blue eyes made him happy for her, “Oh shit, there’s more. I need to move my stuff out of Len’s house today. Could we do that? And maybe you could come home for Christmas and not be off fucking around with some chick so that when I break the news to mom that I dumped what she probably thought was the best boyfriend I ever had you can puke or something to take the heat off?” he rolled his eyes but agreed.

Sasha called Nikki on the payphone and told him since Tommy had the van they were just going to head over to the apartment to move some of her stuff out. Since it was just clothes she could just meet him at his place. When her and Tommy got to the apartment he was surprised. There were drugs everywhere like candy left out for kids. He glanced at Sasha who was grabbing trash bags for her things and then back at the glass dish.

“Is there more going on that I should know about?” She watched him dip a finger into the jar licking his finger as she watched him.

“You can’t tell Nikki.” as soon as she said that he knew she had been doing more than just the pills here and there. It explained her weight loss and the hollow look about her. Tommy shook his head knowing that she looked embarrassed by the information that he was figuring out. They all did drugs but Sasha was not one to ever do it with them, “I haven’t done anything in a couple days but you know if he finds out about how I was surviving on it he’ll be so mad.” that was true. Tommy was mad and already planning on never letting her out of his sight again but Nikki would want names of who gave it to her and he’d lose his mind.

“Just don’t do this stuff anymore.” Tommy sighed out watching her relief roll off her shoulders at this, “Cmon, you need to pack and we need to get you back to Sixx before he thinks you've  changed your mind again.

Sasha was pulling her bags up the stairs when NIkki came out grabbing them from her. His smile put her at ease but she saw something falter slightly and he moved to get her inside the house before she could see what was going on.He was moving her things into the bedroom and was in the living room his hand on her arm softly as he glanced towards the door before looking back at her.

“I’ve cleared out most of the closet and a few drawers for you, Angel. Why don’t you put your stuff away well I deal with something really quick? Okay.” he kissed her forehead moving outside before she could do anything else. Nikki had seen Lita coming out of her apartment , eyes narrowed as she saw Sasha and her stuff moving into the apartment. Nikki met the angry blonde head on, trying to guide her to her side of the street because he knew that she was going to blow up.

“Lita, please, don’t-”

“Fuck you, Nikki.” she smacked his chest and he felt bad. He had wanted to try and talk to her before she saw Sasha in the neighborhood but he hadn't gotten a chance, “You made me feel like she was just a friend and now this.” she gestured up at his apartment, shaking her head, “I get that we broke up but really? Out of all the people in LA why are you with her?” she was hurt and he could see that it was his fault and how he handled everything that got them there. Even though Lita had caught him cheating it felt worse knowing that the whole time they had been together it had been with the wrong person. Seeing Sasha moving into his place felt like this huge betrayal.

“I told you before that I didn’t want to be in a relationship.” his excuse was weak and he felt bad knowing that was all he was going to say to her. She shook her head pushing him away from her.

“So my feelings never mattered and it was okay that you hurt me because you never wanted me.” she stepped back away from him. Her head was shaking and she stepped away from him feeling like disgust washed all over her, “I loved you and you really are a fucking pig, Nikki. And I can’t wait until you get hurt or hurt the wrong fucking person.” she turned after that walking into her apartment and leaving him there to think about what she had said to him.

Nikki walked back into the apartment and saw Sasha laying on the bed, the closet was packed with clothes and she pushed herself up on her elbows giving him this lazy smile. After the verbal lashing that he had just gotten from Lita seeing her light up when he walked into the room was exactly what he needed. The fact she hadn't changed out of his t-shirt, even though she had all her clothes here also gave him a reason to smile.

“Finally, you come to me.” she teased easily, pulling him close to her on the bed and pressing a kiss to his lips, “I saw you out there with Lita. Are you okay?” he wished she didn’t know who he had been talking to because he didn’t want her to feel bad for the decision he had made to be with someone who wasn’t her.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head, angel.” His hands were in her hair and he was tugging her forward feeling her adjust so she was straddled laying on top of him, “I’ve been waiting to get you back into bed all day.” he teased, kissing down her neck, his hand slipping up under the shirt he was wearing. Her hands raised and the shirt was thrown to the floor, “Fuck.” She loved hearing him curse when she was naked on top of him. She skimmed her hands down over his pulling his hands up so he could cup her breasts. Her hips ground down and Nikki watched her, the need for him on her face as she tried to work for what she wanted. “Slow down, we have all night.” her eyes flashed down as she paused for a second as she untied her pants.

“And I plan on using every minute of that time letting you do absolutely filthy things to me.” She said matter of fact. Nikki had not expected this from her at all. Sasha wanting him always came off as a surprise. She was gripping him, stroking him and smirking, “Do you want me to do all the wicked things I want to do to you first? Because I’m about to climb on top of you and ride you until I feel your cum filling me and slipping down my thighs.” Nikki moaned out shaking his head at her words.

“Angel, where did that filthy mouth come from?” he asked, his hands brushing over her taunt nipples, sliding down her sides and resting on her ass. “You need to watch what comes out of that pretty little mouth.”

“If you don't like what comes out of my mouth you better fill it with something, Sixx.” he did not know who this was or what side of her he was getting but he didn’t have time to say anything because she was rolling her hips down his length, filling herself with him, “God, I forgot how big you are.” she whined out bouncing slightly as she adjusted to the sensation of him inside of her, his fingers were digging into her hips.

“Take your time.” she was squeezing about him, her tightness coating him in her honey, He felt her hands on his chest to give her leverage as she started to move, his hands helping guide her hips rolling. When she became steady riding him he let his hand slip down, his thumb running circles around her clit. She slammed down her head tossing back his name on her lips making the man smile up, “Does that feel good for you, angel?” he teased.

“Keeping doing that and I’m going to cum.” she warned her blue eyes flashing. He knew better than to stop. He could see her so close and rolled them so he was on top, bringing her legs up and around him to get deeper, “I want this everyday.” she moaned, her back arching. He did too. He saw her eyes flash to his and kissed her as she came apart, her toes curling and her heart beating so loudly he was sure that he could hear it. He was close behind her now, emptying himself inside of her.

Nikki loved holding her after, the smell of them mixed together with her naked body pressed against his. He loved running his hands down her arms and the way her lips kissed his neck in low kisses. She loved wrapping herself around him, their bodies seeming to become one. Knowing she was going to fall asleep and getting to watch her eyelids flutter and that she felt safe enough with him to fall asleep in a vulnerable state meant even more to Nikki. This was the guy that didn’t believe people should be in a relationship until they were thirty and here he was thinking this was exactly where he wanted to be.

[outerbankspreferences]

The Roommate - Austin North

Chapter Three - The Party

Word Count: 2213

MASTERLIST SERIES MASTERLIST

The party at Chase and Madelyn’s apartment was all anyone could talk about. Everyone had been working hard lately it was nice to blow off some steam. They were all sitting around Rudy’s trailer talking about filming and who was all going. “Did Oliva say she was going to come babe?” Rudy asked his girlfriend who was talking to Madison. “Uh yeah, she said she would try and make it. I think she might have to work in the morning though.” She spoke up a little to be heard over everyone.

“Is that the person you want to live with Austin and Drew?” Madison questioned. “Yeah, she’s my old college roommate, you guys are going to love her.” Elaine promised, sending her friend a text to remind her about the party.

 Oliva was in line getting a coffee when she got the text message. Don’t forget about the party tonight. You promised. Elaine was a force to be reckon with, and she knew better then to forget another date with her. Oliva didn’t really want to go, but she also desperately needed roommates, so she needed to impress. Once she got her coffee, she headed back to her office.

 They’ve been working on a difficult case that hit close to home for her. She got back to her office, listening to her voicemail, and checking her email. It took her almost an hour for the fact that she never worked in her office. She was more of a remote worker, and by that she worked from her car. It was her job to get information on people that the lawyers needed for witnesses or other things. Working for a defence lawyer had its perks, better pay, more opportunities, but she didn’t always agree with the cases she had to work.

 She was pulled from her thought when her boss Max, came through the door not bothering to knock. “Wow Bennet, you’re actually in your office for once.” He spoke leaning against the door frame. “What can I say, I work better in an open space.” Oliva retorted, taking a sip from her coffee. “Have you given any thought to my offer about LA. I really need someone I can trust out there.” She knew what he meant; she knew Max back in law school. He was a good-looking man but didn’t have the personality to match. Max was selfish, he always had been. “I was still thinking about it. It’s expensive, and I’m going to need a roommate.” She spoke, trying to gain more time to think about it. “I want an answer by Monday or I’m giving the job to Wendy in finance.” That was a bold move, Oliva figured he was bluffing she was the best paralegal they had. Even with unorthodox approach at things. Wendy would just mess things up even in a smaller firm, she didn’t have the experience needed.

 Her phone started to ring as Max was leaving. She looked to see a picture of Elaine pop up on her screen. “Good lord Elaine, I’m not going to forget about tonight.” She thought. She accepted the phone call. “Hello Elaine” She spoke blandly into the phone. “Oh, don’t sound so disappointed to hear from me. Did you get my text? You didn’t forget, did you?” She asked laughing on the other end. “No, I didn’t forget, I’m just at work right now. What time did you want me to come over?” She asked, trying to figure how much time she needed to get ready. “It’s actually not at my place, it’s at my friends. I’ll text you the address, show up for like seven, does that work?” She said as more of statement then a question.

 “Yeah, it does, how should I dress? Do I need to look nice for this?” Oliva asked, not really looking forward to getting dressed up too much.

 “Uh, no just causal, don’t forget the jello shots, for me of course.” She laughed thinking of the many times Elaine got out of control from drinking one to many jello shooters. “Yeah, I’ll bring them don’t worry.” Oliva reassured her. “Oh, I almost forgot, Austin and Drew will be there so you can finally meet them! It’ll work out perfect.” Elaine spoke, and Oliva could hear someone yelling her name in the background. “They need me, but I’ll see you tonight!” Elaine spoke hanging up on her. Oliva sighed wondering what the hell she got herself into.

 “Who was that?” Rudy asked his girlfriend pulling her into a tight hug. “Oliva, just making sure she was still coming tonight.” Rudy knew how much this meant to her. Elaine talked about her all the time. What he didn’t like was how many times Oliva had blown her off. He figured she wasn’t going to show tonight, but didn’t want Elaine to get upset, “don’t get to upset if she doesn’t show up babe. She’s already bailed on you before.” He warned knowing how she got. Elaine knew there was truth to what he was saying, but he also didn’t know Oliva like she did. She knew that Oliva would show up because it was something important to her.

 Oliva left her office around five, grabbing something to eat on the way home. She knew better then to drink on an empty stomach. Once she got back to her apartment, she started to eat the crappy Chinese food, and rummaged through her closet to find something to wear. She was trying to not overthink it, but she also wanted to impress these people. She had seen pictures of them on Elaine’s Instagram and figured a pair of ripped skinny jeans and vintage band shirt would suffice. She turned on her hair curler letting it heat up. She kept her makeup simple, adding a little bit of winged eyeliner and then loosely curled her hair. She checked the time, 6:30. When she looked up the address earlier, it was about a half hour from where she lived. She grabbed her container full of jello shots and text Elaine to inform her she was on her way.

 Once Oliva got to the house, she sat out in her car debating whether to go in or not. She could leave now and make up some stupid excuse as to why she needed to leave. She could tell Elaine it was traffic, or she got rear ended, or maybe food poisoning. She knew whatever excuse she made; nothing would be worth jeopardizing their friendship. Oliva looked at her phone one more time before popping back one the jello shooters and going inside. When she got into the apartment building it looked nice, much nicer than hers. She could tell the hallways had been cleaned regularly. She got in the elevator, riding it to the third floor. She could hear music playing from one of the apartments. “Perfect” she said to herself “not hard to find.”

 Oliva knocked on the door and all sudden became very nervous. She needed these people to like her if she wanted knew roommates. Giving herself a small pep talk on the inside, the door swung open to a tall man with shaggy brown hair.

 “Hey, you must be Oliva!” He spoke, “I’m Chase, one of Elaine’s friends.” He extended his hand out to her. Oliva smiled grasping his hand, “yeah I am, I’m sorry for being late.” She half heartedly apologized, not really meaning it. Of course, she wasn’t going to tell him that it was because she was sitting in her car debating whether to come in or bail again. “Don’t worry about it, come on in. I can take those.” Chase went to grab the jello shots, Oliva handing them over stepping into the apartment. It was loud and faintly smelt of weed and sweat. She looked around for her friend, hoping for everyone sake she didn’t get there before Elaine.

 Oliva followed Chase to the kitchen, it was small and there were already people in their mixing drinks. “Oliva this is JD, Maddie C., and Maddie B.” Chase pointed to each person as they gave the foreign girl a small wave. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you guys, I’ll apologize now if I forgot your names.” The two moved on to the living room that she could see through the kitchen. It was a moderate size, big enough that a fair amount of people could fit in and not be crowded. It led to a small balcony that she could see some people out smoking. Oliva jumped a little from Elaine coming up and hugging her from behind. “You made it, I told you guys she would come.” She squeaked and Oliva giggled, smelling the vodka from her drink.

 “Of course, I made it, I told you I would be here.” Oliva responded turning around to hug her friend properly. Elaine was wearing a blouse and a pair of jeans, with her camera around her neck. She couldn’t go far without the camera; it was one of the things Oliva loved about her. “Well, you’ve bailed the last couple of time, so who knows with you. Did you bring the jello shots?” Elaine asked dragging her to the kitchen. “I did, I think Chase put them in the fridge.” Oliva spoke, following the only person she knew. JD, Maddie C. and Maddie B. were gone someone knew was there. “Oh, this is perfect,” Elaine spoke causing the man to look at her, “Oliva this is Drew, Drew this is Oliva the girl I was telling you about.” He smiled at her, extending his hand. “Hey, nice to meet you, Elaine was telling us that you’re moving to LA in a couple of months.” “Yeah, I got a new job out there.” Oliva explained not giving anymore information.

 Drew took a moment to take her in, trying to get a read on her. He was still a bit apprehensive about living with a girl. She seemed nice, quiet but nice. Before he could question Oliva, any more Elaine came up to drag her away, “come on, I want to introduce you to everyone else.” She slurred already a bit tipsy.

 Elaine dragged Oliva back into the living room. The only other person she recognized was Rudy from pictures, and he didn’t seem overly happy to see her there. Everyone was sitting around drinking and playing a card against humanity. Elaine went right through the living room to the balcony where some other people were out smoking. “Hey guys, this is Oliva.” Elaine introduced her friend while searching for a lighter.

 When she turned around, Oliva came face to face with a very handsome blonde. ‘What the hell is with all the blondes?’ she thought to herself. The man stuck his hand out, “I’m Austin.” He smiled at her. “I heard you were going to be our roommate, have you met Drew yet?” He asked, handing Elaine the lighter in his hand. She thanked him, “Oh yeah I did meet him, but I never mention anything about being roommates, I wasn’t sure if Elaine had brought it up or not.” Oliva responded. “You weren’t supposed to bring it up Austin.” Elaine giggled. She warned Drew and Austin not to bombard Oliva because it would just scare her off. “oh shit, yeah she did tell us that.” He spoke half scared of the brunette in front of him. Oliva could tell he was nervous “it’s okay, maybe the three of us can meet up for coffee and work all the details out.” She smiled at him.

 The night went on well after that. Considering it was just a small apartment Oliva didn’t run into ether of the boys again. She was in the kitchen filling up her last drink of the night when Rudy came in. “Surprised you showed up Oliva.” He spoke causing her to jump. She turned to look at the blonde who walked in. “Elaine wanted me here, so I came.” She responded. “She’s been trying to get together with you for weeks now. She stuck her neck out for you to help you find a place to live and you couldn’t even bother to show up.” He wasn’t wrong. Elaine had done a lot to help her, but she also had to work. “I know, but I can’t help it if I have to work, not all of us can be actors.” She spoke up, not wanting to have this conversation.

 Oliva didn’t know Rudy that well, and in his defense, they did get off on the wrong foot, but if he thought for one minute, he was going to grill her about not showing up he had another thing coming. Before Rudy had a chance to speak again Oliva had dumped her drink down the drain and headed for the door. Just as she was about to walk out the door Elaine stopped her. “Are you leaving already ‘Liv? It’s not even that late.” When Oliva turned around, she could see the see a bit of hurt in Elaine’s eyes, but when she spoke, she looked directly at Rudy. “Yeah, I have to work in the morning, say my goodbyes for me?” She asked forcing a smile at her friend.

TAG LIST: @drewstarkeysbitchh afterglowsb-tch13 lostsoulwalking @lemur46 @taylathornton

[ggreactionsandscenarios]

Hii, if it's no too much, could you do a scenario where Yeri doesn't feels confident enough to ask the reader a date and she decides to go to the other members of Red Velvet for help? Take your time and thanks in advance! I hope you have a good day/night, take care!💓

Yeri x Reader

I need advice

"What happened ?! Are you okay ? Who do we need to beat up ?"

Were the questions that left Irene's mouth as soon as Seulgi and her entered the room where the other three girls were waiting for them.

"Calm down mama bear and take a sit."

Irene was about to snap back at Joy but Seulgi stopped her with a small pat on her shoulder.

"Let's sit first."

Irene complied but not without glaring at the younger.

Yeri had call them for an extremely important matter as she said. They have agreed on meeting immediately after her call but of course her 'foster parents' came with a down to fight mom.

"Nothing happened I'm fine, there's no one to beat up."

As Yeri reassured Irene no one could have miss how every girl actually sighed in relief. Wendy being the more down to earth of them all was the first to ask what was the matter.

"I need advice."

"Of course Sweety tell me everything."

Yeri would have done exactly that if she wasn't embarrassed at the idea of talking about you in front of Irene alone. The latter had the bad habit of babying her a little too much sometimes, becoming an overprotective mother figure.

"I would like to have everybody's opinions actually."

Seulgi was the only one that noticed the way Yeri's cheeks slightly turned red even before actually addressing the subject. Maybe it was because of her 'papa bear' status but she had already an idea of what was the matter, only with this detail.

"What is it about ?"

The four girls were all looking at Yeri, eager to know what they had to help for but they were making her terribly uncomfortable. Yet Yeri was determined to ask them for advice as awkward as it could get.

"How do you ask someone out ?"

Yeri was proud that she didn't let her gaze drop after launching the bomb but when she noticed how all of her members froze, she wasn't so sure if it was a good idea to ask for their help in the first place.

"Guys ?"

Helplessly trying to have some sort of answer, Yeri was waiting for her friends to stop giving each others glares and actually talk to her. Seulgi being the only one who expected it at least a little, took the liberty to be the first to answer.

"Just ask, I'm one of those who think honest words are better than big gestures."

Seulgi smiled at Yeri before pushing Wendy's shoulder to make her answer as well.

"Hmm .. I mean it's a complicated topic it mostly depends on the person. About that.. can we know who is the person ?"

Yeri noticed how Wendy tried to reassure her with how she asked her question with the more sincere smile she could make. Right when Yeri was about to answer Seulgi interrupted her.

"It's Y/N isn't it ?"

Yeri face turned crimson at the mention of your name but nooded at her unnies. By the time the conversation took place the two other girls finally got back to their senses, immediately starting a war.

"Y/N !?"

"You should buy her flowers !/ You shouldn't ask !"

They shouted at the same time, Johyun wanting Yeri to be romantic and well mannered and Sooyoung thinking about the possibility of you breaking Yeri's heart.

"What are you talking about I'm sure Y/N loves her back, look at how beautiful my daughter is !"

"I know Yeri is pretty but it doesn't mean Y/N is in love with her ! She should wait for her to confess first !"

Yeri was there sat on the couch looking at the two now standing women that were arguing over her love life. She sure was regretting to have asked all of them when she probably should have only talk to Seulgi and Wendy.

Nevermind that regret went out the window when those two got in the fight too, making even more noises. Yeri was now helplessly sitting there with four crazy people yelling at each others.

"What if Y/N don't accept the date because she doesn't feel anything for Yeri ?"

Joy's voice got heard above the other statements, the only one you understood as you stepped in the room breakfast in hand. No one noticed you, not even Yeri until you pushed the door a little too hard behind you making it close in a loud bang.

Every eyes were now on you, most of the time with mouths agape accompanying them. You settled the paper bag on the counter before looking at them.

"Hi to you too and that won't happen don't worry."

You looked right into Yeri's eyes as you said the last part before giving her a small wink, teasing her for having to go to her unnies for love advices. Yeri glared at her unnies. Seulgi got the message and led the girls outside letting you both alone.

Seeing Yeri was way too embarrassed to even look at you, you kneeled down in front of her searching for her gaze.

"Come on, look at me."

She did after few more attempts not without blushing madly though. You took her hands in yours trying to get her to relax which didn't work.

"I brought breakfast, let's eat outside there's this park nearby."

You took the paper bag back before heading to the front door with your hand in Yeri's. As you opened the door four girls fell inside, visibly eavesdropping since the beginning.

"I'm taking Yeri out, I'll bring her back before practice.

And yes it's a date !" You yelled from the other end of the corridor.

Yeri couldn't be redder at your last sentence but she secretly liked it so much. She liked the fact that even though you weren't much more confident than her about this kind of things, you took the lead because you saw she couldn't.

Hi, hope you're doing well. Here is your request I hope you'll like it, give me feedback and don't hesitate to request again 💓 -Ael

[suga-honey-icedtea]

Lost and Found | Irene

a/n: this was a request from this anon and it took me a while i’m so sorry! school really took a lot out of me and so i wasn’t able to do much of anything. but i tried to do this justice and i hope you enjoy it still! i know it’s short and i’m sorry for that, jumping back into writing longer pieces might take a bit but i’ll try!

leave your thoughts: here

my other writing: here

word count: 1,999 words

TW: MENTIONS OF BLOOD AND GUNS

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

 Irene’s eyebrows were knitted together as the sun peeked through her curtains and reached across her carpeted floor toward her door. Which, she noted, had not been opened at any point during the night. At least, not that she was aware of but surely she would have heard it open and heard the shuffling of a certain person. The covers hadn’t been lifted, either, and the other side of the bed remained colder than usual. The worry began to smack into Irene like waves coming onto shore at a beach as she carefully got up and quickly dressed for the day.

 She was distracted, so much so that even her subordinates were noticing her dazed expressions and half-baked orders. Irene was lost and no one could figure out why until Seulgi asked a fateful question that set Irene off. “Hey, Bae, have you seen Y/N? She didn’t hand in the data from the most recent trades done with Loona and I need those so I can get--” It was a simple question, a harmless one in theory, and Seulgi wasn’t the one being targeted with Irene’s mounting fury and concern. She just wasn’t looking at logistics here when it came to blame.

 “Of course I haven’t seen her! I don’t know where she is, it seems no one really gives a shit, either!” Irene seethes and several bodies flinch at the sound her fists make slamming into the conference table currently in the room. Seulgi frowned, looking at Joy and Wendy for some kind of answer, but both girls shrugged as they watched their boss begin to pace. “It wasn’t that big of a disagreement, she wouldn’t leave me over something so small, would she?”

 “Did you and Y/N fight, or something?” Wendy tried, shrinking back slightly when Irene’s furious glare landed on her frame. It was only for a few seconds, Wendy’s eyes locking onto her leader’s until the latter broke eye contact with a sigh. She slumped into her chair, finally, and with a wave of her hand, the lower rung people scattered out of the conference room. They would rather be far away from Irene if she was about to explode.

 “We had a disagreement.” Irene finally clarified when the door clicked closed after the last person left the room. Opening her eyes, Irene looked far younger with the pout gracing her features than she had with the glare a few moments prior. “Y/N was upset that I was insisting her take a bodyguard with her when she goes out. She kept talking about wanting freedom and I kept arguing about recent issues with the GOT7 mafia and how I just wanted to make sure she was safe. Eventually, after yelling for so long, Y/N decided to go out for a drive and she never came back last night.”

 The room was silent when Irene slumped onto the table, her hair splaying across the countless papers scattered over the surface. The other girls looked at one another, confused on how to approach this without upsetting Irene further. They didn’t think it was her fault, necessarily, but they didn’t want to accidentally insinuate it to their boss, either.

 “Do you think the GOT7 mafia took her as some kind of revenge, then?” Joy suggested, wincing a little when Irene sat back up in her seat and slammed her fists onto the table once more.

 “They probably kidnapped her! Took her and locked her up somewhere for information on us. Not that she has any, but that would mean she could be killed!” Irene shrieked, looking at her members in fear before locking eyes with their youngest, Yeri. “Yeri, I need you to track her phone. She had it with her and she always leaves it on!”

 Without a word, Yeri nodded once and began to type furiously on her laptop. Turning her attention, Irene found Joy next across the table from Yeri. “Joy, I need you to start gathering the best people we have to infiltrate GOT7’s base. There’s no guarantee that Y/N will be there, but we can just capture their leaders and have a little chat with them if we can’t find her there.”

 Joy quickly got up with a nod, leaving the room with a speed that eased Irene’s worries a little bit. With Yeri promising to send whatever she could find, Irene left with Wendy and Seulgi to gather some last-minute supplies at the mansion. 

 The whole drive to the Red Velvet mansion had Irene on edge, staring out the window wondering if her girlfriend was really safe or not. The world that Irene was apart of, the dirty secretive world that she knew Y/N didn’t want a part of, was dangerous and didn’t care about morals or who wasn’t okay to attack. With the recent tensions with other mafia groups as well, Irene had no idea what could happen. Without Y/N, Irene was surely going to go crazy.

 Wendy stopped the car outside the mansion, the trio quickly entering through the front doors. Breaking off to go their respective ways until they met again, Irene headed straight for her room to change first. If they were going to do a recon mission to rescue the love of her life, she wanted to be the best prepared she could be for any situation.

 Irene approached her door only to freeze outside of it when she heard a thump and muffled swearing coming from the other side. Her brain wracked for a mode of action she could take, her fingers dancing across the handle for the gun she kept in her back pocket. If she pulled it out and rushed the person, she could quietly apprehend them and could eliminate them faster. 

 But what if they attacked her first? Irene cringed at the thought, deciding to just shoot and ask questions later. If she aimed for a spot that wouldn’t cause immediate death, then they could question the intruder more easily that way. Irene nodded as her brain rationalized this plan, letting out a breath before she reached for the doorknob.

 Before she could open the door, however, it swung open quickly and the person ran right into Irene. Irene only squeaked, not paying attention to who it really was as she aimed at their knee cap and pulled the trigger.

 “Holy shit!” They gasped loudly, Irene’s eyes wide as she realized who it really was. Y/N crumpled onto the floor, fingers shakily coming to stop the blood that was cascading from her very shattered knee. “What the fuck, Irene?!”

 “I thought you were some intruder!” Irene shouted back at Y/N as she fell to her knees, pulling off her jacket to wrap around Y/N’s very bloody knee. Y/N whimpered as Irene jostled it around, first aid definitely not being her strong suit. “I’m sorry, baby. I was scared and acting on impulse.”

 “Remind me to leave and enter every room loudly announcing myself, then!” Y/N snapped back before Wendy poked her head around the threshold of the door. Her eyes widened and without hesitating, she pushed Irene out of the way and began doing what she could.

 “Go call someone to help.” Wendy instructed Irene and without protesting, Irene was off to call for their medical personal. Irene wasn’t allowed anywhere near the infirmary area for a long time, partly due to Wendy’s own instruction and partly because Y/N was still very upset that Irene shot her.

 It wasn’t until a week passed, Irene sitting at her windows and watching the moon in the sky above, that Y/N slowly shuffled through the door. “It’s me, Y/N.” She whispered loudly, just to be sure Irene knew of her presence. Irene turned away from the window, the bags under her eyes weighing heavily as she watched the other shuffle into the room and toward the bed. Irene wanted to help her, but thought against it. Y/N wouldn’t let her into her room for a week, Irene doubted she really wanted her help anymore.

 “You’re out of your room.” Irene noted, her voice bland and void of any life. Y/N nodded, frowning as she finally took in Irene’s appearance. She looked disheveled beyond recognition, almost like she hadn’t showered in days. Y/N knew that Irene hadn’t left her room in a long time, opting to just stare out the windows instead. Seulgi told her when she visited two days ago and Y/N laughed it off like it wasn’t real.

 It didn’t sound like her girlfriend, though Irene shooting her knee cap didn’t sound like her girlfriend, either. Y/N shifted on the edge of the bed under Irene’s dead gaze, chewing on her lip as she fought against whether she should say something or just drag Irene to the shower.

 “You know, it was an accident. You shouldn’t beat yourself up over it.” Y/N finally whispered, and she watched as Irene’s shoulders sagged under the imaginary weight that Y/N knew she was putting onto herself. Irene’s head slowly shook from side to side, dead eyes finally lifting to look into her own again.

 “I should’ve thought more instead of blindly shooting like some rookie. I was so preoccupied with what happened to you and where you were that I didn’t think through what I was doing more.” Irene’s voice cracked, stray tears trickling down her cheeks as she spoke. She didn’t bother to wipe them away, though Y/N wasn’t sure if it was because she was tired or just didn’t care. “I haven’t been able to sleep or eat for days because of how much I fucked up with you.”

 “You didn’t fuck up, though. Listen to me, Irene.” Y/N grumbled a little as she stood, shuffling over to Irene the best she could before taking her face into both her hands gently. “Yeah, you shot my knee, but I’m not mad at you anymore. You didn’t know that my car broke down the night before, and I had no way to tell you I was back since my phone died.”

 “I shouldn’t have blown up like I did, though. You’re a person who should be allowed to go out and not come back like a teenager with a curfew.” Irene scoffed at herself, thinking back to the argument that sparked it all. “And I shouldn’t just blindly start shooting at people. That’s how I end up hurting the ones I love, you most of all.”

 Y/N pouted at Irene before carefully leaning down, letting her lips brush against Irene’s lips. Irene closed the distance herself after a few seconds of holding her breath, almost crumpling in relief when Y/N didn’t pull away. When she did, though, there was a soft smile gracing her face and Irene’s chest felt warmer than it had all week.

 “Couples fight all the time. While they might not shoot each other, I know you didn’t do it on purpose. Besides, I’m alive and my knee is going to heal just fine.” Y/N tried to assure Irene and hummed happily when Irene finally nodded with a pout. Tugging on her hand after a few seconds of staring into each other’s eyes, Y/N managed to pull Irene up onto her feet. “Let’s sleep, okay? We can shower in the morning.”

 Irene smiled as she helped Y/N shuffle back to the bed, getting comfy and making sure she didn’t hit her girlfriend’s knee as she pulled Y/N close to her. When her eyes closed, sleep instantly found her and for the first time in a week, Irene was able to sleep without nightmares of losing Y/N to something more sinister. Y/N smiled as she watched Irene sleep, her fingers carding through her girlfriend’s hair, and she decided this was where she always wanted to be, no matter what happened in the future.

[killercarmen]

Chapter two is up!

Steven went back into the gift shop and sought out Mister Myster.

He found him in the back of the gift shop, talking to a boy, and handing him a bunch of signs. He pointed at the door and the boy walked out.

“Excuse me,” Steven said, getting the man’s attention.

He turned around and smiled at him.

“Welcome back, my good sir! What can I help you with?” He asked.

“Well, I saw your sign,” Steven pointed at the help wanted sign in the window, “and was wondering if the position was still open.”

Mister Mystery nodded his head, “Yep! That spot is most definitely still opened. And if you want the job, you’re hired! You’re the first person to ask,” he turned and motioned for Steven to follow him. Steven followed him to what looked like his office, and sat in the chair in front of his desk.

“So what’s your previous job experience like?” Mister Mystery asked, rifling through some files in a cabinet by his desk.

“Well, uh,” Steven looked around nervously. How do you explain to a human that you were a galactic ambassador for two years of your life?

“Um, I was a sales clerk at a donut shop,” was all Steven was able to say. All of his other ‘professions’ were wrapped in gem stuff, and this road trip was about being human.

“Got experience in customer service I see, perfect,” Mister Mystery closed the cabinet he was looking in and opened the one below it, “now where is that stupid paperwork,” he muttered.

Just then, Steven remembered.

“Uh, so, the thing is, I don’t have a social security number. Is that okay?” He asked.

Mister Mystery looked up at him before closing the drawer he was looking in and smiled, “Kid, that’s perfect, less paperwork for me,” he held out his hand, “You’re hired!”

Steven smiled wide. He just got his first paying job! And it was a lot easier than he’d thought. He shook Mister Mystery’s hand.

“Thank you, Mister Mystery!”

Stan smiled, “Please, calls me Mr. Pines.”

Steven nodded, “Okay, thank you Mr. Pines!”

And with that, Steven became an official staff member of the Mystery Shack

—————

Steven got back into his car, buzzing with excitement. This was going to be his first job that didn’t include gems, and he was ready for it. Mr. Pines said he would mainly just be working the gift shop, trying to get customers to ‘empty their pockets,’ as he put it. Which seemed simple enough to Steven. He turned on the ignition and realized he had no place to stay for the summer. Maybe he can find a room to rent somewhere in town tomorrow, but tonight he had to find a motel. He pulled up maps on his phone, and searched up motels in the area. As Steven drove off towards his destination, the Mystery Shack faded into the distance, and disappeared as he rounded a corner. He made it to the motel, got a room, and sat on the bed. Tomorrow would be his first real day of work; work at a museum for the weird. Steven laughed at that. He knew first hand what was ‘weird’ to humans, and the idea that he, probably the weirdest thing on earth, would be working there gave him a chuckle. He turned off the lights and crawled into bed. This would certainly be an interesting summer.

The next morning, Steven woke up early. His excitement for what the first day of work would bring woke him up around 7 am. He spent a couple of hours searching online for rooms for rent, and had no luck. It seemed like there was no place to rent in all of Gravity Falls. He frowned, unsure of how to proceed. He’ll just have to stay at the motel until he can figure out what to do. At 9 am, his alarm went off, signaling to him that his shift would start in 30 minutes. He took a quick shower, ate breakfast, and headed out to the Mystery Shack.

Steven was buzzing with excitement as he walked through the door into the Mystery Shack gift shop. It was empty aside from Stan and a red headed girl, who sat behind the register.

“Welcome back, kid,” Stan said, giving him a little wave, “This is Wendy, she’s gonna train you.”

Stan pointed at the girl behind the register, and she gave Steven a little wave. Steven waved back. She stood up and walked over to him and Stan.

“Sup, I’m Wendy,” she said, giving Steven a welcoming smile.

“I’m Steven, Steven Universe,” he held out a hand to Wendy. She shook it.

“That’s an epic last name, did you have it changed or was that your parents’ name?” Wendy put her hands back into her jean pockets.

Steven scratched the back of his neck.

“Well, it’s my dad’s last name, but he had it changed. He was a musician and he thought Greg Universe sounded better than Greg DeMayo.”

Wendy frowned, “Greg Universe? Why does that sound familiar?”

“Well, he was a musician, maybe you heard one of his songs?” Steven suggested.

“Hm, maybe? But I feel like it’s something else…” she shrugged, “I’ll think of it later. But now I gotta tell you how to do stuff.”

Wendy proceeded to spend the next 2 hours teaching Steven how to run the gift shop. He got a little stuck on the register, but by the end of the 2 hours, he put in charge. Well, technically Wendy was still in charge, but she was sitting on the ground reading a magazine while Steven manned the register.

“If you have any questions, I’m right here,” she said before settling down to read her magazine.

Business was pretty slow, but that was a given considering it was a Monday. A few people had come through, but they mainly bought mugs and bumper stickers. Steven managed to sell a shirt, but that was the biggest purchase all day and it was already 3 pm. Steven drummed his fingers against the countertop of the cash wrap, trying to tap a tune to keep himself entertained. He found himself drumming the tune to Working Dead by Sadie Killer and the Suspects. It’s been a while since he has talked to them. He should call them after work. He started humming the lyrics, forming the song with the tapping of his fingers.

“Dude, are you humming Working Dead?”

Steven looked towards the floor to see Wendy looking at him.

“Yeah, I am. It’s a fun song.”

A huge smile formed on her face, “I love Sadie Killer and the suspects! Their music is so good, and I love their whole vibe!”

“I know right! Fun fact, that song was created while we were watching horror movies in Sadie's basement!” Steven smiled at the fond memory.

“Wait,” Wendy stood up, “We, what do you mean by we? You were there?”

Steven nodded, “Yeah! We were watching The Lurch and Sour Cream liked the background music, so he started mixing, adding drum beats and stuff, then Jenny started playing her bass, and I joined on the electric guitar. Buck joined on his acoustic guitar and then we just needed lyrics. Sadie had just gotten off of work, so she started singing about it. And boom! Working Dead was born, and Sadie Miller became Sadie Killer. And that’s how the band formed.”

Wendy’s mouth was agape and she looked stunned.

“You… were there… oh my god,” her eyes widened as she realized something, “your dad is Greg Universe! Their manager! I knew that name sounded familiar.”

Steven gave a little laugh, “That he is. He has some experience in ‘show biz.’”

Wendy pulled out her phone, “I’m soooo telling my friends about this,” she sat back down on the floor and started texting.

The next few minutes passed in silence, with only the faint clicks of a keyboard to break it. But that silence is broken by a shriek. Steven stood up quickly, worried that someone might be in trouble. Suddenly, a girl runs into the gift shop, followed by a boy. They both looked pretty young; probably only around 12. The girl was laughing, holding something in her hand as the boy chased her.

“Mabel! Give it back!” The boy yelled

“Come and get it then!”

The boy tackled the girl and they wrestled on the ground as the boy tried to grab the item. The girl locked eyes with Steven and shouted, “Catch!” before throwing the object at him. Steven caught it effortlessly and saw that it was an almost solved Rubik’s cube. Steven looked up from it to see the boy on the other side of the counter.

“Can I Please have that back? I’m so close to solving it,” the boy said.

Steven smiled at him before handing it back.

The girl, who he presumed was Mabel, pouted, “You’re not supposed to give it back to him!”

Steven shrugged, “Sorry.”

The boy scowled at his sister before looking back at Steven, “Thanks! I’m Dipper by the way, and this is Mabel,” he pointed at the girl.

“Whomp whoooomp,” she said.

Steven smiled and gave them both a little wave, “Hi! I’m Steven, nice to meet you.”

Wendy popped up from behind the counter.

“Hey Mabel, hey Dipper,” she turned to face Steven, “these are Mr. Pines’s twin great niece and nephew. They’re staying here for the summer.”

Steven looked back to see Dipper working on the Rubik’s cube while Mabel stared at him.

“That sounds like fun. I’m going to be staying in Gravity Falls for the summer too! Although, I have yet to find a place to stay.”

He looked at Wendy to see he had started texting again, “Um, Wendy?”

She doesn’t look up from her phone, “Yeah?”

“Know any places in town that are renting? Right now I’m staying in the Moonlight All-Night Motel,” Steven asked.

Wendy shook her head, “Not that I’m aware of.”

Mabel’s face lit up, “You can rent a room here!”

Steven twiddles his thumbs, “Uh, I don’t want to impose…”

“Pfft,” Mabel waved her hand dismissively at him, “It’s no big deal! I’ll ask Grunkle Stan right now!”

Before Steven could protest, she ran behind a door that said ‘Employees Only.’

Dipper sighed, “I’ll go talk to her.”

And with that, the twins had both left the gift shop. Steven mulled over the idea of staying at the Mystery Shack over the summer. He would certainly be closer to work, and it was better than the motel for sure.

‘If Mr. Pines says yes to Mabel, then maybe, but for now, I should get back to work,’ Steven thought just as a group of tourists came into the gift shop.

———

As Steven cleaned up the shop, preparing to close, Mr. Pines walked in.

Stan gives Steven a pat on the back, “Wendy tells me you did a good job! Congrats on your first day of work. Now, just because you did good today, doesn’t mean you get to slack off. I already got one lazy teenager, I don’t need another one. Wait, how old did you say you were again?”

“Eighteen,”

“Okay, so still a teenager, I was right,” Stan muttered.

He frowned, appearing to be deep in thought.

Steven waited for him to say something. When he didn’t, Steven went back to sweeping.

“Mabel tells me you don’t have a place to stay,”

Steven turned around to see Stan looking at him,

He laughed nervously, “Yeah, I rolled into town only yesterday. And I tried looking online this morning to see if there were any places nearby that were renting, but I couldn’t find anything.”

Stan smiled, “Well, there's a room open in this very house! Rent is only... $300 a month.”

Steven mulled it over. He’d only be staying here for around three months, and so $300 times 3 would be.. $900. He’d have to ask his dad to give him some more cash, but he has enough for at least one month.

Steven nodded, “Sound good, I can do that.”

Stan smiled. This kid was loaded!

“Great! Come back here with your stuff while I have the room prepped. Soos!” Stan yelled.

The ‘Employees Only’ door opened and in walked in who Steven suspected was the handyman, judging by the tool belt he wore.

“Sup Mr. Pines? Whatcha need?”

Stan gestured towards Steven.

“Get the spare room prepped for someone to live in, I’m letting this kid rent it.”

“Will do Mr. Pines!” With that, Soos turned and walked back through the door he came from.

Stan turned back towards Steven.

“The room will probably be ready in 30 minutes, be back by then. You can leave now.”

Steven nodded, “Will do!”

Steven put the broom away before waving a goodbye to Stan and fussing out the door. He hurried back to his motel room, and packed him. This summer was already off to a great start, and he was ready for everything else it would bring.

[flooffybits]

No, No

Idol: Kang Seulgi (Red Velvet)

Request: Yes

Anon: hi!! may i request a seulgixfemreader wherein she’s soft with everybody else but when it comes to her bestfriend showing more attention to someone else or maybe gets flirted on by someone else, she gets jealous and protective until s/o confronts her? or just along those line, please hihi. bestfriends to lovers!! i hope u know that a lot of people appreciate your writing!! thank u always

Seulgi was known for being the adorable and charismatic dancer of Red Velvet. She was funny when she didn’t mean to and very clumsy. These were things that weren’t new to you because even when you were younger, she always seemed to trip over her own feet or knock over the books or even papers that were neatly placed by her.

You were always there to make sure she was fine and to help her clean up the mess she would create. When she would get scolded for her clumsiness, you always made some excuse and made sure that she wouldn’t be the only one punished and she always admired you for that.

Being childhood friends, it wasn’t a surprise when she introduced you to her members, excitedly telling them that you were her best friend since you were kids and gushing about all the things your did together. Her members could practically see the heart in her eyes whenever she spoke about you or when you were around and it was just so funny how oblivious you were to her feelings because of her naturally affectionate personality.

You often found her clinging to her friends or even playing around with them, so for her to do the same with you was no different, more so since it’s been the norm for you both.

She refuses to tell you about her crush, no matter how many times her friends tell her to go for it.

“Come on, it’s not that hard to admit.” Sooyoung told her once and Seulgi looked absolutely scandalized at the idea of confessing. “No!” She yelled in the little high pitched tone she would use when something wrong happened. “Why? I’m pretty sure she likes you, too.” Yerim stated with a confused look and the bear felt her cheeks flush before shaking her head. “Y/n is my best friend, she won’t see me as anything but that.” She explained confidently despite the sting her own words gave her.

“You won’t know unless you try though.” Seungwan told her fellow ‘94 liner. “Even if she doesn’t, there’s no harm in trying. You and Y/n have been best friends ever since you were kids. I don’t think she would stop being your friend just because you like her.” Joohyun, ever the wise one, explained when she looked at her friend.

The girls adored you because you were just as kindhearted as Seulgi. The only difference was that you were less clumsy and calmer compared to your best friend. But it didn’t make you less charming.

“Irene is right. You’ve spent basically the rest of your lives together. Just because you’re in love with her won’t ruin that.” Seungwan grinned encouragingly, making Seulgi’s blush worsen before she hide her face to her hands.

They were trying to convince her into confessing again, and she does appreciate the encouragement, but she just couldn’t risk losing you like that. Tonight, you would be staying at their dorm to watch a movie with them and also because Seungwan was very excited to teach you some of the things she’s learned to make in the kitchen.

“Unnie, unnie! The pizza is here!” Seulgi called out when she got back, carrying the boxes and then setting them down on the table where the rest of the food was prepared. “Alright, just make sure to leave space for the popcorn.” Joohyun replied when she began to fix the cups on the counter.

After placing the pizza on the table and grabbing the plates for whoever may need them, Seulgi hopped on the couch where Sooyoung and Yerim were already waiting, throwing her feet on the tallest’s lap and then clinging to her arm. “What are you doing?” She asked as she got comfortable on the couch.

“I’m asking Y/n unnie to buy ice cream.” She answered simply, making the dancer blink. “She texted you?” She asked curiously and Sooyoung glanced at her before a smirk spread across her face when an idea came to mind. “Yeah! Ever since Y/n unnie’s last visit, we’ve been texting a lot.” She explained while she felt the bear tensing up beside her.

Yerim caught the mischievous look on her fellow prankster’s face, she couldn’t help but laugh before she draped her arm over Seulgi’s shoulders. “Joy is always talking to Y/n unnie. You should tell her to stop because it’s annoying when she starts giggling like a maniac on her own when it’s late.” Seulgi’s attention snapped toward her and she looked alarmed, making the two mentally pat themselves on the back.

By the time you arrive, Sooyoung answers the door because Seulgi is too busy watching something on her phone while she was snuggled up to Joohyun. “Y/n! What took you so long?” Seungwan greeted you with a friendly hug and then helped you out of your coat.

You lifted the plastic bag you were holding and point towards the two little devils. “They asked me to buy some ice cream on the way. I had to go back because I passed by the convenience store already.” You explain, waving towards Joohyun and your best friend.

Seeing her cuddled up to the leader made you laugh and shake your head while you followed the Canadian into the kitchen to place the frozen treat inside the freezer. “You didn’t have to do that. We have enough food here.” Your friend tells you, but you’re already shrugging while showing her a lopsided grin. “It’s fine. I haven’t been around as much, so I don’t mind.”

Going back into the living room, you caught sight of your best friend playfully wrestling with Yerim while her phone was resting on the floor beside them. They were laughing while Sooyoung was happily recording them, cackling as she even poked the pair with a pillow that was close to her. Joohyun was just shaking her head as she watched the mess unfold before her, having already gotten used to her members’ antics.

Taking a seat, you waited for the three to finish by turning to the leader, who smiled at you. “How have things been with you? We haven’t seen you in a while.” She asked when you accepted the blanket she offered. “Things are going alright. I’ve been planning on getting a bigger apartment for myself since my pets aren’t too fond of the little space we have. Plus, there are somw things that I need to get rid of because it’s just eating up space.” You tell her. “Do you need any help?” Seungwan decided to join in on the conversation, sliding next to the leader while she grabbed some popcorn.

“That would be nice. If there are places you could recommend, that’ll be a big help.” You huff and run your fingers through your hair. “If you want, I can accompany you with looking. There hasn’t been much going on for us, so it’d be fun to go house hunting with you.” Seungwan grinned widely while Joohyun agreed. “I can come, too. Just be sure to text us whenever.”

Unaware to the three of you, the other three were already calmed down from their little match and Seulgi happened to hear parts of your conversation, making her pout while watching as you continued to converse with her members.

“Where are you going?” She couldn’t help but blurt out the question and Sooyoung watched amusedly with Yerim grinning beside her.

You turn to her and smile lightly, making her heart race as she stared at your face. “Wendy and Irene were just offering to accompany with looking for a new apartment.” You tell her and Sooyoung perks up. “Oh? You’re moving?” She asks and you nod your head. “I wanna come, too. I’m sure you’re going to need someone to keep you occupied.” She smirked, making Seulgi shove her back against the couch and then sat down next to you.

Her arms wrap around you while she glares ar the giggling girl. “I can keep Y/n company.” She states firmly that Yerim ends up bursting into another fit of giggles while Joohyun sighed.

“Let’s watch the movie, alright?”

..

Halfway through the movie, the snacks were almost gone and the pizza only had a few slices left in the box since you were all eating before the movie was picked. Joyri were protesting on the Joohyun’s movie choice so it took you all another ten minutes to figure out which movie to watch.

Seulgi had gotten comfortable next to you, her legs entwined with your while her arms rested around your waist. Her head was nestled in the crook of your neck as you had your arms around her, keeping the blanket secure around the two of you while the movie progressed.

The members would steal glances at the two of you and smiled. When Seulgi met Joohyun’s eyes some time during the movie, the older girl was raising a brow at her and she quickly had to avert her gaze, pouting, because she knew what they were hoping for.

She just doesn’t think she’s quite ready for that.

“What’s got you so pouty?” She heard your quiet voice ask and she lifted her head to look up at you. “Nothing.” She muttered, the pout still refusing to leave, making you giggle quietly, not wanting to disrupt the others as you shifted so that you were facing each other. “Really?” She nodded her head, thanking the darkened room, because she was sure you would be able to see her red face with how close you were to her face.

Shyly, she buried her face to your chest, not giving you a chance to ask further as she forced her eyes on the screen. You wanted to say something, but thought otherwise and simply gave her a kiss at the top of her head before continuing the movie.

..

“Y/n is coming to watch! Y/n’s going to watch!” Seulgi cheered when she burst into the dressing room, making some of the staff flinch by her sudden arrival and Joohyun laughed while she was getting her makeup done. “Are you sure you aren’t dating?” She asked playfully. “You’re acting like she’s your girlfriend.” Yerim quipped with a devilish smirk. “Are you?”

Quickly noting the teasing tone, the poor bear huffed and went beside Seungwan, hugging her with a pout on her face. “No. But do I have to be dating her to be excited?” She whined, making her best friend giggle as she patted her head. “It’s fine. You’re best friends, so I think it’s valid enough reason.” She tells her while Sooyoung booed. “You’re no fun!”

While they were preparing to get ready, you soon arrived at the venue and a staff let you in once you told them your name. Red Velvet’s manager quickly noticed you and smiled before leading you to the girls, though along the way, you bumped into Sunmi when she exited her own dressing room.

“Oh! Hello, Y/n. You’re here to watch the show?” She asked happily and you grinned back while nodding your head as she gave you a hug. “Seulgi invited me, and I didn’t want to miss out.” You tell her, making the older woman smile and nod her head. “You two are so cute. I wish I had someone like that.”

You only really knew Sunmi because of the many times Seulgi invited you to join her in numerous practices and award shows. She introduced you when she had the special stage with her and Sunmi was more than happy to finally out a face to the name that Seulgi would not stop singing praises.

You were so caught up in conversation that you didn’t realize that you were already in front of the girls’ dressing room. Sunmi knocked on the door after a while and Sooyoung opened it, greeting the two of you with a bright smile. “Oh, unnie! What are you doing here?” She asked the soloist and Sunmi giggled before she’s patting your arm. “Well, I found this one right outside my room when I was going to get some water.”

“Y/n unnie, you should have told me that you got here. I would have come to get you.” Sooyoung scolded you and you grinned sheepishly. “Sorry. I thought you were busy getting ready.” You answer and Sunmi smiles before excusing herself. “I would love to stay and chat some more, but I have to get going.” Giving one last hug to you, she waves before heading off and Sooyoung pulls you into the room.

At the sound of your voice, Seulgi’s head quickly snaps up from Seungwan’s shoulder and her lips purse together when she sees her younger member clinging to you. She knows that Sooyoung does it to annoy her, but she couldn’t help but frown before springing to her feet, missing the way Seungwan was laughing as she marched over and lightly shoved the taller girl off of you just so she could wrap her own arms around you in a protective manner.

“Yah, why are you with Joy?” She complained childishly and you looked at her in confusion. “She pulled me into the room, Seulgi. And you looked busy.” You tell her, making her whine as she pulled you closer. “But I invited you and I’m your best friend, not Joy.”

Hearing her made the three younger girls burst into laughter while Joohyun shook her head in amusement at how possessive her friend was being. Plus the absolute confusion on your face made it all the more comedic.

Furrowing your brows, you glanced back to the rest of your friends before staring at the whining baby that was clinging to you like a koala. “Is there something you wanna tell me?” Sensing that this was going to be a serious talk, Joohyun signaled the other three to exit the room as Seulgi flinched and then hesitantly pulled her arms away from you.

You were both grateful for her members in giving the two of you some privacy to talk.

You were looking at Seulgi with an expectant gaze and she shuffled in front of you. “So… mind telling me why you’ve been so pushy with the girls?” You ask her in a calm tone and the dancer bit her lip before she started playing with the hem of her shirt, the pout back on her face before she muttered something you didn’t quite hear.

“Seul, you need to be a bit louder.” You tell her and she shuts her eyes tight before steeling her nerves and then exhaling as she met your eyes once more. “I don’t like it when Joy flirts with you or when the other members get too close because I don’t want you to fall for any of them.” She finally said, watching as your face suddenly shifted, but she continued before you could think of anything else.

“I’m in love with you. I have been for a while now, but I just never had the courage to say it because I was scared of ruining our friendship.” She said in a hushed tone and your eyes softened as you saw just how small, how vulnerable your best friend looked while she bared her heart out to you.

Carefully, you took her chin before lightly lifting it up when she ducked her head. With a small smile, you pulled her closer to press a light kiss against her lips and she had to do a double take to realize that this wasn’t just another dream.

“I was wondering if you were ever going to say something.” You giggled while cupping her cheek. “Honestly, I was so confused if you liked me back or not.” You admit and a big smile comes to her face, her eyes disappearing into crescents while she tackles you into a tight hug. “You’re not joking? This is really happening?” She asked against your shoulder and you smile while hugging her tighter.

“I love you, too.” You whispered and that was all the confirmation that she really needed to believe that she didn’t have to worry about you falling for anyone else.

[multiverseofimagines]

Could you maybe do a request with Phillip Altman??? Maybe the reader is one of his best friends and the whole family isn’t surprised that they get together and they’re just waiting for it?? Thank you!!!!

Sorry that this is so shit, I wrote it so fast just because it sat in my inbox forever. It lacks detail but I loved the premise. 

“Phil if we don’t leave now we will be late!” You yelled from the front door of Phillip and yours apartment. He had been taking his sweet ass time getting ready, as per usual. 

He steps out of the bathroom, the smell of his cologne intoxicating your lungs, causing a smile to spread upon your lips. It’s the annual family barbeque, all the Altmans and their respectable partners in one roof for the whole weekend, a tradition that had gone on for years. Only this time would be quite different. 

You and Phillip had been Best Friends since you could remember. Since presumably middle school. You grew up only a few houses down, and you had been inseparable ever since. You had been there for every family gathering, every barbeque and birthday, every small event within his life, even if he had brought another girl with him that he had been sleeping with, he made sure to still invite you. 

As time went on though, things had begun to change, especially after the death of his father. He had moved closer to home to keep up with his family's company, and to spend more time with them, as they all had grown closer since the death. He became more mature with this change, and though he was the same in many ways, he took from his brother Judd, yearning for a genuine connection with someone.

You remember it so fondly, the night things had shifted. 

You sat within a restaurant, waiting for the guy you had been seeing to show, but it had been two hours past, and he had failed to pick his phone up. Tears welled up within your eyes, as you stared impatiently at the entrance, a sinking feeling inside of you. You thought you were staring to fall in love with the guy, you could see somewhat of a future with him, which made the pain of letting go even worse. 

Eventually, a waitress came to your table, a sympathetic look upon her face as she explained you would need to leave soon due to closing time. You couldn’t possibly drive, too emotional to even get up and follow the orders of the waitress. There had been only one person who could come and help you now, and that was Phillip. You dialed his number, attempting to clear your throat as the ringing tone echoed upon your ear, trying not to sound as if you had been crying. Phillip picked up, his voice sounded as if he’d been awakened by the call, “y/n?’ he asked. 

“Oh god I’m so sorry, did I wake you?” He could hear you were upset, your voice filled with emotion still. 

“Are you alright? What’s wrong?” He was now fully awake, the sound of you being upset sending him into a worried state, “Yeah- I just-” You took a sigh, trying not to start crying again, but to no avail the tears still fell. 

“Jonathan stood me up. I’m at Grummans, you know, the Jewish place on 4th street? I’m too emotional to drive and-” You were cut off by the sound of Phillips' voice, “I’ll be there in 15.” 

He was there so fast; you were surprised he hadn’t gotten a speeding ticket that time around. 

The two of you drove to your apartment in silence, not being able to find the right words, too emotionally exhausted to explain or vent. He pulled into the lot, parking within your usual spot. You basked in the awkward silence for a moment still tearful and heartbroken. You turned to Phillip, who’s eyes never left you, always so concerned for you, always there to make things better.

“ Thank you Phillip.” Your lips quivering into a forced smile, though the utmost greatful for him. You leaned over to the driver's side, kissing his cheek softly, lovingly. You never realized until now how easy it was with him, how you melted like honey in his presence. It was something you had felt before throughout the years, and though his family had teased you about it for years, insisting the two of you would be married later on within life, you never truly realized why you couldn’t love anybody fully. Even Jonathan, the man you had been crying over, he had been the only one you could maybe see moving in, but you didn’t want it deep down. Deep down you had found that love within another, Phillip. 

You pulled away from his cheek slowly, taking in his hazel eyes, gleaming upon the moonlight that shone slightly into the front window of the car. He was so effortlessly beautiful, how could you only just realize? But now wasn’t the time, you knew it was too good to be true, he couldn’t feel the same.  You turned back to the door, going to open the handle, when his hand stopped you, softly resting upon your shoulder, causing your head to turn. 

“Move in with me.” 

He had felt it too within the car, the years of repressed feelings rushing to his thought process. The countless nights he had spent in other women's beds, wishing if only it were yours instead. It’s why none of his flings had lasted, he had looked for you within the eyes of others, when he could have just turned around to see yours staring back at him.

The two of you had moved in together, but it had all remained a secret to his family. You two acted as if everything was still the same way it used to be, not wanting to be pressured by anyone to explain yourselves. But this barbeque was important, for Phillip had plans to propose. He didn’t know when would be the perfect time; he was much more of a spontaneous soul, and he knew you would hate some huge declaration.

He wouldn’t do it in front of his family though, that would be too much. He would do it whilst you two were alone, perhaps in the evening within the back garden, as everyone was sleeping. That’s what he had dreamt about, all those silly nights, pining over his soon to be fiance, a perfect and subtle way of asking for eternity.

The two of you rolled your suitcases up the front walkway, Wendy and Tracy meeting you halfway to help with the bags. “Oh y/n! You’re absolutely glowing!” Tracy engulfed you in a tight hug. Beside you, Wendy did the same to her brother, saying how good it was to see him. 

When walking into the house, the smell of food wafted upon your noses. “Mom! Their here!” Wendy called out, Hillary soon coming from the kitchen, dawning an apron. “ Oh! Phillip! Y/n!” Her arms lifted, engulfing each of you in a hug. “I’m just making dinner now,” She smiled, her eyes then settling upon the suitcases you had brought with you in order to stay for the weekend. 

“This time around, Judd is sleeping at Penny’s, so y/n- how about you take Phillip's room? I’m sure my son would be a dear and sleep in the basement.” Your eyes widened, and “um” escaped your lips, as you almost instinctively went to correct her, but Phillip had caught on, interrupting you, “ Of course Ma.” He smiled at her, as she furrowed her eyebrows in your direction, utterly confused. “ That was close.” You whispered to him once she left. 

It was a perfect night as usual within the house, laughing and bickering, talking about what everyone had been up to, if anyone had any exciting news. The food was amazing, though Phillip always complained upon the Kugel. When you two ended up alone he couldn’t stop talking about how disgusting it was. And though he had wanted to do it that night, he walked out the backyard with you to find Paul and Tracy sharing a kiss with one another. The two of you sneaking around the side of the house trying not to get caught, despite your fit of giggling. You both collapsed onto the ground, your back against the side fence.

“ I wish I could at least sleep in the same bed with you this weekend.” You laughed, your pinky holding onto his in a discreet fashion, “ When are we going to tell them?” You asked, staring upon the stars.

“ Soon enough, I promise.” He snuck a quick kiss to your cheek, before getting up to go to bed. You soon followed, going in the other direction.

Phillip had sat upon the fold out bed, something was keeping him awake, perhaps the lack of you beside him, or maybe the thought of how he was going to purpose. He wished his father had been alive to guide him, tell him what to do. He couldn’t tell anyone either, the secret had gone on for too long for him to tell anyone now, he would just have to do it on his own.

As Phillip continued to ponder, he could hear footsteps coming down, “y/n?” He question. There was no response for a silent moment before his sister's voice softly called out her name, “No, It’s Wendy. Can I come down?” He sighed softly to himself, “Yeah sure” He watched his sister with a curious smile. “You left your leather jacket upstairs, figured I’d bring it down for ya, before a child gets to it.” She smiled, her hand extending out to toss it at him, as she did so her smiled faded as something hard had flown out of the jacket, hitting the floor. Phillip immediately pounced to the floor to find what he had realized was the ring.

“Fucking shit.” Phillip swore under his breath, the tiny box, in between the two of them. 

“What the hell is that?” Wendy questioned, walking over to Phillip. 

“Nothing, it’s really nothing Wendy.” She laughed, holding her hand out, expecting him to pass it over, “You can lie to yourself but you can’t lie to me, kid. Give it up.” He passed it over, a sigh coming from his lips as she opened the box, revealing the most gorgeous diamond ring she had ever seen. Her eyes widened, staring at it for a moment before looking up at her younger brother.

“Um- who’s this for?” She asked. He couldn’t tell her, not now, it would ruin the entire plan, but Phillip was a terrible liar. “No one-” he responded, grabbing the box from her hand. 

“Are you seeing someone Phil?” He couldn’t help but smile, causing Wendy to furrow her eyebrows, “Oh my god Phillip- don’t tell me you bought this for some-” Phillip looked up at her, “Somewhat Wendy? Whore?” Wendy bit her lip in embarrassment, “ Why wouldn’t you tell us.” She now sat down beside him on bed.

“ I didn’t want to explain myself. You all would have hounded us.” He slightly chuckled to himself, imagining the family’s reactions. Wendy smiled, grabbing his hands, “We’re your family Phillip. You can’t hide this stuff, because whether you like it, whoever you choose will be a part of this family too.” He smiled back at her, their eyes both forming tears. 

She let go of his hands, grabbing the box from his free hand, staring at it, “Why didn’t you bring her this weekend?” She questioned, still looking at the box. Phillip failed to answer, a blush swept upon his cheeks as he tried to hide a mischevious smile. It took Wendy a moment, before looking back at him, a look of confusion plastered upon her face. 

“ Wait- Why did you bring the ring with you?” He still didn’t answer, attempting to look away from her gaze, “Phillip why are you smiling like that!”

It took her a moment, Phil looking at her face changing out of the corner of his eye, with every passing second he could see the realization settling in.

“ OH MY GOD” She was off the bed and up the stairs in a matter of moments, “MOM!!” Phillip following close behind her, “ Wendy! Please don’t!” It was too late, her yelling had wakened everybody in the house up by now, all coming down in their respectable nightgowns and robes. 

“What is going on?!” Hilary questioned, coming down the stairs to meet Wendy and Phillip, it  was as if it had been scene out of their childhood, whenever Wendy had caught him sneaking out. 

Tracy and Paul followed behind, with you behind them, all of you now standing at the bottom of the stairs, staring at the two. 

“Why don’t you tell her Phillip?” Wendy turned to him, passing the box back to him. 

“What are you talking about?” Hilary questioned again, staring at the black box with confusion. Your eyes widened, also plagued with confusion. 

“ I can’t-” He choked out before looking at you, “y/n? can you come over here?” You awkwardly stepped past them, walking over to Phillip. He looked you in the eyes,  nervousness fell upon him. 

“I didn’t want to do it like this- believe me. But it seems as though I have no other choice now.” He laughed, lowering himself onto one knee in front of you.

“ It seems as though we’ve already spent half of our lives together. You are my best friend, my rock, the only person I’ve ever truly felt this way for. Will you do me the honour of spending the rest of your life with me?” You cried, tears rolling upon your cheeks as you nodded frantically, staring at the now open box, the diamond shimmering among the chandelier above you. 

“You’re crying?” Tracy whispered to Paul,

“ Yeah-” He wiped his cheek with his hand, “Only cause I owe Judd a 50$”

[searchingwardrobes]

The Early Leaf’s a Flower: 6/11

In different realms, Emma and Killian still think of the other as they search for something to fill in the hole in their hearts.

Yes, Emma and Killian are still separated in this chapter. Before you yell at me, though, this chapter also shows how often they still think of one another. Bear with me, I swear, all of this will make sense later, and I promise a great (steamy) payoff ;)

This chapter also introduces more of our favorite Once characters both in Neverland and the Land Without Magic. Emma does end up in Storybrooke, but I will go ahead and make something abundantly clear: it is an ordinary (albeit quirky) small town in this story. Some of the scenes in the Neverland section may sound familiar to some of you. I have had head canons for ages about Killian’s backstory with the fairies and with Wendy which I explored previously in fics that I have since deleted. They have been resurrected here, which I love because they are now fully fleshed out and in my own au! Anyways, I hope you enjoy my au versions of these characters.

Once again, massive thanks to the mods in the @captainswanbigbang​ fo organizing the CSRT especially @optomisticgirl​ who helped me handle self-doubt and writer’s block. B also was invaluable as a beta and in Discord chats as I tried to figure out how magic would work in this au. My other beta, @shippingtheswann​ whipped this chapter into shape, pointing out sooo many plot holes. Girl, where would I be without you?

Summary: She saw eyes that were the blue of the forget me not peering at her through the cracked door of the wardrobe. He saw hair as gold as the buttercups. Why does the wardrobe keep bringing them back to one another, if fate keeps tearing them apart? Or maybe fate has her reasons …

Rating: M for eventual sexy times, violence, canonical character death, and attempted rape

Trigger warnings: vague references to child abuse (physical and sexual), violence, and positive Millian

Words: Almost 6k in this chapter

** Complete and updated every Monday** Also on Ao3

Emma: Age 19

The taxi drives off behind her, and Emma startles, grasping the straps of her meager duffel bag tighter as she looks up at the quaint inn before her. The small wooden sign out front swings in the breeze: Granny’s Inn. Behind it, facing the opposite street, is Granny’s diner. The two are attached by a stairwell. Convenient, since Emma will be working there.

She hoists her bag with a deep sigh as she walks up the stone steps leading to the inn. In her jacket pocket is the recommendation letter from her parole officer. She doesn’t think she’ll need it, but she has it at hand just in case.

A bell rings over the door when she enters, and an elderly woman with white hair and bifocals perched on her nose bustles out. With a pang, Emma thinks of Martha so long ago, though this woman has a stern look on her face, almost a scowl, that Martha never would have borne upon her countenance.

“Need a room?” the woman asks, all business.

“Um,” Emma hesitates, fishing the letter out of her pocket. It’s crumpled from the cab ride, and she feels a bit foolish as she holds it out like it’s proof or something. “I’m Emma Swan.”

“Oh!” the woman cries out, flinging both hands in the air as she bustles around the check-in desk. “My apologies. I was expecting you this evening.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think -”

“No trouble at all.” She glances at the paper in Emma’s hand. “I don’t need that, I’d know you from Marco’s description.”

The woman heads for the stairs, gesturing for Emma to follow. The inn is warm and homey, with vintage wallpaper and wall sconces illuminating the stairs. She follows the woman to the second floor and down the hall to room 210.

“This has a view of Main Street,” she tells Emma as she pulls an old fashioned key from her apron pocket and inserts it in the lock. “It’s a suite with a little sitting area and kitchenette, though you’re welcome to take your meals in the diner. On the house, of course.”

Emma’s eyes widen. “Oh, but I couldn’t. It’s your business.”

Granny waves her off. “I know a waitress’s salary isn’t much. How are you ever to get back on your feet if you have to spend every dime just to live? Besides, it was all in the agreement I sent you.”

Emma just nods, still nervously clutching her duffel. She doesn’t want to tell her that she didn’t actually read it. All the fine print and the legal jargon had made her head spin. Marco had said it was the best deal for a girl like her, and how many options did she have, anyway?

“Storybrooke is a nice little town,” Granny says as she pulls the curtains open to let in more light. “The last girl I helped, Ashley, ended up staying. She’s even engaged to a nice young man who works at the cannery.”

Granny comes closer, studying Emma’s face carefully. “Ashley was pregnant when she came. Marco told me you just gave up a baby. I want you to know, I’ve been there. Back in my day, they just shipped me off to a convent and ripped my little boy from my arms. I didn’t even have a say.”

Emma glances away nervously.

“Oh, I know you don’t want to talk about it. I’ve said my piece, and I won’t bring it up again. Just know this is a safe place, and I’ve got your back. And I don’t answer to anything but Granny, okay?”

Before Emma can say anything else, the woman is gone. Emma sinks down on the antique sofa situated in front of the fireplace. She feels out of place, out of sorts. Granny seems nice, and it’s clear she means well, but Emma isn’t staying here. Once she’s saved up enough money, she’s getting as far away from Maine as she possibly can.

Tallahassee still sounds nice.

**************************************

Emma stands in front of the large, mahogany piece of furniture, her dry toothbrush dangling from her lips. It doesn’t look like the one from when she was ten and sixteen: the carvings are far more ornate, and the trim is all wrong, yet her fingers itch to open it and her heart rate picks up just a bit. She’s just about to reach for the little pewter knob when a knock sounds on the door. Emma opens it to find Granny standing there with towels in her arms.

“Thought you might need these tonight,” she says, bustling in without an invitation. “You’re not a guest but an employee, so washing these is your responsibility. The laundry is in the basement. Do you know how to do laundry?”

Emma nods.

“Good. Ashley turned her sheets pink.” Granny says this matter of factly, and Emma stifles a laugh. “Well, I’ll leave you be.”

“Um,” Emma gathers the courage to ask, “this wardrobe . . . “

“Wardrobe?” Granny asks, brow creased in confusion. She sees what Emma is gesturing at, and nods. “Oh, that. It’s not a wardrobe, it’s an entertainment center. Just fits the decor better. There’s a tv behind those doors. A small one, and it’s just the basic cable with fifteen channels or so. Better than nothing, though, right?”

“Right.”

“Well, goodnight.”

Emma’s shoulders fall after Granny leaves. An entertainment center. Nevertheless, she holds her breath when she flings it open.

Nothing but a twenty inch television set, just like Granny had said. It seems even smaller in the large cabinet, and it sits atop a cable box. Emma sighs and closes the doors. What had she expected, anyway?

***************************************

Emma’s feet are sore as she sags against the prep sink and removes her apron. Ruby sees her and laughs in camaraderie.

“The first day is always the toughest,” she encourages.

“I hope so,” Emma groans. She pulls a wad of bills out of her apron pocket and thumbs through it. “I got good tips, though.”

Ruby smiles. “The breakfast crowd is always generous. Lunch? Not so much. Too much take out.”

Emma shoves the cash into the pocket of her jeans. There’s no uniform here, just the matching retro aprons with the pink frilly trim. Ruby is dressed vastly different from Emma in a tiny skirt and a midriff top. Emma wonders if this got the brunette more tips. Not that Emma is going that route, no matter how much she wants to get to Tallahassee.

“Speaking of lunch,” Emma says, “I’m starving.”

“Take a seat out there, and I’ll bring you something.”

“Grilled cheese and onion rings with a Coke?”

Ruby winks. “Coming right up!”

Emma heads for one of the smaller, two seater booths in the back near the jukebox, not wanting to take up room needed for real customers. She still feels a bit guilty taking food from Granny’s business. Of course, Ruby is Granny’s actual granddaughter, and she didn’t bat an eye at Emma’s “order.” She’ll just have to try and get used to generosity, she supposes.

Emma’s surprised when Ruby comes out almost immediately, but it isn’t her lunch on the waitress’s tray. With a flourish, she sets a mug of hot cocoa down in front of Emma. It’s even topped with Emma’s favorite: whipped cream and cinnamon.

“From a secret admirer,” Ruby chuckles with a roll of her eyes.

Emma frowns down at the beverage, and then her eyes flash as the cop she’d served at the bar earlier walks over. She’d recommended the whipped cream and cinnamon, telling him it was her personal favorite. The pervert! He stops at her booth and opens his mouth, but before he can speak, she lifts the mug and flings the cocoa right at him. It wets the front of his dress blues and drips from the badge at his hip. He glances down in shock at the front of him then back up at her.

“You do know I’m nineteen, right?” she snaps. “I may not have the most spotless past, but I’m not an easy score.”

The cop calmly grabs some napkins and pats at the stain on his shirt. “I agree one hundred percent,” he says, focusing on his shirt and not her. “I’m a thirty-two year old man. However, that creep Walsh Oaken over there is thirty-six and likes to sniff around Granny’s girls. I wanted to warn you.”

Emma’s brow furrows in confusion as she studies the cop, then looks over his shoulder at a skinny man who’s also perched on a stool at the bar. He winks at her, and Emma’s face turns red.

“Uh, you mean that guy at the bar? The one who’s been sitting two stools down from you since you came in?” Emma attempts a wry grin at the cop.

He chuckles, and Emma thinks that his eyes look kind, though also sad. The creep Walsh obviously overheard her conversation with the cop, and she suddenly wants to crawl under the table.

“Graham Humbert, sheriff of Storybrooke,” he tells her, extending his hand.

“Oh God,” Emma groans, “the sheriff?”

He laughs again. “It’s okay. I admire your spunk. Guys like Walsh obviously have no hope of taking advantage of you.”

“Ew,” Emma says, her nose wrinkling, “he’s gross and old.”

“I’ll overlook the old comment,” he tells her, “since he and I are too old for you.”

“Hello, Graham,” Ruby purrs as she sidles up with Emma’s plate of food. The sheriff’s eyes light up, and Emma is surprised when Ruby, over the top flirt, actually blushes.

“Hello, Ruby.” He replies, and Emma almost laughs at the way the man’s voice hikes up an octave. He clears his throat nervously, then says, “Well, duty calls, ladies. I’ll see you tonight, Ruby?”

“You know it,” the brunette tells him with a wink.

Ruby watches him go, and the sheriff even glances back in the doorway. Emma takes in the exchange with growing humor. When Ruby turns back around, Emma arches both brows at her.

“What?”

“You and the sheriff?”

“Shhh,” Ruby admonishes, waving at Emma, “not so loud, my Granny doesn’t know about us yet.”

“Why would she care? He seems like a nice guy. And you’re old enough for him.” Now that she knows he isn’t a pervert, Emma can acknowledge the man is attractive. She has eyes, after all.

Ruby shrugs. “Well, he lives here in the inn. Granny likes that he does, says he makes her feel safe, especially with the girls she takes in. If she found out I was sleeping with him . . . “

“Oh come on, Ruby, Granny seems more understanding than that.”

“Maybe,” Ruby gives Emma a sly grin, “but there’s also something thrilling about sneaking around.”

Emma rolls her eyes.

Ruby waggles her eyebrows. “Enjoy your lunch.”

*******************************************

The envelope is fat with bills and Emma smiles at the heft of it before she slips it beneath the panties in her underwear drawer. Not the most original of hiding places, but it works. Granny offered to take her to Storybrooke Savings & Loan to help her open an account, but Emma had declined. It’s too permanent, for one, like making a commitment to this quirky little town. But Emma also knows that plastic can be traced, and she has no desire to be found.

Or does she?

The pop and boom of fireworks shatters the silence of her room, and it's followed by a chorus of oohs from the families gathered below in the streets of Storybrooke. Emma merely crosses the room to draw her drapes closed before plopping down on her bed and turning on the tv. Fourth of July celebrations are playing on almost every station, but the last thing she wants to look at are families in the crowds with wide eyed children balanced on their hips. She could walk downstairs and out the door for that.

After she flips through the main four stations and PBS, she finally finds movies instead of fireworks. She’s not surprised by her options: Independence Day (naturally), Top Gun (of course), and a western she’s never heard of before. What’s more American than a western, right?

She settles for Top Gun, though she’s seen it so many times she can quote it by heart, wriggling beneath the covers and propping the pillows behind her head. Ruby had ragged her about living like an old woman, Granny had given her a reprimanding glare over her bifocals, and Graham had gently asked why she insisted on hiding. She supposes he’s right - she is hiding, but it’s for the best. This is merely a stop on her journey, and it’s best for everyone if she doesn’t get too attached.

She may live like an old lady, she won’t deny it, but Emma is still only nineteen years old. Going to sleep when even toddlers are gazing in wonder at fireworks is something Emma finds physically impossible, and by the time the smoke fades from the harbor, she’s antsy and slightly claustrophobic. She crosses to the window and sees the crowd slowly dispersing but not in any hurry to get home. She lets the curtain fall back into place and plops back down to watch Maverick and Goose for a bit longer. Once the credits roll, Main Street is finally empty, the few remaining revelers having headed down to the Rabbit Hole for drinks. Emma grabs a light sweater that’s draped over her desk chair and heads quietly downstairs.

This isn’t the first time she’s made her way through the quiet streets and headed to the docks. It’s one of the things she’ll miss when she leaves because Neal had been wrong. Emma looked it up - Tallahassee isn’t on the coast of Florida. The nearest beach will be over an hour’s drive away.

Emma sighs as she reaches the boardwalk, wrapping her sweater tighter around herself as a cool breeze sweeps across the water. She leans against the railing, looking out at the barges from which they’d shot off the fireworks. She can hear faint shouts from the crew as they clean up from the festivities. She glances over to her left and sees a sailing ship bobbing in the water where it’s tied to the dock. She thinks of a boy from years ago with sea-chapped lips, messy hair that smelled faintly of salt water, and bright blue eyes.

Three years ago, that’s when she saw that boy last. Has he changed as much as she has? Emma crosses her arms upon the wood railing and bends over to rest her chin atop them. As she often does when she comes here, she thinks of the first boy she really kissed and wonders if he’s still sailing the ocean. Maybe he’s a lieutenant now, like he had hoped. Maybe he has a nice, sweet girl who waits for him at the end of each voyage.

Emma isn’t sure why she entertains these fantasies of a boy she knew so briefly. Perhaps because it’s better than other places her thoughts could wander.

Only when her eyelids begin to droop and goosebumps rise on her arms does she leave the docks. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a penny. She holds the copper to her lips and whispers “Tallahassee.” Why she needs to get there so badly, she can’t even say. Nevertheless, she says it like a promise before tossing the penny into the waves.

Killian: Age 19

“Bloody fairies,” Killian mutters as he makes his way deeper into the thick jungle. Tiger Lily and Tink just had to bring up Milah and the need to avenge her death.

He stops at another thick tree truck; the only ones on the island that grow so large and tall. As the fairies had instructed, he slashes his hook across the smooth bark. He leans close on bated breath, and within minutes he has his answer: thick, black viscous liquid seeps from the tree. Hook retrieves a piece of parchment and a stub of charcoal from his duster pocket and makes a mark. So far, he’s counted two dozen dead pixie dust trees like this one and only half a dozen that are still producing.

Half an hour later, sweat is trickling down his back as he hacks his way through the dense bush. Suddenly, Killian spins, his hook at the ready as someone or something comes crashing through the jungle foliage to his right. He takes cover behind another thick pixie dust tree and waits. Pan’s crew are breaking in a new lost boy, most likely. Killian is shocked when it’s a girl, not a boy, who stumbles into the small clearing near his hiding place. Her blonde curls are a matted mess filled with bits of leaves and bracken, and her white gown is tattered and stained. As she scrambles to her feet, the moonlight hits her face, and Killian can make out the sheen of tears. Her blonde hair reminds him of Emma so long ago, and he can scarcely breathe for a moment. Then he blinks, his eyes clear, and he obviously sees that this girl’s hair is darker than Emma’s was.

Killian is so distracted by this strange turn of events, he doesn’t even hear the lost boys coming. They have the girl surrounded before Killian can get a bearing on the situation. The girl spins in a circle, frantically searching for an opening of escape, chest heaving in panic.

Félix stalks towards her, smacking his club repeatedly into his open palm. A phantom pain throbs where Killian’s hand used to be as the urge to pummel Félix with both fists surges through him.

“Wendy, Wendy, Wendy.”

“Please,” the girl begs, “just leave me alone.”

What happens next is a blur of white hot rage. The boys advance, Wendy is on the ground screaming, and Killian is suddenly in their midst, flinging lost boys right and left. Félix has Wendy on the ground by the throat, and Killian turns on him next.

“Run!” Killian yells, but Wendy simply stares at him with wide eyes, trembling as she curls herself into a ball. An image of a nine year old boy, cowering behind the barrels in a ship’s hold, swim up in Killian’s memory.

Félix stalks towards him, the rest of the lost boys regrouping at his back. “She’s a little young for you, don’t you think, Captain?”

That’s all it takes to send Killian over the edge. He swings with his hook, slicing down the side of Félix’s face. The young teen howls in pain, and stumbles backwards, blood gushing from his wound. The other lost boys falter as Félix stumbles to the ground, then turn and flee. Wendy has backed herself against a tree, still cowering in fear. Growling in frustration, Killian hauls her to her feet and commands her to run. When she makes no move to obey, he plunges into the jungle, hauling her along with him.

A few moments later, Wendy comes to herself and begins struggling in his grasp. “Let me go!”

He stops, turns, and snaps at her in frustration, “I’m trying to help you!” He gives her a small shake, but stops when he sees the terror in her eyes. He looks down at his hook, still dripping with Félix’s blood. He suddenly realizes what he must look like to her. Trembling slightly, he drops her arm and steps away from her. He points towards a faint trail to his left. “There’s a fairy nearby. Her tree house is that way. It’s hidden from the lost boys. You’ll be safe there.”

Wendy narrows her eyes. “You’re . . . saving me?”

The sound of lost boys echo through the jungle. “Weeeendyyyy! Come out, come out, wherever you are! We only want to play!”

Killian gestures with his hook, “Go!”

Once Wendy is heading for the tree house, Killian takes off in the opposite direction, crying, “Wendy! Run!”

He can hear the lost boys behind him, following him far away from the little lost girl.

The sounds of the lost boys are distant once he stumbles onto the beach where he’s left the dinghy. He hasn’t finished his task with the pixie dust trees, but that will have to wait. The lost boys were never supposed to know he was here.

“Bloody fairies,” he mutters again as he scrambles into the boat.

“Going somewhere, Captain?”

Hook’s blood boils as he turns to find Pan hovering nearby, his arms folded over his chest and his head tilted at a cocky angle. “Do you have a death wish, boy?”

“You can’t kill me,” Pan scoffs, “or you would have by now.”

“I can try!” Killian growls, leaping from the boat and onto the sand.

Predictably, Peter flits about around Hook’s head, but his taunts aren’t what the pirate expects and makes his blood run cold.

“You can’t save them both, Hook.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re old friend Tiger Lily or your new friend Wendy? Which should die today?”

Killian gives a feral yell as he grabs ahold of Pan’s ankle and flings him to the ground. He pins the demon there, his hook to the lad’s throat.

“What game are you playing now?”

Pan smirks, as if cold steel at his jugular is of no consequence. “Wendy was a gift for Felix, and you ruined it.”

“You hate girls.”

“But teenage boys have needs, unfortunately. It was long overdue.”

Killian presses his hook just enough to break some skin. “Wendy is safe, and what do you know of Tiger Lily?”

Peter laughs. “My crew has Tink’s treehouse surrounded. And as for Tiger Lily, well . . . let’s just say I hope she can hold her breath long enough for you to save her. Skull Rock fills up with water when the tide comes in, you know.”

Killian hauls the imp up and tosses him across the sand as he plunges back into the jungle.

“You don’t have time to save them both!” Pan calls after him. “The tide is coming in soon, Hook!”

Killian ignores him as he slashes his way through the thick brush towards Tink’s place. He’s racing so fast to get to the innocent little girl that he doesn’t see the flash of two blond heads coming from the opposite direction. He collides with Tinker Bell with such force, she tumbles to the forest floor, taking Wendy down with her.

“What the bloody hell, Hook, are you trying to kill us!”

“Tink, thank the gods!” Killian exclaims as he hurriedly pulls first Tink and then Wendy to their feet. “Pan said -”

“That the lost boys had found my hideout?” Tink finishes for him. “Yeah, I got that already.”

“Hurry!” Wendy screams when they hear shouts in the jungle behind them.

“Let’s go,” Tink orders, yanking Wendy by the arm down a ravine nearby. Killian brings up the rear, his sword at the ready in case he needs to slow down the enemy. Soon they’re racing along the bed of a trickling stream, and the sounds of the lost boys fade into the distance.

Tink stops in front of a large boulder covered in moss and pushes at a curtain of thick vines to reveal a shallow cave.

“This doesn’t look like much of a hideout,” Killian mutters.

“Do I look dense to you, Hook?” Tink snaps.

Killian arches a brow and tilts his head at the fairy. “Don’t answer that,” Tink mutters, and Wendy giggles. He winks at the child and is pleased when he elicits a blushing smile from her. Tink taps on the back wall of her cave with her wand, and a door appears.

“Bloody fairies,” Killian says for the third time that day, but this time with affection. That makes him think of - “Tiger Lily!” he cries. “Will you two be okay?”

Tink rolls her eyes. “Of course.”

He gives a tremulous smile to them both, then turns back, taking a different route back to the beach from the way they had come.

*********************************

Skull Rock is a hulking menace in the distance, staring at Captain Hook with vacant eyes as he rows across the choppy waters. Rowing isn’t easy with one hand, even with his hook, and he wishes he’d thought to bring one of his crew along today. Of course, he hadn’t expected to be performing a rescue mission.

Killian curses himself, because – once again – he has mucked everything up. Just like with Milah, he has put a friend in danger. He just hopes Tiger Lily forgives him for going to rescue Wendy first. If she lives, that is.

Curse that wretched demon of a boy! His stomach turns remembering the lad’s mocking laughter on the beach.

The tide is rising faster, filling up the cavernous, yawning mouth of Skull Rock. Killian rows harder and swears again as the waves crash against boulders as he draws closer to his destination. Killian’s row boat is almost knocked sideways as he makes his way through the mouth of Skull Rock. There’s Tiger Lily, lifting her chin to call for help. The water splashes into her mouth, and her thick braids float on the surface of the water. Killian abandons the boat; there’s no more time. He dives beneath the waves, kicking his way to where Tiger Lily is tied to a rock. He comes up for air in time to see Tiger Lily’s wide and panicked eyes just as the tide completely closes over her. Killian inhales deeply and dives back under, hacking at the thick rope with his hook. Finally, it breaks free.

Killian grabs Tiger Lily around the waist and kicks upward. When they surface, they both gasp for air. The waves are beating harder, sending the row boat farther away from them. If they don’t catch up to it soon, water will completely fill the cavern, and they’ll both drown. Tiger Lily doesn’t need any instruction; she kicks her legs and swims alongside him. When they reach the side of the boat, Killian pushes her inside, then shoves the row boat through the opening of Skull Rock that has become the narrowest of exits. Killian dives under to follow the boat.

He swims with long strokes as far as he can, hoping he has cleared the rocks. When he breaks the surface, gasping for air, he’s relieved to find himself in the open air. A hand reaches down, and Tiger Lily hauls him over and into the boat. He barely has time to catch a breath before her hand connects with his cheek. The sound of her slap echoes across the water.

“What the bloody hell was that for?” he shouts.

“Hook, you are a dirty pirate, and I never want to speak to you again.” She yells, crossing her arms over her chest.

“What did I do? Pan was the one who tied you up in there!”

Tiger Lily glares at him, her arms still crossed. “And the only reason he found me was because YOU told him where I was!”

“Why the bloody hell would I do that?”

Tiger Lily deflates slightly, her brow furrowed. “In exchange for some of your crew.”

Killian arches a brow. “And you believed him?”

“Well, I . . . “

“I would have been here sooner, but I had to rescue Wendy.”

Tiger Lily shakes her head, even more confused. “Wendy?”

“A girl Pan had his shadow bring to the island. To . . . entertain his teenage crew.” Killian can barely get the words out.

“Pan hates girls, and he’s never cared . . . unless . . . “

Killian’s eyes widen. “Unless Wendy is bait.” He thinks of Mason and Felix telling Pan that he didn’t have the mark. “He’s looking for someone specific. He’s looking for -”

“A little boy,” Tiger Lily finishes for him, “very young.”

“But why tie you up in Skull Rock?”

Tiger Lily’s eyes widen as she takes up the oars. “A distraction. Where is your crew?”

Killian shakes his head as he too takes up the oars. “The ship is docked in Pirate’s Cove while I’m gone.”

“Exactly. No pirates to rescue lost boys from the shadow. Does Wendy have any brothers?”

Killian scowls. “I’m guessing the answer to that is yes.”

*****************************************

“Don’t they ever sleep?” Tiger Lily mutters from their hiding place behind a large rock. In the clearing, the Lost Boys are hunched around the blazing campfire, dipping spears and arrowheads into the sticky black sap of dreamshade.

Killian arches a brow at Tiger Lily. “Not much. Not without a mother.”

Tiger Lily tilts her head in confusion. “What?”

He shakes his head and mutters, “Never mind.”

The fairy crouches lower and tightens her hold on her bow as she draws closer to Pan’s camp on soft feet. Killian follows her, his palm sweating as he grips the hilt of his sword.

“They’re preparing for battle,” Kilian hisses to his companion.

“But why?”

Killian doesn’t reply; he’s too distracted by the rustling in the branches above them. He scowls when Tink drops to the forest floor beside him.

“Bloody hell, can you warn me before you drop out of the sky like that?”

“Tink,” Tiger Lily admonishes, “there isn’t enough pixie dust left for you to flit around like that!”

“Shut up both of you, and listen to me! I had to fly here, it was an emergency. Wendy is gone!”

“What do you mean she’s gone? ” Killian snaps. “I left you not an hour ago!”

“She was dirty and covered in scrapes, so we went to the stream for water. She swore she heard her little brother crying. I turned around for a second, I swear -”

“Shit,” Killian mutters, “it’s not a battle they’re preparing -”

“-it’s a hunt,” Tiger Lily finishes for him.

The three of them split up, knowing that covering more ground is the only hope for Wendy and her brother. His heart pounds in his chest as he makes his way up Dead Man’s Peak, thoughts of his brother swimming up from the dark recesses of his mind. He can’t let Wendy lose hers. He pauses for a moment, closing his eyes and taking a long, slow breath. Barreling around won’t help the children; he needs to focus.

Holding his hook aloft and using his sword to push aside the foliage, he continues his search. He wishes he had a lantern, but the risk of drawing the Lost Boys’ attention was too great. Thankfully, the moon is full tonight, and its light bathes the ground more and more as he ascends the peak, the foliage becoming sparser. His eyes scan the meager sized clumps of bushes, hoping for a glimpse of Wendy’s white nightgown.

Yet it’s a pair of green eyes that halts his steps. For a moment, his heart slams against his ribcage. The shade is so similar to Emma’s from long ago. As his gaze lands on those green eyes, they widen and he hears a small gasp. The bush from whence the sound came rustles, and he recognizes Wendy’s voice as she whispers, “hush!”

Killian sheathes his sword and lowers himself to his knees, not wanting to startle the children. “Wendy,” he hisses.

“Hook?” she asks in a wobbly voice.

“Yes, it’s me,” he says gently, easing around the bush. It grows right up against a wall of rock, and beyond it he hears the gurgling of Rainbow Falls. He pushes aside the foliage shielding the children, and the moonlight falls across them both. Wendy has her arms around a little boy of about four. For a moment, he looks up at Killian with wide, light green eyes, but then he shudders and buries his face against his sister’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, Michael, the pirate is our friend.”

“Come, children, quickly. The Lost Boys are on the hunt for you.”

“They don’t want me,” Michael says hoarsely, peeking out at Hook again. “I’m too little, and I don’t have marks.”

Killian’s brow furrows. “Marks?”

“Here,” Michael says, holding out his arm.

Killian blinks, thinking back to Felix yanking at Mason’s arm a year ago. He doesn’t have the mark. Yet he has no time at present to contemplate it further as the shouts of the Lost Boys echo from the canyon below. Killian reaches for the children, urging them to hurry, but he stills when he sees a large palm leaf resting near Wendy’s knee. Water shimmers in the center of it, reflecting the moonlight.

“Where did you get this?” he asks Wendy.

“From the falls,” she tells him, “we were thirsty.”

“You drank from Rainbow Falls?” he asks, his heart plummeting to his stomach.

Wendy tilts her head. “Yes, of course. Why?”

Killian puts on a brave smile as he scoops up Michael. “No time for that now. Let’s get you back to the fairy’s cave.”

“I want to go home,” Michael whimpers as he clutches the edges of Killian’s coat.

“Hook will help us,” Wendy says with so much faith, that it makes Killian want to weep.

He says nothing in reply. He doesn’t have the heart to tell them that they doomed themselves the minute they drank from Rainbow Falls. They will never be able to leave the island.

Tagging:   @snowbellewells  @kmomof4 @whimsicallyenchantedrose @teamhook @bethacaciakay @let-it-raines @welllpthisishappening @wellhellotragic @winterbaby89 @xhookswenchx @courtorderedcake @branlovestowrite @hollyethecurious @vvbooklady1256 @profdanglaisstuff @carpedzem @ekr032-blog-blog @jennjenn615 @tiganasummertree @lfh1226-linda​ @ultraluckycatnd @spartanguard @shireness-says @scientificapricot​ @stahlop​ @resident-of-storybrooke​ @superchocovian​ @sherlockianwhovian​ @snidgetsafan​ @ohmakemeahercules​ @thislassishooked​ @ilovemesomekillianjones​ @nikkiemms​@delirious-latenight-laughs​

[sweetmemories2606]

Dangerous Game (Gruvia and NaLu fanfic) Chapter 5

I am so behind on posting this one here, sorry about that. I hope people still remember this story, but in case you need a reminder, here's the basic info:

Title: Dangerous Game

Pairings: NaLu and Gruvia (main), Gajevy, Miraxus and MesCana (minor)

Summary: While Natsu wonders about all the times he failed to protect Lucy, Gray worries about the dangerous game that he's been playing. Who will have to pay the price for his decision to leave Juvia behind?

Timeline: Avatar Arc (SPOILERS if you haven't watched the first 8 eps of the Final Season)

Genre: Angst

Word Count: around 12000 words (all chapters)

Links: Chapter 1 (NaLu focused)  Chapter 2 (Gruvia focused)  Chapter 3 (NaLu focused)  Chapter 4 (Gruvia focused) , Chapter 5 (Miraxus focused)

Also, if you want to read ahead: Chapter 6, (Gajevy focused) Chapter 7 (MesCana focused)

I hope you enjoy! 

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

                             Chapter 5: Searching For Her

                                       March X792

A lone figure walked along the forest, forced to take slow steps because of the snow. They were covered by a dark blue cape, hiding them from the world. Although, there wasn't anyone else in the forest.

After a long time, they found themselves standing before a large tree that was actually a house. With a relieved sigh, they made their way towards it and knocked on the door.

"Who's there?" An angry yell was heard.

The figure removed her hood to reveal long, wavy hair as white as snow and big blue eyes. Gently, she answered. "It's just me, Porlyusica. Will you let me in?"

She was met with silence before another voice spoke. "Mirajane? What the hell are you doing here?" It was the person she had come here for. Laxus.

Mirajane had learned a few days before that he wasn't as okay as everyone had thought. Instead, the bane particles which he had inhaled in his attempt to save Magnolia had never left his body and continued to damage his organs.

Now aware of this, Mirajane had decided to try to help him, thus she had come all the way to Porlyusica's cottage where he had been staying for the past 2 weeks-much to his displeasure.

After being welcomed in and briefly chatting with Laxus and Porlyusica, she asked how she could assist. The healer informed her that the only way he could improve was for the particles to be fully removed, but that had proved impossible.

Having recently taken over all the demon gates from Tartaros, Mirajane suggested one of them should be able to do this. While Laxus was not in favour of her taking such a risk to save him, Porlyusica reminded him that he would die otherwise.

"This isn't your choice to make." Mirajane argued. "I came here to help you and I will do so, regardless of the risks."

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

                                       June X792

With Laxus healed, the only issue remaining was the unspoken feelings between them, which neither was willing to discuss as of yet. Instead they resumed their friendship as it was before the war against Tartaros, neither willing to take the next step.

They kept on like this for 3 months while staying at Blue Pegasus' hideout since Laxus had previously joined said guild and wished to return after he was healed.

The Thunder Legion and Blue Pegasus members certainly did not help them keep this charade, for they kept teasing the two despite their protests. Evergreen and Bickslow wasted no opportunities commenting on Laxus' feelings for Mirajane, Sherry and Jenny always made it clear she should make a move and even Itchia brought up the possibility that they were secretly dating at times.

"Will you just quit it?" Laxus yelled after they were teased again, making everyone silence. "There is nothing going on between us, so stop trying to pretend there is."

"But Laxus..." Evergreen tried, but was interrupted.

"Instead of trying to force us into a relationship, you should figure out what you want from Elfman." Laxus continued.

Her face paled at his words. "That's none of your business!" She snapped.

"Doesn't feel nice when people get into your business, does it?" He raised a brow.

Before the conversation could go any further, Sherry and Ren came into the hideout, looking nervous. "Mirajane, you have visitors."

The woman in question frowned, confused. Who could it be? After thanking them for warning her, she quickly left the room, eager to get away from the tension.

Once outside the hideout, she was surprised to find Jellal and Doranbolt-or was his name Mest?-standing in front of it, looking nervous. "Hello. It's been a while." She offered them a smile.

"Mirajane." Jellal greeted her with a nod. "I'm sorry for bothering you."

"We need to talk to you about something important." Doranbolt spoke, tense.

"What is it?" Mira asked, concerned. Is something wrong? Why do they look so unsettled?

Instead of answering, Jellal suggested that they distanced themselves from the hideout since they didn't wish for their conversation to be heard by the Blue Pegasus members nor Laxus' dragon slayer hearing.

Once they were at a safe distance, in the heart of the forest where a long time ago the battle against Grimoire Heart and Jellal's revival had occurred, Doranbolt finally told her why they were there.

He mentioned that they had been searching for her for quite some time because she was the only one who could help them.

"Help you with what, exactly?" Mirajane asked.

Mest proceeded to explain his undercover mission at the council and how Makarov had instructed him to keep an eye on Alvarez. Then he mentioned how Angel, now known as Sorano, had warned him of their plan to send Lilith, a demon from the books of Zeref, to infiltrate Fiore.

Jellal noted how he believed that Mirajane could help them track Lilith since she was familiar with demons. He also highlighted how important this was since Lilith could be gathering sensitive information which would harm Fiore in case of war.

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

It didn't take much to convince Mirajane to help. She easily agreed to join them in their search, thus they waited outside the hideout while she said goodbye to her friends and packed a small suitcase.

Laxus, who had disappeared while she was talking to everyone, showed up while she was packing. Without much time, they had a brief conversation about her leaving, the mission and his-barely concealed-concern for her safety.

He also thanked her again for saving him all those months before and let her know that if she ever needed his help during this mission, she should call him. Mirajane was surprised when Laxus presented her with a cellphone, Warren's new invention, but she gratefully accepted the gift.

They shared a rather awkward hug as she wondered if perhaps this was a good time to tell him how she had been feeling for a while. Unfortunately, he pulled apart before she could decide and left her with another goodbye.

She watched him leave the room, suddenly cheerless as she realised it might be a long time before she had another chance. However, there were bigger priorities at the moment thus she finished packing before going outside to meet Jellal and Doranbolt.

Their journey to find Lilith began that day and they were later joined by Meredy and Cobra- who now referred to himself as Erik. Over the course of their mission, Mirajane got to know all of them better and learned about their pasts, present and hopes for the future.

Neither member of the group expected that it would take them so long to actually find the demon, but 3 months passed and though they had searched almost all of Fiore, Lilith's trail remained cold.

After Mirajane received a letter from Lucy about Fairy Tail's reunion, she decided to briefly leave the group. What she didn't expect, though, is that this would be the answer to their quest.

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

After watching Juvia threatening Lucy's life, and listening to her dialogue, Mirajane quickly figured out that this must be Lilith.

Knowing that the demon was in fact possessing the water mage made things more complicated because this meant she couldn't directly attack it without harming her friend. Thus Mirajane took some time to think of a solution while simultaneously contacting both Laxus and Crime Sorciére.

Unfortunately, the situation soon became even worse once Lilith trapped Natsu and Lucy. Though Mira wanted to help them, she quickly realised that the only way was for Juvia to take control back.

Gajeel and Gray seemed to think the same for they began encouraging the water mage. Mirajane was actually surprised when Gray confessed his love for Juvia in front of everyone, but relief soon filled her once the water mage returned.

When she apologised, though, Mira was back to worried and once she realised what Juvia was about to do, she screamed. "No, Juvia!" I can't let her die!

It was too late. Juvia had already stabbed herself before anyone could reach her. She let out a gasp before removing the bloody dagger and throwing it on the floor. Her face showed pain and sorrow, but also relief once she looked back at Gray.

He was the first to reach her, having ran so fast that even Jet seemed impressed. Mirajane watched, still in shock, as the ice mage held onto Juvia as her body gave in.

"No, please no." He kept mumbling while his hands desperately tried to stop the blood flow.

"You idiot! What the hell did you do?" Gajeel yelled at her, trying to take a step but Levy stopped him, placing a hand on his arm.

"Let Gray talk to her first." She told him gently.

"But I…." He looked back at the water mage in anger but also fear. Mirajane felt sorry for him. He doesn't deserve to lose his best friend.

She glanced around, looking for Wendy, who could surely heal the water mage. She was busy helping Lucy, who lay unconscious in Natsu's arms.

"Come on, Lucy." Mirajane overheard him plead. Poor Natsu. He must be so worried.

"She'll be okay." Wendy reassured him.

"I was supposed to protect her." Natsu lamented, frowning deeply.

"Don't." Juvia's plea made Mirajane look back at her and Gray. She noticed that he was about to use his magic to stop the blood flow. Why is she telling him not to?

"But Juvia..." Gray protested.

"I'm sorry." Juvia's hand reached for his hand. "I just wanted...to be free..." A pause. She coughed a bit, which reminded Mirajane of Laxus. I need to save her too…

"And you will be." Gray told her as he squeezed her hand. "We'll find another way."

Mirajane really hoped they would, but time was running out. Checking her phone again, she was disappointed to find no messages. Why aren't they answering? She started panicking as it became increasingly clear that she would have to figure this out on her own.

[detectivejigsawpines]

Relatively Relativity-part 5 (Ford gets forcefully decaffeinated and Dipper gets chest hair)

Seeing how freakishly big and hairy his arms were (at least compared to how they were just yesterday) told Dipper that no, it wasn’t a dream, he really was an old man now.  Great.

Mabel was already out of bed, so Dipper started to sit up-and immediately tried not to groan as he realized that Stan’s comments about how much your joints ached first thing in the morning at this age had not been exaggerated.

Oh man...I hope my body’s not going to be this badly in shape when I get old for real.  Is my back supposed to make that kind of noise?

“Ow, ow ow ow…”  Dipper swung his legs around to the side, and went through the arduous process of standing up.  Once he was actually on his feet, he felt more or less okay.

Until he nearly jumped out of his skin at the sounds of yelling from downstairs.

Dipper sprinted downstairs as fast as he could (again, not as fast as when he was thirteen), following the sounds of yelling towards the kitchen.  A million horrifying scenarios flitted through his thoughts as an explanation.

Had a monster broken in and attacked?  Was something on fire?  Worse, was someone on fire?!

He skidded into the doorway-and saw Mabel standing with a hand pressed flat against one of the cupboards, keeping it shut, while Grunkle Ford appeared to be trying to climb her, and Grunkle Stan stood at the stove looking far too amused at the level of conflict that was taking place (then again, this was Stan we’re talking about).

“What in the heck is going on here?!” Dipper demanded.

Ford finally seemed to manifest how undignified his current behavior was; he immediately let go of Mabel and hopped away, attempting to smooth down his clothes.  “Ah-good morning, Dipper.  We-were just-having a small disagreement on proper morning sustenance-”

“Mabel wasn’t lettin’ him have coffee,” Stan translated.

“He’s too young for it!” Mabel retorted.

“Oh for-we are not actual children, Mabel!  In case you’ve forgotten, I am more than forty years your senior!”  Ford looked a little like he was about to stamp his foot.

“Not right now, you’re not!”

“I’m afraid I’m gonna have to side with Mabel on this,” Dipper reluctantly admitted.  Immediately he found himself having to shrink away from his mini-grunkle’s withering glare.  “Considering what you guys were like with the Mabel Juice yesterday, it’s probably not good for you to get high amounts of sugar or caffeine in your systems!”

Ford looked like he was about to snarl out something indignant-but then the truth of Dipper’s words sank in, and he slumped down in reluctant acknowledgment.  Grumbling wordlessly, he stomped to the fridge and yanked out the carton of apple juice that was in the door.

Stan snickered-and then swore when he realized that the batch of scrambled eggs he was making had started burning due to his not paying attention.

“Language!” Ford scolded.

“Sorry.  Guess I’ve spent too long away from kids.”

Mabel blinked.  “Wait.  Since we’re the grownups now, does that mean we can use those words?”

“No!”  Stan hurriedly shuffled the eggs around until he’d gathered the blackened ones into his spatula, allowing him to shake them into the trash.  “I don’t wanna haveta explain ta your mom why you came home with a bad case of sailor mouth!”

“We’re in junior high now, Grunkle Stan,” Dipper reminded him as he sat down, “We already hear all of them several times a day.” “No excuse.”

Dipper was tempted to try figuring out how to make coffee just to see what it tasted like (okay, and maybe to annoy Grunkle Ford a little).  But he decided he wasn’t ready to try experimenting with the process yet, and so he just had juice along with eggs and cereal.

“Where’s Soos?” he asked as the rest of his family sat down.

“They got some early tourists, so he’s showing them around the exhibits while Melody runs the gift shop,” said Mabel.  “And it’s shopping day, so Abuelita’s getting groceries.”

“Hope they weren’t freaked out by all the racket.”

****

Elsewhere in the Shack

Soos nearly jumped out of his skin at the sounds of yelling, which could be heard from all the way on this side of the house, but he rolled with it.

“Whoa, sounds like the Summerween ghosts have started up early this year.”

A small child at the front of the group raised her tiny hand.  “What’s Summerween?”

Soos knelt and put a large hand on her tiny shoulder.  “We have much to discuss.”

****

For a little bit everyone ate in relative silence; finally, though, Dipper cleared his throat.  “Melody suggested we should try wearing some kind of protective gear in case the flowers act up again.”

“I made us all masks!”  Mabel held up four strips of brightly colored cloth with elastic straps at the ends, and their names stitched onto them surrounded by rainbows and flowers and stuff.

“That probably depends on whether it was just ingestion of the pollen that changed us, or if they needed to make contact with us,” Ford mused, rubbing his chin.  “We should probably prepare for both outcomes, just in case.  I think I have what we need in the basement.”

He hopped off his chair-and paused to give himself a slightly annoyed/confused glare at having done so, before shaking his head and making his way out of the kitchen.

When he returned, it was with a large, clunky-looking watch thing strapped to his wrist.

“This generates a small force field system that can completely envelope the flower and prevent the pollen from spreading; it also makes things levitate.”

“Whoa.”  Stan’s eyes grew ridiculously big and shiny.  “Can I use it?”

Ford narrowed his eyes at his brother.  “Are you planning to try and pick pockets with it?”

“...No…”

“Uh-huh.  I think I’ll hold onto it for now.”

“Hmph.  Whatever.”

****

The mini-grunkles were still in their clothes from yesterday, which were kind of filthy, so at Mabel’s insistence they changed into some of Dipper’s spare things.

Stan held up a blue-and-white striped T-shirt, tilting his head quizzically.  “If you got all these clothes, why the heck do you wear the same outfit every day?”

“And when do you take time to wash it?” Ford asked, wrinkling his nose.

Dipper flushed.  “Don’t you guys start!”

“HA!  See, I’m not the only one who thinks your hygiene practices are gross!” Mabel crowed triumphantly.

Dipper shoved his hands in his pockets and stalked out of the attic.

****

Eventually everyone took the time to get dressed before their new expedition.

Mabel had made herself a brand new sweater (purple, with “HOT GRANDMA” written on it in sparkly bright blue letters), and borrowed one of Abuelita’s old dresses to wear under it.  Dipper, meanwhile, had pointedly put his clothes in the wash, and borrowed a pair of Stan’s khaki shorts and a red Hawaiian shirt.

Well, at least I finally have chest hair, he thought as he buttoned up the shirt, examining his torso in the mirror.  At least there was one thing to enjoy about old age.

Unfortunately, it was accompanied by a large quantity of stomach hair...and arm hair...and ear hair...basically a lot more hair than he’d been expecting.

He was only stopped from seeing if shaving some of it off would be more effective than it had been for Stan by the realization that his family was probably waiting for him.

“Took ya long enough,” Stan scolded when he returned to the kitchen.  “C’mon, let’s go already!”

They headed out the door-and immediately ran into Wendy, who had at last showed up for work.

****

Aw, crap.

Dipper realized he had forgotten to text her about what had happened.

“Uh-hey, Wendy.  Believe it or not, it’s us.”

She did a long, slow blink.  Then, raising one eyebrow, she asked, “...Do I want to know?”

“We had an accident with a magic flower,” Mabel explained.  “So now we gotta get another one to figure out how to change us back to normal.”

“Ya wanna come?” Stan asked.

Wendy smiled at him.  “That’d be awesome, Mr. Pines, but I got work.”

Stan’s face contorted into an expression of shock.  “Wait, what?  You’re passing up a chance ta slack off work?!”  He reached up a tiny hand to feel Wendy’s forehead.  “Are you feeling okay?!”

She snorted and shoved him off.  “Soos pays me extra if I stay through a whole shift.  And I’m trying to save up for a car, so I need all the help I can get.”

“...So the secret to keeping you from slacking off was to pay you more?”  Stan pondered this for a bit...and then shook his head.  “Nah, it’s not worth it.”

Wendy laughed and punched his shoulder.  “Later, dorks.”  She started to walk past, before spinning around on one heel.  “Oh, Dipper-loving the new hair.  Gives you a kinda silver fox look.”

...Despite himself, Dipper couldn’t help blushing and grinning as he ran a hand through his hair.  And then he sighed as he ignored a smirking Mabel and headed to the car, ready to share joint custody of the driver’s seat with Stan again.

The fact that Wendy only ever saw him as attractive when he was way older than her was probably a sign that he’d made the right choice in stopping pining over her.

Heh heh...pining.

Because he was a Pines.

...Oh crap, now he was starting to think dad jokes were funny.

We gotta get changed back soon.

********

...Sorry, Wendip fans, but I just don't see it happening.

It's not even the age difference, so much as that personality-wise, she strikes me as just staying a "cool big sis" figure to both him and Mabel.

(Also I'm kind of biased towards Dipcif-)

Nothing, you didn't see that.

Moving on.

[theink-theiron]

Fairys Lost in Liones - Chapter One

Gajevy and Banlaine are my OTP's and I wanted to see a crossover between them and between Fairy Tail and Nanatsu no taizai, hope you enjoy!

Read on AO3 Here

Levy could feel aching and pain all over her body as she woke up from a deep sleep, she opened her eyes and shuffled sitting up on the bed, wincing as she did. Rubbing her eyes, she looked around the room expecting to see the guilds infirmary, but that didn’t seem to be the case in this situation. Instead of white sheets they were pink and instead of Mira or Wendy stood beside her tending to her wounds there was no one.

“Where am I?” She muttered out groggily, speaking to no one in particular but hoping that one of her guild mates would answer her. The nerves were beginning to creep in as the predicament she found herself in began to dawn on her, alone, injured, and unaware of where she was or how she got there; With each passing second more questions arose but no answers were there to comfort her.

She slowly got out of bed, being mindful of her injuries that seemed to encompass the majority of her body, she stretched out her body a little hoping to ease some of the tension she was feeling both inside and out, she took another quick scan around the brightly coloured rustic bedroom that for the life of her she could not recognise, she was hoping it would be a guildmates bedroom or something like that but she didn’t think so, the whole place just felt a little… off.

It was at that moment that she realised two things A) She was covered in neatly wrapped bandages, so she assumed that whoever brought her here was friendly and B) That she was wearing an outfit that was more befitting of Lucy! a tight pink t-shirt that ended at her waist, the smallest blue mini skirt and belt, and one long blue sock. Not her typical state of dress however she was more concerned about who dressed her.  

Then it hit her, Gajeel, Pantherlily, Jet and Droy were all with her, the last thing she could remember was all of them heading out on a mission together, which she had just about managed to drag Gajeel onto. Are they here? Are they ok? A loud commotion from downstairs disrupted her train of thought, it sounded like a lot of people, maybe that was them. Even if not she would still have to leave the room at some point, so that’s what she did. Creeping down the stairway the ruckus got louder, people yelling and cheering maybe, but none of them sounded like any of her boys.

Reaching the bottom of the stairway and rounding the corner, she shyly walked into what seemed like quite a nice little restaurant and bar. How odd. But what caught her eye the most was that she could see the group people she is assuming found her.

“Look who’s finally awake” Straining her neck looking up she came face to face, well face to chest, with a pair of red eyes with a devilish glint in them, the man was grinning down at her but it wasn’t malicious it seemed more playful which actually threw her off a little bit. She had to take two steps back just to look at him properly, how tall is this man!? she thought, he easily towered over her, even more than Gajeel did. And why on earth is he wearing an apron instead of a t-shirt?

Six pair of eyes scattered around the room were all on her waiting for her to say something, but her nervousness temporarily got the better of her, she didn’t recognise any of these people or the place and Gajeel was nowhere to be seen the whole situation was very unsettling for her, she wished she didn't have to do it alone.

“Ban don’t scare her! Don’t mind him my. name's Hawk captain of scraps disposal!” A large pig pushed past the man she now knew as Ban to speak with her. He seemed rather outgoing. She heard Ban mutter out a quick ‘Sorry Master’ This pig wasn’t in charge was he?

“Uh hi, my name's Levy Mcgarden, it…it’s nice to meet you Hawk” She was taken back by the fact there was a talking pig for only a moment before she composed herself again, deciding to ignore the part about scraps, she had bigger questions at the moment.

“You’re not surprised by the talking pig?” Ban asked incredulously whilst leaning against the bar and wrapping an arm around a small blonde girl with big golden eyes, seriously who are these people?

“I know a talking cat so no” He nodded at her, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

“I’m sorry but I’m so confused, who are you people?” She tried to remain polite but the whole situation was so strange.

“You don’t know? we’re the Seven Deadly Sins” A small blonde boy who seemed rather chipper then joined the conversation, but he also started groping a tall, beautiful white haired woman who kind of reminded her of Mira. The girl blushed but didn’t do anything. Levy immediately averted her eyes and decided to talk into the void instead as to avoid the embarrassing scene.

“Who?” Ok so the name ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ did not put here at ease. And she had never heard of them before, is that some sort of guild name perhaps?

“You’re not from around here are you” Another small brunette boy joined in with a deadpan tone, it wasn’t exactly a question more of an accusation. The blonde boy then introduced himself as Meliodas the leader of the Seven Deadly Sins, the Dragon Sin of Wrath and gave a very brief description of what they were, although it was confusing, an order of Holy Knights for the kingdom of Liones and… criminals. As interesting as it was to hear it raised a lot more questions than it did answers.

“What? There is no place called Liones or Britannia and there are no Holy Knights”  She knew of every country on Earthland and she was sure that she was right about this, but she also didn’t think that they were lying, what is going on?

“Yes, there is and that’s where you are right now” Meliodas said keeping his voice light, she could not seem to tell what he was thinking and everyone else was just looking at her like she was crazy, which to be fair she could understand.

“OH! Gajeel, Jet, Droy and Pantherlily where are they!?” She suddenly burst out looking frantically around the room, they must know where they are, they would have been with her right; she couldn’t be out here all on her own.

“There was only one other person with you, tall, dark hair, angry looking guy. He’s going to be ok, but he’s hurt bad, he’s upstairs resting now” Meliodas told her pointing at the staircase then heading behind the bar.

“Oh thank Mavis Gajeels ok” She sighed letting out a breath of air she didn’t know she was holding in, but that didn’t make her feel completely better as the other three still weren’t accounted for “But are you sure there wasn’t any else with us? A ginger guy, a big guy with dark hair, and a small black cat with a sword maybe?” It was a desperate attempt; she knew it but she had to ask maybe they had seen them somewhere else on their travels.

“No but that last guy sounds cool!” Exclaimed Ban jumping up a little, the blonde girl patted him on the shoulder and giggled signalling for him to cool down a little bit, which he did.

Worry took over her then, where on Earthland could they be? she hoped they were ok, with any luck they were still in Magnolia.

“You must be starving” The White-haired girl approached her and ushered her to sit down at the bar, they sat beside each other, and the blonde girl sat on the other side of her. “Ban why don’t you get started on some supper for everyone, the others should be back soon” Meliodas told Ban whilst he started fixing up some drinks for everyone.

The White haired girl accepted the drinks and divided them amongst the three girls “My name is Princess Elizabeth but don’t worry you don’t have to be formal with me” She smiled brightly at her and it actually did make Levy feel a bit better.

“Wow a Princess are you sure I feel like I should bow” Elizabeth giggled at that and shook her head.

“And my name is Elaine, I’m from the Fairy kings Forest '' There was something about Elaine that she couldn’t quite figure out, she looked young like Wendy, but her eyes gave her away she looked wise beyond her years.

“Ha that’s funny I’m from the Fairy Tail guild”

“You’re a fairy too!?” She beamed with excitement practically bouncing out of her seat.

“Are you a fairy!?” Shocked beyond belief this girl seemed genuine when she said too so that must mean…no. This doesn’t make any sense, she can’t be a fairy, this day just keeps getting weirder and weirder.

“Yes…why are you surprised?”

The guild wasn’t going to believe this, if this was real then she had just discovered actual Fairy’s, just imagining everyone’s faces when she told made her laugh internally.

“I’m sorry I know this might sound ridiculous, but you don’t have a tail do you?”

“No we don’t have tails! are you crazy?” The brunette boy shouted from the cushion he was currently laying on in the air, ok so that was a little weird. But now she could tell everyone the answer to the age-old question on whether Fairies have Tails or not, this was an amazing day, well if you don’t include everything else that has happened.

With everyone in the room looking at her like she was out of her mind she started to explain why she had asked, she told them about the guild and Fiory, hopefully they might be able to fill in some of the gaps that she was missing. They told her that they had no idea what she was going on about which by now wasn’t that surprising, but they said a mage called Merlin may be able to help, they would just have to wait for her to return. Apparently there were still a few people missing called Merlin, Escanor, Diane and Gowther.

Dinner was almost ready for everyone so she decided she should head up and check on Gajeel just to make sure he was alright.

“LEVY!” Everyone stopped at the sound of a fierce roar coming from upstairs, he rushed downstairs clearly ignoring any pain and each thud of his descent was getting closer and closer. Rounding the corner they locked eyes and he marched up to her gently grabbing her shoulders and checking her over noticing the many bandages, his eyes looked panicked and she could tell that unlike her the moment he awoke he leaped out of bed and instead of waiting to try and piece together what was going on he immediately went on a hunt.

“Are you alright?” He asked, staring at her. After a moment he realised how close they were and stepped back and let go of her shoulders opting to scratch the back of his head and look away from her to alleviate some of the awkwardness, she noticed a very light blush on his cheeks but passed it of as a reaction to all the adrenaline coursing through his system. She nodded and hoped that he didn’t see her light blush either though, but of course it was only because of the adrenaline

“Where’s Pantherlily and the two morons?” And who are all these people?” He motioned to everyone else in the room who were still looking at them intently, seeming a bit put off by the silence of the unknown presences.

She ignored his moron comment and then smiled thinking of introducing him to the new friends she had made, Elaine and Elizabeth were delightful and she didn’t know what to think of the guys yet, but they seemed alright too.  

“These are the Seven Deadly Sins” levy gestured around the room and the girls and Meliodas waved, Ban nodded his head, and the brunette boy rolled his eyes.

“What the hell is that, a boy Band?” Gajeel asked mockingly, still seeming a bit Sceptical though.  

“No but that would be cool” Meliodas shouted out from beside Liz and jumped up to look excitedly at Ban who also had a massive grin plastered over his face.

Gajeel however looked much like Levy did not too long ago as hearing that name didn’t really clear anything up. Oh well she had plenty of time to explain things to him in more detail later, she couldn’t wait to tell him about the Fairy’s.

But as ok as things seemed at the moment they were still in a dire situation; was this the result of the Dark Guild they were going to face?

[i-stan-nct-and-satan]

Not Broken (Jaehyun Mafia au pt4)

Not Broken Masterlist

Jaehyun X Reader

Y/N is a burlesque dancer living in Seoul. Jaehyun is one of the most powerful mafia men in Seoul. How will Y/N survive when Jaehyun suspects that she is involved with a rival gang?

Reasons to read this story: Ten's a cross-dressing madam so..... yeah read it ya freaks.

Trigger Warning: physical violence

The music was slow, but my heart was beating fast. I did my best to keep my composure.

As soon as I stepped through the curtain, an ocean of oo's and ah's filled the room. My costume was extravagant to say the least, but I had no idea that a room filled with thugs would have any fashion appreciation, even ones dressed in Louis Vuitton, Armani, and Gucci suits.

I stepped towards center stage as I kept my arms lifted at each side to show off my gown, making sure that each step was as smooth as the last.

Once I made sure that I had everyone's attention, I started moving my body with the slow music. My arms slowly raised above my head and moved even slower when they came down to caress down my clothed breasts and down my slim torso. Raising them back up, I used my hands to bring focus back to my face.

I had practiced the facial expressions for this dance intently, hoping to portray a look of both innocence and pure sexiness with a pinch of fear. I wanted the audience to fall in love with my movements, and as I looked out into the audience, I realized they had.

I hadn't even stripped myself of my dress yet and everyone was on the edge of their seats.

I slowly made my way over to the left side of the stage and turned to face away from them, delicately placing a hand on the zipper. I fumbled for a split second trying to pull it down, but I managed to give a little pout to a member of the audience inviting him to help me unzip. The gentleman obliged and for a moment, I remembered that this wasn't one of our typical audience members and the fear of being groped crossed my mind only to be relieved when he only touched the dress’s zipper and nothing more. I couldn't help but let out a tiny chuckle at the men cheering at their colleague as he assisted me.

I allowed the dress to fall slightly only to catch it before it uncovered the bust of my corset. I turned around teasing the audience by slowly dropping the dress only to lift it up my body again before revealing anything.

I sent a quick look over to the main table hoping that the guests of honor were just as enthralled with my performance as the rest of their colleagues. Doyoung was the first one I noticed. I had half expected him to be bored due to my previous impressions of his personality, but he was staring at me with wide eyes and his upper teeth buried into his bottom lip. It was flattering, to say the least, that a man so cold so easily fell under my spell.

I allowed the dress to fall off my body revealing the corset. Despite the corset still limiting my movements, I was able to move much more freely after having rid myself of the long gown.

I moved into my more complicated moves, allowing my body to move, shake, spin, and sway.

While slowly sliding into a split, I noticed Yuta.

His eyes appeared glazed over for a second but once I was in full splits, I was able to focus on him fully. He looked... hungry. His smirk widened as if he knew I were looking at him and only him.

I couldn't look at him for more than a split second before I brought my legs together and rolled over, standing my legs up and slowly rolling my body up along with them.

It was then that I noticed him.

Jaehyun was on the edge of his chair, hands holding his face, as if he were thinking intently.

That seemed a little peculiar to me but he was watching me so I figured that maybe that's just how he looks when he's focused.

I had to admit, having him stare at me this intensely both frightened me and excited me. My heart was beating so fast I couldn't tell if it was because I was dancing so hard or if it was because of him.

I walked towards the main table since it was almost time for the final reveal.

I knew I couldn't get out of the corset by myself, so I had planned on getting help from an audience member.

I started walking seductively over to the main table. I wanted the leader to have the honors of helping me with my final costume change so I kept my gaze locked onto his. As I got closer to his table, I realized that he wasn't looking me in the eyes. His eyes were fixed on my chest.

I silently laughed. 

Boys will be boys, I guess.

Soon enough, I was standing right in front of the pink haired man.

I cautiously motioned for him to stand up. Normally I would grab his arm to let him know I wanted him to stand but I knew that I probably shouldn't in this scenario.

He didn't stand up.

He just kept looking at my chest with slightly raised eyebrows, forming soft lines on his forehead.  

I gestured again, a little more panicked this time since the end of the song was approaching and I had to do the big reveal before then.

Still nothing.

Trying not to let my face show my panic, I moved on to the man sitting next to him, Yuta.

Yuta gladly stood up and started to undo the brackets of my corset, staring deeply into my eyes as I turned my head to look back.

As he undid the last of my brackets, he brought his lips close to my ears and whispered something that I couldn't hear due to the loud cheering, but from the few interactions that I had had with him, I assumed it was something I would have been glad to have not heard.

I pulled away and started to uncover my body until suddenly a hand harshly grabbed my wrist. The corset roughly fell from my body as I turned to face the bastard who was grabbing me, only to find myself staring into the eyes of the deadliest man in Korea.

My stomach clenched as Jaehyun stared at me with what looked like pure rage in his eyes. I had never had anyone look at me with such hatred before. I was so confused as to what was happening that I couldn't break my eyes away from his. His scowl burned into me leaving me fearful and feeling weak.

I tried to pull my arm away from him but he just squeezed harder, hard enough to leave a bruise.

In my peripheral vision, I saw a confused Yuta mouthing words to his boss. Everyone at the table stood up, including Madam Ten who started shoving at Jaehyun only to be hit by the man himself, never letting go of my wrist.

The music stopped and everything happened so quickly.

The combination of booze and adrenaline in my veins started to take over and my vision started to blur.

Jaehyun yelled something and everyone starts scrambling. I heard screams and gunshots.

I tried to turn towards the sounds trying to find the source of the gunshots but Jaehyun forcefully pulled me towards him. I slammed against his body and for a moment everything slowed down. I looked up at him. His eyes started to twitch slightly as he pushed me to the ground, releasing my arm. I tried to get up only to be harshly kicked in the stomach. With the wind knocked out of me, I started coughing. Yuta yelled something at Jaehyun and Jaehyun grabbed him by the collar and points at me. Yuta and I held eyes as I continued to gasp for air. His eyes traveled down to my chest. He kneeled down next to me and reached a hand towards my necklace. Even though I was violently coughing and gasping, he was calmly analyzing the green emerald attached to my neck. He seemed so calm despite the chaos that surrounded us.

His eyes returned back to mine but instead of being filled with concern as they were before, they were now cold. He pulled the necklace off of my neck in a swift movement, still managing to hurt me in the process. He stood up and handed the necklace to Jaehyun.

Having regained my breath, I used all my strength to get up. I started running toward the curtain when I spotted Wendy on the ground. I changed my course and ran towards her. As I got closer to her, I spotted something red surrounding her.

Blood.

Wendy was lying in a pool of blood.

I quickly grabbed at a blazer jacket resting on a nearby chair and used it to apply pressure to the bullet wound in Wendy's chest. She was coughing, which was a good sign because it meant she was still alive.

"Wendy! It's gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay. Just hold on a little longer. We're gonna get you help."

I started screaming.

Yuri ran past us and I called out to her but she just gave me a glance before continuing to run away.

"DAMMIT YURI! Somebody help!"

"Y/N."

I looked down to see Wendy looking up at me.

"Y/N, what's going on?" Wendy coughed as she tried to speak.

"I don't know Wendy. I don't know. Don't speak. You're hurting yourself."

"Y/N."

I looked around trying to wave someone over to help, but everything was too crazy. Thugs grabbing dancers and dancers trying desperately to escape.

"Y/N," Wendy repeated.

I looked down at her.

"What if I never get to dance again?"

Tears started streaming down my face. Fuck.

"Don't say that Wendy! We're gonna get you out of here I swear!"

Madam Ten came from behind me and started applying her hands to the jacket on Wendy's wound.

"What happened?" The Madam asked.

"She was shot."

"Well no shit, Sherlock!" Madam Ten yelled at me in the most masculine voice I had ever heard her use before. "We need to get her to a doctor so that-"

All of a sudden, I was being dragged away from Wendy and the Madam by two men.

"Why are you doing this?" Madam Ten yelled.

"All we want is the girl. We'll tell our men to back off once we have her," explained the man who I now recognized as Taeyong.

Madam Ten looked at me hesitantly and then turned back to helping Wendy.

"What? No! You can't do this! Wendy! Wendy!" I screamed as the men kept dragging me away from Wendy. Everything was so loud.

"Wendy!" I screamed one last time before the other man started pulling me up by my hair. He turned me to face him.

It was Taeil. I had no idea that Taeil was capable of such actions. Despite him obviously being a member of the mafia, his personality seemed so pacifistic that it was hard to imagine him hurting a fly. These were the thoughts that were going through my head as he dragged me towards Jaehyun and Yuta who were calmly standing near the exit door.

After letting go of my hair, Taeil pushed me into a kneeling position in front of his boss. I looked up at the pink haired man with tears messily running down my face.

"Why?" I asked with desperation in my voice.

He looked down at me then kneeled down so that his face was at the same level as mine. I couldn't decipher the emotion in his face. It looked almost relaxed.

"You don't know?" He asks me in an almost mocking voice.

He grabbed my face and examined it.

"Please don't kill me," My voice faltered slightly as I pleaded.

I turned my face away from his hands

"Don't worry princess. I won't kill you." He grabbed my face again lifting my face up, forcing me to keep eye contact.

"After I'm done with you, you'll be begging for the sweet release of death."

My eyes bulged in my skull as the words moved past his lips.

He used the hand grabbing my face to push me back to the ground.

As he stood up, I tried to get back up on my feet again until I heard him speak once again.

"Taeil, knock her out."

"Wait what? No! Please don't!" I looked over at Taeil as he lifted up his foot only for him to slam it into my face, knocking me out cold.  

Not Broken part 4 part 2 (yes, I can make a part 2 of a part 4 deal with it.)

“God, what a terrible nightmare!” I said out loud as I rubbed the remaining sleep from my eyes.

I had found myself in my bed surrounded by a few of my stuffed animals. My head was pounding but when I looked over at my nightstand, no empty bottles of liquor were to be found.

I took a moment to collect myself after having such a realistic dream then let out a loud sigh.

It’s just like me to come up with such a wild fantasy.

There is no way that NCT would have any interest in the Heartbreakers. I mean what type of thugs could possibly have an appreciation for queer art forms?

A laugh escaped from my mouth as I got up to go shower but before I was able to enter the bathroom, I was interrupted by a familiar sound.

“Kakao!”

I walked back over to the bed and searched for my phone, finding it charging under my pillow.

“Crap!”

The message was from Wendy, we were supposed to meet up today.

Looking at the clock, I realized that I’m already an hour late.

Not even bothering to open Wendy’s message, I struggled to put on clean pants and rushed out the door.

Major Déjà vu

☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️

I must have been really dazed because next thing I knew, Donghyuck was telling me about his troublesome boyfriend.

“He just gets in to too much trouble, you know? He’s bi but I’m his first boyfriend and it’s obvious that he’s embarrassed about it. Last time we went out together, we ran into one of his coworkers and he started heavily flirting with the first girl he saw. I’m telling you Y/N, you have no idea what it is like to date someone in the closet.”

“Yeah Hyuck, that sounds rough.”

Donghyuck had told me about his boy troubles countless times before, always spouting the same stuff about how his boyfriend is sweet, caring and sensitive with him, but the very definition of toxic masculinity whenever he was with his friends.

I tried to focus on his story as much as I could but my headache was almost unbearable.

Did I really not drink last night?

“I mean I haven’t ever been in the closet. My parents knew I was gay the moment they caught me sneaking into my mother’s closet to try on her heels when I was six.”

I looked at the watch on my wrist.

“Holy shit! I’m sorry Hyuckie but I have to go!”

I sprinted out the building’s main entrance without even waiting a second for Hyuck’s answer.

I knew my brain was foggy but how could I have let myself get caught up in Hyuck’s stories when I knew I was already running late.

☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️

Once again, I found myself losing time. I was walking into the Playground Theater where I was supposed to meet Wendy but for some reason I couldn’t even remember having taken the subway.    

“Y/N, you’re here!” Wendy gave me a hug as I entered her dressing room.

She was dressed in a costume that I hadn’t seen before which was strange. Despite having often missed practice, Wendy always told me about her acts, giving me details about the music and dance moves she planned on using and about the costumes she planned on wearing.

“I’m so sorry that I’m late Wendy. I don’t know what’s going on but my mind is so fuzzy today.”

I looked more closely at her costume. She wore a long dress covered in watercolor blues, purples, and pinks. The dress was covered in small balloons filled with what I imagined to be either paint or glitter.

It was Wendy’s favorite to incorporate popping balloons on her costumes into her acts. It looked really cool as well. She would take a needle and pop a balloon letting out a cloud of glitter or covering herself in different paints. Based on the watercolor theme of her dress, I assumed they were filled with paint, but I couldn’t put my finger on why they were filled when there wasn’t a show anytime soon.

“Late? Y/N, you aren’t late. Look at the time!” Wendy gleamed at me as she spoke, sounding a little too happy.

I looked up at a clock on the wall that I hadn’t noticed before and realize that she was right.

Was that clock always there? And didn’t my clock at home say I was an hour late? How could I be on time?

I looked back at where Wendy was standing, only to notice that she had disappeared.

“Wendy?”

I briefly look around the dressing room. She wasn’t there.

I looked back up at the clock and was startled to see the hands had started moving at an ungodly pace, spinning erratically.

I quickly left the dressing room but when I walked out the door, I found myself entering the audience.

Everyone’s dressing rooms lead to the halls, which led to backstage, but somehow, I was entering the main room, staring past a large audience up at Wendy who was on stage standing in a bright spotlight.

My anxiety, which was already through the roof, spiked once again when I heard Wendy speak.

“Y/N, don’t be rude. You’re interrupting the show.”

My breathing hitched.

“Don’t tell me that you didn’t know about our special guests tonight.”

Everyone in the audience turned to face me.

I was stunned to see hundreds of Wendys looking back at me.

I kept my gaze locked on the original Wendy despite the hundreds of Wendy clones glaring at me.

I didn’t dare to make eye-contact with a single one of them even though I could see them clearly in my peripheral vision.

“W-wendy?” My voice is shaky, and my headache had gotten worse, if that was even possible.

“Or did you purposely interrupt my performance, Y/N?”

The spotlight that was on Wendy moved through the audience and landed on me.

Wendy’s scoff loudly echoed off the walls of the theater.

“Typical Y/N. Always have to be in the spotlight, don’t you? You just can’t stand it when anyone else gets more attention than you.”

“W-wendy. I… I don’t-”

“Save it, Y/N!” Wendy shouted.

“I shouldn’t have expected otherwise. I mean how could I expect any decency from a murderer like you?”

“Murderer!” “Murderer!” “Murderer!” The audience started shouting.

For the first time, I allowed myself to look at the audience, only to see that the countless faces had morphed into the familiar gangster I thought I would never have to see again.

My stomach was clenched harder than it had ever been before.

Lucases. Lucases everywhere.

“Did you think we wouldn’t find out, Y/N?” Wendy continued.

“Wendy! I didn’t… I had to…he was going to-”

���Going to what, Y/N?”

I did my best to keep grounded as I spoke, but the weight on both my head and my chest were growing heavier with each word.

“He was going to-”

“Rape you?”

The room was silent for a what seemed like an eternity as hot tears rolled down my cheeks, only to be replaced with haughty laughter.

Everyone was laughing… laughing at me.

“Don’t be such an idiot, Y/N!” Wendy teased viciously as she wiped her index finger under her eye implying that her laughter had brought her to tears.

“Who would ever rape you? You probably threw yourself at him, desperate to be noticed like the slut you are.”

“Slut!” “Slut!” “Slut!” The crowd chanted.

“Why are you doing this to me? This isn’t the Wendy I know!”

I turned to run out of the theater but I was unable to open the door.

I felt myself being grabbed by an abundant amount of hands all over my body. His hands.

They forced me to face back towards Wendy.

“Not the Wendy you know? You’re right, Y/N.”

I felt my feet being lifted off of the ground as the Lucases carried me closer to the stage.

“The Wendy you know was kind to you and look where that got her.”

I was forcefully pushed into a chair at the main table. I struggled to get out but I was being held down. Greasy hands grabbed at my face and lifted it up so that I was unable to look at anything other than Wendy as she slowly pulled a needle from her gown and popped her first balloon.

Red.

Red paint slid down her dress, coating her in the bright liquid.

An image of Wendy lying face down in a pool of her own blood flashed before my eyes.

“This is your fault!” Wendy screeched.

“This happened during your performance because of you!”

I was trembling. My whole body was shaking so violently, yet if anything, the hands constraining me only became tighter. I didn’t know what was happening. I didn’t understand.

The images of Wendy on the ground were so familiar yet I couldn’t figure out why. This wasn’t right. This couldn’t be real.

POP!

The contents from the second balloon slowly dripped down Wendy’s legs.

Her screams echoed in my mind.

The third pop sounded more like a gunshot.

“Y/N. Help!” Wendy’s vicious demeanor disappeared only to be replaced by desperation and terror. She was on the ground crawling towards me, hand stretched out, desperately trying to reach towards me despite her being so far away.

I grappled at the bodies enclosing on mine. I felt like I was drowning in a sea of Lucases, slowly suffocating. I cried and screamed, desperately kicking at anyone and anything. I had to get out of here. I had to save Wendy.

“Stop!” I begged as my vision blackened from the volatile hands that began to cover my eyes.

Bang!

I opened my eyes. My body felt lighter physically but before I was able to feel grateful for the lack of hands on my body, I saw the vision that brought all of the feelings of suffocation back.

A man with pink hair holding a lightly smoking gun and my close friend lying dead on the ground.

I closed my eyes as tight as I could, praying that would somehow make everything better.

“What’s wrong princess?”

I opened my eyes to see his face directly in front of mine.

“Didn’t you enjoy the performance?” He asked calmly as he brought his hand to my cheek.

I was crying so much that the tears must have looked more like streams.

He kept staring at me with a look that almost resembled genuine curiosity.

“W-why did you do that?” My voice cracked slightly.

The mob boss’s face contorted into one filled with confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“Why did you kill her?” I fell to the ground and burst into a sobbing fit.

The man leaned down onto one knee to match my height and gently lifted up my chin, an act that I was growing tired of.

He moved his lips close to my ears and whispered, “I didn’t kill anyone.”

I jerked my head away from his and fell back, catching myself on my elbows.

He looked at me then in an excruciatingly slow motion, moved his gaze to my hand.

The blood in my face drained as I copied his movements, already aware of what I would see.

The gun…in my hand.  

“I…I…I…” I stuttered.

“Shhhh.” Jaehyun grabbed me and held me in his arms.

He looked down at me as I whimpered into his chest. He took a piece of the hair that was in my face and tucked in behind my ears in a comforting motion.

“I didn’t-”

“Shhhh.” He shushed again. “It’s okay. Everything will be okay.”

I felt his hands move from my back, traveling around my neck. His grip tightened. I couldn’t breathe. He harshly pushed his thumbs onto my windpipe as my body started to convulse. My lungs tightened as they desperately sought out air.

“Shhhh. Everything with be okay.”

Black dots clouded my vision as I looked up at the man strangling me. His face grossly contorted into that of a monster, skin dripping from his face. His smile literally reached from ear to ear and his nose resembled a beak.

Opening his Cheshire smiling mouth, the creature started to cackle.

“You know what I’m talking about baby. You gotta wake up. Wake up right now. You gotta wakey!”  

[descendantofthesparrow]

Harry Hook x Pan!Reader -Oneshot - enemies are made on neverland

MAGIC_IS_TEA on wattpad

Can you please make a harry hook x reader one shot where he reader is Peter pans daughter and she lives in Auradon but she doesn't fit in

she meets harry and they already knew eachother from when they were kids in Neverland. They've always hated each other because they were supposed to be mortal enemies. And this takes place in decedent's 3? And also the reader is really badass

you were born and raised on neverland, the daughter of peter pan and Moira, your mother the granddaughter of wendy darling.

You had two older siblings, who weren’t neverland born, Maggie and Jack, who had grown up.

You were only 4 when you met..him.

---

You wandered the beaches of neverland, fawns bell-like voice twittering behind you chatting about the new baby squirrels that were born yesterday. When you heard footsteps approaching, you panicked, they didn’t sound like any footsteps you new, these were heavy but quick at the same time, and fast.

You turned and flew up a tree, watching the ground, when a boy, no older than you ran onto the beach, he kept looking behind him, as if something was following him

“BOY GET BACK HERE” you gasped, fawn cupping her hands to her mouth. Hook, Hook was after this boy, the boy looked around wildly, fear clear on his face. You made a split decision.

You jumped down from the tree, fawn flying after you, “Hey!” you whisper yelled, the boy jumped, turning to look at you, surprised ocean blue eyes met your (e/c) ones, and you waved him to you, he glanced back to where hook was calling angerly for him and rushed over to your hiding spot, you grabbed his hand, leading him to a hollowed tree, and shoved him in, fawn following him in and you climbed in, bringing up the leaf cover, pressing your back to the trunk.

Heavy footsteps.

“BOY” the ocean eyed boy jumped, his hand coming up to grip your shoulder tightly, his eyes filling with tears “WHERE ARE YOU, COME OUT NOW” a few moments of tense silence, before hook grumbled, muttering how the boy would regret running off later.

The footsteps walked away, but none of you moved till fawn flew out, seeing no pirate and called for you to come out, the boy asking what the bell was, but you ignored him, leading him back out.

“umm” the boy started nervously, a thick Scottish accent on his tongue “th-thanks” he mumbled, looking at your though his lashes.

“your welcome” you smiled at him, his cheeks turned pink, fawn giggled, the boy's eyes widened, seeing his sister stomping up behind you.

“HARRISON HOOK” your heart froze…hook? “HOW DARE YOU!?! YOU KNOW HOW DAD IS, COME ON” a girl with curly black hair grabbed the boys collar, freezing when she saw you.

“what-what are you doing hanging out with a pan!? Is that why you ran off?!” the boy froze when he heard your last name. shaking his head with tears in his eyes

“n-no! I didn’t know who she was!” the girl huffed, glaring at you “stay away from him pan”

And dragged the boy off, he looked back at you, mouthing ‘pan?’ to himself. You watched as the girl dragged her brother away, one thought in your head.

‘hook…dad?’

----

The boy was the son of captain hook, harry, his name was. And you hated him, and he seemed to return the feeling, he played pranks on you constantly, also stealing whatever he could from you, treasure, knick nacks, anything he could get his hands on.

Then he went too far, stealing your book and ripping it to pieces, a sadistic smirk on his face.

Tears dripped down your face as you watched the pages fall to the ground, it had been the last thing your great grandmother Wendy had given you before she died.

Her last work, one dedicated to you.

“n-no..” you shook your head, your voice cracking, you looked into Harrys eyes, anguish simmering in yours.

“I …i- I HATE YOU!” you screamed, turning and running to the hideout.

----

Only a couple days later, Auradon forces came to neverland to detain the pirates, including harry and dragged them off to the new island of the lost, a place with no magic, a place to imprison the villains.

Even with your hate for harry, you knew he and his sisters didn’t deserve to go there, they had done nothing!

You had begged the fairy queen, Clarion, to try to save them, but she was unable to do anything, though she agreed with you, Harriet, harry and CJ were innocent children, they did not deserve to be imprisoned for their father's crimes.

And it had been 13 years since then, and harry hook had been invited to Auradon prep, and you kinda reacted….harshly.

….

You might have punched him when he tried to talk to you for the first time, and he stared up at you with surprised eyes, holding his bloody nose.

“that’s for ripping my book”

You avoided him for a month, before he cornered you, ironically on the anniversary of the day you met him.

“pan-please-let me- let me talk teh yeh!!!!” he yelled, grasping your shoulders pleadingly, as you kept trying to move around him to getaway.

You huffed, leaning against the wall, glaring at him. “you have one minute” harry sighed, digging into his bag and handing you something.

Your eyes widened with tears, shaking hands talking the object out of his hands.

It…its was your book, the pages carefully put back together with care. You looked back at Harry, who was staring down at his feet, shuffling them.

“i-im sorry lass…I was an idiot, and wanted to make meh father proud…and I-I didn’t realize how much the book meant teh yeh till I saw the personal writing teh yeh…god im so so sorry (y/n)”

You saw a drop of water hit the floor, falling from the curtain of black hair covering his eyes.

“you-“ you started, your voice cracking, you cleared your throat “you kept the book…and the torn pages”

Harry nodded, “aye, I knew I couldn’t just leave them like that, so as soon as yeh started to run away in tears, I started to collect the pages, and I kept them in a bag till I could put them all back together”

You watched as harry bit his lip, obviously nervous. “im truly sorry (y/n)”

You stared at him, shock making you unable to speak, you looked down at the book, tears dripping onto he covers, you opened it, and the first thing you saw was your granny Wendys writing

To my little fairy, may this book allow to you fly forever

-Wendy Darling

Some of the words were separated with a thin line, from the tear, but were somehow put back together so carefully, it didn’t seem like it had been torn at all.

You laughed softly, looking back up at harry.

“maybe your not so bad at all?”

-----

Did you hate harry hook? You used to, but…now you saw the boy you saved from his father, the one with the ocean blue eyes.

Slowly but surely, the two of you had become friends

He laughed at the stupidest things, like a bird that was high up and the wind ruffling its feathers. You had facepalmed at that.

And he had a stupid easy time at making you laugh, only needing to look at you and make a weird face to do so.

People were weirded out, the daughter of Pan and the son of Hook being friends!?! It was anarchy, it doesn’t make sense! You two were supposed to hate each other!

They didn’t like the way you two constantly talked, they didn’t like the way you two leaned into each other, they didn’t like the way you two bantered with each other like old friends, they didn’t like the fact that you two were friends at all.

No not at all.

people started to separate you from each other, inviting you to things where harry wouldn’t be present when you would go to sit with harry for meals they would grab you and make you sit with them.

They made the teachers of your shared class separate the two of you, with the reasoning of ‘they distract each other, their grades are going to slip’

And honestly? You were REALLY missing harry, like really bad, you were having dreams about him, doodling him on every piece of paper you could get your hands on, daydreaming of him.

---

You sat on your bed, crossed legged and thumping your knee on the bed, pouting at the wall.

You were lucky you had your own room.

So no would disturb you if you talked to harry in here.

….

Unfortunately, you never got his phone number.

Sighing you flopped back on your bed, half of you laying on the bed, the other half hanging over the side, the clock on the wall now upsidedown.

*pa-ping!*

Your phone went off, sitting up you saw an unknown number, raising your brow you open the messaging app, seeing a message from the unknown number

From 714-849-7165 (dudes don’t call this number, It's just random) at 11:37 pm

I got your number from evie, you wanna go sneak off to the enchanted lake? Im bored

You squinted at the message, trying to figure out who it was before another message came in

Its harry btw

Sighing in relief you typed back, your heart beating a little faster now that you knew that it was Harry texting you.

YES, I've been so bored, who knew that a pirate makes life more exciting?

I knew, you just didn’t listen to me

You rolled your eyes.

Whatever, so enchanted lake?

Yes, meet you there in 15 minutes

Gotcha, see ya hook

See ya pan

Squealing you clicked off your phone, leaping up from your bed to grab appropriate clothing for going to the lake.

Was it wrong to feel this excited to see a simple friend?

Maybe it wasn’t just simple friendliness you felt toward the pirate.

….

Eh, you would deal with that later, you had a hangout to get to.

---the end---