#and i text my dad like you'll never believe this but i think the raised heel in my shoes might have been giving me hip pain

[thalialunacy]

[for the @calaisreno May Prompts Tour, which affords me the opportunity to be supremely self-indulgent]

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) 13: laugh (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) (20) (21) (22) (23) (24) (25) (26) (27) (28) (29) (30) (31)

Is this still the number for John Watson?

John pauses, thumb hovering. Before he can choose a response, another message flashes in.

It's Harry

He nearly drops the phone. Or maybe he nearly throws it against the wall. Hard to say. 

His reflex to caretake wars with his lingering resentment of her absence. But he knows he would regret ignoring an olive branch… or whatever this is.

Hi

Everything okay?

No small talk, got it

Yes I'm fine, good in fact

and no I'm not going to ask you for money

He breathes in deeply.

I'm glad things are going well for you

And he is, at least in the abstract.

Thanks

I know this is the part where I'm supposed to ask how you are

But you know I'm pants at texting

Can we just have coffee or something?

John taps his phone to his lip absently and considers his options. A public reunion seems like it could be a volatile mistake, not to mention it's 7pm on a weekday. Sherlock is at the lab, Rosie is having her after-supper blanket time, and John is catching up on charting.

And to be honest, he's pretty bored.

Come to mine for tea?

Harry's three dots wibble for a while, which John supposes is fair.

Right now?

With my schedule, I have to take opportunities where I can

Okay, yeah, I'm free

He sends her the address, feeling both pleased and annoyed. One would think that hitting his own rock bottom would make him more sympathetic towards his sister. But really, it just piles helpless anger on top of guilt on top of anger, ad nauseum.

He's not even sure she knows he's a father, for Christ's sake.

Turns out, she doesn't. She walks through the door he holds open for her, and stops abruptly when she sees Rosie. 'Oh my God,' she breathes, staring. 'Oh my God. You--' She turns to John, eyes wide. 'She-- Johnny. She's yours?'

He nods, and despite everything, he feels his face curve into a proud smile. 'Her name's Rosie.'

'Can I--' Harry indicates the blanket with a sharp movement. 'Can I say hello to her?'

'Yeah, course.' He follows her, and folds himself down behind Rosie. 'Sweetheart, this is your Aunt Harry.'

Harry makes a bit of a squawking noise, probably at the 'aunt' bit, but tamps it down. 'Hi, Rosie,' she manages, her voice rough but determined. 'It's lovely to meet you. What are you playing with?'

'Avocados,' Rosie mostly manages to say, then holds one up for Harry without hesitation. Harry takes it with a giggle, and before long they're thick as thieves with a pile of emoting avocados between them.

Harry glances up at him when there's a lull. 'So. The dad life is treating you well, yeah?'

He hesitates, then nods. 'It is now.'

She eyes him, but doesn't ask about what came before now. Instead, she says, 'I'm just going to ask, alright -- who's the other parent?'

He raises an eyebrow. 'Why d'you say there is one?'

Her eyes twinkle. 'Because you do not have the fashion sense to have bought her this outfit. Your bird rich, then?'

He coughs. 'Well. No.'

She waits, though he can see she's trying not to be annoyed by his reticence. She's never understood people wanting to keep things private. 'No?'

'My… flatmate. He's able to buy her things I don't give a toss about, yeah.'

She blinks. 'You have a gay flatmate?'

John feels his ears heat up. 'I do, yeah.'

She seems weirdly impressed. 'You've come a long way from being a rugby lad, haven't you?'

He snorts. 'I'm learning how to do plaits, if you'll believe it.'

'She's not got enough hair for that yet.'

'Sherlock--the flatmate--insists it's a useful skill, though I've no idea why.'

She doesn't reply, and he looks up from where he's helping Rosie with her current avocado. 'What?' he asks, though he knows it's useless. Harry is no Sherlock but honestly, she doesn't have to be, because his emotions have always been written all over his face. It's a curse and a blessing.

'Oh holy shit,' she breathes out.

'Language,' he admonishes reflexively.

'Sorry, I mean-- Holy noses, Johnny.'

'Don't be smug.'

'Oh, I take no credit for this, I always knew the overcompensating locker room talk was hiding something.'

He rolls his eyes, but his lips are twitching. 'Yeah, insecurity about willy size.'

'Okay, ew, first of all. Second of all-- What the--' He gives her a warning look. 'Ever-loving heck.'

'Short version?' She nods quickly. He decides to also give her the slightly-less-mad-sounding version. 'Got married, got pregnant, had baby, wife passed away, realised I had feelings for my flatmate. Who is a man. And who is effectively fathering my child.'

She claps her hand over her mouth, and for a moment he fears she's going to cry, but then realises she's laughing.

'Oi, that's just not on,' he protests.

'But it's ridiculous!' She holds out a hand to him placatingly, speaking through continued laughter. 'It's lovely and sad and all that, but you have to admit--'

There are tears escaping the corners of her eyes, and he feels it begin to bubble up in his chest, too. Her laugh has always been a thing of beauty, of loud, annoying, contagious, unforgettable beauty, and he can't help it.

And she's right, really. It is kind of ridiculous.

He lets out his own laugh, finally, and reaches for her hand.

[❤️]

[fryingpansareswag]

Welcome back to the annual yap session about hangster! :)

So I listened to I Bet You Think About Me by Taylor Swift featuring Chris Stapleton for the first time the other day and absolutely fell in love with it and immediately thought about Bradley and Jake (Miles Teller is also in the music video).

I had to tell someone or would actually start tweaking out about it so you guys get to hear about it! I’ll be analyzing the whole song based on hangster (I will be including my own headcanons btw). This was also from Jake’s point of view with some lyrics more about Bradley.

Get a nice blanket and some hot chocolate (its a long one)

3 AM and I'm still awake, I'll bet you're just fine

Fast asleep in your city that's better than mine

After they broke up, Jake moved back to Texas and Bradley moved back to Philadelphia (I personally think Bradley lived in Philadelphia in his early childhood, moved to California after Goose died, and moved back after his falling out with Mav [just stay with me okay?])

And the girl in your bed has a fine pedigree

After they broke up (B was the one who broke the relationship up), Bradley started to just get with people to fill the hole he lost when he broke up with Jake.

And I'll bet your friends tell you she's better than me, huh

Well, I tried to fit in with your upper-crust circles

Yeah, they let me sit in back when we were in love

Pheonix was always nice to Jake when he and B were dating but when Bradley broke it off she never talked to him after. He texted her but left him on read.

Oh, they sit around talkin' 'bout the meaning of life

And the book that just saved 'em that I hadn't heard of

But now that we're done and it's over

I bet you couldn't believe

When you realized I'm harder to forget than I was to leave

And I bet you think about me

Even though Bradley is getting into a new relationship every week, Jake knows that he can never forget about him. They went through so much together and experienced so much together. How could Bradley forget and not think about him?

You grew up in a silver-spoon gated community

Glamorous, shiny, bright Beverly Hills

Bradley never got into detail about his childhood with Jake and from only seeing his childhood home in San Diego, he believed B came from a pretty wealthy, happy family. Jake knew nothing about Carole, Goose, or Maverick.

I was raised on a farm, no, it wasn't a mansion

Just livin' room dancin' and kitchen table bills

Jake's childhood consisted of living on a farm in Texas, he was a Mama's boy. Sometimes when he was little he would sneak downstairs to watch his mom and dad dance in the living room together after they thought all the kids went to bed.

But you know what they say, you can't help who you fall for

And you and I fell like an early spring snow

When Jake and Bradley first met, they almost immediately fell in love. There was nothing "casual" between each other. Even though Bradley was pretty reserved and timid with being in a romantic relationship, they connected easily and said they loved each other pretty quickly.

But reality crept in, you said we're too different

Bradley broke up with Jake stating that he was not ready for a relationship, he wasn't ready to open up, and--of course-- they were too different and would never make it.

You laughed at my dreams, rolled your eyes at my jokes

Mr. Superior Thinkin'

Do you have all the space that you need?

Bradley: "We need space. This isn't going to work."

I don't have to be your shrink to know that you'll never be happy

Jake watched from afar as Bradley dated other people (he stalked his Instagram account). Bradley never looked truly happy like he did with him.

And I bet you think about me

I bet you think about me, yes

I bet you think about me

Bradley thinks about Jake 24/7. Everything he does is for Jake.

Oh, block it all out

The voices so loud, sayin'

"Why did you let her go?"

Bradley regrets it every day that he broke up with Jake. They could've made it work. Bradley just couldn't open up like Jake wanted him to. He couldn't explain to Jake his past. He feared that Jake would leave him because of how miserable he actually was. Jake made him feel safe and loved for once.

Does it make you feel sad

That the love that you're lookin' for

Is the love that you had

Bradley really thought that he would eventually get over Jake. He'd find a nice girl he could settle down with, have a family, and live a happy life. Now he's thirty-six.

Now you're out in the world, searchin' for your soul

Scared not to be hip, scared to get old

After he lost Jake, Bradley became self-conscious and scared that everything he did would eventually lead to his downfall.

Chasin' make-believe status, last time you felt free

After Bradley and Jake broke up, Bradley put all of his attention into his work. Work would at least distract him from breaking the love of his life's heart.

Was when none of that shit mattered 'cause you were with me

Nothing mattered when Jake and Bradley were together. They were happy and that's what mattered.

But now that we're done and it's over

I bet it's hard to believe

But it turned out I'm harder to forget than I was to leave

Jake nor Bradley never forgot about each other. They always think of each other. Even when doing the most mundane tasks.

And, yeah, I bet you think about me

I bet you think about me, yes

I bet you think about me

I bet you think about me when you're out

At your cool indie music concerts every week

I bet you think about me in your house

Jake practically lived at Bradley's house at the height of their relationship.

With your organic shoes and your million-dollar couch

I bet you think about me when you say

"Oh my God, she's insane, she wrote a song about me"

I bet you think about me

Jake and Bradley never forgot about each other. They'd eventually see each other again, a mission that would change both of their lives.

Also here's the song if you'd like to take a listen :D

[omentranslates]

Villain - chapter 3 english fan translation

Warning for heavily implied/mildly portrayed themes and scenes of child abuse.

Hello, I've translated chapter 3 of the manga adaptation of Teniwoha's song, Villain. This translation is text only, the manga itself is free to read here.

The cover page this time says "Nobody knows what's under your skin, and you don't want them to."

Azuru's Father: Explain yourself, Adzuru. I'm honestly too stunned to speak, I didn't believe my own ears at first. To think that you're playing buddy-buddy with a delinquent group, staying out with them until the sun sets, and that you've decided to do this at the most important of times for me, when the mayoral election is so close.

Azuru: I'm sorry.

Father: IF YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING TO SAY FOR YOURSELF THEN SPIT IT OUT.

Kurema: Dad! Calm down, violence won't solve anything!

Father: We raised you both the same, why did only Kurema turn out right.

Kurema: Are you alright, Nii-san? Dad's just excitable right now because the election is coming up.....although, I can't say I approve of you hanging out with delinquents either. You'll get caught up in their nasty image.

Azuru: Renri isn't a bad person!

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

Narration: They won't even try to understand. No matter what angle I come from, I just can't convey the truth in a way they'll listen to. Faced with a frustrating problem and nothing to be done about it, I've found myself missing my androgynous friend.

Renri: ....Azuru, you're here again. Well good timing, I was just getting hungry.

Renri: Azuru?

Azuru: ....ah, yeah....

Imaginary Azuru: Who was that girl?

Azuru *thoughts*: Nope, no way. No way in hell can I ask that.

Renri: Hey, what the hell! This is pretty good!

Azuru *thoughts*: He'll probably just say it's none of my damn business or something like that if I tried anyways....or maybe even.....

Imaginary Renri: Yeah, that's my girlfriend.

Azuru: It's not impossible is it.....there's every chance he could like girls, doesn't matter if he's the same under his clothes. And he's so cool, he's gotta be popular with them too.....

Renri: AZURU ARE YOU FUCKING LISTENING???

Azuru: ...sorry....what were you saying?

Renri: Did something happen?

Azuru *thoughts*: Even at a time like this his senses are sharp as ever.....

Azuru: ...no? Nothing's wrong.

Renri: ....hey, if there's something you wanna say you should just say it.

Azuru: I'M-

Narration: I'm not as strong as you.

Azuru: ....sorry....

Renri: Listen, if you don't tell me, I won't know what's going on with you.

Azuru: ...yeah, that's how it works.

Azuru: My dad...doesn't really like me.

Narration: I've never told anyone about this before.

Azuru: Since I can remember, I've never been interested in army men, and I always liked red more than blue. I never really understood how to be a boy and do boy things. So I ended up not ignoring my own desires and just fitting myself into what everyone else wanted. My dad, really really hates that about me.

Narration: I've never put these thoughts I've always had into words before.

Azuru: He hates me because I couldn't ever be normal.

Azuru: Re-...Renri...

Renri: Hey, why are you saying all this like it's your fault somehow? You think YOU did something wrong here? Is it evil to not fit the norm? What even is normal, who decided?

Renri: It's fine to be the villain, just stay Azuru.

Azuru: I'm....I'm not sure about that....

Renri: I am!

Narration: Renri's deceptively strong arms and the clumsy words that understand a pain I didn't even tell him about....everything about you is proof that you are who you say you are. You're a man, no mistake. But then, then that means that it's really...really not going to be me that gets to stand by his side.

Narration: If I were to tell you that I, as a man, was in love with you, as a man, what kind of face would you make while getting rid of me...?

[thatsdree]

Escape (G/t Oneshot)

Elliot groggily stepped out from the bookshelf as the human paced around the bedroom, frantically throwing clothes around, stuffing several in a backpack on their bed. The teenager seemed distressed, and the borrower was eager to know what the fuss was all about this early in the morning. The sun hasn't even risen yet.

He carefully stepped alongside the books lined up on the shelf, making his way to the other end so he could jump onto the table next to it. "What are you doing?" He asked.

The teenager was startled at first, but realized that the voice came from the tiny person standing on their desk. "Oh, It's just you. I'm preparing some things for several days of traveling."

"Where are you going?" The borrower asked.

The bean sighed. "I don't know, but I'm getting out of this place and never coming back."

Elliot's eyes widened. "You're running away?"

"Shhhh!" The human raised a finger to their lips. They reached behind the borrower to grab a mason jar that was filled with coins and dollar bills, pouring its contents onto the bed.

As the teen was counting the money, Elliot noticed the large rectangular strip of paper lying on the desk and walked up to get a closer look at the text printed on it. "...bus...ticket." He read quietly to himself. "If you don't know where you're going, then why do you have this?" He asked as he picked up one end of the ticket with both of his hands.

"That's only to get me far away from this awful place. I'll figure out where to go next from there."

"What about your dad?"

"That old crank I call my father? He can go dig himself a hole and fuck off."

"Y-yeah." Elliot knew their relationship had always been rocky with their father, so of course they wanted to get out of here.

Elliot had only gathered enough courage to first approach the human several weeks ago. They were crying, covered in bruises. He knew he shouldn't be befriending humans, but he made an exception. No one else seemed to bring comfort to the human, so he felt obligated to do something. Maybe he approached them because he was feeling lonely and needed comfort too.

Elliot learned that their name was Alex, not the name that their father called them. Their father was never fond of calling them Alex. He never seemed fond of Alex in general.

Elliot's thoughts were interrupted as he heard Alex grunt when they slung the bulky bag onto their back. They were about to grab the bus ticket from the desk when they noticed the borrower hanging their head, looking somewhat melancholy. Alex crouched down to meet his gaze. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing! I'm just- shocked to hear that you'll be leaving." Elliot fidgeted with his sleeves. "I figured you would at some point."

"Yeah, I've been planning this for a while. I can't believe it either." Alex set their bag on the floor and sat on the bed. "Is there something else going on? Are you alright?"

Elliot stood frozen in place, silent. He sat down at the desk with his legs dangling on the edge. He never really opened up to anyone about his emotions. Not even his parents. That's how borrowers were: always being secretive, keeping things to themselves and doing the best they can to survive.

"When I first met you, you only wanted to know if I was okay. You've always shown concern for me. Now I think it's time that I've done the same for you. Is there something you need to tell me?"

Elliot slowly let out a sigh as he looked at the floor below him. "When you leave, I'm going to be alone again."

"Alone? But...you're just a kid like me. Don't you have any family to go home to?"

The borrower only realized now that Alex didn't know anything about his family. "My parents...they-" Elliot hesitated to speak, as he found himself choking on his words. "A few months ago, both of my parents became really ill. And then..." he trailed off.

"Oh..." Alex spoke softly. "I'm so sorry to hear that, Elliot."

"But it's not like I want you to stay! That's selfish thinking," Elliot looked into the human's eyes which were now full of pity. "You're not happy here. You need to get out of this place."

Alex looked down at their hands in their lap. Elliot was the voice of concern that they never realized they needed so badly. They only realized now that during all of his visits, he was dealing with the death of his parents. And he was going to be all by himself again. Alone. Was that why the borrower decided to approach them? Because he felt lonely? Alex wanted to reach out and do something, maybe hug him, how would they go about doing that? They've never even touched the borrower before. Was he even comfortable being held?

"Neither of us are happy here," Alex finally spoke. "So what if...you left this place too?"

Elliot looked up with surprise. "You want me to run away with you?"

Alex nodded. "It only makes sense, right? We both have our issues here. Maybe we can get out of this place together and start over?" Alex hesitated to move their hand at first, but managed to bring out an open palm in front of the borrower.

Elliot looked at the hand before him, still processing Alex's offer. He'd be leaving everything that he knew: the place he called home for as long as he could remember, the memories of his first borrowing trips, his parent's final resting place. It would be painful to leave it all behind, but holding on hurt even more. "I...I should go grab some things to take with me." He scrambled across the desk to return to the bookshelf.

Alex patiently waited for the borrower, double checking their bag to make sure that they had everything they needed.

Elliot made his way through the hollow walls back into his own home. Everything appeared dim and gray. All but the painting of him and his parents that hung on the wall in their best clothes.

He took it down from the wall, realizing that it was painted on a sheet of paper. His mother had painted it. She was a very talented artist. The only artist he ever knew of, really. His father on the other hand was very good at sewing. Elliot recalled how his father had an accident which kept him from going on borrowing trips. Elliot was old enough at the time to go borrowing on his own, so he took over the role. His father found a way to still help his family by teaching himself how to sew.

The corners of his mouth curved into a smile, but he could only feel bittersweet. Elliot carefully folded the painting and placed it into his shoulder bag. He began to scramble around the house, taking what he knew he needed and whatever he could carry.

As Alex was looking through their backpack, he heard the tiny footsteps of the borrower from the bookshelf. Elliot was back, running across the bookshelf carrying a cloth bag stuffed full of items that was the size of his torso, panting. "I'm ready."

Once again, Alex brought out an open hand and was surprised to see that Elliot immediately climbed onto his palm. It was only till then that he realized how tiny the borrower was. Elliot only stood a little bit taller than their fingers were long.

As Alex slowly brought his hand up to get a better look at the borrower, Elliot clung onto his thumb to keep his balance. "I can't believe I'm doing this..." Elliot said with tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

"Are you sure you want to?"

Elliot clenched onto his bag and nodded.

"I can wait a little longer, if you need to take your time."

Elliot sniffed, shaking his head. "Thank you, Alex," he cried out as he wrapped his arms around their thumb more tightly.

Alex was stunned. They didn't expect him to be this clingy. Alex curled the remaining fingers around the borrower and brought him closer to their chest. "No, thank you Elliot. I didn't want to do this alone," tears began to form from their eyes as well.

"Part of me wants to stay a little longer and see things one last time, but I know I'm going to change my mind if I look back," Elliot sobbed.

"I feel that way, too." Alex's voice cracked. "That's what made it so hard to leave."

The two stood in the middle of the bedroom, Elliot still in Alex's hand hugging his thumb being held close to their chest, as thoughts rushed through their head, thinking about everything that was going to happen. They had each other now. They were in this together.

"We should get going. My dad's gonna wake up soon." Alex uncurled his fingers after the borrower let go of his thumb. "Are you okay with riding in my shirt pocket? I'll be able to check on you and it's much safer than being in my hand."

"It's not like I have any other choice, do I?"

"Well I definitely don't want you getting crushed in my backpack, and I just wanted to make sure I got your permission before stuffing you in there without warning."

Elliot laughed. "It's alright, I can work with that. Just...don't literally stuff me in there."

"Hahah, of course I won't! You know what I meant." Alex used their free hand to widen the opening of their shirt pocket. They lifted the other hand with Elliot over the opening and carefully tilted it so he could slide in.

"Woah-" Elliot yelped as he slid in. He placed his hands on the edge of the pocket to lift himself up slightly so his head could peek outside. He had never seen the room from this angle, and he was so high up. But he knew he'd be safe in Alex's pocket. He looked back up at the human. "Let's get out of here."

Alex nodded, and quietly made their way to the entrance of their bedroom. They turned to look back one last time before closing the door behind them.

* * *

Some angst with a borrower and a human running away together. Hope you enjoyed!

More G/t Oneshots (blog navigation)

[jaycewrites-192000]

Growl: Chapter 6

Warnings: None

Tags: @theravencawsatmidnight @etroman @kaariqueen

Your P.O.V

I sat on my bed, phone in hand trying to think of what to say to Kyotani. I would type out a few words then immediately delete it, because it sounded really dumb or really desperate. "Why is this so hard?" I groaned. I could say whatever to Iwaizumi and Oikawa and it wouldn't bother me later on, but with Kyotani...I just really don't want to mess this up. I looked back down at my phone screen, took a deep breath and typed.

Me: Hey Kyotani, it's me Y/n, did you make it back home?

I held my phone to my chest, I didn't even want to see the speech bubble pop up. But when it did, and my phone dinged, my stomach did a backflip. I looked at my phone.

Kyotani: Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah? That was all he typed? I sighed slightly, well, he never was a man of many words.

Me: That's good. So, about coming over again. How does tomorrow night sound?

"Wow, way to be clingy." I mutter.

Kyotani: Sounds good.

I blinked a few times. "Whoa really? That worked?"

Me: Cool! I'll see you then.

Kyotani: See ya.

I let out a weak sigh and fell back onto my bed. Before I fell asleep I went back to the texts and changed Kyotani's name to:

🐶Mad Puppy🐶

He might have the personality of a feral wolf, but he could be as cute a little puppy. I smiled softly before drifting off to sleep.

Your P.O.V

Your alarm jerked your awake early the next day. With a groan you sat up and turned it off and checked your phone, you gasped when you saw what day it was. "It's Saturday!!" You cheered before flopping back down on your bed. It might be immature for you to act like a child when it came to the weekend, but Jesus did you hate waking up early to go to some boring classes for eight hours a day. Besides, you had a very important day ahead of you. Tonight was the night you went over to Kyotani's place for dinner. The grin on your face only grew wider. "It's like a date...only his mom is going to be there too..."

Speaking of moms, you needed to tell your mom you wouldn't be home early tonight. "Oh great. She's never going to get off my back over this." You sighed. You got up and changed out of your pajama's and into some comfy clothes before heading downstairs. Your mother was just on her way out it the door once you got to the bottom of the stairs. "Hey mom!" You called, making her stop. "Yes sweetie?" She turns to face you. "Um, is it cool if I go over to a friends for dinner tonight?"

"Hm? You mean Iwaizumi?" She asks. "No, not him."

"Oikawa?"

"No."

"...uh, then who?" She mutters.

"A new friend. Remember that intense guy I told you about? His name is Kyotani." You tell her. "Huh, I see. Well first I'm happy that you're making new friends sweetie." Your mother smiled. "But are you sure this "intense" guy is a friend? I just want to make sure you're not being bullied."

"I'm not being bullied. He is a pretty angry person at times but, he's actually really cool too." Your mother took a minute to think about it. "Alright, you can go. Do apologize to them for me. I won't be there."

"You won't?" Your mother shook her head. "I work late tonight. I won't be home until midnight. Which I expect you to be home before then, understand?" Your mother raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I promise. I'll tell them." Your mother pats your head and opened the front door. "Good, I'll see you later." She waves before leaving the house. "Of course you're working late again." You mutter as you walk into the living room. It never use to bother you as much before, but the more you thought about it and the more you watch her leave, the more it bothered you. She was always working, even during the weekends. You two hardly ever talked at times. You sat on the couch and decided to watch your favorite show to pass the time.

After a while, your phone dinged.

Shittykawa: Heeeeeey L/n-Chan! Wanna hang out? I'm free all day~😙

. . . . .

Shittykawa: Don't ignore me!😫

You: That was my answer.

Shittykawa: Your answer was pure silence?

You: Yeah. 😒

Shittykawa: Whatever.🙄 What are you up to?

You: Lazying about. Something you would know well huh, Lazykawa?

Shittykawa: So. Rude. What about later tonight?

You: Can't. I have plans.

Shittykawa: Liiiiike?

You: What's it to you?

Shittykawa: Come on! The least you can do is tell me!

You: Uggggh! I have dinner plans with Kyotani ok!?

. . .

You: Shittykawa?

Shittykawa: YOU HAVE A DATE WITH MAD DOG!?

You: It's not a date!!!

Shittykawa: Really? You? Him? Dinner??? Is it not clicking L/n-Chan?

You: His mom is going to be there, dumbass.

Shittykawa: I just can't believe it... You. And Mad Dog??? Of all people???

Me: What's so wrong with that?

Shittykawa: First, I can't believe you chose him over me 😭 Second, he's not exactly the ladies man. He's more the, scare and intimidate everyone he comes in contact with, man.

Me: Oh shut up Shittykawa. Kyotani's cool. Now if you'll excuse me, he's texting me right now. So I'm gonna get to that if you don't mind 😡 Besides, we all know you gay af.

You didn't bother to read what Oikawa texted next.

Mad Puppy: Hey. You still on for tonight?

You: Yeah totally! I'm really looking forwards to it.

Mad Puppy: Cool. My mom's been pestering me about it all fucking morning. It's like she's trying to play matchmaker. It's ducking creepy.

Your heart twinged a bit at that.

You: Oh yeah? Sorry to hear that.

Mad Puppy: It's whatever. Just telling you ahead of time, she's gonna keep this up the whole night. I just know she is. Anyway, I'll call you later ok? I gotta take Killer on a walk.

You: Ok. Talk to you later.

You bury your face in your hands. You had a feeling that tonight was going to take a lot out of you.

Later that night you stayed close by your phone, just waiting for that call from Kyotani. You had already gotten ready ahead of time, just so you would have to be in a rush later. You wore a short (color) dress with leggings.

(I know that must suck, but give me a break idk what outfit description would satisfy you all lol)

You didn't want to be super dressy but you didn't want to look like a bum in front of Kyotani and his mom. Speaking of, your phone lit up as the ringer went off. You scramble to pick up your phone before answering. "H-hello?"

"Hey, just checking in. You all ready to go?"

"Yep, I'm ready. I'll be over soon."

"Oh uh, actually...I'm on my way to your place....I didn't want you to walk alone at night."

You held back an "aw", you knew it would make him mad. "That's really nice of you Kyotani. Thank you."

"Yeah, I just figured you'd feel more comfortable if you were with someone. Anyway, I'll be there in a few."

"Ok. I'll see you then." You hung up and held your phone to your chest, the brightest smile on your face. Who knew Kyotani could be so nice? You never thought that you would have fallen for someone who looks pissed 24/7, but here you are.

Shortly after, Kyotani was knocking at your door. You took a deep breath and opened the door. "Hi." You say softly. "Hey." He responds. "You ready to go?" You nod and walk out the door before shutting it. "Oh yeah, forgot to mention, my sister will be there too." He tells you. "Really? What's she like?"

"She's a l bitch." Kyotani says bluntly. "Oh come on." You laugh. "Is she really that horrible?" Kyotani nods. "Yep." You just rolled your eyes. You didn't have a brother or sister, but you understood that siblings would pick fights and "resent" each other from time to time. "Is your dad gonna be there too?" Kyotani remained silent, his eyes narrowed. "No." Oh....You decided not to press for more questions, not yet at least. You didn't want to ruin the night by bringing up touchy subjects.

Before you knew it, you were at his home. Kyotani knocked on the door, which was immediately answered by his mom and Killer, who was barking and jumping on you. "Oh, look at you Y/n! You look stunning! Doesn't she Kentaro?" His mom gushed. Kyotani nods. "Come on in! Dinner is just about ready!" You thanked her before stepping inside. At the table was a girl with black hair and the same yellow eyes as Kyotani sat. She wasn't really paying attention to anything or anyone, aside from her phone, which she tapped away on. "Natsuki, we have a guest. Put that thing down for once!" Her mom says as she walks to the stove. Natsuki sighs heavily and puts her phone down. "Hey." She mutters. "You my dumb little brother's girlfriend or something?" You and Kyotani's faces turn red.

"Shut your trap, Natsuki!" Kyotani growls. "She's way too pretty for you, mutt." She smirks. "I said shut it!"

"Both of you shut up!" Their mother yells. "Sorry about my two idiots Y/n." She smiles. You just wave it off. "Uh, don't worry about it." Kyotani and Natsuki's mother set down a very delicious meal on the table. Everyone sat down and gave thanks for the meal before digging in. "Wow. This is really good!" You say as you take another bite. Kaori smiles warmly. "I'm glad you like it. You should take some home for your family. I may have gotten carried away and made a little too much. I was just so surprised that my son brought over such a sweet and beautiful young lady!" Kyōtani grumbles a curse under his curse. Your face warmed up. "I'm kinda surprised myself." You admit.

"Same here. Ken has always been weird. Never thought girls would be interested in him." Natsuki says bluntly. "Tsk. And I never thought guys would be into you, guess I was right, huh?" Kyotani counters. The two siblings were caught in a glare off with each other. "I say cut it out, both of you!" Kaori hissed.

The rest of the night was filled with conversations about school, and marriage, much to Kyotani's dismay, and just causal convo. There were more compliments about how nice and cute you were from his mom, and some questions from his sister for you like "so how much did my brother pay you to hang out with him?". They had to be one of the most chaotic family you've met, but you did enjoy their company. It was getting late, time for you to head home. Once again, Kyotani walked you home. "Thanks again." You smile softly. "Yeah, sorry about my mom and sister. Must have been exhausting." You shook your head. "They were great. I had a really good time tonight. Make sure you get back home safe ok?" Kyotani nods. "See ya." He turned ad walked away.  You wave before walking inside your home. Your mother still wasn't home, you decided to head up stairs and catch up on your favorite anime.

While watching, your phone dinged. You looked down to see a text from Kyotani.

🐶Mad Puppy🐶 I had a good time too. Night

You smiled and texted back.

You Good night 😊

Previous | Next

[nightshade-minho]

-Blue Book- (8)

Warnings: hoo boi.

Word Count: 2k 

"Y/n?" Chan gently shook your shoulder. "Come on baby, you've got to wake up."

You peeled your eyes open, cheeks flushing as you noticed how close Chan's face was to yours.

"Good, you're awake. Listen...I've got to go to the airport and pick up my parents, and your mom was blowing up your phone just a few minutes ago." The corner of his lips twitched in amusement as your phone started vibrating. "Well, there she goes again. Sounds important, you should answer." He straightened up, handing you your phone and heading to the kitchen. "I’ll be making breakfast."

You smiled as he left, expression dropping as you answered your phone.

"Yes, mom...?"

"Oh! My baby! Thank god you answered, finally...I'm so sorry about last night, darling..."

"It's oka-"

"No it wasn't! I'm a terrible mother. I'm sorry, it's just, he was so hot, and I was super intoxicated. We're going to go on a second date! Whose place did you stay at, by the way? A boy answered the phone earlier." She asked, her tone dripping with suggestiveness. You could almost see her wiggling her eyebrows.

"Ew, gross, mom! He's just a friend." You said as Chan came back into the room with a plate of waffles, raising an eyebrow.

"Sure, darling, whatever you say. Although I'm certainly not opposed to you getting laid, it was long overdue anyw-"

"Haha okay, bye mom!" You cut the call, shuddering as Chan giggled, passing you the plate.

"Just a friend? Do friends kiss each other the way we did last night?"

"Shut up." You smiled, digging into your waffles.

***

You watched Chan's car leave as he left for the airport, standing there until he became a speck in the distance before turning around to enter your house.

You found your mom sitting on the couch...but this time, she wasn't passed out with drool running down her chin and clutching a bottle of beer- she was sitting with an odd sense of poise, wearing a pretty summer dress and a huge smile.

"Y/n! You're home! How was your night?" She grinned, winking. You narrowed your eyes, her cheerfulness catching you off guard. Your gaze drifted to the table, on which rested some plates and two empty wine glasses.

"Nowhere near as good as yours." You said pointedly, tearing your gaze away from the table as you moved to go upstairs.

Flopping on your bed, you scrolled through your text messages. Nothing new from Chan. You sighed, reminding yourself that there was probably no Wi-Fi at the airport.

Suddenly your phone dinged with a new text message. Oh. A response to your tutor ad. You'd put it up a long while ago and had honestly forgotten all about it. Well, you definitely needed the extra money. You replied affirmatively to the text and tossed your phone next to you on the mattress.

***

It had been a while since Chan had had dinner with the boys. The conversation was light, and he had missed his friends..however he found himself missing you more, despite having seen you that morning.

"Minho, I don't know how you get away with making out with her in the hallway. I can barely hold hands with my girlfriend without some teacher giving us detention-"

Chan looked up as Felix shoved Changbin's arm, making him stop mid-sentence. Changbin raised an eyebrow, realization dawning on him.

"Ah sorry, Chan. I didn't mean to rub it in."

"Seriously, though." Jisung rolled his eyes. "It's been weeks, and you aren't any closer to getting that book. I hate to say it bro, but I don't think Miyoung would want to be with you even if Minho breaks up with her."

Hyunjin nodded, glancing up from his phone. "I've noticed her and Y/n are really buddying it up. It's girl code not to date your friend's ex."

"Of course, you're the expert on girl code, Hyunjin."

A small squabble broke out and Chan wanted to slither onto the floor and just...stay there. He glared at his plate, deciding he’d had enough.

"Stop it!”

Jisung and Hyunjin stopped talking, staring at Chan in surprise.

"I will get that book soon. I love Miyoung, and I'll make sure she's mine, through any means possible. I don’t care about your opinions, so you guys can just shut the fuck up." He hated lying through his teeth, but there was no way he was going to tell these judgmental burdens he called his friends that he loved you- at least not yet.

Chan relished the silence as he continued eating, trying his best to ignore Minho's burning, inquisitive gaze directed right at him.

***

You sat in bed, clutching your blue book as you tapped your pencil, your head filled with thoughts of Chan. In all your 17 years of life, you'd never known what love felt like...but now you did. And as a result, you were completely consumed with the burning need to tell Chan exactly how you felt.

When you'd moved to this town, you really hadn't expected for it to one day feel like home. But it did, and you were sure it was all because of Chan. His presence somehow made you feel safe, and protected, and you hadn't felt this secure since your dad left you.

You wanted- no, you needed to know if Chan felt the same way about you. You pushed the self-doubt deep inside as you imagined telling him.

You turned red just thinking about it. Fuck it, you were too shy. You'd be a blubbering mess two words in.

Sighing, you looked back down at your book...when an idea struck in your head.

Uncapping your pen with your teeth, you placed the nib on the paper and inhaled, letting all your feelings flow out onto the page. It felt kind of cliché, writing a love letter like this, but you always did have a tendency to over-romanticize everything.

Besides; it was more of a love poem. Gah, was that worse? You hoped to god he wouldn't find it cheesy, especially since you'd bared your heart to him with these words. As you finished, your eyes ran over the last sentence. 

"If you feel the same, please meet me behind the tree near the lake, where we had our first conversation, and where I started falling for you."

You shut the book and placed it on your bedside table, flicking the lamp off and rolling over. You nuzzled your pillow, your mind drifting to last night, the memory of Chan's lips and body pressed against yours still fresh.

***

It was a bit early to be having an ice cream date, but neither of you could honestly care less. As soon as you'd woken up in the morning, Chan had texted you to meet him at the ice cream parlour near his house.

"I can't believe you like salted caramel. Its such an old person flavor." He laughed, staring at you fondly.

"Like mint chocolate is any better." You rolled your eyes.

"Fine fine, let's just accept we have different tastes in ice cream."

You smiled. "That I can get on board with."

There was a comfortable silence as the two of you ate. You glanced up from time to time, your heart pounding as you psyched yourself up. Come on, this was the moment. You can do it, Y/n.

"Hey, Chan...?"

"Mm?" He asked, pausing with the spoon halfway to his mouth.

"Uh...are you free tonight?"

"Tonight? Oh, I'm playing soccer with the guys. You could come watch, though."

"Oh no, I have a tutoring appointment in the evening." You muttered.

Chan quirked his eyebrow. "Why'd you ask in the first place, then?"

"Uh, I just wanted to know. I mean-" You groaned, letting out an exasperated sigh. Bending down, you grabbed your bag from the floor and put it on your lap.

Confused, Chan watched as you pulled out your book, the book, swallowing. Slowly, you slid it over to him.

"I...what's this?" Chan asked as nonchalantly as he could, running a hand through his hair.

"It's...kind of my diary. I just-" you inhaled. "Look, I've bookmarked a page. When you go home- and please don't open it before then- read what I've written." You gulped, as Chan didn't make any move to take the book.

"Look, Y/n, I-"

"Please, just take it. Don't ask any questions." You looked down, trying to hide your flushed cheeks, trying to calm the beating of your heart.

Chan sighed, fingers reaching out and slowly curling over the book as he took it into his hands, tucking it into his pocket as you let yourself smile.

"Thank you."

***

Huh. This was definitely not what you'd been expecting. The house was a lot smaller than you'd imagined it to be, especially knowing how much you were charging.

You breathed in and came forward, knocking on the door and waiting. A few minutes later, a young girl opened it.

"Hi! Are you Dea?"

"How do you know that?" She asks, scrunching her nose, her hand gripping the handle tightly. "Mom says not to talk to strangers."

You shook your head quickly before she could close the door. "Sweetheart, I'm your tutor."

"Prove it."

You sighed, straightening and looking past her. "Is your mom here?"

The girl paused for a second before shaking her head, moving to slam the door closed, when a woman showed up from behind the corner.

"Oh good, it's the tutor!" The woman placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder, smiling at you. "Come in, Y/n. I've actually got someplace to be, but I'll be back in two hours. I assume you'll be done by then?"

"Yeah, most probably." You smiled and let her take you in, leading you to Dea's bedroom. The girl herself followed cautiously, and you found yourself a little amused.

"Right, this is her desk." The mom ran a hand through her hair, gesturing to the table. She glanced at her watch and swore, shooting you an apologetic glance.

"In sorry Y/n, I've got to get going soon- please focus on her maths, it's really bad. We'll discuss your fees and other logistics when I get back, okay?" She smiled at you, waving at her daughter before hurrying out the door.

You watched her leave, frowning slowly as she walked away. Something was niggling away at the back of your mind. Why did she look so familiar?

Turning back to the girl, you sighed inwardly at her knitted eyebrows and scowl. She was avoiding your stare, fiddling with her pencil and muttering under her breath.

This was going to be tough.

***

Minho sighed, watching Miyoung wave from the bleachers. Fuck, it was like she was physically incapable of giving him some fucking space.

He glanced over to Chan, clad in his uniform as he chugged water from the bottle Felix handed to him. When was this asshole going to get that fucking book? He couldn't stand having to date Miyoung any longer.

As the girl blew him an exaggerated kiss, Minho decided he had had enough. Needing to be alone, he turned around and went to the locker room. Just a moment to breathe, that was all he was asking for.

As Minho entered the cool, air-conditioned locker room, he let out a sigh of relief. He went over to sit one of the benches, planning to rest in solitude for just a few minutes... until he noticed Chan's clothing lying on one.

His shirt and jeans were carelessly strewn on the seat, and Minho narrowed his eyes as a flash of blue caught his eye, almost immediately.

Peeking out from the pocket was a very familiar looking little blue book.

He came closer, slowly pulling the book out and inspecting it. Could it be? The bastard had your book all along? Opening it, he flipped through the pages with a smirk slowly growing on his face. Yup, it was yours.

It was like the gods were smiling down on him, finally.

[anobscurename]

ocean eyes – chris evans

previous part: PART XIX — masterlist

concept: you finally have had enough. the slowest of slow burns. part twenty of many.

pairing: chris evans x reader

word count: 2,4k

warnings: you might cry; i know i did. angst.

author's note: i needed my comedic relief comfort characters for this one in the beginning tbh cause... well... you'll see. this one is for @miss-jackson500 because i haven't dedicated one to her yet and she's? amazing?!

You had wondered – for the days that followed – that if maybe the rescheduled meet-up hadn't been cut short by Anthony, if things would be different.

You came to the conclusion that all that really would've been different was that you'd know a little less.

"You're finally going to do it, huh?" Anthony grinned from across the pool table. You had, according to the original plan, all come together at the old bar where you'd first met the two. "You're going to tell him how you feel?"

"Is it a bad idea?" You asked, missing your shot. Your mind was heavily distracted, and it was showing through. You were usually wiping the floor with the duo, but now you were losing four balls to one.

"No, no, it's a fantastic idea," Anthony bent down to line up his next shot. "Tell her it's a fantastic idea, Seb. Better yet, tell me who the Black Widow should be with."

Sebastian, who had been sat to the side, waiting for his turn, rolled his eyes and took a swig of his beer. "I admit nothing until I see a ring."

"Speaking of rings!" Anthony jumped up excitedly – either from the prospect of marriage or the thrill of pocketing his ball, leaving team Falcon and Winter Soldier with just the black on the table – "I'm thinking a round cut two carat, set in rose gold? Colour scheme would he lavender, of course, because as best man–"

"You can get fucked if you think you're going to be best man."

"Of course I'm best man! Look at me, I'm the bestest man around, I'm fine as–"

"You can both get fucked if you think there's going to be a wedding," you laughed.

Anthony hissed a curse under his breath as he missed the winning pocket, reluctantly handing the cue off to Sebastian, who hopped off the stool to land gracefully on his feet.

You chalked your cue, determined to not lose yet another game to these dipshits. "I haven't even told him yet, what if he doesn't feel the same way?"

Anthony and Sebastian both looked at you, incredulous. "I mean this with only love, and it comes from a place deep within my heart... Are you blind?"

Sebastian was even balking. "Even I could tell, and I have the social skills of a pineapple."

"Okay, fine! You both are clearly biased, you saw us kiss."

"No, we watched a softcore porno is what we did, y'all devouring each other like that in public–"

He cut himself short, having to laughingly dodge himself out of the reach of your playful slap.

"I'm asking Scott for the final opinion," you proclaimed.

Sebastian rolled his eyes, eager to play and win the game, bouncing the end of the cue on the wooden bar floor. The rubber stop muted the noise.

You opened up the text thread you had been maintaining with the younger Evans. Should I tell Chris?

You didn't need to elaborate, Scott would know what you meant. There was a pause on his end, and you had just been about to put your phone away before his response bubbled up.

Sorry, was just changing your name in my phone to sister-in-law ;)

That was all the answer you needed.

You finished the game – you lost, mind overrun with giddiness and the odds having been stacked against you long before – and you were hugging Anthony goodbye.

When you'd asked where he was headed, he'd just given you a sly wink and a "wouldn't you like to know."

That left just you and Sebastian, and you decided to walk him back to his hotel before heading home.

"How long you going to be in L.A. for?" You'd asked, just to make conversation.

"A week or so, maybe? And then I'm jetting back to New York. I haven't been home in so long, I think the dust has taken over my lease."

You chuckled, and continued on in a pleasant silence.

You gave him a departing hug in the lobby, and hailed a cab back to Chris'.

You were so high on the exhilaration of finally telling him and ending this will they/won't they charade once and for all. So excited, you'd nearly missed the unfamiliar Bentley in the driveway on your way in.

But it didn't go unnoticed.

You came in, greeted happily by a yapping Dodger, and the smell that hit you was one of Valentino perfume – overpowering the usual scent of Chris lingering in the house.

"Hey, Dodge," you whispered, giving him a vigorous petting session. "Where's Chris? Where's your dad?"

Dodger gave your hand a wet lick, slobbering over your keys, and you laughed lightly.

The door to the pool was open, and you could hear splashing and giggling – pitched more feminine than you'd ever heard Chris go.

Curiosity killed the cat. And satisfaction was never going to resurrect the plummet of your excitement. No, that was replaced by shock and anger. Even if you knew you had no right to feel that way.

"Chris?" You'd called out as you padded across the lounge. "Chris, whose car is in the driveway? I have something I–"

Blindsided, your slobber slick keys fell from your hand to jangle uselessly onto the ground. It was that that finally grabbed his attention.

He had been otherwise excruciatingly preoccupied with the topless girl in his lap, legs locked around his waist in a languid grind, his hands smoothing over her curves as they all but explored each other's tonsils in a moaning kiss.

Red flashed across your vision as well as your cheeks, and you ducked your head. Embarrassed and feeling stupid, you quickly grabbed your keys. "I'm sorry, I'll go..."

You quickly turned and dashed to your room, ignoring the tears in your eyes, and the call of your name.

"{Your name}, wait!" Chris cried, water sloshing as he clambered out of the pool. "{Your name}!"

You slammed the door shut behind you, making it clear you wanted isolation. Pulling out a duffel bag, you began throwing clothes into it, careless of what you might need, just needing to leave.

Sebastian had asked you once how much more you were going to put yourself through before you'd had enough.

And this was it. This was the breaking point. This was enough.

The strength in which Chris frantically ripped open your door had it banging against the adjacent wall, but you couldn't even look at him. Your eyes were blurry as you continued violently packing your clothes.

You didn't even know where you were going to go. You just knew you had to. Go.

"{Your name}, stop," he said, soft in direct comparison to the panic he felt in his chest. You were leaving him. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" You spat out. And then, just to change the subject, because not even you could bare to dwell on it too much: "You're getting water on your floor."

"{Your name}–"

"Don't talk to me, Chris. Rest your tongue a bit, it sure was busy earlier."

"As was yours, too, I'm sure," he bit back.

Your movements stuttered at the reciprocated rage. To your knowledge, he had no right to feel as you did in that moment. None.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

There was provocation in his eyes, and his searing gaze only fuelled your fire.

"Have fun with Sebastian?"

Your scoff was followed by a bewildered laugh. "I went out tonight with Sebastian and Anthony, Chris. We're friends. Welcome to the world of platonic relationships, professor, we've been waiting for your arrival."

And like the cut strings on a puppet, tension left his body – anger being replaced by confusion.

"I... I thought..."

"You thought wrong, Evans," you seethed, pushing past him to the bathroom to grab your toiletries. You made an effort to bump him, your shirt sticking to your skin with the water droplets still dotting his toned body. "And to think I really thought..."

"Thought what?" His voice cracked out.

"Thought that you might actually care about me!" You finally snapped. You were yelling. You didn't want to yell, but you were, voice echoing in the acoustics of the bathroom.

"I do," he whispered. His conviction was quickly draining from him, being replaced with an inevitable sadness and feeling of loss. You hadn't even left yet, but he knew that nothing he was going to say would make you stay. He knew he'd gone too far. It didn't stop him from trying. "I loved you, {your name}. I still do."

You had hoped that if he ever was to say those words, it would be under different circumstances. In fact, you'd found yourself imagining whole sunset beach scenarios, late into the night.

"I thought you were better than that, Chris. Manipulation? That's low."

"It's true. I've loved you–"

You didn't want to hear it. You weren't going to give him the opportunity of persuading you into staying. You knew you should've left long ago. "I can't say the feeling is mutual."

It was a lie. It was a lie, because if you really had felt nothing, then you wouldn't be acting like this. But you needed the upper hand, because Chris had basically knocked you over with the force of his admittance. You couldn't let yourself be dragged back in. Not this time. You had too much self respect for that. Not when he still had lipstick smudged on his lips, disappearing into the scruff that shadowed his jaw.

You had to avoid looking at his pained expression at your words. No matter how much you were hurting now at his profession of love, you knew he might possibly be hurting a little more at your rejection.

"And if you really did..." You trailed off, struggling to say the words love me. "Well, you have a really funny way of showing it."

"Pretending not to love you is the hardest role I've taken on, and I did it for you."

Red was dancing back into your vision, your shock growing alongside the fury.

"How is that for me?"

"Because that's what you wanted!" He was finding his voice again, raising it in his desperation. "Believe me, I wanted to fight for you. I would, would wage wars for you," he stuttered out. "But you never wanted that from me. You wanted to pull away, from this, from us. And I let you because I would do anything you asked of me."

"So you stayed away because you wanted to keep me?" You worded it slowly, just to make him understand how ridiculous it sounded.

"...Yes."

"Are you stupid? Actually mentally deficient?" You zipped your bag, brushing past him again, this time making sure to have as little contact as possible. He all but occupied the whole doorway.

"If I had told you then you would have left!" He was following you now, following you to the front door. "I told you I wanted you in my life, even if it meant the pain of never having you."

You had hoped to slam the door in his face to make your point known, but where Chris had slacked in fighting for you before, he was making up for now. He caught the door before it could close, trailing after you into the driveway.

"There's something wrong with me. I ruin things. So I let you have your space because you are the greatest thing that has happened to me in a long time, and I'd be fucked if I ruined you too!"

"It's a bit too late for that," you said, finally looking him in those ocean eyes. They were bloodshot with barely restrained tears. But your resolve was iron. "Congratulations, Evans. You've ruined me."

You heard Dodger pawing at the door, whining low and long for you. If you thought leaving Chris was hard, this was what made you break.

But you turned away from them, from that house, tears falling freely. A sob escaped your lips, barely stifled.

"Put on a shirt, Evans," you managed to get out. You wanted the last word, even if it brought very little satisfaction. "You have company."

———————

Your first call was to Anthony. He hadn't picked up, and you remembered his other plans.

The second also went unanswered – the friend who had become a self proclaimed L.A. local upon graduating high school, and who had let you crash at their house when you'd first arrived. She was probably at work, and so you left her a quick voicemail asking her to call you back.

The third did, on only the second ring. You had almost lost hope in anyone else being awake at that point, so you hadn't composed yourself before he picked up.

The first thing he heard was your sob, which you quickly cut off with a greeting.

"What's wrong?"

"Can I crash with you tonight? I need somewhere to go."

"What happened? Did–?"

"I don't want to talk about it," you said quickly. He shut up almost immediately. "I just... Please?"

There was a pensive silence on the other end, and you felt the need to fill it.

"I tried Anthony, but he wasn't picking up."

"Yeah," came the small chuckle crackling on the other end. "He's got a hot date tonight. Must be going well."

"I wouldn't do this if I had anywhere else to go, but I don't, and it'll only be for one night–"

"Of course you can stay," he assured, sushing you softly. "Can't believe I made you ask twice."

————————

Sebastian met you in the lobby, taking you up to his room almost immediately to avoid strange looks and any unwanted public attention.

He explained to you in the elevator that although he had tried to get you your own room, the hotel was fully booked. He sounded quite apologetic for that.

You didn't say much, because if you spoke, you were scared you were going to start crying all over again. And you'd just managed to stop, averting your eyes from your teadstained appearance in the mirrors.

Sebastian's room was a big one, on the pricier end of all the hotel had to offer. A large king sized bed stood to one side, bedsheets twisted as if he'd clambered into it right when he'd gotten back.

There was a lounge suite to the side, looking like a set-up you'd see on the glossy pages of Architectural Digest, and although the curtains were drawn, you could see the city lights sprawling out before you through the crack.

He was still in his outfit from the bar, shirt and jeans slightly rumpled.

The television was on, playing the original Nosferatu quietly in the background.

"I'll take the couch," Sebastian offered, dropping off the bags he'd taken from you.

You declined him with a shake of your head.

"{Your name}," he said, tender, placing both his hands on your shoulders to make you look at him. "You've been through a lot tonight. Take the bed, I've got the couch."

You didn't have the strength to fight his insistence. You didn't have the strength for much any more.

When you'd gotten out the shower, dressed in your pyjamas, Sebastian finally asked you again what had happened.

You just shrugged tiredly, climbing between the cool cotton sheets.

"I just had enough."

[fabricated-misslieness]

♡〜request: Can you do a Female Reader x Phoenix story plz? That’s Valorant BTW. So basically the reader found out her dad died and Phoenix is trying to comfort her. TY! 〜♡

Phoenix x gender neutral reader

Gotta say I wasn’t feeling it until I thought of smoking, on a balcony, rainy night, gazing out… the concept of that is really beautiful.

Pre-established relationship

Requested: Yes

Word Count: 963

Warnings: angst, smoking used as a coping mechanism, bad father-child relationship.

“Hey.”

You only spare him a glance before turning back to the beauty in front of you. Smoke flows out your lungs and out your mouth. It momentarily clouds the view, but you pay it no mind. “Hey.”

Phoenix watches you for a second, admiring and thinking of you.

Smoking isn’t really his thing, smoking tobacco that is. However, whenever you did it, he just felt attracted to you. It had a certain alluring feeling to it, like those mysterious and hot characters in novels. They usually came in the form of people who’d lost somebody extremely close to them, giving off a ‘broken’ feeling, like they’re constantly seeking for their loved one or something to patch them up. Their stories would usually be searching, finding somebody new to love, and then that person tells them ‘Hey, you’re never going to find them. They’re gone. It’s not healthy to keep searching.’ Or something along those lines.

He didn’t read a lot, sure, but as a child, he watched a lot of movies with that type of character. He’d always managed to fall in love with them, but never to a romantic extent.

Come to think of it, you were that bad-boy character he’d fallen in love with, in that romantic way. Though you never gave off a sense of brokenness, until now.

Although the sight of you smoking by a scenic view, especially a rainy one, wasn’t exactly peculiar, he knew something was different. He could just feel it radiating off of you. You felt broken and he refused to believe that. But when he focused on you, he couldn’t deny it. You were broken, shattered even.

"Something wrong?" He asks, to which you respond with a bitter laugh.

"Everythings fine."

Phoenix frowns, slowly approaching your side. "You and I both know you're lying." You merely nod. To such accusations you would usually joke about, so now that you didn't, he knew for sure something was wrong.

"My mother shot me a text."

"After 7 years?" You hummed a yes, then took a long drag of your cigarette. 

After a few seconds of waiting for you to say something else, Phoenix took the initiative to. "And what did she say?"

The sudden move of your hand surprised him. You hold it out. He stares at it for a few seconds before realizing you want him to hold it. Your intertwined hands give you the motivation to continue.

"My father died." He takes note of how you grasp his hand with such a grip that it feels like your life depends on it.

You and him were never close, Phoenix knew that. That's why he was confused about your sudden.. for a lack of words, absence of life. He's about to bring this up when you do.

"My father and I were never close." You spit the parental word like poison. "Yet I feel like a part of me is missing. He barely showed emotion, barely treated me like a child. He treated me as part of his own, sure, but it felt  like I was an obligation to him. He raised me and put me out into the world with the knowledge of how to survive, but aside from that, nothing. He wouldn't let my mother be too endearing either."

Your words become muttered and your voice grows weaker. Phoenix squeezes your hand to reassure you, "You don't have to continue."

"But I do. Well, I want to." After another long drag, you push the cigarette against the ash tray and leave it there for the moment. Clearing your throat, you finally look at him. He's surprised to see you look completely fine on the outside, as for the inside, he has no idea how you feel. "It feels like I should feel triumphant. Like I should spit on his grave and call him names. Like I should have built up some kind of spite against him." You look away from him, like you find the railing interesting. Phoenix knows not to say anything about it, though. "But in the end, I see he was actually trying. It was his way to show he cared. A shitty way for sure, but one nonetheless. I'm torn between spite and mourning."

Phoenix puts his hand on your cheek to bring your face back up to look at him. "You don't have to decide now. It happened out of nowhere, and it's only been how long?"

"3 hours."

"3 hours!" He exclaims for emphasis. His dramatic ways are almost enough to soothe you. "We can wait and see. Whatever you feel you'll feel. I'm here for you. Whatever happens, I'll be there to help."

Your smile brings a wave of relief over him. "I love you."

Your statement makes his eyes widen. It was the first time you'd said that seriously. Well, he didn't take the other ones seriously for the fact that you'd both said them in the heat of the moment during… y'know, some heated r-rated stuff.

"I love you too." He's glad to see your face light up brighter. 

"Hey," The beginning of his sentence has a mischievous tone, so immediately you know that he's about to suggest something troublesome. It'd be sure to get you in trouble with Brim. "let's go rob a bank. That'd be sure to cheer you up!"

You chuckle while Phoenix throws his head back at his own joke. "We should bring Breach too!"

He's so cute that you can't help but kiss him. It's rather rough, which is why it brings a small moan out of his mouth. "Or.. we could do that too." He winks. You laugh and kiss over and over again, cherishing the moment.

"I heard my name being called? Oh! Gotta go bye!"

[boop-le-snoot]

PARTY FAVOURS I CHAPTER 12

Click here if you are a first time reader.

Summary / TWs: Steve Rogers does not pass the vibe check yet again, le sad face. Loki is a good bro. Bruce fluff but what else is new? Literally everyone is a good bro, yo. Reader has best people. Tony's in there, kind of. Parents still suck.

For taglist: please send an ask if you changed your @! I noticed several people are unavailable :(

As always, my baby gay @miscmarvelwritings is the bestest beta!

"I think I am going to murder your father." Bucky's angry statement didn't surprise me. Neither did Steve's initial reaction, or anybody else's mostly pitying looks.

Bruce, my Bwucie, was calm and dejected. That worried me. I expected him to be at least a little bit green around the edges when Steve forcefully sat me down and made me explain the drunken, drugged stunt I'd done the night before, but alas, it seemed like Jolly Green was just sad. Or disappointed. And I didn't know which was worse.

The more I thought about it, the more defensive and abrasive I became. "And you'll kill yourself trying, he'll drive you fucking nuts" I responded to Barnes. "Honestly, I don't fucking see the problem here. My dad shows up five times a year at best. It's been like that forever. And it's not like I'm some kind of junkie," I defended myself, and my dad, because I really didn't see the huge deal about it. Relaxing once in a while doesn’t hurt anyone.

"It's not right!" Steve exclaimed, loosely banging a fist on the table. The self-righteous prick, seemed like he wanted to pick a fight just for the sake of it.

"And who are you, exactly, to say that? The moral police?" I blew up, standing and turning to the blonde man, hands on my hips. "Or you've decided to be my parent without asking me first? Keep your hopes up and maybe a fuck will magically appear, so I could give it to you."

He stood up in turn, getting uncomfortably close to my face. I was suddenly reminded of the fact that he was a very large, very strong man. "We want what's best for you! Can't you see it?" Rogers was getting red in the face, crossed arms, staring at me down like I was dirt under his shoes.

"How about..." I seethed, having to stop mid-sentence to swallow the scream that wanted to erupt. "How about... You FUCKING ask me what I want?"

"I suggest the Captain leave to go calm down," Loki suddenly piped up. He stayed silent throughout the whole conversation, picking at his food instead. Only after his sharply uttered words I noticed he had stood up. His hand hovered over my shoulder, body discreetly wedging between me and the Captain.

I heard Steve growl before he stormed off, throwing an annoyed look at Loki. A pregnant silence hung in the room. The longer it lasted, the more I wanted to crawl out of my skin, suddenly hyper aware of all these people - strangers, save a few - debating on what to do with me. Like I wasn't a person. Like...

"Ugh, fucking hell," I growled, beelining for my bag. I had definitely overstayed my welcome.

"Where are you going?" Bruce asked, standing up to follow.

"Home," I replied curtly, nodding my thanks to Loki for the intervention. He nodded back, walking off. I would have probably started swinging at the Icicle Dick if not for the raven haired Asgardian's timely interruption.

"I'll drive you," Banner trotted after me like a dejected puppy. I didn't have the mental capacity to deal with this, at all.

"I need to see Tony first. Meet you downstairs?"

Bruce nodded, looking even more confused.

Tony kissed me hungrily, in between promises to kill Steve and cancel my dad and get me my own apartment in the tower. Believing in fairy tales wasn't something I was ever prone to; I smiled, nodded along and did my best to shut him up with my own mouth on his. I left with the promise to text him as soon as I got home.

"How are you?" Bruce asked me as we once again drove through the busy city. This was becoming a nice habit but we really had to meet up when I wasn't going through another one of my turmoils.

"All things considered, I am great. Better than I've been in a while." I answered honestly, meaning it. However brief Tony's attention would be, it still satisfied me. Then and there I decided to always, always cherish what happened during my brief stint in his arms.

"Really?" Banner's warm smile was an unexpected but pleasant surprise. "Care to share?"

It threw me for a loop. I didn't know how much Tony wanted to disclose regarding what happened between us. I didn't know the extent of his friendship with Bruce. I didn't know...

"Tony," I choose the usual option. Admit what you can't deny, deny what you can't admit.

"I know the feeling," The good doctor chuckled, companionable-like and meaningful. "He tends to go all the way for the people he cares about. Too much, if you ask me."

"What do you mean?" I was confused. Sure, me and Tony were friends. But not, like, super close or anything. We'd fucked, or more like messed around, so I expected our friendship to grow colder. That's what happened when friends decided to bump uglies.

"I mean... He'll move mountains and challenge the government and bully them into dropping charges against you," There was a hint of sadness in Brucie's voice. I vaguely recalled seeing something on the news, something about the Hulk and a massive destruction spree. It didn't take long to put two and two together.

I reached out, putting a hand on his knee. He covered my palm with his own, giving it a brief, warm squeeze.

"It must be great having a friend like that. You're both wonderful and brilliant. You deserve no less," The smile threatened to split my face in two.

Bruce returned the smile but the sadness didn't go away. "You realize that extends to you, right?"

"Me? I'm just me, Bruce." I wasn't sure where this was going. "I'm Peter's classmate and the resident hot mess express."

Bruce frowned, deep and long, up until he parked. Life seemed to be taking back all the happiness it gave me previously-in fucking buckets. The strap of my bag was going to get its threads pulled out with the way I was fiddling with it.

"Baby… Princess?" The scientist turned to me, tone torn somewhere between stern and pleading. "Listen to me. You are brilliant. Incredibly smart, talented and beautiful. Don't ever, ever think of yourself as less than any of us." I gaped at him.

Did he mean us as the Avengers? Us as Tony and Bruce? Meanwhile he continued, "In fact, I think you are the one who deserves so much better. I don't know what Tony found in me… Or what you found in me."

Was the man an idiot or yes? That was the question of the day. Cursing Tony's affinity for small cars (bless me and my own SUV), I only hesitated a moment before grabbing the dumb Banner by his face and startling him into looking straight in my eye. "If you don't quit talking all that fake-ass bullshit, I will kiss you. On the mouth. With tongue."

"Uh," Was his articulate response. I watched him squirm, blush and lose the heat to his argument.

"Exactly. I've had it all with you idiots today. Next time someone says some stupid ass fucking thing, I will kiss them. On the mouth, with tongue. Pass it on," I exhaled, releasing his face and dropping my head onto his shoulder.

"Some way of solving conflict you have," Banner chuckled weakly, throwing an arm around my shoulders. "I'd like to see Steve's reaction."

"A boner, probably, because he needs to get laid before he spontaneously combusts," I grumbled venomously, still bitter about his reaction. The Capsicle needed to chill. Hehe.

"I'll pass it on too," Bruce remarked wryly. "See you next week?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Bwucie, you're the fucking best," I kissed the scientist on the cheek, giving him a tighter than usual parting hug and walking up the pathway. Home.

Mother was nowhere to be seen - and the obvious reason for that laid on the kitchen floor. Couple of smashed dishes, a bottle of whiskey laying half-empty in a puddle on the grey tiles. The living room rug bore more stains and the smell of alcohol, bitter and acrid (like my soul, hardy har), hung heavily throughout the whole house.

At least I wasn't the only one who fought for myself that day. Mother probably had landed a good one on dad, too, by God the woman could be ruthless with her icy words. Dad never stood a chance. I've felt begrudgingly respectful of the way mother put people in their place with her words ever since I understood sarcasm.

First things first, I cleaned up the mess and opened the windows a smidge, cranking the air recuperation system to the max. Hanging around a place that smelled like a bum on a good Friday night was a horrible way to spend free time. Having successfully cut myself and bandaged the cuts up, I retreated to my room, not wanting to spend more time than necessary in the quiet, stinky, creepy house that my home had become.

My phone was long dead so I plugged it in, waiting for the 2% to appear, turning it on. A few messages from Peter, first cheerful, then worried and then relieved. Tony must've placated the spider child and told him I was staying at the tower. Good call, Tones, or else poor Peter would've worked himself into an anxiety attack and crashed in a dumpster while patrolling. Or something. I still didn't quite get his spider-hero side-gig.

A text from Bruce - rather, a photo, of a disgruntled Steve with his eyebrows raised, titled "I told him the next time he freaks out, you will kiss him. With tongue. Barnes cackled for about ten minutes until he ran out of air."

And a text from Tony. My chest tightened when I opened it. "Good tactics. Sneaky, clever, I'd give it a B+."

I snorted. Then the phone beeped again and I froze. A text ordering me to be ready tomorrow, for a date night? Unreal. I was torn. A part of me was elated, thinking Tony wanted to keep me around like that. The other, more sensible part, was firmly telling me to chill TF down. He'll most likely kindly reject any further intimate interactions, maybe have me sign a few NDAs.

I still answered positive, mushy and cute and all. Feelings aside, I wasn't about to change my texting style for any man. My God, I was turning into a monster. A horribly cheesy, pink, soft, fluffy monster.

The next day, school was nearly unbearable. People talked. Not to my face, of course, since the rumours of me putting away Flash Thompson were still fresh enough for everyone to be cautious around me, but the whispers followed me throughout hallways, tongue in cheek remarks thrown at me from the bathroom stalls, behind the teacher's desks. Did I care? Nope.

Okay, I did, but not in the way one would think. The little spring in my step, a slight smirk. My thoughts were occupied with my upcoming dinner with Tony.

Peter and his pet nerds stood at my side, the ever watchful guards. I had no idea why they decided I needed reassurance or their comfort (I did not), but I had to admit it was cute. MJ, in particular, glared her Death Ray Stare at any male-identifying student that dared to as much as look wrongly in my direction. I mostly ignored the trio. Pete himself did a great job with entertaining his friends, he babbled on as usual, about everything and nothing in particular. Mouth ulcers. He was going to get them one day.

Dad called me during third period, saying he was flying off to California. I would have been lying if I said I didn't know why he scheduled the sudden trip; mother's total radio silence and the absence of her laptop in her own office spoke volumes about the state of my family's affairs. They had a fight and ran off to the opposite ends of the continent. I didn't understand why mother was upset with me, though. I saved her face during dinner at Tony's, so why is she mad about me going to a party with dad? Baffling woman.

Admitting the house felt like home when either of them were absent was hard. Or, perhaps, I felt nothing at all. Spending so much time around the Brady Bunch- the Avengers made me too soft for my own liking. It wasn't just Tony that lived in mind rent-free all the time now; there was Bruce, with his kindness, Bucky with his overgrown teenager attitude, Wanda with her wit and hair that smelled like cheap shampoo - seriously, I absolutely had to show her the benefits of decent hair products. That was just to list the few little quirks. There were so many people, all of them different and wonderful in their own way.

To summarize it, I was both happy for them and bitter for not having any of that to myself. Although it made me kind of glad I didn't have a sibling - looking after someone in the mess that mother and dad created would've been a nightmare. They say it's always a better place where we are not.

I went through a whole pack of cigarettes in a span of a couple of hours. Plagued by strangely melancholic thoughts, trying to push down the anxiety over my upcoming date, my choice of outfit proved to be a cumbersome task while in process.

Expensive but simple dress with spaghetti straps, in my favourite colour. That was the easiest part. A good base for any accessories. Would Tony like it? Would the press make outrageous comments?

Either way, it would. Dad's comments cut deeper than I probably realized it until now; in a sudden bout of self-awareness and a couple of mouse clicks later... Tony wouldn't care. Tony wears suits with sneakers. The Manolos flew back, towards my shoe closet, and a pair of Chanel trainers made their debut. A Hermes 2002 barely weighed down by my wallet, keys and phone. A nice coat, too, appropriately light and so very conceptual and fashionable.

I spent way too much time deciding on what to wear. A stern talking to, however, didn't help me, and I had to redo my make-up - the "nude", "all natural" look was one of the hardest to nail. Or so Marie Claire said. Whatever, my highlighter game was, as usual, on point.

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[echo-three-one]

Whatever It Takes : RELOADED

Abducted in a decent hotel room. That's the summary.

Table of Contents

Previous Chapter : Lurking in the Shadows

Chapter 19 to another story made by Ray (echo-three-one) Comments and Reviews appreciated! I hope you enjoy! Love you all ❤️

forgive the piccrew ;-;

Vlad the Janitor

Samantha Coleman

Happy Traveler Inn - Room 240

Moscow, Russia

"Room Service!" Someone knocked at the door and something in Russian followed. Samantha assumed it's the same thing but in Russian. She carefully eyed the three men whom she knew were secretly armed. They were members of Shepherd's secret force, the one he calls "Shadow Company".

She's tired of being held hostage, she just wanted to live a normal life. And if Alex was correct, she can't believe that she chose to forget him just to get another shot at a normal life. She felt stupid. And she actually missed him. Even with all the jumbled and altered memories, her heart reacted to his presence.

The three abductors looked at her threateningly as the janitors entered. She knew she wasn't supposed to act suspicious or she's dead.

"We don't need cleaning!" One exclaimed as he shoved the janitor to the door, out of surprise the two janitors immediately grabbed mops and brooms and began fighting the abductors.

Samantha described it as a scene straight out of the movies, the trio worked together, hitting enemies until they were knocked down by severe hits in the head. They quickly disarmed and bound the abductors.

The tall janitor approached her, his eyes felt familiar but Samantha was reluctant to accept help. She eyed his name tag which said "Hello I'm VLAD"

"Thanks, Vlad?" She guessed, Vlad quickly removed his hat and face mask.

"Aw come on, Samantha. It's me!" Alex smiled, behind him, Roach and Soap stood and looked happy to see her.

Samantha's heart skipped a beat. She was right. He did go to the ends of the world for her multiple times. That meant that whatever they shared back on her memory lapses were far too significant for him. She hugged him tight and he reciprocated it quickly. She wanted to kiss him already but in their situation, it was better to keep it for later.

"Here you go, Alex." Soap tossed him the abductor's uniform as they quickly changed from janitors to bodyguards as they escorted her back to safety.

"Ghost this is Alex. The package is secure. Prepare for exfil."

"Roger that, pal." He replied as they effortlessly exited the hotel, leaving a message to Shepherd that he should not mess with them.

The elevator ride was the most awkward place for Samantha. The tension between her and Alex were reaching new heights. Their eye contacts felt more intense and small grazes from their hands felt like small jolts of electricity. Her heart raced so fast that she bit her lip.

"Thanks for saving me guys. For a second I thought you were never going to find me." She breathed as Alex slowly locked his hand on hers. She felt her cheeks warm up as his touch sent her on an ecstatic feeling. Was he really like this to her?

"You're still our priority, Samantha. Disbanded or not." Roach grinned as the elevator dinged upon reaching the Parking lot. In front of them was Price, driving the van and Ghost slowly sliding the door open.

"Welcome back, Samantha." The masked man greeted them as they entered the vehicle.

~

Safe House 110197

Brazil

Alex somewhat expected familiarity or nostalgia from Samantha, but all she remembered was the name of the safehouse. The number combination was somewhat familiar. She felt guilty and frustrated once she stepped foot on the house, as none of the items rang something from her memory while Alex took effort in recalling everything they did during their stay there, things that Samantha didn't expect she'd do but wanted to feel all over again.

Amidst the stress of the things happening around them, Maxine and Francine were getting along as they prepared a little feast once they heard that Samantha's on the way here. Maxine cried as she hugged her best friend and Samantha couldn't help but also shed tears.

"I missed you. Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" She asked, those same words also came out of Alex's mouth earlier, guess she was that important to the two of them?

"I'm fine, Max. They didn't hurt me or anything. Shepherd was actually out to use me as a bargaining chip so that my Dad would help him." The room fell silent. This was what they needed to hear. Intel.

Before lunch was even served, they already gathered around the dinner table. Alex finally sat beside Samantha, and that meant Ghost was the only one without a partner.

Samantha discussed the case at hand. How Shepherd would give Nero an IP Address in exchange for blueprints of an EMP Nuke. He'll then use such machinery to combat Nero's assault as well as avenge 30,000 of his defeated troops in Afghanistan. He also has his own elite troop called Shadow Company, which were trained the same way as the 141, but they had strength in numbers.

The rest of the evening was devastating. Now that they had information on Shepherd, Price and Jack started to call in some favors and prepared for the best window to fight back. Ghost got a text from Agent Ryder of interpol that she was too late to stop the trade of funds and now Shepherd has put the remaining 141 as most wanted people. Laswell also called Price that the initial plan of creating a task force was not going to work considering they're already fugitives and they should be more careful outdoors. Everyone else looked like they saw this one coming, they already knew the risks of the things they've done and proceeded to live their lives.

Samantha caught a glimpse of Max and Roach sprinkling each other water while washing the dishes, Soap and France arguing about how the word 'whimsy' was supposed to be used in a sentence and Ghost was always on his command center. She felt that she was never gone.

"How are you holding up, Love?" Alex plopped beside her, giving her a glass of water. Samantha smiled and raised her eyebrows.

"I don't remember you calling me that." She questioned, as she noticed the faint smell of Alex that she began to admire.

"Of course you don't. That's why I'm helping you." he grinned, tucking her hair behind her ear. She giggled and inhaled once more.

"You smell good today… Are you still trying to win my heart? I thought you already did." She mused, blushing as she ran a hand across his strong inked arms. She was always scared of heavily tattooed men, but this guy was an exception to the rule.

"Well, I wore clothes from two different people today… so… but nevermind that reason. Is it working? To you…? Are you… smitten?" He wiggled his eyebrows in an attempt to be seductive and Samantha just laughed. Was it possible to fall in love with a guy whom you already love? If so, then she's all for it.

"I can't say for sure, Vlad." She teased as he quickly fished his wallet, revealing a letter inside a small ziploc container. He gave it to Samantha as she uncrumpled it and started to read the contents.

"What's this?" she asked, looking at her own writing, she started to feel scared and nervous about the letter.

"You left that note to me before you forgot me… I tried to keep it for as long as I could, to the point that I almost wanted to throw it away." he held her hand while she held the letter.

"My Dearest Alex…" She spoke softly. Her hands began to tremble as he gently tightened his grip on her, making her feel more at ease.

"...In a span of three weeks, you managed to make me feel love once again. You allowed me to realize that even after a horrible loss, I could still open my heart and feel the joy of falling in love." This was clearly her creation, she slowly turned to Alex as he smiled and nodded his head to continue.

"...I always told myself that no matter how painful it is, I'll never forget your face, your smile, your eyes and all those memories we shared together. I actually convinced myself that we were a happily married couple back in that safehouse, an illusion I made because my heart felt like it. It was a good feeling, and I want to thank you for it." She leaned on his shoulders, looked at him once more and mouthed "Sorry".

"It looked like I forgot…" tears started to well on her eyes and Alex smiled. He wasn't the crying type but his eyes were already starting to get wet.

"I can't help but think about a lot of things, one being that if we were destined to meet and not end up together, it would be better if I don't meet you at all. I'm sorry to say this but I do love you so much and I know I promised, but I think my heart couldn't carry the idea of you existing and not within my grasp. It's utterly heartbreaking." she sobbed, hot tears fell from her cheek and Alex immediately wiped them off with his thumbs as she continued reading, her voice was shaky.

"So, your office offered me a chance to alter my memories of meeting you, along with the memory that made Nero look for me. You were on a briefing and I wanted to talk to you personally, maybe feel your warmth one last time. I'd want to kiss you too, but I guess the world didn't want that to happen." She looked at Alex one more time, then their lips met, it was a small peck, their lips immediately parted upon contact. She looked back at her letter"

"So I took the offer, and by the time you read this, I'm already on my way home to resume the life I've lost. I'm sure Maxine misses me right now...

I know you'll agree to this because I feel you always want what's best for me. If our paths would cross again, I hope you'll remember me the way I remembered you before I take this operation, A good memory that's supposed to last forever.

Apologizing in advance if I don't remember you anymore.

Don't you dare forget about me,

- Samantha" Teardrops splattered across the paper as she folded it and reached for Alex's mouth, this time they went all out. Like teenagers who shared their first french kiss, sloppy, needy yet satisfying. They didn't care about their surroundings. All they both cares about was that they were within each other's grasp after a very long time.

"I guess you kept my word. You never forgot me…" She exhaled as they broke the kiss.

"It's because I can't… and I told myself that I won't." Alex replied as they kissed once again. This time, they could hear Maxine and Roach cheering in the background.

"Geez! Get a room you two!" A loud Scottish yell was heard from the distance. But despite all the noise, the two of them didn't mind.

~

Samantha was brushing her teeth when Alex snuck up from behind, wrapping his arms around her. She remembered how she admitted to the letter that they acted like a married couple, maybe this was always their thing for weeks. She was happy as they both swayed harmoniously, looking at the most handsome man in the world, hugging her.

"Do hmm haa hoo heemmmi hoo?" She mumbled while her hands brushed her teeth.

"We don't. But if we had one what would you think it'd be?" Alex mused, turning to her. He already knew what she meant despite it being inaudible. She spat the contents of her mouth and finished brushing her teeth before turning to him, all while still under his warm embrace.

"Have you heard of Way Back into Love?" she asked, Alex's reaction was a very wholesome smile.

"Like from that movie? Yeah." he chuckled, minty breath traveled to her nostrils.

"All I want to do is find a way back into love…" she sang softly, her singing voice made Alex smile.

"I can't make it through without a way back into love…" Alex sang or more specifically, said the words near the tune. Samantha giggled as they swayed to their little song.

"And if I open my heart again

I guess I'm hoping you'll be there for me in the end" They sang together, Samantha doing it in tune while Alex sounded like he's narrating the song. They both were spinning around on the small area in front of the sink, enjoying the moments that they were together once again. Samantha wishing that she'll never get separated from Alex ever again.

Next Chapter : Undying Admiration

Notification Squad my Beloved

@enderio @whimsywispsblog @beemybee @samatedeansbroccoli @smokeywhalee @ricinbach

[fayeimara]

Meant To Be || One For Every Billion

6. By My Side | Pt 4

"You've got to be kidding me."

Your group has already grabbed a table on the second floor balcony, overlooking the crowded paths below, at one of the nicer restaurants at the heart of the park's main food district and you've been checking updates on your phone after messaging Tobio and Hiro when Oikawa's unamused voice breaks through your thoughts.

You glance up to your left at him to see a look of disbelief on his face and when you follow his line of sight, you see the two stragglers everyone has been waiting on heading your way, weaving through the tables to reach you all.

"Tobio!" A smile breaks across your face at your cousin's grumpy visage. He seems a little closed off, studying the additions to your group with what you think is apprehension.

"Tobio?" Toru's head literally snaps towards you in question.

You turn to him as Tobio and Hiro come to a stop and pull out the two empty chairs at your table.

You hear Iwa murmur a low, "Oh shit." but you have to dismiss it because you're clearly missing something.

"Yeah," you watch Toru with a question in your own eyes, "My cousin, Kageyama Tobio. And Hiro, Hana's brother.."

Iwaizumi is actually facepalming while Maki and Mattsun are chuckling, but you can't see what's so funny so you continue with the introductions, "Tobio, this is-"

"We already know each other, Y/n. I went to school with Oikawa-san and Iwaizumi-san until they graduated this year."

Okay, small world. All you can really say while you digest this information is, "Oh."

But then, "Hiro doesn't know them... right?"

"No, not yet!" Hana's a lifesaver that steps in to make introductions with the rest of the guys while you chew it over. There's clearly history here, right?

Then, you kind of get an answer because Toru turns to speak with you while the others greet each other, "So let me get this straight. Ushiwaka and Tobio-chan are both your cousins?"

"Um. Yeah. Pretty much." You watch his eyes narrow on your response.

"Pretty much?"

"Yeah, Tobio's actually Shin's cousin but they're both more like brothers to me. I guess it's the same situation with Toshi but on my dad's side... we're not directly related either."

You can see the understanding light up his eyes for a moment, "You choose them, huh? As family?"

"Exactly."

"Interesting taste. So family but not."

"No. They're definitely my family, no question. Nothing will ever change that."

You and Toru stare at each other for a moment as you both try to work out what's going on in the other's head and where the lines are. When he doesn't reply back, you raise an eyebrow and prompt, "So.. you and Tobio..?"

He lets out a laugh that might be just a little bitter, "Please, there's no me and Tobio."

"Hm." You let it sit there because you're not one to pry more than that when someone is clearly somewhat unhappy. You'll get it out of Tobio later anyways.

And, cue lightbulb, "You were on the volleyball team together."

A cavalier smile spreads across his face at your question, it's definitely not sweet, teasing, or nice. It seems carefree but the expression in his eyes is almost telling you to back off. However, he still answers, "We were on the same team once, sure."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah." You smile with what you hope is the kindness you want to relay and not the awkward uncertainty you're feeling, "Why? Do you have more you want to say?"

He studies you a moment longer before turning away to pick up his menu and study it instead. You still hear his quiet answer, "No."

You look away as well and your eyes fall over Tobio, who's looking back at you. His expressionless gaze doesn't convey much but, for once, even you can't read beneath it, and then the connection's cut when he glances away to the rides in the distance.

Okay.

The lunch goes surprisingly well considering the amount of tension around the table at the start. Mostly between Toru and Tobio, but even Iwaizumi seems more... engaged in the situation. Everyone else continues to get along fairly well and make up for those three, however, and the atmosphere eases out eventually. It probably helps that Tobio is quiet as per usual and Toru is unerringly good at pretending all is well in Oikawa-land.

When everyone heads out for the rest of the rides, you do catch Toru watching you interact with Tobio and Shin but you don't know what's so curious about your relationship with your cousins. What you do think is curious is his interest and attention when you're joking around with Karu or talking to Hiro. See, he doesn't seem to mind if you sit with your cousins, his friends or Hana, but somehow always manages to slip into the seat next to you if it looks like one of Hana's brothers will.

It's so obvious that you can't help but bring it up as you exit the picture booth at one of the rides, "Not that I should have to ask you permission, but are you going to let me sit with Karu or Hiro?"

"Do you want to sit with one of them?"

"Don't answer my question with a question."

"I like having you by my side."

"Still not an answer to my original question."

"Do you not want me next to you?"

"Stop avoiding my question or I'm going to assume you're jealous."

"Sounds like you want me to be jealous."

"I didn't say that."

"You also didn't deny it, Angel."

"Toru." You mean to admonish him for the little games he's playing but when his first name slips out and you see the wide grin start to spread across his face, you have to close your eyes in defeat.

It's with your eyes closed, as you're taking a breath to find your calm, you hear a soft smile in his voice as he calls to you, "Y/n."

And when you open your eyes he's holding up a printed picture from the ride you were just on. You and Toru are sitting next to each other, your hands interlocked between you again and you're trying to hold your hair down with your free hand, while strands still fly everywhere from the wind, to look over at him. Your expressions are caught in that moment, now eternal, as you're laughing at the cute pose he's trying to make for the picture but he's looking back at you and not the camera, with the happiest grin on his face.

"Why this one out of all the others?"

"I've been getting those too, just electronically. I wanted you to have this one."

"It's for me?"

"So you can remember how much I like you by my side."

You can only smile and take the picture from him, responding with a soft,  "Thank you."

"Say my name again, Angel."

"Oikawa."

"My first name."

"No."

"Please." He's giving you the cutest puppy eyes, but-

"I said no." And you turn to walk away before he can actually convince you, the smile still stretching your lips as you carefully tuck the picture into the hidden pocket, between your phone and cards to keep it from crumpling as much as possible.

-x-x-x-

Your group and Toru's end up going separate ways after an early dinner, which Miwa and her friend joined you all for. She got along famously with the unexpected additions to the group which you found pretty ironic. So did Toru, you guess, since he made it a point to state his delight at meeting a better Kageyama. No comment, you're biased.

You did have to promise Toru that you'd see him again before you left the park which, oopsie, you guess you never mentioned you'd also booked rooms to stay overnight. Haha. Yeah. You wonder if that means you can message him in the morning?

No, he'd just message you tonight if you don't first. He's already texting every so often and it's just been about fifteen minutes since you both went separate ways. So you end up texting him back to promise you'll see him in an hour or so, after some quality time with your cousins.

Back with the original group consisting of just your family, you all head over to one of the themed lounges to grab desserts and drinks. Tobio, of course, sticks with milk, while Miwa is all about getting her drink on with Sakepolitans - a cosmo made with sake.

Ren manages to convince her to order him an old fashioned or two, stating he's almost legal anyways - you roll your eyes at that - but you and Shin decide to experiment with the house recommendations. He goes with the Uji Matcha Latte while you go your typically coffee route with the café mocha.

An hour flies by fast as you all catch up on your day and make plans for the next but, by the end of it, Miwa is definitely in need of a bed, maybe with a trashcan by the side, and Tobio might actually be asleep on the table.

After telling Shin to stick with you and Tobio, Ren hauls Miwa away to get some sleep, letting you both know he'll be meeting back up with his friends after she's tucked in so to call if any of you need him. He does hesitate briefly, glancing between you and Shin, and you swear he mutters, "Just how much trouble can they get into here?" before shaking his head and leaving.

Hm. You throw a look over to Shin as he shakes Tobio awake and state, "Why don't you get him back to his room while I finish my coffee?"

He eyes you warily, considering your offer, "Right. Like you'll go to your room straight after?"

"What? Don't tell me you're not meeting up with Karu after you drop Tobio to bed."

His mouth opens but literally no words come out. Yeah, that's what you thought.

"What about you? Meeting up with your boyfriend?" Never mind, he found his words. Well, you can too.

"Why do sound like a elementary school kid? Oh right, emotionally you are one."

"I'm telling Ren that you're sneaking out." Rat. He would never, would he?

"You're literally just proving my point. Please, keep going."

"Why are you like this?" Ah, there's the crack. But you need to push a little more.

You lean back with a mocking smile, "Better than you at everything?"

Yup, now he's pouting. "Mean."

"It's genetic. You should know, you are too."

"Wow, I can't believe we're related."

"Me neither. Now, should I let you do your thing and have fun with your friend? Or do we call Ren and both end up stuck in our rooms for the night."

"How do you always...? Never mind." He grimaces in complete defeat, "Fine. Just keep your phone on and answer me right back if I message or call."

He's about to turn away but stops and adds, "And obviously old rules apply. You call immediately if you run into Ren so I can have my story together or make sure I'm back."

"Obviously." You smirk up at him over the mug before taking a sip.

But he didn't even have to say it. Whatever shit the two of you pull on each other, you also have each others backs when it counts. Especially with your older siblings. That was the pact those of you within a one to two year age range made with each other when you were all kids, as if any of you even had to. It's kind of cute you guess, but you'd never say that to any of them or they'd never stop harassing you.

As he heads off, you pull out your phone to message Toru and then decide to drop a picture of your drink on your twitter while you wait for his response. Which is unnecessary because the boy responds almost immediately. What, was he waiting by his phone?

Prev | Next

Masterlist

Behind The Scenes!

-Y/n also stopped to get pics... at all the rides

-Toru might have been telling the truth and got them all lol and he was def caught looking at her in more than just that one ;)

-Not that she wasn't... I don't know about you, but I definitely think I know which ones they'll both get printed :)

A/N: Really getting there.. one more part left in this episode! Buckle up, it's the longest one <3

Taglist: @delusivist, @prettyinblack231, @kac-chowsballs, @sakusasimpbot, @hawkthekinnie

[noctisfishing]

The Girl Who Stands Out | 06

01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08

Notes: Long time, no post!

Thank you for being patient while I sort things out on the life side <3 I hope you're all doing well and in this chapter I can only bring you more Mimato that I want to share with you.

I'm thinking this fic will have 9 chapters.

Read Chapter 6 below

Even when he woke up on Sunday morning, Yamato couldn't believe the night he had. He enjoyed himself the whole day through going to karaoke and shabu shabu with his friends, but it was the ride home with Mimi that seemed to replay in his mind over and over.

Yamato wasn't sure when the car stopped, but by the time he and Mimi noticed the angry honking from the driver, he gathered that it was time to bid Mimi goodnight. If only he had been able to ignore the loud, harsh sound of the car horn, then he could have kissed her longer like he wanted to. Certainly, Mimi wouldn't have minded either, not when her hands were moving around his back, and her lips readily moved against his as though she kept coming back for more…

"Ow!" Yamato cried out after walking into the doorframe between his bedroom and bathroom. He was immediately brought back to the present.

He tried not to let himself stay too distracted that day since his plan was mostly to help his father out with chores and finish his homework. But his father had noticed the change in his mood.

"I thought you hated karaoke," Hiroaki said over lunch.

"I do," Yamato replied. "Most of the time."

Yamato was never descriptive with Hiroaki; he would usually keep his side of the conversation brief, and Hiroaki was lenient enough to spare him with questions. Even so, Hiroaki was perceptive, and understood his son more than he realized.

"Ah, that's right. A group outing. Only Mimi would get that plan to work."

Yamato coughed over the bite of his food. He knew nothing got past his dad. And even if he tried to hide it, he was hopeless in his attempt, regardless, especially that evening when he received a text message from Mimi before he was about to vacuum the living room.

"I've got a surprise for you for tomorrow. I know you'll like it. <3"

Whatever it was, Yamato couldn't stop smiling.

"Hey, 'Lover Boy' - it's getting late," Hiroaki said. "Hurry up and finish the vacuuming."

Yamato spent the rest of the time wondering how to respond back.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"How long are we going to wait here?" Taichi asked impatiently.

"At least, until Mimi gets here," Yamato replied. The two of them sat towards the bottom of the staircase at the front of the school, watching as the other uniformed students arrived and walked up the steps. A car occasionally arrived at the curb to drop someone off, although as each car came and left, Taichi grew more aggravated.

"Nobody asked you to wait with me, you know," Yamato added.

"Yamato!" Sora shouted, and hurried up the steps to them. "Mimi told me what happened!"

"'Hi' to you, too, babe," said Taichi, raising his brow.

"Ah - Hey, Taichi - But Yama, it's so great that your feelings are out in the open! She's been waiting, you know."

"Wait, she has?" Yamato asked.

Taichi turned to look at him. "Even I could tell. But I'm proud of you for making the move. Now the only thing left to do is ask her out."

"Right…"

That was something that Yamato couldn't argue with. Going out with her along with their friends was one thing, but he still needed to go out on a date with her alone. It was a group date, anyway.

"Don't push him, Taichi," said Sora. "He already got his feet wet last weekend, right?"

"That wasn't even a group date!" Taichi said. "You and I were the only couple, anyway."

Yamato watched Sora press her lips together, and before anyone could respond, Taichi looked at his phone and yelped suddenly.

"I gotta stop by my locker before class. I don't wanna be late!"

"Taichi-!" Sora called after him as he hurried up the steps, then she let out a sigh. "That boy."

Yamato stood up to face her. "Hey, Sora, it was a group date, wasn't it? I mean, granted that Takeru and Hikari were there, and so were..."

Sora shrugged. "Sure. But you still have to ask her out…" Her voice drifted as she looked toward the curb. "Well, speak of the Devimon."

Confused, Yamato shot her a look. "Did you have to reference that?"

Sora smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Taichi rubbed off on me. Anyway, I should catch up to him."

Yamato waved at Sora as she ran up the steps, then he turned to walk down towards Mimi's car. The driver had already walked from the driver's seat to the passenger door on the other side, where he opened the door to help Mimi get out.

She was already smiling when she met Yamato's gaze. "You were waiting for me?" she asked. "I'm already spoiled enough."

Thoughts of how to respond spilled into his mind:

I just wanted to see you first thing.

You look beautiful this morning.

"Well, yeah, I wanted… to wait for you."

Mimi stood so close to him that Yamato was certain that she noticed his cheeks turning an obvious shade of embarrassment. She giggled and held up a bag that appeared to be full.

"Remember the surprise I mentioned yesterday?"

Yamato took a closer look and recognized it as the bag she usually stored her lunch in, and he noticed the bag stretched out into a boxed shape that was taller than it usually was.

"Wait. Did you make me lunch?"

"Ding, ding, ding! That's right! I promise you, it's going to be way better than your pork buns."

"I wouldn't doubt that."

Mimi smiled, and at that moment, Yamato caught sight of the tinge of pink on her cheeks.

"Wanna walk me to class, then?" she asked.

"Sure," he replied.

Mimi started up the steps when Yamato realized that she was carrying her textbooks in addition to double the weight of lunch in her bag. Other than his own school bag and his guitar case on either of his shoulders, his hands were free. Wanting to help Mimi, he called for her to stop walking.

"Yes? Oh…"

Turning to face him, Mimi looked down at her hand, and Yamato froze, realizing that he had also grabbed her hand to keep her from taking another step.

"Let me help you carry your books. You're carrying enough already…"

"Sure…"

When Mimi passed her books over to Yamato, he held them at the hook of his free arm. They let go of each other's hands, but it seemed to happen at the last possible moment.

"You really are spoiling me," Mimi added.

"I'm sure you're enjoying this," Yamato retorted.

She giggled and turned around to continue walking. But, should he let her? He wanted to hold her hand, but what if…?

Yamato was hesitating, but he was starting to get tired of letting moments like these go to waste.

"Mimi," he called.

"Hmm?"

Taking those few steps to meet her at her side, Yamato reached for her hand to hold once again.

"Shall we?"

This appeared to catch Mimi by surprise. Her mouth parted slightly, although no words came out.

"If this isn't…" Yamato added, ready to slip his hand away.

"No…" Mimi held his hand back, and a smile formed on her lips. "I like this." She took her other hand to tuck her hair behind her ear, with her cheeks showing more pink as she smiled.

Yamato wasn't used to seeing her bashful like she was as they walked up the steps together, hand in hand. But he found her adorable.

He wasn't used to holding her hand either, but it was one thing he knew that he wanted to be.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"So, you and Mimi, huh?" Touma asked at their band practice that afternoon.

"Yup. Me and Mimi," Yamato replied.

"I guess she wasn't into me, after all."

Touma joined the other bandmates to tune and warm up their instruments, just as Yamato had begun doing for his bass.

"I thought you'd be more bothered by it," Yamato added while he plucked a string and let the bass reverberate through the amp.

"Nah, she seemed more into you, anyway. You're my bandmate, and one of my best friends. I know when to step aside."

"Thanks, man."

There was maturity in Touma after all, Yamato thought to himself. He smiled at Touma and they exchanged a fist bump handshake.

But the exact words from Yamato's thoughts rolled off of Akemi's tongue moments later, causing Touma to cry out in defense while Yamato and Kota laughed.

"Don't think I'm too down about this," Touma said. "There's already a cute girl in class that I've been eyeing. She's got long, black hair. She wears glasses and she doesn't talk much, but, man…"

"A moment of maturity doesn't mean he's actually changed all that much," Yamato retorted.

Touma continued to talk, and Yamato and the others decided to humor him while they tuned and warmed up their instruments. Touma fiddled with the strings of his electric guitar all the while, and he paused his rambling whenever he heard an off-note to adjust his strings.

"Alright, enough of this chatter," Yamato commanded, and he followed with a bass lick from what was normally the intro song of their set. "Time to rehearse for the gig on Friday. Let's make it count."

"You got it, leader," Touma replied, playing a melody in response.

By Wednesday, the majority of the school had learned about Yamato and Mimi, and it was not hard for Yamato to notice. As he walked through the hallways with Taichi and Sora, Yamato found that there were less interruptions from his conversations with his friends, and more of him listening to the two friends bicker like an old couple.

Mimi had made him another bento box which he indulged in during lunch at their usual spot, and Yamato made a promise that he would make her some next week when his band took a break after their next gig.

"Can I pick the things that I want you to put in them?" she asked him.

"Well, if you did that, then it wouldn't be a surprise," Yamato argued. "I already know your favorites."

"It's not that I don't trust you, Yamato. I think you have delicious taste in food on good days-"

"What do you mean by 'good days'?"

"-but a girl wants to choose what she thinks is the best, most nutritious meal for the school week."

Yamato stared at her. "Do you have to be so picky?"

"Can I choose? Please?" Mimi stared at him, her brown eyes a little wider and her lips wearing a small pout.

In his silent response, Yamato took a bite of his food.

"Yamatoooo~"

"Fine."

Mimi squealed and threw her arms around him.

"I'll probably have to start preparing on Sunday, after me and the band play that gig."

"Oh, yeah - it's on Friday, isn't it?"

"It is. Think you can make it?"

Mimi scoffed. "Do you have to ask? Of course I'll go!"

Yamato chuckled. "There's always a party after. It's usually at Touma's house."

"Well, as long as you, Sora, and Taichi are there, I'll go, too."

He turned to Mimi to give her a smile, but he noticed that her smile in return was not as bright as it was moments ago.

But then, a thought crossed his mind. And it was followed by Taichi's words:

"The only thing left to do is ask her out."

"Hey, Mimi," Yamato began. "You know, on Sunday…"

"What about Sunday?"

"Maybe…"

"Maybe…?"

Yamato felt Mimi's eyes watching him, waiting for what he would say next. He could feel his heart pounding with his hesitation looming over him.

"Maybe you can come over and watch me prepare your bento? You can help me choose, if you want to."

Mimi giggled at him. "Really? I'd love that! I guess I'll be seeing my rockstar chef in action soon."

Yamato felt relieved that she accepted the idea, but he also felt surprised now that she was going to visit him that weekend. He wasn't even sure what his dad's plans were, but he imagined he would be subject to some teasing the next time they saw each other.

Regardless, he decided to ignore those worries for the time being.

"I'll still eat whatever you make me," he said as he continued to eat Mimi made for him.

Mimi beamed and leaned her head on his shoulder.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Her mood changed again, however, the moment they stepped back into the school building. Yamato held hands with her as they approached her classroom, and the cheerfulness in her eyes had disappeared.

"What's wrong, Meems?" he asked.

"Haven't you noticed?" she asked back, her voice softer. "It's like everyone is avoiding us."

When Yamato looked, he caught the eyes of a group of classmates who normally smiled and greeted him as they crossed paths. This time, they diverted their eyes from him quickly. He had noticed that people were talking approaching him less, but only then started paying closer attention.

"I guess they are," he replied.

"Doesn't it bother you?"

"I thought it was a different atmosphere lately, but it doesn't bother me. I don't mind being left alone, either way."

"Oh, I see. That's right."

They parted ways once they arrived at Mimi's classroom, but Yamato noticed, by her silence and the tightened grip of her hand on his, that the atmosphere was bothering her.

Yamato did his best to pay attention to the teacher for the rest of the day, but Mimi remained in the forefront of his mind. Although she was usually upbeat around him, he had been noticing her troubled expression at school more often.

"Are you alright?" Yamato asked in a text message that he sent with his phone hidden from the teacher's line of sight. "It seems like something's bothering you."

"I'm okay. Really, Yama," she replied. "Thank you for checking on me. [heart]"

Once again, Mimi declined to tell Yamato what was troubling her, and the longer she was going to do this, the more Yamato knew it was going to worry him.

"Want me to walk with you after school?"

"I'm hanging out with Sora today. How about tomorrow?"

"Okay. :)"

At the sound of the bell that signalled the end of the school day, Yamato met up with Sora at her desk while Taichi parted with them for soccer practice. Since Sora had planned to meet with Mimi at the bottom of the stairs, Yamato joined her to walk with her on the way, and Sora told him where they planned to go and what they were going to do.

"That sounds like you ladies will have a lot of fun," Yamato said. "Hopefully it'll cheer Mimi up. She always seems down when she's at school."

Sora's smile faltered, as though she knew exactly what he was talking about. "Yeah. I hope so too."

They were a few steps away from the second-year classroom when they heard a sudden shout of a name. Stopping at the sound, both Yamato and Sora watched in startled confusion as a student rushed out of the door, her long, caramel-colored locks flying as she turned a corner.

Yamato had a bad feeling, but he didn't know for certain until a girl with long, black hair jumped out of the classroom, shouting the name more clearly:

"Mimi! Wait!"

"Girl, let her run," came another voice as a different girl emerged from the classroom. "She's not worth it."

"Excuse me?" Sora said, crossing her arms with discontent.

The girl who spoke last looked to Sora, and then she closed her mouth as though she hesitated to speak any further. But her expression worsened once she realized that Yamato was standing next to Sora.

Although Yamato was connecting the dots of the situation before him, he had a sinking feeling that grew as he knew Mimi was running further and further away. He thought to ask the girl questions then and there, but he figured that Sora would handle that part, especially since the anger that rose within him seemed to match with Sora's face.

"I'm going after Mimi," Yamato told Sora. Then, he immediately broke off into a run before she could say anything else.

[minamrose]

Pairing : youngk/brian-reader

Warnings : swearing, physical violence, mention of harassment

Genre : angst, fluff

Summary : brian, one of your closest friends learns that you slept with one of the guys he hates the most at your school (you didn't actually) , and he gets angry at you because you don't want to talk to him about it, he's also a bit jealous. But the he learns the truth and happy ending 🌹

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were about to crack. If you heard him say something more, you were afraid you'll punch him.

"didn't know you were that type of person y/n"

He was sitting right in front of you across the table. You raised your gaze slowly and looked at him. He was furious, you could feel it even if he tried to remain calm. All he wanted was to provoke you right now... The others around you started talking in murmurs. You bit your lip.

"Brian , calm down it's not the time nor the Pl..." you started calmly trying to avoid a really embarrassing situation

But he didn't seem to care

"is it the time and place to tell everyone that you're just a little whore?"

That's it, you couldn't take it anymore. You couldn't believe he went that far. You stood up before slapping him in the face so hard that the whole cafeteria heard it and was now turned towards you. You felt a heavy silence cover the whole place, as everyone was impatiently waiting for the next thing you were going to do. You didn't think twice and took your plate of spaghetti to pour it all over brian as he remained silent. You gave him a last look and he could see the hurt in your eyes. "fuck you Brian, I thought you were different". You managed to keep your voice from cracking and got out of the cafeteria as fast as you could. You wanted to cry, and you did, in the toilets.

Brian regretted what he said as soon as the words left his mouth. He wasn't one to handle his emotions very well, especially when it was about you. He hurt you, he knew it. But he was still mad at you, for so many reasons, reasons he thought he will never find the courage to tell you. He silently got out of the cafeteria , as everyone laughed at him.

18h36

You were home.

You were going through your last texts with Brian, last night and started reminiscing about everything that happened since then.

*Text*

You : sorry for yesterday night, I had to take care of something important

Bribri : oh I know

You : really?? What do you know

Bribri : with Josh... Out of all the boys out there... You must have lost your mind or smth, wtv, not my business

You : yeah not your business, why you being so rude tho?

Bribri: I'll talk to you tomorrow

You : hello am I talkin to my dad?

*/Text*

He didn't answer anymore. You were so confused. The next morning (today), you two talked, indeed. You didn't quite remember at which point you two got really mad at each other...

*flashback*

"Brian, I don't really get why we are having this conversation.." you said, exhausted

"I just don't think I can be friends with you anymore if you're not being honest with me... I swear you hate that guy since elementary school and now he's talking about you like you're his bitch..." he sighed "he sent that photo of you to everyone y/n! " he looked into your eyes as he almost screamed. You crossed your arms over your chest and raised an eyebrow trying to cover the fact that you were anxious.

"okay then, don't be friends with me.. Gosh why are you being so childish..." you then started walking away, trying to escape the situation.

Brian remained static, he had felt your words as if they were bullets. "don't be friends with me", "so childish". He couldn't believe that was what you thought about him. He was worried about you and you just saw him as an exasperating presence. He exhaled deeply, trying to relax his tense jaw.

That same morning you texted that Josh, told him you needed to talk to him. You met at the library, on a corner where nobody could see you.

"okay, you got what you wanted, you made me a whore in the eyes of the entire school, can you stop now? Like get to your next prey I don't know, leave me alone"

"y/n, you don't get to tell me what to do. What about you come to my house later and we get some more pictures of you and... "

You didn't listen to his next words. Your mom is a psychologist, and Josh is one of her patients, she's talked to you a bit about him mostly to warn you about him because the boy is Psycho. He was smirking at you. You were absolutely disgusted.

" you're really sick in the head aren't you? What do you think everyone will think about you if I tell them what you were REALLY doing that night? " you threatened him

"don't be so stupid. I already told you that you better not say anything or I'll make my parents ruin your mom's reputation, she will never be able to work again and..."

"I don't care about my mom" you cut him "so if I want to tell the truth I will and I don't care if you ruin her she's a bitch"

He looked at you as if you were crazy. He seemed afraid though.. He stared at you silently before sighing.

"and I AM the psycho right? Okay, okay, I'll stop..."

You gave him a last menacing look before leaving him.

You had lied. You didn't hate your mom and you weren't going to put her career at risk, but at least it seemed to have worked.

Later that day you went to the cafeteria to eat with your usual friends, including Brian. You really didn't want to be cold with him. So you sat in front of him, in hopes of relaxing things with him. Well, it only made things worse. You had never seen Brian so mad at you, he ignored you everytime you talked to him, he didn't even look at you. You had enough. "Brian, stop it now" you said to him multiple times. Sharp words came out of his mouth, such as "y/n can you understand that I can't always be on your side? I have the right to not wanting to talk to you", "are you in lack of attention? Gosh", "why did you even sit in front of me" . You just looked at him in awe, your eyes became wet as you looked away, trying not to lose your temper. Your friend asked you "what's wrong with him? What did you do?" and everyone else saw his attitude towards you. And then you know what happened.

*/flashback*

You sighed deeply, laid in your bed and closed your eyes.

Brian could be such a prick sometimes. He really was someone who could hurt with his words. But you knew him, and he only did that when he was hurt aswell.

But why was he so quick to judge you? Couldn't he wait for you to tell him what is going on? He was being such a child honestly. You spent the night thinking about him.

You put your phone in your sweater's pocket.

You were almost falling asleep when you felt your phone under your belly. You opened your eyes and looked at the screen.

Bribri : I'm outside.

Wtf. You frowned as you got up of your bed, your phone in hand. It was like 2 am.

You : you serious

Bribri: yes

Half awake, you took baby steps to your room's door. You tried not to make a sound while getting down the stairs. You put on your coat and opened the door of your house. You found a freezing Brian standing outside. He looked at you but not for long. His eyes were admiring the floor apparently. You put your hands in the pockets of your coat and approached him slowly.

"you wanna sit?" you offered and you two sat on the chairs that were on your porch. They weren't the most comfortable but it was better than nothing.

"you could have waited tomorrow.." you said in a low voice

"I know I... I probably should just go home and let you sleep.. I'm sorry I d.. I don't know why I.." he started getting up but you grabbed his arm

"brian.. I can't go to sleep now it would be torture."

"right..." he sighed, sitting down

You had your arms crossed, waiting for him to talk but he seemed to be struggling. At the moment you were so angry at him you thought you'd better shut up.

"y/n... I'm so sorry" he started

His voice was low but you heard the sincerity in his words.

"I didn't mean to tell you those things it's just that... I don't know..."

"you called me a whore, in front of everybody"

"I apologize y/n! But You told me I was being childish when I was worried about you and tried to reach to you.. You rejected me and treated me like I was crazy.."

"I know.." you admitted

" y/n you just leave at 2 am at a party without saying anything " he took a deep breath " do you know how much I panicked when you didn't answer your phone that night? I thought something had happened to you... "

" I know, I'm sorry I should have texted you but.. "

" And next thing I know, everyone is saying you spent the night with that bastard " you saw his face change as he said those words, you could sense the anger coming out of him

" Brian..."

"after that you didn't come to school for like two days and you wouldn't even answer my calls or my texts ... so yeah, I was really annoyed at you... You acted as if I didn't exist when all I wanted was to help you, and then you want to act as if nothing happened" he stopped, his eyes were wandering in front of him, in the dark "but it made me realize something, It made me realize.. that I mean nothing to you"

You stared at him in silence as he nervously played with his hands. Tears started to come to your eyes.

"And it hurts honestly, because maybe.. You mean too much to me"

"stop it" you said in a quiver as you stood up to wipe your tears

"yeah I'll stop, don't worry about it" he finally said with a raspy voice as he tried not to let you know he too was about to cry

He quickly stood up and started walking away.

But you followed him.

"Brian stop!"

He did, you walked to him and stood in front of him. Your eyes were glittery and your nose was runny.

"you don't get it, please listen to me!" you felt the tears run down your hot cheeks

"I.. Am not perfect Brian" your voice was trembling"I tried to help a friend who had been drugged at the party and they were about to use her for god knows what, but they.. Josh wouldn't let us go unless I took that photo he's been showing everywhere.."

"wait... What? Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I don't know... I was ashamed.. I didn't want to bother you with my problems... I didn't know how to tell you that... Brian I.." you looked away as you took one deep breath

"did he touch you?! Who else was there y/n?! " he sounded infuriated

"no... He just said if I told anybody he would tell his parents to ruin my mom's reputation. The other guys, I don't know their names but I think they are in the football team. "

"sick bastard.. I forgot his parents were richer than anyone in this town" his hand furiously went through his messy hair

"please don't do anything" you asked him

He looked at you. The anger vanished from him as he saw your face buried in tears. He softly took your face into his hands and gently, with his sleeve, dried your cheeks.

"do you understand now?" you asked

His head tilted "I do"

He silently pulled you into his arms. You felt so vulnerable yet so good at that exact moment. You detached a bit from him in order to look at him.

"so... How much do I mean to you exactly? "

He glued his eyes to yours.

"you mean everything to me" he whispered

You smiled.

"Brian, I'm sorry I made you think I didn't care about you, it's not true."

He smiled too.

"please don't do it ever again"

"also, thank you for being there"

He rubbed his thumb against your rosy cheeks. "I'll always be there for you"

[sanfl0werrr]

the meaning of love

| part one | part two | part three | x |

you were sitting in your father's car, waiting for him to finish buying the takeaway you've been craving for. you'd always go to your father when you're craving for food, fully aware that he'd buy you anything you'd want.

"here's your food, princess," your father chuckled, seeing how excited you got, taking the food from his hands.

you grinned at him and laughed, "thanks! love you."

"you only love me when i buy you food," he squinted at you, but laughed afterwards.

you placed your hands on your chest, acting offended, "how did you know?"

the both of you laughed, as your father continued driving through the roads to get you home.

"any interesting stories?" your father tried to start a conversation.

you looked at him as you busily stuffed your mouth with fries, "what do you wanna know?"

"who's this prince i keep hearing about?" he mentioned jaemin, still focussing on the road.

you blushed, hoping your father wouldn't notice it under the dim light, "oh, j-jaemin?"

he hummed in acknowledgement.

"he's a friend," you said, not wanting to expose more.

"just a friend? your mother keeps saying how he would always stick by your side, even when you're just sitting on the sofa. no more wonwoo, i assume?" your father asked again.

your mood when down a little, "we're still friends, dad. we don't spend as much time as we used to."

"i think you're happier with this bunch of baboons, anyways," he bluntly said, "even if one of them is stealing my daughter's heart."

"dad!" you punched his shoulder softly, and laughed together.

"as long as my daughter is happy, i'm happy," he smiled at you, and in return, you kissed his cheeks.

"doesn't matter if wonwoo left or doesn't spend as much time with you. the love you give is the love you're gonna get back," your father pinched your cheeks, "the right one will come."

you stared at him for a moment, "jaemin said the exact same thing, dad."

"i approve of him," he laughed out loud

your father continued, "there's different types of love that exists in this world. there's family, there's friends and then, there's your soulmate. family will always be there for you, like how your mother and i, including your little brother will support and back you up whenever you need us. friends are joy, and they are the ones who influenced you to be who you are today. they might be temporary, but you'll always love them regardless and hope for the best for their future."

"what about soulmate?" you peered into your father's face.

"well, that's for you to find out, isn't it?" he teased.

--

the next few weeks were spent with the dreamies, except that the only person you've wanted to see for so long wasn't even there.

you lagged behind, while the rest continued to be hyper. you felt as though you couldn't match to their excitement that day.

you sighed, locking arms with chenle at your right and jeno at your left.

"i'm guessing you're missing nana?" jeno whispered, giving you a smile after that.

"was it that obvious?" you weakly laughed.

"well, you're not doing a very good job at hiding it," jeno shrugged.

"well, for your information mr lee jeno, i'm not even trying to hide it," you pinched his cheeks.

"how very cute," donghyuck gagged.

"what's very cute?" mark suddenly joined the conversation.

"y/n missing na jaemin," chenle winked.

"you don't have to declare it to the world, chenle," you sighed and nudged him.

"y/n declaring she misses jaemin?" renjun pouted, "be right back, i'm gagging. the loneliness is real."

"i heard he's ending his shift soon. let's surprise him?" mark suggested.

everyone looked at you, waiting for your answer. you smiled widely, "let's go!"

"i can't believe, y/n... the audacity to get excited the moment we're seeing jaemin," donghyuck teased you.

you shrugged your shoulders in reply, becoming even more shy.

"i can't believe i'm seeing y/n like this," mark made a disgusted face, "does this mean you like jaemin?"

"mark hyung, sometimes i wonder how slow-witted you are," chenle shook his head.

"as his best friend, i think y/n should go for it!" jeno cheered you on.

"woah, hold on," you stopped them, "we're just friends and like i said before, i don't want to risk our friendship."

"that's y/n confirming her feelings," renjun nodded, "yup, that's it."

"what will make you believe that he's serious about you?" jisung asked, out of a sudden.

you raised your brows, in suspicion, "when he shows it to me."

"what do you mean?" chenle asked in confusion.

"as in, i don't it to be just words. if the guy says he wants to see me, then make an effort to see me. it could be anything as long as he shows me he really means it," you explained.

"okay, before jaemin's shifts end, we should all probably head there soon," mark cut the conversation, "let's go!"

you didn't know what jaemin has been working as, so when you entered the book cafe, you were in awe.

"jaemin works here? and he didn't bother telling me?" you gasped.

"this is probably why he didn't want to tell you," donghyuck joked.

and in return, you nudged him hard.

"what are all of you doing here?" jaemin appeared next to you.

"the least you could do is serve us drinks for coming all the way here," renjun rolled his eyes, "and y/n missed you."

"really?" jaemin lit up, "you could have just texted me and i'll go to you."

"the lovebirds are starting again," jeno gagged, "please not in front of us. i feel really really single."

"that makes all of us," mark chimed in.

"i think they look cute," jisung smiled.

"you're a kid, what do you know?" chenle teases him.

"hey! you are too," jisung nudged him back.

you scratched the back of your head, feeling embarrassed and faced jaemin, "anyways... are you really going to be working throughout the summer break?"

jaemin thought for a moment before whispering, "i'm free next week. let's go out, just the two of us?"

you widen your eyes at the sudden intimacy but managed to nod, "s-sure."

"can you please not leave us out? we're a clique here?" donghyuck mentioned.

jaemin winked, "well, it's a secret between my girl and i."

my girl, he said. you were screaming internally and nothing, nothing could ever stop your erratic heartbeat that was going insane by the minute.

--

you couldn’t sleep the night before your ‘date’ with jaemin. but, was it a date even? you weren’t even sure but you were undeniably excited to meet him.

somehow, you knew that the others would have known about the plan but they were pretending not to know in the group chat.

donghyuck, who’s usually the noisy one in the chat, was utterly quiet today. even jeno was acting awkward.

not to mention, renjun suddenly having other plans? you knew jaemin wanted it to be just the both of you, but the rest of them was making it obvious that they knew the plan.

you ignored their awkward attempt at pretending not to know anything, because all you wanted was to enjoy the day with jaemin. you didn’t want to let anything or anyone ruin the day.

so, you got up early and tried your hardest to look nice. but when you went out of your room, everyone’s eyes were on you.

“w-why are you dressed like that?” your mum stared at you in shock.

“i bet she’s meeting prince jaemin!” your little brother teased you.

your dad, on the other hand, puts down his newspaper and stared at you, “y/n, looks like you’re trying too hard.”

everyone laughed, but you were frustrated, “help me then! i don’t know what to wear.”

your mother stopped laughing and followed you to your room, “okay, okay. don’t be mad, i’ll help you.”

and after fifteen minutes of trying different outfits, which felt like hours, you knew the outfit you had on at the moment was the one.

“this is perfect,” your mother winked.

you showed a face of disgust, “ugh, don’t do that! but, thank you.”

“have fun on your date and tell jaemin i said hi,” your mum waved goodbye.

and with that, you were on your way to meet jaemin.

you realised you still had a lot of time on your hands before meeting jaemin, so you decided to go to a bookstore to kill time. you were looking around, searching for new releases but you couldn't find the ones that interests you.

"how about you re-read 'Me Before You' again?" a voice called out to you.

you turned around and widen your eyes, "wonwoo?"

he gave you a soft smile, knowing that you were still upset over what he said previously.

"what are you doing here?" you asked.

he scratched the back of his neck, "just looking around for books, really."

somehow, you weren't convinced by his answer, "really?"

"really."

nothing was said after that. only the voices from the people around filled the empty silence. it was awkward, to say the least. you've never initiated a chat with wonwoo after his call, so you didn't know what to say.

wonwoo tried to break the tension, "so, who are you waiting for?"

"jaemin," you said softly.

"oh," he said.

silence filled the void once more.

"i should go," you said to wonwoo, not wanting the atmosphere to get any awkward.

"o-oh," wonwoo stuttered, "y-yeah, jaemin's probably waiting."

you gave him a smile as an acknowledgement.

"u-um, y/n wait!" he grabbed your hands, "i'm sorry for what i said before. i was out of line and jealous."

you laughed, "jealous?"

"y-yeah. i thought i was losing you, but-"

"you've already lost me," you explained, "the moment you stopped looking for me and went to aera, you've lost me for good."

"but there's no use crying over spilled milk. it's over," you smiled to yourself.

"y-yeah, you're right," wonwoo bitterly smiled to himself, "i'm sorry, once again."

you turned around and never bid him goodbye. you knew it was over and there's nothing left for wonwoo and you to stay in contact anymore. it was done.

the moment you went out the bookstore, you bumped right into jaemin.

"h-hey! i was about to text you," you stuttered like a 5-year-old girl.

jaemin's lips was pressed in a thin line, not showing any emotions, "yeah? anyways, i got you sunflowers. your favourite right?"

you nodded vigorously, obvious in showing that you loved the gift, "thank you, i love it."

nonetheless, you saw how distracted he was.

you saw how his eyes kept pacing back and forth, from the bookstore to you. was he nervous? you thought, but it couldn't be that. he's usually very bright but the way he looks right now, reminded you of the first time you met him in the club room.

"are you okay? are you unwell?" you asked him multiple times.

jaemin didn't turn back to look at you, "i'm fine."

"no, you're not. are you upset?" you grabbed his arms, but he pulled them out of your grip.

"jaemin," you widen your eyes, "why are you being like this?"

throughout the year you've known him, jaemin never acted like this. to say you were shock was an understatement. you were hurt to see him acting so distant and all you wanted was to have a good time with him.

"na jaemin," you gritted your teeth, showing him that you have a limit to your patience too.

you sighed, half annoyed, "if i did something wrong, i apologise. if you could just tell me what-

he cut you off, "i'm sorry."

"fuck, i know i shouldn't let my jealousy get the better of me but i can't help it when it comes to you, okay?" he closed his eyes momentarily, "when i came over the other day, you were crying over wonwoo. i was so close to wanting to call him out, but i didn't want to cause you any pain so i stopped."

jaemin ran his hand over his hair, "and i knew you would be in the bookstore by the time i'm here, but suddenly i see you with wonwoo. i didn't know what to feel and i just- i felt angry for some reason, seeing you with him."

"i d-don't know what to say," you were at a loss for words, "i mean, i do have something to say but it's all messed up in my head and i don't know how to phrase them right."

"then, let me," jaemin took the lead, "i wanted to give you some time before telling you this because i know you're still affected by that jerk, but please, let me be the guy who makes you smile, let me be the guy who brings you flowers and let me be the guy you run to whenever you need someone to lean on."

you rubbed your temple and stood before him, not knowing what to say, "well, damn. i really don't know what to say."

your hands were shaking and you were sweating buckets due to the anxiety.

"are you unsure about-"

"no, of course not!" you cut him off, "it's just.... don't you realise you're the only one i look for whenever we're in a crowd? you're the only one i go to whenever i need help and that you're the only person who makes me feel all jittery inside?"

"what are you-"

"damn it, jaemin. i like you too!"

you widen your eyes at the sudden loud confession you made, "shit! i can't believe i said that out loud in public."

you tried covering your face but jaemin was already holding your hands in his, smirking right into your face.

"stop staring at me like that," you blushed.

"why?" he whined, "you were so aggressive before though."

jaemin couldn't stop smiling, but you weren't about to back down.

you knew he was teasing you so you teased him back, "but then again, i wasn't the one boiling with jealousy."

jaemin widens his eyes, pretending to be shocked, "i can't believe you played that card."

you smirked, "but it's true."

"my love, you only have three seconds to run," he challenged you.

"you can't-"

"three!"

"be-"

"two!"

"serious-"

"one!"

"na jaemin, stop!" you shouted as you tried to run away from him, going in circles inside the shopping mall.

you tried running as far as you possibly could from jaemin with the short legs you have, but he easily caught up to you, grabbing your waist to pull you closer to him.

"i hate you," you tried to wiggle your way out of his arms.

he laughed and snuggled against your petite body, "no, you don't."

"that's right, i don't," you rolled your eyes and smiled afterward.

maybe this was the meaning of love your father tried to tell you back then. maybe this was him trying to say that it wasn't the end of the world when one thing doesn't work out. maybe na jaemin was your happy ending after all.

[thicctransboi]

Almost- Chapter 4

"I don't know,Sam, I don't think I'm ready to meet the baby just yet." Grizz said to Sam as he slipped on his shoes.

Sam had proposed the idea to Grizz shortly after they began getting dressed. "Are you scared to? Or is it just nerves or something?" Sam asked.

Grizz sighed, "I don't know... She's your kid, Sam... It's still weird for me. I cant promise I wont walk out. It might just be too hard on me. Besides, does Becca even know about us yet?"

Sam shook his head. He couldn't help but feel guilty again when Grizz said, 'Your kid'. Sam wanted so badly just to tell Grizz the truth, but that wasn't his truth to tell.

"Why not?"

Sam shrugged, "I don't know, I didn't know If you were ready for people to know yet. It didn't feel like it was my place."

Grizz chuckled "Sam, we might die here. If I wasn't ready for people to know, I wouldn't have tried so hard to get with you in the first place. If we die here, I want people to know me for the real me, not just the me thy thought they knew." Grizz sighed, "Let's go to the hospital, I'm sure Becca is missing you."

Grizz was right, Becca had sent Sam at least 20 texts asking where he was, causing Sam and grizz to speed walk to the hospital. As they walked, a few people in town looked their way, causing Sam to feel nervous for some reason. Sam felt even more nervous as Grizz grabbed his hand, holding it as they walked. Approaching the hospital, Grizz felt his stomach quench; this was it, he was facing his fear: Becca and Sam's baby. Grizz had to hold himself back from getting emotional as they arrived in the maternity wing.

"There you are! Where have you been?" Becca practically screeched as Sam and Grizz rounded the corner. Then her eyes landed on Grizz. "Grizz! You're back! I heard the trip went well."

"Yeah.." Grizz said, his eyes traveling to the small child in Becca's arms. "Congratulations on the baby.. Sam told me you named her Eden, it's fitting." Grizz suddenly felt small despite being 6 foot 3.

Becca was beaming. "Thank you, wait, what are you doing here? No offense, I just didn't expect you to visit today considering you just got back and its- 2am."

Sam didn't even realize how late it had gotten. He answered for Grizz, "Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. Grizz and I... well.. We've been seeing each other?" His response came out as more of a question than a statement.

Becca raised an eyebrow, glancing between the two boys in front of her, Grizz awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. "Since when? Grizz, you're gay?"

"Thanksgiving."

"Uh, yeah?"

Becca's eyes went wide, tossing a pillow weakly in Sam's direction. "That's where you were when I went into labor? With him?! Wait- You lost your virginity and didn't even tell me didn't you?! Sam, you were getting dicked down while I was in labor! That's why you weren't answering your phone!?"

Sam let out a sigh, meanwhile Grizz stood their wide eyed. "Should I go and leave you two to talk?" Grizz asked awkwardly.

"No, no, stay..." Sam said, singing slowly. "Becca, I'm sorry. It just kinda- happened."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Would you have rathered me told you while you were in labor? 'Hey Becca, sorry I'm late, I know it's a bad time considering you're crowning, but me and Grizz just had sex and I really like him. That cool?'" Sam mocked.

Becca rolled her eyes.

Grizz felt his heart ache; they were perfect for each other, they even argued like a couple. No wonder they hooked up.

"You should have told me after, you know I would have been fine with it. I've been waiting for you to meet someone, though I thought you wouldn't considering our situation," Grizz was shocked to hear that comment, even more shocked when Becca said, "Grizz, come sit."

Grizz looked at Sam for help, Sam just smiled as Grizz slowly walked over to Becca and the baby, sitting down on the bed between her and Sam.

"Want to hold her?" Becca asked, giving Grizz a smile.

Grizz felt his heart rate increase, "No, no, I wouldn't want to intrude or anything. Aren't you mad? Like, you're okay with me and Sam?"

Becca laughed, "Of course I'm not mad! Sam's my best friend, I want him to be happy," She shot a smile towards Sam, "And how would you be intruding? You can be a part of this too, you know. I'll take all the help I can get. Here, take her, just mind her head."

Grizz was on the verge of having a panic attack, taking Eden into his arms carefully and making sure to keep her head elevated. The small child looked up at Grizz sleepily, causing Grizz to notice her stark blue eyes. They were Sam's eyes. It made his heart ache. But then, she wrapped her little hand around Grizz's thumb, making his heart swell, despite him knowing it was just a reflex. Something about holding her was oddly comforting, despite the circumstances In which she was brought into this world.

"She's beautiful." Grizz signed with one hand, not speaking, afraid his voice might fail him. He could feel it now, he was getting emotional and he wasn't prepared for them to see him that way, nor did he want Eden to feed off of him. Babies were weird like that. "Becca, take her... I need a minute."

Grizz bolted out of the room as quickly as he could.

Becca raised an eyebrow, turning to Sam with Eden in her arms. "Is he okay?"

Sam sighed, "He's been upset ever since he found out about her... That she's 'mine'. He's scared he's being a home wrecker."

Becca suddenly felt guilty herself, she knew that this wasn't fair to either Sam nor Grizz, but she couldn't find it in herself to tell either of them the truth of who the father really was. She knew it would break Sam's heart. "He'll get over it once he realizes we aren't like that together, right?"

"Becca, he needs to know the truth. This almost ruined us last time before he left, I can tell it bothers him.."

Becca shook her head, "No, Sam, I... I can't.. You can't. Please.."

***

Sam found Grizz outside of the hospital near the entrance, taking deep breaths as he leaned against the brick, his breath puffing out in clouds in front of him due to the cold. His face illuminated by the hospital sign.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked, approaching him slowly.

Grizz sighed, "She has your eyes, Sam... She looks just like Becca but with your eyes.. I can't- I can't do this."

Sam felt himself grow uneasy. He had never given it much thought, Eden's eyes. But now that he thought about it, she did have his eyes. But how?.... "Grizz- please... Don't- Don't leave. We just got back together, I can't loose you again."

Grizz sighed, watching as the air left his lungs, "How can I look at her, and not be reminded every day of the fact that she's yours? The fact that you'll never truly be mine? The fact that you slept with Becca and have a child with her? That I'll never be a part of it? I can't do that, Sam. It hurts too much. I just can't."

Sam sighed, in that moment he felt so conflicted between Eden having his eyes and wanting to tell Grizz the truth. But how would Grizz believe him now? Not now that he saw that Eden had blue eyes. How did she have his eyes?? "Grizz, you can be a part of this, Becca even said, she can use all of the help she can get. And, I am yours, I'm all yours if you want me to be... Becca and I.. We're not like that. We never have been, I told you. Please, don't let this get to you.. Please."

"She has your eyes! How can that not upset me?" Grizz yelled. "They're as blue as the damn sky in the summer time! Just like yours! Your eyes! The ones that I fell for! The ones I opened my soul up to! The ones-"

"They're not mine! Eden isn't mine!" Sam shouted, finally snapping. "I don't know how her eyes are blue, her real dad's must be! But I wouldn't know because I don't know who that is!" Sam was breathing heavily, his words hung in the air. He suddenly realized what he had just done. "Fuck! Don't tell Becca I told you..."

"Sam? Are you saying what I think you're saying? Why would you tell me that she was yours?" Grizz was stunned, suddenly no longer angry, more confused.

Sam sighed, "Becca and I agreed that that was what we would tell people when I agreed to help her out, we agreed that I would say I was the father... I don't know who the real dad is, she won't tell me. But I promised her that I would be a father to this child, Grizz. I promised I would live this lie as being her biological father to keep her secret. She's my best friend, Grizz, I had to. please understand, please don't tell her I told you..."

Grizz stood there in shock, not believing what he was hearing, “Sam… You lied to me.”

“I had to! I had no other choice! I promised her, and I ended up hurting you in the process. Fuck, I’m so sorry…” Sam was crying rather relentlessly now.

It took a lot, but Grizz couldn’t stand seeing Sam cry, letting out a sigh, he pulled him close, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy tightly. It’s okay.. We’ll figure this out.. I won’t tell her.”

“Thank you…”

[prinnyalexis]

If only you knew what you did to me...

You left when I needed you the most, when we needed you and rather than thinking of how things could be better, you tried for better elsewhere. You know, I once thought you’d always be there for me. Boy, was I wrong. The time I needed you the most, you needed something else. Not only did I need my best friend around, jenson needed his daddy, not just every other week. Since having Jenson I’ve realised a lot. I’m not bitter like you think I am, I’m just disappointed. You can’t possibly have expected me to be completely fine with the situation because let’s be honest, you weren’t just someone I loved.. you were my best friend, my best self and I just couldn’t face giving it up. You might not understand but I gave you the best of me and after you left, nothing was ever the same.

I just wish you would realise how much you put me through because it seems like you have no idea. You’re acting like I have absolutely nothing to be upset about, are you oblivious or just being selfish? You couldn’t care less about how I feel as long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters to you. I used to care about you so much, I tried so hard to try and get you back until I realised how pathetic I was to be crying over someone who simply didn’t care what he was loosing. You hurt me, you’ve made me feel worthless, unimportant and you broke me as a person. I’ve let you get to me too much, in fact I let you control me. But I’m finally moving on. However, you have taught me one thing, to never hold onto someone who isn’t holding onto you. For me, now I know better, as for you, you lost someone who thought everything of you, who would have gave you everything, your first born son and your family. Honestly it’s been the hardest thing having my heart break whilst being pregnant but it was so worth the pain, for me and my heart. I can’t explain how proud I am because I’m the only one who knows how bad you hurt me but here I am now with my gorgeous little boy, healing.

You left when I believed you would stay, you left my side when I was most vulnerable, I have no bad words for you, I just want to thank you. Thankyou for making me realise my worth, making me realise I deserve better, for making me a stronger person, for leaving me so I could find the lost me.

What I want to know- Was there a smile on your face when I called you crying, texting you begging you to stay?

Were you satisfied that you broke me, and broke all your promises to me and our son?

How can you watch me be a mum to your son, knowing all I do for him and feel nothing?

Does it make your ego bigger to know you have that much power over me? I’ll never know because as it turns out, I clearly never knew you at all.

Even after being so hurt, I still couldn’t stop myself from loving you. Id given up so much for you, invested so much time and energy, it just didn’t seem fair to have to walk away with nothing. What you fail to realise, while you pick and choose when to be a dad, I’m doing everything I can to provide, protect, love and feed our son ON MY OWN. You seem to forget that as well as ensuring our son is cared for how he should be, I'm still trying to mend what you broke and to be completely honest with you, I’m struggling BUT I know I’ll get there. All I want is for you to realise that while I made mistakes and may have hurt you, I also hurt myself in the process but nothing, no one, no pain in this world will ever hurt me more than you walking away from me and Jenson, without a care in the world, like we are nothing and that even though Jenson is here now, still we was never worth fighting for.

When Jenson is old enough, I'll explain to him why his double name is barrelled, and everything I did to put him first, and why his parents aren't together. Not that I would ever bad mouth you, but I hope it helps to shape him into a man that won't just walk away from a difficult situation, and one that will fight for his family no matter what it takes, a real man. I hope that together, we will still be able to raise our son with morals, and respect for women, and to remain having respect for those, even when they least deserve it.

But most of all I just hope that one day, when you genuinely realise how much your missing out on, your bond with Jenson isn't as great as it could be, and I finally find someone who treats me the way I deserve, and takes on Jenson in the future as well, maybe then you'll then realise, the grass isn't greener on the other side. And I hope it hurts like hell.