#and now you're fucking 'disappointed' that I haven't kept up with the other manager? fuck all the way off

[thatrandombystander]

Oh bubble tea and pair of half stale donuts. You're the only thing between me and me quitting my fucking job right now.

[hime-bee]

(Okay but Bee, HEAR ME OUT ON ULPIANUS god i love hunters that have ties to unfathomable lovecraftian gods, that's gotta be the hottest thing to me <33)

that man RADIATES loser dad vibes, he's the soggiest man to have ever come from the depths of the sea and is incredibly emotionally constipated to back it up. that's a man who's probably never had pussy in his entire life, and it's not gonna fix him or take his mind off the seaborn threat, but it'll be a damn improvement for sure. with his strength, he could easily ragdoll and hack you into pieces if he wanted to, which he seems to be contemplating anytime you manage to throw some flirty and playful remarks his way. or he's just too stoic for his own good to even react in a somewhat normal way. he's still pretty cute and hot to you either way~

getting him into your bed takes an INCREDIBLY amount of effort on your part, though given his occupation and mental state, you can hardly fault him. he makes it clear from the get-go that he's not looking for anything romantic, which does disappoint you, but oh well. as long as you get to be near this hot mess of a man, then you're fine being his pretty little cumdump. his mask is kept on per his insistence, which you don't mind because he's still super hot, and you think the mask makes him even more attractive (in your opinion at least). he undresses himself for you, though he doesn't seem to know what to do as you squeal and fawn over his VERY well-built body other than quietly telling you to be quiet and asking if you have no shame.

pleasuring him is both a bit of a challenge and surprisingly easy, given how he's probably not jerked off or gotten any pussy for a VERY long time. and you suspect that he's getting nervous or getting cold feet because of how he regards himself and the seaborn blood that runs through his veins. but you make it quite clear that you care very little for that and don't see him as a monster, encouraging him to stop being stuck in that thick skull of his and let you show him heaven for a little bit. he shuts up for a good while after that. and you keep to your words, pampering every single inch of his body with teasing pecks and faint murmurs about how hot and attractive he is.

trying to fit his dick into you takes a good long while. ulpianus is far bigger than anything you're used to, and he either doesn't care or is finally enjoying himself just a smidge for fucking once to even notice how fucked out you are just from his size alone. you ended up creaming on his dick embarrassingly quick, moaning like a bitch in heat as you struggle to accommodate his sheer length and girth in your pussy. he might've thought you were in pain or something, but upon hearing and seeing you devolve into a fit of orgasmic giggles and moans as you frantically grind down onto his pelvis, he figures it out. each time you move, there's a noticeable bulge that pops up and down, and you know that ulpianus can see it too, if his eyes trained on that spot is anything to go by.

ulpianus ended up finishing inside, much to his supposed chagrin and your delight. just one load was enough to make you feel so full, and, well, you're just dying to know how it'd feel if he dumped every last drop of cum into your cunt. but he seems to have other ideas when he flips you beneath him, hissing out some expletives in Ægirian that you can't understand before he starts pounding down into you, all supposed hesitancy now thrown out the window. but you've always been a sneaky little opportunist, haven't you? you teasingly coo, amidst your moans and garbled noises, at him for trying to knock you, asking if he really wants to fill you with his babies that badly~

your stomach is practically swollen by the time he's finished emptying his balls into your cunt, womb stuffed to the brim with his seed and unable to hold all of it in. ulpianus seems content, laying back as he heavily pants from blowing out your backside while you're practically half brain-dead from how good it all was. you'll definitely be doing this with him again, maybe you can convince him to breed you for realsies next time~

(This is so out of character but I hope that Bloodborne mofo will be released from npc jail soon, he's got that pathetic soggy dilf vibes to him and i wanna put him in my mouth i can give him more kids lol ⌯❛𐃷❛⌯)

I'VE REREAD THIS OVER AND OVER AND I JUST WANNA CONGRATULATE YOU ON YOUR CLARIVOYANCE, LATI- HOW DID YOU KNOW WHALE DADDY WAS GONNA BE PLAYABLE?!?! LMAO

You manifested him, seriously, and Idc if it's OOC, everything you typed is canon and I'll die on that hill WITH YOU, MA'AM 🗣️ A sopping wet man that's knee deep in trauma needs, nay, deserves some good pussy!!

[masonmyluv]

Barcelona GP - Pedri Gonzalez

Pedri Gonzales x reader

Warnings: ansgt, jealous!Pedri, brother!Carlos Sainz, bestfriend! Charles Leclerc, mentions of some other drivers, google translated Spanish, I hope that’s all

"Carlito!!!"

"Stop calling me that hermanita. I have a reputation around here" Carlos said. "Who's that fella over there?" He asked. "Pedri, come here" you said, seeing that he was a bit lost. "Carlos, this is my boyfriend, Pedro and Pedro, he's my annoying older brother Carlos" you made the introduction and the boys shook their hands. "Good to finally meet you. Y/N won't shut up about you" Carlos smiled. They engaged in a conversation, more like interrogatory, so you made your way over to the other Ferrari driver.

"Lord Perceval, lovely to see you again" you bowed. "My lady" he laughed, placing a kiss on your hand. The gesture made Pedri's blood boil, but he kept cool. "Y/N!" "Lando! Good to see you again" you said, hugging the British boy. "I hope you're good. Both of you, with the rough start and everything" you said. "I've been better..." Lando sighed. "I know. I really hope you get P10 tomorrow" you said sympathetically. "Thanks Y/N. Is always great to meet you before a race" Lando said and went to the McLaren garage. "So... you and Barcelona's golden boy. Who would've thought?" Charles teased. "Yeah... well it happened" you blushed, looking over to the two most important men in your life. "I would be dead by now" Charles joked. "Comment ça? (What do you mean?)" You asked. "He's been throwing daggers here all the time" he chuckled. "He's not that jealous" you shrugged. "Mhm here he comes" he said.

"So... ready for some action hermanita?" Carlos asked as Pedri made his presence well known to you by wrapping an arm around your waist. "Always hermanito" you teased. "How do you like it so far?" You asked Pedri as the two drivers were busy checking their cars. "Bueno" he replied. "Seriously Pedri? I know your inner child is screaming" you laughed. "True, but I don't want to make a scene right now" he said. "Ooohh... you want to show my brother you aren't a little boy anymore. I get it" you said, patting his cheek. "It's not—" "Your secret's safe with me, Pepi" you said, kissing his lips softly. "Hey! No PDA around here" Carlos said. "Overprotective brother phase 1" you rolled your eyes.

After the race, you congratulated even more drivers for their poles and Pedri felt like he wanted to punch everyone. You went over to Pierre, Perez and Alonso, but Pedri wanted to meet Verstappen, so you went over the Red Bull Racing pit. Now that little boy was coming out of Pedri, who asked Max for a picture and an autograph too. "cómo estás? (How are you)" Sergio Perez asked. "Bueno. Y tú? (Good. And you)" you replied. "decepcionado (disappointed)" he sighed. "estoy seguro de que puede manejar (I'm sure you can manage)" you tried to encourage him. "No estoy tan seguro. Pole 13 es malo (Im not that sure. P13 is bad)" he explained. "No quiero que Max gane. alguien más es mejor (I don't want Max to win. Anyone else is better)" you said quietly so the Dutch won't hear you. "Veo que no has seguido adelante (I see you haven't moved on)" he smiled knowingly. "Jamás (never)".

"What a day! Verstappen P1. He's going to win this" Pedri said, making his way into the room after he's had his shower. "Yeah wonderful" you said sarcastically. "Don't be grumpy. Carlos got P4 which is good" he said, putting on his pyjamas. "Yeah I guess" you sighed. "Or are you sad that Leclerc got only P11?" He asked. "Are you jealous Pepi?" "Never said I was. But you seem very comfortable around all these guys. Wouldn't be shocked if you fucked them" he shrugged. "Very highly you think of me, Pedro" you snapped. "Just saying. What I saw today. A bit too friendly for my liking" he said. "They're my friends. And Charles is my brother's teammate! Obviously I'm a bit closer to him than to anyone else! You have no right to be jealous" you said, tears threatening to spill. "Whatever" he rolled his eyes.

You left the room quietly while he was still in the bathroom, and made your way down to the pits. You needed some time alone to think.

"What's up, petit papillon? (little butterfly)"

"Charles, sorry. I had a little fight with Pedro and didn't know where to go" you smiled weakly through the tears.

"You never call him that"

"What?"

"Pedro. You call him Pedri, Pepi, Pedrito. I get you're mad at him" he said.

"I am, oui. He's being a jealous ass. Thinks I fucked you all" you said, cringing at your words. How could he think that in the first place?

"If only he knew how Carlos truly is. Je suis surpris that he didn't chop his balls off yet (I am surprised)" Charles joked.

"And even if we were to be...you're not my type of girl, but you're his type" Charles said. "stupide de dire ça (stupid to say that)" you said. "Excuse moi. I'm not Doctor Love, but I see that you really love him" he said. "I do. And I'm also jealous. When girls give him pieces of paper with their numbers or Instagram, whispering in his ear to leave me and fuck with them" you shrugged.

"Disgusting"

"I know. But I try to ignore them and love him for what he is. The man Pedri, not the footballer" you said. "I know. That's why everyone here loves you. Because you saw behind the famous drivers, you saw the people behind them. And you're friends with the actual people, not the drivers. Which means a lot to all of us" he said, hugging you.

"Y/N? Are you here?" Pedri's desperate voice interrupted your hug with Charles. It was enough to look at Charles to know he had a plan. "Hola Pedri. How are you mate?" Charles said, not giving away that you were hiding behind his car. "Not so good. Y/N left after we had a little argument, left her phone in our room and no one has seen her. I'm going insane" he said. "Well, I happen to know where she is, but—" he pointed his finger at Pedri. "You stay where you are, don't move a finger. And she'll come out when she's ready" Charles said, leaving the room.

"Y/N, amor, I'm so sorry... I trust you, I know you won't cheat or anything like that... I just saw you being so friendly with them and just remembered how we met...you weren't like that towards me and I thought what do they have and I don't? I don't know the answer to that... but I know I love you and had no right to be jealous. You go through this almost every day with me and the fans and you're not throwing a tantrum at me. You understand me and I should've done that today too. I'm sorry... I feel so bad" he sobbed. "Oh Pedri, come here" you said, leaving your hiding spot and hugging him. His head fell on your shoulder, letting tears soak your hoodie. "I'm so sorry" he whispered. "It's okay... maybe I should have warned you about me being friends with almost everyone on here. But they are my friends and I get very few chances to see them lately, so it's always good to see them" you said, threading your fingers through his hair. "And with Charles we're just friends. Best friends. Who do you think I told that I was seeing this Spanish football player huh? He was the only one who knew and he told me to go for it. Even if it fails, at least I tried. And look at us. We're together and happy" you said, pulling away to look into his glossy eyes. "And you're special to me, Pedri. I love them as friends, but you're the only one I love like I want to scream of happiness... or the one I want to rip the clothes off" you chuckled. "Eres preciosa (you're precious)" he smiled, pecking your lips softly.

"Now that's what I want to see, hermano" Charles said, leaning on the door. "Spanish looks good on you" you chuckled. "Well, Carlos taught me some" he said, wiggling his eyebrows. "You should go to sleep. You have a big race tomorrow" you said. "I'm sorry for all this" you said. "Don't. I'm happy to help a friend" Charles said, hugging you. "But I'll chop you dick off next time" he said to Pedri. "Got it, sir" he joked, taking your hand in his. "No need to call me that. I'm only 5 years older" Charles laughed. "You're old, grandpa" you said laughing. "I will pretend you didn't say that. Goodnight" Charles replied.

"God I was so worried about you" Pedri said, back in your hotel room. "I mean I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't found you. Probably faint" he chuckled, hugging you from behind as you tried to fall asleep. "I love you" he whispered. "I love you too, Pepi".

"Yes! Go Charles! Go Carlito!" You yelled their names as they passed the finish line one after the other. Charles first place, Carlos second and Perez third. "I'm so proud of them" you said. "And where is Verstappen? I can't see him on the podium" you teased Pedri. "He just had a bad race day" he shrugged. "Aham. As you say. Let's go celebrate with them".

"Carlito!!! I'm so proud of you" you said, hugging your brother soaked in champagne. "Don't call me that, hermanita" he whined. "And Charles! I'm so proud of you too. You really deserve this" you said, hugging the Monegasque. "Why aren't you calling him Charlito?" Carlos asked, making you laugh. "I should, shouldn't I? Pedrito, Carlito and Charlito. The three most important men in my life" you said, pulling them into a group hug. "I don't like it" Charles huffed.

"Don't be sad, Charlito" Carlos imitated your voice and they started bickering (playfully).

"You good?" You asked, seeing Pedri was a bit zoned out. "Yeah. Just enjoying the view" he replied. "Which is?". "Mostly you" he smirked. "Come on, we have to celebrate" Carlos said, throwing his arm around Pedri's shoulder and dragging him after him. You and Charles walked behind them. "So everything's good in paradise?" He asked smirking. "Yes. Again, thank you so much" you said. "That's what friends are for, non?". "Of course, Charlito" you giggled. "Hey!".

Hope you like it ❤️

[cheese-ducks]

TWRP ORIGINS

Chapter 6: Adapting to Connection

Main master list

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Warnings: (mild swearing)

"Greetings, nerds. I trust no one has tried to kill anyone in my absence." Sung shot a glare at Meouch as he entered the room. 

"You can fuck all the way off your damn high horse, ya piece of shit." Meouch shot back. 

"Enrichment for those who want it, then." Said Sung as he set a large bag on the floor. 

"It has come to my attention that I haven't been the most attentive heroic leader,"

"Ya fuckin' think?" Meouch murmured. 

"So I brought various Earth items that I just thought were cool." 

"There is nothing in that fucking bag that could change my mind about you, cone boy." 

Sung held one of the items pinched between his thumb and index finger and tossed it to where Meouch was sitting. "Just know I'm doing my best despite your attitude, Commander." 

The sealed red bag of meat landed on the table and nearly hit Meouch in the chest. 

"Now we're talking!" He wildly tore into the bag and ate the contents, much to Phobos and Sung's disgust. "Even though I still think you're a stuck up, self righteous idiot with fucking oxygen for brains." 

Sung turned to Phobos. "And for you my lord, I've brought something for you to study." 

Was that a backhanded gag or a genuine attempt at being thoughtful? Phobos couldn't tell, but nevertheless he accepted the gift. It was a small glass container filled with a dark green wax-like substance. As he picked up the gift he noticed the pleasant smell coming from the substance. It was strangely comforting. 

"You haven't even seen the best part." Sung added. He grabbed Meouch's lighter and lit the wick of the candle. "Not only does the pleasant smell get stronger once it's ignited, it also just looks nice." 

Phobos simply stared in awe. He wasn't used to fire, it couldn't even happen on his home planet. Some of the old ships he saw in research books used a fuel conversion process that utilized fire, but all of the ships he'd ever piloted were advanced beyond that. He was extremely concerned the first time he saw Meouch smoking. There's absolutely no reason anyone should be inhaling fire like that, but it made him look cooler somehow. He decided not to question it, especially after Meouch growled at him for staring. Phobos grabbed his notebook and wrote Thank you as he walked into the control room. Sung was sitting at his small workbench, writing his own notes with his helmet off, but he managed to see the note out of the corner of his eye. 

"No problem, friend." Sung replied sincerely. 

As Phobos went to his room to stare at the candle Sung debated giving Havve Hogan his enrichment item. Sung was still disappointed in him due to the sneaking out incident. He'd been trying to fix the robot's irrational craving for violence in a variety of ways, some working better than others. Drumming was the only consistent fix. Sung couldn't necessarily blame him though, it was literally in his code. He was created for nothing but to kill. He felt like the antithesis to Sung's cause, yet Havve stayed and Sung let him stay. Were they friends? Neither of them truly understood the concept but they did get along well. They liked each other's company, they knew a lot about each other's lives, was that all it took?  If Sung wanted them to be friends, he would probably need to stop trying to save Havve from his violent tendencies. Friends don't try to control each other like that, that's just mean. He took a deep sigh and got Havve's item. 

Sung set a mini fridge on the ground in front of his friend. "I want you to destroy this." 

Havve's eyes lit up their intense red. He grabbed the box and began ripping it apart, crushing the pieces in his metallic hands. Jack had mentioned that the small metal box in the corner of his room, that was supposed to be capable of storing food, had broken about a year prior and he kept forgetting to dispose of it. He figured there was no harm in taking it for this, even if Havve was now breaking it beyond repair. Sung could sense he was overjoyed at the carnage. Being a robot, Havve didn't feel emotions in the way Sung could read but he could emote in other ways. 

This felt good, doing things for other people. To be more specific doing nice things for other people that he actually knew and saw often. There was an impersonality to his usual good deeds. The people he saved rarely knew his name, let alone enough to insult him as in depth as Meouch did. Personal connection was never on his radar, until he met Havve, and since then it's been an incredibly interesting journey. Finding out how friendship worked was fascinating to him. Jack would definitely be a crucial resource in figuring out personal connection, after all humans are social creatures. All four of them had been alone most of their journeys, but they didn't feel alone on this journey of rock and roll. 

[ourladyofomega]

I had periods during this year when I haven't consistently worked out. I noticed I gained weight, so I asked the location manager why that was. She did a few tests and got to know me, opened up about my depression, family suicides, drug-addicted girlfriends, the toxicity around me, et cetera. She charged me up by calling me a survivor, and said some glowing things about me. Almost no one does that for me. Then came the pitch for me to join a six-month fitness program.

Knowing the costs, I was reluctant to sign up, and told her I really wanted to consider it. But, she kept on pushing me. I tapped out in the end and agreed to go onboard, still feeling funny about what just happened as I calculated costs in my head. But, I was mentally getting used to it, thinking this could help me and other things I'm dealing with.

I returned one week later and started my training with someone else. My first session was already over in only 30 minutes. I questioned it, because the manager never mentioned that to me. Who does half-hour sessions these days? I was expecting a hour with the money I'm spending. That killed it. I had my arm pulled to sign the dotted line when I made it obvious that I wasn't ready just yet. She should've accepted it and moved on. She saw it in my eyes, but wouldn't take "no" for an answer. Not good.

I've been upset about not going out like I should, and I was raging to get back into it. Now, I'm already disappointed that it's come to a sudden halt. This felt promising to me, given that my anxious high-functioning mind is constantly on fucking overdrive. On the other side of the coin, asking questions shouldn't make me pay out of pocket and end up in this situation. I texted my trainer what happened and that I won't move forward with our sessions. Sunday arrived. Here's my written cancellation. Have a good one.

I inconvenience myself to drive double the distance to another location to work out; just to avoid future awkward interactions. A week goes by and my trainer texted me to wish me well. She was sad to hear about it, but she understood and accepted it. I thought I was done and move on. No dice! The location manager texted me two days later.

"Hey. This is [redacted] from [redacted]. I just wanted to reach out and offer you an opportunity to come in for a complimentary session with one of our fitness professionals. What day and times work best for you? AM or PM?"

No no no no no. That didn't feel genuine. Not at all. She didn't message me to apologize, ask how I was feeling, or what went wrong. None of that. In fact, this wasn't from her directly. It was a formatted text message. It all went over my head and right into another session I now had no interest in. How tacky is it when you establish any sort of one-on-one interaction with someone, that maybe they should reach out to you with their own words, instead of sending out pre-made d.m.'s. That was just so lazy.

"STOP", I texted, and unsubscribed from future messages from that number.

We used to have some positive client / manager niceties with each other before; up until that moment. I stopped being a person to her. I became a contract in her eyes. It's always a problem when you're being pressured, forced into situations never asked for, or obligated to do things you don't want to. Apply that to other situations you can think of. It's the umbrella principal of it. Family members constantly boxed me in on the daily to get what they want until the next. Undesirables-slash-hopeful potentials sweetened me to be their friend or to "sit next to them" when they didn't get it or flat out denied them. Best "friends" who guilt-tripped me into handing it over when it was mine, or else. Or, other "friends" of mine and customers who called me dirty names to my face when I said "no" to them. Just fucking stop. Take the "L" and hang your head in shame.

I work in retail. Our name always taught us to never pressure customers to buy things they don't want. I adhere to that everyday, 100%. Guess what? I was the location's top performer for five of my ten years there, because we have better ways of making it happen and meet clients halfway instead of boxing them into an uncomfortable situation. Any reasonable business would understand that you'll be fine if you fall a little sort of your goals. That's called good karma on my end. I still have my position and she'll still have hers. She has a '-1' this month because of me. I'm sure she'll live.

By the way, I realized my new anti-depressants were the culprit to my weight gain. I switched back to my old ones and my average weight lowered. Problem solved.

[echobx]

It's... complicated?- Rafe Cameron × polyam!reader & JJ Maybank × polyam!reader

summary: you're in a relationship with Rafe, but a one night stand with JJ turns into more and suddenly you find yourself entangled in a relationship that you don't plan on getting out of any time soon

general warnings: cheating, angst, fluff, smut, swearing, lying, reader being a bitch, talk of marriage angst warnings: mention of death, downward spiral, self-doubt, fighting (verbally), fighting (physically), traumatized reader smut warnings: p in v (unprotected), oral (f & m receiving), 3 way, cnc, creampie/cumdump, spanking, dirty talk, praise kink, degradation kink, (heavy) pda, subdrop adjacent, aftercare, foreplay, toy use (not primarily), overstimulation

word count: 19k

author's note: this started as a Rafe fic but immediately my brain fucked me over and then I was too deep to change it so I kept it and decided to explore the throuple idea. I wanted to not have it be cheating plot but I couldn't figure out how to do that while keeping the set dynamic, so I hope you're gentle with me on that :) I genuinely hope you enjoy it, it's the longest one part one shot I've ever written lol (p.s. I wanted to do dvp here but I couldn't find an appropriate place for it, but if you want it, I can write it separately)

   “Can you maybe not do lines on my boobs tonight? Last time you got some on my vintage Chanel dress and I haven't managed to get it out yet,” you ask Rafe while leaning in the door of his room, watching him get ready. 

   “I'll just buy you a new one,” he shrugs and buttons his shirt up.

   “That's not the point, babe, and you know it,” you shake your head, swaying your perfect curls. “It's also vintage, and you can't just buy a new one. Besides, I paid for it, not you.” 

   “You mean your dad paid for it?” he eyes you with a smirk playing on his pink lips. 

   “Nope, pretty sure that it counts for me now,” you smile, faking it as per usual when the topic of your dad comes up. “Dead people can't pay for shit.” 

   He steps over to you, tilting your chin up and kissing you. “Let's not talk about him. Instead, we can go and have fun, all right?” 

   “Eugh, whose house is this?” you scoff as he stops the car in the driveway. The mansion isn't even half the size of your own, and it makes you feel a little disappointed. 

   “Hey, be nice,” Rafe smiles and takes your hand up to kiss it before getting out and opening your door for you. 

   “I am always nice,” you tell him, but he knows it's a lie. Your way of being nice is what other people would call bitchy or bossy. You aren't nice like people want you to be, not since your dad died. He was the only one who you tried your best for. 

   “You know I love to see your claws out, but I have to sell shit tonight, so none of that, please,” Rafe begs, his arm tight around your waist. 

   You roll your eyes and look up at him, “fine.” 

   The party is already going, and a few people greet you while walking in. You find Topper and Kelce rather quickly, taking your seat next to Rafe you let your eyes wander as they talk. 

   “You know, you guys are boring as fuck,” you groan after having had to listen to them talk about golfing for twenty minutes straight. 

   “Since when are we here for your entertainment, y/n,” Kelce scoffs, but he gulps as you get up and lean over him. 

   “Maybe you should suck a dick to fix your fucking attitude,” you snarl and walk away towards the kitchen. You’ve never cared what Rafe's friends think of you, you’ve never cared what anybody thinks of you. 

   “Look at what the cat dragged in,” you roll your eyes at the blonde boy, who is leaning against the counter. His ring clad fingers are holding onto the solo cup, but the flirtatious smile is just for you. You’ve gathered as much over time. 

   “One day, you'll beg, y/l/n,” he says and takes a sip. 

   “Not if I make you beg first, Maybank,” you smirk and take the bottle of tequila to fill two shot glasses. 

   “I never beg,” he counters, and you laugh. 

   “Oh, I'd bet my BMW you do.” 

   “Does Rafe?” 

   “I won't tell you that, you'd just go runnin’round tellin’ people.” You poke the inside of your cheek with your tongue and hold the shot out for him to take. “Be happy that I'm keeping him on a leash. He'd have ripped your head off by now if I didn't.” 

   You watch him take the shot, and follow. The slight burn in your throat wakes you up, and the warmth in your stomach is familiarly cozy. 

   “And why would he do that?” JJ asks, tilting his head to the side. 

   “‘Cause you won't stop staring at my tits, Maybank,” you bite your lip and take the step over to him, leaning in and whispering into his ear. “I know how you look at me, as if I'm the ultimate price. But you wouldn't even be able to handle me on your best days, pretty boy.” 

   “You underestimate me, princess,” he whispers, and you pull away to look at him fully. 

   “Maybe in another life, Maybank,” you wink at him, grabbing the bottle of tequila and making your way back to the couch. 

   “What he want?” Rafe asks as soon as you get back and take your seat by his side. 

   “Nothing,” you sigh and kiss Rafe's cheek, leaving a lipstick mark behind. He doesn't need to know how much it riles you up when JJ flirts with you. How much you have to suppress the need to kiss him whenever you see him. It doesn't even make sense why it is like that. 

JJ and you have nothing in common, and you are happy about that. 

   You love being in a relationship with Rafe. You don't care much about love anyway, so why would you need to love the person you are in a relationship with if they are perfect on paper? Rafe is everything your dad ever wanted in a future son-in-law. He comes from good money, takes care of the people close to him, and knows how to act around money. You don't need to love him to build a good future with him. After all, your grandparents had done it the same way. And when you look at your own parents' life together, you keep wondering if it had really been the wisest decision to marry for love. 

   No, love is overrated, and so is whatever you feel when JJ looks at you. 

   “You sell any yet?” you ask straight out, and Rafe clears his throat and gives you a look that doesn't really make sense to you. “What?” 

   “You know they won't buy shit when you're here, unless you act it,” he whispers to you and you roll your eyes. 

   “Fine, but only one,” you cave, and for the next few hours you play the dumb girlfriend. For some reason, all of his buyers are some type of misogynistic asshole, and the only one who you could talk to without feeling looked down on is Barry. But Barry never gets invited to the parties, because he doesn't fit in. 

   To you, he's not much different than the businessmen your dad worked with, the same ones you will have to deal with once you're officially taking over the company. 

   “Baby, c’mere,” Rafe slaps his thighs, and you turn to straddle him, giving him a single warning glance to not fuck up. 

   “Love when you use my tits for it, babe,” you giggle stupidly, but internally you feel like throwing up. And it just gets worse when he puts a little line of the fine powder on your skin and dips his head down to snort it off. Your eyes cross with JJ's as soon as Rafe's head is down, and he vanishes from your vision the moment Rafe comes back up, wiping his nose. 

   “Thank you, baby,” he smiles and kisses you. It's a show. When you moan into him and buck your hips; and for once you're not sure if the show is for his clients, or for the blonde Pogue who can't keep his eyes off of you. 

   “I wanna go upstairs,” you whisper to Rafe and he nods. 

   “Just gimme ten and I'll meet you there.” 

   You get up and walk off, towards the stairs. A quick glance back to Rafe, who's focused on counting money, before you take the stairs, downstairs instead of up. 

   You decide to take a look around. The pool is a perfect 80 °F and if you had swimming stuff with you, you'd consider swimming for a while. Training a little to clear up your mind. 

   “Didn't you tell him you'd be upstairs, waiting?” You hear JJ behind you and turn around. 

   “And? I changed my mind. He doesn't care if he fucks me here or at home,” you shrug and JJ shakes his head. 

   “God, you really are something.” 

   “What do you want, Maybank?” you sneer, walking around the pool towards the sauna at the end of the room. The sound of your heels on the concrete floor echoes through the huge room. 

   “Why are you with him if you hate him so much?” he asks and starts walking closer, following you. 

   “I don't hate him. I hate his friends, anyone but Barry, basically. I hate how he acts around them. But I don't hate him,” you clarify, and JJ nods. 

   “But you don't love him.” 

   “Who needs love anyway,” you smile. The picture-perfect smile you’ve practiced in front of the mirror since you turned 12, the same one you’ve had to relearn when your dad died. It’s an ironclad mask. 

   “I forgot, you don't have a heart,” JJ smiles but drops it instantly. 

   “Tell me what you want, or leave,” you roll your eyes at him and he steps closer. Your heart starts racing as he leans over you, brushing a curl from your face and tucking it behind your ear. 

   “What do you want?” he rasps quietly and your eyes flutter, it's a reflex, and you don't know why. You don't understand why he has this effect on you. 

   “Nothing,” you press out, and his thumb ghosts your lips. 

   “I don't like when you lie to me, y/n,” JJ whispers, and you can't stop yourself from getting lost in his blue eyes. They are so different from Rafe's. JJ's eyes are bright and hopeful, they feel like happiness entrapped to you. And you can't stand it, because this isn't how it's supposed to be. 

   “Tell me what you want,” he demands, leaning down to smell your neck, his nose brushing against your skin and giving you goosebumps. 

   “It’s neither appropriate nor allowed,” you hush, and he chuckles. 

   "Since when do you care about any of that? You make the rules on this side of the island, don't you, princess?” 

   You blame it on the tequila when your lips find his. You blame it on the daiquiri when he leads you into the cold supply closet, without pulling out of your kiss. You would blame it on the coke, when he bunches your dress up and sinks into you; but you didn't have any coke that night. 

   “Fuck, you're so wet for me, baby,” JJ groans, he sat you down on a lower shelf, and you do your best to hold onto the metal structure that is pressing into your back. 

   “Shut up and kiss me, asshole,” you gasp, and he does just that. His kisses are wet and sloppy, just like his fast thrusts. But you can't stop kissing him, not only because it feels like heaven and hell combined. But mainly because you know you'd be screaming by the way his cock keeps kissing your cervix. 

   “You're so good at taking it, princess. Fuck, you feel so good,” JJ moans, and you can't help but feel pride in how much he seems to love it. 

   “Look at it,” you demand, and he dips his head, focusing on where you are connected. Your slip is tucked to the side, but it's ruined anyway, it has been from the moment on that he started to flirt with you. 

   “What does that say,” JJ asks, his thumb rubbing over your tattoo, making you smirk. 

   “Eat me, Maybank. It says, eat me,” you moan, and he grins. 

   “Next time, princess,” he growls and starts rubbing your clit in harsh circles. You don't understand how he does it, but he has you moaning even louder, and clenching around his cock in the matter of minutes. The band in your stomach is ready to burst, and you don't think you've felt this good ever before. It feels like he's made for you, but you know that can't be the case. 

   “Come for me, pretty girl. Soak my dick,” JJ breathes into your ear, and as soon as you come undone, he pulls his hand from your clit and shoves his fingers down your throat to shut you up. 

   You feel afloat and completely dazed when he pulls his fingers out and clasps his hand over your mouth. 

   “Shh, quiet,” JJ whispers, and you hear footsteps outside the closet. If someone finds you, you're screwed. 

   “No, she's not down here either. Check upstairs again, man,” Rafe's annoyed voice carries through the door, and you stare at JJ. You're not scared of what might happen to you if Rafe found out, but more so that he'd finally snap and actually hurt JJ like he has threatened so many times before. 

   Rafe is still outside the door when JJ decides to start fucking you again, and your eyes roll back uncontrollably. He knows how badly you want to make a sound for him, but you can't let yourself. 

   As soon as his footsteps carry Rafe back upstairs, you let out a loud groan, pulling JJ into a kiss and purposely squeezing his dick just to prove to him that you're the one in charge. And when his hips stutter, and he spills out inside of you, you don't even mind it. You like the feeling, especially when he keeps fucking it into you, muttering incoherently about how good he fucked you. 

   “Do you always praise yourself after?” you ask him after having pulled your dress back down. 

   “Do you always cheat on your boyfriend with Pogues?” he smirks, and you push him back against the shelf. 

   “If anyone finds out about this, you are dead, you understand? Either you shut up, and hope for a second time, or I can ruin your life. I don't need Rafe to do it for me, I can do it all by myself. Do you understand?” You poke into his chest and he nods. 

   “Good,” you take a step back again, and he grabs for your chin, pulling you close again. 

   “I have one question, princess. Has he ever fucked you raw?” 

   “I don't trust him enough for that,” you reply, and JJ snorts. 

   “Why'd you let me, then?” 

   “You don't sleep around as much as you pride yourself, Maybank. I mean, you're not bad, but- Well, it all comes down to the circles you run in and the ones you don't,” you give him a mean smile and open the door to go look for a bathroom. 

   “How do you plan on not letting him find out if he never-” 

   “I told you, he does what I say. If I say no, he's not getting any,” you tell him and turn a corner towards the bathroom. 

   “You really got him wrapped around your finger,” JJ laughs. 

   “You too,” you grin before sitting down to pee, you don't care that he is standing right next to you. 

   “Didn't you literally call Cally R. disgusting for insinuating that she doesn't mind peeing in her boyfriend's presence?” JJ laughs. 

   “First of all,” you say while finishing up and standing. “Cally R. is a lying slut, the only reason why she keeps having to piss in front of her boyfriend is because she can't get rid of her std. And why doesn't it go away? Well, because little miss piss queen keeps on fucking Tyler Folly on the side. Calling her disgusting was the kindest thing I could do to her.” 

   “And the second reason?” JJ cocks his brow up. 

   “You're not my boyfriend, Maybank. And getting rid of your shit inside me, is kinda necessary unless you want me ending up like Cally,” you give him a threatening smile, and he holds his hands up in defense. “Good.” 

   “I'm just wondering if it's not hypocritical, with the whole fucking on the side and all,” he mumbles before wetting a towel and trying to remove the red lipstick marks from his face. 

   “I don't claim to love my boyfriend, and Rafe never claimed to love me. He thinks we have an open relationship on his side. I don't see why it can't be open on both,” you shrug and pull the lipstick from your bra to reapply it. 

   “Was I- was I better?” JJ mumbles, rubbing his hand over the nape of his neck. 

   “Could you choose between your two favorite types of food?” you ask, and he starts to grin. 

   “You know, that's a weird metaphor.” 

   “Simile,” you correct him, and he exhales a laugh. 

   “You're a real smartass, y/l/n.” 

   “And you can be glad you're pretty.” 

   “Pretty enough to fuck your brains out,” JJ turns you towards him and leans in, his lips ghosting yours and when he pulls back you exhale a breath you didn't realize you were holding. “See,” he smirks. 

   “If you want to do it again you can't fuck around, and most importantly you won't tell a soul. But then again, who would even believe you,” you scoff and turn around to leave, taking the stairs and vanishing in the crowd before anyone can notice where you’ve come from. 

   “Where were you? I was looking all over,” Rafe sounds concerned and hugs you, out of courtesy, surely. Rafe rarely hugs you unless you ask for it, or the social obligations call for it. 

   “Just here and there, I went upstairs and forgot why. I'm sorry, babe,” you tell him, and he lets it go. 

   “Hey, y/n, wanna play a game with us?” Topper asks, and you turn to look at the group of people gathered, your eyes get stuck on JJ for just a second before they snap back to Top. 

   “Sure,” you smile and push Rafe into a chair, sitting down sideways on his lap. 

   It's a dumb drinking game, just like always. It stays rather boring until Topper's new girlfriend gets to speak, and you instantly regret your choice to take part. 

   “Never have I ever had sex with someone in this room,” she giggles and falls back down into Top before they each take a sip of their drinks. 

   You take a sip, focusing on Rafe, but Rafe is staring right across from where the two of you are sitting. 

   “Why does Maybank keep staring at you,” he whispers in your ear, and you shrug. 

   “He's a creep, you know that, babe,” you try to calm your boyfriend down, but you know it's not gonna help much. 

   “Never have I ever cheated,” JJ says and takes a drink, but the chatter goes mute as soon as the words leave him. “I thought we were being honest, guys. God, you guys really are some Kooks,” he laughs and stands up to leave. His eyes are yet again fixed on you, but this time you can't force yourself to look away. 

   “Maybe cheating is just a Pogue quality,” you say, and a few silent mumbles seem to agree with your lie. 

   “You must know all about that, princess,” JJ smirks and tips his non-existent cap to you before turning and walking away, out of the house and into the darkness. 

   “He’s so weird,” Topper's girlfriend lets out a disgusted grunt. 

   “Was he even invited?” Topper asks and I roll my eyes. 

   “They don't check invitations at the entrance, stupid,” you laugh it off.

   “He probably stole something,” someone out of the crowd suggests, and you stand up in a light fit of rage, before you realize that you can't act on it. 

   “What would he steal from here? Cheap candles from Target?” you scoff and walk off. “Rafe!” you call out, and he takes a moment before he meets you outside by the car. 

   “I didn't wanna go home yet,” he complains. 

   “And? You have to drive me home. After that, you can do whatever the fuck you want,” you scoff at him, crossing your arms in front of your chest. 

   “What's up with you?” he snorts, opening the door for you and letting you get in. 

   “I'm tired and annoyed by these people who think they're better than anyone else, just because their dad's play golf and fuck their secretaries,” you mutter, and he stops asking, dropping you off at your house and driving off as soon as you are inside. 

   Weeks go by in which you don't even see a glimpse of JJ. You manage to push the memory so far back into your brain that you don't even dream of it, well, not as often. 

   And when Rafe fucks you, it's good, it's great, but you don't feel as complete after as you had with JJ. 

   “Best pussy in the fucking world,” Rafe groans as he pounds into you from behind. Your face is pressed into the duvet and your ass is high up in the air. He’s been stretching you out for what feels like hours. It’s really good, he hits every single spot inside of you perfectly, but you can't get yourself to come. 

   “Would be so much better without it, baby,” Rafe rasps, and you're not really listening, just nodding and groaning in response to whatever he's saying. 

   And before you can actually register what is happening, he has pulled out and slammed into you again, but it feels different. You can feel him more clearly, every single vein on his thick cock, the soft tip that keeps nudging your cervix as he thrusts deeper. 

   “Fuck, I love you. I love this pussy so much,” Rafe moans, and without a single warning he comes inside you, filling you up and clouding your mind. You gasp, close to an orgasm but not yet there and if he'd just- but he pulls out and you all you can feel is used. 

   “Shit, did you not,” he pulls you into him, having fallen into the sheets by your side, but you put on a smile. 

   “It's okay. Next time,” you tell him and get up to clean yourself up. You curse yourself for losing yourself in your thoughts about JJ instead of paying attention to what your boyfriend said to you. And now you have two guys thinking they can fuck you over anyway they want.

   “Are you okay?” Rafe asks as you leave the bathroom wrapped in your robe. 

   “Yeah, just next time, maybe warn me beforehand. Probably would've been better if we had both finished,” you say and roll your eyes while your back is turned to him. 

   “Why are you getting dressed?” 

   “I have to buy q tips, we don't have any left,” you lie and he scoffs. 

   “You could just ask the help to go buy some, and I could make it up to you. Come on, baby,” he slaps the empty bed to his left, but you shake your head. 

   “I just need some air, all right.” 

   “Fine. But text me so I know you're okay,” he sighs and gets up to take a shower. 

   You basically run out of the house, jumping in your car and driving off towards the Cut before you realize you don't even know where to go. 

   You pull out your phone and scroll down a long list of contacts before you find his number, saved under three Xs to remind you to never text him, but here you are, doing just that. 

   “Where are you?” you type out and hit send, a second later a text appears on your screen. 

“why?” 

   “Tattoo” is all you say, but the three small dots stay for a while and then they vanish. You are about to curse him out when a text pops up. 

“you know the Château?”

   “Routledge?”

“yes”

   You put your phone away and start driving again. Maybe you'd have to thank Topper's weird obsession with Sarah for knowing where the house is, but you really can't. 

   As soon as you arrive, you kill the engine and jump out of your jeep, stomping towards the porch. 

   “What the fuck are you doing here?” Kiara sneers at you, but you don't pay her any attention. You grab JJ's hand and drag him into the house. 

   “That's the wrong way,” he chuckles and holds you back from going deeper into the house, pulling you to the side and into a small bedroom. 

   “Tell me what's wrong,” he asks, wanting to hold onto you, but you brush him off. 

   “He said he loved me,” you hiss at JJ even though it's not his fault, nor can he do anything about it. 

   “And that's bad?” he raises his eyebrows at you and you huff. 

   “Yes. Yes, it is. You don't fuck someone, not let them fucking finish and then tell them you love them,” you reply quietly, not wanting his friends to be able to hear it all. 

   “I see. I can help with one of those,” JJ smirks and pulls you into a kiss. A kiss that makes you forget why you even came over. With as much as a snip of his finger, he has erased all the bad thoughts and feelings inside of you, replacing them with warmth and desire. 

   “They didn't believe me,” he whispers against your lips before bringing them into another kiss. You pull on his shirt, and he takes it off. 

   “Told you they wouldn't,” you smile and take your own shirt off before starting to fumble with his shorts. 

   “Now they have to,” JJ chuckles and pushes his pants down, leaving the boxers on. 

   He pushes you onto the bed, kissing you all over, especially focusing on your tits, and you nearly come just from that. His skilled tongue toys with your nipple while his hand squeezes the other breast mercilessly. 

   “You have the best tits, baby,” JJ moans against your skin, squeezing them another time before trailing his lips down the valley of your breasts and over your stomach to the hem of your jeans shorts. 

   “Are you sure?” he asks while looking up at you, but the way he's lying between your legs is godly. His unruly hair is hanging into his face, his lips slightly parted in a mischievous smile. 

   “I'll go ask one of the others if you don't want to,” you tease him, and he bites your hips.

   “Don't ever suggest that shit again, princess.” 

   “Noted, but only if your tongue’s as good as your dick,” you smirk. 

   JJ takes his time taking off your shorts, teasing you and edging you on, and you want to drown in the feelings he can so easily conjure in you. 

   “You smell different,” he notes, and presses his nose against your slip. “I'm not gonna do this when you smell like him.” 

   “I told you,” you sit up on your elbows and look at his disgusted face. 

   “You didn't say he fucked you raw. That's different, and you know it,” JJ complains and sits back up. 

   “I don't see the problem. It's an easy fix,” you shrug and pull him closer by his neck. Your lips press against his until you have him lying underneath you. 

   “See, easy,” you grin down at him, pulling his boxers down just enough to let his hard cock spring free. 

   “Aren't you pretty,” you whisper to his pink tip, placing a kiss on it and tasting his salty precum. 

   “If you do that again, I'm busting a nut. You gotta warn a guy,” JJ laughs nervously. 

   “Cute,” you giggle and lift yourself up, pulling your slip to the side and brushing his throbbing tip through your aching slit. You let out a sigh of relief as you sink down on him. The familiarity makes you feel better instantly. 

   Fucking JJ is easy, it's messy, it's freeing. 

   You don't mind that he can't keep himself from coming when you do, because he's ready instantly as if it never happened. 

   You claw at his chest while you bounce on him, screaming of pleasure and not caring who can hear you. Your pussy sounds obscenely wet, and can feel the mix of your many releases spill out of you and onto him. But JJ doesn't care as long as you keep fucking yourself with his dick, he doesn't even mind having to take over when you get a cramp in your leg. 

   He's moaning and cursing worse than you, calling you all kinds of dirty things, but mostly he's showering you with compliments, which turns you on even more than you could have ever imagined. 

   And when he finally pulls out, your pussy is still clenching, pushing out all of his and your cum. 

   “Would you look at that, princess,” he huffs, “we should definitely not clean you up and send you back home just like that, show him who's actually better at fucking this pretty pussy.” JJ takes two fingers to push his cum back into you. 

   “J, please,” you beg him to stop. You are overstimulated and sore, so sore you feel like you might not be able to walk properly the next few days. 

   “Oh, but we haven't even done what you promised me, princess. You wouldn't let a poor guy starve, would you?” JJ gives you a pout and moves back to kiss your swollen cunt. A jolt goes through your body as he does it another time. 

   “You taste so sweet, baby,” he moans into you, his hands massaging your thighs; tongue dipping into your cunt and nose brushing against your clit. 

   You moan and mewl as he slowly kisses and licks you to your orgasm, you can't even remember how many you've had that day, but what you do know is that the last one is the best one. 

   “Where'd you learn to use your tongue like that?” you ask him out of breath when he's lying next to you. 

   “Natural talent, y/l/n,” JJ boasts and turns his head to kiss you, twisting his tongue with yours and then pulling you closer. His hand is harshly gripping your thigh, pulling your leg over his own; while your own hands are entangled in his hair. There's a sense of security in the way he kisses you, like you know he won't leave even if you'd tell him to. 

   “JJ-” you try to pull away, but his lips keep on chasing yours, even when you try to get his attention by biting him. So, you pull on his hair, holding his head in place and making him whine with it. 

   “S’unfair,” he murmurs. 

   “I have to go home, it's late,” you remind him. 

   “You could stay, I could show you how much better I am at morning sex,” JJ tries to convince you, but you know it's impossible. 

   You let go of his head and twirl a strand of his hair in between your fingers. “It's a charming proposal, but you know I can't. He'll come looking for me, and we don't want that to happen, do we?” 

   “I’ll let you go if you answer me one question.” 

   You roll your eyes at his antics, but agree to it anyway. “Deal, dumbass,” you smile.

   “Why’d you text me?” JJ whispers, and you sigh, turning around to look at the ceiling. 

   “I don't know,” you lie. 

   “I think you do, you're just lying to yourself if you say anything else. Because I wouldn't have told you to come by if I didn't feel the same,” he admits and nuzzles his face into your neck. 

   “It's a polar opposite. And I never thought- It's difficult to know you want a specific thing when you never had it, and once it’s there, it's hard to forget about it. And he won't give me that, I know it,” you explain quietly and JJ kisses your neck in response. 

   “I would never even consider not letting you come, baby,” he hushes against your skin, and it gives you goosebumps all over. It's cozy and loving in a way, and it might just scare the life out of you once you realize that you crave this affection he's giving you. 

   “I have to go,” you press out and jump up, leaving JJ groaning as he runs his hands over his face. You find your clothes pretty quickly and put them back on, while he stays in bed, lying there looking like a Greek god. 

   “You look severely fuck out. I like it,” he grins, his head propped up on his hand. 

   “Walk of shame material?” 

   “Nah, nothing to be ashamed of.” 

   “You know that's not what I meant,” you sigh and leave the room to go look for the bathroom. 

   “Left,” JJ calls out, and you turn left, towards the end of the hallway and enter the small bathroom. You don't understand how they can live in such a narrow space, but you know mentioning it would not end well. 

   Your curls are standing up in every possible direction and your eyes look extremely tired. 

   “See, not bad at all,” JJ smirks, leaning in the doorway of the bathroom. 

   “Do you have a hair tie or something?” you ask, and he steps behind you and pulls a drawer open. You pick out a simple black hair tie that could easily pass as one of your own, and wind your hair into a loose knot. 

   “Tell me again why I should let you go back to that asshole?” JJ asks, laying his chin on your shoulder. 

   “One, because he's not an asshole, and two, because he's gonna kill you. I don't want to see you dead, you're really good at what you do,” you say while looking at him through the mirror, and the smile on his face gets deeper as you speak. 

   “The secret side piece,” JJ flashes his eyebrows at you, and you can't stop the light chuckle that leaves you. Charming and sweet and all you should ever want and need-

   “I really have to go now,” you remind yourself, and he lets go of you. 

   When you walk out onto the porch, your eyes meet Sarah's and your heart stops, but you can't let yourself get caught up in it. You know, she hasn't spoken to Rafe in a whole year. She surely won't break that silence just to tell on you. 

   Your feet quickly move you towards your car, but before you can open your door, you are harshly turned around and pushed against the metal. 

   JJ kisses you so hard, you wish you could go back inside and do it all over again. His hand is holding onto your neck while the other is gripping your waist. It feels like the best kiss in your entire life, and it awakes something inside of you that you had long thought dead. The tiny flutter in your stomach is as faint as a gust of wind in spring, but you know it's there, and you know it'll just complicate everything else with it.

   When he pulls away, he does it slowly, leaving an abundance of small, soft kisses on your lips before running his thumb over them. 

   “She won't tell. None of them will, I promise,” he whispers and you nod, believing him. 

   “You should go. Didn't know kissing alone could turn a guy on like that.” You smirk innocently as your hand traces over his erection, and he can't even hide it because he hadn't thought about putting on anything more than underwear. 

   “That's all you,” JJ whispers and kisses you one last time. “Text me,” he says before stepping back and letting you get into your car. 

   As you drive off, you can see him flipping off his friends before going inside; and then the house, and all of them with it, vanish as you make your way back home. 

   “Where were you?” Rafe bludgeons as soon as you get through the door. 

   “Out. You don't need to know everything, you know?” you snap at him. 

   “You didn't text and were gone for hours, y/n.” 

   “Shit, you sound more like my parents then my parents ever did,” you laugh and make your way into the kitchen, pouring yourself a glass of orange juice and downing it in one go. 

   “Excuse me for giving a fuck,” Rafe barks, and you roll your eyes. 

   “If you hadn't been selfish, like fucking always, I wouldn't have walked out.” 

   “I wanted to make it up to you. You left!” he counters and you gulp hard. 

   “Tell me what you would've done. Something that puts me first for a change or not?” Your blood is boiling and there is nothing that can stop your fit of rage. It was easier to look past Rafe's selfish tendencies when you didn't know any better, but now that you do, you can't help but get annoyed at him for it. 

   “Where's this coming from now?” he laughs, pacing along the room. 

   “God, why can't you fucking open your eyes! You know, sometimes I fake it just so it's over quicker,” you spit out, but he knows it's a lie, it's the one thing you promised each other to never lie about. 

   “You never tell me what you want either,” Rafe says, and you hate that it's true. 

   “Would you do it if I did?” 

   “I can try,” he raises his shoulders in what feels like defeat to you, but you can't be sure. 

   “Good,” you glare, but you know it's unnecessary. 

   “Now?” he asks, somewhat hopeful, but you shake your head. 

   “Maybe tomorrow, or whenever. I'm tired right now,” you sigh and make your way upstairs to take a bath. 

   The hot water is soaking your body, and you close your eyes and let it play out again. How JJ kept kissing you as he fucked you senseless, how his praises worked way better for you than Rafe's degradations. How he kept looking up at you with his head buried between your legs. 

   Your hand travels down between your legs, rubbing soft circles on your clit, and it's not enough. Your fingers plunge into your sore pussy, curling perfectly, but it's not enough. You can't reach, and it frustrates you. 

   You step out of the tub, dripping wet, as you make your way into the bedroom, and Rafe doesn't complain when you straddle him. And he complains even less, you start to fuck yourself with his dick. It's not something you’ve ever done with him, but he wants to be better for you, and he doesn't mind as long as he gets to fuck you one way or the other. 

   “Tell me how much you want me,” you moan softly while bouncing on his huge cock. The light stinging feeling his size always causes you just adds to your pleasure. 

   “You're so fucking hot, fucking me like the slut you are,” Rafe rasps, holding onto your hips. 

   “No, something nice. Tell me something nice.” You shake your head but keep going anyway. 

   “Uhm, okay… You're fucking me so well, baby,” Rafe says, but his eyebrows are furrowed until you moan louder. 

   “Yes, more.” 

   “I love your tight pussy, baby,” he groans, and you fall down on top of him, kissing him, but it doesn't feel at all like you hoped. He tastes like whiskey, but you crave the mix of weed and beer. Yet, all of your thoughts about it fly out the window when he stops your hips and starts pounding into you from below. 

   “Faster,” you gasp into him, biting his lip and digging your nails into his shoulders. It's mind-bending, they way he fucks you and his uncontrollable noises turn you on even more. Rafe grunts and moans like you've not heard it before, and you wish you made him try it earlier. 

   “Fuck, baby, tell me you're close,” Rafe moans, and you press your face against his shoulder, feeling the band inside you tighten. 

   “So close, babe, don't stop,” you cry out and snake a hand down to your clit rubbing harshly and suddenly JJ's words echo in your mind. 

   “come for me, y/n. Be a good girl and let go.”

   You scream when your orgasm rips through you, and Rafe follows just a second later, pushing in deeper and painting your walls in his pretty white. 

   “Keep going, just a bit,” you instruct him, and he fucks his cum into you with a few more thrusts until you tell him to stop again. 

   “That was probably the best sex we ever had,” you sigh, still not ready to get up and have him leave you. 

   “Definitely top ten,” Rafe pants and runs his hand over your back. 

   “No, definitely the best,” you argue with a smile, and he caves. 

   “All right, the best.” 

   After having cleaned up, you're back in bed, and cuddled into his side, your head resting on his chest. 

   “Why didn't you tell me all that earlier? We could've done this already,” he whispers, and you don't know how to come up with a good lie. 

   “I don't know. Maybe I hoped you'd figure it out on your own one day.” 

   “It's very different from what we usually do,” Rafe mumbles, brushing over your hair. 

   “I like how you fuck me, but sometimes I need something for me. I need control too,” you whisper, and he kisses your head. 

   “We can do that.” 

   “Good.” 

   “I love you,” Rafe sighs, and you can hear his breathing slow down as he falls asleep. 

   Your dreams are haunted by JJ, always, and you wish you could turn it off. Sometimes Rafe gets to him, other times you see yourself living the Pogue life, as if that has ever been something you'd even do as much as consider. But tonight it's different from any other time. 

   You are at home, Rafe is sitting at the kitchen island, and JJ is lying on the couch. They are both aware of each other and not actively trying to murder one another. The whole scene makes you incredibly suspicious, but it just gets worse when two blonde children come running in. 

   “Dad!” one of them yells, and both JJ and Rafe pick up their heads. 

   “What's up?” Rafe asks and gets up from his seat, giving you a loving smile before leaning down to the child and talking to it. 

   “Well, your friends are pretty fucking stupid for not getting it,” Rafe tells the child, and JJ snorts. 

   “Yeah, what's not to get? My wife has another guy, and we play daddy roulette every single time.” 

   “Daddy roulette?” you ask and furrow your brows at the two. 

   “You said it's better to not know. Removes the thing for fighting or whatever,” JJ explains. 

   “This one, definitely mine,” Rafe points at your stomach, and you look down at yourself to see yourself severely pregnant. Your belly is bigger than you'd ever imagined, and it feels even worse. 

   “Why is it so big?” Your heart starts racing, and you feel like you're about to fall over. 

   “That's because we're having twins. You got a Maybank and a Cameron in there, baby, just like you love it,” JJ grins and your vision goes blurry. 

   “Y/n, will you please stop screaming? I was trying to sleep!” Rafe groans after shaking you awake. 

   “Sorry,” you mumble and turn away from him. 

   “Bad dream or what?” he asks. 

   “You don't have to pretend to care,” you whisper, and he snakes his arm around your waist, pulling you flush to his chest. 

   “I do care, but I also really need to sleep, baby,” he mumbles and kisses your neck a single time. 

   “We should just sleep,” you mutter, and this time you are allowed to get your few hours of dreamless sleep instead of being haunted by your mistakes. 

   Weeks turn into months, and one hookup every other week turns to some every other day. 

   The more Rafe tries to focus more on you, the more you seem to crave JJ and the lightness of what you have with him. Like the quick fucks in the Country Club restroom, or the “business meetings” you tell Rafe about. After all, you really don't have a choice, because where Rafe is still reluctant to go down on you, JJ is offering it every single time, even when you are really not capable of coming another time. 

   You know it would be technically easy to break up with Rafe, but you can't. You promised your late father to marry a good man, someone from a good family. And Rafe is exactly what your dad had in mind. 

   And even if that wasn't the case, you still can't, or just don't want to, really. You like that every girl on the island seems to want what you have, especially with both boys on your leash. You like that people are scared of you, because they know Rafe does what you tell him to, and not because he’s scared. No, he does it because he knows it's the best way to live his life. What most people don't know is that although still rich, the Camerons suffered a dent in their savings, and not a small one. Yet, you are secured by a long line of rich assholes. Old money. More than you can ever spend in a lifetime. Which just means that Rafe doesn't have the faintest idea why he should ever leave you. You are his perfect package deal. 

“boat day?” The text from JJ rips you out of your thoughts, and you praise the fact that Rafe has the day packed with meetings. 

   “sure” you reply quickly and get back to doing your hair. 

“I should come pick you up” 

   “no, you really shouldn't.” You shake your head at his dangerously stupid idea. The boat thing is after all already risky, you don't need to up the chances of anybody finding out. “Will be there in 30.”

   “What the fuck is she doing here?” Kiara scoffs as soon as you get out of your car. 

   “I invited her,” JJ shrugs as if it's nothing special and keeps walking towards the pier. 

   “You shouldn't get to invite anyone, especially not the Kook bitch who keeps fucking you on the side to get back at her even worse Kook boyfriend,” Kiara complains.

   “I'm not getting back at anyone,” you smile at her, knowing how much it must enrage her that you keep your cool and calm exterior. 

   “Just, please be nice, Kie,” JJ yells from afar and you hide your grin. 

   “John B!” Kiara hollers and walks back into the house, while you keep standing there, leaning against your car.

   As soon as JJ comes back, they all gather on the porch, discussing the matter of your attendance. 

   “You know I can hear you, right?” you say loudly after Kiara had called you a slut the third time in a row.

   “Then why are you still here?” she snaps at you. 

   You stroll towards the steps that lead up the porch and walk to where they are standing. It's not that you are particularly happy that they are all there too, but you at least have the decency to be nice to them, if not for anything but JJ’s sake. 

   “I'm interested in what your issue is here,” you ask, and Sarah scoffs. 

   “Maybe that you're a horrible person. Using JJ? Cheating on my brother?” 

   “Oh, a horse can only be that high,” you smile at her. 

   JJ tugs on your hand and makes you look at him. “You said you'd be nice.” 

   “I am nice. I'm not the one calling people slut and whore and what else y'all can come up with for me. But I'm not gonna stand here and hear these insults if they can't even take one back. And for the record that wasn't an insult, it was the truth and y'all know it,” you say and John B runs his hands through his hair, visibly on edge. 

   “Are you kidding me? You literally insult us all the fucking time,” Kiara spits at you, and you can't help the tiny laugh that escapes you. 

   “I don't insult Pogues, you guys have it hard enough as is, but… you're not a Pogue, Carrera. I guess that means you're fair game, because that one,” you point at Sarah, “is basically family, as much as I hate to say it, and you don't go against your own.” 

   “You’re not my family. You'll never be,” Sarah shakes her head. 

   “Okay,” you roll your eyes at her. 

   “Can we just-” JJ tries to get control of the conversation, but Kiara stops him. 

   “No, we can't. If she's here, I'm leaving.” 

   “Y'all are the worst fucking friends in the world,” you laugh and take a step back, ready to leave. “Incredible.” You turn around and walk back to your car, JJ right behind you. 

   “Don't leave, please,” he asks, and you stop in your tracks, turning around on the dirt and looking straight at him. 

   “I tried, you can't tell me to do more than that. I'm not gonna be called a whore and slut every five fucking minutes. It's appalling how your friends can't even pretend to like me for a few hours, but I'm supposed to do so while also being insulted. I'm not doing that. I'm sorry.”

   “I'll make it up to you, just don't go,” he begs and you shake your head.

   “No.”

   “What do you mean no?” 

   “I mean, no, because you have nothing to make up to me. They are the ones constantly fucking up. Last time, you told them beforehand, and suddenly they all had different plans. They hate me,” you tell him, but he doesn't seem to want to hear it. 

   “Can we just try and-” 

   “I did try. Don't force me to do this, JJ. I can't do this if they can't even manage to not call me names,” you say quietly, and he takes your face in his hands, warm and calloused. 

   “Will you wait just another few minutes and if I can't fix it, we will go to my place. Sound all right?” His voice is low and raspy, and it's making you wet, just a little bit. 

   “You never invited me to your house before,” you whisper, blushing and pressing your thighs together to try to get rid of the growing desire between them.

   “It's an equally favorable outcome to the other thing, then?” 

   “More favorable to me,” you smile and lean up to peck his lips. “Use that magical charm of yours,” you whisper and push him back to go talk to his friends. 

   Half an hour later you're all sitting on the small boat somewhere in the marsh. 

   “You want a beer?” JJ asks and hands you a can. “You know how to shotgun, right?” 

   “I can pretend I don't so you can show me,” you smile at him and he laughs. 

   “That would be cheating.”

   You grin at him before taking out your keys, plunging a hole in the can and chugging it in a matter of seconds. 

   “Impressive,” JJ notes before shotgunning his own can and dripping some beer on his sun kissed skin. You don't even think about it when you lean in and kiss the droplets away. Your kisses trail upwards, along his neck until they connect to his mouth, and he kisses you like his life depends on it. His hands come up to hold your face, while yours are in his neck, twirling the hair at the nape of it. 

   “I should shotgun a few more if this is how it's gonna be,” JJ smirks, his forehead leaning against yours. 

   You blink slowly, pulling your bottom lip between your teeth and giving him a small nod. “M-hmm,” you hum, and he places another kiss on your lips. 

   “Should we, uh, play a game or?” Pope suggests, and you turn to shift your focus away from JJ and towards the people he calls his friends. 

   “What type of game?” you ask with a genuine interest. 

   “Truth or dare,” Kiara suggests with a mean smile on her face. 

   “Who starts?” you ask and give her a polite smile, serving its intended purpose when she rolls her eyes. 

   “Truth or dare, princess,” JJ asks and turns your head towards him with a simple nudge of his finger. 

   “Truth,” you whisper. 

   “Why did you come when I asked?” 

   “Because I like you,” you gaze into his blue eyes, and he smiles, “for more than the incredible sex also. It's actually pretty fun with you.” 

   “Definite win on my end,” he whispers. 

   “Truth or dare… John B,” you say before turning your head to look at him. He gives you a confused look, his eyes jumping between JJ and you. 

   “Truth,” he shrugs. 

   “Do you actually hate me, or do you just hate me because your girlfriend hates me?” Your smile is sugar sweet, but the glare you give Sarah could definitely make milk curdle. 

   “I mean, you're a Kook and I don't understand what this is,” he gestures at JJ and you. “But, I guess, I don't know you enough to hate you or like you.” 

   His answer genuinely surprises you because you didn't think he'd be honest and not just say the thing Sarah wanted to hear. 

   The game goes back and forth with a few dares and a few harmless truths in between, until it's Sarah's turn, and she glares at you as if she wants to actually kill you. 

   “Truth or Dare, y/l/n?” 

   “Dare,” you reply quickly, and her mean smile grows wider. 

   “Call Rafe and tell him where you are,” she demands.

   “It's 2:30pm, he's in a meeting. I'm not gonna call him during a meeting just because of a stupid game,” you scoff and laugh at her stupid dare. 

   “How do you know he's in a meeting right this second?” she hits back at you, and you can't help but laugh even more, but you catch yourself and answer a bit more seriously.

   “I have his schedule memorized. That's what you do when you're a good girlfriend.” 

   “A good girlfriend wouldn't cheat!” she screams at you.

   “You think he doesn't? That's a pretty narrow-minded way to look at it, sis.” You know the new nickname has her boiling, and the little sadistic part of your brain loves to see it. “And you don't get to talk about cheating, everyone is aware of your timeline errors.” 

   “I never loved Topper,” she defends herself, as if it makes her morally superior to you.

   “And I don't love Rafe, but you at least had a fucking choice because your shitty life has never been bound to you marrying whoever your parents pick, so you ‘get to’ inherent what is rightfully yours anyway. So don't fucking tell me what to do with my life, because everyone else has always done it too, and they had more legitimacy for it,” you yell at her, unintentionally spilling more of your secrets than you initially intended to, and they all go quiet. The only thing you can hear after you're done is a few frogs, the birds close by, the waves crashing against the boat and your heart pounding in your chest.

   JJ pulls you in closer and hugs you while placing soft, calming kisses on your neck. 

   “I wanna go home,” you whisper to him, tired of having to pretend, even if it has only been an hour. 

   “Let me talk to them. I promise it's gonna get better,” he says and gets up. 

   There's no doubt in your mind that it won't. Yet you don't understand why you keep giving him, and with it, them, one chance after the other, when you wouldn't usually give anyone even a second chance. You look out onto the water, your legs propped up, arms around them and your head lying on your knees. You think back to the last night you had with your dad, before he died in a horrible car crash. T-boned by a drunk driver who didn't see the red light. You think about how you tried to convince him to change his mind, that you could run the company without a man by your side, that you were good enough. But all your pleas fell to deaf ears. And your mom isn't any better. She decides to stay away, vacating in Palm Beach and only coming home every other month to make sure you are still alive. She deals with grief like that. By sunbathing and drinking and pretending like everything is fine and perfect and not at all in shambles. 

   Instead, you decided to close off your heart, and that worked for nearly two years until JJ decided to charm his way into it. You don't like it, the thought of feeling all this pain again. Or worse, to know once you let yourself love, the pain will be inevitable. People leave one way or the other, that's how life has always been and how it always will be. 

   “Hey,” John B rips you out of your head, and you don't even turn your head to look at him as he sits down next to you. 

   “What do you want?” you say in the meanest way you can conjure, but it still sounds pathetic. 

   “I'm sorry about your dad, I know he died a few years back. I, uhm, I just wanted to say I understand how hard it can be to live up to their expectations, especially after they-” 

   “I don't need your pity, Routledge,” you snap and look at him. “You don't know anything about me. You don't have to pretend to care.” 

   “I was just trying to help,” he apologizes and gets up again. 

   Your mind wanders back to the night, to the pain. It's scarily easy to revisit that memory. Seeing yourself standing over the table in the morgue, having to identify that, “yes, that's my dad,” because your mother broke down as soon as the message came through. You were keeping yourself together for her, for everyone around you who came with their condolences and expected a consolation prize for caring the bare minimum. You remember taking the ring from his cold, stiff finger. You remember having to pick out the casket, the suit, the food, where and when and how and- 

   You feel like your lungs are empty, like you stopped breathing air, but pain and desperation instead. Tears are building in your eyes. You can't blink, can't let them run, can't let anyone see you cry, especially not these people. The only one who has gotten to see you cry ever, apart from your parents, is Rafe. And maybe you are aware that you can't leave him because he knows the part of you that you try so hard to keep hidden. Because he was the only one caring for you when everyone else was solely relying on you. 

   And now you are hurting him, in a way you never thought you would, but you can't help it, you're too deep in it now. You need to tell him, needed to two months ago, but you hadn't, because you are scared of breaking his heart. Because you know telling him might mean losing the one good and secure thing you have going for yourself.

   Maybe you never considered it love, because it doesn't look like the love from the movies and books you basically inhaled in your pre-teens. Maybe you do have a childish outlook on love after all, because whatever connects you and Rafe goes deeper than that. 

   “You okay?” JJ asks, standing over you, and you muster a faint smile for him. 

   “I just really wanna go home now, I'm sorry,” you apologize for it, although you know you're not the only one at fault for it. You're soft for him, because he needs it, because you need it in a way. But it's so different from Rafe and you don't know if you can survive without either of them. If you could, you'd put them in a blender and get the perfect boyfriend out of it. But life isn't a fairy tale.

   “It's okay,” he smiles and kisses your forehead before turning to the steering wheel and starting the engine. 

   As soon as you're back at the Château, you get off the boat and basically run towards your car. If not for JJ, you wouldn't even think twice about never coming back. But this was his second home, his happy place. 

   “Hey, y/n, wait a sec,” JJ calls after you and you stop to turn around. 

   “I don't care if they like me, J, but I'm not gonna be able to do this again. Not like this. I really want to, for you, but if they can't bring up the same amount of- They need to try too, all of them, and not when I accidentally tell them my whole life story so they can pity me. I'm not gonna do it that way,” you say softly, and he nods. 

   “I understand. Will you text me that you got home safe? Please,” he whispers and you nod. There's a moment of silence, insecure and heavy, as if he doesn't know what to do, so you do the only thing you can think of to stop the awkward moment from prolonging. In a quick motion, you lean up and kiss his cheek. 

   As soon as you come home, you text him a quick “am home” and turn back to wallowing in your sadness. 

   It takes Rafe another two hours to get home and as soon as he walks in, you jump into his arms, trying to find the little security you knew you could always hold onto. 

   “Hey, baby, what's up? Huh? Missed me that much?” Rafe asks with a light chuckle while holding you up, with one arm around your waist and the other holding onto his bag. 

   “Missed you,” you mumble into him, not wanting to actually tell him why you are feeling down, but you know you need to. Soon. Very soon.

   He puts down his bag and carries you into the kitchen, sitting you down on the island and taking your puffy face in his hands. 

   “What happened?” he asks softly, softer than you know him. 

   “I don't want you to be angry with me,” you whisper, and he prods the inside of his cheek with his tongue before nodding. 

   “I won't be, I promise.” 

   “I, uh…,” the words get stuck in your throat, and you feel the tears well up again. 

   “Whatever it is, you know I love you,” he says, and it makes your heart feel even heavier. 

   “I've been seeing someone else,” you whisper, and he takes a step back, laughing and running his hands through his hair. There is no mistake in how mad he is, because this is a new level of mad, one you haven't seen before. 

   “Who?” he barks and you flinch. “Who is it, y/n?” 

   “No, you'll hurt him. I won't let you hurt him,” you shake your head, and he steps closer again. 

   “Why should I give a fuck about how you feel right now? Huh?! For how long have you been cheating on me?” he screams into your face.

   “Rafe, please,” you beg softly, and he takes a step away again, and a second later his fist lands in a cabinet door. 

   “How long, y/n?” he yells. 

   “Four months,” you whisper, and he laughs. 

   “You gotta be kidding me.” 

   “I didn't know- It's confusing and then today-” you stammer, and he interrupts you. 

   “You were with him today? That's why you're crying? And you expect me to not go and kill that guy instantly?” 

   “I love you,” you yell at him, and he stops, furrowing his brows and looking at you more confused than you have ever seen him. 

   “What?” 

   “I think so, at least. It's very confusing,” you mumble, looking down at your hands. 

   “Is that supposed to be an apology? You tell me you've been fucking some asshole on the side and think it'll all be made okay by finally telling me that you love me after three years?” His anger is back, but he's still confused, and you don't know what to do about it. All you know is that you need to be truthful about it, as much as you can, as much as he lets you.

   “I know it doesn't make sense and I know it's not an apology. I don't mean it like that. But today, things were said by other people, not him, he was trying to help- I don't know what I feel,” you shake your head. 

   “None of that makes any sense, baby,” Rafe runs his hand over his face. 

   “I didn't think that what I felt for you was love because no one ever told me it could be like that. But I do. I love you and I made a horrible mistake, but I would have never known- I can't survive on just one. I need both of you to be happy,” you say, and he steps closer, harshly taking your face in his hand. 

   “Who!” 

   “JJ,” you whisper and his hand slips down to your throat, holding you tight enough to restrict your blood flow, making you dizzy. 

   “You let a dirty Pogue fuck you? And then you come back here and pretend like nothing happened?” 

   “I love you,” you are practically begging him to not hurt JJ, your own well-being has become secondary the moment you decided to tell Rafe about it all. 

   “Is that why you wanted to do all that new shit?” he laughs almost hysterically, squeezing a little tighter, and your vision starts getting blurry. 

   “Please,” you choke out, and he lets go again. 

   “You know what the worst part is? That this started making more sense in the last few months, and now you're tellin’ me it's because you’re fucking Maybank on the side. That's fucked up, y/n,” Rafe shakes his head. 

   “I never got mad at you for cheating on me,” you remind him quietly, it's a low blow, but you know it's gonna do the trick. His escapades early on in your relationship, and even a few slip ups in the first year after your dad, hadn't bothered you much anyway back then. 

   “No, but you never got mad at me for anything because you don't have a fucking heart. You were acting like a fucking robot until-,” he doesn't even finish the sentence, only shaking his head yet again. 

   “I don't understand why, Rafe. You have to believe me. And I tried not to. I did. For months before. And then it happened once, and I tried to stay away but then you- you hurt my feelings and I had no one else-” you stammer, and he glares at you. 

   “The best sex we ever had? Because you had just fucked him?” 

    “I know you. You're not happy with all I need. And everything you can give me- It's not enough, and I hate myself for it. I wish it was, but it isn't. And I can't keep on trying to change you. I won't do that to you. It's not fair to either of us,” you whisper. 

   “You think you can have us both? Maybe we should call your little boy toy and ask him what he thinks, because apparently you value his fucking Pogue opinion more than me!” Rafe snaps and rips the phone from your back pocket. 

   “Rafe, please don't,” you cry, and he smirks, but it's neither playful nor sweet, it's simply vicious. 

   “Oh, I have a way worse idea, baby, and you won't say no because you love me, right?” he taunts, and you nod slowly, knowing whatever’s to happen next won't be the last punishment you receive for your crimes. 

   Rafe throws you over his shoulder and carries you upstairs and into the bedroom. Throwing you on the bed as if you weigh nothing. 

   You know not to move when he's in a mood, he'll do it by himself or give you strict orders to follow. Doing anything on your own account will just make it worse for you. 

   “Take off that horrible dress,” he barks while walking into the closet to pick out a tie and get his special box for you. You do as you are told, and he comes over to you, pulling on your arms and tying your wrists together behind your back so you can't use your hands anymore. 

   Then he pulls on the strings of the tiny bikini you have on, having expected to go swimming before you left for JJ’s. The flimsy piece comes undone and Rafe slaps your ass a single time, but it stings harsh enough for you to whine a little. 

   “The more you cry, the worse it'll get,” he threatens, and you try to swallow the pain as he sits and pulls you to lie over his lap, spanking you for half an eternity. And even when he's done and goes over to softly massage your butt, it's still stinging, and you don't know how much more you can take if this was the start of it. 

   “You think that was enough? Or do you deserve some more?” Rafe asks and you gulp before replying quietly. 

   “I was a very bad girl,” you say, just like he always wanted to hear. It had only happened two times before that he had decided to play these games in such an extreme way. The first time you drunkenly flirted with some Touron and Rafe decided it was the best way to teach you a lesson. That was a month into your relationship. The second time was a week before your dad died, and he keeps telling you that he regrets doing it, but you know he doesn't. You made fun of his family that night, just a little bit, but it was enough to grant a punishment. 

   But neither of those come close to the pain you imagine he must be feeling right now. And you rather let him take his anger out on you than go and hurt JJ. That was the better option, surely. 

   “Yes, you were, baby. That's why you're gonna do whatever I say now. You know the rules. And if you come I'll hurt you some more,” Rafe pulls you back up and you nod. 

   “Won't come.” 

   “Good. Now lay down and let me fuck your throat,” he says, and you hesitate for a second but do it anyway. He's aware that you don't like it, not because it's not fun, but because he's simply too big for you to be able to breathe properly while doing it on his terms.  

   Yet here you are, lying on the bed with your head hanging off the edge. But before he tells you to open up, he goes to his box, taking out a tiny device and smirking mischievously. 

   “You know what, we're doing it differently tonight,” Rafe pulls you up to sit. Then he goes to bend you over and for a moment you think he's just gonna fuck you, but instead he shoves the toy into you, filling both holes without any prep, and you cry out at the unexpected intrusion and the low vibrations of the toy. 

   “No. You're not gonna come from that, and if there's anything on that when I pull it out, I'll make it hurt worse. Do you understand?” He warns and you nod. 

   “I understand.” 

   “Good. Kneel,” he orders and points at the rug in front of the bed, and you follow diligently. 

   When he tells you to open up, you do it, and when he tells you to moan around him, you do it, and when he tells you to look into the camera, you do it, albeit reluctantly. 

   Rafe doesn't care that you're close to choking on his cock, or that you can't stop the tears from streaming down your cheek. He doesn't care that your jaw will hurt for the two following days. He doesn't care because he knows it's still not enough punishment, and you know he's right. 

   Once he's happy with his little video, he tells you to get up and lie down again, and once you do, he pulls you towards the edge of the bed again and goes back to fucking your throat. What you can't see, because his balls are in your face, is that he's also gone back to filming you, especially the part where his dick goes so far down your throat that it's visible on your neck. 

   Somehow you manage to blend out the vibrations in your pussy and ass, the low intensity is barely doing anything to you but edge you on more and more. 

 �� “You're a real slut, aren't you, baby,” he huffs after pulling out and manhandling you to be face down before him. Your legs are propped up and spread wide as he harshly pulls the toy out, and you can't help the gasp that escapes your throat. 

   “Tell me you love me again, and I might stop,” he rasps, and you are about to say it, but just as you open your mouth to speak, he thrusts into you. An obscenely loud moan is all you can conjure before he starts ramming into you. 

   “Tell me how much you love me!” 

   “Love you, Rafe. Love you and your cock so much,” you cry out, and a second later your phone lands on the bed right next to your head. 

   “Look who called to check up on you, baby. Tell him how much you love when I take what's mine!” Rafe demands, and your eyes fill with tears as you see the screen. 

   “What the fuck is this?” JJ asks and you sob. 

   “Rafe, no,” you cry. 

   “You want him so bad, he has to know what it means to share you. Because I'm not letting you go, baby,” Rafe growls, fucking you harder and your tears keep on streaming. 

   “Princess, it's okay. Focus,” JJ tells you through the phone, and you don't understand why he didn't hang up immediately. 

   “I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Rafe, please,” you beg, but he won't stop, not until he's got what he wants. 

   “Tell him how much you love me,” Rafe barks, pulling on your hair and yanking you towards him. “You don't get to make any demands tonight, baby. You know what you did to me!” 

   He pushes you back down, and you land face first in the duvet, sobbing uncontrollably. “I'm sorry. I love you. I'm sorry,” you are close to hyperventilating. Your body is sore and tired, but he won't stop the attack on your poor pussy. 

   “You hear that Maybank, she loves me!” Rafe says, jealousy drenching his voice, and picks up the phone. “But I still don't think she deserves to come. Do you?” 

   “You're sick, Rafe,” JJ hisses through the phone, but your mind is starting to go blank, the noise of his skin slapping against your own, and the quenching sound of your pussy is filling your ears. 

   “No, she's sick. One dick isn't enough for the little bitch. Nah, she needs two fillings to feel better about herself,” Rafe laughs, and you're so far gone that you can barely hear him anymore. 

   “Princess, focus on me. Come on, pretty girl,” JJ pleads, and you nod absentmindedly. 

   “Shit, stop,” Rafe moans, but you can't. JJ's soft, loving words of encouragement have triggered your release, and you really don't have any control over it. 

   You moan so loud you think the whole island might hear, but you don't care, actually. And when you push your ass back into Rafe he loses his game and comes so hard that he collapses onto you almost instantly. 

   Panting you lie there, incapable of saying a single word, but at least JJ disconnected the call. 

   “I get it now,” Rafe pants and pulls you into him, hugging you and kissing the top of your head. “Maybe I can learn to live with it.” 

   “Love you,” is all you manage to say before your exhaustion takes over, and you fall into a deep dreamless slumber. 

   You don't even feel like getting up the next morning, but you do it anyway. Pulling on one of Rafe's shirts to feel a tiny bit of familiar comfort, you prod downstairs after having cleaned up the tiniest bit. 

   “Good morning,” Rafe says as soon as you step into the kitchen. 

   “Morning,” you walk past him, kissing his cheek just like any normal day. But unlike any normal day, Rafe isn't dressed yet, he's only got his shorts on and something tells you he planned it. 

   “I don't think you should get to wear my shirts right now. I'm still mad at you, remember?” he nods at you, and you sigh, wanting to turn back and go change, but his hand shoots out to hold you back. “Oh, no, no. You're gonna take it off here. And you're gonna eat without it on.” 

   “But I don't have anything else on,” you complain quietly, and he shrugs. 

   “Not my problem.” 

   You pull the shirt over your head and hand it to him. “Anything else?” 

   “Actually, yeah,” Rafe gives you a lopsided grin before sitting you up on the island. 

   It stings when he pushes into you, stretching you to your limit without any prep. But it's a punishment, you shouldn't enjoy it anyway. 

   His grunts and curses and intensely hard thrusts make you whimper, but at least he doesn't tell you off about it this time. Instead, he encourages you, wanting to see the tears and as soon as they start running his thrusts grow sloppier. 

   “I brought waffles as a peace offering,” you hear JJ's voice and footsteps that are coming closer. Your head turns, and you stare at him across the room. The shock on his face tells you that he has just as much been blindsided by this as you, and it takes him another moment to drag his eyes away from the scene. But Rafe just laughs and keeps fucking you. 

   “Look at him, he can't even look at you while I fuck you. How the fuck is that supposed to work, baby?” 

   “As if you'd like to see it the other way round,” JJ snaps back at him, his back still turned to you. But the pain is too much, you can't take it anymore. 

   “J, please,” it's a mere whisper that leaves you, but he walks over to you anyway, avoiding looking at Rafe. 

   “It's all right, I'm here,” JJ whispers to you while caressing your hair, and you look up at him, into his pretty blue eyes. 

   “Make her come,” Rafe demands, and JJ rolls his eyes. 

   “You know, if you were better at it, she would've never fucked me in the first place,” JJ glares at him, but you pull on his collar, kissing him and moaning into his mouth while Rafe keeps fucking you. 

   “You're doing so great, princess. Such a good girl,” JJ praises you, and your stomach starts filling with tiny butterflies. 

   “More,” you moan, and JJ looks up at Rafe.

   “Touch her,” he orders, and for some reason Rafe does what he says and starts rubbing harsh circles on your clit. 

   “Oh God!” you scream, so close to your release that you feel like bursting. Your back lifts off the cold marble and your lips tremble.

   “That's it. Look at me baby,” JJ whispers, and when your eyes meet his you feel afloat, just like the first time. “Let go,” he hushes, and your eyes roll back. You scream and feel how hard it is for Rafe to keep fucking you, but he tries anyway until he can't hold back anymore and fills you up with his hot seed. 

   “That was better than last night,” Rafe pants while tucking himself away, and JJ comes around to pull you up and carry you upstairs. 

   “Is this what you want?” JJ asks quietly after sitting you down on the toilet. Your voice is strained, but you only manage to nod a yes. 

   “We'll have to put down some ground rules, because I really don't wanna be in a situation where I find out what Rafe looks like when he finishes. That was way too close already,” JJ says while letting in a bath for you. 

   “I'm sorry,” you rasp, but he shakes his head. 

   “Don't apologize. If I hadn't told you to come by yesterday, this wouldn't be happening. And you should save your voice,” he smiles. 

   The hot water helps with the pain, but leaning back into JJ and being with him without having to think about what might happen if someone finds out is freeing. It's nice and good and feels a thousand times better than before. 

   “I don't care if they get it or not. I know you can't help it,” he whispers to you, softly massaging your sore thighs under the water. “Stupid hearts,” he sighs. 

   “You okay?” Rafe asks, standing in the door, and you turn to look at him and nod. “Good. I have to go to work,” he says and takes a few steps over to kiss you softly. “Love you,” he whispers and turns around to leave without waiting for you to say it back. 

   The following days are filled with planning and talking and fighting over phrasings, but in the end they manage to come to a conclusion that they can both live with. The easiest one at that. You get to choose, anything and everything when it comes to what happens between the three of you, in this weird new relationship you found yourself in. 

   Most nights you find yourself sleeping in JJ's bed instead of your own, but Rafe doesn't mind it much, never having been much of a cuddler himself. But when it gets to your darkest moments, you don't trust yourself enough to talk to JJ, maybe it's stupid, but somehow you can't change it. 

   Yet you also don't think you'll ever regret your decision, especially when you're waking up to JJ plastering you with kisses before slowly fucking you awake. Or when he goes to eat you out while a boring movie is playing. 

   Or when Rafe comes home frustrated from a meeting and uses you in any way you let him, and sometimes he even lets JJ join and not just sit there and please you mentally. 

   Your new favorite thing has to be sucking off JJ while Rafe is plowing into you. 

   With every deep thrust of Rafe's hard cock into your clenching core, you moan louder around JJ, and it's even harder for him to not come as soon as he sees your puffy lips wrapped around his dick. You love to swirl your tongue and play with his balls a little, slapping your lips and cheeks with his pretty cock until he begs for you to suck him dry. 

   The days in between when you get time to recover properly are filled with surf lessons from JJ or going shopping with Rafe. 

   It's passed the point where only the three of you and the people close to you know about the arrangement. Especially, parties start to be a boiling pot for dramatics. 

   You're at the Boneyard, playing stupid drinking games with JJ, having fun the way teenagers are supposed to be. 

   You're aware that the people around you talk, but you couldn't care less because you're on cloud nine, too happy to let anybody ruin it. But JJ is the complete opposite. The more people he hears, the more agitated he gets. 

   “What’ya say?” he snaps at some guy, pushing him back. 

   “Chill bro,” the boy tries to laugh it off. 

   “No, repeat what you said, asshole,” JJ pushes. 

   “Only the biggest of sluts need-” He doesn't get to finish the repetition of his words when JJ's fist lands in his face. You yell for him to stop, but it's like he's in a trance. It takes both John B and Pope, who storm over from the other side of the party, to pull JJ off the guy. 

   “What the fuck, bro,” John B shoves JJ backwards, but J just laughs. 

   “He deserved it.” 

   “Why, ‘cause he said something mean?” Pope snaps, and you cross your arms in front of your chest. 

   “You wouldn't get it, Pope,” JJ shakes his head and looks up at the night sky. “Y'all just don't get it.” 

   “We don't, because it doesn't make sense,” Pope counters, and you scoff. 

   “Just because you don't understand something, doesn't mean it's shit or that we're horrible people for it.” 

   “I didn't say that,” he shakes his head, but you're done with them, you have been for a long time. 

   “C’mon, J,” you say and start walking towards where you parked your car. 

   At home, you start by cleaning him up, kissing him all over in the shower until he pins you against the tiles. His kisses are forceful, and he's groping at your ass and thighs. Picking you up and fucking up into you while you moan and gasp. He doesn't give you time to come when he finishes and puts you down on your feet. 

   This is different from what you know of him, but it intrigues you too.

   JJ turns you around and snakes his arm around your thigh, pushing two fingers into your sore cunt to stop you from spilling out. 

   “I know I should've asked, but it's gonna be great. I promise,” he whispers into your ear before leading you into the bedroom and making you lie down.

   JJ is standing in front of you, your legs pressed to your chest, and he’s holding onto your hips as he fucks you. It's not loving and soft like any time before. It's harsh and fast, and you like it too much. You like the sound of his claves crashing into your ass, the way his balls slap against your skin. The wet noises your pussy makes when he drags his cock out of you just to slam right back in. And the way your tits jiggle with the movement.

   Your hands are clawing at the sheets when JJ starts playing with your clit, making you come in a matter of seconds. You know you'll be there for hours when he shoots his cum into you and just keeps going. You haven't quite figured out which way you like it better; with JJ’s incredibly small refractory period, or Rafe's stamina to hold out for just how long he wants to. 

   “Who's gonna clean that up?” you hear Rafe ask, and your head spins around to look at him. Your mind is blurry with pleasure, your mouth agape, and JJ doesn't stop and rips another orgasm from you. Rafe has never actually watched him fuck you, but something about this is making him want to stay and watch. 

   Your back arches up again, and JJ grunts and curses, filling you up for the fifth time that night, and you watch Rafe's face contort in a light confusion. 

   “You just keep going? Maybe you should give her some time, dude,” Rafe says, and you shake your head at him. 

   “She'll have time once I'm done,” JJ growls, and it sends shivers down your spine, making you roll your eyes back. “Isn't that right, baby?” 

   “Yes, yes, yes-” you scream each time his cock pushes against your cervix as if he wants to pass through it. “Want your cum, JJ, all of it,” you babble, maybe you like giving Rafe a show too. 

   “Good girl,” JJ moans and comes another time, making you clench around him with ease. 

   “You see that,” JJ smirks down at you, and you prop yourself up on your elbows to see the tip of his dick poking against your stomach. “That's it, princess,” he praises you before pushing down on your stomach, and you fall back, moaning, incapable of holding yourself up with the intense pleasure he's giving you. 

   “Give me my phone,” JJ orders, and for a moment you forgot that Rafe is still there, still watching. He hands JJ his phone and J points the lens right at where you two are connected. 

   His free hand is back to rubbing torturously harsh circles on your clit, making you mewl and cry out. 

   “Come for me, princess. Make me proud, baby,” JJ hums, and you let go of the tension. Screaming his name and squeezing his cock so hard that he comes almost instantly, pushing in farther and holding himself there until he's all done. 

   And once he's pulled out, he goes down on his knees before you, pointing the camera right at your pussy, clenching around nothing and pushing all his cum out of you and letting it drip down onto the rug. 

   “What she do?” Rafe asks just as JJ comes back from the bathroom, a wet washcloth in his hand. 

   “Nothing,” JJ mutters while cleaning you up, but you can't move, not yet. Your legs feel like they are made of rubber and your mind is empty, only having enough capacity to listen to their words. 

   “Why'd you do this then?” Rafe points at your utterly fucked out state. 

   “Do I ask you why you do what you do? No. Just let it go,” JJ snaps at him and leaves for his room. 

   “You could at least change the fucking sheets!” Rafe yells after him, but it's no use. 

   “Y/n, are you okay?” Rafe whispers and picks you up, holding you in his arms while you regain your strength. 

   “Frustrated,” you mumble and look at him with your glossy eyes. 

   “Maybank? Why?” 

   “Fight- Asshole-” you stammer, and he carries you out of the room and towards JJ’s. 

   “What did you do?” Rafe barks at JJ, your body still tightly wrapped around him. 

   “None of your fucking business,” JJ hisses. 

   “It fucking is when it ends with her losing all bodily function, you ass,” Rafe yells, and you try to cover your ears, but it doesn't really help. 

   “He called her a whore, and he had to pay for it. I don't care what they say, but they don't get to insult her,” JJ explains harshly, and you start to slowly feel your toes again. 

   “Doesn't explain why you nearly fucked her into subdrop,” Rafe shakes his head and caresses your back. “You can't just do shit like that, and you know it.” 

   “She said she was okay with it.” 

   “She's a fucking people pleaser, asshole,” Rafe snaps, and you lift your head from his shoulder. 

   “Please stop,” you whisper, and he wipes a tear from your cheek. 

   “It's okay, baby,” Rafe whispers to you before turning back to JJ. “Don't let your fucking anger out on her without making sure she's alright.”

   “Noted,” JJ says, and you can practically hear him roll his eyes. 

   “Good, because you gotta aftercare the shit out of her now. I'm not cleaning up your messes, Maybank,” Rafe tells him and basically hands you to him as if you were nothing more than a puppet. 

   “I'm sorry, love,” JJ whispers, placing you in the hot water of the bathtub and running his hand through his hair. 

   “S’okay,” you mumble and look up at him with a droopy smile. 

   “I'm gonna clean up, and then I'll be right with you, all right?” He kisses you gently and leaves again. 

   You think back to it, the moment he snapped. He looked like a different person, more like his dad in a way, and although you never even saw Luke Maybank up close, you know it’s true. You know the rumors are true. He didn't tell you, but in your heart you know it. 

   If his friends hadn't come, he wouldn't have stopped. If they hadn't showed up, the other guy would be dead. If it hadn't been for you, none of it would've happened. 

   It’s a rather quick spiral that you go down, and you can't stop yourself from crying, not even when JJ comes back and looks at you rather confused. 

   “Hey. Hey, pretty girl, don't cry. It's okay. You're okay. I'm here,” he tells you and pulls your head to his chest. But it doesn't help. You can't stop feeling like it was all your fault, all the pain in your life is your fault. 

   “Rafe!” JJ shouts, and it only takes a minute for him to run in. 

   “What did you do now?” 

   “Nothing, I came back, and she's crying, and she won't stop,” JJ defends himself. 

   “Go. You seriously have no clue,” Rafe shakes his head and takes JJ's spot next to you. 

   “What's wrong, baby,” Rafe whispers to you, holding your face in his big hands. 

   “It's my fault. I killed him. It's my fault,” you sob, and he shakes his head. 

   “No, it's not. You know it's not,” Rafe assures you, but you're too far gone for it to work.

   “I did it. I killed him,” you cry, and he clenches his jaw. 

   “Y/n, you didn't drive that car, it's not your fault. Please, listen to me,” Rafe pleads, but you shake your head, not wanting to believe him. 

   “Hey, hey, look at me,” he orders, and you turn your eyes back on him. “Three things you feel, name them.”

   “Pain. Tired. Sad,” you answer slowly. 

   “Four things you can touch.” 

   “Water, you, me, bathtub,” you reply a little faster and he nods. 

   “Five things you see,” Rafe whispers, and you look around in front of you.

   “Towel, shower, robe, painting-” your eyes get stuck on the blonde boy that is standing in the doorway of the bathroom, “JJ.” 

   Rafe snaps around to look at him. “I told you to leave!” 

   “What's wrong with her?” JJ asks quietly, and your heart sinks to the bottom of your stomach. 

   “Leave!” Rafe yells, and it takes a moment for JJ to realize that it will have consequences if he doesn't. But Rafe has already turned back around to you, stroking your hair. “We should get you to bed, baby.” 

   He dries you up and puts you in a shirt of his to sleep in, before laying you down in your bed and turning off the lights. 

   When you wake up, you're alone, and you decide to not get ready and just go downstairs the way you are. Before you can meet the boys in the kitchen, you overhear them talking and stop in your tracks. 

   “That doesn't make sense,” JJ says. 

   “No shit. But that's just how it's been ever since. Your stupid fight triggered something, and the day is coming up in a week- It's a fucking minefield this time of year,” Rafe sighs. 

   “So we distract her?” JJ asks and Rafe scoffs. 

   “That's just delaying it. No, you just gotta stay with her and make sure she won't spiral. And when she does, you have to keep telling her that it's not her fault, and pull her out of it. The naming thing always works,” Rafe replies. 

   “And what if it doesn't?” 

   “I don't know.” 

   You turn the corner and pretend like you just came down the stairs, walking straight to the coffee machine. 

   “How did you sleep?” Rafe asks with a smile. 

   “Alone,” you say and take your mug, nearly burning your tongue as you take a sip. 

   “I'm sorry, y/n, for yesterday and all,” JJ apologizes, but you just shrug. 

   “Shit happens.” Pretending to not care is easy, too easy. 

   “I’m gonna be at the office all day. You think you're gonna be all right?” Rafe asks and you nod. 

   “I don't know why we shouldn't be.” 

   You spend your days training, not having done so in too long for your own liking. The water calms your mind and gives you enough time to reflect on your life choices. 

   You know Rafe is right. You know that it's not your fault. But the guilt you feel around it doesn't just vanish because of it. 

   Later that week, while at work, Rafe texts you that you're having dinner at the country club with his dad, meaning JJ isn't allowed to come. 

   “I'll just enjoy the view right now,” JJ smiles and watches you get dressed. The underwear set is new, and you can tell by the way he's looking at you that he wants nothing more than to take it off again. 

   “If it was my call,” you start, but he interjects. 

   “I know, but it isn't. Besides, I don't really give a shit about family dinners and all that fancy bullshit.” 

   “Sarah will be there, and John B,” you remind him, but he shrugs. 

   “So what?”

   “Have you talked to them at all in the last few weeks?” you ask, and JJ rubs over the light stubble on his chin. 

   “They didn't reach out either.” 

   “They are your family, though. That's what you told me,” you whisper.

   “I have a new family now. I have you,” JJ smiles and takes your dress from the clothing hanger. 

   “That's not enough, and you know it,” you say while stepping into the dress and letting him zip it up. 

   “It's enough for you,” he says, and you sigh, looking at him through the mirror in your closet.

   “But I'm a heartless bitch with more money than anyone else on this island. I don't need anything more, and if I did, I could just buy it.” Your fingers fumble with the necklace until JJ takes it from your hands and places it around your neck. 

   “I know there's a heart in there,” JJ says while holding you from behind, his right hand resting on top of your chest. 

   “Horrible. We should go get a knife and cut it out,” you whisper with a smile, and he kisses your shoulder. 

   “You'd kill me if I said what I was thinking right now,” he mumbles against your skin and your heart stops for a moment, scared that he would say the dreaded words that you know will definitely complicate your life even more.

   “Then you really shouldn't say it.” 

   “I should, but I won't,” he looks back up, leaning his head against yours, smiling. 

   The dinner goes rather smoothly, although Sarah still gives you a side eye and once the Camerons are gone, John B asks how JJ is, but nothing more. 

   “Boring as ever,” you complain on the drive home. 

   “Glad he didn't ask when we're getting married,” Rafe exhales a laugh. 

“Hmmm, let me think,” you tap your finger against your chin in a joking manner. “We can fuck them all over and just fly to Vegas right now.” 

   “Wouldn't be the worst idea we ever had,” he laughs and takes your hand up to kiss it just as he turns into your driveway. 

   “My mom expects a huge white wedding. At least a hundred guests,” you sigh while getting out of the car. 

   “We should start planning then,” Rafe grins at you, pulling you into his side and kissing the top of your head.

   “What happens to that one, once we get married?” Rafe asks you, pointing at JJ, who is standing in the kitchen with nothing more than his boxers on. 

   “They should make this harem thing legal,” JJ says and chugs the rest of his drink. 

   “A harem is one guy with many women, dumbass,” you laugh. 

   “The opposite of that, then,” JJ shrugs. 

   “Sure,” Rafe rolls his eyes at him, and JJ flips him off. 

   “Sometimes I think you guys forget who's the boss around here,” you say and zip your dress open, letting it fall to the floor and walking upstairs. “First one up gets to start,” you call out and hear them arguing already. 

   “Just because you're first, doesn't mean you know what you're doing,” JJ complains. 

   “Fine, you start then, genius,” Rafe scoffs, and you furrow your brows, it was unusual for Rafe to give in and let JJ do anything to you unless you specifically asked for it. 

   “What's the plan here, boys?” you ask with an anticipating smile on your lips. 

   JJ pulls you into his arms, kissing you deeply and pushing you against the bed. The backs of your knees hit the wood and you fall down. 

   “Just relax, gorgeous,” he muses and drops down on his knees before you, taking off your heels and letting his hands run up to your thighs. You sigh into it, the feeling of his fingers digging into your skin and the kisses he leaves on the inside of your thighs before unclasping the lace body right on top of your pussy. 

   JJ rolls the fabric up to reveal your stomach, kissing and nipping at your skin; biting your hip and making you jump in surprise. He loves to tease you, and you'd never tell him to stop, ever. 

   He comes up to kiss you, pushing the lace up even farther and helping you take it off completely. Kissing your neck and leaving marks you hear him chuckle, then his lips meet your ear, and he whispers, “you think he's taking any notes?” 

   Your eyes dart over to Rafe who pulled a chair over and is watching you carefully. “Maybe,” you reply. 

   JJ hums, picking up his head to smile at you. “Hopefully.” 

   JJ kisses down your neck, following along your collarbone and to your tits. He sucks on your nipple, grazing over it with his teeth before he pulls on it and your back arches up. 

   “Would be neglectful to not give you the same attention,” JJ says to your other tit, and you would tell him off if he wasn't squeezing your sensitive nipple right in that second. His hand is playing with your sore tit while his mouth attacks the other. It's overwhelming and perfect, and you don't see any reason to hold back. Your moans and gasps fill the room, and they continue on even once he has let off your boobs and moved downward again. He sucks hickeys into the soft skin of your thighs, making you mewl and squirm. 

   “Tell me what you want me to do to you, princess,” JJ demands, and you grasp into his hair to push his face into your clothed cunt. He blows a little against your wet slip, and you instinctively want to close your legs, but he holds them in place. 

   “You should let me take this pretty thing off first,” JJ smirks, and you lift your hips. The tiny slip is off faster than you can say your own name. 

   “Tastes so fucking sweet, baby,” JJ moans after licking over your wet pussy, his tongue dipping between your folds and torturing your clit a little. 

   “Hold on, princess,” JJ smirks up at you, and your hand finds his hair, tugging on the fine strands as he plunges his tongue into your pussy. His nose presses against your clit, and with every stroke of his tongue, he edges you closer. 

   “More, JJ, please,” you moan, and he starts to suck on your clit while pushing his fingers into you. Curling them and sucking harsher, almost biting down on your clit, and you can't help but grind your hips against him. When his fingers come up to your face, and you lick them off, you already feel like you're about to explode. 

“come on my tongue, baby,” JJ hums into you, licking long strides up your pussy before pressing his tongue flat against your entrance and rubbing his nose on your clit. 

   You keep rolling your hips and moaning his name as you come undone for him. His new technique isn't as good as the old one, but you're not one to complain about it.

   JJ gets up and wipes his face on a small towel that Rafe hands him, but you can't stop staring at the wet spot in his boxers. 

   “Again?” you ask JJ with a smile and he shrugs. 

   “Can't help it. You taste too good, baby.” 

   You hold your hand out for Rafe after sitting up, and he takes and intertwines your fingers. He's still in his suit pants and shirt, looking down at you with a lustrous smile. 

   “You look really hot in this,” you whisper and nod, but your hands wander to the buttons, slowly opening the shirt until you can push it off his shoulders. His abs look so rideable to you, but you are still unsure if he'd let you once you ask. 

   “You're way hotter, baby. Next time I get to take off the fancy shit,” Rafe growls, his hand cupping your tit, brushing his thumb over your sore nipple, but his eyes shift towards JJ. “You understand?” 

   But JJ just holds his hands up in defense and sits down on the chair. 

   “Take the pants off, babe,” you pout at Rafe, and he slowly opens his belt, pulling it out and dropping it to the side. It’s almost as if he is doing a strip show for you, and you love every second of it. 

   Rafe pushes you to lie down, your hands pinned over your head as he kisses you aggressively. His free hand gropes at your tit, and you lift your hips to press your wet cunt against his hard cock. 

   “Always so needy,” Rafe mocks you before going down on his knees between your legs. 

   He's aggressive and fast, sucking on your clit with so much pressure building that you are scared he's gonna rip it off. But your screams just turn him on even more. His tongue thrusts into you with a harsh pace, and you try to get away from him, but he's holding you in place. 

   “Curl it,” JJ says, and Rafe listens, curling his tongue up and ripping an orgasm out of you in a matter of seconds. 

   “J,” you pant and Rafe wants to get up, but you close your thighs around his head. “No, you stay. J, come here,” you tap the bed right next to your head.

   They both do as you say; and while Rafe is eating you out another time, JJ is fucking your throat and praising you. 

   Before JJ can come, you pull him from your throat and pump his cock slower, trying to pace him just a bit. But when you look at the two boys, so helpless when it comes to your wants and needs, you can't help yourself. 

   With a quick move, you have J’s dick back in your warm and wet mouth, swirling your tongue and hollowing your cheeks. Your hand is massaging his balls, and he throws his head back and fills your mouth with his salty cum. It feels so good, you come instantly, creaming all over Rafe's pretty face. 

   “Definitely doing this again,” you sigh, falling flat into the bed and not planning on getting up anytime soon. 

   The engagement dinner is jarring and the only reason you can get through it is because Rafe keeps reminding you that it'll be over soon, his hand resting on your thigh the whole night. 

   But the engagement party, the weekend after is fun, is actually fun. 

   You invited everyone you knew, including JJ's friends and Barry, who you haven't talked to in ages. You spend the first half of the night tightly wrapped in Rafe's arm, smiling and laughing at some things his friends say. 

   Sitting on the couch on Rafe's lap, you let your eyes wander, and they get stuck on JJ, who is visibly uncomfortable while nipping on his beer. 

   “Maybe a blowjob will lighten his mood,” you whisper to Rafe, but he shakes his head. 

   “No, but honesty might.” 

   “What do you mean?” you ask and look at your, now, fiancée. 

   “I mean, he's been miserable and fighting it ever since we brought up that this would be happening soon. Not like you have much of a choice anyway,” Rafe shrugs lightly and runs his hand over your back. 

   “How do you know he's miserable?” you wonder, eyeing your boyfriend across the room. 

   “Because I use my eyes, and to be fair, I'd be pouting too if you wanted to marry him instead of me.” 

   “And what am I supposed to tell him? He knows I don't have a choice if I wanna keep the company,” you sigh. 

   “The truth. That you love him,” Rafe whispers and kisses your cheek. 

   “You can't know that,” you shake your head and he laughs. 

   “I see the way you two look at each other. I love you so much, baby, but you've never looked at me like that.”

   “That doesn't mean anything,” you fight his words, not wanting him to be right about it. 

   “I mean, you can try it with the blowjob, but I think the truth would be better,” Rafe smiles and slaps your ass, signaling you to get up. 

   You're dragging your feet walking over to JJ. “Look at that, a Pogue in a Kook mansion,” you tease with a smile. 

   “Hey,” he mumbles without looking at you. 

   “You okay?” you whisper and he nods, avoiding your eyes. 

   “Why shouldn't I be?”

   “Because you've been avoiding me all day.” You reach out your hand to hold onto his and as soon as your delicate fingers close around his, he stares at you. Pain filled blue eyes and a merely unnoticeable tremble on his lip. 

   “Do I have to be happy about it? You want me to be happy about the fact that you're leaving me?” he hisses at you, but you feel like a weight is lifted off you, a soft smile tugging at your lips. 

   “Come on, I need to tell you something,” you whisper and lead him upstairs to your bedroom, unlocking the door and stepping inside. 

   “Why did you bring me here?” JJ asks, his hand is holding onto the bottle for dear life.

   “Sit with me,” you say and place yourself at the edge of the bed. He follows reluctantly, yet again avoiding to even look at you. 

   “JJ, I'm not leaving you,” you whisper and he scoffs.

   “Sure you aren't.”

   “I'm serious, J. Just because I have to marry Rafe, doesn't mean anything changes between us.” 

   “Sure it won't, until you want to have kids, and then it's no longer appropriate,” he mutters, and you don't know how to convince him. Maybe Rafe was right with his assumption about him, about you. But the thought of it is debilitating. 

   “When I have kids, they will have my name, JJ. Do you not want kids?” you ask and he sighs. 

   “I don't just want any kids, y/n, I want your kids,” he whispers and turns to look at you. 

   “Why would you think I'll leave you then?” 

   “Because you are marrying Rafe. Starting a family with Rafe. Just like the plan was. I'm nowhere close to being part of that picture,” he talks himself down, and you really have no more words left inside you. 

   You take his face into your hands and kiss him. Your heart is racing while looking at him and your throat feels dry, but you know you have to do it. And you know Rafe is right, you've known it ever since you let JJ compromise your thoughts from the very first time. 

   “I love you, JJ,” you whisper, and his eyes go wide. 

   “You sure?” he asks, and as soon as you nod he pins you down onto the bed and starts kissing you. Your giggles and the soft attempts to get away from him are making it even better, until he has you pinned right where he wants you, and you are panting, looking up at him. 

   “You're so beautiful, y/n,” JJ whispers, diving down to kiss you, sloppy and with a smile on both your lips. 

   “We should go back down,” you whisper, and he shakes his head. 

   “Not yet.”

   “They might be looking for us and I don't-” 

   You don't get to finish your sentence when his lips find yours again. He sucks your bottom lip into his mouth and entangles his tongue with yours until you moan into him. 

   “I love you, y/n,” JJ whispers, and nuzzles his face into your neck. 

   And before you can think twice about it, your little make out session has turned into the best sex you've ever had with him. JJ is sitting under you as you softly roll your hips. He's buried so deep inside you that every miniscule move is sending shockwaves of pleasure through your body. His hands are rubbing over your hips and ass in a perpetual motion, while yours play with his hair. 

   You think you could stay like this forever, just you and him in perfect synchrony; in love. 

   And the only time his eyes leave yours is when he dips his head to suck on your tits, or kiss your neck. 

   When he turns you around to lie down and thrusts into you, it's like he's fucking you for the first time. A plethora of praises and a dozen more “I love you’s” fall from his lips, while all you can do is moan and babble incoherently about how much you love him too. 

   When you find your way back downstairs, after what felt like an eternity, his arms are wrapped around you. JJ is himself again, flirty and always joking, and so incredibly more touchy than before. 

   “I see you made up,” Rafe smiles and holds his hand out, ready for you to take your seat back on his lap. 

   “Excuse me, you had her all night,” JJ complains and pulls you away, just to sit down next to Rafe and let you kiss him like you had wanted to. 

   “No more trouble in paradise?” Rafe whispers to you and you shake your head. 

   “I love my boys,” you sigh. 

   “And I thought you went with the blowjob,” Rafe teases you, and you roll your eyes. 

   “I could've gotten a blowjob?” JJ gasps quietly and softly pinches your thigh. 

   “You get those all the time, dumbass,” you giggle, and he smiles at you, completely enamored by your whole being. 

   “To think I get to be this lucky just because I couldn't stop staring at your tits, princess,” JJ whispers. 

   “Pretty nice tits,” Rafe agrees with a mumble. 

   “Pretty nice dicks,” you giggle and cuddle into JJ, bathing in the newfound closeness and in your head you're already planning it all out; the kids, the dog, and the two loves of your life.

please don't copy and/or post my work onto other platforms! ~e©ho

taglist: @ijustwantttoread @spideysimpossiblegirl @redhead1180 @princessmaybank @kys4-20 @drwstarkeyy @immyowndefender @julczimozart

[alwaysdjarin]

Heat waves

A  “Triple Frontier” Series

Part 5

Part 4

TF Boys x f!reader (except Tom)

RATING: Explicit 18+ ONLY. No Minors Please. My work is 18+.

Warnings: reader has a small mental breakdown, alcohol, dancing, clubbing, close dancing with a stranger, jealous Will, teasing, a lot of praising, SMUT, unprotected sex, p in v, fingering, rough sex, dirty talk, choking, possessive Will. WILL (he needs his own warning with his fucking filthy smirk, I mean LOOK AT HIM!). I hope that’s all.

Words: 6.9k

A/N: Sooo are you ready for Mr. Will Miller? Enjoy! It’s a longer chapter, because I loooove this dude. And I had to write the first part a little bit angsty, sorry.

I also want to thank you for all the lovely comments, likes and reblogs. I’m so happy that you like my writing and I hope I’ll not disappoint you with this story. I love you all. 💜

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

You hissed loudly as you splashed the cold water into your face and looked in the mirror, your hands left and right on the washbasin. You looked the way you felt - terrible. Large dark circles adorned your face, your eyes reddened. Tired, you looked tired and so were you. It was three days since your date with Frankie and you had hardly slept since then. It wasn't because the date was bad. No, absolutely not. You had such a good time on the beach. And the sex...God the sex. Your hand ran along your neck. The bruises that Frankie's mouth had left there had almost faded. You smirked in the mirror at the thought of how he fucked you in his truck. How he pushed you into the door with full force, his moaning, your moaning, this unforgettable-

"Sugaaaar???" Benny's call made the smile disappear from your lips. You looked into your tired reflection, grabbed your towel and dried your face before you made your way to the kitchen.

The Miller brothers sat at the round kitchen table. Will had come back from his business trip yesterday afternoon. "I made sandwiches, here tuna and salad, just as you like it best." Benny smiled at you. This lovely gesture from him, he was such a great friend. You shifted from one foot to the other, the knot in your stomach tightened a little further and you noticed how your palms became damp. Did you have to throw up?

"I..." You shook your head, tried to smile politely. "...thank you, but I'm not hungry right now. Put it in the fridge, I'll eat it later." The brothers exchanged a quick look and you ignored her frown while you took a water bottle off the table. "Really? Your food from the last three days is in the fridge. Do you eat anything at all? Are you sick?" Benny's tone has now become more serious and you managed to made a not entirely honest smile. "Of course I eat...and no, I'm not sick Benjamin." You're lied. "I just wanted to go running now and you don't do that with a full stomach." You gestured with your hands on your outfit, sports bra and shorts.

"Running? Cool, I haven't been in ages. I'll come with you." Said Benny enthusiastic and Will giggled quietly at his brother, who obviously didn't see that you wanted to go alone or deliberately ignored it. Will, the good observer he was, had of course seen through you a long time ago. Before you came up with the right words to kindly reject Benny, Will helped you. "No bro. We're both going to the gym." The younger Miller gave his brother an annoyed look and you turned around and disappeared before a discussion could start.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Fuck!" You cursed when your headphones gave up their job - battery empty. You rolled your eyes, your hands on your hips while you sniffed. The sweat ran down your face and you felt the liquid beads running down your neck. The sun was now low and you have been on the road for far too long. You knew it wouldn't be long before the boys came back from the gym and missed you.

You kept running. Continue in the direction away from your home. Further away from the Millers. Further away from the people who meant the world to you. But unfortunately not further away from the fears and ghosts in your head. The knot in your stomach chased you. The thoughts in your head, which you wanted to get rid of with every step further away from home, felt closer with every step your tired feet took.

You ran and ran. And now without the fucking music, you could distract yourself even less. Tears shot into your eyes.

Fuck, what am I doing here?

You kept running, your breath completely unevenly through crying.

I'll destroy everything.

Your lungs burned and you breathed loudly. Your vision was blurred with tears.

I’ll lose them.

Your steps became shorter, your legs weaker.

I will fucking lose everything we have built up over the last few weeks.

You stopped. Completely exhausted, you dropped your head forward, supported by your hands on your thighs. Every breath burned in your lungs and you saw wet drops on the asphalt in front of you. Tears? Sweat? It was probably both. Your ears rang and your vision blurred for a moment. You looked around, cars drove past you. You tried to orient yourself and realized that you were quite far away from home. Fuuuuuck!!!! You screamed into the dusk. Your crying became more desperate. I’m a stupid idiot. The tears didn't stop falling down your cheeks, you were still completely out of breath and sure you were about to have a mental breakdown when suddenly a passing car honked and drove to the roadside before you.

Will. Of course. You rolled your eyes and tried to wipe the tears from your face, but as soon as you sat in the passenger seat, you could see from his gaze that he had recognized what was going on.

"You're following me?" You asked in a rough voice, still completely out of breath.

He shrugged in amusement. "Coming from the gym right now. Ben is giving another training lesson. It was a coincidence that I met you here." You noticed his gaze on you while waiting at a red light. "At the very other end of the city...it was probably a long run."

You knew what he was getting at. You couldn't fool Will, he had realized from the moment he first saw you after his business trip that something was bothering you. He has always been good at observing. The vibrations in your voice, the red veins in your eye, the edges of your eyes, the twitching of your lips when you didn't know if you should laugh or cry. Will saw and analyzed everything.

You tried to ignore him, looked out the window on your side and took care of normalizing your breath. You kept silent the rest of the trip, you felt the taste of blood in your mouth because you had bitten your lip so hard to not start crying again. But you knew that Will wouldn't just let you get away with it.

When you got out of the car, you could feel the exhaustion taking control over your body. The sleepless nights, far too little food, the long run and also the heat. Your legs were weak and you just wanted to take a shower and go to sleep.

Will grabbed your wrist when you was on the porch, you twitched under the touch and looked at him frightened. He nodded to the big wooden bench, "Sit down!" he ordered and you were aware that the game of hide and seek would now come to an end and you had no chance to lie to him. You watched him disappear into the house and get out with a water bottle. Will handed it to you and you took a big sip hoping to get a little more time.

"And now talk to me Sugar, what's wrong with you?" Will sat next to you and looked at you seriously. His blue-green eyes became slits and you knew there was no way to talk around the bush.

You took a deep breath and then sniffed. Tears gathered again in your eyes. "I…" Your voice broke and you cleared your throat to continue to talk. "I'm afraid to ruin everything, Will."

He frowned. "What? What will you ruin?" He leaned his body forward slightly and his knee touched yours so that your eyes locked on it.

"What I have with you. With Benny. With Frankie. With Santi. EVERYTHING. You are my home, I love being here with you. And now...now I'm fucking my way through your group." You laughed sarcastically while tears ran down your cheeks.

Will raised his eyebrows. "You're worried about that? That we’ll be no longer your friends after we all have...?" He stopped without to continue the sentence and you nodded with your eyes closed. "Did you want that? What you’ve done with Pope and Fish?"

You opened your eyes, but couldn't look at him when you answered. “Yes." You sob loudly. "What's wrong with me? Every week a different guy and then demand that everything is the same as before?" You shook your head and wiped the tears from your face.

Will put a hand on your back and slipped closer to you, he breathed in. "Sugar, no one says that anything will change between all of us. We guys talked about how far we would go with you and agreed on that. Really. As long as you don't do anything you don't want." His hand slowly stroked your back and you could feel the comfortable heat of his skin on you.

"You don't think it’s disgusting what I'm doing?" Finally, your eyes met again and Will had a gentle smile on his face.

"Never. We are a team, we trust each other with our lives. Honestly? Better you have one of us in your bed every day than any strange guys from the bar who will just hurt you again." He put his hand on your shoulder and pulled you firmly against his body. "I swear to you, Sugar. Nobody thinks derogatory about you, quite the contrary. Frankie can't stop talking about your date, he loved spending time alone with you. And Benny? Sugar, what Benny is planning for you…he hasn't done anything like that for a woman yet. He is so happy that you are here with us. And so am I. It's wonderful to always have you around us. You give us so much without even knowing it. "

You had to giggle at the thought that your Benny is planning a date and Will's warm words made your eyes watering again. “Don't worry so much honey. Just enjoy the time, okay?"

You nodded and released yourself from his hug. "Thank you." You smiled at him and he stroked your head until his hand was on your neck. His gaze wandered from your eyes to your mouth and back again to your eyes and you could have sworn for a second that he would kiss you. But he didn't. Instead, he whispered. "You should take a shower now and I will order some pizza ok?"

You smiled. "Pizza sounds good. I'm starving."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A few days had passed since your mental breakdown and even though you knew the brothers had talked about it, Benny never mentioned it. Benny had given you some time and space and at the same time he showed you a lot of appreciation, as he always did. You felt a lot better and had determined to follow Will's advice to not worry so much.

Today was your date with Will. Finally.

"Action or Romcom?" Will asked when the three of you were sitting at the table eating your breakfast together.

"Action!" You and Benny said like from one mouth. You looked at each other and giggled.

Will rolled his eyes at his younger brother and then smiled at you. "Well, then tonight, 9pm." He took one last sip of his coffee out of his mug and put it on the table before he stood up.

"Cinema?" You asked while he walked towards the front door.

"First cinema and then to 'Paul's' there's an r'n'b party tonight." Will stood in the doorway and looked at Benny and you. "So only if you want to!?“

You smiled. “If I would like to see how the old man shakes his booty? Holy shit, of course!"

Will laughed and shook his head before he turned around and let the front door locked behind him. You looked at Benny who grinned mischievously. "I can also shake my booty. Want to see it?" You rolled your eyes and hit him against his upper arm. "Idiot!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"You look great." Will's blue-green eyes wandered along your legs, which you had placed on the backrest of the seat in front of you. The film had not started yet and the lamps on the walls still illuminated the hall.

"Thank you." You watched how his gaze wandered slowly along your long stretched out legs and you were proud of yourself, you had definitely chosen the right outfit for your date. You winked at Will and took a piece of popcorn from the bucket on your lap, which you put into his mouth. "But you look good too."

Will scratched the back of his head and smiled embarrassed. You loved this gesture, he did that every time when he was a little embarrassed and you loved the challenge of tickling that out of him. He looked really great tonight. Dark blue trousers and a black button up shirt. You found it incredibly attractive how he had rolled up his sleeves, the honey-colored skin, his muscular forearms. When he put his hand on your naked thigh, you let your fingers wander over the protruding veins and traced the contours of his tattoo. His hand was incredibly hot on your thigh, your leg looked fragilely small under his huge paw. You remembered the evening when the incident with Ryan occurred. When you woke up and Benny and Will lay down in your bed. Even then, you had directly felt what kind of warmth Will's body radiated. And that was no coincidence, no. Will had this warmth in his body because it reflected his character. For outsiders, he was rather the quiet, observing part of the boys. But you knew his other side. If he trusted you and came out of himself, you could have so much fun with him. His humor was so cool that you sometimes laughed tears. And what you liked most about him, he always gave you the feeling that you were safe with him. That he knows what you think and that he would do anything to make you feel comfortable. Whether it was totally inconspicuous the hand on your lower back, or the arm around your shoulder when he picked you up from the bar after your night shift and led you through a group of drunken men. Not only his broad body radiated protectiveness, but his posture, his gaze, his entire presence. And you couldn't deny that it turned you on.

You were both deeply immersed in your thoughts, your eyes were on Will's hand, which slowly caressed you when the light finally went out and the film began.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Three hours later

The queue in front of "Paul's" was huge. Will put an arm around your waist and pressed you hard against his side. The night air was fresh and your short outfit didn't exactly give a lot of warmth. Your glittering high heels flickered on the floor while Will guided you quickly past the waiting people. He took another deep drag from his cigarette before he greeted the doorman who gave both of you entrance into the club. Without any control, without waiting time.

"Not bad Miller." You said very impressed while you walked along a long hallway. The light was dimmed and red. People stood everywhere and talked, some made out, others argued. The subdued bass of the music filled the gear and became louder and louder the more you approached the actual club. The air was stuffy and smelled of cigarettes, alcohol and dozens of different perfumes.

Will squeezed your hand briefly and almost had to yell so that you could still hear him. "Sometimes it has its advantages of knowing the right people." He winked and together you turn into the huge location.

The air was heavy, the music boomed at a volume that your ears had to get used to it first. Huge disco balls hung on the ceiling, which reflected the purple and pink light from the spotlights. Will led you to the bar and ordered drinks. When he handed you your glass, you looked at him in amazement. "Caipirinha?"

He nodded. "This used to be your favorite cocktail when we were teens. Isn't it anymore? Would you rather have my beer?"

You laughed. "No man, that's just right. I just didn't think you still knew that."

He smiled. This damn hot smirk, which he had perfected and which made you weak every time you saw it. Will looked so pretty in his black button up shirt, the muscles of his broad shoulders cast shadows in the flickering light and you felt the urge to lean on it. His blond hair literally shone in the purple light, it had grown a little longer now and he had styled it backwards. You could have looked at him for hours and always found something new that was beautiful about him.

Then he held up his beer to toast with you. "To the many old memories."

You smiled back. Two could play this game. "And to the many beautiful memories that will be added in the future." you said with a wink.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After your second cocktail, you gradually noticed the alcohol and wanted to dance. Will had chosen the perfect evening, they played only songs from your youth and you had to think about Benny for a moment. He would have loved it. Will apologized briefly to go to the restroom and you told him you were going dancing in the meantime.

You let yourself be driven by the rhythm of the music and the alcohol allowed you to get completely lost in dancing. How long have you not been to a club? You couldn't remember. Suddenly a body nestled against you from behind and at first you thought it was Will, but even before you could turn around, your gaze hit his eyes. He stood at the bar and looked in your direction. Surprised, you looked over your shoulder, it was a stranger who danced with you. You looked back to Will and you both had to laugh. He had recognized your confusion. Of course. He could read you like an open book.

You waved him with your hand that he should come to you, but he pointed to his beer bottle and apparently wanted to drink first. So you decided to continue dancing.

Will kept his eyes on you all the time, he leaned against the bar and studied each of your movements. The way your high heels sparkled in the light, your legs. Fuck, have they always been that long? He could see how your calf muscles tensed and relaxed during your small dancing steps. He imagined what it had to feel like to have your legs lying over his shoulders, to feel the twitch of your muscles on his naked body. Kiss your sensitive skin between your thighs. Will took a big sip of his beer. His eyes moved on your ass as you let him circle back and forth, back and forth to the rhythm of the music. He saw how close the guy was behind you, his crotch rubbed your butt without a doubt, his hand lay on your hip.

Will clenched his jaw, he swallowed hard, but when he looked into your face, he could see it in your eyes. You wanted to tease him, you little slut. You smiled filthy, there was fire in your eyes. Even if there was a guy hanging on your ass, your thoughts were completely with Will. You sang the lyrics of the song Ja Rule - Mesmerize, your eyes never left Will's gaze.

Girl your stare, those eyes I- (Love it when you look at me baby)

Your lips, your smile I- (Love it when you kiss me baby)

Your hips, those thighs I- (Love it when you thug me baby)

And I can't, deny I- (Love it when I'm witchu baby)

Fuck, you drove him crazy.

You raised your hands in the air, your eyes closed, your head rocked from left to right. You crouched slightly with circular hips, the guy behind you now had both hands on you, pushed you closer to his crotch. Okay, that was too much. You turned around so that you could make him friendly but certainly clear that it was enough now. But when your gaze saw the face behind you, it was Will who danced there with you. You breathed out relieved and he smiled, gave you a little push and you were already turned with your back to him. He grabbed your hips, his grip was firm and left no room for compromise. When he pressed your ass against his crotch, you immediately noticed his hard bulge. His breath was against the crook of your neck and you could feel his stubble on your sensitive skin.

"Do you want to give it to me like that? Hmm? Dance with this clown like a little slut. You will pay for that, darlin." Will literally growled at you and a hot stream passed through your body, directly to your core. His grip on your hips was so tight that you were sure to get bruises of it and it turned you so much on. Fuck, that side of him was hot.

I love when you touch me, baby

All over my body, baby

I love when you kiss me, baby

All over my body, baby

I love when you touch me, baby

All over my body, baby

I love when you kiss me, baby

All over my body, baby

You dived completely into the music. The crowd around you literally pulled you into their suction. Your bodies became one, Will's hands held you like a magnet. The gaze you exchanged said more than a thousand words and again and again this fucking bastard brought his filthy smirk to his lips, as if he wanted to tell you that he has already planned every further step and knows exactly what he wanted to do with you. You were his puppet, he could steer you without effort.

When finally a slow song was played, you put your arms on Will's shoulders and he pulled you so close to him that your heads were right next to each other. "What do you think about me calling us an Uber?" He said in your ear.

You teased him. “Are you already getting tired? Maybe I should look if I can find the guy from earlier, he certainly still wants to-" Before you could finish the sentence, Will had grabbed your wrist and dragged you behind him, away from the dance floor and into the hallway. You had to be careful not to fall down, his big steps were far too fast for you on high heels and he didn't stop running at your request. Arriving in the long hallway, Will pressed you against the red painted wall, one hand firmly on your hip, the other pinned to the wall next to your head. He completely caged you with his broad body, his eyes had almost lost their blue-green color and were dark full of pleasure. His tongue darted over his lower lip, his gaze wandered over your face down to your chest, which quickly moved up and down.

"Do you want to make me jealous? Flirting and dancing with this fucking guy while I'm watching?" His eyes almost ate you when his mouth wandered to your ear. "Do you do that on purpose so that I’ll punish you for it, Sugar?" He whispered under his breath before he gently bit into your pulse point under your ear and sucked it slightly.

You stuttered "W-Will...f-fuck." and could feel his hand slide down your lower back as he pressed you flush against his body. Your hands lay on his shoulders, the warmth of his skin was felt through the thin fabric of his shirt, while his breath continued to fall hot on your neck.

"I'm calling fucking Uber now and you behave." He growled dangerously in your ear before he let go of you and took his phone out of his pocket. You tried to stand upright and straightened your dress. Your heart raced in your chest. Fuck you hadn’t expected this side of Will and you couldn't wait to see more of it.

"He'll be here in 5 minutes, let's get out." Will murmured and you took his hand. "One moment. Come with me." You pulled him back into the large room, the music still boomed loudly out of the boxes as you meandered your way to the bar. You leaned over the counter to talk to the bartender and it cost Will all his strength not to grab your ass which you presented so unrestrainedly in front of him.

"A bottle of your most expensive champagne, please," you yelled to the man behind the counter. When he presented you the bottle, you grabbed it. “Tell your boss his friend Will Miller will pay the bill in the next days.” You nodded your head in Will's direction and the bartender nodded in agreement. When you turned around smiling with the big bottle in your hand, he looked at you in amazement. Will apparently hadn't heard your conversation with the bartender because of the loud music and didn’t know that you bought the bottle in his name. Oh, he will kill you.

In front of the club, you opened the bottle with a loud plop and squeaked as the cold foam bubbled over your hand. Will took it from you and took a big sip. He shook himself. "Urgh, that tastes terrible." You also took a sip and agreed with him. "We are probably more the guys for beer." You joked and drank until the Uber arrived. When you were sitting in the back seat, Will watched you. You had leaned your head against the window, watching outside dreamily. Your eyes shone, you looked so fucking happy and that's exactly what he was. His cell phone vibrated in his pocket and he rolled his eyes as he looked at the screen.

*+*+*+*

Group Chat

THE GANG

Benny: Hellooo? Are you still alive? 🤔🤔

Ironhead: Of course. We are on our way home. Go to your room!

Benny: But I think I'm hungry and have to make myself something to eat. 😋😋

Ironhead: Ben, I swear to god when I see your ugly face when we arrive...

Pope: Jesus, it's 3am. What's wrong with you?

Benny: Go back to sleep grandpa! 🤣

Benny: Can I at least get another photo of her so that I have nice dreams? 😜😇💦

Ironhead: [image attached]

Ironhead: That's all you’ll get, motherfucker.

Benny: Uuuuh that's enough. 😏 💦 And please take her room, I don't want to hear your disgusting moan next door. 😩😫

Ironhead: Fuck you!

...

The next morning

Frankie: What's going on?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When you arrived at home, you stumbled laughing through the front door and when Will dropped his keys on the floor with a loud bang, you hit him so loud that Benny heard you for sure and you both had to laugh so much that tears running down your cheeks. The champagne definitely showed its effect and so it happened that you walked directly into the kitchen and poured both of you a glass of water.

"Drink Miller!" You ordered and he followed your instructions and you observed him. God, how sexy his Adam's apple twitched while gulped. "Oh Mr. Miller..." You slowly walked towards him. "...have you learned to follow orders in the army?" Your hands glided down from his shoulder over the black fabric of his shirt, your fingernails scratched slightly over the thin fabric. When his hands were lying on his chest, he grabbed your wrists, you saw something moving in his gaze. The Will from earlier was back -the dark in his eyes- and you bit your lower lip when you realized.

He placed his hand under your chin, guiding your face closer to his. His lips barely grazed yours and was sending shivers throughout your whole body. Will Whispered. "Do you want that?" His breath was on your lips when you nodded hastily, but that was not enough for him. "Say it Sugar. I have to hear it."

"I...I want you Will."

You moaned quietly as his hand rushed to the back of your head and he grabbed your hair, a firm pull backwards so that you presented him with your bare throat. "I'll ruin you babe, do you know that? Is that what you want?" His mouth licked down your jaw and to your neck. The beard scratched and his teeth left a trace on your skin. He was a biter. Definitely.

„Fuck yes, Will. Give it to me. That’s exactly what I deserve.“ You leaned your arms on the table behind you as Will pushed you further and further back. The hard bulge in his jeans pressed impatiently against your thigh as you spread your legs, your ass now on the kitchen table.

Will hissed while enjoying the sight in front of him. You on the kitchen table, your legs spread so far that he could see your black lace thong, your endlessly long legs, which he wanted to have wrapped around his body all evening and your feet were still decorated with your glittering high heels. Fuck, he hoped that this sight would burn into his brain so that he would never forget it.

You didn't miss his hungry look and you decided to give him the last spark he needed to completely ruin you. "What's going on Miller? Do you still want to fuck me, or should I look for the guy from the club so that he can take me?" And you achieved exactly what you wanted. Within a second, Will stood between your legs, one hand on your thigh, the other on your neck. And then he kissed you with a fire that you have never felt in a kiss before. His tongue did not ask for permission, it shots directly into your mouth, he wanted to feel every inch of you, taste you, smell you. His teeth scratched your lips while his grip on your neck solidified. God, that will bruise. Good.

You stabilized yourself with one hand on his biceps and Will growled. "You're playing with fire darling. Do you think even one of the guys from the club can fuck you better than me?" And you whimpered as his hand wandered up your thigh, his hard cock pulsed unbearably in his jeans while he rubbed it on your clothed cunt. "I don't know Will. Show me what you have to offer."

His fingers reached your thong and Will shuddered briefly when he felt how damp the black lace fabric already was. "Someone’s needy." he purred, grabbed the little piece of fabric and pulled it down your legs. His long fingers glided through your wet folds and you couldn't hold back a loud moan when he pushed two fingers into you without hesitation. Your mouths met again while he pushed his thick fingers in and out of you. It didn't take long for him to hit the little spongy spot in your core and you moan loudly into his mouth. "F-fuck Will. Right there." He smiled into your kisses and his thumb on your clit did the rest to let you finally see stars. The orgasm rushed through your body with full force while Will's fingers continued to caress you, his tongue in your mouth to muffle your scream. "That's my fucking good girl. So good, cumming all over my hand." Your body twitched in ecstasy while Will savored every second of your orgasm and stabilized you.

After you came down from your high, he stuck his fingers into his mouth to taste your juices. He hummed quietly because of the sweet taste and did not interrupt eye contact with you for a second. When his fingers were clean, he finally asked "Ready for a little action?" and winked. You just rolled your eyes and teased him. "Finally! I thought you'd never ask me."

With one motion, Will threw you over his shoulder and gave you a slap on your ass. "Oh sweet girl, don't ask for anything you can't handle." You squeaked and laughed loudly and hit him lightly on his butt while he carried you through the hallway.

Once in your room, you landed on your bed with full force. You both kissed each other again while tearing each other's clothes off your body, the attraction between the two of you was now so huge that not a minute should pass in which you weren't skin on skin. Even before you could enjoy the sight of Will's bare strong body in front of you, he flipped you on your stomach. You panted due to the fast movement and went straight to your knees.

"Good Girl, look at you. What a sight." He gave you a slap on your cheek. Your loud moan inspired him even more and further slaps on your ass followed, so you were sure you would feel the pain still the next day. "Do you think that's good hmm? Do you like it when I spank your pretty little ass?"

You nodded and looked back over your shoulder. You were so incredible wet, your arousal literally dripped out of your cunt. "Damn Will, fuck me!" Another slap landed on your now very sensitive and probably bright red ass cheek and you cried out briefly.

"Beg for it! Tell me that you need my cock, you needy little thing."

God, you've never had such a sexual experience. None of the men you have had so far had such a dominant side in bed. And if you were honest, it was the most exciting thing you had ever experienced. Will found the perfect balance between dominance and tenderness. He alternated so elegantly between the two conditions that it was absolutely erotic for you and never became uncomfortable. You trusted him and were ready to surrender to him completely.

"Please Will. Fuck…please give it to me. Fuck me. Ruin me." You whimpered as you wiggled your ass in front of him like a bitch in heat.

The mattress shifted behind you, Will took off his boxers and then, without teasing, he thrusted into you. Within seconds he was in your cunt to the hilt and you felt as if it had squeezed all the air out of your lungs. A deep moan came from both your mouths, for him the feeling seemed just as overwhelming as for you. You were panting, the feeling of fullness so intense. You felt his beard on your spine, followed by a kiss. Will gave you a brief moment to adjust. When he noticed that your body was relaxing again and you whispered a quiet "Okay", he straightened up behind you. As he started to move, slow but hard thrusts, his hands on your hips to stabilize you, you saw stars. Your pussy sucked his cock while his grip on your hips tightened more and more. You were sure that you would have bruises the next day, but the thoughts about it had quickly disappeared when Will picked up an immense pace. The sounds of your skin colliding and the loud moan echoed through your room and you noticed how you got closer and closer to your climax. Fuck, Will was not only incredibly rough, he also had a thing for dirty talk AND loud moaning. His sounds were animalistic and you noticed that your own moaning also turned him on extremely. So you didn't hold back.

"W-Will...I'm...fuck...I'm close." you moaned between his thrusts and Will reacted immediately. He leaned over you, his arm wrapped your upper body and supported you so that you could move upright. The new angle was overwhelming. His hand wandered from your chest up to your throat and you dropped your head back against his shoulder. His other hand was still firmly on your hip to support his hard thrusts into your wet center. When you finally felt Will's hot breath on your ear, it gave you the rest. "Fuck yes baby...so fucking tight...feels so good...cum...cum on my fucking dick." he purred. The grip on your throat strengthened as you scream his name into the night. You were sure your entire neighborhood had heard you and there was nothing that interested you less.

When you came down from your high and your body trembled under Will's firm grip, he pulled himself out of you with a hiss. He turned you around to face him, his hand stroked through your face and brushed a strand of hair behind your ear while you smiled dazed. "Come on my lap babe, I want to see your beautiful face when I cum." You straddled over is legs while he slowly pumped his hard length. He stroked his cock once through your wet folds, which made you tremble with overstimulation before you slowly lowered down on him. Your pussy had quickly gotten used to the pleasant stretch and you began to move in rhythm.

You held on to Will's shoulders and could finally enjoy the sight of his muscle-packed body in front of you. His skin was slightly tanned and covered with a thin sweat film. His thrusts made your body shake and he kneaded your breast with one hand before he sucked your hard nipple into his mouth. You dropped your head backwards. "Oh Will...y-you fuck me so well. Fuck you feel so damn good." Your words spurred him on and he pressed your body flush against his. Your hand wandered to the back of his head, you felt the sweat mixed with his hair gel. You kissed each other deeply, moaned into your mouths while you sat entwined.

"Fuck yes...you take me so well...wanted to fuck you in the club...did the fucker really think he could touch you like that? Your -fuck- pussy is mine." He growled between kissing your jaw and deep thrusts into your wet hole.

You held onto his body to not fall backwards and he supported you with one hand on your back, while the other kneaded the soft flesh of your ass, which jumped up and down on his lap.

You breathed the same air between kissing and praising. "C-Can you come for me again babe? On my cock? I-I want you as close to me as possible when I -fuck- when I..." You nodded hastily and let your hand wander between your bodies to stroke your clit. It only took two or three more thrust for you both to cum. Despite all the ecstasy and Will's hard thrusts, the moment was incredibly sensual. You grabbed his hair while he pressed you firmly against his body with his strong arms. Your foreheads were pressed against each other and you looked deep into your eyes while he spilled his hot load deep inside you.

It took a long time for you to come down from your high and part with each other. Will disappeared briefly before coming back with a washcloth and something to drink. He sat on the edge of your bed and you could see that he thought about whether he should leave you alone, but you took away any further doubt from him when you snuggled under your blanket and whispered a "Come here."

You two were closely intertwined and you enjoyed the warmth of his body while he gently caressed your back. "Is everything okay?" Will finally asked and you turned your head to look at him.

Your hand stroked his face." More than that. Thank you."

Will smiled. "I didn't do anything." It followed a pleasant silence between both of you, then he sighed. "You are beautiful, you know that? I mean...not just your looks, but also your character. You are amazing."

Your face turned red with embarrassment and you dug your face into the crook of his neck. "Stop it, you are already in my bed Casanova." You kissed his soft skin on the neck and felt him twitch under the touch. "You are also amazing Will Miller."

His hand stroked the back of your head and you noticed how you slowly fell asleep when you heard his whispering. "I won't let you ever get hurt again, wonderful girl. God, what are you doing to us? I think I'm addicted to you."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next day

Benny yawned loud while walking down the stairs. His night was short and Will and you hadn’t been quiet. His eyes directly found the champagne bottle on the floor, which he finally picked up and studied the label. He nodded appreciatively and walked into the kitchen. When he put the bottle on the kitchen table, his eyes fell on a black piece of fabric on the floor. He picked it up and a wide grin appears on his face when he identified it as your thong.

"Horny freaks. We eat at this table."

To be continued…

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

The Song from the Club

Heat waves taglist: @fangirl-316 @marvelously-flawed @slytherinxhunter @mashomasho @savagemickey03 @paintlavillered @dreamer-in-my-own-world @marshmallow--3

General taglist: @simonsbluee

[babykatsu]

PAIRING: katsuki bakugou x gn!reader

RATING: nsfw

WARNINGS: jealous bakugou, sexual implications (no full on smut), kinda fluff?, strong language, aged-up of course

REQUEST: @anniebromberg tysmm for requesting<3 here’s a lil jealous bakugou fic!! it was really fun to finally write again. i really hope u like it <3 🤲🏻

WORDCOUNT: 1.6k

SYNPOSIS:

Katsuki, your boyfriend, made sure EVERYONE knew that you were his. Well, for the most part at least. He was not one for PDA since he still liked his privacy. You know, some things are better left just for the two of you to enjoy behind the scenes. But this habit of his led to something else... So when you were both out for a short coffee date that you had somehow managed to arrange amidst your busy schedules, Katsuki was beyond fuming to see an extra trying to flirt with you.

The smell of roasted coffee beans filled your nose as your boyfriend gently opened the door to the cafe you frequented. The rich bitter fragrance, with a hint of its inviting warmth, filled the atmosphere. It made your mouth water and yearn for that creamy, smooth drink. The subtle chatter of the customers, the clinking of cups, and other cutlery gently grazed your hearing. Nostalgic. That was the best way to put how you felt right now. It took you back to your first date with Katsuki, and though he will never admit it, this exact coffee shop is his favorite date spot. The subtle way his hand slipped out from yours as you two approached the counter interrupted your train of thought.

"Katsuki?" You questioned.

"I'll be back. I need to go to the toilet real quick. Don't order without me, okay?"

"Of course!"

With that, he shuffled his way through a couple of people before disappearing out of your vision. Awkwardly, you made your way off to the side elsewhere. In your little corner of the shop, you eyed people regularly coming in and out of the cafe. Admittedly, aimlessly standing there observing people was a tad bit uncomfortable and honestly creepy, but you knew Katsuki wouldn't take long. Well, you hoped so, at least.

Your solitude, however, did not last long. It took barely a couple of minutes before one of the people who had entered the establishment locked their eyes with yours. Not only did they maintain their gaze on you, but they even began making their way to you. In embarrassment, you glanced off to the side, eyes glued to where you last saw Katsuki go, awaiting to see his familiar face in the masses. To your disappointment, he wasn't there. And now this stranger was right next to you.

"waiting for your order, sweetheart?" A scratchy husk voice questioned, nudging their shoulder to yours almost in a joking manner. You didn't take lightly to the friendly gesture, feeling somewhat violated by the invasion of personal space.

"I haven't ordered yet" You smiled briskly, finally facing the person beside you. Your response only acted as an open invitation for this complete randomer to get even closer, their hand slithering around your waist.

"How about I buy you a drink, darling? How does that sound?" Though you tried to budge, it felt as though it only made the stranger cling to you tighter. 

As your heart drummed against your chest, you pleaded for Katsuki to get back soon. And to your delight, you heard his familiar voice as he obnoxiously cleared his throat.

The man's seemingly tight grasp on you loosened, taking a few steps back from you as he glanced back at your boyfriend.

"You with them?" The stranger asked, seemingly anxious. It didn't take long until Katsuki interlocked his fingers with yours, palms sweaty and his grip firm.

"The fuck do you think, dumbass?"

You knew Bakugou wanted to raise his voice, but you saw his restraint.  He was clenching his jaw as he spoke through gritted teeth. And worst of all, you could see the hazy distress in his eyes as he stared down at the man in front of him. Perhaps he was holding back to save you the humiliation of causing a stir in your favorite cafe, or maybe this was his breaking point. You never really knew what went through Katsuki's head, but the defeat you sensed come from him had you worried.

"Stop just looking at me and fuck off already." Katsuki spat out before dragging you out of the coffee shop.

Oddly enough, you'd think him aggressively yelling would depict his frustration more. Only, in this case, his silence was deafening. He marched around Tokyo's streets as you delayed behind him, his hand refusing to let go of yours

"Katsuki! Hold on!" You just barely let out. "We are going home." He spoke bluntly. "Do you not have to be back to work in 20 minutes?" With a frustrated sigh escaping his parted lips, he came to a halt.

"Then can we hurry up and get home, y/n?" Facing you, he spoke in a beaten tone.

He squeezed your hand tighter in reassurance before resuming his stride, only this time walking at a more manageable pace for you to keep up.

"You know I hate it when those extras try and talk to you. It's my fault for leaving you alone." He avoided eye contact as he stared up ahead, his car coming into view.

"And I know it's not your fault that dumbasses like that approach you but it still frustrates me, you know. Like, at least if you're with me, the bare minimum I could do is make sure those jerks know their place."

You always knew he was protective over you, usually never hesitating to bark out at those who tried to approach you, yet this time was different. This time felt like he was fed up beyond recognition. A random stranger flirting with you interrupted the date you two had managed to arrange after weeks of not having any alone time.

"Please don't stress yourself over that, baby! I promise you don't have to worry. I don't want anyone but you." You reassured, encircling yourself around his arm. Pulling out his car keys, you heard the familiar chime of his car unlocking.

"I know. It's still gonna annoy me nonetheless, though. How fucking hard is it for them to understand that you're mine and not theirs?"

Swiftly, he lowered you into the car seat as you unhooked yourself from his arm. You waited as he rounded the car, taking his seat next to you. Dropping his head back, he let out another frustrated sigh.

You didn’t know how exactly to break this tension that was between you two. You clasped his hand before saying the only thing that you knew that Katsuki could never turn down.

"Then make sure they know I'm yours." you challenged with a slight grin on your face.

He raised a brow at you, doubtingly but regardless, you could see him try and contain the smile that was growing in his face.

"Do you really want to challenge me to that?" His face lit up as he tilted it towards you.

"You have 15 minutes before you have to be back at work. Do your best-" But before you could fully complete your sentence, his lips had already fallen on yours. This wasn’t exactly the way you expected him to accept your challenge. But how could you deny him?

"I'll make sure everyone knows who you fucking belong to, darling." His breath trickled down your neck as he nibbled at your ear, causing goosebumps to dance down your skin. Butterflies swarmed your stomach as you began to feel excited for what he would do next.

His silky lips glided against every inch of  exposed skin and his hands didn't hesitate to caress everything his lips couldn't reach.  Lightly, he raised his head once more, his darkened crimson eyes peering at you with his signature stare. Gaze dipping lower down your face, he studied your lips, glazed in his previous embrace.

His plump mouth reconnected with yours, gently melting against you. The taste of caramel dripping from his tongue as it swiped your bottom lip. You savored every taste of him, granting him access. Delicate yet rough, he readily explored your mouth. Whirling his tongue around yours, before pulling away to tug at your lip. From gently pecks, to deep french kisses, he kept you guessing every time he leaned back in. And he continued to devour you, breathlessly pressing further into you as he only ventured you further. His hands crawling up your shirt, kneading your waist as he drove his chest towards yours. There was no space left between you two. The thrashing of his heart more noticeable than ever, you felt the adrenaline that ran around his body similarly to your own. Breathless, he parted from you. His cheeks scattered in a pink shimmer as his chest rose up and down as he panted for air.

"Hope on" He motioned to his lap.

And you did just that, throwing one leg over and repositioning yourself to rest above him.

His hands resumed their adventure, leisurely inching up your thighs as his thumbs rubbed in circles. Higher and higher Katsuki's hands reached, and you grew more feverish by the moment. Eyes fluttering to his lips and next down his body, you felt the pit of your stomach lust in anticipation and nervousness.

"Don't tease me now! You know we don't have time" You whined, rocking yourself against him before leaning in to meet his lips. But, he yanked away.

"Say please" He tipped his head, a taunting grin plastered across his face. You couldn't help but feel yourself get warm at his words, a drop of embarrassment streaming through you.

"P-please" You somewhat stammered, but Bakugou adhered to his word, cupping your face and drawing you back towards himself.

His hands slipped up your back, chilly fingers hovering just above your skin as they traced up and down the ridges of your spine. But these more satiny touches soon turned desperate once more. You were met by the clawing of his nails against your back. Down, his lips crept to your neck where he resumed his caresses. Gentle squirms and cries hung from your lips as you felt every lick his cushiony tongue made, every moment his teeth immersed into your skin, and every kiss he settled thereafter. There was no doubt he had left marks and it excited your body all over as you heaved for air. Tugging yourself to him, he bucked his hips up causing a groan to leave him, his breath lingering softly as it cascaded across the back of your neck. The feeling of his hardened cock leaving you craving for more.

But before you continue your endeavor, the sound of an alarm broke you from one another. Bakugou reached for his phone before being greeted with the message he wanted to see the least right now.

'work starts in 3 minutes'

This only meant you'd have to continue what you two had started after work, which only riled you two on more.

“I’ll finish you off at home. Got it?”

[hesbuckcompton-baby]

Old Money New World - Eugene Roe x OFC - Chapter 9

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8

Summary: Two months later, Camille begins to learn that life at the hospital isn't as harmonious as it once seemed, and fights for her right to return to Easy Company

Warnings: Themes of sexual/workplace harassment, language

Word Count: 2.8k

Tags: @yentroucnagol @mads-weasley

Please let me know if you’re interested in being added to the tag list!

-

Time passed slowly at the hospital - hours stretching on, the constant monotonous ticking of the clock upon the wall drilling into one's consciousness like a constant reminder that Camille could have been anywhere else had she just been quicker to reach her foxhole. But no. Instead she had been holed up here for months, days turning to weeks sat upon the same bed in the same ward, wandering the same sanitised corridors for something to do.

"I think I need to leave, I'm going legitimately insane in here," She sulked, tossing the book she'd been trying to read onto the bed. Curse her inability to read French.

"You're making an excellent recovery," Janie chided gently, eyes narrowed as she patiently tried to straighten the back of Camille's hair, which had never quite grown straight again since she'd cut it. "I wouldn't give it more than a week or two before you're good to go."

When the nurse finished, she let out a satisfied tut, withdrawing to admire her good work.

"I'm a nurse too, y'know. I wouldn't be pushing to go back if I thought it posed a risk to my health. I am making an excellent recovery, I haven't had to wear the sling for almost two weeks. I can't keep pacing forever, at this point I think I'm becoming a waste of resources."

"You're also the only person around here I actually like talking to, so I'm not in any hurry to see you gone," Janie smiled, brushing the scraps of hair into the bin.

"If you don't like it here, we can both go together," She turned, propped up on her knee. Janie paused, her warm expression diminished, hands hovering over the bin as if she had been frozen. "Janie? You ok?"

She shook her head slightly, as if releasing herself from a spell. "Hm? Oh, fine, it's nothing. Just tired, is all. My Wednesday shifts always drag on more than usual."

Camille nodded hesitantly, far from fully convinced by the story. "If you say so."

Janie adjusted her cap, smoothed down her apron, and smiled a brief goodbye before ducking out around the divider beside the bed and disappearing to see to the other patients and finish her shift. Camille frowned, bedsheets rustling noisily as she shifted atop them and leant back against the headboard, slowly pulling her eyes back to her book, which she managed to focus on for almost five minutes before becoming exasperated once more.

-

It had become a common sight in recent weeks to see Camille pacing the hospital corridors. She kept to the side, out of the way, army boots squeaking against polished floors, contrasting the stark whiteness of her hospital clothes. No one minded her - she rarely ever spoke to anyone, pausing occasionally to peer out windows she passed. If it wasn't too cold she'd usually take an hour to sit in the courtyard, penning replies to her letters in the sunlight.

It was fucking dull.

A wound like hers had required constant checkups when she'd first arrived, and required constant exercises to get her arm back into shape now that it was healing - procedures that kept her confined in the hospital walls, under what seemed like constant surveillance. Somedays she felt like a prisoner, others she felt like a disappointment to her Company. Regardless, she knew she needed to get out.

Her daily routine was practically built around visits to the hospital director, sitting herself down in front of his desk and refusing to move until he heard her out. Every day she would put forth every reason why she thought it ridiculous she was still required to stay, and every day he would come up with some new excuse as to why he wanted to keep her, always deliberately vague when discussing just how much longer she had to remain.

Today was no different. At least, she didn't think it was going to be.

The director's office was tucked away in a back corner of the building in a hallway barely ever frequented by anyone else, kept separate from the patients. The sound of her boots echoed around her as she walked, fists clenched at her sides as she mentally prepared herself for what seemed like inevitable rejection. His office had a single window next to the door, usually covered by blinds he kept pulled down.

Except today they weren't.

Today, as Camille made it to his room, she caught a sight through the window that made her stop dead in her tracks. Janie was inside, an open file on his desk indicating that she'd had something to show him. But she was stood now with her shoulders hunched uncomfortably, backed up against his desk, avoiding his eye as he spoke close to her face, reaching up to touch her cheek or her hair every now and then as she fidgeted anxiously.

Camille had never been described as an angry person - not even by her mother, who had seen every tantrum and every spat she'd gotten in with her brothers since the day she was born. But out in that corridor, hand hovering over the doorknob, eyes locked on the scene inside, Camille saw red. Camille saw white-hot fucking fury, her fist clenched so hard it embedded deep pink crescents into her palm where her nails had embedded into the skin. Janie's gaze had met hers for the briefest moment, flickers of both recognition and fear crossing her face before she finally pushed the director away. Camille ducked out of the view of the window before he too saw her, Janie's gaze catching hers for a moment as she darted out of the room and hurried away down the corridor, Camille's mouth hanging open as if to call after her, but void of anything to say.

Her mind was racing as she turned on her heel and stormed back towards her ward, heartbeat thumping inside her skull as blood rushed to her ears in her rage. She wanted to do something, needed to do something, but what could she do? She was just one woman in the middle of a war dictated by men - men who wouldn't easily give up the director of one of their military hospitals.

But when she looked back on what she'd done that week after years had gone by, she was proud of herself.

When she'd been stationed back at that hospital in Holland soon after her arrival on the mainland, she and her fellow nurse Karoline had promised to keep contact with one another, bonded by their experience with a poor Dutch woman, marred by her community. From then on their letters had been infrequent - each occupied with their own career - but they always had much to say, and Camille still held great affection and trust for her old colleague. It had been two weeks since Karoline had last written, telling her all about her new position at a small hospital in Reims. It was not as safe in Reims as it was in Namur, but as Camille sat on her bed, straining over what to do, she recalled Karoline complaining about an understaffing problem.

It felt like a shot in the dark, but if it didn't work she'd simply try something else. Grabbing a pencil from her bedstand, Camille propped her paper awkwardly atop her book and began to write.

Dear Karoline

This may seem a strange thing to ask of you, but I was just thinking of your last letter, and I believe you may pose the solution to a problem weighing heavily on my mind.

Since arriving at this hospital, I have been tended to by a nurse named Jane Marcus. She is incredibly attentive, gentle, and intelligent, and a credit to her profession. But she cannot continue working here.

I witnessed something that I am not entitled to explain to you, but I figure you must understand me when I say that, by absolutely no fault of her own, it is no longer appropriate for Jane to continue working here. She transferred here from England, and I doubt it will be difficult to negotiate her transfer to your hospital in Reims, especially since you are so understaffed.

Forgive me if this proposal seems naive, for despite my experiences I know really quite little of the administrative aspect of the system. If it is impossible for you to take Nurse Marcus, I will find another arrangement.

Please reply as soon as possible. Not only do I think she needs to leave here as soon as possible, but I too will soon be out of here if I have my way (which you know I will).

I thank you sincerely for any help you can offer.

Yours,

Camille

Camille marched the letter up to the front of the building all herself, the envelope creasing slightly in her fierce grip, practically throwing it into the collection box. The postman always came on Friday mornings - she just hoped Karoline would reply soon.

On her way back to the ward, Janie came around the far corner, eyes widening as she noticed Camille's approach. She was certain she would've turned heel and fled had it not been for the professional front she was bound to maintain.

"Janie," Camille hissed, hurrying up to her.

"Camille, no," She shook her head hurriedly, avoiding eye contact.

Camille reached out and put a hand on her elbow, her voice coming out in a gentle whisper. "You don't have to explain anything to me, really, it's ok. I'm going to help. I've written to another nurse I know, she has a hospital in Reims, they need more nurses, I-"

"Camille." Janie interrupted. "You should've asked me before you wrote that, I didn't ask for you to help, especially not to get me a new job!"

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't ask you first, but I'm trying to get outta here as soon as possible, and I'm not leaving you here when I do."

She sighed, shaking her head. "I don't like it. I don't like feeling like I'm running away, he could do the same thing to whoever comes in to replace me!"

"I've got some ties in high places I'm willing to exploit," Camille shrugged. "Let's see how the director feels when he gets put on the unemployment line."

Janie smirked.

-

It only took three days for Karoline to reply to Camille's letter, and when it arrived her acceptance of the offer was more enthusiastic than she'd ever expected. It turned out the staffing situation in Reims was even worse than Karoline had led her to believe, and once Camille put her in contact with Janie, they'd settled her a new position within the week.

She'd stopped by the hospital to say goodbye before she left, and Camille hugged her tightly, ignoring the slight pang of pain in her injured shoulder.

"Thank you for this," Janie smiled.

"I wouldn't thank me just yet, it sounds like you'll really have your work cut out for you over there."

"Still, I'll be in a better position, and you helped me get there."

Camille pulled backwards out of the hug. "Write to me?"

"Of course. I'll make it out to Easy Company - You'd better be packing up yourself by the time I make it to my new job."

"Oh, believe me, I've got very stern words with the director scheduled for this morning," She grinned.

"Of course you do."

The car Janie had to take hadn't even pulled out of view of the hospital before Camille was turning on her heel, storming full force towards the director's office.

He looked up with a start as she slammed the door open, seating herself across from his without introduction, eyebrows knitted together sternly.

He sighed heavily. "Look, Camille-"

"You can call me Whitney." She interjected.

The director paused. "Whitney. You must be tired of this nonsense by now - walking in here day after day to have the same little argument. You have this idea in your mind that I'm holding you here against your will, and I really don't understand it!"

"So you say you're not holding me against my will, and yet you refuse to let me go back to my Company?"

"You're not fit to go back to your Company, and they've moved on since you were last with them, the transport alone-"

"Last time I heard your job is directing a hospital, not arranging bus fares, yes? And besides, where exactly do you expect me to go if not back to my Company? I don't exactly have cash on me, and I certainly don't speak fucking Dutch."

His brow raised slightly at her language. She fought the urge to smirk at that, folding her arms tightly across her chest. "I mean you gimme an alternative because frankly, all I've been hearing for the last two months is a load of vague bullshit, gaslighting, and undermining of my own medical knowledge. I know what's wrong with me, don't ever act like you know better."

He sighed again. She swore she would've hit him would it not ruin her chances of going back to her friends. "I'm sorry, Doc, you just can't go back. Easy Company has moved too far since you were last with them, the fuel alone it'll take to drive you-"

Camille raised a hand to silence him, leaning forward against the desk.

"Listen to me. You are going to get me a truck or a car or a bus to take me back to wherever they're stationed, or I am going to personally write to Colonel Sink to explain to him exactly why one of his best companies is in the field without one of their medics. And believe me, Doc, you won't come out of it looking good."

The director's brow creased, his pleasant facade that once concealed his irritation gradually fading. "Whitney, I-"

"Forgive me." Before he got the chance to misinterpret her words, she spoke again. "That threat wasn't quite accurate. You see, I've already written to Colonel Sink. I've already told him all about your persistent denial of my ability to decide when I'm ready to discharge myself, therefore leaving Easy Company without a medic for longer than is necessary. And I've told him that you like to treat your nurses inappropriately in a way that undermines their status within this hospital."

He tried to snap then, desperate to interrupt her. She didn't let him. "I was there. I saw what you did to Nurse Marcus, and now you're going to lose your job. I really hope it was worth it."

The director's jaw was clenched so hard she was sure his teeth would ache from it later. Camille finally let herself smirk. "Well, if that's all we have to say to each other?" He said nothing. She nodded. "Thought so. I've filled out my discharge papers already, and my bags are packed. I'll be gone by lunch."

Placing a hand on each arm of the chair, Camille pushed herself up from it triumphantly, and did not deign to spare the director a single glance as she left the room.

-

Her things had been packed since about five in the morning, tucked away hidden behind her nightstand. She pulled it out with a smile, drawing the curtain around her bed before changing back into her uniform. Her clothes had been washed, the bloodstains almost completely invisible now against the dark fabric, but a frayed hole torn through the shoulder exposed the twisted, pinkish scar now marring her skin. Camille couldn't find it in herself to give a shit - she'd receive a new one when she got back anyway. She'd lost her helmet in the blast, but everything else was still there, and the metal of her locket felt cold against her skin as she draped it around her neck.

Within the hour she'd arranged transport, having had to practically bed the post office clerk for free usage of his phone to do so, but Camille eventually managed to get all the way through to Captain Winters. The reception was fuzzy, but no worse than what was to be expected, and she could tell he was happy to hear from her. The next three hours were spent sat quietly on a bench in the middle of town, the strap of her bag clutched between cold fingers as her gaze darted from the clock tower to the main road, waiting impatiently for the familiar rumble of an army jeep.

At last, it arrived, and she greeted the driver with a relieved smile, clambering into the passenger seat and relishing the feel of fresh air on her face as they drove.

She was returning to Easy Company. She was returning to Eugene.

She was returning home.

[sebstanseabass]

Afterglow (A Bucky Barnes AU fan fiction) - Chapter 18

Afterglow chapters

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

NOTE: Third Person POV starts after this sign: " ✪ "

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

With Bucky, three short days felt like three months.

The next few days were spent oh-so-blisfully slow with Bucky constantly next to you, either naked or clothed. You were always at each other's skin and flesh the second you would close your laptop (you have been busy doing your end of the presentation you had to pitch in next week for Sam, after Steve gets you formally and officially fired). You’d be making out on the couch and soon afterwards, clothes flew around like money being tossed carelessly. No matter what the situation was, it always ended up with you naked, grasping each other's bodies, grazing each other's skin — in your bedroom, in the kitchen, in the shower, and on the living room floor. He wore you like a necklace, your thighs wrapped around his neck as you sat on the kitchen counter, him on his knees, devouring every bit of you. That time, you tried your best to stare at him as he ate you.

Tantalizing were his eyes, his mouth moving against your core. Legs shaking, you’d scream his name over and over again as you came all over his mouth, your screams clashing with the sounds of pots clanging against each other.

Then, you’d move to the shower where you had your thighs wrapped around his waist, your bare back against the bathroom's slippery walls as he thrusted inside you. His strong hands kept you steady the whole time as your legs trembled around him, making you weaker and weaker each second, like your knees had been struck by a wrecking ball.

He gave and he gave and he gave pleasure, riding you into your euphoria, into your oblivion. You were no longer the master of your body. You became his, as he was yours. You submitted fully to his godly control. The phrases "fuck, babydoll" and "you feel so fucking good" and "say my name, sweetheart" were forever etched in your brain. You kept the frustration of not being in control to yourself. You kept it all as he instructed you to say his name, say it louder until you could no longer remember yours, until you could no longer hear the dripping noise of the water droplets against the floor.

His face, the epitome of a god and a devil. A god that brought your voice and soul to heaven, so bright and glorious. And a devil that brought unholy things to your body.

As much as you had your thighs wrapped around him, you knew he had you wrapped around his finger. You knew it all too well.

Since then, you couldn't hear the clinking of utensils against each other or the faucet leaking or any kind of liquid dripping without seeing what Bucky looked like during those hours — knees on the ground, head between your thighs, body dripping with water along with your juices. And how he made you feel. God, the thought of him alone already brought you to heaven.

Afraid that you won't be able to get your mind (and body) off of Bucky, you texted Nat to meet you in a coffee shop a few blocks away from the apartment, hoping she could accompany you while working on the pitch deck. If you spent one more time with Bucky with your presentation undone you would be — well... Either way, you would be screwed.

This morning, you left a note on the nightstand, letting Bucky know you were with Nat. You planted a fleeting kiss on his forehead one last time, smiling at him, hating to leave his side, before heading out to meet with Nat who was almost an hour late, anyway. Still, you didn't get much done, missing Bucky's presence.

Then the hopes of getting your mind off my man went down the drain, hearing the clinking of glasses and the dripping liquid from espresso machines on the café counter. You bit your lip, staring at the laptop screen in front. Your screams echoed on the walls of your brain, together with morphed images of you and Bucky leaving your traces everywhere in the apartment, tainting lust everywhere. You bit your lower lip harder. A sudden rush of heat climbing on your body, from your toes, to your thighs, and your center.

Why didn't I just go to the public library?

"... Y/n? Hello? Earth to y/n?"

The images vanished like dust in the wind, and were replaced by Nat snapping her fingers on your face. Bucky's voice, together with yours that were echoing in your mind soon became faint street noise, along with the café's playlist. "Are you okay?" She asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

With your throat dry, you cleared your throat (which hurt even more). "Y-yeah." You finally managed to say. "Yeah, no, I was just having a tiny problem. You know what, I'm thirsty," You tapped a waitress' shoulder, "Hi, can I please have a glass of cold water? Thank you."

With that, she nodded and turned around, fetching what you needed. As soon as she handed you the glass, you immediately downed the whole thing but it still didn't quench your thirst.

"Is he riding you?"

You nearly choked on your water, hearing Nat's question. "W-what?"

"Sam Wilson. I mean, the work. With Sam?" Nat frowned, stirring her cup of coffee. "Is he?"

"Oh no, not at all! He's been really great and very appreciative." You replied. "But he has this assistant who's a complete total bitch. Even Bucky doesn't like her."

"Oohhh, interesting." she said. "Tell me all about it."

Thankfully, telling Nat about the meeting that happened three days ago did get your mind off Bucky. Highlighting the little banter you and Sharon had in line with the models and the whole marketing strategy was Nat's favorite. Of course, Nat lived for the drama. Especially if it were others'. To her, you were just characters on a television show. Now, all she needed was a bucket of popcorn.

"You should've seen the whole thing, Nat." You smirked. "The look on her face when Sam agreed with me? Priceless!"

"Wow, you ate her up." Nat chuckled. "Now, I'm sad I missed the show. If I were there, I would've taken a photo of her disappointed, sad ass and had it framed and had it hung on the bar. Steve would approve of it."

You raised your eyebrows, shaking your head. Even though that was pretty badass of you to do, Sharon was a woman living in a man's world and as you thought about that encounter, she was just doing her job. If she were a man, you would've still said the same thing. "Too harsh. A little cheer would suffice."

Nat rolled her eyes. "Like a woop, woop?"

"I mean not literally but sure. Whatever floats your little boat."

"Peter was right. You're a boring old hag." A sip of coffee. "Hey, how's the little skipper, anyway? I miss that little kid."

You fowned. She always had a nickname for Peter. If it's not skipper, it's slugger, or sport, or tiger, or any nickname for a kid you could think of. "You know he's just as young as I am, right?"

"The guy looks like a kid and sometimes acts like one." Nat pursed her lips, pointing it out. "So, when's he getting back from his corporate retreat?"

The last you heard from Peter was yesterday when he sent photos of him and the rest of his team somewhere by the lake. He looked a bit worn-out by the deep bags under his eyes but his wide smile said otherwise. Winston Schimdt was with him in all the photos, hair still perfectly gelled, spiking up in one direction. You wondered how much gel he always had to consume. And then felt sad for his sticky hair.

"Some time on Tuesday, I think." Then, you showed the photos to Nat who carelessly took the phone from your hands.

"Where on earth is this?"

You shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. I couldn't even pin his location. It seems like he's literally off the radar."

"Maybe he's in a galaxy far, far away." Nat joked, remembering Peter's fondness for Star Wars. "What do you even do on a corporate retreat? Think about money?"

"I don't know but whatever it is, he says it'll help keep his mind off things." You said, leaving out the part that Peter was, dare you say, "lovesick." You honestly didn't mind telling it to her but you just knew that she'd ask you a bunch of questions you don't even know the answers to.

Nat nodded while scrolling mindlessly on your phone like it was her own. You tried to get it back but she gripped it tighter.

"Hope Bucky's taking care of you? Oh," she lifted her eyes back to yours, the light on your screen illuminating her smirking face, "he's taking care of you, alright. I heard you two haven't been able to keep your hands off each other. You're like... leeches."

"Ew. Think of another metaphor." You scrunched your nose up, cringing.

Nat took it way too seriously, thinking off into the far distance. "Barnacles on a boat?"

"No."

"Sorry, that's all I can think of."

You chuckled. "Where did you hear that, anyway?"

"I didn't."

"So, how did you — "

"Remember how you found out about me and Steve?" She cut you off.

You hid your face on your palms as soon as the realization dawned on you. "Oh no."

"Oh yes." She took another sip of her hot coffee, her eyes fixed on you. "Babydoll, you've been wearing him like a damn perfume since day one and you love it."

And just when you thought you had kept Bucky away from your mind, there he was again, slithering his way back. The images flashed back, like a montage in a romance film — however cliche that sounded.

"Well, I don't not love it." You shied away, looking down on your shoes which still had a tiny bit of mud from your previous running sessions.

"So, you two are dating now?"

You sheepishly nodded your head, avoiding her stare. You told her about that same day you had your meeting: Sam's confrontation and the conversation you and Bucky had that night. As much as you didn't want to put a label on things, and as much as you hated the god-awful "talk", you fat did it anyway, under the stars as you lied on your backs in that little tent of yours.

"Sometimes, I think," Bucky traced the stars in the pitch-black skies with his finger, "that the stars aligned for us." He finished by poking your nose which elicited a giggle from you. A weird sound you only used with Bucky, and for Bucky.

You turned around and wrapped your arm around his torso. "You're getting cheesier and cheesier each day, Mr. Barnes."

"You bring it out of me, doll." He chuckled.

"Hey, why do you call me doll?" You asked in a whisper. "I'm sure as hell do not look like one."

He looked at you and traced your jaw with his finger, the sensation sending shivers down your spine. "Dolls are sweet yet fun to play with. Remember when I made you that drink? You said it tasted fruity and minty — "

"Fruity and minty." You laughed, reminiscing.

"And I've never played with quite a doll before." Then, he met your eyes. "Then, you happened."

"When you say play, not like, playing with my feelings, right? 'Cause you know this doll can punch, James. I won't hesitate."

"Don't worry, y/n." he kissed the tip of your nose.

The word "dating" wasn't explicit at that moment, but you didn't need to, anyway. All you needed to hear from him was the next words he uttered:

"I won't give you any reason to."

"What have you guys been doing when you're not having sex, anyway?"

"Nat." You scolded but answered anyway. "We watch movies."

"Boring."

"Oh, you know what's a good movie?" You asked, ignoring Nat's little comment. "The Grand Budapest Hotel."

"It's Budapesht."

You tilted your head to the side, frowning. "I'm pretty sure it's Budapest. 'Cause y'know, Budapest is the Budabest."

"No. Budapesht." She insisted.

"Budapesht is the Budabesht?" She nodded. "Yeah, that doesn't sit right with me. I'm gonna stick with Budapest."

"Anyway... will you tell Peter about you two when he gets back from... wherever the hell he is?"

"Well, yeah of course. It's Parker." You replied, chewing your inner cheek. "But not right away." Bucky's words echoed in yours.

"Oh, you're gonna butter him up." Nat chuckled, finishing her cup of coffee. "I know how. Give him free drinks for life."

"Even if I wanted to, I can't 'cause last night was my last shift at the bar." You smiled proudly, thinking back to the last drink you ever made last night. Everyone was there to witness it — except Sam. When you sent the photos to Peter, you were bombarded with a series of questions that you promised to answer once he gets back.

"Oh, that reminds me!" Nat suddenly exclaimed, catching other people's attention, clearly annoyed with her. She stifled a giggle, looking away from them. "That reminds me." She said it quietly this time. "We're throwing you a little party tonight. Steve's idea."

"Like a surprise party?"

"Well, it's not a surprise anymore 'cause I blabbed. So, act surprised when you get there and finish up your presentation."

You posed no further questions, the idea of a surprise party warming your heart. You just smiled at Nat, and got back to the laptop screen. "Yes, ma'am."

Later that night, you did as you were instructed to do as you opened the door to the bar: act surprised. "Oh my god, you guys!" You exclaimed, putting on a wide smile on your face. The small party might have been a surprise but the decorations put up wasn't. Hanging from the ceiling on multiple threads were your photos which used to be on the walls.

Every single one of them.

Below were everyone waiting —Nat, Steve, Nick, Bucky and even Sam — and watching your reaction as you adored the whole set-up. Steve was the first one to approach you, enveloping you in a hug.

"Oh my god, Steve." You muttered, hugging him back.

"Surprised?"

"Not really." You pulled away. "A pretty little number may have told me." you said, looking over at Nat who already had a beer in her hand. She acknowledged you by winking.

"Natasha." Steve sighed, also looking at Nat. Caught, she turned around and took a big gulp of her beer.

You began to walk towards the little group; an odd combination of people, you might as well add. "This is amazing, Steve."

"The whole party was my idea but these photos?" He said, pushing you carefully towards Bucky's direction who took delight in your expression. "Was your man's."

You walked towards Bucky, wrapping your arms around his neck. "Hey, you."

"Hey, doll." He greeted, kissing your cheek. "Like the place?"

"Are you kidding me? I love it!" With your arm still around his neck, you admired the photos hanging from the ceiling once more. Bucky let you go, greeting the others as well.

Nick engulfed you in a hug, and whispered. "If he hurts you, I'll kick his ass."

You chuckled, ruffling his hair. "Nick, you can't even hurt a fly. But thanks, anyway. I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

"You better." He said. “We actually got acquainted while we were decorating the place. He's a good man, y/n. It's a good thing you didn't go out with me."

"If you want, I'll set you up with Parker." You joked.

"Ha-ha, you're a very funny girl."

With all the tables drawn towards one side of the bar, a big space on the center was in view, perfect for dancing or any kind of performance you could possibly think of. You all went towards one of the largest booths that could accommodate all of you. On the table were a bunch of American food — wings, fries, burger, you name it. And of course, cold beer.

While eating and finishing your first bottle of beer, you asked the group to settle a tiny debate, which Nat didn't like.

"It's Budapesht!" Nat exclaimed, insistent. A crack on her voice was evident.

"Budapest!" Nick boomed, downing his first bottle. "Don't you know how to spell? It's clearly Budapest!"

"I told you, it's not Budapesht! Budapesht is not the Budabest. Budapest is!" You argued with Nat, high-giving Nick. "Team Budapest for the win!"

"Take it easy there, honey." Bucky chuckled, grabbing you by the waist.

"Budapesht!"

"Budapest!" You and Nick exclaimed.

"I'm Russian, it's Budapesht!"

"Bup-bup-bup-bup." Sam butted in, one elbow on the table, a finger pointing up the ceiling. "If there's a swarm of termites in my house, do I call the pest control, or the pesht control?"

"Ha! Budapest wins!" You yelled which annoyed Nat to no end. She threw a stick of fries to your face. "Hey!"

"Come to Russia." She said in an accent. "I dare you."

You all broke out in a laugh.

After eating most of the food, Steve stood up, retrieving something from the back of the bar. When he came out, a big karaoke machine was wheeled in. "Rented this baby for a special occasion." Steve said proudly, slapping the top of the karaoke machine. On his other hand was "Who wants to go first?"

"Hell yeah, I'd go first!" Sam shouted.

You couldn't even begin to describe the first few hours of that night. Sam and Nick were the most wasted among all of us, quickly developing a weird friendship. They hogged the karaoke machine the most, singing duets, singing a LOT of Adele, and Lady Gaga. At one point, Sam even sang a Taylor Swift classic, We are Never Ever Getting Back Together, and made a weird "weeee" sound while singing the song which cracked you all up. Steve sang an old mellow song. Nat sang American Pie, her raspy voice blending all too well with the melody. The only people left who haven't got a chance to sing and dance on the floor were you and Bucky.

"Come on, you lovebirds!" Sam groaned, shoving the songbook in front of your faces.

The others joined in a chant, finally convincing you and Bucky. You stood up, hand in hand, and approached the machine. "Wait, before we start," Bucky said, holding up a bottle of beer, "let me raise a toast to the girl I like most — "

"Oh, Bucky."

"To y/n!" He said your name proudly, raising his bottle. The others did as well, saying your name.

"And to Steve!" You raised your own. "For having the guts to fire me."

"To Steve!"

"And to you," you turned towards Bucky, "for believing in me."

"Oh, cut the crap already!" Nat shouted, cupping her mouth with her hands. "Sing, bitches!"

And on cue, Bucky punched in some numbers. A familiar melody came out, which made you shake your head at Bucky. "Oh god no."

"You love this song!" Bucky said.

"No, you love this song!"

He started to sing the first verses and when he almost came to the chorus, he offered his hand. "Come on, doll. Sing it with me... Now, I've got you in my sights. With these..."

"Hungry eyes!" You finally gave him, letting him pull you towards his body so you can share the microphone.

"One look at you and I can't disguise!"

"I've got hungry eyes. I feel the magic between you and I!"

"I feel the magic between you and I!"

You continued to sing, your backs facing the door. Suddenly, another voice chimed in, making you and Bucky turn around.

"Hey, guys!" Peter closed the door behind him, dropping his bags on the floor. "What did I miss?"

✪

On a high-rise building in the Upper East Side, Tony Stark of Stark Industries sat on his office chair, looking over the never-sleeping New York City. He watched the cars and people go by, like watching ants do their work in an ant-farm. So tiny. He thought, happily sitting on his empire he had been building for decades. He watched in amusement as more and more car lights appeared. The hues of red and yellow looked like teeny little dots in his view, which reminded him of stars, making himself the glimmering moon which stood high up on the skies, unreachable yet adored by the many.

A knock on the door interrupted his high. "Come in." Tony said.

A tall figure walked in, with legs that could go for miles and with hair as golden as the sun. "Sir." He spoke.

Tony didn't turn around in his chair, rather he looked at the tall glass windows in front of him. The city lights became blurry. All Tony could see now was his reflection staring back at him, and Jarvis'. He glanced at Jarvis on his right, then back at his own. "Jarvis." He acknowledged. "You have something for me, I believe."

"Yes, sir." Jarvis replied, the English accent heavy on his tone. "But I'm afraid you're not going to like it."

A frown started to form on Tony's face. "James?"

"Yes, sir." The tall blonde replied.

Bucky had been missing quite some appointments with potential partners and investors. Not that he did most of the work, anyway. He would sit in on meetings on end, letting his assistant or Leonard, his concierge, deal with the negotiations. In the end, Bucky gets most of the profit "running" the hotel. He was merely a figure, a presence needed for signatures on piles of papers. But he would know if he was being undermined, if he was being scammed. He knew how to handle business but he just chooses not to. No one knew this, of course, not even Peter; except the parties involved on Bucky's side and Tony Stark. Tony lets it slide, only because the White Wolf had been improving the past years but God did he hate that name.

"I gave you that hotel and no way in hell are you changing the name." Tony sternly said. They were eating dinner at a fancy restaurant in the Upper East Side.

Bucky's treat to butter him up for his good news. Well, good news for Bucky but not so much for Tony.

"I knew you'd say that." Bucky replied. "That's why I went ahead and scrapped the old name and changed it into something new while the renovation was happening."

"Oh, James." Tony sighed, his knife stopping midway through the juicy steak. "What's the name?"

"White Wolf."

"Oh for fuck's sakes."

"Mr. Stark?" Jarvis repeated for the third time, finally grabbing Tony's attention.

"Sorry." He replied. "So, what is it? What did you find?"

"Mr. Barnes has been seeing a girl."

Tony rolled his eyes and finally turned around in his chair, looking at Jarvis. "He's always seeing girls."

"I'm afraid it's different this time, sir. It's why he's been missing a lot of meetings lately. And it's just not a girl." He said.

"Apparently, she's Peter's best friend."

"Huh, that's a twist. Around Peter's age?"

"Yes."

"That is new."

"But that's not all, sir. I'm afraid James is getting acquainted with Mr. Rogers once more."

Tony's body stiffened. Eyes unblinking. "Rogers? Steve Rogers? Are you sure?"

"A hundred percent. This girl James has been seeing is an employee of Mr. Rogers. Some kind of bar underneath an apartment building on the Upper West Side."

Tony frowned. "I thought Rogers had been taken care of."

"He was, sir. This was just some... big coincidence."

"It's a big mistake." He spoke. "I need you to keep an eye on James and pull out Rogers' files. Find anything — everything you can about this new life of his."

"Understood, sir. How about the girl?"

Tony frowned, not seeing anything wrong with it. "I won't worry about it too much. If he falls in love, then that's good." His eyes flickered to the photo of Peter's mom who passed away years ago. "I mean, I did before."

"Alright, sir. I'll be heading out now."

He nodded, watching Jarvis walk away from him. "Jarvis."

Jarvis stopped in his tracks and turned around to face his boss once more. "James can never know, Vis. He can never know."

[sunflowerim]

I LOVE YOU 3000!

-PART 42

Weekend 8

When you want time to slow down, it happens to roll faster. Saturday had arrived in the blink of an eye.

"As much as I like having you, don't you think you gotta talk to Lou?" Niall said Saturday morning, handing Harry his cup of coffee. Harry had taken to crash at Niall's place random times of the day since the uneventful incident on Wednesday. Not a single text exchanged with Louis. And lots of media training.

"And say what exactly?" Harry replied coldly, taking the cup from Niall, "that I have to stoop so low for the publicity of my movie?"

"First of all, stop that. Celebrities need publicity and you're new to this field and it'll do you good with the general public. But yeah I don't consciously agree with the whole "stunt" thing," Niall frowned, "and that's why I want you to talk to Louis. Explain stuff to him before he gets the wrong idea."

"No Niall you don't understand."

"Then enlighten me."

"It's all very new to me okay. My feelings for Louis. Me coming to terms with my sexuality. It's all new. And I'm scared Ni. I really am."

"H, but you told me Louis likes you too right? And I know him man, he's a good friend before everything else. He'll understand."

"Louis didn't have a very good image of me okay- and it took me some time to make him trust me, and to low-key make him believe that my media image isn't me. Trust me, I don't have it in me to tell him that I'm a guy who fakes a relationship for the sake of promo. I value relationships man and he does too. So if it's making me angry, rest assured he'll be pissed too."

"God Harry you're overthinking. You never cared what people thought of you."

"Louis isn't people Niall."

"Then TALK TO HIM."

"I don't want him to hate me."

"He will not. Trust me."

"And it's not just that," Harry fumbled with the coffee cup, "Taylor is involved too. And you know how Louis worships Taylor, I don't want him to think less of his idol either. It'll crush him."

"But it's not your fault Harry, and I think it'll be easier for you guys if he knew it was for show."

"I suppose you're right Niall, but I don't have it in me to tell him. He'll think of me as a shallow spineless celebrity. Again."

"You're being paranoid."

"And you're not being a good friend," Harry said, setting down the cup rather too hard.

Niall softened at that and said soothingly, "ok how about this, today's a Saturday. Go to Louis', spend some time with him and just skip this topic. You're missing him. I'm sure he's missing you too."

"How will I face him after what I did last time?"

"Just go on with whatever story you made up that day, since you don't wanna tell him the truth," Niall said, sounding a little disappointed.

"I hate lying to him," Harry replied sadly.

"Ok I'm running out of options here. Just go meet him alright, everything will be fine."

"Fine," Harry sighed, "if you say so," Harry said getting up.

And he drove off to Louis'.

-

Back in the apartment, Louis was distractedly stirring his fourth cup of tea. It was 11a.m. and he hadn't had any breakfast owing to the fact that his helper was on a sick leave and he didn't feel like ordering either. Clifford was kept prodding his knees, probably sensing Louis' sad demeanor.

He was wondering whether he should just visit his sister for lunch when the bell rang. Louis' heart skipped a beat. It couldn't be Harry could it, Louis thought with a start. No that'd be absurd. Harry had possibly lied to him, abandoned him and ignored him for three days. Why would he come here now.

With his heart in his throat, Louis opened the door. And there standing with his silly gorgeous green eyes and stupid beautiful curls was Harry.

Louis' heart sank to his stomach.

"Hi Lou," Harry said slowly, eyes struggling to look into Louis'.

"Um hi?" Louis asked still standing at the door.

"Can I come in?"

Louis was so lost in his thoughts that he missed the question. His mind was burning with questions. Why was Harry here? To apologise probably. He surely had a reason for his behaviour last day and Louis will listen to whatever Harry has to say.

Harry cleared his throat and repeated, "Will you not let me in Lou?"

Louis' mind came back to the boy in front of him and he moved aside to let Harry in without saying a word.

Clifford leapt up to Harry and barked madly with joy. He was clearly missing his friend.

"Ah good to see you too Cliffy," Harry said, bending low and scratching Clifford's fur.

He stood up again, facing Louis, "I'm really sorry for the other day Louis. It's just I couldn't find a way out." Harry's eyes kept flickering down to his hands, which he was nervously wringing. Still lying, Louis thought.

"Are you sure it wasn't something else?" Louis asked in a calm voice.

"No," Harry replied, still looking down.

"Okay then," Louis said, walking over to the couch and picking up his cup of tea again. "Make yourself comfortable," he said before sitting down himself.

"You're having tea now? How many cups have you had already?" Harry asked.

"This might be my third one." Louis wasn't looking at Harry either. He kept his attention on his phone.

"I'm sure you haven't had any breakfast."

"And?" Louis looked at Harry and raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing. I'll make you some," Harry said, walking over to the kitchen.

Louis didn't find it in his heart to stop him. Maybe if Harry was trying to fall back in their normal habits, he'd eventually talk about whatever the fuck was going on.

Louis didn't join him in the kitchen where Clifford kept running around Harry. He stayed in the couch listening to Clifford and Harry's conversation. Clifford had missed him. Louis had too, but he'd eat avocados sooner than admit that.

Harry made a quick breakfast and called Louis over. Louis ate in silence, aware of Harry's intense gaze on him but every time he looked up, Harry would look away.

"Okay, are you gonna tell me what's bothering you?" Louis snapped.

"Wha- nothing. Nothing." Harry stammered.

Louis took a deep breath to calm himself. "Sorry for that. You know what, take your time. I'm here. I'll listen whenever you're ready."

And Harry could've kissed him, but he kept himself in check. He'd probably had lost his privileges. Louis was so understanding, Harry didn't deserve him.

"I just wanted to spend some time with you and maybe watch a movie."

"Oh yeah," said Louis, remembering something, " the last one's left, I'll put it on."

Louis didn't set up the projector this time. He simply connected the player to the television and settled back in the couch as Avengers Endgame started playing.

Harry didn't know about Louis, but he could hardly focus on the movie himself. His mind kept replaying his previous visits to the apartment, to various funny incidents, to some heart warming ones, to last weekend-

No. Harry couldn't think about it. That hurt. He couldn't imagine how Louis must be feeling at that time.

The movie was showing Iron Man tucking his daughter in bed and his daughter saying, 'I love you 3000'.

Harry glanced sideways to see that Louis had a little smile playing on his lips. Harry made a mental note to remember that it probably held importance to him.

Harry kept fidgeting in his place and in a few minutes, Louis had paused the movie.

"What's wrong Harry?"

Harry didn't know what to say so he kept staring at the motionless character in the television.

"Is this about last weekend?" Louis continued, "Did I cross the line? Do you regret it? Because if so I'm really sorry about that."

Harry looked at Louis with a horrified expression on his face, trying to ignore the pang of sadness it was causing him to know that Louis thought that way.

"Regret? What? No Louis. I don't regret anything. I could never," Harry said earnestly, hoping Louis would understand.

"Then why are you ignoring me?"

"I'm not-" Harry replied, sounding unsure.

"You are Harry. You're making me feel like I was some random hookup for you and trust me, it doesn't feel good." Louis' voice broke.

It made Harry miserable, seeing Louis like that and he wondered for a brief moment if he should take Niall's advice and tell Louis everything. Louis' presence made the decision easier. He was ready to blabber everything to Louis when his phone rang. Fucking Manager.

"Hello," said a gruff voice from the other side.

"Yeah?" said Harry irritably.

"Where are you?"

"That's none of your business it is?"

"Turns out it is. Did you forget about your outing with Taylor?"

"Ofcourse I didn't. It was on 3rd of July," Harry wanted to punch his manager.

"Which happens to be today."

"Wha-" Harry quickly moved his phone from his ear and checked the date on the lockscreen. July 3rd, 2021. Harry wanted to punch himself. "Okay yeah, um, I didn't notice the date, so uh, is there any way we can postpone this? I'm really busy right now-"

"Taylor is already here. The car is waiting outside your house. So, no."

"Damn it. I mean yeah-"

"Hurry up."

"Yeah I'm coming."

Louis obviously could hear only one side of the conversation and he clearly understood that Harry had to leave. Again.

Harry turned to look at Louis, his eyes apologetic, but Louis looked away.

"Lou-"

"It's alright, just go okay."

"I'm sorry about this."

"Sure you are," Louis replied, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"What- what's that supposed to mean?"

"Are you sure you're not doing this intentionally?"

"How could you even think that?"

"I'm trying to understand the situation Harry. In two months we became closer than ever, so what exactly did I do in the last few days for you to avoid me. I'm sure it's not work related problem, because then you'd have told me."

"No Lou you don't understand-"

"I think I do."

"Lou please, you have to believe me, whatever I'm doing, it's because I don't wanna hurt you."

"Well, guess what, you already did."

Harry tried to reach out for Louis but he moved back a few steps, away from Harry's touch. "Just leave Harry."

Harry's face fell at the last words. He tried to speak again, to make Louis understand, but no words came out and eventually he thought it best to leave. With great difficulty he made his way towards the door and left.

And after a while, Louis left for the gym to channel his frustration to someplace useful. He didn't let himself feel sad about the fact that him and Harry were no longer close, that some unknown barrier had introduced itself in between.

The Next Day

Zayn was overjoyed to see the mail. He could actually see Louis' face as he told him about it. Louis would be thrilled. And his designs on Harry! He had some amazing outfit ideas for Harry. Zayn remembered that the first time he'd heard about Harry being his client he'd refrained from telling Louis about it because back then Louis wasn't exactly on pleased at Harry's existence in general. But now that he was absolutely smitten by Harry, this was going to be nice.

He set off for Louis' at once deciding to surprise him with the news being oblivious to everything that was going on between Louis and Harry.

He stopped by McDonald's drive-thru to grab Louis' favourite milkshake and hash browns.

Harry knew what was coming and he couldn't hold himself back anymore. Louis would be seeing the article soon. He couldn't imagine what Louis was going to think about him. Once again, he felt courage build up in his stomach. He was gonna tell Louis. He dashed to his car and drove off before his paranoia returned.

Back in Louis' apartment, things weren't looking that good. Louis had forgotten that he'd turned on twitter notifications for Harry's update account. So, when his phone vibrated with a notification, he clearly wasn't prepared enough to absorb whatever he was seeing. He hastily clicked on the notification and froze at the contents of the screen.

Louis was stunned. He waited for a few seconds before he clicked on "undo retweet". No he wasn't gonna mope about Harry, Harry who simply didn't ever care about Louis, Harry who kept lying to him. Louis shuddered to think about all those times he thought him and Harry actually had something. Was Harry lying through it all? He couldn't think about it anymore. No,no, no. He won't think about Harry. He won't let him affect him. Enough of all that shit. He sat frozen in his spot in the couch when the bell rang.

Louis absent-mindedly made his way to the door. His heart sank when he saw who was standing outside. Harry.

"Louis believe me! It's not what it looks like," Harry said, panic stricken.

"Get out of here," Louis' ocean blue eyes bore a thunder like expression, his voice steely.

"Lou I'm sorry."

"As you should be."

"Louis, pl-"

"You broke my heart Harry Styles."

"But-"

"Good. Fucking. Bye." Slam.

Louis shut the door in Harry's face and slowly made his way back to the couch. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry.

No sooner did he fall back on the couch than Clifford came running to him. He leapt up on Louis' lap and Louis broke down.

"Harry broke our heart Cliffy," he said between sobs. "He never liked us. It was all a big lie."

Clifford lapped up the tears keen on making Louis stop crying, but Louis went on and on. "We shouldn't have made friends with him. Such a waste!" Louis hugged Clifford tightly and Clifford made a sad whimper and settled his head on Louis' shoulder.

For a few minutes, no other sound could be heard in the apartment other than Louis' sobs and hiccups.

Suddenly the bell rang again. Clifford jumped from his lap and began sniffed around the door. Thinking it was Harry, Louis decided to ignore it but then the bell rang twice again and Clifford started to bark happily. Louis wiped his tears and walked up to the door and there stood Zayn grinning ear to ear and holding a McDonald's pack, but his grin faded when he saw Louis' tear stained face and red-rimmed eyes.

Louis flung himself on Zayn and began crying again. Zayn hugged back the shaking sobbing mess in his arms and asked slowly, "hey hey Lou, what happened? I'm here. Tell me."

"Harry-", that's the only word Zayn could make out from Louis' muffled sobs.

"What about Harry?"

Louis stepped back from the hug and pulled out his phone. He showed Zayn the tweet and Zayn was equally shocked. "What the fuck is this? What? No this can't be true. I'm sure this is some rumour. Remember he told you once, how he's set up with every girl he's spotted with."

"It's not just that-" Louis replied before breaking down again.

"Hey ,hey please don't cry. You know what, let's go for a drive. Let's get you out of here and you can tell me everything that happened."

Louis silently nodded and bringing Clifford out of the house, locked the door behind him. Dropping Clifford off at the dog park, so he could play with his friends, Zayn drove off with Louis.

Zayn offered him the milkshake and and hash browns and let him eat in silence as Louis slowly regained his composure. One by one, Louis told Zayn everything that had been happening, from the day out with Harry, Theo and Lux, to the sudden change in behaviour two days later, to yesterday's almost argument to Harry showing up today after the article was dropped.

Zayn listened in silence and tried to make sense of what Louis was saying. The incidents didn't add up. He'd really taken a liking to Harry and he couldn't process that Harry would do something like that.

But then again, the sight of his best friend sitting miserable next to him, was making his heart harden towards Harry. He tried to reason with Louis, who refused to listen to anything. Zayn sighed and asked, "music?" hoping that'd calm Louis a bit and help Zayn think.

Zayn tuned in to the radio and a soft melody sounded,

"I want her long blond hair

I want her magic touch

Yeah, 'cause maybe then

You'd want me just as much

I've got a girl cru-"

One look at Louis' face and Zayn slammed the music shut.

Why was everything so difficult?!

Zayn had driven them to a club on the outskirts of the city. The club was pretty famous but owing to it's high maintenance, was mostly accessed by celebrities or people connected to celebrities and was much less crowded compared to the other. Well, a quiet cafe would have been nice too except, now that more people knew Louis and connected him to Harry, if anyone spotted Louis like this, it'd raise an issue. Hence, a club with dim lights and loud music it was.

Zayn led Louis to booth and after making sure Louis was a bit stable, went off to buy drinks.

Zayn didn't drink because he had to drive Louis back but after 3 rounds of drinks Louis was feeling lightheaded, but at the same time, it was very distracting. Zayn kept talking to him about different topics, not bringing up Harry until Louis did that himself.

Eventually Louis started talking.

"I don't understand one thing Zee," he slurred, "that if this was indeed some rumour, why didn't he talk to me? He was clearly avoiding me this week."

Zayn knew whatever he said won't have much of an effect on him, so he just kept rubbing soothing circles on Louis' back. Talking for so long had efficiently tired Louis out and he asked to be taken back home when suddenly,

"Louis! Zayn!"

The duo looked up see a blond haired someone walking towards them, but they couldn't make out the face. It wasn't until the person was right in front if them and the lights fell directly on the face that they made out who it was. Taylor Swift.

Taylor smiled down at the two boys who stared unblinkingly at her, unable to say a word.

"Hi? You guys okay? Can I join you?"

Zayn came back to his senses and smiled, "yeah sure."

Taylor joined them in the booth and looked at Louis again, who was still staring with a blank expression at Taylor.

"What's up with him?" Taylor asked Zayn.

Zayn looked at Louis and then back again at Taylor, "uh, nothing, just work stress. We just came to get some steam off." There's no way he could tell what really had happened.

"Huh, tell me about it. I'm so tired with all the promo work," she replied.

And that's when it hit him. Taylor was dating Harry too. Up until now, he was just thinking about it from Louis' point of view and thinking about how Harry broke Louis' heart but now it dawned on him that it meant Taylor was involved too. Taylor, the person Zayn had liked for quite some time and had to bury his feelings for the sake of his profession.

Here he was, consoling his friend, trying to mend his broken heart, when the reason his own heart ached had decided to grace them with a visit. Things couldn't be worse. Zayn pushed down the pang of sadness he was feeling and tried to think of something to say when Louis started sobbing again. Taylor's presence seemed to have reminded him about Harry.

Louis didn't take Harry's name but went on and on about a certain someone who'd broken his heart. Taylor listened with interest and tried to console him best as she could. Her words were actually effective on Louis who had eventually stopped crying and was listening with rapt attention to Taylor. Zayn himself tried to take in some of the advice, and surprisingly it was good. Taylor really had the magical ability to comfort sad people.

After a while Louis got more drunk and insisted on taking a picture with Taylor and Zayn happily complied because Louis' mind was finally off Harry's.

Soon they bid their goodbyes and left the club, and Zayn drove back with a less sad but slightly drunk Louis.

---

When Louis shut the door on Harry's face, he didn't see how crestfallen Harry looked. He didn't see how Harry ran to his car, barely able to control his tears, which had started falling incessantly thinking that Louis hated him. Harry drove to his apartment, not wanting to face Niall. He knew what Niall would say, I told you to talk to Louis. You should have listened.

No, Harry needed to be alone for a while.

Dave, Harry's personal assistant, noticed something was off and made a whole flask of hot chocolate for Harry and quietly slipped it in his room.

Harry spend quite some time drinking the hot chocolate and thinking about the good times he'd spent with Louis when his phone rang with a notification.

Harry was taken by surprise. What on earth was Louis doing with Taylor? Especially today? What could have possibly happened for them to hang out and for Louis to even post a picture?

Probably Harry was the only person he hated, probably he adored Taylor way too much to think bad of her. Whatever might be the case, Harry was sure of one thing- Louis hated him and Harry had lost his chance at love. Yes, love.

At this point Harry knew, that he was head over heels in love with Louis and he had ended up hurting him.

He'd lost Louis, probably forever.

PREVIOUS / NEXT [ note ]

INTRO

[plasticnightmaredoll]

So, the "Justice League" finally got its own movie, eh? Oh, that thing from 2017 was just trash. It's gone. We don't need to look at it anymore.

But in all seriousness, it's great people called out for the Zack Snyder cut of the movie and actually got it! And, yes, it is a vast improvement over the Joss Whedon cut.

Now, my feelings about the DCEU have been pretty divided:

I actually did enjoy "Man of Steel" and found Superman to be relatable and likable for once (I'm not a Superman fan and don't come for me)

"Wonder Woman" was very entertaining and easily the best entry for me in the movie series so far.

"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" was a hot mess. Lots of good ideas but it was executed poorly. It felt kind of cheesy at times, especially that whole "Save Martha" thing. Jesse Eisenburg is not a convincing Lex Luthor. Ben Affleck is not a good actor and is a terrible Batman/Bruce Wayne. He's not as bad as George Clooney, but he's not much better either.

"Wonder Woman 1984" was a massive glow-down. Poor quality writing, Maxwell Lord was a weak villain, Cheetah was laughable, and the ending was so goddamn corny! Not to mention, it took ages for anything interesting to happen, and what was the deal with Steve Trevor possessing another dude's body? I mean...what?

Haven't seen "Suicide Squad" in its entirety but I do know and have seen enough to decide that it's a huge misstep. Haven't seen "Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)" either but I have some interest in it so perhaps someday.

Haven't watched "Aquaman" but probably will eventually but I'm just not very motivated to see it. I like Jason Mamoa as Aquaman/Arthur Curry, but...I don't know. The trailers didn't really grab my attention.

The 2017 Joss Whedon version of "Justice League" was terrible -- worse than "Batman v Superman," worse than "Wonder Woman 1984." I thought the movie moved too quickly, lacked proper character development, and had some bad CGI (I mean, Mustache Gate, am I right?)

Onto the Synder Cut for "Justice League!" Spoilers ahead, of course:

These are really a collection of thoughts, opinions, and observations I had while watching the movie. I have only seen the 2017 film once and honestly don't want to watch it ever again, not even to "refresh my memory" of some details.

Steppenwolf

Steppenwolf was such a pitiful villain in the Whedon Cut. The CGI for him was terrible, and he looked like some weird dude in armor. His personality and motives were paper thin as well. He was a throw-away, token villain, and the only things memorable about him was his name and voice.

In the Snyder Cut, not only was Steppenwolf's CGI much more refined, his character design was imposing. His armor seemed to be alive, too, always shifting slightly, this way and that, which was an impressive sight. His motives, while nothing too deep or extraordinary, gave him a little more depth: he pissed off Darkseid and had to make up for it, and was clearly afraid of what could happen to him if he failed.

The name and voice obviously were still memorable but combined with the other improvements to his character, they were icing on the cake.

That being said, I don't think Steppenwolf is as intriguing or even remotely sympathetic as Loki and Thanos in the MCU.

Darkseid

Was Darkseid even mentioned in the Whedon cut? I can't remember and I don't want to watch that shitty movie again just to find out. However, I don't recall Darkseid making an appearance or even being spoken of in the 2017 version. Now, I haven't read DC (or Marvel) comics, so I don't know a lot about the guy, but he is supposedly one of the more iconic villains.

His motives are pretty simple, though: command and conquer. There isn't a lot of depth so far in the movies but he does pose a much larger threat than Steppenwolf did. You could tell Steppenwolf was intimidated by Darkseid, who was about as cold and menacing as they come. He's a complete villain in that regard, having no emotions and only seeking power for himself.

He looked great in the Snyder Cut. He was actually really fucking scary-looking. He made the beefcake Steppenwolf look like a puppy.

I'm glad that Darkseid made an appearance, even if he didn't fight the Justice League. It alludes to a much broader story, as well as foreshadows an epic boss fight down the line -- assuming the Snyder Cut is popular enough to convince the studios to make a direct sequel and not just abandon things in favor of some sort of soft reboot.

Superman/Clark Kent/Henry Cavill/Mustache Gate

Let's get this out of the way: Henry Cavill is hot af.

Ok, now that we got that out of the way, hooray for Snyder for getting rid of those nasty reshoot scenes involving Henry's CGI'd mouth! Can't say I missed them, you know? I mean, in the 2017 Whedon Cut, you could always spot reshoot scenes based on whether or not Henry's mouth looked normal and totally strange.

I think the 2017 movie had Superman grab Batman by the neck and ask, "Tell me: Do you bleed?" I'm relieved that was removed from the Synder Cut because it added too much of an evil tone to Superman, and we could clearly tell he was most upset with Batman upon being revived.

One massive problem with the 2017 movie was that it made every member of the Justice League look like bumbling idiots without Superman's help. It was downright embarrassing and unrealistic. I mean, you're telling me that Wonder Woman, a goddess, can't take on Steppenwolf? Or Victor Stone, a cyborg with incredible abilities? Making Superman key to winning isn't the problem, it's how it was done in the 2017 movie. He's already OP but that shouldn't mean his comrades have to be useless in comparison.

Superman was allowed to be OP in the Snyder Cut without making his team look incompetent. Like in the Avengers movies, everyone in the Justice League had a purpose and all of them worked together to defeat Steppenwolf. Superman obviously was key to winning, but, again, it wasn't like he was the only capable one during the battle.

I did like the black suit. It's kind of ominous but also very cool at the same time. But is it also foreshadowing something? I don't know...I haven't read the comics so I really don't have any idea lol.

Batman/Bruce Wayne/Batfleck

One glaring issue I still have is Ben Affleck is a mediocre actor at best and he's a terrible Bruce Wayne/Batman. I mean, they couldn't have found anyone else? Someone with, like, good acting abilities?

Martian Manhunter

This whole time -- THIS WHOLE GOTDAMM TIME -- Martian Manhunter was hiding in plain sight! General Swanwick, who I remember from "Man of Steel," IS Martian Manhunter. I didn't see that coming. I mean, I knew Martian Manhunter would appear in the Snyder Cut but I didn't know he'd have an alternate identity, let alone that of an existing character in the DCEU.

As much as I did like seeing him, I am glad he didn't play a big part because the movie already has plenty of characters as is, and introducing yet another one could have slowed things down and taken away from developing the plot.

The Runtime/Pacing

I mentioned already that the Whedon Cut felt rushed and needed much more time to develop its characters and plot. While I had doubts about whether or not making "Justice League" four hours long would be a good idea, it turns out that it was just what the story needed.

Character development was actually existent, and Cyborg/Victor Stone received a detailed backstory, and Flash/Barry Allen got some extra tidbits added to his character's story/background as well.

I actually thought Victor was a fascinating (if a bit tragic) character in the Whedon cut and was disappointed that he just sort of, like, popped up and fought alongside the other Justice League members with the tiniest amount of depth.

Despite an epic 4-hour runtime, it didn't feel slow, nor did it feel like any scenes were "filler." Every scene had a purpose and kept the story moving at a steady, comprehensible pace. It felt more like a 2.5-3 hour movie, honestly, which is a feat since pacing can often be one of a film's biggest issues ("Avengers: Endgame" also accomplished this feat with its 3-hour runtime feeling more like 2-2.5 hours but with no negative side effects of that). Breaking the movie into chapters, including an epilogue was a tad strange because it's not a very common thing, but I think it helped break up the epic 4 hours into separate, manageable but still cohesive pieces. Also, they helped easily transition from one portion to the next smoothly without any awkward cuts.

The Flash/Barry Allen/Ezra Miller

Barry still amused me in the Whedon Cut. He brought some good-natured humor and charm to the movie, preventing it from being too brooding and intense.

I think Ezra is a talented actor and does well in the Barry Allen role but he is, unfortunately, a problematic person. I mean, if he gets recast, he gets recast but hopefully, they pick someone else who has some acting abilities worth noting (i.e. Not a Ben Affleck type of actor)

The Final Battle

It was a huge improvement over the 2017 cut, as everyone was key to winning the final battle, not just Superman. It is meant to be a team of costumed heroes defeating a villain, not just one OP member of the team outdoing everyone else.

That being said, I felt that the final battle was a little bit anti-climatic. I don't know what it was but I just thought that it would be longer? I expected more to happen? More fighting? Not sure how to describe it, but I do feel like it wasn't as impressive as it could have been.

The Epilogue

A dystopian future involving an evil Superman and Joker somehow working WITH Batman was just...crazy. I mean, evil Superman, I can believe, but Joker and Batman working together (even reluctantly) is quite a sight.

Based on what I've been reading, this nightmare Bruce has could be setting up not one but two sequels for "Justice League." I would like to see how things will play out even if things get kind of dark. I'm getting the impression that Darkseid will kill Lois Lane, thus breaking Superman emotionally and making him compliant. That is unless Bruce intervenes in this timeline and prevents that from happening...but at the expense of his own life. Oh dear...

I definitely enjoyed the Zack Snyder version of "Justice League," and would definitely watch it again and again and again. I already have forgotten the majority of the Whedon Cut, and after seeing Synder's version, I think the 2017 movie will be rendered null and void. I hope it is just expelled from the DCEU canon entirely. That, and we get the "Justice League" sequels, preferably from Zack Snyder (Say what you want but I think he is a pretty good director for the most part and seems to really care about this work).

I honestly want to see a fight between the Justice League and Darkseid because I think that's what we're trying to build up to, and seeing as how Darkseid is one of the legendary villains in the DC comics, I would be extremely disappointed if this doesn't come to pass.

Also, as much as I like Batman/Bruce Wayne, seeing him sacrifice himself to save the team, including Lois and thus Superman's sanity, would be something else. It would bring everyone even closer together, for one, and I think that the negativity shared between Batman and Superman in the past would be completely forgiven. I'm not saying there isn't forgiveness now, but dying to save Superman's wife would change everything....if that makes sense? Does it make sense? I'm terrible at explaining my thoughts sometimes.

[boop-le-snoot]

PARTY FAVOURS | CHAPTER 19

First time reader click here

Summary+TWs: We're talking serious feelings here, okay? Reader, you're literally emotionally illiterate. You also have PTSD, which is finally addressed - kinda. Bruce does his best. And he also knows how to kiss... But y'all know that if you read my ramblings about lucid dreaming/shifting/whatever... Chile-, anyways...

My phone kept buzzing and I ignored it until Bruce declared it was time to take a break and review the results. Whilst the man was typing up the data on a nearby StarkPad, I fought the sudden influx of messages that I received from haters and supporters alike after Tony decided on tweeting a reply that could be interpreted in an alarming variety of ways. It was a smart move, I'll admit, but a fucking bother for me nonetheless.

Disabling my DMs and dealing with a follower increase in the thousands wasn't hard; I didn't consider myself a problematic asshole and didn't need to be afraid of "exposure". The parties I went to - I doubted there was any blackmail material in there and the few nudes I'd sent over the years were always face-less. As a gen Z, I knew my internet safety.

The trolls didn't bother me either. It was more sad than annoying, people shitting on others for clout. Iron Man stans were witty, at least, if jealous. I must admit I've never considered the influx of popularity I would experience should I publicly out myself as a friend of Tony's. Girlfriend? Intern? Science child? Whatever cover story he was going to feed the press worked for me, as long as I still got the hugs, the kisses, the dick and the attention.

"Tony..." Bruce groaned, evidently done with the data processing, had to have opened his social media to see his own skyrocketing popularity.

"Yeah, our Tony is being a Tony again," I chuckled, having reset my social media settings so my phone wouldn't constantly beep, vibrate and bother me. School was going to be fun.

Bruce shook his head, fond, coming over to my side of the lab after removing his own hazmat suit. His eyes shiny with newfound knowledge and hair turned adorably fluffy in the confines of the head covering. He was smiling softly. "Food?"

"Sure."

We chewed our sandwiches in silence for a moment, each of us lost in our thoughts.

"I still can't believe Tony told everyone on Twitter you're his girlfriend, usually he keeps this stuff private or schedules a fancy press conference," Bruce's tone was thoughtful.

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that what it was? Seemed ambiguous to me..." I trailed off, confused.

"He worded it like that on purpose, I mean, you're still in high school," The scientist was confident in his words. "But I know Tony. I'm a hundred percent sure that he meant exactly that. Aren't you?"

Shock flooded me. Suddenly, I understood I completely misread the situation. "Um, no? I thought we were, y'know, just fucking. We never defined our relationship and we're definitely not exclusive." I said, chewing on my lip. "You make a valid argument, I'm a high school student and he's a grown ass man that does grown man stuff. Putting aside the fact that he could have anybody in the world so why would he choose me?" I was rambling, thinking out loud. Discussing my feelings has never my strong forte. "It would be stupid to impose monogamy on such a complex man like Tony. Downright idiotic to expect a genius to confine to social norms just because it suits others." I finished with a wave of my hand. Another bubble of thought that had festered within me for the longest time. I felt relieved, finally voicing it out loud. A weight had been lifted off my shoulders, a weight I wasn't previously consciously aware of.

Bruce was watching me intently, with an unreadable expression that held the tiniest bit of awe, admiration perhaps. The silence that followed was unnerving. I fidgeted with my hands, not really knowing where to put them or where to look.

"You know," He took off his glasses, fiddling them in his hands. "I'm not going to sugar coat it. For the longest time, I thought you were going to inadvertently hurt him when you get bored with whatever you've got going on. I respect you, don't misunderstand me, but you are young. Now, I've changed my mind. You've changed my mind," He punctuated his statement with his hand on mine, grasping it. "I think you managed to understand him in a way most people can't. Or don't want to. Understand and accept him in a way that some of us can't even after years of working and living side by side with him." Bruce's gentle fingers skimmed along the top of my palm.

"I don't always understand Tony but I do accept him," I agreed. "Because Tony is a great man."

"I think you're in love with him," Bruce said, absolutely having ignored my previous statement. Just like that, point blank, he pushed to the surface the very feelings I got so good at ignoring. There was no rest for me in this place.

My heart fluttered, picking up the pace. I kept my mouth shut, not trusting it whatsoever. My thoughts became akin to panicked hares, jumping and zigzagging aimlessly in my skull. I didn't see the point in defending myself because the scientist had pointed out the obvious.

Bruce looked at me, softly, warmly. "And don't think we haven't noticed the rise in team morale. The improvement not only in communication, but on the battlefield, too. It's easier to entrust your back to someone with whom you've shared a laugh and a drink the previous night. You're the glue that keeps us together."

Something warm and wet was on my cheeks. I stared at our clasped hands, his words echoing in my head over and over and over. The moment I realized I was crying, I willed myself to stop and failed spectacularly - only more salty fluid streamed down, some of it getting in my nose, on my lips. The sleepless nights were making me unstable.

It took a single sniffle for Bruce to pick me up and wrap up in his kind embrace. I didn't resist, tucking my face into the crook of his neck, holding onto the back of his lab coat, inhaling the smell of his skin and chemicals. It was familiar, calming. Minutes ticked by with me slowly leaking the tension out of my body.

"He loves you, too, maybe he just doesn't realize it yet." Bruce whispered into my hair. "I've never seen Tony so happy, even with Pepper. You are special and you are loved."

There was something unsaid, I felt it. It hung in the ear, it burned the tips of my ears, stood sharp on the tip of my tongue. "I love you too, Bwucie-bear," I whispered into the space between his ear and his jaw. His arms tightened around me.

The man placed several chaste kisses in my hair, running a palm over my back. In moments like these, the crush for him, the very crush that got out of control, blossomed fully into a deep sense of respect and admiration. He made me feel safe. He said all the right words at the right time.

Drowsiness overtook me. As usual, any worries and anxieties I had evaporated, once Banner had his arms around me, shielding me from the world. I didn't forbid myself this time: delicately, my hand slipped through the man's soft messy curls, eliciting a contented sigh.

"You haven't been sleeping well," He more stated than asked.

I had no choice but to nod. "Clint keeps dying in my dreams. Or even worse, he doesn't, he just suffers, endlessly, painfully." I admitted.

Bruce flinched under me, tensing. My face was in between his hands in a second, the scientist sternly looking into my eyes. "Why didn't you say anything? All of us assumed you were okay after what happened." He looked - angry. Not Hulk-out pissed but Bruce-pissed, which equalled a kicked-puppy look seasoned with a great pinch of disappointment.

"I am okay." I lied, shamelessly. "It's getting better. That's why I want to have a party - relax a little, dance, socialize. I don't think Tony would let me go on my own so I figured I can convince him to throw one here." I looked away. It was better for everyone if I dealt with my own problems - they were superheroes, not babysitters.

Bruce frowned. "Why wouldn't Tony let you go?"

"Because of that one time I snorted coke," I rolled my eyes at Bruce's naiveté, leaving the less obvious parts unsaid. Tony knew exactly what I was going to do once I got free reign, he considered it destructive and told me so himself. Admittedly, he had a point but still... I wished I'd been given a choice.

"I'll talk to him," Bruce nodded firmly. "That's not acceptable. He can't forbid you from making mistakes and learning from them."

He was met with my shrug. No excitement came from me regarding this particular turn of conversation. I was drained, limbs like jello, thoughts sluggish. My face was drooping.

"Let's get you to bed," Banner stood up with me wrapped around him. "You need a nap."

"No," I protested. If I went to sleep now, only Satan knew at what ungodly hour I would wake up.

"Yes, Princess," Bruce smirked. I wiggled uncomfortably - when he went all caretaker like, my ovaries wreaked havoc on my body and brain. My thoughts weren't appropriate if Bruce wanted me to see him as a father figure. The signals he was sending were mixed. People around me did that a lot and I wasn't sure how to act so I usually just went with the flow. I decided to do the very same thing in that particular moment.

Curiosity sparked within me, tightly interwoven with the deep longing that settled below my collarbones whenever Tony or one of the others wasn't sitting next to me or talking my ear off. I've almost forgotten how it was to be alone with my thoughts. The maze of my very own self was becoming unfamiliar territory. Alarming.

I allowed Bruce to help me shed my shoes and outer layer of clothing, shivering in the coolness of my room. Despite being a frequent visitor, I still had a 'guest' room in the tower - I mostly stayed at Tony's or Wanda's anyways. During our sleepovers neither me nor the witch minded sharing her enormous bed, to be fair, we could have fit at least two more people in it besides us. Tony took care of his own - all the tower's residents had their apartments furnished with the best stuff.

"Sleep now, Princess," Bruce chastised, tucking a blanket around me, having noticed an earbud in my ear and my smartphone in my hand. I had hoped to kill some time online, damn well knowing sleep wouldn't come easy.

"I don't think I can fall asleep, Bruce," I admitted, looking away. There was just so much going on. My brain wouldn't shut up and if I couldn't drown out the cacophony by being productive, I'd troll the internet, as usual.

Banner sighed, coming to sit next to me, leaning against the headboard. Gently running his fingers through my hair, brushing the outside of his palm against my cheek. "How do you usually deal with this?"

Involuntarily, my eyelashes fluttered. "Tony does most of the work," I admitted coyly. The engineer had a whole arsenal of tricks up his sleeve - sexy and exhausting tricks.

"I see," Bruce muttered, thoughtfully.

I opened my eyes to see him looking down at me with a look I haven't seen before. The usual mildly absent, slightly anxious face he wore was replaced by something I could only describe as hurt envy, like a kid looking at their schoolmate who had all the newest, coolest toys. I used to be on the receiving end of that look far too often and I hated it.

I hid my face against his leg, rubbing my cheek on the raspy corduroy fabric of his pants. "Got any good ideas of your own?" I wondered lowly, thinking about what in the world possessed Bruce to wear corduroy trousers on a semi-casual day, in the twenty-first century.

"Only bad ideas," He replied in a matching low tone. His soft fingertips relocated to my nape, goosebumps rising down my back.

"Humour me," I grinned against his leg.

Bruce was quiet for a moment, the sound of his thinking screaming louder than any words could have done. Knowing the scientist so closely, I found out he was full of surprises - bolder than he appeared outwardly and competitive to a boot. He thought he had a lot to prove to himself and by extension, to others. The unknown, the mystery dangling in front of my nose was exhilarating, trepidation addictive. It took me away from the chaos in my mind.

A gentle grasp on my chin had me turning to look upwards, Bruce's face flushed and focused on my own, open and trusting. He needed to see the obvious, that I trusted him to take care of me. He pulled and I followed, sitting up on my elbows, coming up to his shoulder level, our faces inches apart, enveloped in the unique, intense scent of his herbal tea. It was a tart, strong smell and it suited his quiet but passionate character.

Once, twice, I caught my eyes sliding to his plump lips. They looked far too appealing in this position. I usually strategically stayed away from positions so compromising, fearing the very thing that I'd already let happen, however this time the atmosphere was different. We stood on ambiguous grounds, waiting for Bruce to make a decision.

The man wasn't stupid, he saw the way I looked at him. The nightmares and inability to take a break from life put a significant dent in my resolve to keep a distance between us, romantically - I could have settled even for a pity kiss, a pity fuck. Anything to put my brain on pause.

His lips were softer than I had imagined. Skilled, too, he easily steered the kiss into the shallow waters of our combined longing.

With Tony, it was like an avalanche. Tony ran hot like Peterbilt engines, hard and fast, almost angry in his race for satisfaction. Tony was a man that was used to getting whatever he wanted and it became plainly obvious when we fucked.

Bruce was the opposite. He savoured the kiss, losing himself in a way that could almost be described as delicate. Bruce was humming, softly, as we tasted each other, holding the left side of my face with careful fingertips. Almost as if he was afraid to break me. The feel of his skin on mine was soothing in a way that made me sigh and relax even further.

"Wanna make you feel good." His voice had dropped, gone husky, but his breathing held even. He must know all about self-control.

"Yeah," I was ready to agree with whatever the fuck he was offering. My eyelids remained shut.

THE TAG LIST IS NOW OPEN! @another-stark-sub ​ @mostly-marvel-musings  @vozit ​ @littlegasps ​ @pilloclock ​ @shereadsinquiet @downeyreads ​ @hermione-grangers-wife ​ @individualistfem ​ @sleep-i-ness @capbrie @lillsxd @agustdowney @dee-vn @justanotherblonde23 @fanngirl19 @persephonehemingway @softie-socks @schemefrenzy @letsby @cutenessloading @romeo-the-cactus @jelly-fishy-babie

PS. Letsby, please don't combust. The underwear is coming off in the next chapter. 😶

[tyunniverse]

TXT x DISNEY Halloween Shorts 🎃 (3/5)

pairing: ot5 x reader

genre: fluff — college au

warnings: light swearing

synopsis: there's a halloween event at your uni and a few students are in the mood for misfit.

yeonjun | soobin | beomgyu | taehyun | hueningkai

BEOMGYU | Beauty and The Beast (2.2k)

“Careful with the hair!”

You hiss when Jinsung, your classmate and stylist for tonight, slaps your hand away after attempting to touch your hair.

“If I even see a single hair strand out of place, so help me I will shave your entire head.” He warns, tapping your shoulder with his brush. “Now go out there and get us some customers. The others said they'll have the food ready on time.”

“Alright.” You try to smile at him and he returns your smile with a sour look.

Your department was throwing a Beauty and the Beast style buffet right in front of your building. Canopies were set up, clothed tables lined around the vicinity, and classy decorations covered the area to add to the whole atmosphere. The dishes to be served are supposed to mimic the food found throughout the movie, with the servers dressed up as some of the minor characters. By some odd stroke of luck, you ended up being chosen as Belle and you were pretty sure some guy named Yeonjun from the other class was supposed to dress up as the Beast.

You got up from your seat and fetch the flyers from the table. The plan was to head up to where the crowds are and advertise your event there. You were all set to go, the only thing left missing being your partner.

Out of nowhere, a group of guys dressed as dwarfs appear. You can't make out what or who it was that they're carrying, but they were surely in a hurry, not caring a bit about their surroundings as they zoom past you, causing you to stumble back. Your heel catches the end of your gown and you start to fall backwards. Closing your eyes shut and bracing yourself for an awkward fall, you were pleasantly surprised when your back hit something soft instead— definitely not the concrete below— someone's chest you presume, their arms quickly wrapping around you protectively.

“Careful.” You hear the person say as they slowly help you on your feet. “Jinsung might throw a fit if you ruin your hair.” He chuckles, bringing his hand to his face.

You turn around and nearly got a scare when you're faced with the face of a beast, quite literally. Turns out your partner hadn't planned on being late after all. “Yeonjun, right?” You haven't actually met the guy but you've heard a few people talk about him. They say he had died his hair pink recently but you couldn't really see behind the terrifying full head mask he had on. You wonder how well he could breathe inside that thing.

“Uh, yeah.” The Beast replies, seeming somehow unsure of his own name. “I'm Yeonjun.”

“Nice meeting you then. I'm Y/N.” You don't bother offering him a handshake, knowing that you two barely had time to chat. “Let's get going. It's almost time.”

Beomgyu stays a few feet away from you as you handed out flyers to a bunch of costume clad strangers. Both of you were pretty busy right now, but he still manages to steal a few glances at you, admiring how beautiful you looked in that Belle costume. He almost wishes he could see you dressed like that everyday. Impractical, sure, but it was just a passing thought anyway. Thank heavens the costume had small peeping holes, otherwise you'd have caught him dead in the act of staring at you every few minutes or so.

“Try our buffet!” He greets two of the students passing by, handing them a flyer.

“What do you think, Soojin?” The student holding a tray of candied apples asks the other.

“I think not. We still have to visit that guy in the infirmary.” The friend replies. One of them gives Beomgyu an apologetic look before they leave.

Beomgyu watches the crowd pass by, his eyes naturally wandering to your side. He finds himself smiling when he saw you all focused on attracting customers, even going as far as to give them brief reenactments of their favorite scenes. Beomgyu loved that he was able to spend this time with you. He only wished that you knew it was actually him inside the costume and not Yeonjun, but he couldn't even find the courage to bring it up. He's not even sure why.

Yeonjun had asked him earlier today to be his substitute in handing flyers. Beomgyu had initially declined, but after hearing that you were going to be his partner for tonight— You, the student from across the hall that he'd been crushing on since freshman year— he was more than ecstatic to accept. This was his chance to actually interact with you without making things awkward.

“Why the fuck did I even say I was Yeonjun?” He huffs, only now had he found his costume stuffy. He really could have just told you before you started on your work, but he panicked and told you a lie instead. Great.

An hour had passed and Rina, one of your classmates, had come to inform you two that a lot of people were now dining at the buffet, and that you were allowed to rest for half an hour before your final wave of work.

You spot a bench nearby and walk over to Yeonjun. “Hey, let's take a rest over there.” You point at the bench. Yeonjun merely nods and follows you as you made your way to it. You take notice that he barely talked to you the entire time you were together. People said he was a chatterbox but apparently not tonight.

Just as you two sat down, Rina came back— this time, looking for someone. “Hey, have any of you seen Beomgyu?”

Hearing the name made you pause and blink. “Beomgyu?”

“Yeah.”

“No.”

You glance at Yeonjun who kept shaking his head.

“Haven't seen him.”

Weird, you think. He was purposefully changing the pitch of his voice as he spoke to your classmate. You figure his throat was probably just dry from all the advertising he did earlier.

Rina turns to you, eyebrows raised with a smirk plastered on her face. “How about you, Y/N? I'm sure you've seen him.”

Eyes wide, you feel the heat rushing to your cheeks. Rina knew about your obvious crush on Beomgyu. The entire class knew. A few jokes were made, like how when someone from his class is looking for him, they'd ask if your Beomgyu radar was up and running. That joke was brought upon by your own little ability to somehow spot him easily within a crowd. That however, proved useless tonight. You hadn't seen him at all.

You spare Yeonjun a look. This was not a good time for Rina to be teasing you. He and Beomgyu are classmates and if he found out that you had a crush on the guy then who knows what'll happen. You didn't want him to think you were crazy when Rina ends up saying something stupid and overly exaggerated— you hope she won't. Your crush on Beomgyu wasn't even that big of a deal. Sure, sometimes you'd find your heart fluttering when you spot him laughing from the other side of the hallway, and maybe sometimes you'd wished you could just come up to him and pinch his cheeks but you've barely even spoken to the guy so—

“What are you talking about?” You laugh it off, patting Rina on the side while slipping in a few stink eyes. “I haven't seen him at all.”

“Is that so?” Rina sighs. For a second, you thought she would just let it go when she turned her back on you but the devil in her was in the mood to play. “Tell me when your Beomgyu radar picks him up then! We need him to help in the kitchen.”

Yeonjun turns to to you. “Beomgyu radar?”

You shrink in your seat.

Was Beomgyu hearing right? Did your classmate just ask you something about a Beomgyu radar? Your Beomgyu radar? Did she normally joke like that or was it intentional? Perhaps she knew he was the one in the costume and not Yeonjun, but he highly doubted that. Could you perhaps?

Beomgyu turns to you. “Beomgyu radar?”

Your face shifted into a mix of emotions that Beomgyu had trouble deciphering. “D-Don't mind her.” You stammer, waving your hands at him. “She's just joking as always. Ah, Rina, such an asshol— assertive joker.” You laugh.

“Right.” Beomgyu laughs along. He felt disappointed, thinking that he was probably just reading too much into it. “What are the odds of you crushing on Beomgyu, right?”

“Exactly!” Your reply was quick. Too quick for Beomgyu's liking. He observes your reaction and notices how red your ears were. Were you embarrassed? Was the idea of crushing on him too much for you? Did you not find him attractive in the least? At this point, he knows he was overthinking but couldn't help but succumb to it.

“Yeah..” He sighs, slumping his back on the bench. “He's probably not your type.”

You flinch. “What?”

“There's not really much to like about him.” Beomgyu shrugs.

“You're wrong.”

He sees you cross your arms, a frown present on your face. “I haven't really met him yet but from what I've seen in the past few years, I can say that there's a whole list of things one could like about him.”

Oh? Beomgyu certainly didn't expect this. “Like what?”

“He's one of the most considerate people I know.” You smile. “Sometimes I'd see him cleaning up after others, giving up seats on the bus, and going out of his way to help anyone in need. He even helped me out that one time I was late for our finals.” You chuckle at the fond memory. It was the day you made up your mind about him.

“It was pretty embarrassing though. I was running through the gates and tripped. I sprained my ankle and no one else was around except for Beomgyu. Turns out he was also running late but didn't even stop to think twice about helping me. He carried me to the nurse's office and stayed there until my friends arrived. I couldn't even thank him properly after that since I was pretty disoriented. In the end, we both had to take the finals at another time.”

Beomgyu blinks. He can't believe you still remembered that day, especially when it was the very day he himself started crushing on you. Though, he'd always thought you didn't know who he was when that happened. “Oh..” He couldn't bring himself to say anything else.

“You know what?”

Beomgyu turns to you.

You smile. “He's exactly my type.”

Beomgyu didn't know what to feel. His cheeks heat up and he's sure it wasn't just the mask making him that way. You talked about that moment so fondly that it almost made him think that maybe— just maybe his feelings for you weren't all that one-sided after all.

He chuckles. He's about to do something stupid.

“Y/N.”

“Hm?”

“Do you perhaps..”

“Like him?” Beomgyu watches silently as you take the time to think.

This was probably too much. What if you didn't like him after all? Could he live knowing that he tricked you into answering that, thinking he was someone else. His thoughts come to a halt when you nod.

“I do.” You chuckle. “No use in hiding that now, huh?”

Beomgyu gulps. “Then..” Then what?

“Hm?”

“What if I say Beomgyu liked you too?”

Your furrow your brows in confusion. “What?”

Beomgyu grips the end of his mask. “I like you.”

“Yeonjun, you're not making any—”

He doesn't let you finish, yanking the mask off his face and revealing his disheveled look underneath.

“Beomgyu?!” You jump in surprise, and he stands up, following you. “How—”

“I like you, Y/N.” Beomgyu says, no longer caring about the consequences that'll follow after. “I really like you. I have for a long time now.”

You stare at him, speechless. “I.. haha.” You cover your face in your hands, laughing. “This is a joke right?”

“I wish it was.” Beomgyu awkwardly shifts in his spot. “But it's not. I'm being honest. I really like you.”

You move your hands away, now looking at him. “You know, as much as I want to hit you right now for tricking me into thinking you were Yeonjun all this time and basically had me going off about how much I appreciate you,” You pause. “I just can't.” You say, your cheeks reddening.

“Y/N, I—”

“There you are!”

Before either of you could react, Rina appears out of nowhere and grabs Beomgyu by the arm, practically dragging him way from you. “We've been looking for you all night! Jin wants you in the kitchen asap.”

Rina flashes you a thumbs up and you couldn't do anything but smile. “Good to see that your Beomgyu radar's still working!”

Judging by the way he was being mercilessly dragged away from you, it looks like Beomgyu had his hands tied with no escape. He waves his free arm at you. And you get the message. You're gonna have to talk about this soon.

You look down at the flyers on your hands and couldn't help but blush. He likes you too.

[peachyaone]

Lonely Heart pt.5

Pairings: Lierra x OC

(A/N : Hi again! I’m excited to announce that the song “You” in this chapter is written by me! :) So pls don’t steal it :( And I’m also less busy this month so part 6 might be out soon! So yeah, hope you enjoyed this chapter, See you in the next one!)

*Luke’s POV*

They arrived at Ashton’s. His palms are sweating, and his throat was getting dryer by the second. Sierra placed her hand on his shoulder, slightly calming his nerves. They stood in of his door. He hesitated on knocking, Sierra had tired of waiting and knocked. Nothing happened at first, Luke knocked this time. There were footsteps, and the door opened. “Look, its early in the morning, so what the fuc- Oh. You two. He groaned.  “ I-Is Iris here?” Sierra asked him.  “You didn’t check your phones?” He said, slightly irritated. The two took out their phones.

They checked their messages:

[10:00 pm, 09/10/2020] Iris <3 : Hey. Just wanted to tell you that I’m leaving for tour early. I cleared up everything with Ashley and my bandmates. I will be leaving at midnight tonight. You’re welcome to come and see me off, only if you want to. I’ll be with Ashley for the while leg of the tour, we might have separate shows, but we’ll wait for the management announcement.

[10:00 pm, 09/10/2020] Iris <3 : I just wanna say that I apologise for being so distant , I’ve been in a really bad headspace lately. I’m sorry. It’s my fault for making you mad, making Sierra upset and everything.

“Fuck.” he whispered. Ashton was staring at them, arms crossed. "Have you realized what you've done?" Ashton said. They didn't have the chance to speak. "You absolutely wrecked her, you know that? Both of you. I thought you're better than this. She came here, soaked to the skin. She could get sick, and you both know that she gets sick easily. She was trying to keep herself together. She on a verge on an attack, thank god Katniss was there to calm her down. I wanted to march up to your house and beat your ass . But Iris wouldn't let me, you know why? it's because she loves you, Lucas. And that's the only thing stopping me from beating your ass." He scolded. Luke was looking at the ground, ashamed.

"And Sierra, you know what the media could do. They'd do anything to tear people apart, fuck with their mental health, twisting lies into stories with without knowing the real truth. One article could turn people against each other. I really thought that maybe you would understand a little more about this." He said. Ashton was disappointed. He sighed. "Now that you have your answer, I have a lemon tree to save. Goodnight." He said, closing the door on them. The two walked back to their car.

What were they gonna do now?

*Iris's POV*

The live session was a blast. Once she felt sensation of the bass, the sound of the guitar, the kick of the drums, she never felt so alive. They were covering "I Don't Love You" by My Chemical Romance. She felt the problems slowly melt away when she started singing. She sang each verse with all she got. It was pure, raw emotion, the one that could make everyone tear up. It's like she was a different person. Long gone the Iris that was depressed. The Iris on stage now was, way more brighter and her eyes seems to shine with unshed tears. This side of Iris only comes out when she's performing. Usually, without the tears. The crowd cheered her on. She was smiling. The trio gave each other knowing glances, once the adrenaline from performing wears off, she would go back to the woman she was before.

Sad and empty.

They thanked the crowd and the host and went backstage. They were buzzing with adrenaline. "You guys, wanna grab some food before we go back to the hotel?" Maia said. Julia and Helena nodded. "Iris?" Helena said. Iris's head snapped up. "You okay there? Your lookin' a little bit pale, shortcake." Helena said. Iris rubbed her face. "I'm alright, Just need fresh air, that's all. Maybe something to eat." She said. The trio was looking at her worriedly. "Guys. I promise, I'm okay, don't worry." she shyly smiled, nervous from the looks her bandmates were giving her. "Macca's?" Julia said. "Sure." Maia said.

*timeskip*

"That's all your going eat?" Julia said. Iris was eating her veggie dippers. "Yeah. I'm not that hungry." she mumbled. "Bullshit. You haven't eaten anything since last night." Julia said. "Take some my fries." Maia said. "Maia, I can't take it. It's your food." she declined. "Iris, we won't let you fuckin' starve. We have a long night of performing coming up. And you need the energy." Maia said. Iris stared at the ground. Helena rubbed her back, "Please, Iris. We all know you have haven't been doing well." Maia said. "Fine."

"Good girl." Julia said. "Wow, Julia. I didn't know you were into that kinda of stuff~" Iris teased. Helena choked on her drink. Julia looked at Helena, confused. Maia shoved Julia's shoulder. The look of realization dawned on her face. "Oh. Iris, you kinky bitch." She said, smirking. "Well, someone's gotta be the Yuri in this club, and you guys don't have to balls to be him. " she teased again.

They heard cameras clicking.

"Paps." they said in unison.  “Shit.” Helena mumbled.  “We have to get out of here, quickly.” Julia said. The group got out and tried to get to Maia’s car. Iris was soon cornered by the paps.

“Iris, you know they can do better!”

“Is it difficult having TWO partners? Having to be jealous all the time and fighting for attention – what does that feel like?”

She kept quiet.

“What do you think to the rumours that you cheated on them? There’s evidence of you spending the night with a mysterious female.”

“You’re really nothing special though are you? They won’t stick around for long, whore.”

“We’ve seen the scars on your arms.”

“Don’t you think that’s a bad image for your band?”

“You should look into conversion therapy, disgusting whore.”

“What about your partners? Should they have to deal with that on top of everything they should be doing?”

“You’re nothing but a slut. A cheating, useless piece of shit.”

“You’ll be better off dead.”

“'Lena…” She mumbled, searching for any of her bandmates over the crowd, she felt her vision go hazy for a bit as she desprately tried to push through the paps. She was so close from losing her sanity. The paps was closing in, blocking her in. Insults was thrown her way. She was going to break.

Then she felt their arms. Helena's strong hand gripping hers and pulling her into their arms, cradling her against her chest and Julia pushing through the crowd telling the paparazzi to fuck off along the way.“Get away from her!” She pushed the paps away from the duo while Helena helped Iris up. “We just want answers!” One of the paps shouted back at them. “Well, you’re not gonna get any so take your camera, shove it up your fucking asshole, and fuck off!”

They got her into the car. Maia drove away from the scene as fast as she could. Iris's hands was shaking. “Iris?” Julia ask, her hand moving to cup her face. “Iris, come on.” Julia pleaded, she was desperately trying to help her calm her down, holding her hands and trying to help her breathe. “They said such horrible things.” Iris mumbled. “They’re just trying to get a response.” Helena said.

"Can we call, Ash?" she meekly asked. "Of course, shortcake." Helena said. Julia called him.

"Hey, Julia. Is everything alright?"

"Um... about that."

"What's wrong?"

"Well, we had a run in with paps eariler and they cornered Iris."

"What?! Is she okay? Did the paps do anything?"

"Well, they verbally harassed her. We might ask management to file a lawsuit. As for Iris? She's the reason why I called, wait a minute-

"'Lena take the phone."

Helena took the phone from Julia.

"Hey, Lemon boy"

"Hey, Helena. Is Iris with you?"

"Yup. Let me hand the phone to her."

"Thanks"

She passed the phone to Iris.

"Hey, Ash..."

"Hey, Sunshine. Are you okay? Did they do anything to you?"

"They were closing in on me, taking photos of me and said bad things."

"What kind of bad things did they say, sunshine? "

"That I’m not good enough, they keep insisting that I cheated. They said that I look into converstion therapy-"

She was startled by Helena's hand on her shoulder. "Let it out." She mouthed to her.

"They joked about my scars, they said I would be better off dead." she choked out.

"They what?! Oh, Iris, I'm so sorry."

She sobbed.

" Iris, listen."

"What they said.... it's all lies. You hear me? They are lies. You are not what they paint you to be, they don't know who you really are. You are amazing. You are the most amazing person I know, the boys loves you.... even Luke. He came by with Sierra the night after you left. I didn't do anything, like I promise. But you bet I gave him an earful. But all that aside, Iris, you deserve to be here, and you are good enough. You make people happy. Your fans? They all love you, you make them smile, you make them feels safe. This will pass, things will get easier. I promise you."

"What if I fail to do so, Ash? What if I disappoint everyone?"

"You won't. Trust me, you are not a failure. You will get better. You will heal. You will be stronger than ever. You will make it through this."

"Are they alright?"

"You're seriously asking that? You're not okay and you're asking if they're alright?"

"Please Ash... I want to know."

They arrived at the hotel.

"Yes, they are. You don't have to worry. All you have to worry now is me giving you a lecture. Look outside."

"What?"

"Just look outside."

She looked outside to see Ashton, giving her one of his signature smiles. Beside him.....Luke and Sierra.

"Ashton?"

"Hey, sunshine."

She paled. She turned at the bandmates and chuckled shakily.

"Am I finally going crazy? Is they really here?"

She looked at Luke and Sierra, laughing disbelievingly. Shaking her head, she walked up to them. She prodded Luke at his chest angrily, as she laughed. "You had the fucking nerve to show up here." She was chuckling yet crying in the same time. "Where were you, Lucas. Where the fuck were you when I needed you?!" she said. She stumbled back, shaking her head. Iris's knees gave out. Maia reached out to steady her. "Can we get out of here, please?" She whispered to her. Maia looked at Helena and Julia. "Let's get her inside." She said, quietly. They nodded. They moved to get her inside. Sierra moved to stop them. "Let's talk this through, please." She said to Iris. Helena glowered at her. She stood in front Iris protectively.

"After what you've done, you think you could just come up here and expect her to talk? After the pain you put her through? No, ma'am. You lost that right." Helena said. "Hey, don't talk to her like that." Luke defended her. Julia stepped forward. "Don't think we forgot about YOU, Hemmings." She said. "You don't get to come up here, all high and mighty and expect that we let you go that easily." Helena said. “You two are fucking dumb if you really believe that's a way to treat our bandmate.” Maia said.

“If anyone should be arguing, it should be me.” Iris said, as she straightened up and six pairs of eyes snapped to her. "Thank you for standing up for me, guys." she said to her bandmates. They shrugged and smiled. "Pop off, bestfren." Maia playfully winked at her. Iris smiled and turned to face the duo. The look that they gave her made her newfound anger surge.

“You both don’t get to look at me like that.” She snapped, causing them to reel back in suprise. They never seen her this mad, never at them. "If you gave me the chance to talk back then, we wouldn't have this bullshit." she said. Their faces fell in guilt. The Iris she was before this would've cave in and forgive them but she was seething with anger now to care.

"If you'd noticed the sleepless nights I had, the bag under my eyes. If you'd have cared to even try and listen to what I had to say, maybe I wouldn't be fuckin' pissed at you right now!" Iris snapped and Luke flinched back.

If they'd only looked into her eyes, they would see the bottled up emotions that was threatening to explode. It felt wrong to see Iris so angry. She was always been the one to break up arguements, not start them. "Did you know how much suffering you caused me? Do you know how much pain I've been through? I never asked for this, you know? I never asked for us to fight. I hate fighting, you know that?" She said. She looked at them, they were looking down to the ground.

"Look at me." she pleaded. Her anger disappated. Their heads immediately snapped up."I d-don't think I contribute to this relationship anymore." her broken voice reached their ears.

"Iris!" They called out, but she's gone. Luke frantically searched for her. "Luke, we still have one more chance." Sierra said. "Sierra, there's no more chance. We lost her." He said. "And it's all my fault." he whimpered. "Luke, honey. We have her concert tickets, thanks to Ashley. Let's not waste this chance alright?" She said.

*timeskip*

Two hours till the concert. The stage staff were moving around, making sure that everything goes well. After the encounter, Iris fell in the hotel bed and proceeded take a long nap. And woke up just in time for rehearsal.

Seconds turned into minutes, minutes turned into hours. Iris drank some vodka that was prepared by the staff, it did so little to calm her nerves. She was pacing around. “Iris?” Her makeup stylist called out. Her head shot up, “Yes, David?” She said. “It’s time for your makeup, and then your outfit." He reminded. She smiled softly at him, "Alright, I'm coming."

She got dressed and sat on the chair."So what would we like on this wonderful night?" He said prepairing the brushes. "I was thinking of skeleton kinda look. Some black, a little red." She said. "That sounds good. Would you like some to put glitter on the black part?" he asked. "Sure" she nodded.

(A/N: Here’s the outfit. Credit to @boy..brainr0t for the makeup look)

They made a small talk about the weather and the upcoming shows. Half an hour later, David finished. "Wow, you did a great job! I love it so much, thanks David! " Iris said, her mood brightened. "No probs, Iris." He said with a smile. She side hugged him and left the room.

"Looking good, shortcake! That choker looks deadly, in a good way." Helena hyped her up. Iris flushed. "Enough about me, look at your mohawk! The spikes are as deadly as my choker! " She said, smiling. "Can I.... touch them? " Iris said. It was like a child asking for candy. "Knock yourself out, shortcake. " She shrugged. Iris's eyes shined with excitement and she poked it. "It's rock hard, did you use hairspray?" she asked, "I did. Used a little bit of hair pomade. Gotta make sure it won't fall while performing." Helena explained. "That's cool." Iris giggled.

 "Hey, cuties!" Julia hollered from arcoss the room. "Its almost time, get your sexy asses over here!" Maia said alongside Julia. "Alright, alright, we're coming!" Iris shouted back. "You look like Gerard Way, Iris." Julia said. "Awh, Julia that's nicest thing you ever said to me" she joked. Julia playfully punched her in the shoulder. "Heeeey" She pouted. "Hey guys!" Ashley jogged over to them. "Hey, Ashley" They said. "You ready to go up there?" She asked. "Yeah, it's been a while since we last went on stage, still kinda nervous, but excited." Iris said. "Excuse me, sorry to interrupt, but you guys are up in 10" the stage manager informed them. "Alright, thank you for informing us" Julia thanked the staff. "You welcome." the staff said, then walked away. 

"Go get ready, I can't wait to see you guys out there." Ashley said, before leaving to get ready herself. "You ready?" Maia asked. " As ready as I'll ever be" Iris said. Her eyes shining with excitement. The group fistbumped each other and went on stage.

"GOOD EVENING, LONDON!" Iris screamed into the mic. The crowd screamed. "ARE YOU READY?" The crowd cheered. "WE CAN'T HEAR YOU" The crowd screamed.The intro for their song "You" started playing.

You, 

The thought of you makes me sick

Heaven and Hell doesn’t scare me anymore

Not when your with me

Why you gotta be so greedy?

I’m giving all I have to you,

But you keep asking for more,I’m dying, can’t you see? (Look at me)

My blood stains the floor

And I know you love seeing me like this

When it comes to you, (you temptress)

You act so innocent, like an angel in disguise

Always painting yourself as holy

But your tainted halo says otherwise, my dear

Iris sang, stomping her feet to the rhythm. She was smiling, looking out to the crowd. And then she saw familiar head of curls. It was Luke. Her eyes widened, trying to maintain her composure as she sang. She looked at Julia, who noticed them too.

Look at what you’ve become

My still beating heart you hold,

Your knife against my throat.

I’m on the floor, barely breathing (Gasping for air)

My mind tormented by your lies

There’s no escape from you (Never)

There’s no saving for me

“Oh, my darling sweetheart” you said,

With your hands around my neck 

“Let me own you” you whispered

Your cold breath makes me shiver

Death knocks on the door (It’s time)

She puts on a facade, performing all the energy she had. Maia and Helena soon caught up with the situation immediately. They were soon picking up on the energy that Iris is giving out. She was nervous. Very nervous.  Her heterochromia eyes instantly found blue ones.  She wanted to run off stage but her pride wouldn’t let her. What would the fans think of her if she did? She didn't want to be coward.

*Lierra's POV*

They were standing somewhat near to the stage, same as the people that are there, they were all waiting for the show to start. Soon, Iris came on stage along with her band mates. The crowd screamed and cheered.

"GOOD EVENING, LONDON!" she said. She sounded so different from 4 hours ago. She looked beautiful as always, her facial features were enhanced by her stage makeup. "ARE YOU READY?" They cheered. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" They cheered even louder.

Iris smirked. "Helena, darling. If you please." she said. They both knew it was her persona on stage to be a little flirty , but Sierra couldn't stop but feel a little bit of jealousy. Helena was smirking on the screen. " ONE, TWO, THREE-" Helena said, before she started playing the drums. The intro sounds familiar to them. Then Iris started singing.

In their eyes, she was the most ethereal being they ever seen. She was confident when she sing, it was beautiful.

Midway through the song, their eyes met. Luke could see her eyes widening. She turned to Julia. Julia gave her a brief nod. She turned to the front, with a smile on her face. He gave Sierra a look.She shared the same look, they clearly knew that she was faking her expression. And the thought of that made them feel even more guilty.

*Back to Iris*

Look at what I’ve become

My still heart you hold,

Your knife still against my throat.

I’m on the floor, still and silent

My mind corrupted by your lies

There’s no escape from you

There’s no redemption for me.

As she sang the last verse, the crowd cheered and clapped. She was a little sweaty and she was a little out of breath.  She kept on smiling. Her bandmates joined her at the front. Ashley comes on stage next. “Good Evening, London!” Ashley said. The crowd screamed. “ I would like to thank my good friends, The Temptress, for their AMAZING performance tonight!” She exclaimed. The crowd screamed again. "You welcome, Halsey." she said. 

In the corner of her she saw a sign. The sign said "It's Nia!". Her eyes shined. "Well won't you look at that, Hi Nia." She waved at the girl direction. A group of girls were screaming as she said that. "Thank you again for the wonderful gift you gave me yesterday, darling. I really appreciate it." She said. The group screamed again. She was smiling. A real smile. The camera was on her and the crowd screamed again. She and her bandmates said their goodbyes to the crowd and Halsey and went off backstage. 

She took off her facade and became unsually quiet. She plopped on the couch and drank the vodka she poured for herself. Her friends didn't know if they should comfort her or give her space. "Hey, shortcake." Helena said softly. Iris just leaned against her, her head on her shoulder. "You okay, bub?" Helena said. Iris just buried her face further into her neck.

 "I don't know, 'Lena."

[babyboyblasty]

Chapter 6

Class was over in the blink of an eye and Bakugou was coming out of the girls locker room dressed in uniform. He couldn't stop thinking about Deku though and it was frustrating. He kept replaying it in his head how warm and secure he was held against his chest. He even felt.. safe? When had that nerd gotten so big, anyway? He felt pathetic as he found himself wondering how many reps he did to get muscles like that. Bakugou scowled at the ground as he walked but soon he found himself getting mauled by a very excited Kaminari and Mineta.

"What was it like in the girls locker room, Kacchan!?!"

"Yeah! Did you see them change!?!?"

"Did you use the showers!?!"

"What did they talk about? Did they mention me!?!"

"Did you spy on them!?!"

It was question after question of dumbass shit Bakugou didn't even bother listening to. He just kept walking the halls towards his next class, English with Mic, while they whined for answers about his experience in the locker room. Eventually the girls ended up catching up to them and they must have overheard the two idiots because Jirou was sticking one of her ear jacks to the side of kaminari's neck and Ashido started banging on the side of Mineta's head with her fists for being gross and asking perverted questions. "That was so inappropriate, Mineta-kun, Kaminari-kun. Bakugou-san was a perfect gentleman and did no such thing" Momo frowned disapprovingly, hands on her hips.

"Leave blasty alone!" Ashido scolded and the boys frowned but left, mumbling under their breath how they're ones to talk when they've been hogging girl Kacchan all to themselves. Bakugou silently thanked them for getting those two off his back but of course didn't say it out loud. Even then, they all knew what he meant. He would have blown them up otherwise. Bakugou could only tolerate so much and he was already annoyed he got stuck playing the hostage and did nothing the entire class.

Mina and Uraraka looped their arms through his and walked with him towards the classroom. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" he yelled but the fuckers only giggled. "You look cute when you're angry" Ochako made a 'pfft' sound as she tried to keep herself from laughing when she saw him glaring at her.

"Like an upset kitten" frog girl added in, picturing a small, angry hissing cat in her head. The visual only made the girls laugh even more because of how damn /accurate/ it was. Bakugou would have shot a warning explosion at Asui if pinky and round face weren't holding his arms like he was going to fall down into the earth any second.

"We weren't able to have any girl talk in the locker room but how did it feel to have Midoriya-kun carry you like that!? It was like watching a romantic soap drama!" invisible girl squealed. Bakugou rolled his eyes at her excitement. Mina and Toru were the class gossips so of course they'd want to know absolutely everything.

"Terrible" he grimaced. He was lying straight through his teeth if him having not stopped thinking of what if felt being in Izuku's arms since the rescue training had anything to say about it, but they didn't need to know that.

...

Todoroki was in his dorm room after school was over. He had excused himself from studying with Momo and the rest of their study group to lay on his futon and think about what he had felt earlier that day. Ever since Midoriya had told him that his power was his own at the sports festival, Todoroki had opened up a bit more about his feelings and such. Usually he went to Izuku for advice and to talk when something was troubling him, but this time Shoto felt it best to resolve it by himself without the help from the green haired male. Shoto laid in complete, concentrated silence. He even lit an incense since he read somewhere that they were supposed to help you think better. You know, those wooden stick things that smell like potpourri or whatever when you burn them. It had been a very awkward conversion when he had gone to the store and asked the manager where he can find the 'incest' aisle. He had to explain what it was before the man in his thirties had let out a sigh of relief and told him where it was located. And if Shoto got two packs labeled 'Sweet Salted Caramel Incense', there was no ulterior motive other than it's because he likes the smell. Nope. None at all.

Shoto thought over his predicament for a few minutes before he started getting a bit dizzy and lightheaded as all the smoke from the incense started to gather in his japanese styled dorm room and he had to open his balcony sliding door to step out and breathe in some fresh air. Okay so that caramel artificial smell was a bit too strong. He was hoping it was going to be a little more subtle and a little more, like, burnt-y if that makes sense. He was aiming for a specific smell and was utterly disappointed at the overpoweringly sweet smell he received instead. He stayed out on the balcony for a bit before he looked down and saw that Bakugou was out on his own balcony too. It was fortunate that their rooms were right above each other.

"Hello, Bakugou."

He saw the blonde jump a bit and lean out against the safety railing to turn his head and look up at him. "Huh? How long have you been there? You spyin' me or something, half n half?!"

"No. I just came out a minute or two ago and noticed you were out here too. Sorry I scared you."

"You didn't scare me, bastard," Bakugou replied in indignation like the very mention of Bakugou being frightened was insulting. "You just fucking startled me. It's different than- what's that smell? Is that coming from your room?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. I was trying out some incest I bought on my trip to the store" he replied and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion when Bakugou started laughing quite loudly. He saw how a small hand went up to cover his mouth as he let out a wheeze from laughing so hard and Todoroki felt weird again. "What's so funny?" he asked when Katsuki's laughter started dying down.

"It's called incense, you idiot. Not incest. Incest is when you have sex with someone related to you."

"Oh" was all he said, thinking about it, before his cheeks turned a faint pink when it all sunk in. "Oh" he repeated, this time a bit more embarrassed.

"Whatever it is, put it the fuck out. It smells like Satou's breath in there" Katsuki scrunched his nose and pinched it close, waving his other hand in front of his face.

"Okay" he replied before going back inside to freeze the stick in a thin layer of frost. That should do it. He went back out to look down over the railing. "I put it out" he smiled a little, feeling quite proud of himself, and Bakugou rolled his eyes then returned to what he was doing before Shoto came out to talk to him. "Hey Bakugou?" he said after a bit.

"What now, half n half?" the blonde sighed but he didn't sound annoyed. He turned to look back up at Shoto expectantly.

"Sorry I didn't rescue you in training today."

Bakugou looked confused. 'Cute' he thought to himself. "What are you talking about? You did rescue me in training. The hero team won" he frowned.

"No. I mean I'm sorry /I/ didn't rescue you. Not Midoriya" he repeated himself and watched the cute blush that slowly spread over the teen when he finally understood what he meant. Shoto was enjoying watching Bakugou express any emotion other than anger way too much.

"Oh" was his turn to say, looking a bit awkward and embarrassed before he was snapping himself out of it. "Have you eaten yet?"

"No" he replied, a bit confused at the sudden change in topic but going along with it anyway. "Have you?" he asked.

"It's late. Why the fuck haven't you ate dinner, dumbass?" he scolded and Todoroki noticed how the other had avoided his question. "Come down to the common room. My neck is starting to hurt" Bakugou groaned and rubbed the back of his aching neck. It was hurting from looking up at Shoto for too long.

"Is that your way of saying you'll make me food?" Todoroki called out with a smile, stretching his neck further out as he watched the other slide open his balcony door and start to go inside his room.

"/We'll/ make food. You're helping, fucker. Now hurry up before I change my mind and let you starve" Bakugou's voice got fainter as he walked further into his dorm room and just like that, Todoroki was rushing back inside and out his dorm.

[word count: 1512]