#and it's being presented as if it was a nice idea of some high school girls who did something nice one evening

[queeniewithabeanie]

The Polyglot

Dpxdc Prompt #8

Turns out when you become the Ghost King you get a few extra powers to go along with it. One of these powers was to not only understand, but speak every language in the multiverse.

Almost all ghosts stuck to ghost speak, which was easily understandable by all the denizens of the realms, but when you're the king apparently you also have to deal with relations to nations that lack the ability to speak the mother tongue of ghosts.

When Danny's sudden language aptitude presented itself it lead to a lot of problems. Mainly that he couldn't tell what language he was speaking in, and often swapped which one every other word.

The only language that he could speak no problem right after gaining his new power was ghost speak, which was great for talking to denizens! Not so great for talking to Sam, Tucker, and Jazz. Despite their liminality Danny's closest friends couldn't hear all the frequencies that were used in ghost speak.

Soon after discovering his problem Danny started going nonverbal, not wanting to expose himself to his fellow Amitians, or Ancients-forbid his parents.

Luckily Jazz had a solution for him! ASL

ASL was easy for Danny with his newfound ability and he didn't have to worry about constantly switching around his language mid-sentence. The movements grounded him, and he could tell immediately if he was switching to another language that didn't require a voice. Jazz had learned it in high school, wanting to be able to provide therapy to those who had more trouble hearing along with everyone else.

Sam and Tucker didn't really have prior experience with ASL, but they sure were motivated to learn. By the time they got fluent, Danny mostly had control over his polyglot ability (and started speaking again because of it), but he often forgot what language he was speaking in when he was distracted or stressed.

It was nice to be able to speak with his friends even when they couldn't understand a word coming out of his mouth.

Then Jazz, Sam, and Tucker (along with his parents) died in an explosion at Nasty Burger and he was swept into the foster care system. He got picked up by some serial adopter (what was with billionaires and wanting Danny as their son?) who lived in Gotham named Bruce Wayne.

After everyone living person Danny loved had died he was prone to being a lot more stressed which meant his languages were acting up. There was no reason for normal Danny Fenton, 17-year-old-boy to know and use 20 different languages in one conversation so he reverted to the one language he couldn't mess up.

ASL.

at least that's what he told himself

he wasn't going nonverbal

he wasn't

Hopefully his new "family" knew it (they did), would be accepting of him not speaking (they would), and most importantly didn't have a creepy basement (danny had no idea what he was getting into)!

turns out knowing every language in the world and beyond wasn't too strange for the family he was joining

now he just had to explain after 6 months why he was suddenly fine speaking around them

couldn't be too hard, right?

[helpimstuckposting]

From Santa

Prompt: Magic | Rating: G | Wordcount: 2,957 | AO3 | @steddiebingo

Steve was seven when he found out that Santa did not exist. He tried, once, the whole ‘Santa’ thing. After hearing the stories from kids at school, he ran over to Melvald’s and bought a tin of cookies with his allowance before skipping excitedly home. Some of the kids mentioned feeding the magic deer, because flying took a lot out of them obviously, and Steve wasn’t quite sure what magic deer ate, but he left out a few carrots in the yard just in case.

He was so excited, setting out the cookies in front of the big tree in the living room and hoping he’d wake up to find a present underneath, just for him. Maybe it would be a cool Hess Truck like Tommy wanted, or maybe it would be an action figure, or comic books, or maybe his parents would come home. The other kids said Santa was magic, that he could do anything, so Steve wasn’t picky.

He went to bed excited and could barely close his eyes to sleep, but the other kids said Santa didn’t come if you were awake so Steve tried his very best. He finally fell asleep with the taste of ginger snaps on his tongue (there was a whole tin, and Santa had hundreds, maybe thousands of cookies every night, so he didn’t think Santa would mind one less).

He woke up to a spotless and quiet house, no puddles from snow on Santa’s boots, no bites out of the cookies, and no present under the tree. No parents either. Steve didn’t have any more cookies that day. He couldn’t bear it.

When his parents arrived a week later, Steve was greeted not by hugs and exclamations of how much his parents missed him, but by his mother loudly and forcefully demanding answers to why her yard was scattered with gross old carrots, drying and cracking and covered in mud from the melted snow. So he told her. He told her about Santa and how he wanted him to come, how he went to bed early like a good boy, and waited all night. How he didn’t show up.

She laughed.

It was cold and icy, like the shards still hanging from the gutters on their roof. She told him he shouldn’t be impatient for his presents — they were in the car like always — and really, Steven, it doesn’t look good for a boy to be so demanding, and the presents certainly weren’t from Santa because the man did not exist.

Santa didn’t exist.

So yes, Steve knew from a young age that the jolly man in the coat and hat was simply a lie — told to children to excite them and give them something to look forward to. He didn’t really get it at first; were the presents not enough? Was the week off from school not exciting? Did they not look forward to Christmas morning without the story of a man sneaking down the chimney? But he’d also fallen for it. He was so excited, he liked the idea of feeding the magic deer, and leaving a treat out for someone delivering gifts out of kindness. He liked the story, that a man with so much power wanted to use it to make children happy. He liked being thought of, liked being remembered by someone he didn’t even know, liked that it was a reward for being nice throughout the year.

But it wasn’t true. And that was fine, Steve tried to convince himself. He still got the presents, and he still got his parents, even if they were a week late. He still got a hug from his nanny, and his mom let him have the rest of the ginger snaps, and he didn’t even have to clean up the carrots from the yard.

His parents left again, and school started again, and it was fine.

It was fine, until Tommy came barreling through the door with his Hess Truck held high and the praise of Santa spewing from his lips, and Steve noticed that not everyone shared in Tommy’s delight. Most of them did, and a lot of them brought their favorite toy to school just like Tommy, but a few kids (maybe three) sat still in their chairs — like they could avoid any questions if they blended into the background. They ducked their heads and they sank in their seats, and Steve wondered if they also found out Santa wasn’t real.

But Tommy singled one kid out at recess. He dragged him out, to the center of the playground, and told everyone that Santa didn’t go to trailer parks, that the kids in Forest Hills didn’t get presents from Santa, because only good kids got presents, and how could they be good if they lived in a junk yard. Those words didn’t sound like Tommy, but he was always repeating things his dad said, copying him and taking his word as gospel.

The kid, scrawny with a shaved head and angry brown eyes, sank into his shoes. Not in retreat, not in a cowering way. He sank into his shoes like he was grounding himself, like he was making sure his footing was firm and steady, and he shoved Tommy right into the ground.

Of course, only then did a teacher interject, and only the boy Steve didn’t know the name of was dragged away to the office. Tommy angrily scrambled to his feet and spat at the ground where the kid had stood, remarking that he was right and the Forrest Hills kids were definitely on the naughty list, Steve, wasn’t he right? Did he see that? What a freak that kids was.

Steve rolled his eyes and didn’t say anything. He knew interrupting Tommy was just more hassle than it was worth, and Tommy was wrong anyway because Santa wasn’t real. He’d figure it out eventually, Steve supposed, but he wasn’t going to be the one to tell him.

It was his walk home that gave him an idea. He saw the bus pass by as he trudged along, down the road and off in the direction of Forrest Hills trailer park. He wondered if that kid from recess was there, if he saw Steve out the window as he passed, if he really didn’t get any presents. He thought about all the gifts his parents gave him that were still packaged up in his closet because he had too many and he didn’t really like them all. And he thought about how much he wanted someone to think about him on Christmas, with no other purpose or desire but to make him happy.

So, with an inkling of an idea creeping its way through his head, he ran the rest of the way home and pulled out the phone book from the hallway table, as well as his yearbook from the previous year. There weren’t many numbers from Forrest Hills, but he did find the three kids from his class and a couple from the year above. He picked out which of his unopened presents he thought they’d like the most, and he wrapped them crudely in leftover paper he found in the study. He ripped off a few pages from the note pad by the phone, and wrote out in his best writing:

From Santa, sorry I was late

And then:

P.S. my elf wrote this

Because his best writing was still pretty bad.

It took him a couple days to plan and gather things, but in the dead of night — after his neighbors clicked off their porch lights — he piled all five presents into a little red wagon and tied the wagon to the end of his bike. He took off toward Forrest Hills, a little list of names and addresses crinkled in his pocket. He tip-toed around the dirt paths, freezing in fear every time his little wagon’s wheels squeaked, and placed the presents and the notes from ‘Santa’ on the doorsteps that matched his little list. He checked it twice, just for fun.

He felt lighter on the ride back home, and not just because his wagon was empty.

Steve was seven when he decided to become Santa himself.

It wasn’t obvious, the next day at school, and Steve didn’t do it just to listen to kids whisper about Santa visiting Forrest Hills a week late, but he did notice something. The three kids who had sunk low in their seats the first day back, who avoided talking to the others to brag about their presents, were no longer trying to blend into the background. They sat comfortably in their seats, and whispered among themselves, eyes twinkling a little more than they had a few days ago. Steve was ecstatic. He sat, buzzing silently with excitement as he tried to keep his face blank and neutral. Santa had to be kept secret, after all.

He did it again the next year, adding the newest kids to his list from the years below him, and saved up his allowance to get some cuter presents for the girls; some nail polish and art supplies, some coloring books and beads. This time he wasn’t late, and his handwriting had improved a lot from the year before (though he still blamed the elves for his wonky letters).

He had fun, learning how to wrap the paper around each gift, saving up his money to pick out presents he hoped the other kids would like, wondering what their faces looked like when they opened the door to find a present on their front step.

He was a little worried that the kids would be concerned Santa hadn’t made it inside, being magic and all, but he also noticed that none of the trailers had chimneys so maybe that was okay. He also learned that most of the kids in Forrest Hills did get presents, and he felt a little stupid for assuming they didn’t just from Tommy’s dumb comments, but he also knew they weren’t the fancy presents other kids got like bikes and new games.

He tried making his Santa presents a little more extravagant. After all, why would Santa give Tommy a brand new Lego set, but give Willie across town a pack of baseball cards? Steve just wanted to even the playing field a bit, knock Tommy down a peg or two when he tried humiliating another kid on the playground and that kid said Actually Tommy, I got the new Hess Truck from Santa, too! And Steve remembered wrapping it up, much neater this time, and almost getting caught on the stoop when a dog started barking at him. He muffled a giggle into his hand when Tommy floundered for something to say, coming up empty handed.

As the years passed and the kids in his grade stopped believing in Santa, he scratched their names off his list. He kept adding to it as well, though. He paid attention to the new kids in each grade, noticed if they had a little less than those around them, noticed if they were on the outskirts or if they looked a little nervous as the holidays drew nearer and nearer. He left presents for the Byers one year when he heard that Jon’s mom lost her job after his dad left. He left presents almost all over town, had the phone book highlighted with every address he wrote down in his notebook — a much needed upgrade from the crumpled piece of paper in his pocket. He wrote a list, he checked it twice, and he made sure to slip through the dark like a shadow, avoiding anything that might give him away.

He was always surprised when no adults tried to stop him. Surely, the stoop presents were well known throughout town by the time Steve reached high school, but maybe they didn’t want to know who was behind it. Maybe they wanted to keep the magic alive, too. Either way, Steve played a successful Santa for nearly two decades before anyone found out.

It was Eddie.

It was always Eddie.

Eddie, the boy who knocked Tommy clear to the ground that first winter. Eddie, the boy who made Steve want to help. Eddie, the boy who received the first ever gift from Hawkin’s own Santa, though Steve kind of hoped that was a secret he could keep.

They were putting up the tree in their apartment, the first Christmas they were spending together. Eddie had brought several old ornaments from the trailer, ones that he stole from right under Wayne’s nose because lord knows the man wouldn’t want to part with them if he didn’t have to — a collector, that man was. Steve picked up one that, at first, had been unassuming, a clear bauble filled with glitter. Hanging it on the sad twiggy branch of their Charlie Brown tree, however, he noticed a little piece of paper inside. It was aged and a bit crumpled, but not too shabby for how old it was.

From Santa, sorry I was late, it read in squiggled, messy handwriting, the wonky letters leaning to one side more than the other.

P.S. my elf wrote this

Steve stared at it for entirely too long, catching Eddie’s attention as he hung the last ornament.

“Wayne made that one, if you can believe it,” Eddie said, tapping the plastic bauble with the nail of his pointer finger. “I mean, not the note,” he clarified, “that was Santa.” He whispered the last part conspiratorially, as if letting Steve in on a huge secret. Steve felt like he was going to cry, suddenly, the tears pricking behind his eyes. With a start he realized, selfishly, that he didn’t want Eddie to know. He wanted to keep this mystery alive for just a little longer, like a parent too sad to let their child grow out of the world of magic and wonder, like it was too soon though the secret had been brewing for nearly twenty years.

Eddie wrapped a cautious arm around Steve’s shoulders, unsure of where his sudden teary-eyed expression came from. Instead of facing his questioning look, Steve tucked his head into the crook of Eddie’s neck and listened as the man regaled him with the story of his first ever gift from the Santa Claus.

That year, Wayne had lost his job as a trucker because Eddie had fallen into his lap. He couldn’t leave the kid all alone, had to stay and take care of him, and he was between jobs until the holiday snuck right up on them both. They had a tree, just as shabby and sparse as the one they currently stood in front of, but there was no money to spare for gifts. Wayne had apologized, and Eddie had been very understanding for an eight year old — after all, he had been learning not to rely on adults, anyway.

He’d gotten in trouble when the school year resumed, however, for shoving an insufferable Tommy Hagan to the ground during recess. Of course Tommy hadn’t gotten in trouble, since vigilantism was an under appreciated form of justice, Eddie declared. Steve snorted into Eddie’s neck, just imagining the ranting tirade the skinny boy with a shaved head must have gone on, trying to defend himself to the principal.

Eddie was furious as he got back home, pissed off at Hagan, pissed off at his parents, pissed off at the world. And then — what to his wondering eyes did appear — two days later, Wayne had opened the door to the shittiest wrapped present he’d ever seen. Steve bit his tongue. It was for Eddie, according to the name scribbled onto the wrapping paper, and the little note declared it was a lost gift from Santa.

“Like magic,” Eddie smiled.

Steve had no idea that was his first Christmas at Wayne’s, and he had no clue what that first shove on the playground could lead to. He could still picture Eddie’s scrunched brow as he glared daggers at Tommy, could still remember the way he sank into his shoes and grounded himself for a fight, like he was used to it, like he knew what was coming. He wished he could picture Eddie’s face as he realized Santa hadn’t forgotten about him.

“Anyway,” he said, startling Steve from his thoughts, still tucked away in Eddie’s neck, “Wayne kept that note, and I think he’s got the one from the next year, too. He’d saved enough money for a couple presents that year, but I think he was grateful for a little extra help.”

Steve pictured himself, a tiny little thing, curled up in the living room, all alone on Christmas Eve as he wrapped up presents and wrote out his Santa letters. He remembered feeling less alone for the first Christmas in forever, because he was too busy sticking too much tape onto glittery wrapping paper and worrying about not getting caught to care that his parents weren’t home again.

He thought about the bag full of presents, tucked away in the back of the closet so Eddie wouldn’t find them, and his list of kids he collected from the library’s giving tree. He had planned on sneaking out, planned to slip away from Eddie’s prone form and deliver the gifts alone, like always, but Eddie squeezed his shoulder and kissed the top of his head and he realized that he didn’t have to be alone anymore. Maybe this year there could be two Santas, delivering gifts to the children of Hawkins in the dead of night. Maybe this year he could have some help. Maybe this year, there could be twice as much magic as the year before.

—

Bingo Prompts

[prettieinpink]

WAYS TO LIVE SLOWER IN 2025

2024 was such a blur for me, and I feel like I wasn’t really taking in the present moments as much as I should have. I don’t want to repeat the same thing in 2025, here’s a little few ways i’m implementing living slower in 2025. 

SHOWER MEDITATIONS. Each time I’m in the shower, I just focus on rinsing, soap, rinsing then I get out. While its a small thing to consider, as someone who has a lot of thoughts especially during school mornings, it's a nice way to ground yourself. 

If you’d like you can start off with a little prayer, thanking him for access to clean water and a bathroom. Let the water take all the struggles and stresses you have down the drain, use soap to renew yourself of yesterday for the new day and focus on how the water feels on your skin. Then, you can end it off with a prayer as well. 

TAKE THE TIME TO BE IN THE SUN OR NATURE. Perhaps you can read a book, listen to a playlist or just soak that time spent in nature. It's completely up to you, but I wouldn’t do anything that's too distracting like studying or scrolling. 

SAY THANK YOU, FOR NO ONE. Each time you get to sleep in your bed, say thank you. Each time you eat a meal, say thank you. Each time you get to have access to water, say thank you. There are a lot more opportunities to say thanks, but it just allows for daily appreciation of things that we do without thinking. 

UNATTACH YOUR PHONE FROM TASKS. Certain tasks, you do not need your phone. For example, cooking. When you cook and perhaps you’re waiting for something to boil, wash some dishes instead of opening instagram. Sometimes it doesn’t even have to be a task, when you’re in a car, don’t look at your phone, look outside at the window and observe the people or the cars you see. 

NO SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE MORNING OR EVENING. Social media is meant for quick consumption, but because it's so quick, we underestimate the time that we spend on it. Only 10 minutes can easily turn into an hour. I would avoid using it during these times because this is probably when we’re the most easily influenced by fads, products or misinformation. 

REST IS A TASK. Take the time out of your day to rest, because you need it. It doesn’t have to be a singular session daily either, it can be regular small intervals throughout the day. Use this time to reflect on how you’ve spent your time earlier, then do whatever you consider to rejuvenates you. 

LISTEN TO YOURSELF MORE. While the self improvement community does perpetuate the idea of ‘following the plan, not the mood’, (and i agree to an extent) but being miserable while trying to be productive is not ideal. If you’re sad, take the time to calm yourself down. You’re angry, then channel it into something high energy but not necessarily productive. 

In a way, being able to recognize these feelings and acknowledge them is a skill that is developed overtime and will be useful. 

[come-away-with-me87]

Threefold Temptation

Warnings: NSFW - Smut - 18+ - MDNI

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This one here is for @vannylen2144, who requested this prompt.  I've never written smut for a threesome before; I hope I did it justice for you, my friend :)

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Pairings: Shouta Aizawa (Eraserhead) x Fem!Reader x Hizashi Yamada (Present Mic)

******

You just got out of a six-year relationship with your boyfriend; he cheated on you with a close girlfriend of yours.  Your "friend" felt so badly about what happened, she admitted everything to you.  You were hurt, of course, but you somewhat felt a sense of relief. Your relationship with your boyfriend had gone sour, and subconsciously, you had been looking for an out.  Cheating was an absolute no-no in any type of relationship, so you dumped him, and cut off contact with your friend.  For the first time in six years, you were single, and you were determined to have fun with it.  Which brought you the unforeseen situation you were in tonight with your friends, Shouta Aizawa and Hizashi Yamada.  

You worked at U.A. High School as a teacher, and over time became close with the two of them.  One Friday, not too long after your breakup, Hizashi asked if you wanted to grab a drink with him and Shouta after work.  You readily agreed, thinking you would have a good time with friends, and that maybe you'd meet a handsome guy you could have some fun with.  Hizashi grinned at you, "cool, Y/N!  You deserve a night out after what you've been through lately."  You always thought Hizashi was sweet; he came across as a big goofball, but you knew he had a sweet side.  You became friends with him first.  Shouta was a tougher egg to crack, but eventually, you wiggled your way into his life, and he had accepted you as a friend.  

The work day came to an end on Friday, and you agreed to meet up with Hizashi and Shouta at the bar around 7:00pm.  You went home after work, and got a shower.  After your shower, you blow dried your hair into curly waves, and put on some makeup.  Since you were hoping for a nice makeout session tonight, you wore a short black clingy dress that showcased your curves nicely, and you opted for thigh-high stockings with a lace trim, and a pair of black heels.  You did a once-over in your full-length mirror, and thought you looked good. You grabbed your shimmery shawl, your purse and keys, and headed out the door to your car.

You arrived at the bar shortly after 7:00pm.  You knew it would be crowded based on the amount of cars in the parking lot, but it was even more packed inside than you anticipated.  You walked around the bar, and eventually spotted your dark and light haired friends sitting in a booth, to which Hizashi noticed you and waved you over.  You arrived at your booth and sat down, and took both of them in.  They were both out of their hero attire; Shouta was wearing his hair back in a ponytail, had a black v-neck long sleeve shirt on, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.  And Hizashi was also wearing his hair down in a low ponytail, and had a plain white tee-shirt on.  They looked good.  As if he was reading your mind, Shouta looked you up and down, saying, "you look gorgeous tonight, Y/N."

You sat down in the booth in between Shouta and Hizashi, and the three of you ordered beers along with three shots.  "Cheers to Y/N!" Hizashi exclaimed, "who is now free from that asshole!"  "CHEERS!" you excitedly exclaimed, and the three of you clinked your shot glasses together.  The conversation flowed organically between the three of you, and you were having a lot of fun.  You had totally forgotten about your idea of making out with a random man, you were having so much fun.  As the night went on, you felt both Shouta and Hizashi getting closer to you, eventually to the point where your thighs were touching each of theirs under the booth.  You felt your face get hot; you blamed it on the alcohol.  However, deep down, you felt good being close to Shouta and Hizashi.  You suddenly had an idea.

"Hey you guys, I have beer at my place. Instead of paying for the overpriced drinks here, why don't we go have a nightcap at my place?"  They both agreed.  The three of you threw down money on the table towards the tab and left the bar to go to your place.  Once you arrived at your place, you grabbed three beers from the fridge and brought them out to the living room.  Once again, you found yourself sandwiched between Shouta and Hizashi on your couch, and they were close.  The conversation continued to flow between the three of you, when suddenly, you saw that it was close to midnight.  "Wow, time really flew tonight. I'm really glad you guys brought me out, I needed that."  Shouta and Hizashi both looked at you and smiled, then looked at each other.  In a bold move, Hizashi said, "the night doesn't have to end here, Y/N.  You mentioned at the bar that you wanted to have some fun tonight; we can make that happen for you."

Suddenly, Hizashi leaned over towards you and started kissing and sucking on your neck.  You never viewed Shouta or Hizashi in a sexual way, so you were surprised at how good his touch felt on you.  As Hizashi kissed and sucked on your neck, Shouta put his hand on your thigh below your dress, and started rubbing it back and forth.  You felt just as good from Shouta's touch as you did with Hizashi.  Suddenly, you found yourself leaning into Hizashi's kissing, and you put your hand over Shouta's hand on your thigh. You turned your head towards Hizashi, and began to kiss him passionately.  While you were kissing him, Shouta pulled your hair to the side, and began sucking on the back of your neck.

You thought this would be awkward or uncomfortable, but it felt incredible.  As you continued to kiss Hizashi, you found both of your hands trailing up both of their thighs onto the crotch of their pants; they were both already rock hard, which turned you on; having this effect on two men.  You pulled away from your kiss with Hizashi, not wanting Shouta to feel left out.  You turned towards Shouta, and began to kiss him.  Shouta cupped your cheek with his hand, while Hizashi took this opportunity to take his clothes off.  You momentarily pulled away from your kiss with Shouta, and took Hizashi in.  Despite being thin, he was very toned, and you were aroused at what you saw.  

While you were pulled away from the kiss, Hizashi took this opportunity to pull your dress up over your head, leaving you in your lacy black bra and panty set, and thigh-high stockings.  "You're so sexy, Y/N," Shouta said while rubbing his hand back and forth across your tits over your bra.  "Take off your clothes, too, Shouta," you mewled while Hizashi stood there stroking his hard cock.  You felt your mouth salivating at the sight of him fisting himself, and suddenly, you found yourself on your knees on the floor right in front of Hizashi.  You grabbed the base of his cock, and began swirling your tongue around the tip, eventually taking him to the back of your throat, to which he groaned your name.

While you bobbed up and down on Hizashi's cock, Shouta got up and started spanking your ass.  "That's a good girl, Y/N, take his cock down your throat."  After a few moments, you pulled away from Hizashi's cock, sat back down on the couch, and patted on the couch on either side of you, motioning for them to sit back down.  At this point, you got a good look at Shouta.  He was very muscular, which you never noticed under his hero outfit.  They sat back down on either side of you, and you took each of their cocks into your hands and started stroking them.  Shouta took this opportunity to unhook your bra, and both men started kissing and suckling on your tits.  You threw your head back in pleasure and started moaning at the sensation.  While they continued to play with your tits, Hizashi took his hand and reached down between your thighs and began to rub back and forth over your clothed clit.

"You're already so wet for us, baby," Hizashi exclaimed while you continued to stroke his cock.  "Let us make you feel good now."  Hizashi got up, pulled you up by your hands, and pulled your panties down your legs, leaving you in just your stockings.  "Keep those on, they're so sexy on you," he grunted.  He gently pushed you back down on the couch, put his head in between your legs, and started kissing on your inner thighs until he reached your cunt, which was throbbing.  He began to lick and suck on your clit, to which you moaned loudly.  While Hizashi went down on you, Shouta turned your head towards his and began kissing you, his tongue intertwining with yours.  You ran your hand up and down his muscular chest while you kissed.  You felt the familiar build up of an orgasm coming on, and finally, that coil burst inside of you.  

"Good girl..." Hizashi murmured against your cunt.  He got back onto the couch and sat on the other side of you, his cock glistening with precum.  You began to stroke each of their cocks again, while Shouta leaned back down to your tits and took turns suckling on each of your nipples.  Meanwhile, Hizashi resumed kissing and sucking on your neck.  "I think...ah," you squealed as Shouta gently bit down on your nipple, "I think we should take this to the bedroom."  You got up from the couch, grabbed both of them by their hands and led them into the bedroom.  You faced Shouta first, leaned towards him and started kissing him feverishly, while Hizashi came right up behind you and grabbed you by the fat of your hips, rubbing his cock up and down your ass.

Shouta pulled away from the kiss, and instructed you to lay down on the bed on your back.  You did just as he said, and in a flash, he was hovering over top of you, cock aligning with your wet entrance.  Hizashi came over to the bed and got on his knees on the side of your head.  "Turn your face towards me, Y/N. I want you to suck on my cock while Shouta fucks you senseless."  You did just as he said, as well, and Shouta asked if you were ready.  You couldn't believe you were in this situation with these two very attractive men, but somehow, it felt right.  "I'm ready."  Shouta pushed his cock inside of you, his muscular arms on either side of you, and started slowly fucking you.  As you adjusted to his size, he began to thrust in and out at a quicker pace.

You turned your head and looked up towards Hizashi, who was fisting his cock while watching Shouta fuck you.  You had him inch closer, and you grabbed his cock and took it all the way down your throat until you gagged.  Hizashi groaned at the sound of you gagging.  "That's right, choke on my cock, baby."  Both men found a steady rhythm with you; Shouta was fucking your pussy while Hizashi fucked your mouth.  While you had his cock in your mouth, Hizashi leaned over to play with your clit while Shouta thrust in and out of you.  You felt another orgasm coming on, and once again you felt that coil inside of you burst, and you came all over Shouta's cock and Hizashi's fingers. "That's a good girl," Shouta grunted; his thrusts were becoming more erratic.  You could tell he was reaching his limit soon.

Suddenly, Shouta pulled out of you, and positioned himself over your chest; he was going to come on your tits, which you found to be incredibly hot.  He started jerking himself off until he eventually did just that.  He leaned his one hand on the pillow your head was on, and groaned while he came all over your tits.  Meanwhile, you could also tell Hizashi wasn't far behind Shouta.  He clutched your head and grasped your hair with both of his hands, and continued to fuck your mouth until he finally came down your throat.  He pulled out of your mouth, and began panting heavily.  "Stick your tongue out, Y/N.  I want to see that you swallowed every last drop."  You did just as he asked, and he smiled down at you and, while still panting, leaned down and gave you a sweet kiss.  Shouta took this opportunity to get up from the bed, and went into your bathroom.  In a sweet gesture, he came back out with a warm washcloth and cleaned you up.

Both men ended up collapsing on either side of you.  Shouta fell asleep first, turning towards you and draping his arm over your belly.  You kissed him on the forehead while he slept.  Hizashi turned towards you next, smiling while he gently cupped your face and kissed you on the lips.  "That was incredible, Y/N. You're incredible," he said as he also fell into his own slumber.  You felt your own eyelids getting heavy, and before you fell asleep, you laid there and smiled, thinking you were the luckiest girl in the world right now.

******

The end.

[kiame-sama]

Humans Are Extinct (Yandere!TWST x Fem!Reader) pt 8

(My laptop decided to keep working so I took advantage of the moment, here is Ortho. Yes, his left hand is covered because I hate how it turned out and I suck at drawing hands, used his typical pose in the game. I also hyper fixated on this chapter, hence why I got it done so fast. Don't expect me to be so prompt in the future on chapters.)

Warnings; yandere, yandere relationship, yandere temper, yandere behavior, romantic and platonic yanderes, multiple yanderes, monster men, fem reader, use of some Japanese words (nii-san), violence, blood, injury, fire, hysterical strength, magic, use of the title of King, weapon use and conversations, Selkie, Cervitaur, Shinigami, Faun, Satyr, Kelpie, Water Nymph, Magic Mirror, Unicorn,

~~~~~~~~

You sat in your potions class on the unusually high stool, Grim was seated next to you on his own stool and clearly not paying attention. Professor Divus was talking about the basics of potion-making and the importance it held to many in Twisted Wonderland. Honestly, you were just happy it was a class you could actually participate in.

It was as the lecture continued that you noticed something more than a little unusual. You had been sitting at the only empty cauldron since you showed up a little late to class due to having no idea where the class was. Though you asked Silver to show you to your classes- having learned from the prior day that you absolutely could not navigate the school just yet- he still got the lot of you lost in the twisting halls.

Luckily for you, Divus was quick to forgive your late arrival and simply told you to sit wherever there was an open seat. Naturally, you didn't want to sit among the other students that clearly took an interest in you, choosing instead to sit alone with Grim closer to the back of the class. Only, you two weren't alone anymore.

At some point during the lecture being given, someone had quietly moved seats and now sat across from you at the same large cauldron. They were unlike any other student you had met at the school, which certainly said something.

Sitting before you was what appeared to be a youthful boy with blue flaming hair. His skin was a pale white that almost looked grey and his eyes were a bright gold that shined in the gentle light of the potions classroom. He didn't seem to be entirely organic, as the black wings that jutted from his shoulders had exposed metal pieces in a shining white, blue lights between the feathers told you that the wings were almost entirely mechanical. In fact, a lot of this student seemed to be mechanical in some regard.

Covering the bottom half of his face was a full-mouth Oxygen mask that had several tubes running into it, feeding oxygen in and likely removing any carbon dioxide he exhaled. The tubes ran down the sides of his face and towards his back into the mechanical wings where the faint whir of machinery likely pumped breathable air into his mask. You could see that his right arm was fully mechanical and made of that same white metal, the joints covered in a skin-like black material that was clearly built to stretch and move with the arm. Though he didn't seem to be fully mechanical, there were clear augmentations to two of his limbs that indicated a good part of the limbs were added on after the fact. Over his eyes was a screen-like visor that scrolled several things you were unable to read as they scrolled by.

He seemed to be shorter than the others you had seen in the school and he wasn't obviously any of the species you had met prior. You would have assumed he was a Harpy due to the wings and metallic feathers, but feathers weren't present anywhere else on his body and he didn't have the same bird-like behavior Vil had presented you with. If you didn't know any better, you would even begin to believe they were a child-

"Hi. I'm Ortho Shroud. Nice to meet you, (Y/n)."

The voice that came from the unusual creature near you startled you somewhat. Stunned to hear what sounded like a pre-teen boy greet you quietly. He was clearly trying to avoid drawing attention from Divus and you were curious enough about this boy you didn't mind ignoring class for a bit to talk to him.

"Right, Nii-san said Humans like to introduce themselves before you use their names. Sorry, I'm just so excited to meet you. I've always wanted to meet a Human."

You slowly blinked at the student, now fully believing that he was a little boy and most certainly did not fit in among the older students. Maybe you were wrong as you first thought Lilia was younger than the other students as well before you learned he was a father.

"Nice to meet you too, Ortho. Um... Did you just want to say 'hi' or did you need something from me?"

"Need something? Nope. I just wanted to get to know you since Nii-san and I are going to be the ones guarding you next week."

This made a lot more sense now. Every class you had attended, very few students seemed to actually want to talk to you and instead wanted to gawk at you or whisper about you. The few students who did have the courage to talk to you were the few you already knew, but unfortunately Ace and Deuce were not in the same potions class. Naturally this boy had to be a Housewarden or Vice-Housewarden like Malleus and Lilia or someone close to them like Silver and Sebek.

"Okay. I'm not sure if class is the best time to have that talk though."

"Oh, it's fine. I'm very good at multitasking, so I'm listening to you and to class right now. The potion we're making today is super simple, so I can teach you how to make it. It's just a regular sleep potion."

He really wasn't giving you much of a choice but you figured it was because he was genuinely wanting to talk to you. Much like kids tended to do, he was trying to get you to talk to him and interact with him by being a little pushy even though he didn't need to be.

"Sure, let's talk."

This made the boy perk up and almost seem to rock in his seat excitedly. There was a kind of infectious happiness to him that was truly quite endearing despite his unusual appearance.

"Okay, so first off- because you probably can't tell- I'm a Shinigami. I do have several cybernetic parts but they're being upgraded and improved all the time by my Nii-san. He's a Shinigami too, and he won't ever say it, but he is really excited to meet you and won't stop talking about you-"

A sudden error message flashed on the screen visor he wore and he seemed to pout in response to this. The moment he noticed your confused look he returned his attention to you, pointing at his visor with a smile.

"That's just Nii-san. He's getting all embarrassed that I'm telling you these things. He made this for me, you know? This visor, my leg, my arm, and my wings. He's really smart and makes such cool stuff. I was hoping, since you're a Human, maybe you could come to Ignihyde sometime? I'm sure he'd like to hear about you and things where you come from. Maybe we could even play some videogames while we're there? I don't get to play games with others all that often since Idi-nii doesn't have anyone over, but he and I play games together. Maybe we could all play?"

You found yourself agreeing to the boy's request, as odd as it was and wondering just what the boy hoped of you. Clearly he was happy to talk to you and he must have been keen to make friends with you despite knowing so little about you. May as well make nice with those who would be guarding you seeing as you technically didn't get any say regardless in the situation.

~•§•~

Lunch finally rolled around and you were excited to sit with some familiar faces as you made your way into the cafeteria. Ortho had spent the entire morning with you and the two of you talked about almost everything, from what videogames they had in Twisted Wonderland to what species was the most abundant. The morning was generally a great crash-course kind of day to understand just what kind of world you found yourself in.

You were able to ask questions without feeling belittled by the cybernetic boy and he was happy to answer anything you asked him. He even showed you how to use the phone Crowley had gifted you that morning. It was similar to a smartphone from your world, but oddly different and Ortho explained that many devices ran off of magic or had some kind of magic element to them. Your phone was different from others because it didn't require magic to work like most phones did. Apaprently all of Ortho's cybernetic limbs were also a kind of technomancy that incorporated Ortho's own magic to keep running. You were actually vaguely excited to meet his older brother as it was clear he was the exact kind of guy you had been hoping to meet. Thanks to Ortho, you had a list on your phone of all the technology you were accustomed to but didn't have in Twisted Wonderland. Part of you hoped this Idia would be able to make half of the items you requested and if he thought they were useful, maybe he could patent them and use them but just give you the prototypes to keep. That heated blanket seemed even closer now.

Still, it was nice to have a break. Even if Ortho was a cheerful young man- and you learned he was only thirteen years old- it was still exhausting to chat with the social boy all the time. A smile pulled at your lips as you saw Ace and Deuce sitting together, Grim running ahead to dig in the various foods the boys had brought. Looking over their selection, you were glad you made yourself a sandwich that morning.

"Hey, Human."

"Hello again, (Y/n), how were your classes?"

You sat down across from the Goats, watching them shovel food into their mouths much in the way Goats of your world so happily snacked on everything in reach.

"It was alright. I met someone new today and he was happy to tell me a lot of what I just wouldn't know about Twisted Wonderland."

"Who was that?"

"Ortho Shroud. Perky kid, half cyberaugmented half Shinigami, a real treat to talk to."

Ace snorted as if what you said was hillarious, rolling his eyes and chowing down on a cellery stick. You vaguely wondered if the two species- Faun and Satyr- mainly only ate vegtables or if they still ate meat if presented with it. Deuce certainly seemed interested in your sandwich but was not bold enough to ask about it.

It was while you were enjoying your time with the Goats and feeding little pieces of sandwich to Grim that you took note of something. Everyone had some kind of weapon on them at all times. You really hadn't noticed it before because it was just so commonplace but as you looked you noticed there were varying kinds of weapons, but at least one on every student.

"Wait, so why does everyone have a weapon on them? I thought fighting wasn't allowed on school grounds."

You asked the Satyr that was currently stuffing his face as you eyed the varying weapons each student seemed to carry on their person. Some had bows and arrows, like the Drider Rook. Some had swords affixed to their hips, like Sebek and Silver. Some had little daggers, like the cackling Gnoll Ruggie. The only thing that seemed consistent on the many different instruments of war were the large singular jewel attached to the main body of the tools. The jewel seemed to vary among seven colors but all seemed unique to the wielder as well either in shape or location of the jewel.

"Mmph?"

Ace mumbled past his food, trying to answer your question but almost spitting the food at you. You were less worried about the veggie scraps he ate and simply used your hand to shield your sandwich from any potentially spat out food.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Ace."

The sudden voice of Trey had you looking up at the large centaur that smiled patiently at you, only the slightest of glares highlighting his face as he glanced at Ace. Ace quickly tried to swallow down the food, starting to choke as Deuce leaped to his frenemy's rescue with a frim swat between the shoulder blades. Even as Ace panted and tried to take a breath, you simply turned back to the Kelpie who patiently waited for your attention to return to him.

"Since Ace is busy dying right now, Trey, why does everyone have some kind of weapon on them?"

"Those are our Magestone weapons. Magestones are used by the magically talented to channel their magic through and keep track of their blot levels."

"Blot levels?"

"Yes, blot is a byproduct of magic. For every use of magic, blot forms and accumulates in the body. Blot is mostly harmless in small amounts and can be removed through proper rest and nutrition. In high amounts, it can lead to overblotting which turns the affected effectively feral. Though we claim to be evolved beyond our base instincts, we still all have them and are subject to them on a daily basis. Overblot exaggerates those instincts and forces them to become the primary decision makers. A mage that goes feral could easily kill others or themselves. Hence why we use magestones to help avoid blot accumulation."

You were surprised to hear all this, seeing the large claymore hanging from Trey's hip even as he spoke in a relaxed tone to you. It certainly explained the large jewels that each weapon seemed to have, but it didn't really explain the actual weapons.

"Okay, so why not put the magestones on pens or something easier to carry around? Why weapons?"

"Well, you've encountered at least one creature in the woods around campus, right? They are animals that have been corrupted by blot and some are even students or townsfolk who were overcome and unable to break free of their feral instincts. They've since lost themselves to the madness and now stalk their previous homes. Sometimes we need to go into the woods for herbs, or to get to the nearby towns for supplies. Sometimes those beasts come out of the woods seeking an end to their torment. Either way, it is better to have a weapon on you that you can channel magic through than to have nothing to defend yourself with."

"Really? Are those things everywhere?"

"Everywhere life and magic exist. Those beasts are why Humans struggled so much until they befriended several magic using species. Where Humans are assumed to be immune to blot due to being magicless, they are still susceptible to the creatures turned feral by blot. The Unicorns were first to start safeguarding Humans from Ferals in earnest, if I am recalling properly, then the Fae, then the rest of the world mostly followed. Honestly, you Humans impress me to even be able to survive without magic and all those Ferals running around."

You almost ducked your head in embarrassment at the warm tone Trey used when talking about Humans. Though it was somewhat patronizing, you still figured that the Kelpie meant it affectionately as he seemed to be more knowledgeable when it came to Humans. Most others didn't seem to have the same interest in the history and just took an interest in you, so it was nice to hear about what exactly Humans of Twisted Wonderland were like.

"Can a Feral be brought back to their senses? Like, if someone here became Feral from overblot, could they be brought back or is it like Rabies and they just have to be put down?"

"I'm not certain what these 'Rabies' are, but yes, if caught in time and incapacitated- or forced to rest- someone can recover from turning Feral. If they are Feral for too long they are consumed by their blot and become living nightmares. Just because others can recover doesn't mean turning Feral doesn't leave any marks. Much of the time it is a rather destructive event and usually the best way to tell how far gone someone is, is by their appearance. The more beastly they look, the harder it will be to get them back. Even if they do return from being Feral, they will have lasting scars."

"Okay..."

"Did you have anymore questions about it?"

"Nope. That makes sense... I mean, some things I don't really get because I don't really know how magic works here, but it makes enough sense for now."

"Glad to be of assistance. I actually came over here to invite you to today's unbirthday party. We often get together and have our own celebration on a day none of the Heartslabuyl students have a birthday. Riddle made it very clear he would like you to attend today's party."

"Can I bring Cater?"

Trey slightly grimaced at this, remembering how angry Riddle had been as he quite literally threw the Water Nymph out of the dorms. Though it would be best to leave Cater out of any Unbirthday parties in the near future, even Trey missed his fellow water creature. It wasn't quite the same to swim the lake without the loud redhead riding along his back or pulling his tail fins.

"... I wouldn't suggest it, but I would rather Cater be allowed back in Heartslabuyl. Maybe Riddle will listen to you if you ask him."

"Okay, I'll bring Cater with me to Heartslabuyl today for the unbrithday party. He can show me how to get there."

"We will see you there, (Y/n). Not to worry, Ace and Deuce will be in attendance as well."

~•§•~

"You sure Trey said it was a good idea? Riddle was steaming mad yesterday and I don't think he'll be too quick to forgive me.."

"He said it was fine and that Riddle would probably listen to me if I asked him to let you back in Heartslabuyl."

"I guess. Looks like they got only some of the roses painted, in any case."

You glanced at the collared Water Nymph curiously, wondering why he would comment something so odd. Maybe it was just a common practice in Twisted Wonderland to actually paint roses. Cater smiled at you as he noticed your queer expression, continuing to walk with you to what he called the Hall of Mirrors. Grim had gone ahead with Ace and Deuce after classes ended, but you made sure to double back to Ramshackle for Cater.

"It's a rule the Queen of Hearts made. She's one of The Great Seven and is who the Heartslabuyl dorm is modled after."

"Who are The Great Seven?"

"Well... That's more a question for Trein and not me, but the Queen of Hearts was a magicless Unicorn that ruled the Queendom of Roses. She came up with all sorts of rules that still don't really make sense to me but Riddle follows them as closely as he follows the Law. Apaprently she was big into Humans because she had over fifty rules related to Humans and how to take care of them."

You hummed at this, noticing you entered what looked like the room you first woke up in with all the floating coffins. The coffins were up near the ceiling now which left seven mirrors surrounding the main central mirror. Naturally Cater instinctively turned straight to the Heartslabuyl mirror but you were more curious about the large mirror sitting in the center of the room. Something about it compelled you to approach, wondering what made this mirror different from the others.

Immediately you noticed that you couldn't see your reflection in the mirror and instead only a dark world greeted you. As you stopped to stand in front of it a sudden green flame was reflected in the mirror, making you take a few steps back in surprise at the sudden movement. From the flames emerged a face that looked like a mask, eyeless and wearing an expression of seriousness as it revealed itself to you.

"Woah! The mirror never does that for anyone except the Headmage! Look at you being all special, (Y/n)."

You remembered trying to argue with the mirror when it said you could not return to your home, ignoring your questions and refusing to answer you after that first request. Now it seemed the mirror was ready to talk and maybe you could get some answers from it.

"What questions do you approach me with now? Even if return to your home was possible, I could not tell you how. I do not hold the answers you seek, but should you still wish to question me, I will speak."

"Why are you talking to me now, but refused to talk to me before?"

"I know much, but not everything and it is rare a question is asked that I cannot answer in a way that is correct. Yet, many a year has passed since a Human has spoken to me and I am obliged to answer thy questions. I could attempt to spin a favorable answer to the unkown, but you don't want those answers, I suspect. The path you walk now is one that is true, it needs not any corrections."

"Have you spoken with Humans in the past?"

"In an event that is now lost to time, a little Human spoke with me and she was charmed by the way I rhyme."

"Fair enough. Mirror, I don't have any magic, do I?"

"You already know the answer yet insist to hear it from another voice. There is no magic within you and it is not a matter of opinion or choice."

You nodded, looking at the frowning face in the green flames for a moment longer. There were plenty of things you could still ask but something told you it was best to leave the miror alone for the time being. If you thought of actual questions to ask and not the nonsensical questions you wanted to ask, you could always talk to the mirror again.

"Thank you for talking to me. I was worried you might hate me."

"I could never hate a Human for in all my years, a Human has never been hateful to me. In my vast knowledge and memory, all I feel is happy when it is a Human I get to see. Were it possible, I would be of greater use to you. Untill we speak once more, adieu."

You somewhat smiled, stepping away from the mirror and back to Cater who was still staring. The face was gone now and you wondered if it had only shown up to talk to you, disappearing once the conversation was over.

"Huh. Guess there is a lot more to you than meets the eye. Anyways, we're gonna be late to the unbirthday party if we don't go soon."

"Right, so how do we do this?"

"You've already used Diasomnia's mirror, so it should be the same when you use Heartslabuyl's mirror. Just... Don't be too surprised if you hear Riddle yelling. He will probably be driving himself mad trying to make everything perfect. He always does."

You both approached the mirror labeled for Heartslabuyl, walking into the shiny surface that seemed to ripple in response. When your vision cleared you were interested to see a large dorm building made of red and white brick. Surrounding it on all sides were rose bushes that seemed to have several red roses sitting proudly on the surface. The playing card motif was apparent in the presence of the suits all somewhere tucked into the architecture of the buildings but it was clear Hearts were preferred due the shape of the rosebushes and most arches were some kind of heart.

It was during your admiration of the rather lovely garden that a familiar voice called out a greeting. The greeting made Cater quickly move to hide behind you again, as if he intended to use you as a shield. Trotting over to greet you was both Riddle and Trey. They looked rather different from their school uniforms and instead seemed to be wearing a similar style clothing to what you would expect from the aesthetics of the dorm. Sitting atop Riddle's head near his golden horn was a golden crown that must have relied on some kind of magic to keep it affixed as it sat crooked on his tresses.

"(Y/n), I'm thrilled you could be in attendance for today's party. Your seat of honor is ready in accordance with the Queen's rules and-"

Riddle's pleasant smile immediately fell as he took note of the Nymph hiding behind you, his once bright mood now soured by the uninvited presence.

"What are you doing back here, Cater? Did I not make myself clear that you were never to set foot here again? And you are with (Y/n), no less! If you were not already collared I would-"

"Riddle?"

The Unicorn's voice caught in his throat as you directly said his name. You hadn't actually called him by name to his face before and something about the sweet tone you had rendered the Unicorn near mute. He was quick to try and respond to you, his voice somewhat cracking from stress as if he were talking to you for the first time despite having spoken with you before.

"Ye-yes?"

"I know you're mad with Cater, but I am asking you to let him back in Heartslabuyl. Sure, he messed up. He's flawed. But hey, who can truly say they aren't?"

"But, because of him-"

"I now need to be guarded and protected so I am not poached by others who would rather see me dead. Yeah, I'm mad about it too. I would like to be able to just be in my dorm and not have to be protected just to live. But if Cater didn't do it, someone else would have. Does that mean I completely forgive him? Absolutely not. Still, to force him out of his home and away from his friends, surely even you can see how cruel that is."

"I-" Riddle looked back at Cater and then back at you, struggling to find the words before he let out a long sigh, "fine. He is going to stay collared until he truly grasps the consequences of his actions, but he is no longer banned from Heartslabyul. Cater, I hope you thank (Y/n) for sticking up for you, especially because you don't deserve it."

"I thanked her a bunch when she let me stay in Ramschackle and cooked some dinner and even breakfast for me-"

"Just say 'Yes, Housewarden Riddle' and hurry along. There are still roses to paint red and without your magic you'll have to work quickly to get them all done."

Cater quickly shut his mouth, running off to do as he had been told by the lovely Unicorn whose smile quickly returned as the Nymph left view. It was odd to you to see how quickly the Unicorn's temper shifted, but you considered yourself lucky that you had managed to talk him into letting Cater come back. One less mouth in Ramshackle to feed and one less person to wake you up before the crack of dawn wanting breakfast.

"Now that unpleasantness is out of the way, shall we?"

He extended an arm out to you, smiling when you reached out and let him lead you to the gardens. It seemed to be almost fully decorated for a party as the rather long table was set for everyone with many different pastries. You were stunned to see the baked goods strewn across the table and Trey chuckled upon seeing your surprised expression.

"The Queendom of Roses is known for many Human foods and have carried on the traditional meals the Queen of Hearts loved. Baked goods are very popular and my family even owns a bakery."

"Do you cook much beyond baking?"

"I'm afraid I'm not that good, but I'd love to learn if you're willing to teach me."

"We can make it an exchange. Teach me how to make some of your pastries and I'll teach you how to cook some meals."

"It's a deal."

Riddle almost seemed irritated at how you were chatting with Trey, but he was content he got to keep you close as you admired the decorated garden. The unpainted roses near the front were just another frustration for Riddle, but at least the garden where the party was being held looked alright. He certainly put his freshmen to work given Cater was usually the one to paint the roses given his Unique Magic.

"Here, let me show you to your seat. I will warn you, there is a mouse asleep in the tea pot and she is not supposed to be woken up, so if you would like some tea, ask me and I will get you some."

"A mouse?"

"Yes, and if she wakes up we need to put jelly on her nose. She has been fussy recently, so it may prove to be difficut."

"Alright," you chuckled softly, "I will make sure not to wake her. Where do all these rules come from?"

"I forget you're not from here sometimes. The Queen of Hearts made many rules and as the dorm modeled after her, it is our duty to uphold her rules. Such as the rule of leaving a seat at the head of the table for a Human. Even after they went extinct, it is still a rule I upheld for every unbirthday party. Now, that seat is yours."

He led you to the head of the table and even pulled the chair on the left side out for you, almost seeming excited at the prospect of your attendance at the party. As you sat down he pranced around to the other side, smiling as he took his place at the head of the table. You could see not too far from you, Ace was holding a fussing Grim while Deuce attempted to feed the semi-stressed cat-beast a piece of tart.

"Now we can get the party underway."

"Thank you for inviting me, Riddle, it's nice to enjoy food I don't have to make."

"Such a shame. I understand there is a need for food being cooked before you can eat it safely, just another rule others can't seem to follow. That's why you will be staying in Heartslabuyl from now on. That way you can enjoy all our unbirthday parties and be kept safe with me."

"But," you started, feeling rather confused by the Unicorn's declaration, "the Headmage and Ortho both said Ignihyde will be guarding me next-"

"They can't take care of you the way you need to be!"

Riddle's sudden outburst made everyone go quiet, staring at the Unicorn in unease as it was clear his temper was rising. He didn't seem to realize the others were looking now as he stomped one hoof, angrily crossing his arms almost like a pouting child. It was odd to see the Unicorn behave in such a way, as Trey had even told you Riddle was almost twice his age.

"Riddle-"

"Enough! You will be staying here where you can be treated properly in accordance to the Queen's rules, end of discussion. If I have to take your head to make you see how much safer you are here, I will."

The direct threat was an unexpected one but it made Trey realize just how close the Unicorn was to snapping. He was already on edge due to Cater being brought back into the fold without his permission so the light pushback from the treasured Human was just pressing his temper further.

"Riddle, enough. You can't force her to stay-"

"Even you, Trey? Are all of you against me now? It doesn't matter, I will protect this one human, with or without your help."

"Riddle, you've gone too far now. You need to stop or be stopped-"

"SHUT YOUR TRAITOROUS MOUTH! NONE OF YOU UNDERSTAND ONLY I CAN DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO PROTECT MY KING OF HEARTS!"

A sudden burst of magic from Riddle kicked up what almost looked like smoke that quickly coated the entire garden. You struggled to see through the haze as you covered your mouth to not breathe in the dark cloud.

As the dust settled and you could finally look up again, seeing a beast standing before you.

His eyes were no longer the lovely pale blue they had been, now overtaken by red rage. His white fur was coated in what seemed to be ink that flowed down from his face and up from his once-golden hooves. The gold upon his body had all turned a corrupted inky black and his very face seemed to have been torn at the corners of his mouth to accommodate the fangs that now gleamed and jutted past his lips.

Fire began to lick around the garden, sweeping up the rose bushes and crackling dangerously as ash slowly coated the ground. Everything seemed to change in the blink of an eye as the vicious creature stood before you, blinded by anger and fueled by hate. Perched against his shoulder was a large two-handed axe that looked as if someone took a metal heart and pieced through the handle to make a viciously sharp instrument.

"What's happening?"

You called out to the other students as you tried to go to their aid only to be forced back into your chair, vines sprouting up to grab your arms and hold you to the seat. The vines were far too tight and far too sturdy for you to do much else besides try and struggle against them. They did not yield to your desperate attempts at freedom.

"He's overblotted and gone feral! All Heartslabuyl students, get back to safety-"

"OFF WITH YOUR HEADS!"

A sudden burst of magic from the Unicorn left several students clutching at their necks, the large metal collars securing themselves and remaining unmoving despite their struggles. If that wasn't bad enough already, Riddle began to charge, axe raised above his head as if he intended to cleave the others in half. His target was obvious as Trey tried to quickly pull the vines off of you and free you from the chair.

"GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF OF MY KING!"

Trey had no choice but to abandon his endeavor and retreat as Riddle's axe narrowly missed the flank of the Kelpie. The table that had been in front of you suffered the brunt force of the Unicorn's crushing hooves and the sharp side of the axe, splitting in half from the force. Your vine restraints only tightened as the chair you had been sitting on dragged you towards the now panting and raging Unicorn.

Trey, Ace, Deuce, and Cater drew their weapons, the magestones on the handles and grips of the instruments gleaming in anticipation. The resident Queen of Hearts had gone feral with rage and would die if he wasn't returned to his senses soon. Not only that, but the last Human in Twisted Wonderland was being held prisoner by the enraged and rampaging Unicorn. They had little choice but to fight back.

Even little Grim, who was clearly frightened of Riddle stood on guard, ready to do what he could to save you and maybe even the Unicorn from what he had become.

You refused to be little more than a damsel to be rescued, pulling and staining against your binds even as they likely bruised your soft flesh. Trey wielded a large claymore that held his magestone in the pommel and clashed with the Unicorn, magic sparking around them. Even though Cater has been collared, he still attempted to use his spear to draw the Unicorn's attention, trying to give his dormmate an opening against the Unicorn.

It quickly became clear to you that their weapons just weren't doing anything against the Unicorn and couldn't even cut his hide as he used the broad side of the axe to shove the two students he had called his friends. You momentarily thought that maybe Riddle didn't want to hurt them as he used the sides of his weapon to push them, but that notion quickly disappeared when he tried to cleave the Kelpie in two. Each slice of the axe was blocked by the claymore as the two continued their dance in battle, almost matching one another step for step.

A dance of monsters as both fought the other fiercely.

It wasn't until Riddle managed to catch Trey's side as the Kelpie reared, throwing the larger centaur back and into the dark waters of the lake. The Kelpie did not resurface immediately as a deep red spread from where he hit the water. Riddle almost seemed to be proud of this feat as he turned away from the lake, leaving Cater to dive in after his friend. Instead, Riddle turned his gaze towards Grim and the Goats.

It took less than a sweeping smack from the axe to send both Goat men sprawling to the ground. Despite Ace's best efforts, the Unicorn kicked away his Xiphos and rendered the Satyr unable to retaliate. Deuce grabbed Ace, pulling him back before the inky hooves of the Unicorn could dig into the latter's skull. As they both moved into the bushes to escape Riddle's wrath, it left little Grim exposed and at the mercy of the Unicorn.

You looked down at your binds and tried even more desperately to free yourself of them, terrified the Unicorn would kill your sweet little friend.

"You," his voice was dripped in venom as he spoke, the headsman's axe resting against the Unicorn's shoulder, "you are the worst of them all."

You looked up to see Riddle was standing over an all too familiar shaking and terrified figure, the gray fur was ruffled and standing out even as the soft creature tried to ball himself up. Grim was horrified and didn't realize that these fancy students could be taken over by feral instincts the way the beasts of the woods could be.

"You cuddle in her arms and turn her against me with your vile words! Acting as if you have any right to her, to call her 'your Hooman' and insult my King of Hearts so callously. You will be first to truly lose your head for this!"

As the axe raised and the Unicorn reared back, you found yourself freed. It didn't really matter to you if you freed yourself or if you had been freed, all that mattered was getting to Grim. Things both moved too fast and too slow for your brain to take genuine note of the things around you as your legs pushed you forward to your goal. The axe began to fall and your mind went blank with white hot rage.

"GRIM!"

Stunned silence fell over the winding garden as the frightened and confused students stared upon the horrific scene. Your arm hung limply at your side, blood slowly dripping down the soft skin and marring the grass with a deep crimson. No one could speak as they stared at the beast made flesh.

The beast before you had been thrown back from simple and pure hysteria fueled rage. Even as he struggled to get back up, you could see he had the wind knocked out of him from the force and strength of your blow. Struggling to breathe and winded from your rage, he almost seemed angry before he truly looked at what stood before him. Even as he struggled to stand, his eyes filled with a mixture of sorrow, regret, and confusion. No magic had touched him.

You felt nothing but slowly fading rage as you stared at the rampaging Unicorn that had so happily tried to cut down your closest friend since you woke up in his nightmare realm. Even as the axe sliced into your non-dominant forearm and pressed against bone, you refused to look away from the now shocked inky abomination. The fangs riddling the maw of this monster parted and that same distorted voice spoke, now laced with pain.

"You weren't supposed to- I didn't mean to..!"

Held in your dominant hand was the soft and still shaking body of your confidant and companion as he confusedly wondered if he had died. His bright blue eyes daring to peak up towards his savior but fear still gripped his heart. Holding him so securely was the Human he loved being around and joking with, but the expression she now wore was one of unbridled fury even with the large axe embedded in her soft flesh.

You slowly fell to your knees in the grass, arms covered in bruises from your previous bindings and eyes filled with firey hate. No one even saw you move, let alone make it across the garden to where you were now. They had all been so focused on Riddle that they were caught off guard by the sudden display of strength from who they assumed to be the weakest among them.

Humans were weak, fragile, and above all else in need of protection, right? So why did they all feel so genuinely afraid at that moment?

"Why did you-?"

Taking advantage of Riddle's momentary return of consciousness, Trey was quick to launch an attack at the distraught Unicorn from the lake he pulled himself out of. It hit him square between the eyes causing a cascading reaction of golden magic to erupt from the Unicorn's horn. The light was near blinding but you ducked down, using your non-mangled arm and body to shield your little friend.

Your world went dark.

[snowfieldstories]

Hello! I heard ur open for requests for kim dokja hehe, anyways i was wondering if u could do a kim dokja/female reader where we are his childhood best friend and we defend him from his bullies during when we were in Highschool? Reader has a crush kn him since children and basically confessed her feelings in high school and dokja reciprocated it hehehehe bonus if they got engaged before the apocalypse :DD

Thats it tysm, have a nice day <333

chronology of love.

kim dokja x childhood friend!reader

a.n: the idea of being a protective, childhood friend of kim dokja is so adorable! especially then turning into a couple, and later engaged. i had so much fun building their dynamic that I may come back to this someday...maybe more h.s scenes

and to the others in my ask box--your requests are on the way! there's a lot on my plate rn so some of them are slow-moving, sorry <3

warnings: strong language, mentions of suicide attempt

w.c: 4.5k

summary: a brief chronicle of the love between you and kim dokja, from childhood to present day

a new kind of study pt. ii ->

six

You were six when you first noticed him.

A boy your age, with big, dark eyes and a soft complexion. He must have lived somewhere in the same apartment complex as you, because you saw his mother whisk him up the stairs once.

You had the chance to meet him one sticky, summer day.

Your mother heard the jingle first. The ice cream truck. She pushed a wad of cash in your grubby hands and sent you downstairs, eager to get your hyper self out of the house for a moment of peace. You skipped happily down the apartment stairs.

"Chocolate, vanilla, cookies and cream. Chocolate, vanilla, I'm gonna scream! If you don't...gimme...iiice creeaaaaa—ah!" Your self-composed song came to a surprised halt as you nearly toppled over a lump on the bottom step.

It was that boy.

"Hey! Don't sit there." Your pout dropped open when he looked up, fat tears rolling down his cheeks.

"I—I'm s—sorry..."

He got up to move, but you ran in front of him. "Why are you crying?"

The boy shook his head, shying away from you.

"Tell me." You went to grab his arm, but a huge, reddish-purple mark stopped you cold. "Oh! You're hurt?"

Now you were looking at him closely, and you saw a similar red mark on the side of his mouth. He turned away from you. "Go away."

You wanted to say something, but a loud jingle reminded you of your initial quest. "Ice cream!" you gasped, and snatched up his hand to tug him down to the street.

The ice cream man smiled as you both approached. "What can I get you kids?"

You ordered a chocolate cone for yourself—without nuts, of course, because eww—and you turned to the boy. "Pick one!"

"Huh?" The boy was shocked. At your insistence, he chose a superhero-themed ice pop. You gave the money to the ice cream man, stuffing the change impatiently in your pocket after. You both thanked the man and sat on the curb with your treats.

"It's hot. And ice cream makes you feel good." You bit into the cold chocolate, and the boy watched you with confused eyes. "Do you feel good now?"

He gave an experimental lick of his own popsicle. "...A little."

You were halfway through your ice cream when the most important question popped into your head. "What's your name?"

"Kim D—Dokja."

Excitedly, you told him yours. Your beaming smile was timidly returned.

"Dokja," you said after finishing the dessert. "It's too hot. Let's go to my house and play!"

For the first time, Kim Dokja looked a bit hopeful. "Is that okay?"

"Yes! Let's go." And you proceeded to grab his hand with your sticky one and lead him back up the stairs. A wash of cold air greeted you two.

"Mama! I have a new friend. Can Dokja play with me, pleeeaseee?"

Your mother's eyes widened the instant Kim Dokja came into view. She coughed, trying to hide her immense distress at the sight of such a young child bearing such pain. "Yes, of course he can stay. Um, Dokja-yah, where do you live? I should tell your...father?" At his flinch, she quickly said, "Mother. I'll tell your mother that you're here."

Kim Dokja gave her the information while you wiggled impatiently beside him. Your mother reminded you to wash your hands first, before she picked up the phone.

After that day, you begged your mother to set up another play date with Kim Dokja. He was nice. And funny. And he also liked to read!

Your mother agreed easily each time you asked, and your new friend was constantly over, morning to evening. On special occasions, Kim Dokja was even allowed to sleep over. The two of you had built such a comfortable space in your home, that it never crossed your mind to go to his.

Summer break ended, and you were sad that you wouldn't get to see your new friend every day.

But, suddenly, Kim Dokja was at your school. Had he always been there?

You asked him, and his frail, fearful little yes made you feel bad. Mother always said you should be kind to others, and you knew you had been mean just now. So you grabbed his shoulders and hugged him. "I'm so happy! Now we can be best friends all the time. Forever!"

He flailed in your hold, before tentatively squeezing back. "Okay."

From then on, the two of you were attached at the hip. Kim Dokja came over to your house often, so often, in fact, that if you were any older and wiser you would have realized the truth. Your mom was wise. She ushered in little Dokja, and while you proudly showed him the challenging book you managed to read all on your own, your mother returned a smile of reassurance and worry to the grateful one that Kim Dokja's mother offered.

At school, some of the teachers affectionately called you "double trouble." You had a knack for dragging Kim Dokja into your harebrained schemes, and despite getting him into trouble, he was happy because he was with you. The teachers never scolded you two very hard, anyways.

"I love Dokja, mama," you said one day after he left your house. "Can he stay here forever with me?"

"No, dear. He can't."

You whined that it isn't fair! and he is your bestest friend! so why couldn't he be with you?

"He has his own family," your mother responded, but she looked rather uncomfortable to say it. The truth was, she wished more than anything that that sweet boy could be welcomed into a more loving home. But there was nothing to be done.

A brilliant thought entered your little mind. "One day, I'm going to marry him so he has to stay."

Your mother was already in full support of your childish dream.

Everyone at school also knew that there was no Kim Dokja without you, and there was no you without Kim Dokja—all the way through the final year of elementary school.

And then you moved.

fourteen

"This pathetic twig went down too easy, today. Hey! Hey, Song Minwoo, should we make him beg?"

Kim Dokja was dizzy on the floor of the school hallway. His head had struck the tile when they'd shoved him, and he could already tell where the bruises would form on his body. At least this time they didn't stuff his head down the toilet to literally eat shit...

But this time they had stolen his phone. And a chapter containing a pivotal moment in TWSA had just dropped.

So Kim Dokja was highly considering begging in order to get that phone back.

Before he could decide, a classmate wedged herself in between him and Song Minwoo. He only caught a glimpse of her ear before she faced his bully head on, but something about her made his heart race—no one had ever dared to interfere in these tormenting sessions before.

"Stop," she said in a low voice.

Her uniform was crisp and clean from the back, and her willingness to step in was the mark of someone confident, yet uninformed. She must be that new transfer student that arrived today.

"You're the new girl, right?" said Song Minwoo eagerly, and Kim Dokja wanted to scoff. She must be pretty. "Let me help you out. You should avoid losers like him—here, I'll show you around campus."

Before Song Minwoo could wrap his meaty fingers around her shoulder, she lunged forwards.

Is she hugging him?! thought Kim Dokja, before she swung her leg around to kick Song Minwoo's out from under him, slamming him hard to the ground. Her hair cascaded around her face as she loomed over the bully.

Kim Dokja felt a sick satisfaction at the whimpered flinch of Song Minwoo as she pretended to go in for a punch to the face.

"Don't touch me," she hissed. "And don't you fucking dare touch Kim Dokja ever again."

The sound of his name made him jolt, and not from surprise that the new student knew his name, but because it was your voice ringing loud and clear, declaring his name.

You pushed a hand back through your hair to see properly, and Kim Dokja could now see your face perfectly. (And it was a rather perfect face.) His heart thumped in his chest as his mind melted like a popsicle.

Three years.

You snatched the phone out of Song Minwoo's hand and kicked his groaning body away.

"Next time, I'll kill you."

Perhaps Kim Dokja should have been afraid or concerned at your violent outburst—so unlike the you that he knew before—but he only had one thought: You were cool like Yoo Joonghyuk.

It seemed you possessed the ability to intimidate with your expression like Yoo Joonghyuk, too, because Song Minwoo and his cronies quickly scampered away and down the hall. You finally turned, face softening, and your captivating gaze locked on to him.

"Are you some kind of black belt?"

It was so, ridiculously far from what Kim Dokja had hoped to say to you if he ever had the chance to see you again, but it was the first thing that popped out of his mouth. His brain was too scrambled at your presence to think straight.

At his words, though, a dusting of pink swept across your cheeks. Yeah, you're definitely pretty.

"You remember how I did taekwondo?" Kim Dokja vaguely recalled it, but he had never joined your lessons. He pocketed his phone given by you. "I worked really hard at it in middle school...it was a good stress-reliever..."

You looked as if you wanted to say more, but then your mouth clamped shut.

He stared at you, and you stared back at him.

"D—Dokja-yah," you said at last, ducking your head. Your body trembled once, twice, and you fidgeted with your fingers. "I missed you."

Kim Dokja was glad you weren't looking at him right then, because his body flushed red. His schoolboy crush on you hadn't faded in the least, and he willed away any thoughts of it because you had only just returned and certainly weren't feeling anything of the sort. You were his only friend (if he could still hope to call you that?) and he cherished you too much to ever risk losing that companionship.

But he had missed you. Painfully. He had never been more thankful to still be alive than in that moment, seeing you once again.

It was a once-unattainable dream. And now you were a reality.

Kim Dokja called your name, and when you lifted your head he grasped your hands in his. "I missed you, too."

Your smile was blinding. Dazzling. Kim Dokja felt his head go woozy, but this time it was a pleasant sensation. Then he was wrapped in something even more pleasant and warm—your embrace.

"Dokja-yah, let's go have lunch. Oh, did you bring enough food? I have extra, mama sent me way too much for the first day, and I have these Japanese onigiri..." You prattled on, just as bubbly and sweet as he remembered, and Kim Dokja was sure that stars dotted his eyes as he gazed at you fondly. "...and—ehh? Are you listening? Wait, let's go to the nurse first and get your head checked. You fell? Or they hit you there?"

"Both," Kim Dokja murmured. He wasn't concerned in the least about his head, but if it meant more time with you (and you fussing over him like that), then he was more than willing to go.

You nodded and tugged him along. Kim Dokja was acutely aware of the way your fingers laced together, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "Dokja," you spoke seriously. "If they ever bother you again—tell me, so I can beat their asses to hell."

Kim Dokja smiled and promised, "I will."

Satisfied, you continued walking with the focus and determination of a military commander. Then you stopped. "Um...I actually don't know where the nurse's office is..."

For the first time in three years, Kim Dokja let loose a genuine laugh filled with pure happiness.

He hadn't felt so free in a long, long time.

seventeen

"What is Yoo Joonghyuk up to now in Ways of Survival?" You asked as you both lounged by the window of an empty classroom during break.

The eager expression on Dokja's face made your insides all warm and gooey.

As he spoke, you filled his hands with karaage and onigiri (you had learned that he liked the tuna mayo ones the best) that your mother had prepared. Though your family had hated the majority of your three years in Tokyo before your father jumped at the chance to return to Seoul, your mother had taken a shine to Japanese cooking, and regularly made them for your school lunches. She always packed extra for Dokja.

"...and this regression might be the best one yet, because he has nearly all of his companions by his side. So in the latest chapter..."

You listened intently, offering your input and own questions here and there. Coming home to find Dokja's new obsession with a web novel was a bit surprising, but not so much once you learned of the history behind it.

You pushed that train of thought out of your head. It never failed to raise the most gut-wrenching fear in your body, drowning your heart and mind in agonizing distress.

Dokja kept talking, and you were satisfied to listen. Though you were an avid reader yourself, something about Dokja's love for Ways of Survival made it a more thrilling experience to hear him tell the story from his own mouth. The novel was captivating when told through him; it was a bit...lackluster when read on its own (not that you would ever admit that, even under supreme torture).

Eventually, the conversation drifted to more pressing things—the final year of high school. University. Though it was only two weeks into the school year, already these important life decisions were weighing on you all.

"I want to go to the same university," you said, and not for the first time.

Dokja argued back, "But you can do so much more than me, and go to a better school."

I want to go wherever you are, you idiot, you thought, a bit tired that he seemed to never understand this fact.

He was listing all of the reasons why you were supposedly destined for bigger and better things, when the sun caught his eyes. Dark grey suddenly paled and sparkled, his thick lashes glowed, and you were struck dumb.

He really is a beautiful idiot.

You were in love, so stupidly in love, and Kim Dokja could not get the hint no matter what you did.

But there was one thing you had yet to try.

Your eyes dropped to his plush lips, slightly glistening as he wet them to continue speaking. Already, your hands were shaking at the idea, but the feeling had overwhelmed you to the point where you couldn't bear to contain your heart any longer. And you had never been one to hold back when it came to Kim Dokja.

So you steeled your nerves (they still made you bite your quivering lip) and interrupted him.

"Dokja. Can we try something new?"

── .✦

High school had abruptly switched from hell to heaven the day you returned into Kim Dokja's life.

You had always treated him like he had value, even as kids, and even as you grew older and realized that the constant rotation of injuries littering his body weren't because of any sort of clumsiness.

With you, he felt like he could just...be. Not the son of a murderer. A victim of abuse. A failed suicide attempt. Not the invisible and unambitious student by his peers. And not even Dokja, the only child, alone in every sense of the word.

With you, he was just Kim Dokja—an obsessed web novel geek, a guy more witty and clever than anyone knew, and your best friend. And much less alone.

In your eyes, he was enough.

"Dokja." He knew it was something important at your tone. "Can we try something new?"

Kim Dokja was intimately acquainted with your cheeky and playful schemes. You would cock your eyebrow, tilt your head in an alluring sort of way, and ask him to join you. And he could never resist.

This wasn't your usual approach.

Your lashes were lowered, lacking confidence as you worried at your bottom lip. Kim Dokja was a touch concerned, but it was you—you whom he trusted more than anyone in the world, more than himself, and so he said, "Yes."

When you finally looked up, your gaze on him was intense. He inhaled sharply as you leaned in intimately, sliding your palms along his cheeks.

And you kissed him.

You. Kissed. Him.

Kim Dokja couldn't move. Then his brain rebooted, just in time to register the softness of your lips before you pulled away.

"Oh." A blush graced your cheeks as you looked away, hurt in your eyes. "...I see."

"Wait—" he gasped out. "Wait, what—?"

You sucked in a deep breath, as if you were trying not to cry. "I like you, Dokja. Actually, I've been in love with you since were were children, and I just thought...since this was maybe our last school year together, I should...well, you don't have to feel the same, of course. I understand...um, I hope we can still be friends...I would never let it interfere with that or anything..."

As your voice became smaller and smaller, Kim Dokja was stuck on one, singular thought: You were in love with him.

And he couldn't help but ask, still unbelieving, "You're really in love with me?"

"Yes." You sounded afraid, but resolute.

Kim Dokja's heart was going to burst. Then the feeling rushed out of him like water from a geyser.

"I love you. I've always loved you, ever since we were kids. I never thought you could—" he choked, suddenly overcome with emotion.

"Oh." You said, your tone coloring with relief. The gleam returned to your eyes. "I see!"

The silence after where you stared at one another was very brief.

You both moved at the same time, your lips pressing together again. Kim Dokja felt you smile into the kiss, and he returned it as your lips met over and over.

Your hands went up to grip the collar of his uniform, and his found your waist. The kisses became slick as you both experimented—a nibble on your bottom lip, the way he'd always craved to do when you bit it nervously; a lick at the seam of your lips after you tilted your head for better access; a tug of his hair that made him gasp into your mouth, prompting you to take him in deeper. Your hands were everywhere as he pushed you against the wall, like you couldn't get enough of him. Just as he couldn't get enough of you.

Riiiiing!

The shrill bell went off, and you both ripped apart from one another.

Classmates trickled in from the lunch period, too wrapped up in their own gossip and worries to notice the flustered and rumpled pair trying to catch their breaths.

"Uh, we should—"

"Let's get back—"

You both stumbled over your words and looked away shyly. But your eyes were drawn back to the other. Even after you took your seats, the class had settled around you, and the teacher had made their appearance, you both couldn't help the frequent glances.

A sharp call of your name made you whip forwards in your seat. "And Kim Dokja, too! Stop mooning over each other and get back to work."

The class giggled at your embarrassment, but you both smiled to yourselves.

Life was already so much sweeter with the one Kim Dokja loved loving him back.

twenty-eight

You knew it was Ways of Survival the instant the dokkaebi revealed itself. Fortunately, you had absorbed all of the knowledge Dokja shared through his detailed, almost daily, recaps of the story.

Unfortunately—you were not with Kim Dokja the day it all went to hell.

But now, after recent developments and the reports gathered from loyal followers in your group, you had a good idea of where he might be. You were headed towards the station rumored to house prophets.

You ran through the streets near Gwanghwamun station, when a group in front of a local shrine caught your eye. Standing apart from the others was a cute young boy in a backwards baseball cap, and he spoke with a man...

Your heart leapt and stumbled over itself in excitement.

"Kim Dokja!"

You saw his eyes widen just before you crashed into him, sweeping him into a bone-crushing hug. He held you back just as strongly. You breathed in his scent as he whispered your name repeatedly like a prayer.

When the chaste contact wasn't enough, you drew up to press your forehead to his. "I knew you would survive."

He exhaled slowly. "I knew you would as well. I mean, I talked your ear off about Ways of Survival enough times..."

"Good thing, right?"

"Great thing," he said, voice thick with emotion. His nose brushed yours, a silent request for permission.

You responded with your lips.

It was nothing too sensual, but your kiss was still filled with the passion and longing of being separated for any length of time in such a dangerous world. Aware of your gawking audience, you kept it disappointingly brief.

"I heard about the published regressor novel," you said, waggling your eyebrows. "You petty, petty man."

Dokja had the grace to look a bit embarrassed. He grumbled, "It's so obviously plagiarized! They deserve to be humbled."

You laughed, his lovable pout prompting you to kiss it again. "I very much agree. Especially since it helped me find you quicker."

His hold on you grew stiff, and you spotted the shame in his gaze. "I've been looking everywhere. I wanted to leave to find you, so badly, but I couldn't abandon—the plot—"

"Dokja, hush." You cupped his cheeks and he leaned into your touch. "I understand and I don't blame you one bit." Dokja seemed to relax at your words, knowing you to be honest with him about your feelings. "In fact, I might have to smack you if you did stray from the story...because the Kim Dokja I know and love would never do such a thing."

A sheepish expression crossed Dokja's face. He rubbed the ring on your left hand and brought it to his lips; then he pulled the chain around his neck out from under his robe. Your ring's twin was looped through.

"I was afraid to damage or lose it. Now that we fight constantly with fists and swords," he explained. You nodded in understanding, having become familiar with constant battle as well.

All of your taekwondo mastery had come in handy. When paired with your knowledge of the world—you were a formidable and unstoppable force during these early scenarios.

You had been with the Wanderers the last few weeks. When the apocalypse came, you were visiting his mother to tell her about your engagement. You certainly weren't asking for her permission, but it was her son, and you felt strange not informing her that you would soon be family. In the legal sense only, of course.

Dokja would understand—he knew it was something you felt compelled to do, even if he had no desire to join you—but he hadn't known when you would go.

You were a bit afraid of his reaction to finding out you had begun the scenarios in a high-level prison.

He hesitated before he asked, "Are your parents...?"

"My mother survived." You didn't need to elaborate, and Dokja's fingers tightened around yours in comfort. "I left her with the Wanderers. She'll be safe there...the king will protect her."

They were familiar acquaintances, after all.

You were conflicted about telling him. In the end, you had no desire to sour your long-awaited reunion, and so you left it for another day.

Today, at least, you would savor this sweet moment with your beloved. And his new companions.

"Um..."

It was the boy. He looked up at you with big, expectant eyes, strongly reminding you of a young Dokja.

"This is Lee Gilyoung. He was on the train with me when it all began," introduced Dokja.

You squatted to grab Lee Gilyoung's hands. "Thank you, Gilyoung-ah, for keeping him safe for me."

Then you kissed his hands gently in gratitude, and Lee Gilyoung's face flushed bright red. He leaned back and tugged Dokja down to his level to whisper in his ear. "Hyung, she's really pretty."

"I know," Dokja stage-whispered back with a grin. You pressed your lips together to suppress a laugh.

There was a call of your name, and you straightened to see a welcome and familiar face. "Yoo Sangah!"

You reacquainted yourself with the kind coworker of your fiancé, and as you chatted, Dokja trailed behind with a palm hovering over your lower back. Then, he took you to meet the others and your hand found his again.

You were overwhelmed with joy as you saw how genuinely these people cared for your Kim Dokja. He deserved more people in his life that cared for his well-being besides you, and in a ruined world he would need all the people he could get. At each new introduction, you held him a little tighter.

Dokja finally noticed the glisten that had gathered under your lashes. "Is something wrong—?!"

"No," you said with a laugh. "I'm just really happy."

Dokja's panic was squashed immediately, and he settled his arms fully around you once more. "I'm happy, too," he murmured.

The two of you stayed like that for a moment.

"By the way." You smirked and traced your fingers along the collar of his robe teasingly. "Where did your clothes go?"

Dokja groaned, "They burned."

You were looking forward to hearing that story (spoiler: you ended up hating that shitty-ass story), and contented yourself with his presence until there was an appropriate time to catch up later.

Yes, it was not an ideal situation, this apocalypse; but somehow it was just right for the two of you. You and Dokja would figure it out together, the way you always did.

You would fight, and you would live. Together.

[jaeyunverse]

kiss cam

pairing: yang jungwon x fem!reader

genres: fluff, frenemies to lovers, high school au, basketball au

wc: 3770

warnings: profanity, mentions of kidnapping

summary: you were fully prepared to spend valentine’s day alone. yang jungwon was fully prepared to blow your mind.

note: i know i’m off season but i still hope y’all enjoy <3

masterlist

It was Valentine’s Week and you were absolutely, extremely, horribly miserable.

You didn’t particularly care about the celebrations, but the feeling of loneliness first began to creep in when the student council appointed a Valentine’s Day Dance committee and made them decorate the entire school. 

There were banners and streamers hanging everywhere. The culinary club was selling heart-shaped cookies and the broadcasting club was busy urging students to get their dance invites every few hours. You wished the PA system would malfunction and they would finally shut up. 

Some boys even had the genius idea to capitalise Valentine’s Day and ask people out on behalf of the students who paid them for their services. They called themselves Cop-Your-Crush. 

Classes were being interrupted all day long. You were witnessing a grand proposal being made multiple times a day. Just today, you had seen three girls being asked out and each proposal had been better than the one before.

Karina got asked out through a song the choir group sang for her. She quite literally burst into tears because her boyfriend, Soobin, still remembered the song they had first kissed to. 

NingNing got asked out when a member of Cop-Your-Crush sweet-talked Mrs. Kim into letting him take over her presentation. He’d prepared a cute montage using the pictures provided to him by her boyfriend. 

Yeji got asked out by the cheerleaders. They had prepared a special cheer for her, courtesy of Heeseung, also a member of Cop-Your-Crush, and his girlfriend, Chaewon, who was cheer captain. They were both Yeji’s best friends and had spared no expense in helping her boyfriend deliver a memorable proposal. 

You thought the entire concept was corny, but it would have been nice to have someone ask you out too. You didn’t even have any expectations. Just a simple Hey, will you be my date to the Valentine’s Dance? would have sufficed. 

Needless to say, you were irritated and cranky. You were debating begging your mom to let you skip school tomorrow. It was the thirteenth of February, so Valentine’s spirit was definitely going to be at an all-time high. 

You slammed your locker door shut. Slumping against it, you clutched your books to your chest and sighed deeply. If only you had the courage to ask your crush to the dance. It was sort of surprising that he still didn’t have a date. 

He was really attractive and really popular. You wondered why—

“Keep moving, dummy,” a voice popped from behind you, and you couldn’t help the groan that left your mouth. Deciding to not acknowledge the person further, you pushed yourself off the locker and turned to leave in the opposite direction. However, they seemed to have different plans for you. Throwing an arm around your neck, Yang Jungwon twisted you around and said, “Class is this way.” 

“Piss off, Yang,” you snapped, trying to not stumble as he dragged you along. 

“Are you coming to the basketball game tonight?” Jungwon inquired.

He wasn’t much taller than you, so when you glanced up at him, you found your faces only a few inches apart. “Why?” 

“We’re playing Riverside High. You know there’s a bet between our schools, right? Losers have to jump in the lake at midnight.” 

“Okay. Let me know if you lose and I’ll meet you there to enjoy your humiliation.” 

Jungwon narrowed his eyes and flicked your forehead. You let out a sound of protest and slapped his hand away. “You think you’re so funny.”

“I think I have better things to do,” you retorted. “I’m supposed to pick up my sister after her soccer practice and drive her to her friend’s house for a sleepover.” 

“That can be taken care of,” he answered immediately. “Riki will do the chauffeuring in your place.” 

You snorted. “No.” 

“C’mon!” Jungwon complained, moving to stand in front of you. You crossed your hands and raised an eyebrow. “I need you at the game tonight.” 

“Why?” 

“Because—” he hesitated— “because we always win when you’re watching from the stands. You’re our lucky charm.”  

Jungwon was making absolutely no sense. The Bears of Eastwood High were one of the best. They didn’t require lucky charms to win games. Besides, you’d never benefited from the so-called fortune Jungwon claimed you possessed. He definitely had an ulterior motive for wanting you at the court tonight. 

“You won the Christmas game,” you pointed out. “I wasn’t there that day. I was with my family at my childhood home.” 

“Well, I thought you were at the game,” Jungwon corrected. “That’s why we won.” 

You sighed and rolled your eyes. Stepping past his figure blocking your way, you said, “You need to get rid of these superstitions.”  

“Please!” he begged, following after you the way a lost puppy would. “Winning tonight would give us a ticket to regionals! Can’t you let me have this?” 

The desperation in his voice was so evident that you couldn’t help the crack that appeared in your resolve. You weren’t one to believe in luck, but you still carried an Omamori to stay safe. 

You hadn’t exactly been the recipient of any good fortune lately, but your life had been sailing smoothly. Come to think of it, you’d probably subconsciously begun to depend on the charm. 

You were a hypocrite for making fun of Jungwon’s superstitions. 

“Fine,” you relented. “I’ll come. But—” you added immediately upon seeing a wide grin replace the pout on his face— “after I’m done with my chores. I’m not leaving Hyeri with Riki. He crashed his car into a trashcan last week. I was with him. My life flashed in front of my eyes.” 

Jungwon looked slightly amused. “Do you think you might be able to make it before half-time?” 

“Easily.”

“Nice,” he popped. The two of you had arrived at your classroom, so he ruffled your hair and bid you goodbye before making his way towards his friend group. “I owe you one.”

“Yeah, you do,” you muttered to yourself.

You finished dropping your sister earlier than expected. 

Her soccer practice had run short and when you’d checked your watch after seeing her off, you’d realised that the first quarter of the game would be ending in a few minutes. 

You glanced up at the screen displaying the scores as you walked into the gymnasium. 

8-3. Eastwood High in the lead. 

Good luck was a scam. Shaking your head, you searched for your best friend, Eunchae, in the stands. Your eyes stopped on a girl who was aggressively waving her hands in the air. 

You smiled and waved back, making your way to her. 

“I was worried you’d be late,” Eunchae said. 

You hummed. “Hyeri finished her practactice early so I was able to get here quicker. I don’t even know why Jungwon asked me to come. We’re in the lead.”

“Better safe than sorry,” she popped. “Second quarter just started. We should pay attention.” 

You turned to look at the court. While you’d been talking to her, Riverside had scored a 3-pointer. Eastwood was only 2 points ahead now. 

You could hear both schools’ coaches screaming despite the loud noise of the audience. Cringing a little when Mr. Jung blatantly cursed at Jungwon and told him to get his head out of his ass, you decided Eunchae had been right about being better safe than sorry. 

“Timeout!” Riverside High’s coach yelled. “Timeout!” 

The whistle rang and the playing 5 went jogging over to the sidelines. Jungwon’s eye caught yours as he scanned the stands and you waved at him awkwardly. He smiled and waved back, looking rather relieved to see you. 

“You guys are so cute,” Eunchae commented.

You whirled on her. “Excuse me?” 

“I’m just saying!” she exclaimed, raising her hands defensively. “Jungwon and you would make a really good couple.” 

“What makes you think so?” 

“Other than the fact that he’s completely whipped for you?” Eunchae shrugged. “You’re into him as well. No! Don’t give me that look! I know you are. I’m not fucking blind, Y/N. You say he’s annoying but I don’t see you pushing him away. I think you love the attention he gives you.”

You crossed your arms over your chest, suddenly feeling awfully exposed. “You’re delusional.” 

“Am I though?” She raised an eyebrow. “You both are together all the time. You can pretend all you want, but I know your petty and childish banter is just a cover for the horrible amount of flirting that’s hidden underneath.”

“I don’t flirt with him!” 

“He flirts with you and you entertain him! You claim to dislike him but hang out with him at school everyday! An idiot could tell by looking at you how much you enjoy being around him.”

You glared at Eunchae. “I don’t appreciate being psychoanalysed.” 

“You just don’t appreciate the truth.” She shrugged. “I don’t know what’s stopping you from asking him out to the dance, but I hope you come to your senses. You don’t wanna regret missing out on someone who cares so much for you.”

Thankfully, the whistle rang before you could formulate a reply. The game began again, and you focused your attention on the court. 

It was Eastwood’s way and the ball was in Jungwon’s hand. He aimed high and his eyes set on Jake who was standing at the far end of the court. However, instead of throwing the ball with all his might, he only flicked his wrist. 

The ball bounced between a Riverside player’s legs, and Heeseung, who was waiting a little behind him, grabbed the ball immediately. Instead of dribbling, the boy passed the ball right back to Jungwon. 

Jungwon caught it without stopping and sprinted to Eastwood’s side of the court. Your jaw dropped when you saw him manoeuvre his way through Riverside’s defence so flawlessly. Even though you’d watched him play multiple times, you’d never really been able to comprehend how good he was. 

He’d covered the court by himself without needing to stop or backtrack. It was as if he knew the opponent’s move even before they decided to make it. 

The crowd went wild the moment Jungwon executed the layup effortlessly. The whistle for half-time blew a few moments after and Eunchae turned to you. 

“That was so good!” she squealed. “He could go pro so easily!”

“He could,” you agreed. “He really is very good.”

You had to admit—watching Jungwon in his element made your heart beat at speeds you didn’t even know it was capable of reaching. You convinced yourself it was the adrenaline and the anticipation from watching the game. Your dad never sat still whenever he watched his favourite team play in the World Cup. 

“It’s time for the Kiss Cam.” Eunchae nudged you with her elbow. You turned to look at the big screen hanging from the roof of the gymnasium. The camera focused on Juyeon and Chaeyeon. The couple grinned and pointed at their recording on the screen in excitement before the latter grabbed the former’s collar and pulled him into a kiss. 

You felt a smile form on your face. You’d always thought the two of them were one of the cutest couples in your school. 

The camera then focused on Mr. Hwang, your biology teacher, and Mrs. Jung, your calculus teacher. You hooted and joined everyone else in the stands as they encouraged the two teachers to kiss. 

Whoever had decided the Kiss Cam victims was a genius. Mr. Hwang and Ms. Jung were the youngest faculty members in your school. It was a popular opinion amongst students that they looked cute together. Some even placed bets on whether it would be Mr. Hwang to make the first move or Ms. Jung. 

Naturally, the two of them didn’t kiss. They just smiled in embarrassment and waved at the camera, asking it to focus on someone else instead. 

You waited eagerly to see who the drone would target next. A jolt passed through your body when you saw yourself on the screen. 

Eyes widening, you shook your head and tried to tell them that you were single. The camera didn’t move despite your protests, instead zooming out to include Eunchae in the frame instead. 

You paused. 

Looked at her.

Considered. 

Raised an eyebrow. 

“I’m down if you—”

“To your left, you idiot!” she exclaimed, grabbing your shoulders and whirling you around. 

Yang Jungwon was standing in front of you with flowers in his hands. His hair was dripping with sweat and his cheeks were flushed. He was panting, but there was a shy smile on his face.

Your heart stopped as he got down on his knees and the entire gymnasium burst into cheers. 

“Hey,” he popped. 

“Hey,” you answered with much effort. Then added stupidly, “You’re on your knees.” 

“No comment about the flowers?” 

“Not when you’re on your knees for me in front of the entire school.” 

“Oooh, I didn’t know you were so kinky.”

“I didn’t know this was why you begged me to come to the game.” 

He laughed and the sound was like music to your ears. You were nervous. You were rambling. There was no way he was going to ask you to the dance. He wouldn’t be stalling so much if he was. He wouldn’t—

Oh. 

He was giving you time to wrap your head around what was happening. This was clearly intended to be a well-planned surprise meant to catch you completely off-guard. He—

“Yeah, I would’ve been really bummed out if you hadn’t shown up. My efforts would have been for nothing.” 

“So I’m not actually your lucky charm?” 

“Of course, you are. I feel the luckiest when I’m with you.” Your chest swelled with an emotion you couldn’t identify. The gymnasium faded into the background and all you could hear was the sound of your heart thudding against your ribcage and Jungwon’s voice as he asked, 

“Will you make me lucky again by accompanying me to the Valentine’s Dance?” 

The game had ended twenty minutes ago. 

Eastwood had won by 10 points. You’d thought the difference was pretty good but your Mr. Woo, your school’s coach, didn’t seem to share your opinion. He’d claimed that Riverside never even should have been able to get within 15 points of Eastwood.

He’d been especially tense in the second half of the third quarter when the opposition had begun scoring back to back baskets. It had all worked out in the end nonetheless, all thanks to Yang Jungwon, the MVP of the match. 

You still couldn’t believe he’d asked you out and you refused to believe he’d done it in such a grand way. 

He was the definition of a jock and goofed around in school all day long. He was charming, sure, but you’d never known he was capable of pulling off something this big. 

You’d never even suspected he was a romantic. 

Your phone dinged and you unlocked it to check who was texting you. 

[eunchae]: wya? 

[y/n]: parking lot!! are u here? i’m leaning against my car

[eunchae]: noo i’m home :( btw are u still waiting for him?? 

[y/n]: yeah he asked me to but the team hasn’t come out of the gym yet

[eunchae]: yikes i heard mr. woo was hella mad we only won by 10 points.. maybe he’s yelling at the players right now

[y/n]: i’m p sure he is LMFAO

Your fingers hovered over your phone’s screen as you waited for Eunchae to type her reply. However, before she could send it, you felt the device being grabbed from your hand. 

“What the—” you started, but relaxed when you saw Jungwon standing in front of you with an amused expression on his face. “Yang.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “Someone could have easily kidnapped you, you know?” 

“We live in the most boring part of the town.” You snorted. “Baek Seung threatening to chop his neighbour’s tree on local TV was the most interesting thing that happened this year.”

“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be on your guard,” Jungwon said and moved next to you, leaning against the side of your car as well. He was wearing black sweats and a red hoodie. He smelt of cheap soap and his hair was damp, making you realise that he had probably showered. “Besides, Baek Sung actually followed through. We have a real criminal in our ranks.” 

“Didn’t you literally let five sheep loose in our middle school three years ago?” 

“That was just a harmless middle school graduating prank.”

“There’s no such thing as a middle school graduating prank.”

“Tell that to the current 8th graders who are planning their prank. I hear they’re going to stuff the hallway outside the principal’s office with helium balloons so she won’t be able to leave.”  

You stared at him, a small smile playing on your lips. Jungwon’s eyes dropped to your mouth for a millisecond before he looked into your eyes again. 

“Why did you ask me to the dance?” you asked and turned on your side to face him. It was a stupid question but you were genuinely curious. 

Eunchae was right before. Jungwon flirted with you all the time and you always entertained him. You enjoyed the attention he gave you. But if this thing between you was just platonic, and if it was never going to progress into something real, you needed to know now. 

You didn’t want to hope and wait for something that was never going to happen. 

“Sunoo said I was an idiot for not shooting my shot with you,” he replied and turned on his side too. “He threatened to make a move on you if I didn’t get my shit together before Valentine’s Day.” 

You snorted. 

“Oh, also,” Jungwon added. “I really, really like you.” 

You felt a tidal wave of emotions override your senses. Euphoria, nervousness, breathlessness, giddiness, uncertainty and this inexplicable urge to squeal washed over you. 

Your heart went haywire inside your chest when Jungwon leaned closer to you and dipped his head so that his face was right in front of yours. 

“You’re blushing,” he whispered. 

You squeaked and buried your face in your hands. He grabbed your wrists and gently moved them out of the way. “Can I kiss you?” 

“I think that would be a health hazard,” you croaked, looking at anywhere but him. “My heart is beating concerningly fast right now. What if I drop dead?” 

“I can do CPR.” 

The corner of your mouth quirked up in a small smile. Your heart beat slowed down and you began feeling at ease. You wondered if Jungwon could tell that this was the first time someone had confessed to you. 

The entire concept of dating and being in a relationship was foreign to you. You doubted Jungwon had much experience in the field himself since he’d only had one girlfriend in kindergarten, but he seemed confident. 

You trusted him to take over the wheel and guide you through the strange waters of love. 

“Okay,” you breathed and closed your eyes. “Kiss me.” 

His hands cupped your cheeks, his soft lips brushing against yours. You sucked in a breath and just stood there, not really knowing what to do. 

Your hands itched to grab onto something, so you shifted closer to Jungwon and clutched the front of his hoodie in your fists. 

He smiled against your mouth as you rose on your toes and tilted your head to the side. 

But then you realised something and hastily broke the kiss. Jungwon stared at you in confusion, but before he could ask what was wrong, you blurted, “I like you too.” 

There was a pause. He didn’t say anything for a long moment, so you clarified, “I thought I should make that clear. I mean, you confessed but I didn’t confess back even though I feel the same way and what if you thought I wasn’t into you. I am into you, by the way. I’ve been crushing on you since forever but I never knew how to say it—” 

Jungwon swooped in for a second kiss and you melted in his arms. You could get used to the feeling of his lips on yours. They fit together perfectly.  

“You are so cute.” He giggled after detaching his mouth from yours. Resting his forehead against yours, he continued, “Eunchae told me last week. She urged me to confess because she knew your stubbornness would never allow you to make the move.” 

“What?” you exclaimed, jerking away from him. “Where’s my phone? Give me my damn phone, Yang!” 

He grabbed arms before you could lunge at him and search him for your device. “Relax!”

“I’m going to kill her!” 

“Why?!” 

“Because—” you sputtered, struggling to get out of his grip— “because it’s embarrassing! I was pretending to not like you but you knew I was crushing on you the entire time!” 

“It’s not embarrassing!” Jungwon said. “It’s normal—Y/N stop!” 

You let your body fall limp in his arms. “I’m going home. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“You’re seriously not going to let Eunchae’s nosiness stop us from having our first date, are you?”  

“What?” you asked and moved out of his grip.

He shrugged and shoved his hands into pockets. “It’s nothing special. I was going to ask if you wanted to go out for some food.” 

“Oh,” you replied blankly. “Don’t you have a celebratory dinner with your team though?” 

“I can ditch them.”  

“You shouldn’t.” 

“Let me correct myself: I already ditched them. I want to spend tonight and celebrate with you.” 

Your heart swelled with happiness. “Really?” When was the last time someone outside of your parents prioritised you? You genuinely couldn’t remember. 

“Of course. Do you wanna get some McDonald’s?”

You nodded, but before he could make his way to the passenger’s seat of your car, you said, “Just so you know, I feel the luckiest when I’m with you too.” 

Yang Jungwon kissed you for the third time, and by no means was it the last, or even close to the last one you shared that day.  

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

What're your thought on Skully/Skelly so far? Personally, I like the kid, he seems fun and cute (might even adopt him too lol)

I’ll make an update post later once the full event is out; this post will be my first impressions of the guy! Thought it might be interesting to document my feelings now and see how those change over time.

First thing I’ll say is while I like his design, his personality didn’t match my expectations. I expected him to be polite yet also eccentric and a little sinister, not… going around kissing the hands of everyone he meets. Skully also comes off as much more harmless than he appears. It’s an odd mix of demure but also really excitable when his special interest (Halloween, lol) comes up in conversation. A fun-loving guy! He definitely looks a lot more imposing and mysterious than he actually is.

I think a lot of his intimidation factor comes from the shades. If you take them away, he looks more like a dejected fuzzy animal or a Halloween-flavored Idia/Saeran (Mystic Messenger boi). LIKE SORRY BUT WHY DOES HE LOOK LIKE A SAD PUPPY LEFT OUT IN THE RAIN… His spiral eyes are cool though ^^ It’s just slightly hard to see sometimes because of the shadow his hair casts and the shading around that area.

His overall expressiveness is great! He looks cute when he smiles and blushes (from his idol complimenting him, haha). It feels very pure and innocent, which contrasts with his more… deranged expressions.

The way he speaks surprised me too… He talks about coming from a rural place, but he speaks so formally! Sometimes even more formally than Jade. I wonder if that implies being of high class/social status or if he just taught himself to speak this way for personal reasons. My worst nightmare (hah) is that Skully devolves into a heavy Kansai accent later in the event (if only because I’m not sure how to transcribe the Kansai accent into English when I write his dialogue 💦).

I mentioned in an earlier post that Skully’s outfit is a Nightmare Suit provided by the book. We don’t know what he actually dresses like irl which is a shame. Knowing that would really help with getting a read on his character, even if he were just in a school uniform (because different people can wear their uniforms very differently, as we can see in the NRC School Uniform line of cards). Stuffing Skully into a Nightmare Suit by default doesn’t tell me much about how he presents himself outside of the book, in reality.

There’s definitely a lot of interesting (and vague) lore around him 🤔 like how he doesn’t know what magical pens are and how his hometown is the only place that knows who Jack Skellington is… Hopefully those questions get answered by the end of the event. I also have to wonder why he’s such an intense Halloween otaku??? There could be no deep reason behind it, but I’m a little suspicious since this is a Halloween event. It feels like Skully’s hiding something and/or he’s not confident in himself since his dialogue implies he’s a loner irl. Maybe he’s attracted to the idea of Halloween because even the dead and creatures of the night can fit in (so he, the outcast, can also have a place among them)?

That being said, I do find Skully’s personality charming, especially when he’s opening the event with his little dramatic monologue about Halloween. It’s a nice way to interpret Jack Skellington’s whimsy and child-like wonder into a Twst character. However, I don’t exactly find myself completely endeared to his character yet. He feels a little too… safe? Too… sweet. Unless this was all intentionally and he's actually a RSA student or something/j I’d like to see more of his villainous traits and weaknesses on display to get a full scope of his character. *rubs hands together* I want to see what he’s like when he snaps… We already saw some glimpses of his nastier side when he calls his classmates worthless for not understanding him. I want to see that unleashed on the NRC students! As is, I’m not sure if I enjoy him talking down to others (he calls his classmates worthless) for not being on the same wavelength as him when it comes to his interests. It feels like something elitist otaku do (Idia has definitely done this), and that’s a big yikes for me.

[kandyshoppe]

Just some baby ideas that I (hopefully) will (eventually) draw!

Riddle as a little baby and kid was in and out of the hospital. I feel he was a premie baby, and really struggled for a few years. He’s obviously better now, but a lot of his younger years were spent in hospitals and sickly.

Trey working the counter, and younger Crewel buying something, and just fawning over the cute baby! And Trey being like “can I takes you order!” And “fank you!” As he waves at Crewel with his arms FULL of baked goods! He bought them out, just so he could stay with the baby longer!

Cater playing with a camera, I bet he LOVED being his sisters camera man much more than their dress up doll. He liked pictures cause he can go through them and remember stuff!

Deuce just being a mama’s boy. Helping carry anything and everything, though the grocery bag drags on the ground, trying to cook and burning the eggs, picking flowers for her.

Ace just following his brother like a duckling, copying whatever his big brother does! (Silver doing this with Lilia too!)

Leona also having a nice relationship with his brother, but his brother is probably a little overbearing as many kids can be. Leona is such a cat he needs his space sometimes, but Falena just loves his baby bro so much!

Ruggie helping granny with laundry, and cleaning. Also crying cause he ate all the food, and it’s gone, he knows he ate it, but he wanted more! Oh! Ruggie was probably a messy eater, sprinkles and frosting everywhere!

Jack doggy paddling, Jack chasing his tail, Jack playing with squeaky toys, just Jack being a little puppy!

Azul helping cook, and run the restaurant! I like the idea that he would make pretend food and feed the customers the “special” he cooked up! Showing people to their tables, and helping taste test food! As well as his first Father’s Day present for his step dad!

Jade And Floyd just being brothers, fighting, stealing, arguing, but also just having so much fun together. Being silly and having fun.

Kalim chewing shiny jewelry, and just being a silly baby. I also like the idea he would run through the fountain with his nice party clothes, right before the party!

Jamil probably adored having his hair done by his mama, and would try to do his sisters hair, but as a baby she had short hair and he couldn’t do much. Put bows all over her! I also be as a little little kid he was allowed to shine, and liked showing off to his sister.

Vil just being a cutie! He’s adorable no matter what he does! He probably wasn’t a big model as a kid, and his dad tried to protect him, but man! Holidays are fun, and he does share his holiday pictures with Vil. Not to mention Vil’s Halloween MEGA photo shoot, cause his dad is a Halloween lover!

Rook being in his outdoorsy family, learning to fish, and track, helping garden. I have a headcannon that as a toddler, and he was mad, he would go eat the mint plant (his mother’s favorite) as like a gotcha! He always felt bad and would help heal it, but three year olds don’t think far ahead.

Epel helping Granny in the kitchen, covered in flour, carefully carrying the eggs! I also bet he was a big helper with picking the apples! On his dad’s shoulders, reaching as high as he can for the shiniest apples!

Idia and Ortho! Idia holding baby Ortho, showing baby Ortho his favorite games, and his toys! Crying when Ortho drooled on his favorite stuffies, and his mama comforting while she dries the toys.

Malleus learning how to shift to his human body, and him having hiccups that make him blow small fires!

Silver and Lilia! Omg! So many ideas! I love the idea of Lilia struggling with baby Silver, as a new parent, exhausted from baby cries, panicking over every little thing, ect! Lilia also crying and having to be comforted by Silver on Silver’s first day of school.

Sebek with his little crocodile tail, and teething! I bet his home has a lot of teething damages on chairs and table legs. Bet he had a favorite blankie too! Oh! And him and Silver being friends!

[lovelyahoy]

Dr. Stone: One-shot.

Word Count:5,705.

Warnings: Happy ending angst(?) question mark because I suck at angst and I didn't plan on it, then I realized what I had written uhm yeahhh, maybe way too OOC Senku, my writing is a warning itself, might feel (very) rushed, has a few triggers involving mental health issues, mention of suicide.

Summary: Senku's always logically thinking brain is steadily corrupted by something he can't seem to solve, the girl who barely seemed to take part in the world.

Pairing: Senku Ishigami x Fem!Reader.

︽❀═══❀═══⌘═══⌘═══❀═══❀═══⌘═══⌘═══❀═══❀︾

[Y/N] was a science he couldn't decipher.

Were they friends? He couldn't tell. She lingered here and there but never long enough to spark a conversation, her [E/C] eyes never changed from the blank stare—face frozen in a stone-cold expression.

Most classmates assumed she wasn't interested in making friends, focusing on her studies to remain in her position as the second-highest-ranked student. Senku thought the same for the longest while, over time she naturally drifted from his usual thoughts. Despite that, [Y/N] managed to make appearances in his head whenever he'd stumble on a psychology article, or social media posts asking for advice on friendships and getting to know other people.

During one of his rare lazy nights, he scrolled through his phone, scarlet eyes landing on a particular question.

"how can i find out if my friend is okay without being it obvious?"-posted 30 minutes ago by alo_mistx11

25 comments +

He sighed, when did it start bothering him this much? The leek-haired boy clicked on the plus sign, eyebrow raising at how the replies were lengthy paragraphs of others trying to give real advice, he sped-read most of it.

"I'm going to use my personal experience to try and give you some idea, I noticed a while ago that my friend's mood never seemed to change, not when he did something he claimed to like or something he mentioned hating. I started by asking simple questions like, how was your morning? did you enjoy lunch today? what do you think of this x thing? His typical answers were short, direct and lacked details—but the more I asked, the more I realized they started changing. He added a few more comments every time, slowly but surely my friend opened up, the 'It was fine.' turned into 'It was nice.' the 'Yeah, I did.' was now 'Not really, my curry didn't have enough flavor.'

The point is, to focus on their answers and go from there. Words are complicated, they can mean multiple things at once or nothing at all. Be patient.

Senku woke up the next morning with a mission to work on, instead of his usual seat in the middle of the classroom he swapped to sit next to a stiffly sitting [H/C] haired girl who didn't spare him a glance.

Why wasn't he sure of their status? Because he met the girl back in the third year of middle school, ever since then she always silently chose him as her partner for any assignment that needed to be worked on in pairs, sitting next to him during school trips and not to mention lingering in the science club—something she still did to this day in high school. Halfway through the second year of knowing each other, he realized maybe the reason wasn't her but him, thinking she silently made an effort while he didn't.

Weirdly enough he couldn't recall a single time she spoke, did she even at all? Was she mute and he didn't notice? Senku would ramble his points during their work, not caring if she paid attention or not. However, he knew she did, [Y/N] writing exactly what he had just said and using it for their presentations.

"How was your morning?"

A brief pause in her movements, a nod, and nothing else.

So he tried right after lunchtime, making his way back to the classroom he noticed her standing by an open window. Senku slid next to her, careful to not invade her personal space. Taking a moment to admire how the sun's rays gave her [S/C] skin a glow-like effect, even as her face expressed nothing her body was relaxed.

"Did you enjoy lunch today?"

Once again, a quick nod and she walked away.

Nearing the end of the last lesson, their teacher bid them a good day and left them to write down the homework scribbled on the blackboard. Senku zipped up his bag before catching up to [Y/N] who was already halfway down the hallway.

"What did you think of today's topic?"

Oh, she stopped walking. Her head slowly tilted over her shoulder to show him her usual face, [E/C] met a curious scarlet. She shook her head.

It wasn't exactly a huge progress, but it was something. He kept a notepad solely to write down her responses, day after day it stayed the same, a nod, a shake, or nothing at all. Senku's curiosity turned into something more, like a desperation to understand just what or who [Y/N] really was.

It gnawed at him that nothing he tried worked, repeating himself like a broken record and possibly annoying the girl—if she could feel annoyance anyway. But science took time, he knew that, Senku needed to up his effort.

So he decided to drop the questions he took from the post, scribbling consistent things she indulged in. Sadly, reading books was the first and only thing he noticed she did regularly, or well read one book, Senku realized after a short while she always re-read the same one.

Walking behind her while leaning over her seated figure, squinting his eyes trying to catch a glimpse. Pointing at a random corner in the classroom and reaching his hand over to move the book closer when she looked away. Even going as far as to lie to [Y/N] that a teacher was looking for her.

And every single damn time, the book was too far away for his eyes to catch anything. The cover closed over the pages whenever she'd look away from it, and the worst one of all, she carried it everywhere. Leaving no room to snatch it in her lack of presence.

Two weeks later the perfect opportunity set itself up for him, or so he thought.

While they were paired up in groups and loud chatter filled the room, the teacher asked [Y/N] to quickly fetch some assignments he forgot in the staff room. The scientist took this chance to pull out the book from her bag, there was nothing written on the cover. Senku flipped through the pages, feeling his face scrunch up as he read the words—this wasn't a story like he initially thought, no, it was more of a diary.

Entry #27

She started kicking a lot today, the first few times made me feel so giddy! But now I can't pick up my paintbrush without her causing me so much pain, can she stop?

Entry #28

I'm so sorry, I don't want her anymore. I'm scared, so goddamn scared…

Senku stuffed the book into his bag in a hurry when he noticed the top of her head peeking through the door's window before opening it. [Y/N] handed over the papers she was sent to get and took a seat next to him, picking up her pen and continuing to write.

On the outside, his composure could rival that of an actor, inside? Oh lord, inside he was screaming at himself, why the hell did he panic? He didn't know how he could return her book before she noticed—he's screwed.

[Y/N] reached into her bag, sitting up straight when her hand came up empty. Scarlet eyes widened in absolute fear surprise when the grasp on her pen tightened hard enough to spill ink out of the blocked end. Small plastic shards fell onto her open work notebook alongside droplets of crimson red, she hardly seemed fazed by the injury and wiped the blood away with a handkerchief.

He felt like he fucked up. Big time.

Senku started to lecture her to ease his worry in a familiar way, "Plastic might seem harmless to most people, but if microplastics enter your bloodstream it could cause cell damage, inflammation and not to mention an increased chance to develop diseases." he gently took the cloth and wrapped it around her hand carefully, tying a knot to secure it from moving. During his ramble he could feel her [E/C] eyes burning into his forehead, he couldn't bring himself to meet her gaze.

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[Y/N] walked into the classroom on a cold Monday morning, she made the mistake of showering before checking the weather—leaving her body shivering while she waited for the bus just a few moments prior.

Like always, she tuned out the lively talk and sat down at the very back. Senku was already there writing down a list of things he'd need for an experiment, or so she assumed. Lately, the boy had been weirdly talkative to her, he always entertained her with random science facts but now he'd been asking questions out of the blue.

"Good morning." She wanted to part her lips and greet him back, but the grip on her bag tightened when she nodded instead and sat down.

With the book gone, [Y/N]'s routine had drastically been reduced to nothingness for hours. Her hand was now wrapped with clean bandages, there wasn't a chance in the world she misplaced the book. That meant someone had purposely taken it, her brain recited the pages to fill the void, word by word.

Entry #76

The doctor said I needed to be careful, [Y/N]'s very fragile. Was this my fault? I should've taken care of myself more, what if she never gets better? Sorry…

Entry #102

What's this? I don't know, I can't tell. Voices. There are voices everywhere and no one else seems to hear them, they happen when I'm around her…is this [Y/N]'s fault? Making her mother suffer this much, what have I done to deserve this?

"Pigeons have five color receptors in their eyes, while humans only have three." The feeling of something falling on her shoulders and the scrapping sound of a chair broke her trance.

Her closed eyes fluttered open, head tilting over her shoulder as if questioning Senku's random fact and act. [Y/N] observed the slight red tint his ears got, looking away while she slipped her arms through the sweater's sleeves.

"I saw you petting a pigeon Friday after school."

'You look cute like this.' is what she wanted to say, a twinge of pain in her chest brought her back from her thoughts. Why was he observing her so closely nowadays? Senku was completely out of character. His questions, thankfully now dropped, unsettled her at times—reminding her of the twice-a-week therapy sessions.

"Would you like to come over? Taiju and I are going try and send another rocket into space."

'Huh, another?' It was so…Senku coded…that her surprise melted away quickly, it sounded like it could be fun but unfortunately, she couldn't head anywhere other than home. Her dad who worked from home never let her out of his sight besides school, not even to go to the corner store. It used to feel suffocating, but now she mindlessly went along with it, fighting was a waste of time.

When you're the cause of someone else's despair, it's only fair to stay quiet and oblige them.

The boy sighed softly at the shake of her head, denying his invitation. Senku wasn't one to give up, his mind dead set on everything having a solution and while humans were complicated beings, a science he typically had no interest in—he wanted to know about [Y/N] no matter how long it took. When he started something, it was almost impossible for him to stop.

A note slid onto his desk, the pinky stuck in his ear stopped moving, and Senku felt his heart skip a beat. There laid her first words towards him, on the ripped-up corner of her notebook page.

'Sorry, have fun for me.'

That single note had changed everything, a huge leap in progress. Taiju questioned him on the number of packs of post-it notes he carried in his bag, only to get brushed off by the ecstatic scientist. Senku would stick a blank note on her desk every day since that Monday, and without fail, it would be on his after a few minutes of asking her stuff. It was a wonder how he didn't feel impatient at her vague words and quick sentences, but they were far better than the nods.

"I'm sure the next one won't explode."

"Good luck."

"Your club member dropped off this box."

"I'd like to know more about pigeons."

Senku breathed in shakily reading the newest piece of paper he got, eyes borderline burning imaginary holes into the only note he kept safe. The rest were thrown out after their 'conversation' ended, but this one? He couldn't bring himself to do the same.

Unfortunately, after this breakthrough, his only obstacle to moving forward was the book still stuffed in his bag. Logically theorizing her reaction, ten billion percent it would end with her killing never speaking to him again. Guilt overtook him whether he liked it or not, it felt wrong to just place it on her desk when she wasn't around. Senku was sure [Y/N] knew someone had taken it, he needed to come clean.

Oh boy.

"Uhm, are you sure about this, Senku?" Yuzuriha waved her hands frantically, she tagged along for a few minutes when the leek-haired boy asked her to help look for [Y/N]. The crafts member was horrified when he admitted to being the culprit behind the book's disappearance, Yuzuriha hung around the [H/C] haired girl on the daily—with them being in the same club.

"Nope, tell Byakuya to stop crying like a wimp when I go missing." The brown-haired girl could see Senku smirking smugly, however, he couldn't hide his trembling body from the thought of how this could all go down.

Waiting behind the corner, they noticed [Y/N] finally walk out of the nurse's office and head towards them. Senku tried to take a step back, only for Yuzuriha to send him an encouraging smile and push him forward. Her friend was going to get her book, no matter what.

Senku stumbled forward almost bumping into [Y/N], he huffed out an annoyed sound and fixed his lab coat. He wordlessly grabbed her wrist in a gentle grip and guided her to the rooftop. Really he was just trying to buy more time to compose himself, these feelings were beginning to become an illogical mess.

Illogical. Feelings were nothing but illogical, that's what he always said to himself and others. It was bothersome to realize that once they overtook you, it was hard to push them away.

[Y/N] walked behind him without struggle, eventually settling near the railing of the rooftop. Her eyes noticed his hand reach into the bag, grasping something and hesitating to bring it out. She had a vague idea of what it was going to be. Suspicions floating in her head were confirmed when her mother's journal entered her line of sight, she made no move to grab it, only raising her head to stare into his wavering eyes.

[H/C] hair was hit by a soft breeze, she lifted a hand to brush it out of her face.

"Why?"

Feeling like his brain malfunctioned, Senku nearly dropped the book at her voice. It was soft—so soft that if he wasn't paying attention, he would've missed it. He couldn't tell if she was mad or upset, face staying neutral.

"I'm sorry." He wiggled the book, trying to encourage her to take it and be done with it. Senku felt sweat build on his forehead when she stayed still. "I wanted to know more about you, I got too into my head and took it."

"Know me as a person or did you see it as an experiment?"

"I'm sorry."

[Y/N] finally grabbed her belonging, tracing a finger over the smooth cover. "Did you..?"

"Read it? only two entries." He didn't know if that would help him save face. "I couldn't bring myself to read further without your permission." He watched her flip through the pages, still standing in front of him with what seemed like zero interest, before he could utter another rushed apology she spoke once again.

"I'm not allowed to talk, not at school or home." She paused, trying to think of a good reason to keep talking. Senku, from the beginning, sparked hints of emotion she thought she had lost forever ago. It was an occurrence she wanted to keep happening, and while she couldn't ignore the slight anger bubbling right now—she would suppress it, not wanting to lose him.

Maybe, just maybe she could get this off her chest. Knowing the boy would never gossip or spread rumors about her, Senku wasn't that type of person, and perhaps that's why he drew her in so quickly.

"My dad says I sound too alike to my late mother, he hates it. I'm not sure when exactly I stopped talking altogether, but before I knew it, my voice felt like a distant memory." [Y/N] sighed softly, continuing when she realized he had no intentions of interrupting her. "It's not that I hide my feelings like everyone claims, I just don't feel them anymore. Not as strong anyways."

"Your cute science rambles gained all of my attention, ever since middle school. Something about your passion and love for it made me feel warm inside, the strongest feeling I'd get was all because of you."

[Y/N] took another, much longer pause this time. Slowly thinking back on her words, he'd probably think she was confessing to him. Before she could rephrase, the bell rang loudly. Senku gave no indication that he planned on moving, taking a step forward and stopping her.

"Finish what you were saying."

"Senku…"

"You were right. At first, the way you acted did feel like science I wanted to figure out, over time It became more about…you…as a person." His scarlet eyes kept their focus on her, refusing to break contact. "So, please [Y/N], tell me everything, every detail possible—I ten billion percent assure you I will do whatever I can to help you."

Seconds later she pushed the book into his chest gently, leaving him to hold it while walking back inside. He stood there feeling conflicted. Fuck. Was this really okay?

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Click. Clack. Click.

The sound echoed throughout the room, the culprit? Newton's cradle settled on her therapist's desk. The older man knew it bothered her, why he kept it moving was a mystery she wished would disappear.

"It's been years [Y/N], why do you still come back?"

"Because you suck at your job."

"Cheeky shit." Dr. Bernard poured himself a glass of whiskey, swirling the liquid around before downing it in one go. "Your mom died, get over it."

"You know what your real problem is? You. You're the issue. You self-destruct whenever you feel any hint of happiness, feeling guilty about it." [Y/N] stayed quiet, these words had been thrown at her by the man since forever ago. "Your mom hated you, not because she wanted to, or because you did something. Being happy isn't going to make her mad, [Y/N] she's fucking dead."

"Can we end this early? I just needed your signature."

She dusted off her school skirt, taking the waving paper from Bernard's hand. He didn't let go, forcing them to engage in eye contact. "I hope you find something that brings you so much joy, you stop taking these shits."

For a drunk, rude, and lazy therapist, Bernard had been the best possible match. He'd been trying for years, since [Y/N] was a mere eight-year-old crying hysterically whenever her mom came up as a topic. Why was he the best in her eyes? Well, it came in the form of his prescription notepad. At first, he hesitated assigning any further treatment, however over time while his life went to shit, he stopped caring about his job and patients.

"I didn't understand at the time, why she was so unresponsive. Taking a nap…what a joke.."

"It must've been heard to learn the truth, [Y/N]. However that's why you're here with me, I'll be helping you."

Even when he got back on track, he couldn't fix the addiction he created within [Y/N]. Trust him he fucking tried, she always managed to get the pills one way or another, even if it meant getting involved with shady third-party sellers. So he kept agreeing to sign for them.

While [Y/N] laid in bed waiting for her medication to settle and lull her into sleep, a few blocks away a certain scientist was doing intensive 'research'.

Postpartum psychosis. A mental illness that causes a mother to lose their grip on reality after giving birth, hallucinations, and deep confusion are the main symptoms. Senku was approaching the middle of the journal when he realized the extent of it, putting pieces together from each entry. Some were lengthy, others were single sentences.

Entry #123

[Y/N] made paper flowers for Mother's day, gosh she looked so adorable with those messy pigtails she insisted on doing herself. Lately, I've realized my thoughts have been jumbled in a way, I don't even remember writing those weird entries that keep appearing. Maybe [Dad/N] was playing a prank on me? Anyway, leaving this cute memory here.

Senku traced the glued-on picture, a smiling [Y/N] hugging her mother's leg while shoving the fake flowers into her hand. They looked extremely happy.

He couldn't help but intensely stare, a part of him wanted her to smile like that for him. Subconsciously making it a goal in his head. Senku yawned looking at his clock, a little past two in the morning, he was too focused to stop.

Entry #268

Something's wrong. Yesterday I had a vivid dream where I nearly killed my baby girl, it felt so real. From the sound of her crying to the blood that gushed out from where I cut her….it was horrible. I tried to cater to [Y/N] all day, giving her treats and playing dolls until sundown. Why do I feel so guilty, if it was only a dream?

The clock continued to tick, flipping another page Senku's eyes began to droop. It was extremely illogical for him to tire himself out like this, fully knowing he could finish reading tomorrow—the book still remained in his grasp.

He couldn't begin to imagine what [Y/N] had lived through, typically postpartum psychosis lasted for weeks, sometimes months, and in bad cases up to three years. It seemed [M/N] never got better, slipping between her mental illness and reality constantly for eight consecutive years. To hear and see your mother love you so profoundly one day only to hate your existence the next, must've been awful.

Entry #311

This will be my final entry, I've hurt you so much already and I can't continue to allow it. Remembering is becoming harder and harder with each passing day, but I know I love you [Y/N], so very much. Take care of [D/N], he'll get a bit lonely without me.

I'll leave this book with you, hoping you finish filling its pages. Please be strong my little pigeon, I know you asked me to stop calling you that but I couldn't help it. Will you allow just this once? I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry darling, promise me that you'll live life to the fullest, for both of us.

-[M/N] [L/N]

His fingers lightly traced the darker spots around the page's surface, lips trembling when he realized some of them were dried-up blood instead of tears. Senku noticed the pages after this last entry were all written by [Y/N], hesitating for a good while until he remembered how the girl had entrusted him with it.

Entry #46

Dr. Bernard couldn't answer my question, I didn't expect much to be honest. He's been drinking heavily every session, his wife died? or was it his kid? Perhaps both. I wonder when I stopped caring, where is the real me? Neither of us knew.

So with an energy drink he'd been avoiding till now, cracked open and set onto his bed stand he was ready for an all-nighter. Future Senku can deal with tiredness.

Entry #88

I didn't take any medication today, I met a boy who wouldn't stop talking about how rockets were made and operated, I was too immersed in his passion to notice my alarm telling me to take my pills.

Senku? Yeah, that's his name. I think I'll stick around him more, still have to take my pills even if he makes me feel like they aren't necessary in the moment.

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"What are you doing?"

[Y/N] watched Senku search for her bag, they were alone in the science club, and she wanted to hurry home but the boy insisted on giving him a quick minute.

After a few seconds, he found what he was searching for, the two antidepressant pill bottles with different labels. He shook them in front of her seated figure, a frown etched on his lips.

"Taking Prozac and Zoloft together isn't doing you any damn favors, [Y/N]. It doesn't result in better efficiency, harming you faster than you could ever outheal it." [E/C] eyes barely reacted to him dumping the pills into a vial filled with some sort of acid, the disintegration took only mere moments sizzling up before the liquid settled back to its original composition.

"It doesn't seem like you suffered with serotonin syndrome, no, you got a severe case of emotional blunting. You noticed and continued to take them regularly." Senku scratched off the labels before throwing the empty bottles in the trash, people didn't need to find out who they belonged to. "Remember the response you gave me, [Y/N]? When I asked if you minded my science talks?"

He took steps forward, stopping when he was right in front of her. Scarlet met [E/C], head tilted up to observe him.

"If you ever feel the itch to take a pill come to me instead, I'll fill your head with the brightest colors."

It was easier said than done, the confidence he felt when saying those words settled into raw embarrassment. It was the first time he ever heard her huff out a noise close to laughter, trying to pry his hands away from blocking the red faced scientist.

Senku studied up as many pigeon facts as he could, he truly underestimated how badly [Y/N] was hooked on the medications, asking to hear his voice around every hour. When she needed some science talk, he'd immediately do it, even going as far as sending her constant audio texts throughout the day and night—it was logical, right? Just in case she needed them while he wasn't physically there.

A few more weeks later, her lips would slowly twitch up into very brief smiles, [E/C] eyes gained a small spark, one he noticed in a heartbeat. [Y/N] greeted him and other classmates in the morning, shocking even the teacher when she raised her hand to answer a question. From an outside perspective, it looked like a teen finally coming out of her introverted shell and fitting in more snuggly with her peers.

For Senku? He never thought he'd ever feel this sort of third-party heartbreak, her cries being muffled by his chest, tears streaming down her face and onto him. Yeah, she was healing, but being healed meant all of her suppressed emotions came back in harsh waves. He had been the one to throw out her remedy, so he would ten billion percent be the one to help her get through it all.

"Your mom's last words, weren't they asking for a promise? To live for her and yourself?"

Was a question that had completely broken the thin barrier that remained between them, it was the hardest she cried and honestly, it scared him. Trembling words that were spoken in a hoarse voice letting him know, that in fact, that wasn't the last promise she had asked of [Y/N].

"While she wrote her last entry, I was in the room. I didn't understand why mom had a rope tied around the ceiling fan, or why there was a stool just underneath it." Senku's arms around her tightened, body felt heavy against his as they were seated on his bedroom floor. "I was so excited for her to finish because she told me it would be mine. I didn't know I was practically beaming with happiness that my mother was about to die."

"In her last moments, she was no longer my mom. Screaming at me for ruining her life, for being born…then…then she asked me to promise to take my own life." Hiccups interrupted her words, taking deep breaths to compose herself long enough to tell Senku the memory that haunted her above everything else.

He pulled her head closer to his chest. His eyes began to sting at her words, he regretted bringing up that question.

"When she realized I didn't understand what it meant, whispering a 'like this.' she pushed the stool away. I tried, I tried so hard to stop her legs up while she twitched but I was too weak. My mom died hating me Senku, and I know it wasn't her, but in the end, it was still a part of her." [Y/N] wiped at her face uselessly, the tears kept getting replaced by fresh ones. "If I hadn't been born, she'd be living happily with my dad."

"Mommy…?"

A croaking noise left the woman's body, natural instincts kicking in to try and pry the noose away from her crushed throat. Feet harshly kicked around narrowly missing a frantic [Y/N] who managed to finally wrap her small arms around her mother's legs.

"What's wrong? Mommy?"

Silence enveloped the room, the small girl kept her grip on the now-still body. [Y/N] trembled with tears running down her chubby cheeks, she was scared. Never did her mom ever make any sounds like that.

"Are you sleeping mommy?…goodnight, don't let the bed bugs bite." The small girl sighed in relief, from what? She didn't know. She stayed there for an hour, frowning when her mom was getting cold. [Y/N] turned to the bed and struggled to take the thick blanket, she froze hearing a loud thud, and her head whipped seeing the body sprawled on the floor.

Dried up blood stained the woman's neck, a result of her nails having dug into her neck when desperation caved it. [Y/N] dropped the blanket over her mother, running over to the bathroom, and grabbing a first aid kit.

"You need to be more careful mommy…" [Y/N] closed the wide dull eyes staring right at her, wiping the wounds with the light hum of a lullaby her mom used to sing whenever she healed her up.

Eventually, sleep won her over, the child huddled up to the corpse with a smile on her face. She hadn't cuddled with mom in a long time.

What [Y/N] never could've known, was that her mother, in the truly very last moments had regained full consciousness. Clawing at her cause of impending death, desperate to push her child away from seeing this.

Wait…I…I don't want this anymore please god…not yet..[Y/N]….[Y/N]….

"The if doesn't matter. not anymore." His words were sharp, trying to get them across loud and clear to the girl having a breakdown in his arms. "Her mind hated you [Y/N], not her heart."

"The real her loved you so much, cling onto that." Senku's arms slowly unwrapped her figure, instead raising his hands to cup her puffy face, eyes filled with new tears. The pads of his fingers caressed her cheeks, lightly wiping right underneath her eyes.

"Learn to remember only the happy memories, bad ones will only continue to hurt you and…..I don't like seeing you sad."

He mumbled the last part, despite this very weak attempt he knew she heard it. [Y/N] giggled seeing his face turn a bright red, feeling the heavy chains around her heart disappear bit by bit. Like a fresh breath of air, she had found happiness in Senku.

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"Hurry up, slowpoke."

The morning was too chaotic for Senku, his damn alarm didn't go through, leaving him with literal seconds to get ready.

[Y/N] yawned buttoning her school sweater, she regularly slept over at her boyfriend's house—even learning to deal with Byakuya gushing over how cute they were to him.

Grabbing her backpack she headed out first, leaving the scientist to stumble about still getting his last items. Stuffing the lab coat into his bag he raced for the door, before closing it he glanced at his computer.

There, on the corner of his main monitor, was the post-it note he refused to throw out. It dangled softly with the wind coming from his slightly opened window, scarlet eyes filled with adoration recalling the writing. Words engraved into his brain and heart.

"Do you mind me talking this much about science? Is it okay?"

The question lingered in the air for a brief moment before the note was placed on his desk.

'It's okay, the brightest colors fill my head when you speak."

Taiju and Yuzuriha were excited to hear they were dating, the former teasing him and backing down once his best friend threatened to expose his crush on the brown-haired girl.

[Y/N] finally said her goodbyes to Dr. Bernard, smiling gently when the older man cried his eyes out, apologizing and saying how proud he was. Slowly but surely, the strings that attached her to the past were snapping.

Dad's string was the hardest, she didn't want to get rid of it, only untangle the knots. It was rough, but with time and patience, he agreed to attend therapy and changed to work in the office instead of at home. Relationship getting stronger with each dinner night together.

"Stop spacing out dumbass." Oh right, with a romantic relationship came deeper trust and a back to normal Senku. His hand outstretched waiting for the chemical he asked for three minutes ago, [Y/N] sent him a pout, giving him the requested item.

"You were much nicer before."

"Do you reeeally mind it?" He leaned over to quickly peck her lips, turning his head back to his experiment. "Even when I do that?"

"Dumbass, was it? yeah, agreed."

Senku huffed out a cackle, partially from her comment and the chemical reaction going perfectly. They watched the foam-like substance pour out of the vial, he had already explained what it was but she was too busy focusing on his cute concentrated face.

Her fingers wrapped around his hand, squeezing tightly and letting her head fall on his shoulder.

"My dumbass though." He sucked at mumbling.

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3700+ years later he created post-it notes for her, receiving that beautiful huge smile he longed to see. (He melted on the spot, not caring about Kohaku or Chome's eyes bulging out their heads from his reaction)

Walking into his lab in the mornings and seeing her words scribbled with encouragement. Yeah, feelings were illogical, but she made it worth it.

To keep herself conscious, [Y/N] recited her mother's journal, only the happy pages this time though.

Upon awakening she slapped Senku abruptly, covering herself with her hands and yelling out. She didn't realize it was him, forgive her.

-

[Y/N]'s last entry before petrification:

Entry #211

I found someone very precious to me. I'll probably follow him till the end of time, hope you don't mind waiting longer for me mom.

and mom?

Rest easy please, I'm not afraid anymore.

︽❀═══❀═══⌘═══⌘═══❀═══❀═══⌘═══⌘═══❀═══❀︾

When y'all write any 'sad' stuff, does it make you sad when you read it? I know I'm not good at angst, but reading back to edit it I was stoned faced, so my head was like, yeah no one is gonna give a fuck if I don't. 👩‍🦯

[littlewriterfullofwords]

Non-stop coffee

Parring: Murayama x Reader (Todoroki's sibling)

Summary: You love coffee and Murayama knows that.

Warnings:

A/N: Hello. This piece is dedicated to @rawinia, I hope you like it! I don't know if it's romantic or interesting enough, but I hope it's okay. Let me know what you think!

The paper cup disappeared into the abyss of the bin on the pavement as you walked past it on your way to the Oya High. Why were you going there? Well, you wanted to visit your brother, Todoroki. It's been some time since you spent some sibling bonding time together, and today looked like a great day to do so. Also, meeting other students of Oya High was a nice idea.

Finally, you reached the school's well-known building, and a smile crawled onto your lips immediately. This place always brought back nice memories and gave you a feeling of comfort; it felt like home even though you weren't here very often. It also taught you how to fight, thanks to your brother being a pain in the ass during training, and you didn't expect to use your skills so soon, but a person attacking you from the right quickly changed your mind. You brought your arms up to your face to protect it and quickly attacked back. You aimed for the person's nose, but it didn't end well, your wrist got closed in someone's grip and slightly twisted, making you hiss. But you knew you didn't have much time to contemplate over your pain, you had to think and fight. You quickly estimated your chances and kicked the person's knee, making them bend and fall down onto the painless leg, and then you left a shoe print on the chest. The impact of the attack caused them to fall onto their back while breathing heavily.

"Okay, stop." You heard Furuya's voice and the fighting frenzy evaporated from your body, leaving you clueless and confused, but proud deep inside. "I get it, you are good."

"Can't say otherwise." You chuckled and helped the man get up from the ground. "You know that attacking me is never a good idea."

"I do." Furuya nodded and dusted himself off. "But Murayama still thinks he can take you in a fight. But still, he's sending us every time you come here."

"Coward." You joked, knowing perfectly that the leader of Oya High was listening, as he always was. "How have you been?"

And a conversation with a vice-leader went on as you two walked towards the center of the school, where everyone liked to hang out. The moment you crossed the entrance, you were greeted warmly by everyone present and literally pulled by the arm to sit with them. Have I mentioned the feeling of home? Yeah, that's how you felt with all those people around.

"Do you guys have a kettle and hot water?" You asked out of nowhere, making everyone look at you in silence.

"Sure we do." Said Seki and got up. "I will bring it in a moment."

And he disappeared.

You chuckled at his behaviour, but you kinda got already used to that. Everyone in Oya treated you with respect and even a slight amount of fear, and all that because you were Todoroki's sibling. Okay, not everyone, Murayama was an exception. He wasn't scared of you, he was intrigued, as he liked to say. That's why he was hiding from you whenever you were around.

"There you go." Seki came back with a mug full of hot water and handed it to you with a smile.

You thanked him with a nod and reached into your pocket only to take out a bag of instant coffee. Under the supervision of the Oya student, you poured it into the mug and waited for it to melt.

"And again, you and your coffee." Todoroki came in and looked at you with disappointment in his eyes, but you smiled at him and took a sip of your drink.

"You should be used to that already." An unexpected voice answered before you could say anything, making everyone turn towards the opened window on the second floor. "You are siblings."

"Murayama." Todoroki rolled his eyes but didn't look at the leader, his eyes were focused on you. "Mind your business. And you....let's go."

Your eyes moved from your brother to Murayama, who was still hanging by the window, half of his body outside the building, his eyes watching you get up and follow Todoroki inside. His eyes focused on your coffee and watched it disappear with you in the building. The moment he lost you from his sight, he turned to Seki and raised an eyebrow. The leader had a plan...and a request.

Two days passed from your last visit to Oya High and you again were heading there. For what? Another meeting with your brother, this time to prepare a gift for your mother's birthday. You had a basic idea but wanted to talk it over with Todoroki.

The moment you appeared by the gate, Furuya greeted you with a mug of coffee in his hand that he immediately handed to you.

"Wow, thanks." You said with a smile. "Why, if I may?"

"You like it, right?" You nodded, the warmth from the coffee started to spread through your body. "We want you to feel comfortable here."

"Thank you." A smile appeared on your face, and you slowly walked to your brother's room.

It was a kind gesture and definitely made you feel welcome here.

"Quit smiling." Todoroki greeted you with an emotionless expression. "It's just coffee."

You rolled your eyes at his words, but didn't listen to him, a smile stayed on your lips as you two started talking about the present.

After around 40 minutes, someone knocked at the door, and with permission, they came in. It was Seki with a mug of another coffee for you. Saying you were confused and happy at the same time wouldn't be enough to describe what you were feeling. It's true, that you finished your previous coffee 5 minutes ago, but no one could possibly know about it. At least that's what you thought. You had no idea that Murayama was watching you from the window on the other side of the square, waiting for you to finish your coffee, only to send someone to bring you another. That was the plan he created two days ago.

After two hours, you decided to leave. Todoroki and you planned the gift and everything around it, so you were quite confident about it. During those two hours, you received coffee 4 times, always 5 minutes after you finished the previous one. It felt as if someone was watching you, but you couldn't find them.

"Leaving so soon?" While you were leaving, Murayama's voice stopped you midway.

"Yeah. We are done talking." You explained softly and looked at the leader who was sitting on the couch in the square. "Why?"

"Just asking." Yoshiki got up and stretched, then looked at you with an instant coffee in between his fingers. "What's so good about it?"

"It's tasty." You explained. "And warms me up."

"There is only sugar inside." Murayama threw the bag over his shoulder and hid his hands in his pockets. "I don't know how can you drink it. It's awful."

"I like it." You shrugged but smiled a moment later. "So you tried it."

"Not because I wanted to." The black-haired man rolled his eyes. "I had to see what's being used in my school."

You slowly nodded, a quiet hum left your lips as you watched Murayama avoid your eyes. You chuckled at his reaction but didn't say anything. Furthermore, you started to connect dots that it was him, who sent you coffee, but for now, you decided to keep it to yourself.

You might think, it was just Oya High being kind. Unfortunately, or fortunately, it wasn't that. Since your first visit to the school, whenever you met one of the students somewhere out, they gave you an instant coffee bag. Every. Fricking. Time.

"Murayama!" You decided to talk to the guy about the coffee issue.

"Me?" The man opened the door to his office and greeted you with a smirk.

"Yes, you." Without a warning, you walked into the room and immediately froze in place.

The room was filled with the boxes of your favorite coffee that you had been receiving, stored by the wall. It was more than you could comprehend.

"You....you bought it?" You turned his way and immediately noticed his smirk. "All of it?"

"Yeah." He nodded proudly. "But don't think it's because of you. The others like it too. They liked it before you."

You smiled and walked up to the window only to see that Furuya and Seki poured your favourite drink on the ground. It was too sweet for them, you could read that from their expression.

"Sure." You nodded and looked at Murayama who was watching you. "Let's say I believe you. Thank you for taking care of me."

The man only rolled his eyes and shifted in his place as if he was hiding something behind his back. And you were curious.

"What are you hiding?" You asked and walked up to him to look at what was on the counter behind him.

"Nothing." He moved to the side to cover the thing, and when you stepped the other way, he followed. "Go away."

"Show me." You insisted and tried to look over him, your hands rested on his shoulders while you lifted yourself on your toes. "Please."

"Go. Away." Murayama rested his palms against your shoulders and pushed you away from the counter.

But he didn't realise that by walking away, he opened the space behind him and exposed the thing he was hiding. The bouquet of flowers standing in the vase appeared in front of your eyes as you two walked away from the furniture making you gasp in admiration.

"Are those for me?" You asked carefully, as if scared of mistaking the situation.

"Yeah." Murayama tried to sound, and act, nonchalant when he handed you the flowers but your giggle caused his eyes to soften and cheeks turned pink. "But if you tell Todoroki, I will kick you out of here and never let in again."

You smiled widely and before leaving, you kissed Murayama's cheek. The flowers in your hands added some colour to the Oya's building as you walked through the halls with a smile. Your eyes were shining as if the miracle happened. For you, it wasn't a miracle but the happiest day. The flowers made you forget why you came to Oya today, the anger left your body and you left the school with happiness and this warm feeling in your chest.

And Murayama? He was watching you leave through the window in his office with a mug of your favourite coffee. He took a sip and immediately spit it out. Too sweet.

[spiderb00]

- MASTERLIST (katseye)

NSFW = RED

- SOPHIA LAFORTEZA

FAM OUT - SERIES

A series of cute and funny moments between the family you have formed over all these years. Rediscovering love and the simplicity of life with your girlfriend Sophia, your "daughter" Yoonchae and the Kats.

KIDS OUT - THE SPINOFF

When you and Sophia are out of parenting mode, it's time to really have fun...

Back To High School

"You and Sophia hate each other, but maybe it's not quite like that..."

ONLY MINE

“the only thing that made the party interesting for Sophia, was you” 

BARBIE N KEN suggestive

"Yn was like Barbie, and Sophia was like Ken. It means that Sophia has a fucking boner for Yn."

I'M LIVE

"Being a streamer is fun, even more fun if your girlfriend shows up by surprise on your live."

FEMININE

“Sophia was sure she wanted you! She just wasn't sure if you were into girls.” 

- MANON BANNERMAN

BUY ME PRESENTS

“You tried everything, expensive gift, nice outings... But Manon just wanted you to be with her foverer” 

LOSING ALL MY INNOCENCE IN THE BACKSEAT

"your car has broken down, and your date with Manon is gone. But your girlfriend always finds a way to make everything special."

CARE AND LOVE

"Your girlfriend had the most stressful day of all, the least you could do was treat her like a princess."

GAME STRATEGY

"Your girlfriend sabotages you on the laser tag."

What is your word of the day?

"The taste of victory is good, but don't celebrate too loudly”

Just Like You

“There was a reason why you loved your mornings, and the reason was Manon.” 

- DANIELA AVANZINI

LOVING YOU IS EASY

“You weren't very open with your feelings, but somehow, your girlfriend always knew how you felt.” 

BATHS AND DINNERS

“You and your girlfriend don't have many quiet moments, but when you do, it's always perfect” 

PRETTY PUPPY

“Your girlfriend is bossy and brat, but you love her, and she loves her puppy” 

DRIVE ME CRAZY

"You are the only person who can drive Daniela's car (besides her), and only she knows why"

CINDY LOU WHO

“You didn't think about the consequences of your actions, and consequently, you didn't think about how Daniela's heart would be after all this” 

DANCE PRATICE

"Your girlfriend tries to teach you how to dance, but things quickly get clumsy"

SHAMELESS

"Your girlfriend is the hottest woman in the world, and you love everything about it."

CLUELESS

"You were surprised to see, that a woman like that would really be into you."

TELEPATHIC CONNECTION

“You and Daniela's connection was weak. You need to increase it with kisses!”

- LARA RAJAGOPALAN

CRAZY GIRLS #1

"Lara isn't your girlfriend, at least not yet."

CRAZY GIRLS #2

“Your girlfriend always gets jealous, but this time, something was different” 

NETFLIX AND (NOT) CHILL

“It was a good idea to watch a movie with your girlfriend, until you complimented one of the characters” 

RIBBONS ON U

“Your girlfriend wants to make the ribbon trend, how cute is that?!” 

A NONSENSE CHRISTMAS

"the bright lights, the Christmas decorations, warm milk and coockies, it’s all magical. But not as magical as “rocking” with your girlfriend around the Christmas three"

PAINTING LOVE

"You and your girlfriend have a cute date where you two paint canvases."

FLOWERS AND PUZZLES

"Leaving your girlfriend on a Sunday morning isn't cool, so come home with a nice bouquet and make some pancakes"

SCORING POINTS IN MY HEART

"In the most important game of the season, your girlfriend decides to surprise you."

NIGHTS LIKE THIS

"Surprising your girlfriend isn't so easy, but you soon discover that everything with her is amazing"

- MEGAN SKIENDIEL

IS IT NEW YEARS YET

"After your ex broke up with you a month before Christmas, you lost your holiday mojo. Maybe you just needed to meet new people, a specific redheaded girl” 

DON'T BREAK MY HEART AGAIN

"You've buried your feelings for Megan, or you've at least tried."

NONSENSE

"Your muscles weren't the only things that grew these days, your girlfriend knows better."

SLEEPY HEAD

"You may be tired, but you'll go where your girlfriend goes."

TEACH ME

"You've always liked football, so your girlfriend surprises you with the Rams game."

MEET THE GIRLS

"Meeting your girlfriend's parents can be scary, but the five girls she lives with, oh man..."

BLOOMING TOGETHER

"Your girlfriend wants to wear matching costumes for Halloween."

ROMCOM

“Your girlfriend's birthday will always be special” 

KISSING SCARS

“Your job was easier with Megan by your side” 

- JEONG YOONCHAE

There's nothing to see here...

[mins-fins]

orbit of yours !

"power couple, really?" "you have to listen to me!"

synopsis: park jisung has always admired you. hardworking, effortlessly beautiful, talented, humble— you're pretty much the personification of the word 'perfect' (you would disagree though), but your relationship has never gotten past "admirers that occasionally exchange words", so jisung has vanquished the idea of possibly being in love with you because of your lack of interactions, he's just an avid admirer of yours! so when a few accidents and mishaps force (more like drive) the two of you to be in the same room more than you ever had in the past, the idea doesn't just remain a random fantasy crafted by jisung's mind, it becomes reality.

pairing: park jisung x male!reader

genre: high school au, acquaintances to friends to lovers, photographer!reader x soccer player!jisung, fluff, kinda comedy (im not funny), mutual pining, literally no angst, fast burn lowkey, sungchan helps reader realize his feelings and it's hilarious

warnings: swearing, mentions of burnout, oblivious bitches deny their feelings for a good 10k words, this is fucking cheesy, the nightmare which is senior year

word count: 12.2k

notes: GOOD LORD IT IS FINALLY DONE! i don't wanna be overdramatic or anything but this is genuinely one of my most favorite works ever, if you couldn't tell i am VERY jisung biased and im so happy to finally be done with this because it's honestly been so fun to write 🙁 i didn't beat the xiaojun fic in terms of words but this the second longest fic i have ever written and for my jisung debut its impressive that there is absolutely NO ANGST here, i'm just very proud of myself for this and i hope people like reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it.. this is for all the park jisung lovers 👍

"WHEN WILL YOU ACTUALLY GET A PARTNER?" chenle asks the question so many times that jisung assumes the sentence has been programmed into his brain. what is it— like the 3rd time this week? he thinks chenle might be more obsessed with his love life than he is with actual important things, like college, graduation preparations, his role as a member of the student council, anything but jisung's uneventful love life, because that was probably the least interesting thing going on in his own life at the moment. "come on jisungie! i heard aejung has a crush on you!" he lets out a familiar groan, giving his friends a 'cut it out' look. "i don't really care about that kind of stuff.."

he hears all the frustrated sighs from his friends, and jisung just chuckles. he knows about the many surprisingly many— people who find themselves attracted to him. he acknowledges the fact that he has a lot of admirers, that a lot of people would perceive themselves as lucky to be in a relationship with him, he isn't new to the idea at all, he doesn't really get what makes him so attractive, such an eyeopener to his fellow students, but he mostly accepts the gifts given to him by his so called "admirers" nonetheless, not wanting to make them disappointed.

now, he says mostly because there are just times where he has no choice but to turn them down. some people get into their own heads too much, and he doesn't want to give some of them false hopes by accepting their gifts. that happened once, where a girl thought the two of them were dating because he decided to accept her gift as a sign of appreciation, that's when jisung learned that he couldn't just accept any and all gifts given to him by admirers who so greatly wanted a chance with him. jisung isn't so concerned about gifts, he wants a person who will be psychically and emotionally present for him, not someone who'll just buy him random things.

"it's gotten a little annoying.. all the confessions" jisung mutters, closing the textbook he had been jotting in. "they're nice yeah but some people just take it too far" he finally finishes, earning some confused looks from his friends. he just shrugs, shoving the textbook he had previously been jotting in into his backpack.

"but you're just so boring!" chenle whines, pressing his cheek against jisung's shoulder. jisung doesn't even try shaking him off, knowing that any of his attempts will be useless. "come on! all these people who would love to be with you and your still a lonely little loser!"

"loser? oh come on!"

"you know i'm right!"

jisung scoffs, lightly shoving chenle. while yeah, it's nice to have a lot of people admire him, everyone expects him to do this and that and act a certain way. it's like they enjoy perpetuating a false image onto him rather than actually admiring him for who he really is, and jisung doesn't think he should give people like that the time of day, they piss him off more than anything.

he's a little lost in his thought when a familiar voice sounds in his ears, a couple of giggles following the sound. "you're too funny y/n!" one of them shouted, poking a familiar figure in the shoulder, and jisung's eyes fall on you immediately, as if on instinct. you were looking as you always did, a familiar dslr camera hanging from your neck, that polite smile on your face as your friend continues poking your shoulder.

lately, you'd been quite the topic of interest among your fellow schoolmates. now that's not abnormal at all, you somehow always manage to be the talk of the town in school, you could do the smallest thing and somehow people could still make huge talk about it.

jisung would never say it, not out loud or even in mutters to himself, but he's always held a unique admiration for you, one he doesn't think he could actually put into words. there's something about you that pulls jisung in, like your a magnet and he's an oblivious piece of metal, slowly getting closer and closer to you without being able to do anything about it.

everything about you is beautiful. your eyes are a beautiful brown color, your smile is a beautiful stretch that shows off your perfect white teeth, your hair is a beautiful mix of raven and brunette. oh, and your voice is so beautiful too, it's so soft, gentle, but also deep.

you're like an angel.

at least to jisung you are.

it's pretty funny, actually, your so wrapped up in your own things that you barely notice the sheer amount of people who want to date you. you don't acknowledge romantic advances a lot, and even when you do, it always ends in rejection. you talk a lot, and your words are always pure and witty, your laughter is natural, your smile is contagious.

but.. jisung doesn't like you. he only likes you in the friend kinda way, he just wants to be friends with you. you look nice! smell nice, dress nice, speak nice..

jisung knows a lot more about you than his friends do. despite the fact that the two of you have never officially deemed yourselves "friends", he's always known little facts about you, as you him. the two of you have been going to school together for seven years, so the idea of not knowing anything about each other seems ridiculous.

you're a photographer, your favorite color is blue, specifically lighter shades, your favorite subject is history, your lucky number is 2 because of your birthdate being 02/02/02, your favorite flowers are daisies, you don't really enjoy sports, but if you were to choose one to play, it'd be baseball, and you want to go to college for journalism.

but jisung can't say that he likes you, because even if you two know all these things about each other, you've never considered yourselves "friends", all you do is admire from afar—

and when you do interact, it's just short and sweet sentences exchanged between you two, mostly because the both of you are so busy, that you can't afford to just stop and talk. sometimes, jisung wishes his life was just a little less hectic and he could stop and talk to you, because that's what he wants to do.

"what's with you?" jisung immediately yelps as chenle flicks his forehead, and he resists the urge to punch the older in the face. "gawking at y/n? really?"

"i'm not—" jisung hates that he feels his face burn. "i'm not gawking, i'm just.. i was just looking at him".

"looking at him with hearts in your eyes".

jisung scoffs at chenle's audacity, as if he wasn't doing exactly that a good few minutes ago. he would never admit it out loud before, so why should he admit it now? he'd never live it down if anybody ever found out..

"you know.." chenle begins, tapping his finger onto the desk in front of him. "you two would be a great couple" and the words are enough to make jisung roll his eyes once again. "a power couple!"

"power couple, really?" jisung raises an eyebrow, chenle never fails to say something that confuses him. he finds the words to be ridiculous, but his reaction just seems to make chenle even more giddy, because he continues;

"you have to listen to me!" chenle persists, and jisung is about to check out of the conversation completely.

"y/n is a photographer for sports journalism, you play soccer, you've known each for what.. ever? he's pretty, you clearly have the hots for him—"

"i do not!" jisung immediately yells in rebuttal, much louder than he wanted to. "yeah he's.. cute but anyone with eyes can see that, i'm not in love with him or anything".

chenle raises an eyebrow, suspicious, but jisung remains stubborn, crossing his arms as he averts his gaze from his best friend.

yes, you are cute, anybody with two functioning eyes can see that.

"i think park jisung might have a crush on you".

at the words, you look up from your camera, meeting eyes with your close friend, sungchan. you blink, as if dumbfounded, then snicker. "park jisung? are you trying to boost my ego or something?"

you know park jisung, you know about how probably half the students in this room dream of having a chance with him. so many people like park jisung, so many people want park jisung.

and if you think about it, you can't exactly blame them for that..

"don't laugh! i'm serious! he looked like he was about to devour you, did you see his eyes!?"

the words just get another laugh out of you, the words seem ridiculous in your eyes, because why would park jisung, beautiful, talented, striking park jisung have a crush on you? in your eyes, your pretty much nothing to him.

"okay.. why would park jisung ever be interested in me?" you ask, rearranging your camera as you raise an eyebrow at sungchan, who simply deadpans at you, that familiar 'are you serious?' look in his eyes.

"okay let me see, your smart, pretty, everyone likes you at this point, also— the two of you are pretty much perfect for each other! you'd be a power couple!"

you furrow your eyebrows, a power couple? you'd never heard that phrase used to talk about somebody your friends had been "shipping" you with, your not even sure if you can even consider yourself friends with jisung, because the two of you can never actually talk to each other without someone coming up and interrupting the interaction.

you'd love to just be able to talk to park jisung, just the two of you, one on one.

"power couple? that's funny.."

"you think everything is funny" ironically, you laugh at your friends words. "this could be like— your only chance at having an actual romantic connection with someone".

"i don't care that much about romance, chan" you muse, humming as you turn off your camera. your eyes wander over to jisung, who is very much distracted by something stupid chenle is saying, he's laughing about something, laughing hard too.

there is no reason for him to look so pretty as he laughs like a maniac..

he's cute, you say in your mind, he is absolutely adorable.

"WHAT DID YOU GUYS GET ON THAT STATISTICS TEST FOR SONG?" a boy from the same year and member of the soccer team along with jisung inquired. they sat on the bleachers in front of field, watching as the baton club practices. they have to practice this week, unfortunately, so jisung's schedule had become tight and packed, he barely had any free time these days, it was all exams, college tours, last minute extracurriculars, and practice, practice, practice. "i got a b plus" one of his classmates responds, the other responded; "i got a b on mine". jisung was very far removed from the current conversation, his eyes on a familiar trio of sports journalists on the other side of the field, a trio which included you, mesmerizing you. he sees you often these days, with that same dslr camera around your neck, a pretty smile stuck on your face.

"you, jisung! what score did you get?" one of his classmates asks, but jisung was occupied, so he didn't answer. a tap on his shoulder makes jisung snap out of his staring fit, and he blinks a few times, assessing where he is. "what?"

"we were asking about the marks on the recent statistics test!"

"ah" jisung presses his lips together. "i got an a plus" he says the words casually, but it causes for a cheer to be sounded by his fellow classmates, who shook him and slapped his back supportively.

"you're so smart jisungie!"

the praise from his classmates get a smile out of jisung, but he isn't focusing on that, his attention is on you. even with how your across the field, he can clearly see all of your features, the sun shining on your face makes you look majestic, like an actual angel, jisung isn't sure why he's even focusing so much on your face, but he can't focus on anything else, because his eyes just naturally always wander over to you.

"will this ever finish?" you inquire, pertaining to the baton club, who were still on the field even after they were supposed to get off. "i'm supposed to take photos of the soccer players for my editorials.." you mutter, it'd be horrible if you couldn't even deliver on the promise you made to your superiors.

"they're probably going to split the field" your fellow sports journalist, taehyun says. a small groan escapes your lips, you're annoyed, you hope this doesn't interfere with the photos you have to take, it'd be horrible if you just ended up doing the same thing all over again. "see? baton club is taking one side and the soccer team takes the main area because they need to start practicing now".

"they look so cute! i've always wanted to be apart of the soccer team!" lee sohee exclaims, and you turn towards him, a look of interest on your face. he attentively watches the boys, humming to the song that's playing. "why didn't you join them then?" you inquire, interest peaked.

sohee smiles at you, readjusting his camera and fixing his posture. "i enjoyed writing the editorial articles more" he shrugs. "wanted to try out but i missed the tryouts because eunseok hyung would have killed me if i missed anton's recital" at the words, you laugh, used to the behavior from the older boy.

"maybe next year".

"you'd fit in perfectly!" taehyun muses, and sohee brightens up, seemingly loving the words.

"really!? that's what seunghan tells me too!" he cheers at the words, looking proud of himself. "i'd look cute in that uniform though.."

you chuckle at sohee's word, finding him to be absolutely adorable. "yeah, you definitely would" you ruffle his hair, smiling at the giggle which sounds from the boy.

"i'm gonna go get a closer look at them" you say, motioning towards the soccer team. taehyun nods and watches as you get closer to the field, not super close, but close enough that your camera can capture a good view of the soccer team. you narrow your eyes, pointing your camera at the busy boys who are doing their usual routine, the viewfinder shows jisung in all his glory.

you take pictures, zooming in and out. you don't mean to put all the focus on jisung, he's just too alluring to not be the center of attention. he's such a natural, he's just so amazing, you can't not focus on him.

[click.]

and another shot, another one as jisung scores the goal. jisung's posture was perfect, his back straight, chin high as he wore an angelic smile. jisung hears the clicking of the camera, and looks to his left to see you, in the viewfinder you see jisung looking in your direction, you pause for a moment and notice a baton heading straight towards him.

"jisung watch out!" you yell, at the words, he tilts his head.

you quickly take the strap of the camera off your neck, throwing it until it landed right beside your fellow journalists, who looked as confused as jisung did. you ran as fast as you could, grabbing jisung's wrist and pulling him close to you.

the baton managed to hit the ground instead, and jisung shrieks as he loses his balance, toppling forward. he quickly grabs onto the closest thing to him.

you.

you lowered your arms to catch jisung, and you feel him hold onto the sleeves of your blazer, one of your arms on his stomach, the other on his waist. all his weight was in your arms, causing for you to lose balance too.

"shit—" you swear, falling onto your back. jisung fell on top of you, the grass tickling his skin. your back immediately hits the grass, and your head hits the ground softly, but your arms remain around jisung. jisung's hands were still on your arms, his upper body laid on top of yours, his head was buried into your shoulder, and he was sat in between your legs.

jisung takes a sharp breath, a look of worry quickly flashes in his eyes as he sees you. "holy shit y/n are you okay!?" jisung asks, pulling away from your prior position and you sit up, opening your eyes to meet his worried ones. jisung kneels, leaning closer to you as he cups your cheeks with his hands. "did you get hurt? is your head okay!?" he asks, or yells, turning your head to inspect for any signs of wounds. you just stare at him, his bangs that messily lay against his forehead, his eyes that glimmered under the sunlight, and his pink lips that you totally just want to lean over and touch with your own.

"yeah.." you whisper, your cheeks squished from the force of jisung's hands.

jisung stops turning your head and sighs. "are you sure?" he asks, still holding your face. you nod, placing one of your hands on jisung's, his are soft, yours are rough, you note. you move his hand and smile. "i'm alright don't worry" you respond, still holding jisung's hand. jisung pursues his lips, and he extends his hand out, pulling you up from the ground. you let go of his hand, dusting off your pants.

"jesus y/n" taehyun's voice sounds from behind you, and you finally glance away from jisung, eyes focused on your friend. "are you okay? your not injured are you?"

"i'm fine.." you mumble again, blinking as taehyun suddenly hands you your camera. ah, he'd picked it up for you. you take it, inspecting it to make sure it's not broken.

"is the camera okay?" jisung inquires, looking over your shoulder to stare at it.

luckily, it wasn't damaged because it had fallen on the soft grass. "it's still working" you respond, and the two boys beside you let out a sigh of relief, with taehyun placing a hand on his chest.

"jisung! come back here!" his coach quickly yells, jisung looks to you, then back to his teammates. "thanks, i owe you" he says before running back towards his group, fetching the soccer ball he'd left on the ground prior.

"wow your like a hero!" sohee exclaims, shaking your shoulder with a smile. you just let out a nervous laugh, scratching your arm. you give one last glance at jisung before you feel your face heat up excessively, so you quickly turn away, putting your camera back around your neck.

"we should go back in now" you say, you don't say any more words as you quickly make your way towards the doors. your friends blink, exchanging glances in confusion, but they quickly follow you back inside.

"y/n! wait up!"

jisung watches you three leave, feeling his heart racing against his chest.

what the hell just happened? he asks himself.

"jisung are you okay!?" a very familiar voice shrieks. jisung turns to meet his fellow teammate jooyeon, looking concerned as ever.

"i'm alright, thanks for asking" he answers, gaze lowering down to his nails, which he quickly starts picking.

"are you sure? you looked like you hit your head pretty hard" the younger boy, as always, just wants to make sure jisung isn't lying, he's genuine like that. he pokes jisung's forehead, as if he was inspecting him.

"seriously, i'm fine" jisung lowers his hand, giving him his default 'i'm okay' smile. "y/n cushioned the blow anyway.."

"you were so close to him!" jisung startles as keum donghyun comes out of nowhere. "how did it feel? was it like a dream come true?"

"i—" jisung is speechless, he closes his mouth and blinks a good seven times before even actually assessing the question.

how did it feel?

jisung doesn't know how to express it. he didn't want to think about it in that way because you'd just done such a good deed, you saved him from flying metal going straight towards his head, he shouldn't have been thinking about the lack of distance between you two, he shouldn't have been staring at your lips, and he shouldn't have been thinking about kissing you.

his face must be so unbearably red right now.

"don't ask that! it was just very abrupt.. also, i can't think of him like that! he saved me from a flying baton, i'm just grateful for him".

jooyeon hums in agreement, slapping donghyun's shoulder for him ever asking such a thing. "that's right, you should probably get him a token of appreciation or something".

jisung blinks, trying to imagine what he should ever gift you. he truly has no idea, he's not sure if he should go over and beyond, or just give you a little gift as to not intimidate you. "i can't really think of anything, i don't want to overwhelm him or something, he just wanted to do a nice thing.."

"i'm sure he'll be appreciative of anything!"

at the words, jisung just sighs, smiling.

what a hero, l/n y/n— you really are something, he thinks.

"yeah— i'll think about it".

"good! back to practice now!"

jisung doesn't think he will ever fully be able to focus on practice, though.

"YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'VE BEEN RAN OVER BY A TRAIN" the words from the older boy, yang jeongin, snap you out of your polaroid staring daze. you flinch just the slightest, eyes peeling away from the scattering pictures which litter your desk. you rub your eyes, clearing your throat as you quickly gather all of the photos on your desk, hoping the eye bags present on your face weren't completely obvious. knowing jeongin though, they were definitely obvious. "thanks for the kind words" you respond sarcastically, a small eye roll accompanying your words. the older boy snickers, situating himself beside you, a teasing smile on his face. he props his legs up, blinking at you. "seriously though, you look like you haven't slept in years, are you alright?"

"i'm as alright as someone looking to pursue journalism can be.." you mutter back, placing the photos which were previously on your desk into your backup, a small sigh escapes your lips. "all of my applications are still pending.."

"seriously? i assume you would've been accepted into any of those schools by now!"

"you know how it all goes, they get hundreds— heck, thousands of applications every day, i just have to be patient".

jeongin raises an eyebrow, then just shrugs at you, humming. "there's no need to worry, y/n, you'll get into a good school".

you chuckle at his words, he totally read your mind when it came to that. "i'm not worried about anything" you lie; "i'll be okay, i know".

but do you?

your absolutely tired the whole entire day, you tried your best to focus in your classes, but you couldn't help your head slipping down and the way you almost slipped off to dreamland whilst your teachers were asking you very much audible questions.

"did you sleep last night?" sungchan asks you in the middle of your afternoon break, poking your arm as if to wake up. "you look like a zombie.."

"i slept a few.. hours?" your tone is very much a questioning one, as if you didn't even believe your own words. "i don't know, i was too busy fighting with lin, apparently i'm not good enough at what i do to consider journalism".

paired with the lack of response to your several applications, you weren't having the best week, it was all becoming just a little too much for you.

graduation is just too far away..

"anyway! did you choose the photos you'll put in the editorial yet?"

you think, for a while. you felt as if you had stared at so many polaroids by this point, that they're probably going to start appearing in your dreams, with the lack of sleep, constant flashing of cameras and just news news news, you've really had no time to focus on other things.

"i haven't even found time to think about the editorial" you whine, a weary sigh escaping your lips as you think about how pissed off your higher up is gonna be if you almost miss the deadline once again. "is the deadline coming up?"

"well— is four days a close deadline for you?"

you gasp, loudly, almost throwing your camera across the hallway. "four days!? four days until the deadline seriously!?"

you usually aren't like this. you are usually very calm, cool, and collected, but your week has been just the definition of a shit storm, and everything just seems getting worse and worse.

"hey, it's okay!" sungchan immediately replies, hoping to reassure you. he places a hand on your shoulder, a smile coming to his face. "it's not like this is anything new, it'll all be fine, you only have to choose two pictures anyway".

you sigh, rubbing your temples. "yeah" you breath. "it'll be fine, fine" you repeat, nodding your head as you relax yourself.

the hallway is crowded, not crowded crowded, but crowded enough that you couldn't help but begin counting the heads around you.

your eyes get stuck on a familiar figure across the hall.

park jisung, smiling and laughing with his friends. you get lost in a trance of admiring him, even though you can clearly hear sungchan talking to you. all your attention is immediately on him, and a small smile spreads across your face as you observe him, being himself.

there is absolutely no reason for him to be so breathtaking while just talking with his friend!

you are so distracted, and you don't mean to get stuck in this little reverie as you stare at the boy that you totally do not have a crush on.

he hasn't really left your mind, instead of just floating around in there like he'd been before that whole prior incident, now he occupies a whole subsection of your mind in recent days. you could be with your other friends, and all of a sudden your mind would wander off to jisung, or you could be in class and he just pops into your head.

you never thought you'd be one to get distracted easily, but you've clearly been proven wrong by just the alluring aura of park jisung.

you startle when jisung turns your way, making eye contact with you. he smiles upon noticing you, his eyes practically lighting up, and he waves at you. your a little taken aback, but jisung doesn't wait to see you wave back, just turning back towards his friend and continuing his previous conversation.

"what was that?"

"what was what?"

you quickly look over at sungchan, who had just witnessed that whole entire scene. he looks at you like you just grew a second head, and your face begins to burn as the realization dawns on you.

"you and park jisung!?"

your quick to try and sputter out a response, but you shake your head, face excessively heating up, it's probably red at this very moment. "there is nothing going on between us!"

"that doesn't seem like nothing!"

you realize how guilty you look right now. with your red face and constant insistence that there is absolutely nothing going on, those are traits the guiltiest of people display, and it all just makes you look even more guilty with how your face gets even more red.

(you must look like you're dying right now).

"it's just a friendly exchange!"

"not while your looking at him with hearts in your eyes!"

he was completely calling you out, and he was right. you were staring at jisung like he was an angel that had graced your presence, you stare at him like he's a saint and everyone else doesn't matter, as if he's the only person in the room. "i— i wasn't! i was just zoned out and he just waved at me to say hi!"

sungchan narrows his eyes suspiciously at you, totally not buying it. "uh huh, sure" his voice conveys disbelief. "just know, i'm onto you y/n".

you nudge him in the shoulder, seriously wanting to change the topic. "yeah yeah whatever" you cross your arms as you mutter the words, you're sure if you take one more glance at jisung, you won't be able to look away, so you just clear your throat and walk the other way, face still red as sungchan teases you the whole entire time.

maybe if you glanced back, you'd see jisung watching as you left..

JISUNG WAS REALLY HOPING HE'D BE ABLE TO catch you before school dismissed. you two haven't genuinely had an actual talk since you saved him from the flying baton heading straight towards his head. all you two have done is give smiles, waves, and mutter small greetings to each other in the hallway. he had to admit, it upset him in just the slightest, because he really did want to just have a conversation with you (of course, he isn't exactly sure he'd be able to get through a conversation with you without blushing like a madman anyway), but your schedules just kept conflicting, so even catching a glimpse of you around the campus has become difficult for him to do.

he doesn't want to waste any opportunity he has in his hands—

"y/n!"

when jisung sees you across the hall, he realizes that he shouldn't take this chance for granted. you turn around at the call of your name, smiling as you see the others making his way towards you. jisung runs a hand through his hair, hoping he isn't making anything awkward. "jisung hi, do you need something?"

you smile politely at him, a smile so beautiful it seems like it could get rid of all the problems in the world. jisung loves your smile, he could stare at it for hours, is that creepy? he hopes it's not creepy..

"oh uh—" the words he'd been planning to say somehow get caught in his throat, but he clears his throat and proceeds. "i was wondering if i could walk you home?"

you blink, puzzled by the question. why would he want to walk you home? your mind begins to wander, trying to figure out why he'd want to do such a thing.

can't you just ask y/n? stop being an idiot..

"why?"

you don't mean for your words to come out that way, and you're almost afraid that you made jisung uncomfortable with your tone of voice, but he instead just smiles, squashing any of your bad thoughts. you love jisung's smile, you think it's underrated, so little people talk about it and the fact shocks you, you could probably compliment his smile for hours—

but that sounds just a little creepy.

"i just want to accompany you—" —and this is my only excuse to be around you— "do something nice for you after you did something nice for me".

the words make you pause. he's just.. so thoughtful huh? you've never heard of someone wanting to repay you for being nice, it's actually a little strange if you think about it.

"jisung you don't have to reward me for doing something nice.."

"it'd be great to walk with you, though, you make good company".

that's it? that's really it?

you're not sure why you're surprised about that, maybe it's just the idea that he literally searched for you just to say this, he truly just wants to walk you home, he truly just wants to spend time with you.

he thinks i make good company, just the thought alone is enough to make you giggle in your head. your inner thoughts sound ridiculous, but you can't help them.

"if you don't want me to it's totally oka—"

"no no no" you immediately cut into his sentence, hoping that didn't come off as desperate as it sounded. "i'm glad you offered to walk me home, i'd love to walk with you too".

you unsuccessfully try to mutter those last few words, a sudden shyness taking over you. jisung smiles, glad, no, elated at your agreement. he doesn't know why he's that happy, but he hopes it isn't clear and evident, he'd never live it down.

after bidding a goodbye to your friends, and telling sungchan you'd make sure to choose the photos for your editorials, you dragged jisung out of the school doors, much to your and jisung's surprise, as well as the shock of a few of your classmates, he made sure to eye the both of you suspiciously.

"what interested you in photography?"

a scene like this is something jisung thought he'd never get to, being able to talk to you, one on one. just the two of you sharing a simple conversation is what he's wanted for an uncharted amount of time, even with how straightforward it is, the two of you could never really find time to converse normally.

when jisung asks the question, you almost think you heard him wrong. he genuinely wants to know? in a way, you feel like you've always been just the slightest bit boring, yeah you wanna do journalism and love taking aesthetically pleasing photos but you've never considered what you do to be a talent by any means.

you pick at your fingers, looking down at the ground instead of at jisung. "it's an interest i picked up from my mother, i've always been shocked how she could just do that, you know? i love videography and stuff like that as well, i love how one can capture so much with just a single camera".

your words intrigue jisung, and he listened the whole entire way, not interrupting you once. he found a smile crossing his face at the clear display of passion for your creative work, he loves the way you put it into words. god if he didn't admire you before, he surely did now.

"what about you? you're pretty much good at everything, what drew you to the adrenaline rushing excitement of soccer?"

jisung pauses, allowing himself to let out a small snicker at the question. "i don't really enjoy soccer".

you raise an eyebrow. "oh?"

jisung laughs again, your tone of voice amusing him. "don't say it like that.. it's not that i hate it, i'm just not as into it like everyone expects me to be, i got onto the school team and i've been stuck there ever since" there isn't exactly distaste in jisung's tone, he just states it casually, like how it is. his voice is just simple, mundane, he doesn't dislike soccer, it's just not what he's looking forward to do.

you love his honesty.

"i'm into other things in a much more passionate sense, like dance, soccer is just a hobby" he finally finishes, pulling his sleeves over his arms as he avoids eye contact with you.

"so no professional soccer player park jisung?"

"i think i'll leave it to the other guy to be known for that".

you chuckle at his words, okay, he's funny (you knew that already, you just had to reiterate it in your head). god how can a guy be so perfect? you get why people are so into jisung, he's charming even without trying. you feel like the luckiest guy on earth knowing he asked to walk you home.

"y/n, i'm a very.." jisung pauses, as if trying to articulate the words he was about to say. "i really admire you a lot".

you almost lose it.

park jisung, beautiful, talented, hardworking park jisung admires you? he is an admirer of yours? you don't even know what to say, you try your best to sputter out a response but your brain is practically malfunctioning. your face goes red, and you go silent for a few minutes.

"i don't get it" is what you say, and jisung just cocks his head towards the side, observing you. "what's so admirable about me?"

"do you want a list?"

oh i'd love that. "i don't think you should waste your time".

"i wouldn't be wasting my time" jisung smiles, his gaze focused on you and only you, there's a way he's looking at you that keeps you still, unable to look away from him. "i never get the chance to tell you, i'd love to talk about everything i admire about you".

when did jisung get so bold? he'll never know where this random confidence came from, but he has an opportunity, he can't let it go to waste. he has to bring it up to you.

"what i do is nothing incredible—"

"i would disagree".

you should be angry that jisung interrupted you, but you found yourself smiling at his words. he's so generous, he doesn't have to tell you this, he doesn't have to compliment you like this, but he's doing it on his own accord, he wants to.

"okay then.. is it a good time to tell you that i also feel the same?"

jisung's ears go red, so red that it looks like smoke is gonna start pouring out of them. he is shocked, absolutely speechless. you admire him? does that mean he's gotten it all wrong these past few years? does that mean you return his feelings as well—

wait what?

"oh really?"

the prior confidence jisung had when telling you about his admiration has now all fizzled away, his voice almost cracks as he tries to register your words, and thank god it doesn't.

"it's kind of like what you said, you're amazing, a very admirable person, i know you don't really think of yourself like that but i do, and it's nice to be able to tell you up front".

jisung remains silent, but you don't mind, you just give him a smile and continue walking forward, allowing for him to catch up to you.

"is that actually true?"

"why would i lie to you?" you turn around, your whole body facing him. you begin walking backwards and wait for jisung's reply to your question. "don't give me that look".

jisung frowns, a playful one, he sends you a cute little glare that makes you giggle. he's absolutely adorable, you think in your head, he's the cutest person ever right now.

"you admire me?"

"yep".

"more than i admire you?"

"definitely, and don't even try to argue with me".

jisung opens his mouth to do exactly that, but you stop, turning around as you make it to the front of your house. "okay well, thank you for walking me home, ji".

jisung raises an eyebrow, noting down the nickname in his head. it's a common nickname, but he loves the way it sounds coming from you, he loves that you didn't just drop his full name.

"it's no problem.."

"i—"

you're cut off by the sound of the door opening, and your met with the face of your mother, whose face immediately brightens at the sight of you. you smile at her, and jisung just kinda stands there awkwardly.

"hi honey" she wraps her arms around you, and you let her, leaning your head onto her shoulder. "i thought you were staying late today?"

you shake your head. "not today, it's friday remember?"

"ohhh, yeah".

jisung glances down at the ground, playing with his feet. he doesn't know what to say, he doesn't want to interrupt the conversation you're having with your mother—

but he doesn't have to say anything, because your mother pipes up.

"oh! and who might this be?" she narrows her eyes at jisung, cogs in her brain seem to turn but then she snaps his fingers and gasps, seemingly getting it. "oh my god! park jisung?"

jisung smiles, a little laugh escaping his lips. "that is me".

"holy, you've changed so much? the last time i saw you you were barely up to my knees!"

at the sound of your mothers words, you give jisung a teasing stare, one which he quickly turns away from. "you and y/n are finally friends? i was wondering when it'd happen.."

your face goes bright red at the words, and an awkward chuckle escapes your lips. "seems he was too, he always talked about it—"

"haha! what!? that's hilarious mom!" you quickly cut in, not wanting her to talk about your former ramblings about park jisung, park jisung who was right beside you. "yeah okay, jisung i'll see you monday?"

jisung nods, a little too desperately for his liking, luckily you don't notice. "yeah, monday, have a good weekend, y/n".

you smile, blood rushing through your cheeks. "be safe".

he gives a small wave and turns around, beginning the walk back towards his home.

"he's such a nice kid, you sure you're just friends?"

your jaw pretty much drops, and you give your mother a look you don't think you've ever shared with her before. "yes! just friends!"

"hmm, sure".

"WHO ARE THOSE FOR?" CHENLE asks as he immediately notices the goodies in jisung's hands. he raises an eyebrow suspiciously at his best friend, examining the bouquet of flowers and box jisung held. jisung ignores him for a couple of minutes, placing the box in his locker and closing it behind him. "for someone" he just replies, hoping he could just remain vague instead of telling chenle about his true plans. the older narrows his eyes, clearly curious about this 'someone'. he flicks jisung in the forehead, resulting in a yelp from the other, who glares. "ow! what was that for?" he asks, furrowing his eyebrows and rubbing his forehead, a frown now coming to his face.

"what you're hiding stuff from me now?" chenle rolls his eyes at jisung's frown. "who are those flowers for? you got a boyfriend or something?"

chenle was right in assuming it was a boy that was making him go crazy, but you aren't his boyfriend (not yet at least, he's trying, really). he doesn't want to exactly divulge his plans to his nosy best friend yet, just because he'd go around telling everybody he could about what jisung was doing, he didn't want anything to be spoiled.

"they're for.. y/n".

jisung winces the moment he says those words, because chenle goes absolutely crazy.

"FOR WHO!?"

jisung is quick to slap a hand over chenle's mouth, glaring at him for how loud he said those words. "could you be any more obvious?" he asks, gritting his teeth as he continues to glare at his shorter best friend, whose eyes just widen even more. "yes they're for y/n—"

"what are you two dating now?" chenle doesn't care about anything jisung has to say, he slaps his hand away and stares in interest, wanting to know more.

"no! were not dating! it's just—" jisung pauses, how is he even gonna explain this without looking super guilty? blood rushes through his cheeks as he thinks about it, about how these are your favorite flowers, about how you might react. "i wanted to get him something nice! he did a good thing and.."

and i am just so in love with him, i think i might be going insane.

"i just want to do something nice!"

"okay but are you doing something nice or are you getting ready to ask him out?"

jisung's face goes a dangerously red color, and he immediately shakes his head, denial coursing through his veins. "i'm not going to ask him out, i mean— i get why you think that but it's not what it looks like!"

chenle raises an eyebrow, staring at his totally lovestruck best friend. "it sure does seem to be what it looks like".

"chenle—"

"look, jisung, there's no need to deny that you have such an obvious crush on y/n" chenle states like it's a matter of a fact, because it is, they both know it very well, he's better at assessing jisung's feelings than jisung himself is. "he thinks your cute, you think he's cute, you two just need to ask each other out".

"um.." jisung presses his lips together, the two falling into a weird silence. he clutches the daisies in his hands, thinking about you, but he shuts off his thoughts to respond to chenle's little analysis of him.

"i just don't know where we stand, i mean we're barely even friends".

"you two are pretty much already more than friends considering he can't talk to you without looking like he's about to devour you whole".

jisung's face must be an astonishing shade of red right now. "it's not—! i don't know how to explain it okay!?"

"yeah and how are you gonna explain the flowers?" chenle points at the daisies jisung is practically squeezing to death. "other people are probably gonna get another idea".

"well i'll let them think what they want" jisung responds, his only focus is you, who cares what other people think? your his main priority. "y/n is my main focus, i don't care about what other people are saying".

chenle chuckles at his response, oh park jisung is so down bad, he's so in love with you, a kind of love chenle has never seen him have for another person. yes park jisung, love avoiding extraordinaire, is head over heels in love with a boy, chenle cannot believe it.

"okay jisung, go ahead with your wooing y/n mission or something".

at least chenle is supportive.

jisung has to go through so many interrogations to explain to your fellow photographers why he's giving you flowers, while a few of them just shrug and get it, the rest of them make sure to eye him suspiciously while he goes on with his explanation and bright red ears.

he knows most of them probably won't keep their mouths shut, and jisung knows that you told him he shouldn't get you anything for preventing him from getting any future brain damage, but jisung disagrees, he thinks you deserve gifts.

"who are those for?"

your brain doesn't register the flowers, or the connection that they have with your not-so-secret admirer, you just stare at them puzzled. "they're for you!" sohee yells from somewhere else in the room, focused on another important thing.

your eyebrows furrow, and you blink as you stare at the daisies on the table. daisies are your favorite flowers, but everyone knows that! these could be from anyone! you're no stranger to getting random gifts from people, so these could really be from anyone.

but you only have a certain person in mind..

"from who?" you ask, but you really already know who, considering the knowing look sohee sends to you.

"jisung".

of course, you say in your head, your fingers trace the packaging of the bouquet, admiring the pretty flowers before you (the pretty flowers given to you by a pretty boy), a small smile comes to your face as you think about it. you told jisung not to get you anything, but he obviously wasn't going to listen to you, he's made that very clear.

"did he tell you anything?"

sohee doesn't spare you another glance, but you can just tell he's grinning like a madman with the way he's clearly trying to hold in his laughter. "he just told me to make sure to get them to you, he was very insistent".

the teasing tone of your friends voice doesn't go unnoticed by you, and your barely able to stifle your laugh, not at sohee exactly, but at jisung's actions.

of course he didn't listen when you said for him to not get you anything, he remembered what your favorite flowers are, did he spend his weekend thinking about it? you wonder what kind of florists we must've went to.. your mind races with just jisung thoughts, and you're just so lost in them that you don't realize your zoning out.

oh park jisung, why do you have to be so sweet?

"DID YOU REALLY HAVE TO?" YOU immediately ask the moment you come across park jisung in the hallway. the boy blinks, smiling at the sight of you, his face practically brightens at the sight of you. "what do you mean?" he inquired innocently, a small tilt of his head adding to his question. you send him a glare, not a serious one, but it's still a glare. you can't even believe his audacity, for him to look at you with such beautiful eyes, make your knees feel weak without even having to do anything? park jisung is just such a crazy man, you don't know if you can stare at him any longer, you might end up passing out from heat exhaustion (the heat from your face, of course, something that's become so normal for you when around park jisung).

"don't 'what do you mean?' me, i told you not to get me anything!" you complain, lightly shoving jisung's shoulder. "seriously, i said it was fine.." you mumble those words, but jisung just smiles.

"i wanted to get you something anyway, i needed to show you my appreciation somehow".

but just your admiration is enough appreciation for me, just you being around is enough, just you is enough.

your own thoughts weird you out on occasions.

"i told you not to—"

"but i wanted to, it's fine y/n, seriously, just accept my gesture".

you bite your inner cheek, he just always has to be nice, doesn't he? your cheeks flare up and you swear your face goes a shade of red you've never seen before, how does one boy even affect you like this? you don't think you've ever acted like this around any of your other admirers ever..

"ah" a small smile comes to your face. "thank you" you whisper, you're not sure why you get so shy all of a sudden.

"it's no problem" jisung responds, a smile coming to his face. he closes the door to his locker, and then leans onto it. "walk with me?"

you blink, jisung really likes walking with you, huh? is this gonna become your thing? you wouldn't really mind when you think about it.. you enjoy walking with jisung, you just enjoy any time you can spend with jisung.

"what's with you and asking to walk with me?"

"walking with you is just.. nice".

"do i ease your stresses or something?"

your tone is meant to come off as teasing, and your question is mostly unserious, you don't register how you sound like your flirting with jisung, probably because everything just feels so natural with jisung, you love how you feel around him, it's confusing to explain.

"i guess you could say that" jisung's response snaps you out of your jisung focused thoughts, thoughts which are difficult to not get stuck in considering park jisung is constantly occupying your mind these days. "anyway, can you walk with me?"

you pause, tongue pressing against the inside of your cheek. you have class in twenty minutes, and you don't really want to walk back all the way with only five minutes left to make it to class. "i don't know.. chen might kill me".

"please?"

that catches you off guard, you seemingly forget how to think for a second. jisung really wants to walk with you so bad, he's reverting to that easily convincing voice of his? you'd be an idiot to say no, you'd be an idiot to deny anything given to you by park jisung, you sigh in your head.

"okay, fine".

a smile of victory places itself on jisung's face, and he takes your hand, to your own surprise, as the two of you begin making your way down the hall. you wanna bring it up, but you don't want him to let go of you, so you don't. your face goes a bright shade of red, jisung doesn't seem to mind, or maybe he's always wanted to hold your hand, you aren't sure.

you focus way too much on it, on the way it feels, how jisung's soft hands contrast your rough ones, how warm his hands are, you don't want to let go, you don't want him to let go. god, you feel like such a loser, freaking out over a boy holding your hand.

but it's not just a boy, it's park jisung, park jisung makes you feel things you thought you'd never feel before..

"why do you seem so worried?" jisung chuckles, his hand holding yours. he nudges your shoulder lightly, raising an eyebrow.

"because, i don't wanna be late".

jisung snickers, not making fun of you, though, he hopes you don't think that. "have you never skipped a class before?"

your eyes widen as large as saucers, model student park jisung has skipped classes? a small chuckle escaped your lips. "no, i could never bring myself to, it always made me feel strange.."

now it's jisung's turn to look surprised, you laugh again, why does he assume you skip classes? or have even attempted to skip? you wonder what goes through his mind. "are you serious? you've never tried to skip before?"

you scoff, pinching his arm. "i tried to once in the sixth grade because of a dare from friends, but i literally couldn't do it, they called me a wimp for the rest of the year".

"aww sad".

"don't give me your fake pity, also— you've skipped class before!?"

jisung chuckles at your surprise, giving a small smile. "it was a few times as a sophomore, some classes are just so boring i can't resist".

"wow, model student park jisung skips his classes? i cannot believe the information that has been bestowed upon me".

the words, paired with your sarcastic tone made jisung let out yet another snicker, he hopes he's not overdoing it in your eyes, you're genuinely just a very funny person. "oh no! don't use this secret to tarnish my pristine reputation!"

"you're such an idiot".

a cute idiot.

"be quiet, you still love me" jisung rebuts, adding a small nudge to your shoulder along with his words.

it's weird to say, but you like this. even with your totally non-romantic feelings for jisung, you find this nice. is this what dating him would be like? you get to hold hands and joke around in the halls without a care in the world? you think you'd enjoy that, you'd enjoy dating park jisung.

wait what?

you snap out of your thoughts when jisung stops, so you stop too. he lets go of your hand, and you resist the urge to frown, because you don't want to come off as desperate. (but you are desperate, you're so desperate, having park jisung hold your hand was so nice, you want him to hold it again).

"this is my stop, thank you for my walking with me".

the words are simple, basic, but you find your face heating up at them anyway. you clear your throat, not wanting to stay silent any longer. "it was no problem, i couldn't disagree anyway".

jisung laughs, he is so pretty, so pretty without even having to do anything significant. "of course you couldn't" he looks down at his feet. "anyway! have a good day y/n, don't be late to your next class!"

you blink as you watch jisung walk into the auditorium for his next class, you watch as he walks away, standing there for what seems like forever. how could a guy, just a guy affect you so much? what is it with park jisung and making you stop in your tracks? he's mesmerizing, just so easily draws you in.

your eyes widen as you realize the time, you're going to be late for your next class, mr. chen is going to kill you!

and as you totally sprint down the hallway to get to your next class, your mind is racing with thoughts of park jisung the entire time.

"AM I NOT YOUR BEST FRIEND?" YOU CAN practically hear the pout in sungchan's voice as he said those words. you place the extra polaroids on your desk, then glance up at your friend, who stares at you with an expression of defeat on his face. you raise an eyebrow, puzzled at what the actual hell he's talking about, he's always just bringing stuff up so randomly, you can't even keep up with what he's referring to now. sungchan just frowns, letting out a groan of frustration as plops down beside you, a small huff adding to his words. you chuckle at the way he decides to present himself, and he groans once again, very frustrated. "where is this coming from?"

"why didn't you tell me about you and jisung".

you pause, an expression of surprise comes to your face, your face which heats up astonishingly quickly. "me and jisung? me and jisung what? we aren't—"

"y/n there's no point in denying it, everyone already knows".

"everyone already knows what?"

"that you and jisung have a thing, it's fine if you don't wanna tell everyone but excluding me? your best friend in the whole entire world from the news?"

"jisung and i aren't dating!" you say immediately, clasping your hands together as you try to calm your rapidly beating heart. why do people even think that? yeah you like park jisung but how did people even reach the conclusion that you were dating? you're not even sure if jisung returns your feelings. "i don't even know where people got that idea.."

"so your constant yearning stares and pitched up giggles are all not apart of that?"

"i don't—" you are definitely showcasing all guilty characteristics, your red face, your shrill voice, and your very obvious lying, sungchan sees right through you, anyone would be able to. "yearning stares are stupid i don't do that!"

"yeah, sure y/n" sungchan sighs, and you groan, screaming into your pillow. "i'm not trying to be mean or anything, but it's disgustingly obvious that you're into jisung, and i mean in a cringy way".

you gasp in offense, turning away from your best friend. you want to remain stubborn, but you can't, of course you can't, how can you even deny your feelings for jisung anymore if other people can now tell that you like him? your face heats up in embarrassment, and you cover your face with your hands. "is it really that obvious?" you mutter, hoping the answer isn't what you think it is.

"yeah, very, i wouldn't even be surprised if the two of you were actually dating and this was a little trick of yours".

sungchan points at you, an accusatory look in his eyes, but he immediately lets it go, because he knows you, and he can tell that you are telling the truth. you don't even have the courage to look at him, still covering your face with your hands. "have you not told jisung how you feel yet?"

your silence tells sungchan everything he needs to know, and the look he gives you is absolutely criminal.

"YOU HAVEN'T!?"

"i haven't found any time too!"

"how much time have you been spending around jisung these days!? you haven't even tried to bring it up to him!"

you let yourself fall to the side, half your body hanging off your bed. "i don't know how to" you whine, mind immediately rushing to thoughts of park jisung, thoughts you probably shouldn't be having. "it's awkward!"

"well i'm sure jisung feels the same with the way he always has to resist the urge to kiss you in the hallway".

"with the way he WHAT!?"

the words are enough to make you rise from your formerly fallen state, a look of astonishment on your face. did jisung really return your feelings? or was sungchan just trying to start something that would end up absolute humiliation?

"y/n, not trying to be rude or anything, but it's so obvious that jisung wants to date you, he doesn't even have to say it for everyone to know!"

you feel like you just discovered the secrets of the universe with those words, park jisung likes you? like likes you likes you? once the realization dawns on you, you gasp loudly.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!? OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE I WAS SUCH AN IDIOT UGH!"

sungchan watches you freak out, he truly can't believe that he had to tell you for all of it to finally set in.

it's actually pretty funny, and he snickers as he watches you go absolutely ballistic.

"HAVE YOU SEEN Y/N?" JISUNG ASKS the first recognizable person he sees in the hallway. he hasn't seen any seniors anywhere for a while, but that's because the days keep getting warmer, meaning graduation keeps getting closer, most of the seniors only take two classes and then go on to do their extracurriculars, so they don't really have to spend the whole entire day at school, but it's weird today because he usually always sees you, even when he isn't purposefully looking for you (which has become a common thing for him to do, he's just loves the time he can spend with you). he hopes you aren't absent, because today is friday, and if he doesn't tell you his important news now he's going have to wait an extra two days.

"y/n? uh..." the unfamiliar boy pauses for a moment, as if thinking, and jisung is hoping that it isn't the worst, because he really needs you to be here today. "well i'm not sure where he is actually! probably with his other photographers".

"but he's here right?" jisung doesn't care if he comes off as desperate, his only focus is you, you are his main priority, he doesn't care about the impression he's making on others, he can truly only think about you at the moment.

"yeah! i'm just not sure where exactly!"

"okay thank you!"

the guy gives him a strange look, a mix of teasing and giddy, but jisung walks off too fast to see it, he's set on finding you. he doesn't exactly know where he's supposed to go, he's just hoping to somehow spot you and be able to get you alone.

"what are you rushing for?" chenle comes out of nowhere, noticing jisung's urgency and the way he's clearly focused on something specific strikes him as odd, but he already has an idea of what's making jisung so fidgety. "you're gonna confess your love to y/n or something?"

"yes, actually i am chenle, it'd be great if i could find him, though".

maybe it's jisung's surprising honesty, or the way his main priority is you. chenle finds it amusing how quick the switch flipped, but it's also kind of cute. the usual pessimist, mr 'i don't really care about love' park jisung is down bad for a boy, it's adorable. "have you tried the photography room?"

"where do you think i'm heading?"

chenle chuckles at jisung's attitude, simply smiling and pulling his cheek. "alright then! don't forget to tell me how it goes!"

jisung doesn't spare chenle another glance, just turns back around and focuses on the task at hand, finding you and telling you how he feels.

jisung wonders how you'll react, based on what he's seen, it's not completely guaranteed that you'll reject him, it's probably more likely that you return his feelings rather than don't. does that make him horrible? thinking because you've exhibited the traits of someone who has a crush that you have a crush on him?

maybe you don't like him and he's letting it all get to his head, it all just seems too good to be true.

jisung doesn't even have to go all the way to the photography room, because he bumps right into you whilst on his way there, and a small yelp escapes your lips. "oh my god.. sorry!"

jisung cannot contain his excitement, and his nervousness. there is absolutely nothing to be nervous about, this is y/n. kind, understanding, charming y/n, it's not like he's going to scream at you for telling him you like him. it’ll all be fine.

"it's alright" you whisper, shaking your head for a moment. "i was looking for you" you immediately say, not allowing for jisung to speak before you.

jisung's eyes widen. you were looking for him? it makes his brain go haywire, figurative cogs in his head turning. "that's ironic, i was looking for you too".

jisung swears he can see the red coloring on your cheeks, but he doesn't say anything about it.

"i have to tell you something".

the two of you say that sentence in unison, the same amount of anxiety coursing through your veins, the same red hue on your cheeks, the same look of surprise in your eyes. "you can go first" you whisper, picking at your fingers, you aren't exactly sure if you want to hear what he's about to say.

"are you sure? it seems you have something more important to say.."

"it's fine! really, i can just say it after yo—"

"i'm in love with you".

the words strike you like a punch to the gut, a slap to the face. your stomach drops, your face is burning horribly, and your legs feel like they're about to give in. you cannot believe it, you hope you don't pass out, you hope you don't just die right here, that'd be so embarrassing.

park jisung is in love with you. beautiful, talented, model student park jisung who you've never truly known how you felt about is in love with you. you are so happy, giddy, and it disgusts you, but the disgust is quickly replaced by the feeling of joyousness. park jisung is in love with you, he feels the same way.

"jisung, i'm—"

"it's okay if you don't return my feelings i just wanted to tell you!" is that really what he thinks? that you don't love him back? he must be crazy, you've only ever exhibited reciprocal feelings. "i'll be off now!"

"no! don't go!" you grab jisung's wrist before he can walk away. smart move y/n, you're acting so natural right now. "i just, i return your feelings! i just don't know how to explain it, also my hands are very sweaty right now and i feel gross.."

you let go of jisung's wrist and feel your face get unbearably hotter. it's embarrassing, you feel so embarrassed, but it's park jisung, and jisung just stares at you lovingly. you're so cute, how did it take him this long to tell you how he felt?

"you're so cute".

jisung doesn’t even realize he says the words until you give him that look, and your red face just makes him giggle more. "this isn't— that is not fair! i was supposed to confess first!"

"you're the one who told me to go first!"

"i didn't know you were going to tell me you liked me! i prepared a whole sentence for you and everything!"

you whine, covering your red face with your hands. jisung removes your hands from your face, and a small smile graces his pretty features. he's absolutely gorgeous, he has such a pretty smile, you have the sudden urge to tell him about it. "your smile is beautiful".

now it's jisung's turn to become the red faced lovesick fool. "ah, really?" he responds, voice shaky, hands even more shaky, but they're so soft, your mind always reminds you to note that.

you hum in agreement. "it's very pretty, i can't believe more people don't talk about it".

"well you can talk about it, aren't we technically dating now?"

the question makes you pause. you feel like your about to go insane, you're dating park jisung? park jisung is your boyfriend? this is like a dream come true, a dream you thought would stay a dream and only a dream. "dating? dating! yeah yeah!"

your natural act is not natural at all, you are very nervous, so nervous you feel like your about to collapse onto the floor. "there's no need to be so nervous.."

you groan. "says you!"

"alright y/n" jisung lets go of your hands, much to your dismay, because you frown. he takes note, and reaches over to grab your own once again, intertwining your fingers. "we’re dating, you don't have to go red faced every time i compliment you now".

"but it's you, how do i not?"

jisung sighs, leaning forward and pressing a small peck on your lips. oh he is such a stupid little—

"why would you do that!?"

"i'm sorry!" jisung giggles, he was definitely not sorry. "it was an instinct, i had to!"

"you— ugh!"

park jisung can't just not make you nervous, he's such a crazy man.

one that you love, of course.

"I THINK I LIKE THIS ONE THE MOST.." JISUNG states, admiring the polaroid photos which litter the desk. you hum at his words, rummaging through the box on the counter, you are very much focused on finding that estranged camera taehyun had pointed for you to find. your boyfriend glances up, looking over your shoulder, silently watching as you get frustrated about this stupid camera you couldn't find. "which one?" you inquire, glancing over at him. jisung holds up the polaroid, a picture you'd taken of you and sungchan at the beach when you were nine. a pretty photo, you aren't even sure how you pulled it off. "ah, that is a pretty one" you whisper, and you smile the moment jisung smiles. his smile is so pretty, a cute stretch which is enough to make you smile, even if you feel down.

"what’s with your face?"

"searching for this old camera is pissing me off" you remark, knowing that you have to search for this is just making you even more mad, why do you have to pack the photography room right before graduation? you hate it. "who even left it in here?"

"a former student maybe?"

you close your eyes, sighing. "i need this to be over so much more quickly" you complain, and jisung just laughs at your misery.

"we graduate in a week, y/n, just be patient" the younger pokes your cheek, then he cups your face, trying to make your frown disappear. "an old camera is not the end of the world".

you glance down at jisung's lips, then narrow your eyes. "are you trying to seduce me?" you question, raising an eyebrow.

"no?" jisung responds, adding a small tilt of his head to his words. "do i sound believable?"

"not at all" you say, pushing jisung's hands away and looking back to the box in front of you so you can continue to scour for this camera you have to get for your friend. you continue to search through the box, trying to find this old dslr camera for your friend. "so don't distract me".

"i'm not!" jisung whines, wrapping his arms around your waist and placing his chin onto your shoulder, watching you try to succeed at your mission of finding a camera. "you don't want to give me, your lovely, amazing boyfriend attention?"

you merely roll your eyes at jisung, he's so annoying (in a cute way), you're about to call chenle to drag him away from you, but you also don't want him to let go of you, his arms around your waist make you feel safe, loved, park jisung makes you feel so loved.

"i found it!" you shriek, victory soaring in your voice. "fucking finally".

"okay so can you give me a kiss now?" jisung asks, puckering his lips and leaning closer to you.

he's so desperate, and you are too, it's adorable, park jisung is adorable. "hmm" you pretend to think about it, an inquisitive look making it's way to your face. "nah".

"y/n! that's not fair!" jisung whines, shaking you with his arms that are still around your waist. he frowns, trying to give you his best puppy dog eyes.

you almost give in, but you push him away, taking the camera you'd been searching for. "later, babe".

"you said that this morning!"

you sigh, turning around to stare at the pouting park. the cute pout remains on his face, how can you ever resist him? you lean forward and press a kiss to his lips, ruffling his hair. "there, are you happy you big baby?"

"you could do better".

"uh huh, and you could be patient".

jisung frowns once again, but it's not a serious one, just the cute one he likes to do when he pretends to be mad at you. "don't be mad, you know i love you".

jisung does know, he knows that very well. he smiles at you, he's so in love with you, and not even in an embarrassing way, there's nothing embarrassing about this, he feels joyful, a sense of euphoria overtakes him whenever he’s with you.

"i know, i love you too".

and he isn't lying when he says that.

because he truly does.

[aniesvision]

𐂃 𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒙𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚- 𝑴.𝑺

𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒓!𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒔𝒕, 𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒙𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚, 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒔𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝒔𝒎𝒖𝒕, 𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒍 (𝒇! 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈), 𝒑 𝒊𝒏 𝒗, 𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒖𝒕, 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆, 𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒇𝒇

𝚊/𝚗: 𝒊 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒆𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆, 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒖 𝒈𝒖𝒚𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒐 ♡︎ 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒈𝒆!!

𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚢: 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎

3450 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔

Selling weed to drunk teenagers and young adults at parties wasn't my first option, but high school ended a few years ago, I live alone since my parents kicked me out of their house and college is expensive as fuck. I tried to get a normal job, but my classes were taking a lot of time and it wasn't working out. Maybe it could, but I felt like I was going to explode any second, and mental health is also expensive so I couldn't afford a therapist if I needed one.

I used to love parties, drinking and dancing with my friends, just running away from all the responsibilities. Now I hate them. I have to talk to people I don't like, people I don't know, weird guys that give me what I need to sell and then I get back barely enough to pay my bills. They're not exactly dangerous, but I don't have the energy to fight back and ask for more.

My luck was to become friends with a girl in college who knew influencers and got us in a few parties. Honestly it wasn't a surprise that almost all of them used something, I mean, they have to find a way of going through life and sometimes getting high is a great escape from reality. I do it myself and I don't even get hundreds of comments about everything I do online.

Since they were all rich or close to being rich I always charged more than normal. They could pay and I needed that money, so it's only fair. Funny thing though it's not all influencers are assholes and I ended up getting involuntarily closer to one of them.

Matthew Sturniolo. Didn't seem like the kind to use stuff, and didn't look like he had done it before when I handed him a joint. I had to teach him how to smoke, something I've never done before to anyone, and when I realized his shaky hands and bouncy legs I immediately caught the reason he even asked for it.

We talked a lot the day we met, even told him my number in case he wanted more weed, but deep down I was curious and hoped he would text me so I could see him again.

When days later he called me wanting more I was surprised. First because he called, not texted like everyone does, second because for some reason I could feel through the tone in his voice that he felt the same he did at that party. He was beyond anxious and I felt bad, he seemed decently nice to be in the environment he was in that day, but I guess he needed to be present.

I found out he's a triplet, and his brothers had no idea that he wasn't sober anymore like the other two. I wonder if they're also as nice and calm as he is, at least he talks about them with love so I think they're all really close.

I have no idea why, in fact, it's a really bad thing for him to trust me enough to get in my car and smoke with me without even knowing me, but I was glad he did. It was the first time I was hanging out with a customer, and I wasn't mad at all. I did the talking for a few minutes, watching as he visibly calmed down, and eventually started talking back.

When he left I made sure to warn him about the smell so he could take a shower before his brothers noticed, and when I drove back to my place I couldn't stop wondering if he'd call me again.

But this time he texted. And he was alone, so he asked if I wanted to smoke with him inside his house. It was a bad idea, clearly a huge red sign, and I still said yes. We know a little bit about each other by now, and he had the opportunity to do anything when he got into my car, yet he seemed more like a scaredy cat than anything else, for him I probably looked like the dangerous one.

Matt is cute, all shy, but kind. More of an introvert, he gets anxious a lot, but have things to help him, and people, weed shouldn't be on the list. It was the third time we saw each other, the third time smoking together, third joint I had sold him, and I was already starting to regret selling him.

-Why did you want to smoke? -I ask, holding my joint in between my fingers and looking at him.

His smile falters as he processes the question, taking a deep breath before deciding to open up.

-I think my anxiety was getting worse and I couldn't find anything to help me anymore. I didn't want to bother my brothers, they have their own things going on as well.

I nod, feeling more empathy for him than I probably should. Talking to him felt like talking to a normal boy, not like talking to those internet famous people who somehow became "famous". He was genuine, he was showing true feelings and being relatable, I just couldn't help feeling like he was my friend and I had to help him, or try to.

-What did you do when you felt like this?

I take another hit, carefully placing my joint down and kicking off my shoes to get more comfortable on the couch. He follows my movements with his eyes.

-Journalling, going on walks, nature, fortnite. –He chuckles, looking to the other side. -I like seeing animals, watching movies, I don't know, anything that could distract me.

I smile, nodding and taking a sip of water from the third bottle we've opened since we started smoking.

-That's cool. Why don't they seem to work anymore?

He shrugs, taking the last hit before throwing the finished joint into a bowl. The smoke left his lips smoothly, now being more used to the feeling and not coughing, eyes turning slightly red as the effects hit him.

-I don't know. They don't feel the same, it's like I'm losing interest, y'know? -He asks, with his accent showing up.

I nod once again, knowing exactly what he meant. That's one of the reasons why I started smoking, years ago, and knowing how I just simply cannot live without it I feel responsible for making Matt realize this is not a good option and there are other ways of making the anxiety disappear. I don't want him to be like me.

☘︎☘︎☘︎

Matt has texted me at least once a week for the past three weeks and it was starting to worry me how badly he needed more. Smoking more than one joint, smoking alone, I warned him I wouldn't sell him that much, but he was getting used to the idea of not thinking about his problems while high and our texts were no longer just about him wanting to buy stuff.

We talked every day. I tried to keep it as superficial as possible, but it was no use since we ended up opening up to each other. I told him my reason for selling, almost all that happened in my life, and I knew so much about him too. My concerns only increased as the days went by and now, with him in my apartment for the second time this week, I knew I had to do something about it.

-Long time no see. -I joke, seeing him at my front door.

His face said what he didn't need to, he was almost panicking, sweating, pink cheeks, glossy eyes, shaky hands. He didn't seem healthy at all, and it was hurting me to know that part of it was my fault. I gave him access to drugs, I showed him how to smoke.

-I need one. -He sighs, stepping inside and closing the door behind him.

We sat down on my couch, him watching me intently as I started rolling a couple of joints.

-That bad, huh? –I ask, my voice sounding a bit lower than normal. -You know I can't keep selling you this shit, right?

I look at him, my eyes sending him a warning. We talked about it before, I had to bring up how much he was contacting me for drugs and how much I disliked it.

-I know, I'll stop, I just feel really bad right now. -He tells me, but I had no trust that he'd actually stop.

-I hope so, I care about you, Matt. You're not just my customer, you know that.

My voice was soft, full of sincerity, and he knew that, his eyes also softening when he realized he was being too much.

-I just need to find other ways to deal with it. -He looks down, almost embarrassed, fidgeting his fingers.

There's a silence for a minute, all we ever talked about, how much I worry about him, how I feel responsible for him, how I'm so grateful we met and how much I hate to see him like this, all going through my mind. I couldn't bear to watch him suffer and fill him with drugs to make it go away, because I knew that it wouldn't, it just makes things worse.

I'm not an addict, at least not to the point it makes my life harder, I just use weed whenever I'm stressed, which is a lot. Although, I have the strength to do what I need to and that's good for me, it means I'm still healthy enough to go through my stuff. But Matt isn't. He doesn't seem or act healthy, and although is not just because of the weed, I think it makes him feel like he can only do stuff when he's high. And that is dangerous.

I try to think about other ways of making him feel better. My tongue sealed the first beck, putting it aside as I worked on the second one. There weren't many options, all the things he used to like seem boring to him now, and there's not much we could do. He needs something that makes both body and mind work at the same time, something that makes him tired, makes him feel.

I was reluctant to ask him what came into my mind, but as I saw him become impatient and my fingers close the second beck, I knew I had to do something, and I had to do it now.

-Matt, would you fuck me? -I ask, sealing the second beck and putting it aside.

I could've worded it better, but I felt desperate to avoid him smoking again. His eyes widen, jaw falling in surprise. I was also surprised with myself, but if I'm being honest it wasn't the first time I asked this, the only difference is that I usually ask it to myself, in my brain, not out loud, not to him.

-What?!

-You heard me.

Saying it once was enough, I had no courage to ask him twice, but at least it was kinda working, he stopped fidgeting his fingers and didn't even look at the joints that I discreetly set on the coffee table.

He seemed to think about it, processing my words, eyebrows raising as his eyes looked everywhere but at me. He licks his lips, placing each hand on each side of his body.

-I mean, yeah, I guess, but why?

His answer was not what I expected, but I didn't know what to expect. It made my heart beat faster and now I felt like the shy anxious one. I never did this before, nothing that I did with Matt I did before in my life with anyone else. Being friends with a customer is not usually the best idea, most of the time it's not even possible, but more than that?

He knows me. He truly does, and I know him, as much as he lets me. This is not just a common selling-buying relationship, it's way past that.

-Well, sex is a decent way to help with your anxiety, better than drugs.

I explain, my voice slightly shaky, eyes meeting his awkwardly, hoping I was making any sense.

When he studies me with his eyes I feel nervous, he could pay for the weed and go away, never talk to me again, say all the worst things he could think of.

Instead, he only nods, face turning serious.

-Do you want to do it or do you just want me to quit the weed so bad you're considering it?

His words caught me by surprise, but by now I shouldn't be surprised with anything anymore. Although it was kind of a harsh statement, I knew where he was coming from and the tone in his voice showed me he was as hesitant as I was.

-I do want you to quit, but I wouldn't do it just because of it. -My answer was clear, and almost a relief, for both of us.

There was another silence, not long, but that carried all the emotions and uncertainties both of us had at the moment.

-I get anxious a lot. -Matt says, half joking, half teasing.

Feels like we got ourselves an agreement, and I just know things are changing drastically between us now.

-I'm aware of that. -I joke back.

We smile at each other, taking in the final moment of acceptance before Matt's lips are on mine. I quickly kiss him back, our lips moving slowly at first, savoring each other's taste. There was a pause to breathe that didn't last long until we were kissing again.

With those two kisses I was more than happy with myself for thinking of such a good way of helping him, if I wasn't sure why I felt the urge to do something about it now it was crystal clear. I like him. Talking to him, being his dealer, being his friend, getting to know him, caring about him, it might or might not be in a romantic way, but I like him, a lot.

Feeling his lips on mine, our tongues brushing together, him carefully laying me down on the couch and hovering me, with one hand finally holding my waist. I definitely like him, and I like this, I like his touch as much as I like his voice, I like kissing him as much as I like hanging out with him, I like all of him.

Our shirts were on the floor, my bra hanging over the coffee table, his hands exploring my skin as I shivered, eyes connected as he slipped my pants down. His fingers were cold, pressing on my soaked panties, eyes admiring it like a work of art, speechless.

All anxiety in his body left when my last piece of clothes was discarded and his mouth did wonders on me, moans probably pissing off the neighbors as I tried to pull him closer by his hair.

-Fuck, Matt, I'm gonna cum... -I warn him with a whiny voice, back arching and head falling back.

-Please do, wanna taste you so bad. -He barely takes his mouth out of me to say, hands gently caressing my thighs.

My first orgasm with him was surprisingly good, not that I expected it to be bad, but definitely didn't expect it to feel so... perfect. He smiled at me like he was proud, kissing all over my body until his lips found mine again, making me taste myself.

His clothes were soon discarded as well and just by the sight of him I knew I had one more reason to like him. He seemed the calmest I've ever seen him, considering what was happening, a smirk of confidence on his lips proving he knew exactly what he was doing to me. His hand wraps around his length, teasing my folds with his tip and holding himself up with his other arm.

-Wanted to do this for so long, if I knew I had a chance I wouldn't even ask for so much weed just to see you. -He smirks down at me, circling my sensitive clit with his tip.

The feelings were so intense I almost missed what he said, but when my brain processed his words I was shocked. My jaw fell in surprise, eyes widening and my arm lifting so I could slap his arm with my hand, giving him a look of disbelief.

-You're unbelievable, you didn't have to buy anything, or use anything! We could've just hung out. -I say, trying not to smile at the fact he confessed he wanted to see me.

But in awful terms and I felt even more responsible for his acts.

I didn't have time to be mad at him, though, because he decided it was the perfect time to push all of him at once. My gasp was so loud that the entire building probably heard it, my walls fell on fire for a few seconds and he remained in the same position until my expression softened and he started to move.

His confession fully disappeared from my mind when I felt just how good he could feel. It gave me butterflies to feel him moving at a slow pace, keeping eye contact like he wanted to make sure everything was okay. His eyes looked so pretty, dark and full of desire, but also affection.

Matt kisses me again as he fasteners his thrusts, making me moan against his lips. One of his hands grabs one of my thighs, holding it up against my chest, hitting deeper.

-So fucking good. -He whispers, a long breath leaving his lips as his eyes roll back and his head falls.

My nails leave bruises on his back as I feel my second orgasm building up, sounds getting louder and my body squirming non-stop under him. Didn't take long for me to reach it, him following and pulling off just fast enough to paint my stomach with his seed.

After deep breaths and a long hug to calm down, Matt stands up and walks to my bathroom, already knowing how to navigate through my apartment, and comes back with a towel to clean us. When we were done he left me putting on my clothes again to get me some water.

Both decently dressed, a pause to the bathroom and lots of water later, Matt and I sit back on the couch, looking at each other, my head resting on the backrest and his hand moving my hair behind my ear.

-I didn't smoke all the joints I bought. I gave some to my friends who smoke. I only smoked once without you and I hated it. I was too nervous to ask you to just hang out, I wasn't sure if you'd want to, so I kept coming back to buy more because I knew I could spend time with you that way.

His voice was soft and sweet, only sharing his truth with me without being scared of it. Although it was adorable that he wanted to see me so much he found a way he thought it was the best, I hated how unsure he was if I'd want to spend time with him back. I also hated that weed was involved in this.

I smile at him, taking his free hand in mine and interlacing our fingers, rubbing my thumb against his skin.

-Matt, I really like seeing you and hanging out with you, there's no need to feel nervous, weed or no weed I still want you around. Honestly, preferably with no weed, you don't need it, never did.

His eyes showed so much gratitude, almost shining with relief. He smiles back, nodding his head and looking down at our fingers, his other hand still playing with my hair.

-Yeah, it didn't help me that much, but at least it brought you into my life, so I'm grateful for it.

My heart swells with affection, butterflies flying free in my stomach. I reach out to press a soft kiss on his lips, wanting to show him just how much I enjoyed knowing how he feels.

-I'm so happy to have you in my life, Matt. -I whisper, pulling away just enough to say it.

We smile at each other, both of his hands now on my cheeks, cupping them gently.

-Does this mean you'd say yes to a date?

I giggle, nodding and wrapping my arms around him.

-Yes, I'd love to.

➪ @riowritesitall @sturniolosarethebest @hyacinthst @deers4luv @sturncakez @watercolorskyy @delooshunalhoe @sarosfilms @blahbel668 @sturniyolo69 @sturniolosl0t @colbsposts00 @fallingforfalll2 @stvrnmc @faithlia @katie-tibo @monroesturnns @chrisxcherry @shaquilles-0atmeal @fratbrochrisgf @dayzeandhaze @h3arts4harry @star-yawnznn @asherrisrandom @pip4444chris @sturniolo-fann @beansprout713 @conspiracy-ash @sturnsxbitvh @ivysturnss @mattsbitchh @larallott @stqrnlvs @sssoniaswiftt @s1ut4chris @lovingregulusblack @sturnslutz @star-yawnznn @jupiter-rebel

[ode2cheol]

don’t look for me anymore

9.2k words yoon jeonghan x f!reader, harry potter au, lovers to enemies to strangers to friends to lovers (😭), angst, fluff, kind of dialogue heavy, misunderstandings

synopsis; the last time you and jeonghan saw each other felt like it’d be the last, but clearly fate had different plans

“ow- watch it yoon!” your friend soonyoung scowled at the boy that had just bumped into him. the boy in question being none other than yoon jeonghan.

“why? you that weak that it broke your arm or something? your little girlfriend going to kiss it better for you?” the long haired boy shot back, his voice going high pitched at the end in favour of mocking your friend. jeonghan’s eyes turned to you, “though i can’t expect you’d be with her for much longer” he narrowed his eyes, “she’s not even bothered to stand up for you” he scoffed mirthfully.

“she’s not my girlfriend, but even if she was or wasn’t it’s none of your business so leave her alone?” soonyoung snarled at him.

despite soonyoung’s wishes, the slytherin would not leave you alone. he continued to stare you down, patiently waiting however long it’d take you to budge and acknowledge his presence.

“ln. you blind or something?” he stared down at you, “not even going to say hi to an old friend?” he faked a pout, faux sadness in his voice.

“i’d never be friends with someone like you, yoon” you glared at him, trying your best to not present yourself in a way that was open to something he could poke fun at you for.

he scoffed. you could tell he saw right through you. for a gryffindor, you were always quite the coward when it came to jeonghan.

“that so? you didn’t have the same thing to say a few years ago though” he smirked, hell bent on making sure you remember what the two of you’ve known for years but you try hiding so desperately. “ah well, i’ve got better things to do now so i’ll see you and your girlfriend another time”

soonyoung waited for jeonghan to leave before turning to you, “think if i pay shua he’ll put some hair removing potion into his shampoo?”

you breathed a laugh out at his idea, imagining jeonghan’s reaction to it. he’d probably use his whole life savings to get the school shut down.

——- ★

walking into your transfiguration class, you quickly moved to get to the last seat at a table of a few gryffindors. your face dropped when you saw it be taken by a hufflepuff. scanning the classroom, your eyes set on the last remaining seat at the table of slytherin’s, and low and behold, there was yoon jeonghan. luckily enough, the seat wasn’t next to him but one of his friends, joshua.

from what soonyoung had told you about joshua, he was nice- so much so that soonyoung insists the sorting hat must’ve been having an off day when it decided to place him in slytherin. but from what your other friend seungcheol had told you, joshua was just as mischievous if not more so than jeonghan. and from what you’d seen of him in classes for the last few years, he was incredibly good at thinking on his feet. the amount of excuses he’d managed to pull from out of thin air had you questioning just how eventful this man’s life was.

you’d quickly moved to the table, smiling slightly to joshua “uh, is it alright if i sit here?”

joshua smiled easily at you, “yeah sure go ahead” getting a quill out of his bag before moving it off of the seat so you could sit there.

you breathed out a ‘thank you’ before grabbing a quill yourself, keeping your gaze fixed on the textbook while you waited for your professor to arrive.

as much as you’d tried to avoid it- you could feel his eyes on you. you knew jeonghan was staring at you, but you couldn’t deal with him embarrassing you in front of his friends so you avoided passing your gaze to him.

——- ★

class felt like it’d never end but as soon as mcgonagall had dismissed you, you don’t think you’d ever packed your things that quickly.

turning on your heel you made a beeline for the door, hoping to catch up with seungcheol to head to your next class.

“yn” you heard someone behind you clear their throat, and you silently prayed it wasn’t who you thought it was. you turned around to see joshua with his hand out, “yn, you forgot your book”

“oh thank you, joshua” you hummed, smiling up at him. for a split second, you looked to the left of him and saw jeonghan staring right back at you. “well..” you cleared your throat, “i’ve got to go now, but thanks again. i’ll see you around, bye!” and then you were gone.

“should’ve burnt it instead of giving it back” jeonghan muttered while he walked out of the classroom with his friend.

“next time, you can have at it” joshua laughed. being jeonghan’s best friend, he was well aware of the circumstances between you and jeonghan. “don’t you think it’s about time you let it go?” joshua suggested when they’d arrived back to the common room.

“it’s not like i care about that, i just don’t like people as spineless as her” jeonghan muttered. despite his words, joshua could easily tell he didn’t mean it. he was still genuinely hurt at what happened in your guys’ fifth year. “whatever. you heading to hogsmeade this weekend?”

“not sure yet. might have to catch up on some homework, why?” joshua pondered over it.

“i wanted to head down to grab something” jeonghan sighed, “a book you idiot!” jeonghan continued after seeing the sceptical look from his friend.

“you can’t blame me for being curious, can you?” joshua laughed, dodging the pillow his friend threw at him.

“well if you do change your mind, let me know. anyway, i’ve got alchemy now, i’ll see you at dinner”

joshua nodded, waving at his friend before heading to his own class, potions.

——- ★

“have you thought about what you’re going to do after n.e.w.t’s?” nayeon asked you as the two of walked into class.

“hm? uh i was thinking maybe taking a year to myself for travelling or something” you thought over it for a few seconds, “i think i’ll end up going insane if i need to start looking for jobs immediately” you laughed.

“that’s fair” nayeon returned your laughs, “i’m not completely sure what i want to do either. i was so confident back in fifth but now it’s just.. i’m so unmotivated” she groaned, burying her head in her arms.

you rubbed her back in comfort, looking to the door to make sure professor snape hadn’t arrived yet. you knew what he was like, if he saw nayeon ‘slacking off’ as he would put it, he’d end up taking it out on all gryffindor. “oh- nayeon quick get up” you whispered when you caught a glimpse of his greasy, unkempt hair.

“oh shit thanks” she told you hurriedly, quickly gathering the materials from her bag. you stifled a laugh at her panic, secretly urging her to hurry up because snape was about to direct his line of vision to the two of you.

luckily, nayeon had managed to get everything out in time and from what snape saw she was raring to get the lesson started.

“nayeon, this weekend professor sprout has requested you help the first years with their extra curricular” snape looked over unamused.

nayeon sighed before nodding, and turned to you to roll her eyes before plastering a smile on and turning back to the board.

“can’t believe i have to cancel our plans this weekend to help with herbology. why couldn’t that slimy snape just ‘forget’ to tell me instead” your friend groaned disheartened.

you laughed, “it’s fine don’t worry about it, we can always go next week!” you reassured her.

“if i end up dying before that i’ll make sure i turn into a ghost and terrorise the herbology class from now on” she mumbled, still pouting. “oh well. i suppose if we can’t hang out you can at least spend some time with your ‘boyfriend’” nayeon teased.

you looked at her confused for a few seconds before groaning and rolling your eyes, “are you talking about guwon again? i told you he’s not my boyfriend!”

“you guys are literally always together!” she accused, a smirk settling on her face.

“that’s because he doesn’t have any friends!” you lied. from what you knew, guwon was pretty popular in ravenclaw, “we only know or talk to each other because our parents are best friends. if it wasn’t for that i wouldn’t even look at him”

nayeon pondered for a few seconds, “you have to admit though.. he’s pretty cute isn’t he?”

you sighed, clearly she wasn’t going to drop it. “i guess you’re right.. guwon is a little cute, but ah-!” you were cut off by someone bumping, well more pushing, passed you.

“watch it!” nayeon screamed at whoever it was, helping you up at the same time. “ugh, some people are so rude. are you alright yn?”

nayeon had her wand out, ready to hex whoever had bumped into you without even apologising.

“i’m fine, thanks” small smile on your face. you looked over for a few seconds while nayeon was still ranting about the manners of people in this school, you could see the back of who had bumped into you and you immediately recognised those long raven locks of hair. you frowned slightly; you really couldn’t blame him. you smiled at nayeon before just suggesting to head back to the common room until dinner.

——- ★

that weekend, you decided to head to hogsmeade on your own, asking nayeon what she wanted you to bring back for her. after making a note of it, you headed off.

when you arrived, you made a beeline for the three broomsticks, although you quickly regretted it seeing how busy it was. there was only one free seat and it was next to- oh great.

“mind if i sit here?” you mumbled, avoiding his eyes.

“what? you sit here?” jeonghan deadpanned, looking up at you, “no. get lost” he didn’t pay you any more mind, going back to sipping his drink.

you sighed exasperated, “look there’s literally no where else to sit!” you gestured toward all the seats to emphasise your point.

jeonghan followed what you were pointing at, before settling on one table. he pointed toward it, gathering your attention, “isn’t that your boyfriend over there? why don’t you go sit next to your darling, cute moon guwon?” he made a physical show of gagging unenthusiastically.

you stayed silent for a minute. “yeah that’s what i thought” he scoffed. “always so spineless. for a gryffindor you’re a real coward, you know that?”

he continued to sip his butter beer, really paying you no more attention. that was until you shoved him to make room for you on the bench.

“the hell do you think you’re doing?” he whisper-shouted at you, ears turning red at how close to his side you were.

“just shut up for once!” you scoffed, “that was what i hated most about you when we dated” you shook your head at him, aware he could see the teasing gleam in your eyes.

he shook his own head, “oh yeah? well i hated how you never understood the concept of personal space, and clearly-” he gestured between the two of you, “you still haven’t”

you giggled lightly, taking your own butter beer from the waitor, “thank you” you smiled as she left. “whatever. see it isn’t hard for you to be civil is it?”

you looked up at jeonghan when he went silent, but he was looking at something else. you followed his line of sight and saw guwon approaching the two of you.

“yn, hi! you’re with.. jeonghan.. how have you guys been?” he smiled tight lipped.

“uh good. how about you, guwon?” you shifted uncomfortably.

“i’m great! jeonghan?”

the boy in question was currently staring down at his hands, playing with a coin between his fingers. “hm?” he looked up. “i’m uh, i’m good guwon. thanks” he said void of emotion.

“great! yn how about you join me at my table?” he said moving to grab your hand.

you moved your hand from where he could grab it, moving it to your pocket instead. you were tired of jeonghan making assumptions on his own. “i’m going to head out after i finish this anyway. just wanted to grab a drink. thanks though!”

guwon nodded before heading back to his own table, but you could tell he wasn’t happy. you rolled your eyes at the thought of a letter from your parents coming within the next few days to scold you.

whatever- that didn’t matter. what mattered was the boy sitting next to you. warily, you looked back at him, a distant look in his eyes. he looked so hurt, and tired. “jeonghan-” you started, only for him to put a hand up to stop you.

“i can’t be bothered with your explanation, ln” he muttered, “just finish your drink and leave me alone, please”

you nodded before gulping down the rest of your drink, heading to the counter to pay for yours as well as jeonghan’s drink. it was the least you could do.

when you got back to hogwarts, the first thing you did was head back to the dorm. you didn’t care about dinner tonight, you just felt so tired. you left the book nayeon wanted on her bed before you sat on your own. rubbing your face as you collected your thoughts, reminiscing on the past.

little did you know jeonghan was thinking the same on the other side of the castle.

during fifth year, you and jeonghan were incredibly happy together. you both hated being apart from each other so much that hiding the relationship seemed to be the most difficult thing ever. you would have to borrow someone else’s hands to count the amount of close calls there were.

“baby” jeonghan whined from next to you, both of you sitting in the old astronomy tower that nobody used anymore. “this hiding the relationship thing is getting too tiresome. we’ve been dating for months now, are you sure we can’t..?” he looked over to you, hopeful that you’d finish his sentence with the words he so desperately wanted to hear.

“what? tell people we’re dating?” you looked over at him perplexed, you’ve explained the situation to him more times you could count. “han.. you know i want to but-”

“your parents. i know i know. i’m sorry” he looked back up at the stars, shoulders deflating in defeat.

you gulped nervously, there really was only so much someone could put up with before they lose their mind. “hannie..” you whispered, taking his hands in yours, “i’m sorry. this summer i’ll convince them, alright?”

“you will?” jeonghan looked at you, his eyes resembling those of a kicked puppy.

“i will- and besides! it’s not like you’re the problem, it’s my parents! they don’t want me dating anyone” you hoped and prayed he wouldn’t catch onto your white lie. and thankfully he didn’t because you saw him get a little more energy from knowing your parents didn’t have a personal grudge against him.

about two weeks after your night with jeonghan in the astronomy tower, dumbledore had announced the parents dinner/ball that was to be held.

when jeonghan approached you when it had first been announced you knew this situation wasn’t going to end well. because he had suggested he find a way to convince your parents at the dinner that he was good enough for you. and in that moment you realised yoon jeonghan was in fact too good for you.

“mom, dad please don’t do this” you glared at your parents while whisper-shouting your complaints. still, they beckoned the Moon’s over, catching up with their old friends and introducing you to their son, moon guwon. you shook his hand, shooting him a curt, tight-lipped smile.

you weren’t exactly unfamiliar with him. he was a ravenclaw boy in your year who, from what you knew from seungcheol, was popular in his house. he was definitely their best candidate for head boy in a few years.

“why don’t the two of you go dance?” your mother laughed obnoxiously, already pushing the two of you to the center.

guwon circled his arm around your waist, bringing you closer to him. he smiled down at you, eyebrows furrowing when he saw how unhappy you looked.

“please let me go” you told him coldly, “i don’t think it’s appropriate for me to be dancing with you”

“why? think you’re going to hurt yoon’s feelings? look to your left you’re already too late” guwon scoffed, his head nodding toward jeonghan who you couldn’t read at all.

your face ran cold, desperately trying to get to him but guwon kept you close to him. “let me-”

“do you really just want to hurt him even more?” he looked at you seriously, “what? you really think you can convince your own, as well as my parents to call off this fantasy engagement they’ve had planned for us since they were our age?”

“you’re telling me that’s real? well we can’t just let them-”

“you can argue with them all you want” guwon told you unamused, “if you want yourself to end up on the streets on diagon alley, you go ahead”

a few minutes later, jeonghan had left and you did your best to excuse yourself from the party. jeonghan wasn’t anywhere near the entrances to the main hall. you saw a few of his friends but stopped yourself from asking them, it’d only cause suspicion.

you ran to the slytherin common room, maybe you could catch up with him before he entered; you didn’t know the password so there was no chance of the two of you could talk things through. when you had arrived, you still couldn’t find jeonghan.

‘where could he have gone?’ you paced thinking to yourself. and then it hit you.

when you arrived at the old astronomy tower, jeonghan was sitting there, looking up at the stars like he always did.

“jeonghan” you sighed out of breath, “jeonghan let me-”

“let you explain how you lied to me? how you basically lead me on this entire year? it’s fine yn i don’t care” he told you coldly.

“jeonghan please” you pleaded, “i didn’t want any of what happened back there”. he didn’t stop you so you continued, sighing “my parents and guwon’s parents have had some dream of getting me and him married, but i don’t want that!”

“so then tell them that yn! why’re you telling me?” jeonghan finally looked at you and you finally caught a glimpse of the hurt in his eyes, tears that gathered in his pretty eyes cascading down his face.

you stayed silent. you wanted to tell them but you knew what it meant. you’d be an outsider from your family, never acknowledged again. “jeonghan i can’t..”

jeonghan moved to stand up, harshly rubbing the tears from his eyes. he sniffed, the tip of his nose appearing slightly pink from the cold wind. “see that’s your problem yn. this is what it’s like with you and i can’t be bothered with it anymore. when you can finally take action and stop being so ashamed of me.. come find me”

“that exam sucked!” soonyoung cried, the younger fourth year boy, lee chan, cheering him up.

“oh come on soonyoung! it couldn’t have been that bad. besides! you’re cool you don’t need these stupid exams anyway” the younger boy continued to pat his back comfortingly.

“no it’s not chan! ‘m gonna fail my newts and then the ministry’s gonna laugh at me when i try getting a job!” soonyoung sobbed, clinging onto chan for dear life.

“soonyoung people are staring at us” nayeon urged soonyoung to stop, “besides why don’t you use this to study for the next one?”

soonyoung looked at nayeon as if she’d grown a second head, “are you daft? i’m thinking of ways to make sure my life isn’t over and you’re telling me about studying!”

nayeon slammed her book shut, using it hit soonyoung’s arm, making him groan and whine in pain. “maybe your life won’t be over if you actually study for the next one more!”

“oh yeah. you’ve got a point nayeon thanks” soonyoung smiled, taking the book from her “i’ll use this to study thanks!” and that was all he said before he ran off, nayeon chasing after him.

you laughed at their antics, watching them for a few more seconds before turning back to your own study material.

the library was surprisingly empty today, you’d have thought more seventh years would be here studying but apparently not. you wished you could be a little relaxed like them, but you were currently stressed beyond reason about the exam tomorrow.

the exam today wasn’t nearly as bad as soonyoung had said, and when you checked back on your notes after the exam was over, you were pleased to see most of your answers were related to what your notes had said. even that couldn’t give you complete peace of mind though, these exams were too unpredictable.

you looked over at the clock and saw it was getting late, your exam was pretty early tomorrow so it’s best you get a good night's sleep so that you don’t end up falling asleep on your test.

after you packed your things up and headed for the exit, something- or rather someone, caught your eye. you debated mentally for a few seconds on whether or not to approach him and before you knew it, your feet were dragging you to him.

“jeonghan” you sighed, smiling at him when he looked up at you, a little confused as to why you would approach him so suddenly. he wasn’t alone, he was with joshua and a few of his other slytherin friends. “good luck with the exam tomorrow. you too joshua!” you waved and left before getting a response from them, but heard a ‘thanks you too!’ from joshua when your back was turned.

walking back to your dorm, you lingered a little longer, observing the walls and infrastructure to set in stone in your mind. it was painful to think about but you weren’t going to be here much longer unfortunately.

while you were lost in your thoughts, you found yourself ending up at the old astronomy tower. you hadn’t been here in two years.

the view was as gorgeous as ever, and the cool air grazed your cheeks so pleasantly. and it dried the tears quicker than you could wipe them.

the memories of the night two years ago were too painful to think about too much. you regretted it so much but still, you often thought about his words. “when you can finally take action and stop being so ashamed of me.. come find me”.

you sometimes wondered if that offer still stood. what if he’d grown tired of waiting? dating isn’t huge news in hogwarts so there was a chance he’d already moved on. your heart broke at the thought. you berated yourself for feeling like this. he was the one that got hurt, not you.

maybe you could fix things between the two of you. you were hopeful, but if you were to be honest with yourself it was all in vain. until you’d be able to stand up to your parents there was no use.

their obsession with keeping up their high status in the wizarding world wasn’t something that you could make disappear in a night.

you continued to look up at the stars, if they were going to be like this, was there even a point in continuing to be a part of their false idea of a family. you were smart enough to get a well paying job, so even if they did abandon you, it’s not as if your life would be over. and you were certain your friends were much more loyal to you than your family, so it’s not as if they’d let you rot slowly away while living with regret.

if only you had realised this back in fifth year you thought to yourself. you were fine with losing a family that was practically never yours, but losing jeonghan who only had love for you was the most stupid decision of your life.

you had decided that after your final day, and when all your classmates will part ways ready for the future, you’d find jeonghan and tell him everything.

——- ★

“how was the exam?” nayeon smiled nervously at you. it was easy to tell she was happy but she was being careful in case it wasn’t the case for you.

you sighed, making yourself look as sad as possible before giggling at her worried expression, “it was amazing!”

“what-? you had me worried!” she whined, pushing you lightly and then pulled you into a hug. from the corner of her eye she saw soonyoung and immediately turned to him, “how was it?”

“so much better than yesterday! i owe it to you nayeon i think i would’ve failed if you didn’t force me to study” he high-fived her. “cheol how’d you find it?”

“they were all pretty great for me soonyoung, i didn’t wait until the last minute like some idiot” seungcheol smirked when soonyoung started to sputter in offence.

you laughed again, but your mind was still distant from everything happening in front of you. looking around, you spotted where the slytherin’s were, jeonghan laughing with joshua’s arm around him. you had to wait until he was alone and it was probably going to have to be after dinner.

you decided to finish up on packing instead, you’d all be heading out tomorrow and getting your results in the mail after a few days.

as you emptied out the last of your things you noticed something. a small, thin silver bracelet. jeonghan had given it to you on your guys’ third date and you’d kept it ever since. you wore it everyday while you were together but wearing it after that night was too painful. you let out a breath you’d been holding in, slipping the bracelet on so it sat pretty on your wrist.

you couldn’t eat much at dinner, your eyes kept turning to where jeonghan sat, hoping he’d get the signals you were sending.

you thought maybe he did when he left earlier than his friends. thinking this was your chance, you waited a minute or two to head in the same direction, trying to be as discreet as possible. you continued to follow where he was heading, confused when he walked to the astronomy tower.

“how long are you going to just keep following me?” jeonghan muttered annoyed, turning around to stare you in the eyes when you wouldn’t respond. his expression was saying ‘go on’.

“i wanted to talk to you-”

before you could finish, jeonghan laughed bitterly. “this is a familiar scene isn’t it. the same astronomy tower and you’re saying the same thing”

“han please just-”

“don’t call me that” he spat bitterly, cutting you off. “the only thing that changed is that we finally feel the same”

you looked at him confused for a few seconds, ‘what the hell was he talking about?’

“two years ago, i loved you. so, so much. but you didn’t love me back, we didn’t feel the same. but now we do. you hate me like you did back then, and i hate you too. isn’t it just hilarious how the world works”

you couldn’t speak. ‘i hate you too’ the words echoed in your mind. you wanted to tell him that it wasn’t true, you never hated him and you never could hate him. that even today you still love him. but the words died in your throat to make space for the lump forming in it. “jeonghan-”

“yn” he turned back to look at you, “don’t try to find me anymore”.

it wasn’t fair. the first time he had called you by your name in two years and it was to tell you that he never wanted to see you again.

he didn’t care about you. his offer didn’t mean anything, he didn’t want you to find him.

it wasn’t fair because you cared about him, to you that offer was a last hope, you had already found your soulmate.

but he didn’t care. he saw the tears in your eyes and scoffed, walking away from you and not even looking back once.

sniffing harshly, you bitterly wiped your tears, deciding to retreat for your dorm for the rest of the night, waiting for the trains to take you away the next morning. away from hogwarts, away from life as you know it, and away from a life with jeonghan.

“lumos” jeonghan gripped his wand loosely, having just shot up from the sound of someone in his house.

“jeonghan! happy birthday!” jeonghan winced at his friend’s loudness, groaning as he rubbed the sleep from his eye. looking over at the bedside table, he saw the clock read 00:03.

“what the hell are you doing in my house at midnight?” jeonghan looked at his friend unimpressed, but any threatening looking act he was trying to put on was undone by his messy bed head.

“wishing you a happy birthday!” he motioned to the balloons to which jeonghan rolled his eyes. “oh come on, it’s not everyday your best friend turns 25 is it? here make a wish”

joshua brought a small cupcake with a single candle lit to jeonghan, and he’d be lying if he said there wasn’t a smile creeping onto his face at his friend’s efforts. he blew out the candle, giving a hug to his friend. “thanks shua”

joshua smiled brightly, “your welcome, what’d you wish for by the way? because if i were to make a suggestion i’d tell you to wish for a girlfriend because-”

“you’re starting to sound like my mother, you know?” jeonghan whined, taking a lick of the cupcake’s frosting.

“look i’m sorry! but usually this type of thing would be done by somebody’s partner- not t eir best friend” joshua reasoned, taking a seat on jeonghan’s bed.

“well it’s not exactly like i asked you to do all this” jeonghan mumbled under his breath, “not that i don’t appreciate it of course!” he quickly added on seeing the look joshua always has when he’s mad. and an angry joshua was not something jeonghan wanted to deal with at 12am.

“whatever. have you got work in the morning?” joshua took a cupcake for himself from the box of a dozen.

“yeah, someone from a different department’s transferring to ours. i’ve got to introduce them to the team and sort of like- mentor them i guess. well it’s more like just showing them the ropes but you get the idea. anyway i’ve got to do that for a week”

“aren’t you the head of the department?” joshua looked at him confused.

jeonghan finished off his cupcake, throwing the paper into the bin near his door. “i am, but i thought i’d just introduce them. we don’t get new people often-”

“because you people have some crazy elite department-”

“we don’t get new people so i thought i’d be nice and introduce them myself”

joshua stared at his friend for a few seconds. “the minister told you to do it didn’t he?” he smirked.

jeonghan’s eyes widened, ‘how the hell did joshua see through him?’ “look whatever! maybe choi seungcheol was on my ass about it a little more than usual for some reason but i don’t care! now goodnight!”

joshua laughed at his friend before deciding to head to the guest room for the night, he still had to get everything for jeonghan’s party set for later. hopefully one of his surprises wouldn’t completely fall through.

——- ★

“so you’re transferring next week?” nayeon asked you while she took a sip of her drink. the both of you were currently at your friend soonyoung’s quidditch match.

“that’s what cheol told me yeah” you kept an eye on the game, trying to follow soonyoung but it was hard considering he was the seaker so he constantly moved from one side of the field to the other in mere seconds.

“that’s great!” nayeon smiled before it dropped seeing the dejected look on your face, “isn’t it?”

“it is! it’s just- for some reason they’re making the head of the department stay with me for my first week” you rubbed the back of your neck sheepishly.

nayeon frowned confused, “that’s weird. did you ask cheol about that?”

when you opened your mouth to speak you were cut off by a bludger almost hitting right to the side of the bench where you were sat. before it could connect however, the referee made quick work of whipping out his wand to divert it back to the middle of the field.

you breathed heavily, “that was a close one! thank you!” you called out to the referee, “but uh anyway yeah the transfer. i didn’t want to bother cheol with asking him why the head’s sticking with me this week. it’s already amazing he’s putting the transfer through”

nayeon nodded, looking away from you to look at the match again. currently, soonyoung and the opposing team’s seaker were neck and neck, fingertips grasping for the snitch. both you and nayeon shouted cheers for soonyoung and his team, the cheers getting louder as soonyoung got closer.

after a tense chase, soonyoung finally managed to grab the snitch, using his broom to fly through the crowds, waving at the two of you when he spotted where your seats were.

“just through that lift and you’ll be right there lovely” the old lady at the receptionist smiled at you.

you nodded your head and thanked her before going to where she pointed out. the nerves were secretly eating you up.

you checked the small mirror in the elevator to help you freshen yourself up. you’ve had new jobs before, and nerves never hit you on your first day. but the fact that you’ll have to immediately jump into having your boss practically watching your every move and breathing down your neck. ‘get a grip you were a gryffindor for a reason’ you mentally motivated yourself.

the elevator made a sound indicating you were here causing you to take one last look and make sure you looked alright.

the owl you received told you that you’d have to meet the head in his office. you looked around for it, but couldn’t really spot it what with everyone walking around. it must’ve been break time you supposed.

“hi!” you said to one of the workers you spotted near the coffee machine, he returned your smile. you checked his name tag and saw his name was hansol. “i just transferred here and i was told to meet with the head at his office. could you just point where it is?”

he nodded, taking the last sip before throwing the paper cup into the bin. “sure, follow me. it’s a bit far i’m not going to lie”

suddenly you felt bad about making the poor guy use his break to take you to this office, you could’ve just looked around until you found it.

“so what’s your name?” hansol turned to you. “there was a mental situation with the owls and we never ended up getting the file with your information, just the news that there was a transfer”

you blinked at him. a situation with the owls? “oh that’s weird. well i’m yn” you held out your hand for him to shake and he returned it with his own introduction and a nice to meet you.

the both of you continued to walk until you reached a large bookshelf covering an entire wall. you saw vernon reach for wand before reciting an ‘alohomora’ under his breath.

you watched as the book shelf parted vertically in the middle, stepping back cautiously. it revealed another door, and hansol told you that all you needed to do was knock and wait for him to answer.

“by the way it’s his birthday today, so if you mention that later it’ll get him in a good mood” that was the last thing hansol told you before leaving.

his birthday was today? you quickly decided to make a note of it after knocking on the door, october 3rd.. who else’s birthday was on october 3rd?

you went through a mental list of whoever you’ve been close to, none of their birthdays being october 3rd? who the hell was it?

your thoughts were cute off by the door swinging open, your new boss standing right at the frame. oh, that’s who you were thinking of.

“good afternoon, i’m the head of this department my names yoon jeonghan,” he still hadn’t looked up at you, “if you don’t mind could you just tell me your name, you might’ve heard the issue with the owls-” he finally looked up, the color draining from his face.

“i’m ln yn” you held your hand out for him to shake, “i look forward to working here”

you weren’t honestly expecting jeonghan to return the handshake, but surprisingly he did. the initial shock hadn’t run out yet, he still really couldn’t believe you were here.

slowly, an awkward atmosphere encased the two of you. you cleared your throat, “uh, happy birthday! hansol told me..” you trailed off at the end.

you looked up at him and all of a sudden you were 16 again, unable to decipher what the slytherin was feeling. you knew for sure he couldn’t be happy about this entire thing though.

despite your thoughts, jeonghan had actually plastered a smile on his face. “thank you. come inside and we’ll discuss what the following week’ll be like”

you nodded before following him into the office, closing the door behind you. jeonghan motioned for you to sit on the chair opposite from his behind the desk.

when you sat down the nerves hit you again. all of a sudden all you thought about the last time you saw jeonghan, what he said to you. to not look for him anymore.

you started to play with the bracelet on your wrist, and you mentally facepalmed at how it was the one jeonghan had given you all those years ago.

to be fair, it was a beautiful bracelet, and it just so happened to be the one you reached for randomly this morning.

“so as you might already know, i’ve been told to show you the ropes this week. i’m not entirely sure why, it obviously can’t be great to have to get right to work with your new boss watching you, but regardless that’s what minister choi has asked for” jeonghan sighed, checking through a file.

your brows furrowed at the last sentence, ‘seungcheol asked him to?’ weird. it’s not like he knew about you and jeonghan.

“what we’re going to be doing for today is just getting you settled in. i’ll show you around, tell you what it is we do here and why and answer any questions you might have” he said it all so professionally and you wondered why you couldn’t do the same. how was he being so normal about this?

“so before we start, any questions?” he looked up from the file and straight at you.

your eyebrows raised for a second in surprise, “not yet no, thank you”

jeonghan nodded before standing up, “we’ll get started on that tour now. follow me please” he held the door open for you, shutting it behind you before motioning for you to follow him.

after about an hour you were done with the tour and meeting everyone. you could tell why this was branded as a more ‘elite’ department.

“your office isn’t completely done yet so you hang around in here until the end of the week” jeonghan said, pointing toward his office, his other hand in his pocket.

he lead you both back into the office, sitting at his desk before rubbing his face in his hands and stifling a yawn. he looked up and saw you standing awkwardly a couple of steps from the door. and you might’ve been going crazy but you swear there was a smile pulling at his lips.

“yn, you can come sit, it’s fine” he said softly, using his wand to bring the work that needed to be done for today.

you carefully watched what he was doing when you were sat, taking mental notes as to how he does it so you wouldn’t get ridiculed for something in a week or two.

your attention started to drift after a few minutes it happened to end up focusing on jeonghan’s hand. you saw he didn’t have any ring on meaning he definitely wasn’t married. maybe he was dating someone- wait why do you even care? the two of you broke each other's heart years ago and are only talking now because of a coincidence of working together.

“so how have you been?” jeonghan asked you catching you off guard. he looked at you, shooting you a look that said he was being serious and it wasn’t a trick question.

“i’ve uh- i’ve been good” you smiled awkwardly, “after school finished it's just been work, you know? probably been the same for you” you laughed awkwardly.

he smiled himself nodding in agreement, “yeah it’s been a little tiresome i can’t lie. but i haven’t really taken a chance to have a break. even now i haven’t even had time to meet new people, that’s why i’m stuck with shua” he laughed at the end and you hated how warm it made you feel. you always loved the sound of his laugh.

you hummed, agreeing to what he was saying. truth be told you never really bothered too much about making new friends after hogwarts, you had the few people that you loved and cared for and they were enough.

you’ve obviously met new people along the way but there was no new relationship that stuck out to you.

“how is everyone else anyway? obviously i already know how minister choi is” jeonghan chuckled, voice breathy, “but how about everyone else? i’ve heard about soonyoung joining a quidditch team”

“yeah he did! right now nayeon’s working at a place in diagon alley to do with herbology, but she’s said she wanted to try applying to be a herbology teacher for hogwarts”

“that’s great” jeonghan said in awe, “shua’s the same more or less. his family’s got one of the biggest accounts at gringotts so he doesn’t have to worry about working for a long time”

you thought back for a second, joshua’s family had about the same social status in the wizarding world as your parents did, so frankly speaking it’d make sense why he didn’t bother working. you would do the same if it wasn’t for the fact that working kept your parents distracted from telling you that you needed to marry guwon any one of these days.

your mood turned sour remembering what your parents constantly remind you. their obsession with being acknowledged and having a high status always took a toll on how they actually were as parents. they were awful, and it didn’t help that you were thinking about all of this in front of jeonghan, the person you lost because you couldn’t stand up to your parents.

“yn? you alright?” jeonghan waved his hand in front of your face a few times, retreating his hand when you nodded.

“sorry just spaced out for a second” you rubbed your eyes.

jeonghan stared blankly at your wrist, there was no way right? “is that the same bracelet that..?” he trailed off at the end, but you knew exactly what he said.

you cleared your throat, “oh! yeah i think so?” you lied straight through your teeth, you knew it was the one he’d gotten you. “it was just with the rest of my stuff and it caught my eye, thought it looked nice”

jeonghan nodded, honestly a little.. dejected? there was no way, who were you kidding?

——- ★

“so anything fun happen at work today?” joshua asked jeonghan in the way to the birthday dinner.

jeonghan looked over at his friend, confused. he almost never asked about work.

“not really..” jeonghan looked at him confused. “well actually- you remember that girl yn ln from school? same year as us but she was in gryffindor?”

“you mean your ex?” joshua looked back at jeonghan.

“yeah” jeonghan muttered, “look whatever point is- she was the transfer to the department”

“really?” joshua said surprised, parking the car outside of the restaurant. “that’s random”

“that’s what i thought” jeonghan mumbled, taking off his seatbelt and walking toward the restaurant with his friend.

the dinner was great, jeonghan enjoyed spending time with his friends. he couldn’t see as often these days, being the head of department didn’t give him much free time.

as he and his friends were getting ready to leave, jeonghan felt someone tap his shoulder to get his attention. he turned around to see a familiar face but he just couldn’t put his finger on it.

“jeonghan! it’s been a while” the man pulled him into a hug making jeonghan go a little stiff. the man pulled back to smile at jeonghan, frowning at how confused he looked. “it’s me.. moon guwon? you don’t remember me?”

“oh you” jeonghan muttered, rage growing in his body. “yeah i remember you. what do you want?”

guwon looked at the longer haired man for a few seconds, taken aback at his reaction to seeing him again.

“well uh, there’s an event on the 20th next month. the family organising it would like you to attend. you too, joshua” guwon plastered a smile at the two of them.

“sure, why not?” joshua sighed, “we’ll see you then guwon”

——- ★

“yn!” a voice called for you as you were about to step onto the elevator. you looked around and saw jeonghan catching up to you a few feet away.

you held the elevator open, giggling to yourself at how he was winded from just running over to the elevator.

jeonghan glared at you playfully, “you’re really laughing at your own boss?”

“my mistake, sir” you stifled another laugh.

“unbelievable” jeonghan scoffed, placing his hand on his chest to feign hurt. “and here i was thinking you were such a nice person”

“i don’t recall me doing anything particularly wrong” you said thoughtfully, placing your finger on your chin for good measure.

considering your last memory of each other from when you were teenagers was him saying he hated you and never wanted to see you again, he really did stick closely to you when you started working with him.

on your off days he was the first to notice. at first you excused it with the fact that you simply had to share on office together and he’d always been perceptive; but even after your office was finally ready, he still managed to always be with you.

he was so good at reading you and so keen on making sure you were alright, that hansol had to stifle a laugh every time he saw you and jeonghan flustered by the other’s actions.

“yn, sit with us” you heard your mother tell you as soon you stepped into your home. shrugging off your shoulder you internally screamed imagine what they’d be like while they were here.

you sat on the couch, not bothering to properly greet either of them. “what’s this about now?” you sighed, already annoyed.

“your mother and i will be hosting an event on the 20th next month, make sure you’re there” your father told you plainly.

“why? you lot never haven’t invited me to any of these events, why do you want me to come to this one all of a sudden?”

“stop talking back, yn” your mother muttered, her face irritated. “but if you really must know, the moon’s will be there. and they’ve been thinking, and so have we, that we might as well finally set your engagement with guwon in stone”

“it’ll be at a public event too, it’ll bring even more attention to us” your father smirked and you had to physically stop yourself from rolling your eyes. it was always about publicity with these people.

you tried not to dwell on it too much, but your heart dropped at how your parents wanted the engagement to be set in stone.

——- ★

“yn, are you alright?” jeonghan asked you one day from his seat at his desk.

he’d called you in because it seemed like there was a short evaluation that day at work, so everyone was brought to his office. it wasn’t anything serious, just a quick discussion on how everyone’s work was going and nobody was going to be fired from it.

“i’m alright, this job is great and-” you started to answer him smiling.

“no- sorry, i meant, are you alright? i’ve noticed you seem a little down these days..”

“oh” you breathed out, “yeah don’t worry about it i’m alright, just slept bad last night” you smiled to which he nodded and that was the end of it.

“you’re sure?” jeonghan furrowed his eyebrows before sighing. “look yn.. i care about you- because you’re my employee of course” he sputtered out.

“and you know we want this to be a positive environment so- look how about we just go out for lunch and it’ll distract you a little?”

“lunch?” you looked at him confused. it was cute to see him like this honestly, and it reminded you of how he was when you guys started dating but he was afraid you wouldn’t like how affectionate he was.

it’d probably only make you sadder tonight but you didn’t care. nodding while a smile easily melted onto your face, “i’d love to”

“you’re really good at sucking up to people you know” jeonghan snickered to his friend after a potential business partner left.

throughout the entire event, many businessmen approached joshua, telling him all about how he and his family’s business would prosper by creating ties with them. and it amused jeonghan to see his friend have to pretend to be interested and give them false promises that he’d look into their offers and get back to them. in reality he’d tell them when they contacted him in a few weeks that his family wasn’t interested and that’d be the end of it.

“nice to know you find this so funny” joshua yawned, taking another drink from the tray.

across the hall, you spotted jeonghan immediately. you’d spent the last few weeks getting to know each other again, so you looked forward to at least having his company tonight. the only two problems were that one: both of you refused to acknowledge your past together and two: you were slowly starting to fall for him again.

it wasn’t hard to. he was the same as he’d been when you fell for him the first time. always so mischievous on the surface but to the very few people who could scratch that surface, he was one of the most kind hearted people you’d ever seen.

you were afraid you knew where this was going to go. if you hadn’t fallen in love with jeonghan again, you suppose you could have eventually stopped despising a life with guwon, but now that you’ve spent even a second with jeonghan, you know you’d never be able to accept this life you were going to be forced to live with guwon.

against your better judgments, you let your feet walk you over to jeonghan, smiling brightly at him when he saw you. “jeonghan, joshua! how are you both?”

“yn, hi, it’s been a while” joshua smiled back at you. he looked between you and jeonghan for a few seconds before chugging the rest of his drink, “i’m going to head to the bathroom, you guys have fun without me” he patted jeonghan on the back before he left.

“you didn’t tell me this event was yours?” jeonghan chuckled, accusing you playfully.

“you didn’t tell me you’d be coming!” you matched his playful energy. you observed him for a few more seconds and could tell he was out of energy. “are you alright?”

“hm? yeah” he hummed, “i don’t really like really social events much, lose energy at them far too quick” he laughed lightly.

“why don’t you follow me to that table at the balcony then? it’ll give you a break from everything else” you tried to persuade him.

“trying to get me away from everyone, are you?” he teased, wiggling his eyebrows but following you up on your offer regardless.

the view from the balcony was gorgeous, but part of you felt sick at how familiar it all felt, especially with him of all people. you shook your head, continuing to admire the view while trying to bite back the memories.

you felt something grasp at your hand, soft fingers wrapping around your own. you looked down at it to see jeonghan staring right back at you. and that was the last thing it took for tears to spill.

jeonghan panicked, cupping your face immediately and wiping away the tears, hushed whispers comforting you as he swayed you back and forth.

you couldn’t help the way you melted into his touch. you missed him too much. you didn’t fall in love with him again, you just never really fell out of love with him.

“you know..” jeonghan whispered, his chin pressed to the crown of your head, “that night i told you that i hated you..”

you felt like you were going to sob at him reminding you of that night before you nodded.

“i didn’t mean it. i could never hate you but i’d rather lie than live with the fact that you didn’t feel the same about me” he whispered.

“but i did feel the same about you hannie!” you cried, burying yourself deeper into his shoulder.

“then why didn’t you do something about it sooner yn?” his own voice cracked and he sniffled harshly, “you took so long and it was stupid of me but i couldn’t live like that anymore”

“no it wasn’t stupid of you” you hugged him tighter, “you were hurt and it was selfish of me to put you through all that”

the two of you stayed like that for a few minutes, crying and spilling your guts to each other. everything you both wanted to tell each other for last ten years spilling out now at once.

when you both pulled away, you stared at him for him a few more seconds. you brought your face closer to his, pressing your lips to his own. when he pulled away he smiled at you, the same smile that you’d loved for years. you took his hand in yours and looked at him seriously, “you were right about how i should stand up to my parents, so now i’m going to do something i should’ve done ages ago”

before you could take him to your parents, jeonghan stopped you. “what are you-”

“i already know you mean it now yn” he smiled at you, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you closer to him, “i just needed to know you thought i was worth it. you don’t need to tell them now, im not in a rush. as long as i know you love me and that i love you, there’s no rush”

you nodded, tears welling up again and jeonghan cupped your cheeks again.

“my poor baby, what’s wrong?” he cooed at you.

“just missed you so much, glad we found each other again”

jeonghan smiled down at you before pressing a kiss to your forehead, “yeah? so am i”

[haikyu-mp4]

In need of a manicure

word count; 2086 – gn!reader I think, nb! too much blushing

You’re a manager for Date Tech and have been watching over them since the start of the year. The most recent memorable addition to the team was Koganegawa, nicknamed by the third-years as the giant setter. He didn’t progress especially fast, but he had a strong will and nothing could fit better into the group of the iron wall.

After a training match with Karasuno, you noticed Koganegawa talking to Kageyama, the so-called genius setter, about taping up his nails and fingers. You’d already noticed the dark-haired boy fixing his nails between matches, keeping them clean-cut so he wouldn’t have to use tape. That awakened an idea, and you had your own conversation with Tobio a bit later for some tips.

That’s what led to you bringing a nail file to school the next day, quietly observing the team’s volleyball practice until they were finished. Now’s the time to initiate your plan. The boys were tired and sweaty, and you handed out their water bottles with a smile and ‘good job’ for each talented player. After they had cooled off a bit and were about to start cleaning up the gym, you tapped Koganegawa on the shoulder, waiting patiently for him to turn his attention around. As he turned to you, he straightened up with an immediate nervous reaction, as if you were some sergeant of the military.

“Hi, Kogane?” you started, heat rising to your ears at the attention. “Do you have a minute?”

“ANYTHING YOU NEED!” he responded loudly, even bowing. You weren’t that startled, already getting used to that kind of behaviour, but you waved your hand a bit to try and calm him down.

“Can I see your hands, please?” you asked, already looking down as he hesitantly put them up even if he repeated your request curiously. You could see some of the other players glancing at you two with a curiosity matching Koganegawa’s. “I asked Kageyama how he cares for his nails…” you somewhat mumbled, in the process of unwrapping the tape from the boy’s fingers while he looked at your touching hands with wide eyes. A warm blush was taking over his face, making him glance over his shoulder at his upperclassmen and then quickly back at you, almost afraid that the opportunity would just pass him by if he looked away.

“Because- uhh... because he doesn’t tape them?” he managed to ask, trying to breathe even if you were so close. You looked up at him, giving him a bright smile that almost melted him. The only person present who didn’t know about Kogane’s little crush on you seemed to be yourself, not noticing how a boy or two were hiding behind Aone so they could laugh in secret.

“Yes! I was thinking, maybe if we take care of your nails, you won’t keep hurting them. Sorry… I heard you tell him about that.” you said, relatively confidently at first before it turned into a mumble at the shy confession. Koganegawa almost teared up, bowing again.

“THANK YOU!” He didn’t get to say much more, as the other boys made dramatic comments about how lucky they were to have such a caring, beautiful manager. He wanted to say more, like how that was a really great idea, but he seemed to be stuck with the cute smile on his face. You just let their words brush off your shoulders, already fishing the nail file from your pocket and starting with his thumb. You held his hand in yours, the other one filing away carefully, avoiding the sore spots where the nails were already damaged. His hands were so strong that you imagined he wouldn’t need as much tape just for blocking.

“I’m sorry if I was a bit too straightforward.” You started excusing as you were about halfway, carefully dropping the hand you finished and looking up at his face, which wasn’t that easy when you were so close. These high school boys were so tall.

“Not at all! Well, yes.. but… I don’t mind,” he answered, finally finding his voice if only to make sure you didn’t excuse yourself for being especially nice. His eyes carefully gazed upon your face, especially focusing on the rosy tint of your cheeks. He hadn’t seen it so often because you were typically very comfortable around the team.

“Good!” You responded with a smile, but it trailed off into an awkward silence. You had expected Koganegawa to give you his other hand, so you waited until you realised you would have to pick it up yourself. “Almost done,” you mumbled as you did.

“Maybe I’ll be a better setter if I don’t need to have them taped up all the time,” he wondered under his breath, eyes now watching your connected hands again while you filed. You made sure there were no ridges or anything. That’s why it was taking so long! Not at all because holding his hand even like this was kind of nice.

“You’re progressing very well as a setter,” you answered automatically, knowing so from how you watched them. It was your job in the club, after all, to keep track. “I just don’t want you to hurt yourself more than necessary just for a club,” you continued, chuckling to yourself at the thought of how Kogane made this into a contact sport within the team, tumbling into the other blockers when he got a bit too excited. His ambition and spirit were part of what drew you to him in the first place.

Kogane wondered if there was smoke in his lungs, feeling them tighten and then butterflies erupting at your kind words. “Th-thank you,” he said again. Most of the other guys had finished their own business of cleaning out the gym and were moving on to the locker room. Futakuchi might be mentally preparing something for Kogane to fix when he was done being pampered. Not out of jealousy or anything…

One week later, you’re sitting in your classroom with your friends. It’s lunch period and you’re all chatting away about this or that. There was some extra energy in you to finish this school day, knowing that you have volleyball practice after.

However, your attention suddenly diverts from your friend who is telling all of you about something she watched on TV, to a head of angry-bird hair quickly zooming past the windows out in the hallway. Only a second later, Koganegawa appeared in the doorway. His eyes looked around for a moment before finding yours and lighting up like a golden retriever. You sent him a small wave and your friends stopped talking abruptly as the tall setter walked towards you. “Hello!” He said, perhaps a little too loudly for the setting, but no one said anything about it.

“Kogane, what’s up?” You asked, a bit confused. It’s not that you minded, but you rarely communicated with the players outside of the club unless you passed each other in the hallway. The boy bowed to your friends and looked back at you.

“I was thinking, maybe we should do my nails before practice this time?” he said with emphasis on ‘before’ and looking quite determined.

You laughed, a kind of nervous yet happy reaction. It was short and light, but you couldn’t help but adore him. Kogane wasn’t sure how to feel, but he didn’t have much choice but to stare when you looked so gorgeous. “You’re right!” You finally said, leaning over your bag to fish out the nail file again and letting your friends go back to their conversation while you had your attention elsewhere. They already knew about your crush on the setter from how you spoke about him, even if you didn’t know yourself. “Why don’t you sit down? I’ll do it in between finishing my lunch.”

Following this episode, some might say you paid even more attention to Kogane than before. He would come into your classroom at least once a week so you could fix up his nails, even going as far as adding nail polish which he really liked. Especially when yours matched. For volleyball practice, it seemed like he was turning to you every time he felt he did something right and it would always surprise him how you were already looking at him and sent him a thumbs up. The team was fed up, not seriously of course, but there was something disgusting about this whole young love thing. How you two would blush and stutter, awkwardly trying to spend more time together while also trying to not be too obvious in your approaches. They just had to do something.

So Futakuchi swept up beside you after one particular practice, leaning on your shoulder as if you were so much shorter than him. “Fancy joining some of us to go get food?” He asked as if it was the most charming offer ever.

You snorted a laugh and hummed for a moment as if considering, before shrugging his arm off you. “Sure.” You glanced over your shoulder at some of the other guys who were slowly emerging from the locker room. “Who’s going?” You asked, obviously curious about one person in particular, and the smirk on Futakuchi’s face made it obvious that he knew.

“Your favourite will be there.” He teased before winking and walking back to join the others.

When all of you got to the chosen fast-food restaurant, you were walking alongside your favourite setter in front of the others, not noticing anything around you as you discussed whatever odd topic came to mind. It was fun and you enjoyed talking to him outside of school or practice. Maybe you should do this more often. You were so distracted, in fact, that neither of you two noticed when all the others scrambled away and left you, giggling to themselves. Koganegawa was the one who finally looked around, about to ask Onagawa something.

You stopped as well, asking “Where the hell did the others go?” Koganegawa checked his phone, eyes widening at the message from Futakuchi in the team group chat that you managers weren’t in.

Say we had to leave and take your chance to hang out;)

So he looked at you, stuttering for a moment before explaining. “Futakuchi said they had to go.” It wasn’t a very convincing or fleshed-out explanation, but with the captain’s name involved you could only sigh and accept your fate. He wasn’t slick, to say the least.

“We can just order and leave if you want,” you suggested with that sweet smile of yours, looking up at the guy with somewhat hopeful eyes. At least he wished they were hopeful.

“I don’t mind hanging out,” he answered, sticking to the script he got. “If you want!” and so you both nodded and settled into comfortable conversation, spending the evening eating and learning more about each other outside of the court.

Next practice, the team was shocked to find out the two of you still weren’t admitting to your feelings for each other. Still blushing and giggling and trying not to be too obvious while everyone else watched on, dumbfounded.

“Why don’t you just ask her out?” Sakunami asked Koganegawa while they were getting dressed for practice, making him nervous just thinking about it.

“What if she says no,” he pouted. Futakuchi pinched between his eyebrows, putting a harsh hand on his underclassman’s shoulder.

“We promise you she won’t.”

So while you were handing out the water bottles, Kogane just asked.

“Y/n! Will you go out with me?” he yelled and closed his eyes, like not seeing your face would make the possible rejection better. You waited with rosy cheeks and that sweet smile of yours until he peeked one eye open.

“Yes.”

Years later, after high school had passed and you both tried to figure out your lives before settling into some jobs that might be permanent or might not be, you and your high school sweetheart decided this was a forever kind of thing. The two of you wanted to figure out all of life’s obstacles together, and Kogane got the assistance of his new teammates for a sweet and small proposal. Kyotani and Tsukishima were not exactly overly excited as they distracted you for an hour or two before leading you to the magical spot your boyfriend had picked out, where he was waiting with the brightest smile.

Let’s just say your fiance’s nails and yours looked exceptional in the engagement photos.

masterlist

/This is actually one of the first pieces I ever wrote for Haikyu, but I felt like it wasn't good enough to post