#and ooh when edwin closes his eyes

[vaguesxrrow]

charles x alive reader w a sprinkle of angst? established relationship pls? maybe the reader is going off to college (american reader) and like the reader is getting older but charles is not and maybe there’s a little sprinkle of fear with that? happy ending tho pls!! tysm i love ur writing!

tysm for the request !! hope i didnt keep you waiting too long and this is what you had in mind

charles / alive!reader - getting older and going to college

a/n: for the purposes of this fic reader is going to college early at around 17

wc: 1027

tags: gender neutral reader, alive reader, american reader

your fingers trembled as you moved the cursor to the email from the college you had applied to. standing above you, charles guided your hand, keeping it steady. "whatever happens, i love you, yeah?"

you huffed a laugh. "i know that, silly."

"just trying to reassure my awesome, genius [boy/girlfriend/partner]."

rolling your eyes, you clicked on the email. your gaze zeroed in on the word at the top, in big bold letters: CONGRATULATIONS.

"holy shit," you breathed. you stood up to look at charles incredulously.

"HOLY SHIT!" charles yelled, grabbing you by the shoulders and shaking you excitedly. "i TOLD you!" he tugged you into a hug, jumping up and down. you pulled apart, only for him to kiss you and draw your bodies together again. you grinned into his lips.

"you." charles punctured his worlds with kisses to your cheek. "are. amazing."

you laughed at his antics. this was your dream college, and you would be happy about it. you wouldn't think about how, when you inevitably left, charles might not be there to cheer you on like he was right now.

no - what mattered was that he was here, and you were together in this moment, at least.

you kissed him again.

⌦ ---

edwin and crystal were on your right, and charles was on your left, rubbing circles into your hand. jenny had closed down her butcher shop for the night, because 'it's your birthday. it's a special occasion.' you had smiled then, and hugged her tight to show your gratitude.

the lights were dimmed, and niko's decor expertise meant fairy lights draped across every available surface, including the moose taxidermy head. she had also tied pink ribbons to its antlers.

jenny and niko emerged from the back room - jenny held a cake, lit with 17 candles. niko animatedly followed her. "jenny was scared i'd drop the cake," she informed everyone. "but i placed the candles - that's why they're in a heart! and i wrote the message in frosting."

"aww, they do make a heart," you said. "that's so cute."

jenny carefully put down the cake in front of you. you leaned forward and grinned at what niko wrote on it - 'WE LOVE YOU!!' in impeccable cursive, and then a small 'happy birthday' underneath it. niko hurried to stand next to charles, and jenny went to stand across from you all.

jenny pulled out her phone and held it up to record a video (even if ghosts couldn't show up on recordings). "sing happy birthday, guys!" she said.

everyone sang - even edwin. you smiled sincerely at all your friends, and mouthed a 'thank you' to jenny behind the camera.

"presents time!" niko squealed.

"ooh, me first," crystal said. she held out to you a box that had materialised from seemingly from nowhere. it was a simple brown, with a dark purple bow. you opened the box to find a novel you had been searching for for ages now - you were touched she remembered - and a soft sweater. you 'aww'ed' at her and gave her a hug.

edwin handed you a leather-bound notebook and a fancy pen - both of which were engraved with your name on it. "i happened to know a person who did custom engravements," he said simply, when you tried to thank him.

jenny gave you a pair of headphones from a brand you knew was not cheap. you gaped at her. "seriously?" you squealed.

"what? isn't it what teenagers like nowadays?"

you tackled her into a hug.

niko gifted you a very detailed drawing of you, her, crystal, edwin, and charles. "i wanted you to have a picture of all of us for when you go to college, but we can't exactly photograph the boys."

you smiled at her sincerely, even as something anxious twisted in your chest. charles was last to give you your present, and your forced smile barely concealed the sadness welling up inside you. from the pockets of his jacket, he pulled out a metal... contraption about the size of a phone.

"it's a music box kind of thing," he explained. "i got it at tragic mick's, and it's got all your favourite songs in it, plus a few others that reminded me of you."

you kissed him in lieu of a ‘thanks’, cradling the gift gently in your hands.

even with all the celebration and presents, though, you couldn't shake the underlying fear in you at the thought of getting older, and having to move on - move away - to other things.

⌦ ---

after cake and good-natured banter around the table, everyone returned to their rooms - crystal went to bed, but you could hear the soft sound of scooby doo and edwin's inquiring voice from niko's room. charles had followed you to yours, not that you were complaining.

"i know we still have a lot of time till i leave," you said immediately after you shut the door. "but i'm gonna miss you a lot."

"hey, listen," charles said, taking your face in his hands. "i promise, [name], that i will mirror travel to you no matter what, at least once a week. although we both know it'll be more than that, yeah? cause i could never be away from you for that long."

you laughed. "yeah."

"and that's why i'm giving this to you." charles reached into his pocket again, this time withdrawing a cloth satchet. "open it," he said as he placed it into your hands.

you complied, gasping in surprise as you found a gorgeously crafted pocket mirror.

"i'll mirror travel through it. it works - i've already tried." he said. "i know you're scared about what might happen, and i am too. but let's just take things day by day, yeah?" his hands moved from your face to your shoulders, then down your arms - you shivered at his gentle touch - eventually coming to intertwine your fingers.

"cause right now," he continued. "you're my [boy/girlfiend/partner] and i'll put in all the needed effort to keep it this way. that sound good?"

you laughed in relief, a huge weight having been lifted off your shoulders and a bit teary-eyed. "yeah. that sounds brills."

[gundamthey17]

Day 2 of Payneland Promptfest 2024

I know I'm a month late, but December ended up being a hell of a month. I do still intend to write all 7 prompts, so hopefully people aren't totally sick of holiday-themed stories yet. (It's still the holidays, right? lol)

Day 2: frostbite | “How did you even find this?” | getting dressed up

“Crystal!” Charles said excitedly.

“Gah!” Crystal jumped. “Don't startle me like that! You do know it's early, don't you?”

“No, I didn't. I don't sleep,” he replied. Unbothered, he barrelled on. “Have you heard of ugly Christmas jumpers? Or, wait, what do you call them? Sweaters? Ugly Christmas sweaters.”

“Yes, Charles, I've heard of them. What about them?”

“I just saw someone wearing one. They were big in the eighties. I can't believe they're still popular!”

“I don't know about still. More like again.”

“Do you know where to get them?”

“Uh… lots of places. Thrift stores probably have the best ones.”

“Can we go?”

“You want to go shopping. For ugly Christmas sweaters.”

“Yeah! It'll be brills!”

Crystal yawned and shrugged. “Fine by me, I guess.” It wasn't as if she'd had any other plans for the day.

“Great! You get Niko, and I'll get Edwin.”

A short time later, Charles was following Crystal into a thrift store, practically bouncing with excitement. Niko and Edwin were close behind.

Sure enough, the first clothing rack they saw was full of Christmas jumpers. 

“Ooh, what about this one?” said Niko, holding up a particularly garish jumper for Edwin to see.

Edwin frowned, unsure how to respond. “Um… it's…”

“It's mint, Niko!” said Charles. “I think I see some more jumpers over there.”

The next hour was a blur of Christmas jumpers, laughter, and (generally) good-natured teasing as the quartet each picked out a suitable option.

Charles found his jumper almost immediately. He spotted it from across the store, and his eyes lit up. “No way! Brills!” He practically sprinted over to it, leaving Edwin and the girls to follow at a more reasonable pace.

Edwin frowned again as Charles held up the jumper. It was mostly black and green, with some red details here and there. The central image was of a classic-white-sheet sort of ghost, with a red ‘no’ symbol over it. The bottom hem had an alternating pattern of Christmas trees and… some sort of squarish white smiling face wearing a hat. “Why does it say no ghosts?”

Charles sighed dramatically, running a hand over his face. “It’s Ghostbusters, mate. You’ve literally seen the films! This is their logo!”

“Ah, yes, I remember. What has it got to do with Christmas?” To his credit, Edwin seemed to genuinely be trying to make sense of the ugly Christmas jumper tradition.

Charles shrugged. “It was Christmas in the second one. But it doesn’t really matter. It’s in the style of a Christmas jumper. That’s the important bit.”

“If you say so,” Edwin replied, sounding thoroughly unconvinced.

Charles handed the jumper to Crystal, who glanced at the tag. “This is a double extra large. Are you sure you want this one? It’s not gonna fit you.”

“It’ll be fine!”

“Okay. You do you, I guess.”

Crystal had started out somewhat skeptical of the whole endeavor, but her mood had brightened considerably when she found a jumper that depicted the Grinch giving two middle fingers. She wordlessly draped the jumper over her arm and continued to peruse the rack, half-listening as Charles explained the Grinch to Edwin. Crystal didn’t have the patience to explain every pop culture reference, but Charles, for his part, didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it.

“Right, so there’s this book, and this guy, the Grinch, absolutely hates Christmas…”

Niko insisted on scouring the entire store before she settled on a jumper. The one she picked featured a large Christmas tree in the center, and was covered in a dizzying array of baubles, garland, pompoms, and candy canes.

“That’s great!” Charles said.

“That’s… something,” Crystal added.

“It’s perfect,” declared Niko, and that was that.

Edwin, to no one’s surprise, ended up having the hardest time finding a jumper that suited him. Early on, he located a knitted blue and white jumper with a pattern of snowflakes across the chest and hem. He held it up hopefully, but Charles shook his head.

“Nah, mate, they’re supposed to be ugly Christmas jumpers.”

“I dunno,” Crystal muttered loudly to Niko, “the grandpa vibes are pretty strong with that one.”

“Given that I am likely older than your grandfather, I am not at all offended by that.”

Crystal ignored him, rummaging around in a pile of jumpers, until she smirked and held one up. “I found the perfect sweater for you, Edwin!”

Edwin turned, and his expression soured as he took in the picture of a fat, grumpy-looking cat, wearing a Santa hat and wrapped in Christmas lights, above the words ‘On The Naughty List’. “Absolutely not.”

As time went on, Crystal grew more and more impatient. “You know what your problem is?” she asked eventually. Edwin opened his mouth, but she continued. “I don’t think you have enough Christmas cheer.”

“I am plenty cheerful,” Edwin replied indignantly.

“Oh yeah?” Crystal grabbed a Santa hat from a display. “Prove it. Wear this.” Without waiting for a response, she reached up and perched the hat on Edwin’s head.

Edwin stiffened like a cat being forced to wear a strange costume.

Crystal snickered. Edwin looked to Charles for help, but Charles merely flashed him a cheeky grin, all crinkled nose and bright teeth. 

Niko looked around to see if anyone was watching them. Luckily, the shop was nearly empty. “Does that just look like a floating Santa hat right now?” she asked quietly.

“Most likely,” Edwin replied, snapping out of it. He quickly pulled the hat off his head and handed it back to Crystal.

Charles and Crystal both offered up several more jumpers, but Edwin rejected all of them. 

Suddenly, Niko’s eyes went wide. “I know!” she said, and without another word, hurried away to a back corner of the shop.

Edwin caught Charles’s eye, but Charles just shrugged.

Niko returned a moment later, holding a jumper that was somewhat similar to the one she had picked out for herself. It was red and had a large tree in the center, but where hers was covered in baubles and garland, this one only had lights.

Edwin kept his expression neutral as he said, “I’m… not sure that –”

“Wait! You have to see the best part!” Niko reached inside the jumper and did - something, and suddenly the lights on the tree began to glow and blink.

Edwin’s expression transformed into one of awe. “How… how does it do that?”

“Batteries! See?” Turning the hem inside out, Niko showed him a small, white box with a button on it, which was cleverly concealed inside the jumper.

“Good job, Niko,” Charles said. He smiled and put one arm around Edwin’s shoulders. “I knew we’d find you one.”

They made their way to the front of the store, where Crystal paid for the jumpers, and then they stepped out into the cold December day.

They waited until they were back in their makeshift office to put on the jumpers. Edwin grabbed his and Charles’s.

“Wait, so any normal clothes can become ghost clothes?” Crystal asked.

“Not exactly. There is a complex magical process that must take place, wherein –”

“Literally no one cares.”

Edwin looked so affronted that Charles actually felt bad for him. He leaned over and whispered, “I care. You can explain it to me later.”

“I have explained it to you before!”

“Yeah, well, this time I’ll listen, won’t I?” Charles replied with a grin.

The “complex magical process” turned out to be the boys just putting the clothes on, though Edwin insisted there was more to it than that.

“If you could just put them on and they vanish, why didn't you do that in the store?” Crystal asked.

“That would be stealing!” Edwin replied. He felt around the hem of his jumper for the mechanism Niko had shown him, and pressed the button. The lights on the Christmas tree blinked to life. Edwin smiled, looking relieved. “I was not sure that was going to work once the jumper ceased to be tangible. It seems it has successfully retained its properties. Though I do wonder about the batteries…” He trailed off as he caught sight of Charles.

The Ghostbusters jumper seemed to swallow most of his lithe frame. It nearly reached his knees, and the sleeves completely covered his hands. He was grinning from ear to ear. “Too-big jumpers are the best,” he was saying, to no one in particular. “It’s like being in a big, warm hug.” He flapped the sleeves for emphasis.

The sight caused a fluttering sensation in Edwin’s stomach. Without thinking, he leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to the corner of Charles’s mouth. He immediately drew back with a gasp, phantom heat rushing to his cheeks in an invisible blush as he realized Crystal and Niko were still right there. Before he could stammer an apology – to Charles? to the girls? – Charles closed the distance between them and looped his arms around Edwin’s neck.

“So, what do you think of ugly Christmas jumpers? Pretty brills tradition, innit?”

“I… am beginning to understand it now.”

Niko tugged on Crystal’s arm, and the two quietly left the room as Charles leaned in to kiss Edwin properly.

[the-name-is-z]

HERMES - I-I

han lue x fem!oc

masterlist

wattpad link

ao3 link

Summary:Eva meets Dominic Toretto.Warnings/Information:The Fast and The Furious Saga OC Insert | 18+ Advised | strangers to lovers; mature themes/language; angst; action; humour; m/f; crime; street racing; author knows not a lot about cars

I-I

The smell of burnt rubber, the sound of bass-thumping music, and the feeling of the steering wheel in her hands was home. Heaven. Whatever you wanted to call it. She loved it.

The large spotlights shone bright against the warehouse buildings lining the small road, illuminating the thrum of people and cars that surrounded the area. They lined the street, pulling in and lifting the hoods to show off their hard work. Women pranced around in short skirts, bikini tops, and anything you wouldn't consider real clothing. 

Pulling into a semi-solitary parking spot at the end of the roadway, she was safe from the hustle and bustle of shitty racers trying to convince anybody, anybody, to race.

"Hermes!" Hector's voice boomed over the music. "Where you been, girl?" He asked, shuffling through the swarm of people toward her car. Hermes smiled as she got out, closing the door behind her before hopping up to sit on the roof. She pulled a lollipop from her pocket, ripping off the wrapper and putting it into her mouth.

"At the shop, Hector. You know I'm always building something new." She replied, her smirk stretching the large scar that arced across the bottom of her face, from her outer ear to her chin.

"When are you gonna build me something good?" He asked, pleading. A small crowd was forming around him, as it usually did, people laughing at his eagerness.

"When you have enough money to pay for it." Hermes replied, grinning. The crowd jeered, laughing and prodding at Hector as he had the nerve to look vaguely disappointed.

"Come on, Hermes, you know that'll never happen." Edwin said, grinning as he walked over, a girl on his arm. "You racing tonight?"

"Are you?" Hermes asked.

"Hell, yeah." He replied.

"Then fuck no." She retorted. The crowd around them laughed, and Edwin made a face. "I save my skills for someone who'll provide some challenge."

"Dom's racing tonight." Hector offered. The crowd now looked back to Hermes, like it was a soap opera, or a sick car wreck they couldn't stop staring at.

"Did I stutter?" Hermes asked, raising an eyebrow. The people surrounding them 'oohed', waiting for Dom to miraculously show up with a retort to defend himself. 

Everyone in the street racing community down in Los Angeles knew that Hermes was the only known racer to ever beat Dominic Toretto in a race. Hector smiled and shook his head, walking back to his own car and talking amongst Edwin and the boys to see what the race would be like.

Hermes raised an eyebrow as a car pulled into a spot, the green paint job and decals never seen before around here. Looked like a nice enough car, but everyone knew what was under the hood was what really mattered.

"Hey, hold up, hold up. Look at this snowman right here!" Hector called as the guy stepped out of his car. He wore all black, just jeans and a t-shirt, but it contrasted well with his blue eyes and blond hair. "Sweet ride. Whatchu running under this thing?" He asked. The guy just smirked, shoving his hands in his pockets. "You're gonna make me find out the hard way."

"Hell yeah." He replied.

"You're brave, you're brave." Hector remarked. "They call me Hector. I got a last name too, but I can't pronounce it, so—"

"Brian Spilner." The guy replied.

"Ah, typical white boy name. You know what I'm sayin?" Edwins attention was caught by the newcomer. "See that over there?" He asked, gesturing over to the opposite side of the roadway where his boys were shining up his headlights. "That's mine. It's my baby. But I ain't cutting her loose tonight."

"Hector, don't try to convince him you can drive that piece of shit." Hermes called over, Hector flipping a vulgar gesture in her direction. 

"Why not?" Brian asked, politely skipping over Hermes' comment.

"It's cause I'm going legit." Hector answered. "I'm trying to get into the NIRA circuit. You heard of it?"

"Oh, hell yeah." Brian stated, nodding. 

"So what's up with you, man?"

"I'm just waiting for Toretto." Hermes' attention was now fully on their conversation. This dipshit thinks he can take Dom?

"Shit, you better get in line." Edwin said, walking toward them. "This yours?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm standing next to it." Brian replied quietly. Hermes raised an eyebrow from her position out of his eye line. She was curious about him. He seemed plain enough, but he looked confident. Stiff, but relaxed at the same time. She would bet good money he was a shit racer. 

"That's funny, you know, Edwin happens to know a few things." Edwin stated. In the third person. "And what he knows is: it's not how you stand by your car, it's how you race your car. You better learn that." Hermes chuckled. 

The familiar revving engines echoed in Hermes' ear, signalling to everyone the arrival of Dom and his team. Hermes hopped off the roof of her car, approaching the space in the middle of the street where Dom would no doubt park his car.

"Aw shit. Here they come. It's on!" Edwin called. Hermes pushed past him, smirking over her shoulder.

"Who's that? She wasn't with Toretto's gang before." Brian asked quietly, leaning toward Hector.

"That's Hermes, man. She's the only one to ever beat Dom in a race. My sources say she's done it more than once." Hector replied, eyes wide at the fact that Brian had never heard of her before. "She knows more about your car then you do, with only one look."

"Well, I guess I gotta beat her too." Brian said with a smirk.

"Ha! Good luck with that homie, she don't race just anybody. I'd be careful just throwing that shit around." Hector advised. Dom pulled up, grinning at the crowd that formed around him. Spotting Hermes, his grin widened. 

"Hey, Hermes, how you been?" He asked, slinging an arm around her shoulder.

"Tired of waiting." She shot back with a smirk. Dom laughed, walking over to visit with some of the guys. Hermes went over and hugged Letty, repeating the action with Mia, fist-bumping Leon and Vince. "You guys stop for sushi on the way or just making me suffer?" She asked, slinging her own arm around Jesse's shoulder. He laughed, and they all walked over to where Letty and Dom were standing, over by Hector.

"What's up, man." Hector said, shaking hands with Dom.

"Edwin." Dom greeted, repeating the action.

"How we doin this tonight?" Edwin asked.

"One race. 2G buy-in. Winner takes all." Dom announced. "Hermes is gonna hold the cash."

"Why Hermes?" Danny Yamato asked, coming over with his wad of cash. Hermes held out her hands, receiving the money from Danny, Edwin, and Dom.

"'Cause she's honest, unlike Hector over here." Edwin jeered, elbowing the guy. Hermes smirked. She'd be fast enough to get away with the money, but everyone knew where her garage was. They knew she wouldn't abandon all her shit. She had like 6 padlocks on the front door alone.

"Okay, good luck guys." Dom said with a smirk.

"Hey, wait. Hold up." Brian called. He worked his way through the crowd into their little space. "I don't have any cash, but I do have the pink slip to my car."

"Hey, you can't just climb in the ring with Ali 'cause you think you can box." Jesse stated, his hands gesturing wildly as he came forward.

"He knows I can box." Brian stated, pointing to Vince as he pouted on the hood of his own car. "So check it out, it's like this. I lose, the winner takes my car, clean and clear. I win, I keep my car, the money, and I get the respect." The crowd laughed, but Hermes kept her face expressionless. She knew he wouldn't win, but the notion of winning respect was interesting. She'd never bet her car on it, though.

"Respect." Dom huffed a laugh.

"To some people that's more important." Brian retorted, his smile falling into stone-cold seriousness. Dom looked over to Hermes, as if asking if that was a square deal. She shrugged. As long as the racers were into it, seemed fair enough. Dom, Edwin, and Danny nodded, all agreeing.

"Let's see what you're betting with." Hermes stated with a smirk, shoving the cash into her jacket pocket before zipping it up. She walked over to the neon green car, Jesse grinning as he followed. Hermes took the lollipop out of her mouth to check out the goods. They popped the hood together, taking a peek at the inside.

"I see a cool-air intake, it's got a NOS-fogger system, and a T-four turbo, Dominic." Jesse relayed. Hermes nodded her confirmation. In truth, it was a sweet ten-second ride. But like Edwin said before, it's not about the car, it's the driver.

"A.I.C controller and direct port nitrous injection." Hermes added.

"And a stand alone fuel management system. Not a bad way to spend $10,000." Dom finished, folding his arms. The crowd jeered.

"You see this shit? He's got enough NOS in there to blow himself up, period." Edwin remarked.

"Yeah, let's hope he knows how to use it." Hermes remarked. She turned back to the starting line, popping the sucker back into her mouth as she heard Dom agree to let him race. Brian ran over, placing his pink slip in her outstretched hand. Hermes got in her car, pulling out as the crowd parted.

"Yo, where's she going?" Danny asked, frowning at the fact that she was in her car and leaving.

"Relax. She's going to the race." Dom stated. He smirked at Hermes through the windshield. Hermes smirked right back before doing a donut in front of the crowd. There was a chorus of cheers before she led them away to the scheduled street. Leon wasn't far behind her, the police scanner in his car loud and clear for him to watch for cops. He parked along the side, all spectators following suit to create a straight quarter-mile track. 

Hermes parked at the very end, watching as everyone else blocked the remaining roads. She could just see the headlights of the racers set up at the start line. Hector pulled out his bandana, waving it to signal the start of the race. All four cars floored their gas pedals, and it had begun.

Hermes liked to watch the race from the end. She could see how the drivers were doing just fine, but she wanted to watch Dom win. He always did. Well, almost always. Brian's car lurched forward, and Hermes shook her head. Premature use of NOS was always what newbies fucked everything up with. Well, they have to learn somehow. 

Hermes stood up on her car hood, the checkered bandana in her hand the signal for the winner. Dom's car jumped ahead, leaving Brian in the dust as he whipped across the finish line. 

Waving the bandana, Hermes grinned as Dom pulled over. The next two cars, Danny and Edwin drove over, shaking their heads and cursing themselves out. Brian finally drove his car over, smiling like an idiot.

Hermes raised her eyebrow as she climbed off her car, walking over and opening the hood of his green Eclipse. The steam floated up into the air, and Hermes winced as she glanced over at his fried piston rings. Jesus, he damn near blew up his own car. 

"Where the fuck did you learn to drive?" She asked, glaring at Brian for doing such a thing to a beautiful car like this. His grin faltered a bit, shrugging. Hermes reached over to Dom, handing him the wads of cash along with Brian's pink slip. He handed it over to Mia for her to count before grabbing Letty and spinning her around in victory.

"What are you smilin' at?" Dom asked, grinning as the crowd followed him from his car toward Brian's. Jesse walked over, joining Hermes by the engine and equally frowning at the damage. 

"Dude, I almost had you." Brian stated, still grinning.

"You almost had me?" Dom questioned, pointing at his chest. The silver cross chain around his neck shook with his laughter. "You never had me. You never had your car. You almost had me?" Hermes looked up over the hood, making a face at the machismo happening around the car.

"Kid's gonna go through cars like pairs of socks if he doesn't fucking learn to drive." Hermes mumbled. She meant for only Jesse to hear her, as his knowledge was the only rival to hers when it came to cars, but Dom chuckled as he slung his arm around her shoulders.

"You hear that? Hermes is right, kid. Granny shifting, not double-clutching like you should." Dom remarked. "You're lucky that hundred-shot of NOS didn't blow the welds on the intake. Almost had me?" The crowd laughed again. "Now me, the mad scientist, and Hermes here, gotta rip apart the block and replace the piston rings you fried!" The crowd jeered. He was really digging in his heels. Hermes stood up and closed the hood with a click. "As any racer here, any real racer. It doesn't matter if you win by an inch or a mile. Winning's winning." 

He raised his arms in victory, Hermes rolling her eyes. She gave him a nudge before walking back over to her car, leaving the yelling crowd and dick-measuring behind. She opened her car door, just hearing Leon yell about the cops before she slammed it behind her.

Pulling away, she raced down the open street to the first available parking garage to stash her car. She'd be able to get a cab, or even walk back to Dom's, but if cops were looking for street racers, she'd definitely get bagged in the car she was driving. 

The cop cars drove past her as they chased other racers down the street. She heard the roar of Dom's engine pulling into the parking garage as she walked. 

Stopping in an alley, she waited outside for him. He was looking around as he pulled his red leather jacket around his shoulders, almost crashing into her.

-

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[lemonbxrry]

Doctor's Orders

ZERO / ONE / TWO / THREE / FOUR / FIVE / SIX / SEVEN

Season One, Episode Six: TS-19

A BRIGHT LIGHT engulfed us.

"Daryl, you cover the back," Rick said, everyone filing in.

"Hello?" I called out, "Hello?" I called again, louder, after receiving no answer.

"Close those doors, watch for walkers," Shane told everyone. We looked around, lost. Then, our eyes locked onto a man who stood with a gun aiming at us.

"Anyone infected?" he called out, keeping his distance.

"One. Just one of our group was," I answered, standing behind Shane and Rick. "He didn't make it," I answered honestly.

"Why are you here? What do you want?" the man asked, taking a couple of steps towards us.

"A chance," Rick answered him, I bit the inside of my cheek, watching how he walks towards us.

"That's asking for an awful lot these days," he answered. Rick nodded.

"I know," The man just stared at all of us, our eyes meeting each other, he glanced at Rick.

"You all submit to a blood test. That's the price of admission,"

"We can do that," I told him, looking back at the others.

"You got stuff to bring in, you do it now. Once this door closes, it stays closed," we all hurried and ran out and grabbed our bags from the cars, running back in. When everyone was in, the man pressed on a security system.

"Vi, seal the main entrance, kill the power-up here," he told it. The shutters closed, blocking the outside world.

"Rick Grimes," Rick introduced himself, holding out his hand.

"Dr. Edwin Jenner," he replied. I perked up, looking at him.

"Whoa, we have another doctor," Carl exclaimed, looking between Dr. Jenner and me.

THE WALKING DEAD

We rode in the elevator in silence, all looking around.

"Doctors always go around packing heat like that?" Daryl asked, raising a brow.

"There were plenty left lying around. I familiarized myself," Dr. Jenner answered, looking around at us. "But you look harmless enough," he glanced down at Carl, giving a small smile. "Except you, I'll have to keep my eye on you," he gave Carl a small smile and he chuckled.

THE WALKING DEAD

"Are we underground?" Carol asked as we walked down a long hallway.

"Are you claustrophobic?" Jenner asked in response.

"A little,"

"Try not to think about it," the sound of our footsteps bouncing off the walls.

"Vi, bring up the lights in the big room," the room lit up in response. "Welcome to Zone 5," Jenner said, the room is lit up and a humming noise emits throughout it. We all stared in awe, amazed at what was inside.

"Where is everybody?" Rick asked as we continued to walk after Jenner did. I took a small glance at Shane, furrowing my brows, then looking back at Jenner and Rick. "The other doctors, the staff?"

"I'm it," Jenner answered, "It's just me here,"

"What about the person you were speaking with?" Lori asked him, holding onto Carl's hand and holding her bag up. "Vi?"

"Vi, say hello to our guests. Tell them, welcome," Soon a robotic voice sounded throughout the room.

"Hello, guests. Welcome,"

"I'm all that's left, I'm sorry," Jenner said, turning away from us.

THE WALKING DEAD

"What's the point?" Andrea asked as Jenner drew her blood. I sat in the front, watching closely, "If we were infected we'd all be running a fever,"

"I've already broken every rule in the book letting you in here," Jenner said in response, "Let me just at least be thorough," he puts the syringe down, letting out a small click as it settled into the waste bin. "All done,"

"Ooh," Andrea said, stumbling a bit. I stood up quickly, catching Andrea just as Jacqui did. I rubbed her back softly, trying to make her steady again.

"Are you okay?" Jenner asked, worry in his voice.

"She hasn't eaten in days, hell, none of us have," I answered, looking back at him. "Might have been good for us to have eaten before this," I muttered to myself, sitting Andrea down. He looked at us all, realization finally set in at how long we've been out there and how long he's been sitting in there.

THE WALKING DEAD

Everyone was laughing around the table, drinking wine or some juice, especially seeing that the kids couldn't drink it.

"You know in Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner," Dale said, handing a glass to Lori, looking at Carl, "And in France," he pointed out, setting the bottle back down.

"Well, when Carl is in Italy or France, he can have some then," Lori replied, drinking from her glass. I sat in my chair, having one of my legs crossed over the other, eating my food and just watching everyone mingle. Rick was trying to convince Lori to allow Carl a taste, everyone around them giggling and laughing. She throws her hand up in the air slightly, giving in.

"There you are, young lad," Dale said, handing him a small cup full. Carl takes it, drinking and pulling himself back, a look of disgust on his face.

"Ew," he replied, grabbing his cup and drinking that to get the taste out. All of us laughed in response.

"That's my boy, that's my boy," she said, rubbing his back, a smile on her features.

"Just stick to soda pop there, bud," Rick said, passing Carl another soda.

"Not you Glenn, you too, (Name)" Daryl said, pointing at him slightly.

"What?" we both asked, I drank some more of the soda in retaliation, staring right at Daryl.

"Keep drinking, little man. I want to see how red your face can get," Daryl replied, picking up another beer, slightly stumbling. He then pointed at me, "And you, you need to drink, haven't seen you drink a single thing," he said, plopping a bottle of beer in front of me.

"Hey now, I'm still a doctor, I gotta be not under the influence," I replied, "I will drink some later when everyone is settled," I told him, putting the bottle in my bag. Soon the sound of glass being tapped against sounded, causing our talking to quiet as we looked over at Rick.

"It seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly," Rick said, standing.

"He is more than just our host," T-Dogg replied, holding his glass up. A couple of 'Hear hear' sounds throughout the room as everyone raised their glasses or bottle, I give a small grin to Glenn, tilting my head and holding up my cup of soda.

"Here's to you, Doc. Booyah!" Daryl said, sitting back down. Everyone murmured the same and went back to talking.

"So when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, doc?" Shane asked, an accusatory tone in his voice. I sat up a little straighter, still eating some of my food. Everyone went silent, looking between Shane and Dr. Jenner, eating their food slowly. "All the other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out what happened, where are they?" He tapped the rim of his glass, looking into the middle of the table. I set my utensils down.

"Shane, we can talk about this later, right now we're celebrating, let's just have this moment of joy and happiness," I told him, slightly exasperated.

"Whoa, wait a second. This is why we're here, right? This was your move. Supposed to find all the answers," he gave me a small stare down. I just stared at him right back, trying not to feel small against his stare. "Instead we," he gives a small empty chuckle, "We found him. Found one man. Why?" he asked, pointing at Dr. Jenner.

"Well, when things got bad, a lot of people just left, went off to be with their families, and when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted," he stared into the distance, having a blank look on his face. I understood though, hell, even I ran when the hospital was being overrun.

"Every last one?" Shane asked, not believing him.

"No, many couldn't face walking out the door. They," he gave a small pause, "opted out. There was a rash of suicides," I placed my arms on the table, setting my face in my palms. I felt sorry for him, having to deal with his co-workers leaving and the others killing themselves, it felt, awful. "That was a bad time," he looked down.

"You didn't leave," Andrea said, looking at him with sympathy. "Why?"

"I just kept working, hoping to do some good," he answered, I felt a small twinge of respect fall onto everyone.

"I get it, I mean, if I was in a building that could protect me and have a possible way to end this all, I would stay and do my hardest," I told Jenner, we locked eyes for a moment, nodding to one another softly. Glenn got up, looking right at Shane.

"Dude, you are such a buzzkill, man," sitting down next to me, holding my hand and grabbing it, placing a gentle kiss. I give him a small smile as we now ate in silence, finishing off our plates and drinks.

THE WALKING DEAD

"Most of the facility is powered down, including housing, so you'll have to make do here," Jenner said, giving us another small tour as we walked through the hallway, pointing at the various rooms. "The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like. There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy. Just don't plug in the video games, okay? Or anything that draws power," he told the kids, getting down to their eye level. Sophia and Carl nod, understanding. "The same applies," he pointed at us adults. "If you shower, go easy on the hot water," Glenn turned back at us, squeezing my hand in excitement.

"Hot water?" he asked in disbelief, smiling at us.

"That's what the man said," T-Dogg said, the three of us slightly jogging after him, trying to find a suitable room to stay in.

THE WALKING DEAD

I let the water run down my face, it was on a lukewarm setting, so it was bearable. I took in a couple of breaths, leaning against the wall, my arms covering my face. I closed my eyes tightly, feeling the grunge of everything that's happened come off. I felt a few tears escape, thinking about who we'd lost over the past month or so. Time felt so long and so short like it doesn't even exist now. I tried keeping track of everything but then the days seemed to merge like it was all one big moment. I washed my hair, and feel relieved they at least had that here. Things still feel tense, especially with how Shane has been acting, I don't know what happened since Rick got here, but he has not been his best. I shrug it off, feeling some light kisses pepper my shoulders, I look up, meeting a pair of brown eyes. I smile, giving him a couple of kisses.

"Glenn, I thought you were coming in after me," I joked.

"Couldn't wait, decided to join," he replied, I closed my eyes and deepened the kiss as he pushed me against the wall gently.

THE WALKING DEAD

I sat in my room, humming softly, drying my hair out as best as I could. I look at my new clothes, which were a pair of grey sweat pants, and a cream nightshirt, having my plaid jacket lay on the spot next to me, feeling like it was too warm to wear. I pop my neck, standing up and unclicking a button on my nightshirt, feeling like it was lightly choking me. Then I felt a cold feeling wash over me, I stopped at where I was, my hands shaking. Something is wrong. Something is very much wrong. I began to walk around, trying to find where everyone is or if someone at some point has seen them with another person. Then I saw Shane come out of a room, stumbling and angry, I pressed myself against the wall, trying to not be noticed as he walked down the other way. After a moment of waiting, I went into the room and saw Lori sobbing and holding herself. My heart stopped, seeing her on the ground. I sped up to her, pulling her into my arms as she cried, shaking and continuously telling me that she told him no and how he said that Rick was dead the entire time before Rick showed up. I held her tightly, murmuring that it wasn't her fault.

"Shane told me he died. You told me he died," she cried against my chest as we slowly sunk into the floor. I nodded slowly, brushing my hand through her hair.

"I know. I know Lori, We thought so, hell, I couldn't even detect a heartbeat and I'm a certified doctor," I told her, furrowing my brows, "That doesn't excuse what he did to you, what he did was wrong and is not your fault," I muttered to her, listening as she cried and repeated everything. We stayed there for a while until it was time to go back, making sure she was okay enough to walk, I gave her the bottled water I brought with me, having not noticed I even brought it while looking. She drank it, thanking me softly.

"Please don't tell anyone. Please don't tell Rick," she quietly begged, I nodded my head.

"Patient confidentiality, I won't say anything without permission or if you're bit," I told her, rubbing her arm. I walked her to the room that Rick and Carl shared, making sure it was safe. "I am right down the hall, if you need me, just come to my room," I told her, she nodded in response, entering the room. I walked back to my room after a minute of waiting to see if Shane was going to show up. I sat down on a cot, pulling my knees to my chest and Glenn laid back, resting. I rubbed at the bridge of my nose, closing my eyes and lost in thought. Since Shane tried to rape Lori, this was going to cause a rift in the group, especially with Shane not knowing that I know. I give a small sigh, getting under the covers with Glenn as he turned and wrapped his arms around me, I pressed my face against his chest, trying to calm my breathing.

"We're safe (Name), it's okay, we're safe," Glenn mumbled against my forehead, pressing soft kisses.

Are we safe when Shane is losing himself around us?

THE WALKING DEAD

"Hello," Rick said as he entered the cafeteria, I look up from my plate, smiling at him and rubbing Glenn's back softly as I sat across Lori. I continued eating my eggs and toast, attending to the two.

"Morning," I replied trying to get Glenn to eat.

"Are you hungover?" Carl asked Rick, having a small smirk as he ate some of his cereal. Lori looked over at him, having a small exasperated look on her face. "Mom said you'd be,"

"Mom is right," Rick answered as he put himself next to Lori, smiling at her.

"Mom has that annoying habit," she replied, eating her bacon. I give a small laugh, nodding.

"Extra annoying if it's coming from your mom while you're in med school," I told them, smiling faintly, remembering my mom calling one morning after seeing my posts on Facebook about my night out with a few colleagues after pulling off a good surgery.

"Eggs, powdered, but, but I do them good," T-Dogg said, coming from the corner with a pan. Glenn only groaned in response, I give him a small sigh, giving him some more water.

"Protein helps the hangover," T-Dogg said, I only nodded in response, agreeing with him.

"Thank you for cooking T-Dogg," I said, smiling up at him and trying to feed Glenn again.

"Where'd all this come from?" Rick asked, confused.

"Jenner," Lori and I replied in unison.

"Could you help me, please?" Rick asked, handing her a bottle of aspirin.

"He thought we could use it," Lori told him.

"Thank you," he responded.

"Some of us, at least," Glenn muttered, "Don't ever ever ever let me drink again," he said, looking at me with a small pained look.

"Not my fault you can't handle your alcohol," I joked, pressing a kiss against his head. He only groaned again in response, finally accepting some eggs, his face seeming to relax.

"Hey," Shane greeted, I glance behind me, watching him walk up.

"Feel as bad as I do?" Rick asked, trying to make small talk.

"Worse," Shane answered, pouring himself coffee. I take a small glance at Lori as she swallows her food slowly, looking only at her plate.

"The hell happened to you?" T-Dogg asked, looking at Shane with a worried look. "Your neck," he commented.

"I must have done it in my sleep," Shane responded, not looking at any of us.

"Never seen you do that before," Rick said, concerned for his friend.

"Me neither, not like me at all," he said, looking right at Lori. I bit the inside of my cheek, my grip on my fork tightening until my knuckles paled from how much I was gripping the fork.

"Sometimes people do things in their sleep all the time, doesn't mean that it's not unlike you," I responded, we had a small staredown, his attention now on me and not Lori, I felt the wave of relief hit her as he took his eyes off of Lori.

"Morning," Dr. Jenner said, joining us.

"Hey, Doc,"

"Doctor, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing," Dale began, looking up at him.

"But you will anyway," Jenner said, brewing himself a cup of coffee.

"We didn't come here for the eggs," Andrea said. Dr. Jenner turned to us, giving a small sigh, but nodding.

THE WALKING DEAD

We walked into the area where we first entered the facility and saw the actual building, looking up at the big screen.

"Give me playback of TS-19," Jenner said, clicking on the computer.

"Playback of TS-19," Vi replied, the screen turning on.

"Few people ever got a chance to see this," he told us, looking back at our group spread out. On the screen multiple scans of someone's or multiple people's brains were on display, I stared in amazement, only imagining what medicine would look like if we had these types of scans available at the hospital, "Very few," then a small montage of a person on the scan started playing, showing their brain and the pale outline of their body on the screen. I stood next to Carl, my eyes wide at the technology.

"Is that a brain?" Carl asked, confused and intrigued.

"An extraordinary one," Jenner tells Carl, leaning down to the boy. Carl smiled at him and looked at me back at the screen.

"Have you seen a brain?" He asked me quietly, amazed. I give a small smile back at him, ruffling his hair.

"Yeah, it was gross, you wouldn't wanna see one, it's slimy," I told him, wiggling my fingers at him, he gave a small laugh, the two of us looking back up at the screen.

"Not that it matters in the end," Jenner continued, giving a solemn look. "Take us in from E.I.V.," he told Vi, the computer immediately responding 'Enhanced internal view'.

We stared in silence as the screen went into the hologram of the brain, showing all the billions of neurons that scattered around in your brain, relaying each message that it needed.

"What are those lights?" Shane asked confusion and amazement in his voice.

"It's a person's life, experiences, memories. It's everything," Jenner explained, looking back at the screen, I gave a small gasp of awe, enjoying seeing how it's all there for us to see. "Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light is you," he pointed at us all, a small smile on his face. "The thing that makes you unique, and human," he explained to us all, the smile still there.

"You don't make sense ever?" Daryl asked him in a slightly condescending tone. I cleared my throat, looking over at him.

"He means that there's something in our brains that all make us unique, like how your parents always said you were special or similar wording," I explained, popping the knuckled on my thumbs. Jenner gave me a small nod, beginning to talk again, pointing up at the screen.

"Those are synapses, electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages. They determine everything a person says does or thinks from the moment of birth to the moment of death, Jenner finished.

"Death? That's what this is, a vigil?" Rick asked, walking over to him.

"Yes," Jenner said, sounding like he was far away, he then turned to us a bit, "Or rather the playback of the vigil,"

"This person died?" Andrea asked quietly, taking a couple of steps forward. I gave a slight frown, knowing what it was like to lose a patient.

"Who?" I asked him, looking at him, "If you don't mind me asking," I added, slightly backtracking.

"Test subject 19," Jenner said, sounding flat, "Someone who was bitten and infect, and volunteered to have us record the process," he sounded a little pained, I would have to question about that soon. "Vi, scan forward to the first event," the computer replied. A small beeping sound emitted throughout the room. Then the screen showed all the once light blue branches growing dark and black, I raised my hand to my mouth, having a small shocked expression.

"What is that?" Glenn asked, confused.

"It invades the brain like meningitis," Jenner said, the person on screen gasping for air, panicking, "The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs," as he said that the whole brain went dark, the body convulsing for a moment and then stopping, "Then death," he said solemnly, "Everything you ever were or ever will be," he gave a small pause, "Gone."

"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sophia asked Carol, looking up at her.

"Yes," she said, giving a small and strained smile. We all stayed quiet, looking around at each other, Glenn came up next to Carl and me, grabbing my hand and giving it a gentle squeeze, I squeezed his hand back, reassuring him as best as I could. Andrea choked back a sob, looking down, wrapping her arms around herself.

"She lost somebody two days ago, her sister," Lori told Jenner, a look of sympathy going towards the other woman.

"I lost somebody too," Jenner told her, "I know how devastating it is," the two share a small look, and he backed up a bit from her, standing straight. "Scan to the second event," he called out, Vi simply repeating what he said, "The resurrection times vary wildly. We had reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours. In the case of the patient, it was two hours, one minute, seven seconds," I watched in fascination as a red electricity-like cloud sparked up in their brain, biting on one of my fingernails.

"It restarts the brain?" Lori asked, appalled that it was doing something so outwardly.

"No, just the brain stem," I told her, "It's just getting them up and movin'," I explained, my eyes going all over the screen, trying to take as much information as possible.

"But they're not alive?" Rick asked, stepping closer to Jenner.

"You tell me," he replied, gesturing up to the screen.

"It's nothing like before, most of that brain is dark," Rick stated, trying to figure out if it was dead or not.

"Dark, lifeless, dead. The frontal lobe, the neocortex, the human part, that doesn't come back. The you part. Just a shell driven by mindless instinct," he said, we then watched as an object came into view, a bright flash going through the patient's head, and watching as it glided through the brain.

"God, what was that?" Carol asked, I stayed looking at the screen, not daring to take my eyes off of it.

"He shot his patient in the head," I stated, gently squeezing Carl's and Glenn's hands, "Didn't you?" you asked Dr. Jenner, looking over at him.

"VI, power down the main screen and the workstations," he replied, turning around and walking away. Vi repeated back what he said, turning everything off.

"You have no idea what it is, do you?" Andrea asked, leaning against one of the monitors, then she stood up and started doing a small circle around Jenner.

"It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal," Jenner listed off, his voice monotone.

"Or the wrath of God?"Jacqui said.

"There is that,"

"Somebody must know something, I mean, [Name] doesn't know and she's a doctor, you don't know and you're a scientist. Somebody somewhere," Andrea said, exasperated.

"There are other facilities, right Dr. Jenner?" I asked, hoping that he wasn't our only last hope. He looked at us then back down.

"There may be some, people like me," he answered, swallowing.

"But you don't know? How can you not know?" Rick asked, fear and anger lacing his voice as he stood up to Jenner.

"Everything went down communications, directives, all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month," Dr. Jenner answered Rick.

"So it's not just here," Andrea said, "There's nothing left, anywhere? Nothing?" She asked, trying to hope that this trip, despite it being a haven, was for nothing. "That's what you're really saying, right?" she asked.

"Hey, there might be something, we don't know, I mean for God's sake we were up at the Quarry when everything went to shit," I told her, trying to defend Jenner. Everyone stayed silent, Andrea only scoffed, shaking her head, and Jacqui gave a soft 'Jesus' at him not answering.

"Man, I'm gonna get shitfaced drunk again," Daryl said, about to head off, rubbing at his eyes.

"Dr. Jenner, I know this has been taxing for you and I hate to ask one more question, but, that clock, it's counting down. What happens at zero?" Dale asked, looking over at him.

"The basement generators, they run out of fuel," he turned around quickly, not trying to look at us. There's something else.

"Then what?" I asked, he walked away, not answering. "VI, what happens when the power runs out?" I ask, looking around the room.

"When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur," the computer system responded.

THE WALKING DEAD

"Decontamination, what does that mean?" Glenn asked as T-Dog, Shane, Rick, and I raced down into the basement.

"It means to remove anything hazardous, but I don't know why it's facility-wide," I answered, holding the flashlight tightly in my hands as I glared at the back of Shane's head.

"I don't like the way Jenner clammed up. The way he just wandered off like that," Shane said as we followed after Rick.

"What's wrong with him? Seriously, man, is he nuts, medicated, what?" T-Dog asked, fed up with how Jenner acted. We stopped to look at a map on the wall, and find the area we needed.

"In there," Rick said and we marched down the hall, flashlights turned on and pointing around. As we entered the room I felt around, feeling a switch and flicking it, the room lighting up. We turned off the flashlights and looked around, "T-Dog, Gleen, you check that way, [Name], Shane and I will check this way," I furrow my brows, biting the inside of my cheek, looking over at Glenn, he gave me a small sympathetic smile, not knowing why I didn't want to be grouped with Shane. We continue walking around, finally stumbling onto a generator using a canister. Rick went to move it, almost tipping it over. "It's empty," he muttered, the generator clicked, the lights go off and I quickly take a step away from Shane, almost bumping into the other compartments as the lights turn back on, except much dimmer this time.

"Emergency lighting on," VI said, her voice sounding throughout the area.

"What the hell?" Shane asked, then noticing how I moved, he raised a brow but decided not to ask as Glenn and T-Dog ran up to where we were.

"Hey, you guys kill the lights?" Glenn asked, spotting us.

"It just went out now," I told Glenn, looking at the meter, seeing how dangerously low it was.

"Anything?" Rick asked.

"Yeah, a lot of dead generators and more empty fuel drums than I can count," T-Dog replied, making it to where we were huddled up at.

"It can't be down to just that one," Shane said.

THE WALKING DEAD

We race back upstairs, seeing that everyone was getting back into the main area where we just watched the screening of TS-19.

"Rick?" Lori called down, we all halted in our tracks, looking up at them. I look back to see Dr. Jenner coming down the stairs and watching as everyone followed him, he only walked silently and quickly.

"Jenner, what's happening?" Rick asked, more demanding than anything.

"The system is dropping all the nonessential uses of power," Jenner replied, "It's designed to keep the computers running to the last possible second. That started as we approached the half-hour mark," he glanced at the clock on the wall, "Right on schedule," he took a large swig of whatever he held, handing it to Daryl who snatched it out of his hands. "It was the French," I furrowed my brows.

"What about the French?" I asked, grabbing Glenn's hand. "They were the last ones to hold out as far as I know," he answered Andrea's question from earlier, "While our people were bolting up the doors and committing suicide in the hallways, they stayed in the labs till the end. They thought they were close to a solution,"

"What happened?" Jacqui asked.

"The same thing that's happening here, no power grid, ran out of juice. The world runs off of fossil fuels. I mean, how stupid is that?" Jenner said, finally seeming to lose it.

"Let me tell you," Shane began to charge at him, Rick and I pushed forward to grab Shane before he did anything stupid.

"To hell with it, Shane. I don't even care," Rick said, turning to look down at where I stopped after grabbing Shane and then at his wife. "Lori, grab our things, [Name], grab anything you can that can help. Everybody, get your stuff, we're getting out of here now!" Rick ordered, his voice rising at the end as we all began to scramble away. A loud alarm started to sound throughout the room, I duck and covered my head, my eyes widening and tears threatening to fall out, I tried taking in some deep breaths and looking around.

"What the hell is that," I heard someone say, not seeing who said it. Everyone else stopped, looking around.

"30 minutes to decontamination," Vi called out.

"Doc, what's going on here?" Daryl yelled from where we were, which was halfway across the room, I shakily stood up, clinging onto Glenn's arm.

"Everybody, y'all heard Rick, get your stuff," Shane shouted over the alarms. Right as we ran to the doors they went up, locking us in. I stopped in my tracks. He's locking us in.

"He locked us in!" Glenn screamed turning around. Jenner sat down in an area, seeming to be talking to something. We all ran back up the stairs to where Jenner, Shane, and Rick were. There Daryl began to charge at Jenner.

"You son of a bitch!" Daryl hissed, wielding the drink from earlier, about to smash Jenner's head with it.

"Shane! [Name]!" Rick called, the two of us racing to hold onto him before he could make it to Dr. Jenner.

"Daryl, don't!" I yelled, holding onto one of his arms, trying to pull him off of the man.

"You locked us in here!" Daryl yelled, his anger coming off in harsh waves, he struggled against Shane and me, trying his best to continue at Daryl. I gritted my teeth, closing my eyes and making sure not to lose hold of the angered redneck, opening my eyes and glancing back at Dr. Jenner and the others, seeing T-Dog come and help Shane and me with holding Daryl back.

"Daryl, I know you're mad, I know you're really fucking mad, but you cannot attack him when he is the one who knows how to get us out," I tried reasoning with him as he continued thrashing around, he glanced around at the three of us having a semi-circle around him, keeping him in place and not allowing him to throw the wine bottle at Jenner. "You cannot be acting like this right now," I told him, glancing back to see Rick and Jenner arguing.

"Well open the damn thing," Rick almost yelled, frustration evident in his voice.

"That's not something I control. The computers do. I told you once that front door closed, it wouldn't open again. You heard me say that," Dr. Jenner said, not budging from his spot. Daryl stilled for a moment, before locking eyes with me, giving a small nod, finally not trying to charge after him. Shane, T-Dog, and I released our hold on him, finally going over to meet with the group. Everyone had various reactions and held onto those who they held close. "It's better this way," Dr. Jenner said, trying to convince us that this was the best way to go out.

"What is? What happens in 28 minutes?" Rick asked, getting close to Dr. Jenner. The scientist stared at Rick for a moment before turning and typing on his computer, not answering what Risk asked. "What happens in 28 minutes?" Rick yelled, shoving Jenner a bit.

"You know what this place is?!" Jenner screamed back, rising to his feet and almost going toe-to-toe with Rick, his face flushed an angry red, "We protected the public from very nasty stuff!" he screamed, walking a bit, looking at everyone. "Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out! Ever!" he screeched, spit flying from his mouth. We circled him, almost like a small moment of cat and mouse, yet it was hard to distinguish who was the cat and who was the mouse in this scenario. He sat back down after everyone stayed quiet, fluffing out his lab coat and making himself almost presentable again. "In the event of a catastrophic power failure, a terrorist attack, for example, H.I.T.s are deployed to prevent organisms from getting out," He explained, looking up at Rick and me.

"What, what is that? H.I.T.s?" I asked, furrowing my brows.

"VI, define," Dr. Jenner said, looking down.

"HITs, high-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives consist of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear," the computer defined. I stared at Dr. Jenner, horror was written on my face, and I felt my body grow cold. I took in a shaky breath of air, holding my hand to my chest, and hearing the cries of Carol and Sophia behind me. "The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen at between 5,000 degrees and 6,000 degrees and is useful when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired," I feel a hand on mine, looking to my side I see Glenn, I give it a small squeeze, soon wrapping my arms around him, tears threatening to pour yet I couldn't bring myself to even cry.

"It sets the air on fire," Jenner said, not daring to look at any of us, "No pain, an end to sorrow, grief, regret," he monologues, "Everything,"

THE WALKING DEAD

Daryl throws the wine bottle from earlier at the door to our exit, the bottle not even making a dent in the metal door. "Open the damn door!" he screamed, pointing behind him as he looked at Jenner. I stayed over by Lori and Carl, looking at the others trying to break the door down, watching as Shane ran at it with an ax, and just hearing the metal grind on each other. T-Dog tosses Daryl another ax, then Shane and he begins to continuously hit the door, not making any progress. The kids sobbed into their mother's arms, Carol crying alongside them, Lori and I didn't cry though, the two of us having lost expressions. I held my head in my hands, looking down at my lap, trying to think of anything that could help us get out without Dr. Jenner continuing his death speech.

"You should have left well enough alone, it would've been so much easier," Dr. Jenner said as Dale came over.

"Easier for who?" I asked, looking up from my lap, having my patience wear thin from everything around me.

"All of you, you know what's out there. A short, brutal life and agonizing death. Your, your sister, what was her name," he said, turning to Andrea. I felt my blood rise.

"Don't fucking talk to her," I hissed, standing on my feet, and walking to Andrea, gently placing my hands on her shoulder from where she sat. Andrea gave me a sad look, shaking her head.

"Amy," she replied, looking at Dr. Jenner.

"Amy," he repeated the name, "You know what this does. You've seen it, is that what you really want for your wife and son?" Dr. Jenner asked Rick, looking up at him from his chair.

"I don't want this," Rick said emphatically, turning away from Dr. Jenner and going over to Shane.

"Can't make a dent," Shane said, shaking his head.

"Those doors are made to withstand a rocket launcher," Dr. Jenner said, Daryl, making a speedy walk towards him.

"Yeah, well your head ain't," Daryl said, raising his ax and about to swing it down onto the man.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Daryl!" everyone screamed, rushing to hold the man back.

"Just back up! Back up!" Rick ordered as we pushed Daryl back, I turn back seeing as the other men carry him off, seeing Dr. Jenner stand.

"You do want this," he said, "Last night you said you knew it was just a matter of time before everybody you loved was dead," he was looking directly at Rick.

"What?" I heard Lori ask, her eyes glazed with tears, she looked between her husband and the scientist.

"You really said that?" Shane asked, anger lacing his voice. "After all your big talk?"

"I had to keep hope alive, didn't I?" Rick said, looking at his wife.

"There is no hope," Dr. Jenner began, "there never was," he tried convincing Rick.

"There's always hope. Maybe it won't be you, maybe not here, but somebody somewhere," Rick said, appalled that Jenner even tried convincing him that there was no chance of survival out there.

"What part of "everything is gone" do you not understand?" Andrea asked from her spot, she had already given up.

"Andrea," I mumbled quietly, shaking my head, "No, there is more out there, there has to be," I said, looking at Rick, and then back to Dr. Jenner. "There is more out there and you're taking it away from us,"

"You should really listen to your friend," Dr. Jenner said, shaking his head. "This is what takes us down, this is our extinction event," he ended, everyone stayed quiet or continued crying. My hands turned into fists at my side as I looked down, hot tears threatening to pour down my face. Glenn came up beside me, pulling me into his chest for a tight hug, trying to comfort me. I shook with hot anger, anger at Dr. Jenner and for planning all of our deaths without our voices, anger at the world for becoming what it is, anger at myself for not being the doctor I wanted to be. I just felt anger.

"This isn't right. This isn't fair. You don't get to play God because you gave up," I said, lifting my head from Glenn's chest, and pointing my finger at Dr. Jenner. "You don't get to force us to give up either," I shouted at him, the angry tears spilling out finally.

"One tiny moment, a millisecond. No pain," he said, trying to convince me. He already made up his mind.

"My daughter doesn't deserve to die like this," Carol cried out, shaking her head.

"Wouldn't it be kinder? More compassionate to just hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run down?" Dr. Jenner asked, a solemn look on his face. The sound of a rifle being cocked brought our attention to where Shane was, walking towards Dr. Jenner with a rifle.

"Shane, no!" Rick yelled, trying to block Shane.

"Out of my way, Rick!" Shane screamed back, "Stay out of my way," he pointed the gun right at Dr. Jenner, glaring down at him. "Open that door or I'm gonna blow your head off. Do you hear me?!" Shane screeched, I stood in front of Lori and Carl, Glenn standing in front of me. I glanced between the two men, not daring to move and grab a gun out of Shane's hands. Rick carefully walked beside Shane, gently pulling his arm.

"Brother, brother, this is not the way we do this. We will never get out of here," Rick told him, glancing back at the rest of us, his eyes softening seeing Glenn and me in front of his family.

"Shane, please, listen to Rick, if you kill him we can't get out," I spoke up, placing my hand on Glenn's back, looking at where Shane and Rick stood. "If he dies you run the chance of us never getting out," I tried convincing him. He faltered for a moment before screaming and shooting at the computers that were behind Dr. Jenner, everyone yelling in fear.

"Shane!" I screamed, ducking and still covering where Lori and Carl were sat at, trying to make sure nothing flew at them from his shooting. Rick pushed up the gun in Shane's arms, shooting at the lights above us, sparks shooting out. Rick punched him, and then shoved him down using his elbow, Shane falling onto the floor with a loud thud. Rick held onto the gun tightly, looking down at his friend. Lori stood up, everyone having a bewildered look at what had just happened.

"Are you done now? Are you done?" Rick asked Shane, holding the butt of the gun up in case he had to hit Shane with it.

"Yeah, I guess we all are," Shane said, an angered look in his eyes and something else that I couldn't quite put my finger on. I reached my hand out for Carl's giving it a tight squeeze before I helped him up, Glenn checking over us both. After a moment of silence, Rick handed the gun to T-Dog, glancing around at everyone. We stared at Rick in silence, scared to even speak in case something happened again.

Rick turned towards Dr. Jenner, "I think you're lying," he told the scientist, stepping back a bit.

"What?" Dr. Jenner asked, not understanding what Rick was saying.

"You're lying about no hope. If that were true you'd have bolted with the rest or taken the easy way out. You didn't. You chose the hard path. Why?" Rick asked him after his small declaration. I watched Dr. Jenner's movements, holding my breath.

"It doesn't matter," Dr. Jenner shook his head, Rick took a couple of steps towards him.

"It does matter. It always matters. You stayed when others ran. Why?" Rick pressed further, crouching down to look at Dr. Jenner eye-to-eye.

"Not because I wanted to. I made a promise," he pointed at the screen, "To her. My wife," he said, his voice quiet.

"Test subject 19 was your wife?" I asked quietly, holding onto Carl and Glenn.

"She begged me to keep going as long as I could," he shrugged, throwing his arms out a bit and they landed at his sides with a light slap, shaking his head. "How could I say no?" Pounding could be heard from Daryl trying to take the door down still. "She was dying. It should've been me on that table. I wouldn't have mattered to anybody. She was a loss to the world. Hell, she ran this place. I just worked here. In our field, she was an Einstein. Me? I'm just," he gave a small pause, "Edwin Jenner. She could've done something about this. Not me," he said defeatedly.

"Your wife didn't have a choice. You do. That's, that's all we want. A choice, a chance," Rick told him, trying to convince him one last time.

"Dr. Jenner please just let us have this one last chance," I begged softly, Lori hugging onto Carl tightly. Dr. Jenner looked at us all before locking eyes with me, nodding softly before looking right back at Rick.

"I told you topside's locked down. I can't open those," he made his way to his keypad, using his ID and passcode, unlocking the doors that held us in here in this room. The door opened quickly, Daryl lowering his ax.

"C'mon, let's go!" Everyone started saying, racing to the door. Glenn and I waited at the door, waiting to make sure everyone was coming. We glanced back, seeing Rick and Dr. Jenner still together, talking.

"Please watch him," Lori said, gently pushing Carl into my hands, I nodded, holding onto his shoulders and watching her run to her husband, grabbing him as he leaned back from Dr. Jenner. He had an expression I couldn't read before I glanced over at the clock.

"We have four minutes, let's go!" I yelled.

"I'm staying!" Jacqui said, pulling away from her husband. We stared at her, I felt my heart crack a bit.

"Jacqui," I began before she shook her head.

"There's no time to argue. Now get out. Get out," she said tearfully, backing away.

"Dog, come on, man," Shane said, grabbing T-Dog's arm, almost dragging him away. We turned away, racing to our rooms before I look and realize Andrea isn't there. I stop in my tracks, Glenn almost falling over.

"[Name], we gotta go," he said, glancing between the group and me.

"No, no, not without Andrea," I said, "Go get our stuff, I'll see you soon," I told him, leaning up and kissing him gently on the lips and racing back to the control room where Dale is standing with Andrea and Jacqui.

"Andrea, this isn't what Amy would want for you," I heard Dale tell her once I reached the pair.

"She's dead, and you need to leave," she said numbly, not looking at him.

"Please Andrea, we have to go, I can't lose you too," I told her, looking at the timer and our exit.

"Time's almost up," she said, watching the clock tick down. I held her hand, tears in my eyes, I blinked furiously, trying to not let them fall.

"You win," Dale said, I open my eyes, looking over at him, and he stood up and sat down in a chair.

"Dale, what are you doing?" I asked, furrowing my brows.

"I said okay," He's planning to stay too.

"Don't pull this, Dale," she glanced at me, seeing me sit down next to her, quiet, "[Name], don't do this too,"

"I'm not pulling anything, neither is [Name]. If you're staying, we're staying too. He's right. We know what's waiting for us out there. I don't want to face it alone," he stated.

"I don't want to face it without my sister, I don't care if we're not blood, we are sisters," I told her, holding her hand.

"Dale, [Name], get the hell out. I don't want you here," Andrea said, tears in her eyes as she began to lightly cry.

"No, no you don't get that choice," I told her, shaking my head, "You can't come into our lives and make us care and then check out. That isn't fair," I gripped her hand and she squeezed back.

"We're staying, the matter is settled," Dale and I sat quietly, tears dripping down my face as I tried to dry them up, biting the inside of my cheek. Yet, this was probably one of the safest choices that could be brought up for us, to just go out peacefully. The world will probably never get back to how it used to be, so what's the point of trying. But I still have Carl, who is learning so much, Glenn, who makes it so much easier day today, and Lori and Rick, the two feeling like the closest I have to parents that I could have. I can't leave them.

"I don't want to die here," Andrea admitted, looking at us.

"Then let's go," I told her, standing up and grabbing her hand, helping her up. Dale nodded, getting up. Dr. Jenner, grabbed my arm gently, pulling me to the side, a small look of comfort on his face.

"I am only telling you and Rick this, nobody else knows," he said quietly, leaning down and whispering in my ear, my eyes go wide as I look at him, feeling my mouth go dry.

"You're certain?"

"Yes, but I know you'll do great things Dr. [Name], now go, try and change the world," he said, gesturing to where Dale and Andrea stood, the group already having gotten their stuff. We raced down the hallway, seeing the glass broken from where they came out at. We raced to the cars before Lori screamed out at us to get down. We hid behind the sandbags and huddled over one another as the building exploded. I peeked my head out, looking over the bags at where we were at just a moment before.

"Holy shit," I muttered, helping Andrea and Dale into the RV before heading to the jeep Shane was in, breathing heavily. Everyone started the cars, heading back to where we came from.

"You made it [Name], you made it," Shane told me as I closed my eyes, taking in deep breaths and nodding, I choked out a cry, leaning my head onto the dashboard as he rubbed my back with his other hand, driving with the other. I continued to cry from how much has happened in the past couple of months, finally feeling the weight of it all hit me after that near-death experience.

I feel like I'm going to puke.

[freezerbnuuy]

Act 5:11- Like Wild Dogs (Page 2)

LORE | CHARACTERS | ABOUT / WARNINGS | CHAPTERS

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Katlego

"No, no, it's not that. It's just...I have something you ought to know that might have scared her. You see, I've heard around that Lord Volpe is planning something of a recruitment event."

Recruitment event? What kind of event would Volpe need to do when people are falling for his lies and begging at his feet to work for him? Even now, witchfinding is one of the only reliable sources of good money. 

"Surely he has enough people working for him!"

"I don't know, but it could be a good thing. Maybe there's more supporters of witches out there than we might think... Or maybe he's just too old to threaten teenagers into doing his dirty work these days."

Edwin has a good point. I do genuinely think that there are plenty of people who support us- after all, many had my back after the scandal concerning Samuel Annorin knowing I wasn't entirely working from ancient science. Trouble is, many fear that voicing their opinions will get them killed. Even Ellie is disgusted. Why is he rearing his ugly head now, of all times? It's been fairly quiet in terms of the topic of magic.

"He's holding it at his mansion not too far from here."

I was hoping there'd be some space between me having to step up like I told myself I would, but here we are. If I can mess with one billionaire, I can mess with another. I just don't think even Samuel's dark influence was anything compared to Volpe's.

Róisín

It's a little tricky, but I find my way to Willow Creek. It's much quieter here than it is in Henford, and much more affluent. Even the smaller houses look rather fanciful, and all the children are dressed in luxurious clothes. The Reyes household is easy to pick out - it's right on a corner. 

I knock at the door and tell the occupants that I come with their remedy, and a deep voice asks me to come in. There's an older man with long hair deep into his book, sinking back into his armchair. 

"Ooh, the plot thickens...Oh, sorry. Yes, just over there, please. I'll get your Simoleons in just a moment." He peers up from his book. "Ah. You must be new."

"You could say that. I'm Róisín. It's good to meet you, Gide-"

"Róisín?"

People are always surprised to hear my name. "Yes, it's not common here. I'm not originally from Henford-"

He squints at me, as if questioning himself. "I believe my son has mentioned you in passing before. You're Eli's niece, correct?"

"That's correct... What a small world."

"A small world indeed," he says, closing his book in one hand with a thud. "I do believe there's a possibility that I may have...known your grandfather, Brádach."

My mother has never spoken of Brádach outside of mentioning his name once or twice. I wonder why she's never spoken of him? I'm guessing he was likely burned, like my grandmother Saoirse was. This has me intrigued. Surely Katlego wouldn't be upset at me taking a little break after walking all the way here?

"If you have time, Mr. Reyes, do you think you could tell me about him?"

He closes his eyes and grunts to himself. I may regret asking this, but it would fill a gap in what I know about my family.

Everything I learn from Gideon is horrible - beyond horrible. It's no wonder Mother never spoke of Brádach. He struggles to even speak about it, his voice lapsing into a growling tone as he speaks of it all. 

He tried to stop my mother from learning about her magic in detail...and look at all the good that did for my father and aunt. Not only that, but he even underwent the Rite of Dissolution and had my mother burned, all to protect himself and remove suspicion. My feelings circle in my stomach like a group of vultures. 

and Gideon himself was a witchfinder...I try to withhold my anger, though I expected more of it given my blood. This man took the time to tell me about my grandfather and all of his actions, but he says it all with an air of regret. I did say to Aunt Clementia that I wanted to regain a connection with Peterism, and one tenet of Peterism is considering second chances...

There's something I need to get off my chest - and perhaps only he will understand.

"I'm angry, but I should be angrier," I tell him, my voice shaking. "I don't understand why."

Gideon gives me a slow nod. "I'm still furious at what he did to his own partner, and the way he threw so many people to the dogs, but...I must admit, Róisín, so did I. Something Brádach and I had in common...we both made drastic decisions to help us survive in a world that had no place for us. When the love of my life Ruth died giving birth to my children, money was rough; I'd lost my job to the industrial takeover, like so many people did."

I apologise to him. To lose your loved one like that must have hurt unimaginably...My mother and father are lucky to still have each other after all they've been through.

"And Brádach, well, he did everything he did out of fear. It doesn't excuse what he did at all, but I do believe it wouldn't have happened were it not for the state of the world that he was born into."

It pains me to think about it, but Gideon is right, in a way. It was his fault what happened, but there's a chance it may not have, had Brádach not had to feel such shame for his magic. If Gideon hadn't have lost his job to the growing industrial developments, then he may have just kept his prejudices to himself and never became a witchfinder.

I won't be like Brádach. I won't be ashamed, no matter what Volpe's witchfinders try. I won't throw my friends and fellow witches to the dogs. 

"The world is changing, Róisín. People are slowly beginning to open themselves up to the idea of witchcraft. Not everyone is afraid of Volpe - certainly not me. I've defied him a few times, and I'd gladly do it again." 

I can't imagine the sheer bravery it would take to defy someone so powerful, but a step forward is a step forward. I believe that Gideon is not the same man he once was - I could tell that in his voice and expressions. 

I want to ask him so many other questions, but I shan't leave Katlego waiting any longer. I thank Gideon for his time and head back to her. Perhaps the next time his remedy is due, I can ask him more questions.

[that-crazy-five-foot-two-chick]

Rated T for 1,107 words of EdWin FWP (Fluff Without Plot)

Summary: Edward would never read romance novels...in front of other people. He and Winry get into an argument over romance novels and somehow end up kissing. Except that they've never kissed before. So they're terrified. But then, what better to ward off terror than the need to avoid losing an argument?

A/N: Based on this prompt list of common misquoted idioms I made

Alphonse thought he'd settle in with his copy of Specialized and Little-Known Transmutations, 10th edition on the living room couch. After all, some light reading was in order that afternoon. What he did not expect to come across was a copy of Wrench to My Heart. What he expected even less was seeing it in his brother's hands. Surely there was no harm in inquiring about Edward's reading materials.

"What are you reading, Brother?"

Ed leaped out of his skin and hastily shoved the book into the seat cushion behind his back. "Nothing! Why do you think I was reading? I can't read!"

Al stared at him with a raised eyebrow until he realized his blunder.

"I mean. I only read alchemic texts. Most other stuff is just too boring. Except for comic books, maybe." Ed suddenly found everything in the room fascinating except Alphonse.

"So you're telling me that 'Wrench to my Heart' is an alchemic text."

"It's," Ed choked, "It's encoded! I was deciphering it!"

"Ed, I'm pretty sure that's definitely just a romance novel."

"Shut up!"

Their squabble was cut short when Winry came in, wiping her hands on her apron.

"What's going on in here?" she asked.

"Nothing!" was quickly followed by a gleeful "Ed's reading a romance novel."

"Oh! Well, that's unexpected."

"Was not!" Ed protested.

"What's wrong with romance novels?"

"They're. They're too sappy," Ed said curtly. "Besides, it's an alchemy book I was decoding. You wouldn't understand."

"Oh, I wouldn't, now? Let me see the author, then. Romance is a very misrepresented genre, and some of it is very good writing," said Winry.

Ed handed over the book sulkily. Winry examined the book and said, "This is actually a really well-known author, Ed. I doubt it's actually an alchemy book. It's a good choice, though. I've read some other books by that author, and I really like how her main characters tend to be in unconventional careers. If you weren't reading it seriously before, I'd highly recommend it. There's nothing wrong with a guy liking romance novels."

"But Winry—!"

Al chimed in with a smirk, "He skips to the kissing scenes!"

"NO I FREAKING DON'T, AL!" Ed howled. Winry crossed her arms and pointedly focused her eyes on the painting over the couch. "Well, what's so bad about kissing, Ed?" she shot back.

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong with it, it's just—"

"Then prove it." Winry challenged with a steely gaze.

Al snuck out of the room as the two glared at each other. The room was nearly sizzling with nerves, but Edward stood and strode up to Winry.

"Fine, if you want me to prove it, I'll prove it," he said with her face terrifyingly close to his own.

"Fine with me," she retorted unconvincingly.

Ed's breath was shaky as he leaned in to press his lips to Winry's. It seemed as though the walls and floor had shifted. As though everything had become fuzzy except for the feeling on their lips. After several seconds, he remembered that his lips were actually supposed to move. Winry's hands darted to his shoulders, giving him just enough courage to cradle her face as delicately as if it would break. She attempted to encourage him, but she ended up with his wet lips halfway to her nose. Her face scrunched in distaste.

Ed tilted his head back and scrutinized the situation. Winry bit her lip, avoiding his eyes. Then, without warning, he fitted his lips against hers again, kissing her agonizingly slowly. Agonizing, but far better in every possible way. A new wave of confidence surged through him.

Ed broke the kiss for a moment with wide eyes.

"Is that apple pie?" he asked, then dove back in.

"Are you going to—" Winry was interrupted by another kiss. "let me—" Another kiss. "answer your stupid question?" Ed answered by smirking and continuing to kiss her.

Winry shoved him away, gasping for air. Her face was beet red. Her eyes searched for something, anything to land on other than Ed. "The apple pie's in the kitchen—on the kitchen counter," she stuttered. "Go grab a slice."

Ed hummed and stepped forward, slipping an arm around her waist. His voice lowered to an almost gravelly pitch as he traced a shaking finger along her jawline. "Tastes better like this."

Winry inhaled sharply as he snatched up her lips with a hunger that was far deeper than a yearning for apple pie. Ed's hand tightened around her waist reflexively, and she melted into him. She threaded a hand into his hair, and he couldn't help but whine a little, startling her slightly. Taking Winry's distraction as an opportunity to breathe, Ed kissed her with a renewed vigor. He gripped her toned arm as if it would somehow bring their bodies closer together. As if it was the only thing that kept him grounded to the floor.

Then the floor echoed with footsteps.

Ed jumped away, if reluctantly, and pushed Winry an arm's length away just as Alphonse strolled into the room with an innocent smile.

"Did you see that Winry made apple pie, Brother? You should really try some."

Edward floundered for words. "I already—I mean, yeah, so people seem to love telling me. I should...go get some." He took a couple steps, then stumbled on air before sprinting into the kitchen, red-faced.

After a moment, Winry stammered, "I should, uh, make sure Ed doesn't eat all of the apple pie." She fled in the same direction.

A slice of apple pie sat on the kitchen counter. Ed cut a second slice and handed Winry the plate. "I thought I'd get one for you, too, since you made it." They stood in silence for a minute, eating their pie.

Then Ed burst out, "I don't know what happened to me, I just couldn't stop kissing you like some...lips-obsessed monster or something. I'm sorry. I should have had better control of myself. I should have made sure you actually wanted to. I know what made me do it, obviously. It's hormones. Just a bunch of chemicals. But that's no excuse for—" Winry lightly touched his shoulder, and whatever words he had fizzled out on his tongue.

"Ed. It's...it's okay." She fought to meet his eyes, summoning the courage to speak. "More than okay. Actually, um...do you want to...do it again sometime?"

Edward's jaw dropped, and he was certain his blush could be seen from a mile away.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Alphonse walked over to the book Ed had abandoned. "Hm, a kissing scene," he noted smugly. "What do you know."

*

*

*

A/N: I could not think of a title for Ed's novel for the life of me, so I had to come up with a place holder and brainstorm more. Rest in peace, Ooh La La Womance and Grease-Stained Embrace.

[hphmmatthewluther]

Matthew Luther and the Vault of Fear

Matthew Luther and The Vault of Fear

“Now, I know what you’re all thinking.” said Matthew, standing outside the door to the library.

“Please don’t worry, Matthew Luther,” said Tulip sweetly, “We don’t mind if you’ve done this to avoid the party in the Common Room.”

“You’re doing this to avoid a party?!” asked Barnaby, incredulously, “But parties are fun!”

“They...um...aren’t for me, okay?” replied Matthew, gazing at his feet. A few moments later, he looked up and brought his hands together. “Okay. Tonks, you’re up.”

The pink haired witch next to him nodded, entering the library with a large potted plant in her hand. Matthew, Tulip and Barnaby watched as she walked over to Madam Pince.

“What are you doing here Miss Tonks?” she said stiffly, “The Library is closed for the night.”

Tonks smirked. “What you really should be asking is ‘Why did I stuff my ears with Jelly Slugs.’”

Pince stared blankly. “E-Excuse me?”

Tonks brought her hand into the pot and pulled out a Mandrake, whose screech filled the air. Pince screamed, covering her ears, before running off out of the library.

“That’ll teach her to shush me.” Tonks muttered. Matthew, Barnaby and Tulip ran over.

“You and I would make a good team...” Tulip noted.

“WHAT?!” Tonks yelled as the Slugs squirmed in her ears. Matthew smiled, then turned to the others.

“Pince won’t be gone for long. Let’s go!” he said, pointing to the restricted section.

“This is it.” he declared, “Now, I’ll just-”

Suddenly there were footsteps. Matthew worried for a moment, but relaxed when he saw that it was Merula and Ismelda.

“Following me again, Luther?” Merula asked, sneering.

Matthew blinked. “I...you very clearly followed….are you...what?” he stammered.

“I...nevermind!” she snapped, “I want what’s inside the Cursed Vault. I’d thought I could sneak in while you were celebrating your victory...”

“But now we can watch you all bleed.” Ismelda said ominously. To everyone’s surprise, Barnaby stepped forward.

“Walk out the door, or I’ll, um...knock you through the wall.”

Merula stared. “Barnaby, you dolt. You can’t fight me.”

“It’s sort of my job to fight you.” Barnaby admitted. “Right?”

“But we don’t have to go there.” Matthew said, stepping between them. “Merula, I’m going to guess that this is between me and you.”

“Too right it is!” Merula declared, pulling out her wand. “Let’s go, Luther!”

Matthew sighed, before pulling out his own wand. Tulip noticed that he was smiling.

“Incendio!” Merula yelled, Matthew quickly dodging.

“This is a library, Merula!” he reminded her, “Depulso!”

She was knocked back, but didn’t fall over. “Petrificus Totalus!”

Matthew very narrowly dodged that one, turning to see it strike the Mandrake in its pot.

“Flipendo!” he yelled, knocking Merula back again. This time, she fell to the floor.

“Expelliarmus!” he said, a little quieter, as her wand flew out of her hands. “Well...that’s that, I suppose.” he said. Then, out of the corner of his eye he noticed Ismelda pull out her wand.

“Everte Statum!”

Barnaby moved in front of Matthew, but the Ravenclaw pushed him back. “Finite Incantatem!” he declared, sending the spell right back into Ismelda’s wand.

“Barnaby, move.” Ismelda ordered.

“No. I don’t take orders from you anymore.” he declared.

“Then you can suffer with your new friends...” she sneered.

“Right, I’ve had enough of this.” Matthew said, pointing his wand at Ismelda. From nowhere, a gust of wind overturned pages and knocked books off tables, and sent Ismelda flying out of the library.

“I won’t forget this, you son of a-” she said, the slam of the door cutting her off. Barnaby gave a sigh of relief.

“Thanks, Matt.” he said, wiping his brow, “That was a close one.” Matthew nodded in return before moving over to Merula, still on the floor.

“...You...” she began, “You’re great at Duelling, at Quidditch...you can even grow your hair long in just two weeks! What is it with you?!”

Matthew sighed, and held out his hand. “I got lucky.”

Merula scowled, pushing his hand out of the way and getting to her feet. “Whatever, Luther...” she turned to leave, as Tonks and Tulip opened the door to the Restricted Section.

“Where are you going?” Matthew asked, “I thought you wanted to see the Vault.”

Merula stared at him, confused, as did the others. “But...but I...”

“You’ve got this far, haven’t you? You were able to memorise everything in Jacob’s room,” Matthew reminded her, “I just thought it’d be a shame for all of that to go to waste.”

“Matthew Luther, what are you thinking?!” Tulip hissed.

“It’s fine.” he reassured her, “Besides, I’ve got this, haven’t I?” he brandished Merula’s wand in front of them. “Come on, Merula.” he beckoned, entering the Restricted Section.

“Oi!” Merula yelled, running in after him.

“Ooh, wait for me!” exclaimed Barnaby, following on.

“Is it always like this?” Tonks asked, “‘Cause if so, I’m a fan.” Tulip merely shook her head, and closed the door behind them.

“So here we are...” Matthew said to himself, looking around the chained bookshelves. “Look at this place!”

“Wow, I didn’t know fire came in blue!” Barnaby said excitedly.

“You’ve seen one forbidden library, you’ve seen them all.” Merula said, unimpressed.

“Ooh!” squealed Tonks, “I could get into all sorts of trouble with these books...”

Tulip nodded. “Now, your brother’s notes said that the book will reveal the entrance to the Cursed Vault. But how?”

“I don’t know.” Matthew confessed, “But we ought to hurry. Let’s split up, and look through everything. And be careful,” he added, “There might be Boggarts.”

They all turned and started looking. A few minutes passed, and Matthew found himself near Merula. She ignored him.

“Um, you can have your wand back, if you’d like.” he said, moving it towards her. “It’s very nice.”

Merula eyed it cautiously, then took it. “You’re an idiot, Luther.”

“Whatever you say.” Matthew said, looking through the bookshelves. Merula looked down at her wand,then at Matthew.

“Why do this? Why let me join you?” she asked, moving forward.

“Because...” Matthew began, “I know how irritating it is to leave a question unanswered. It’s the worst.”

Merula nodded. “Yeah, it is...”

Matthew smiled. “You know, I don’t know how my hair grew so fast. I just woke up on  Christmas and there it was.”

“That is just...” she stopped mid sentence as she traced a blank space in the bookshelf. “This is the only space there is...” she said, looking back over the other shelves.

“You’re right!” Matthew declared, pushing the book into the slot. There was a rumble, as some of the shelf lifted up into the air, which was illuminated by blue candles. In front of them was a large, wooden door.

“You did it!” Tonks exclaimed.

“Right, come on.” Barnaby said, “If I know Ismelda she’ll have gone and got Snape.”

“He’s right, for once.” Merula admitted. “Let’s go.”

Matthew nodded, and pushed the door open. It was remarkably similar to the Ice Vault, though this time the knights were covered in ghostly outlines of various figures. Voldemort, hooded figures, Acromantula, Werewolves, Dragons, even Lightning. In the middle of the room was a glowing pillar.

“So this is a Cursed Vault.” said Merula, eyeing the images on the walls. “Smaller than I thought...”

“Proper spooky, though...” Tonks said, grinning.

“Ooh, hello knights!” said Barnaby, waving.

“They don’t seem to be enchanted in any way I can see...” Tulip observed.

“Right, let’s deactivate this curse, shall we?” said Matthew, leaning forward.

“Wasn’t as creepy last time...” he muttered to himself as he moved towards the pillar.

“Does anyone else feel sick?” Tonks asked, clutching her stomach. Suddenly, there was a voice.

“Nox.” it said, and the lights around the room were extinguished.

“That was...” Matthew began.

“Voldemort.” said Merula and Barnaby. Suddenly the room rippled and pulsated, and five shapes moved into view. Two of them appeared as Voldemort, one became a hooded figure without legs, one split into a copy of Matthew and Merula with hate-filled eyes, and the central shape turned into a cloud of smoke, which lingered in the air.

“Boggarts.” whispered Matthew. There was a flash, and each were face to face with their own Boggart. He heard cries of Riddikulus, and raised his own wand, but his attention was caught by Merula. The hooded figure leered over her, and it looked like it was sucking her soul out. Matthew didn’t think, and pointed its wand at the Boggart.

“Flipendo!” he yelled, knocking the thing onto the floor. He turned, and felt the cloud of darkness rush over him before he could do anything to stop it. He couldn’t see a thing, and felt the void solidify around him, choking him. For a moment, he saw Edwin in front of him, cackling.

“Lookin’ pretty hopeless, my guy.” he chuckled, before fading into the dark.

“No!” he heard someone say. He felt his wand vanish from his hand, then his bracelet, as breathing became very difficult.

“Luther, do something!” Merula yelled, but he saw nothing but darkness. “Fight it!”

“I...I can’t...” he wheezed, “It’s just...I have to...accept...”

“Bull! Please, you’ve got to fight it! I can’t help the others without you!” she shouted, as Matthew felt his eyes close.

“Please! Please!”

“Please!” said a seven year old boy waving a large stick he’d found in the garden around, “Just one spell!”

“I’m sorry, Pip. You’ll have to wait until you go to Hogwarts for that.” said Jacob Luther as he packed his schoolbag.

“But that’s not fair!” Matthew said, throwing down his stick, “That’s years away, I can’t wait that long!”

“I managed it, and I reckon you can too.” he said. Jacob paused as he eyed a book nearby. “Besides, you don’t actually have a wand.”

“I know that!” Matthew said, standing on the bed, “Aren’t there any spells that don’t need wands?.”

Jacob stared at his little brother. “Alright, Pip. There’s one spell I know that doesn’t need a wand. But you can’t tell anyone, alright?”

Matthew nodded as much as his little head would let him. “Yes, yes! What is it?!”

Jacob opened the book and turned to a page with an image of a cupboard on it. “Sometimes, Pip, scary things can’t be laughed away. They’re too much, or too scary for that. Instead of making something funny, we can make it hopeful. And that’s what this is for.”

Matthew stared at his brother. “I thought it’d be a cool spell, like a ball of fire or an ice-cream maker.”

“Anyway, this is it. It’s called the Gratia Salutaris. You just focus on your hand and think of everything you hold dear and couldn’t bear to leave, and then it works.”

“Cool!” said Matthew, “Hmm...what do I hold dear...Mum and Dad...you...the cat....the telly...”

“Merula...” Matthew breathed, the void suddenly retreating from his neck. “Rowan…” he could open his eyes again. He still couldn’t see anything, but it was a start. “Penny, Bill, Tonks, Tulip, Barnaby, Chiara...” there was another retreat. Matthew stared at his hand. It was glowing.

“Gratia Salutaris.” Matthew whispered. The void instantly flew back, glowing. A wave of light flew through the Vault, resting on the torches and illuminating them again. Matthew watched the two Voldemorts transform into a man in his sixties with the robes of a Defence against the Dark Arts teacher on. They smiled at Barnaby and Tonks before vanishing. The copies of Matthew and Merula stopped, and winked at each other before vanishing. The hooded figure (which Matthew now realised was a Dementor) was gone. He would have turned around to see it, but his attention was caught by his own Boggart, which had transformed into a large glowing rectangle. When he turned around, Merula’s boggart had vanished. From the look on Merula’s face, he didn’t need to ask what it had turned into.

“Matthew...” she said quietly, and a little confused. “What was that?”

“Who was that man?” Barnaby asked, “and why did he say I was a pleasure to teach?”

“He told me my abilities were incredible!” Tonks exclaimed.

“So what’s...that?” Tulip asked, pointing to the rectangle. Matthew stepped forward. He couldn’t make heads or tails of it. But then, in the glow, the dark outline of a man appeared. He knew then what it was.

“Sorry about the noise.” the man said, “You’re Matthew, right?” As Matthew nodded, Merula noticed he had been mouthing everything the man had just said.

“You’re safe now.” he said, “You’ve got a long journey ahead of you, though. This ought to help.” his arm stretched forward, and revealed Matthew’s silver bracelet and wand. He took it and put it back on.

“Th-thank you.” he said weakly. “W-Wait! Who are you?! Why did you help me?!”

“It was time I made the right decisions in life.” the man declared.

“That’s what you said last time!” Matthew said, exasperated.

“I best be going, now.” said the man, “Good luck, Matthew Luther.” It was then that the group realised that it wasn’t just a rectangle, as next to it was a white wooden door. The man brought his hand to the handle and pulled it shut. Then, they were back in the Vault.

“What was that...” said Tulip, “Who was that...”

“I don’t know.” Matthew said, “I didn’t know when I was six, either.”

“He looked familiar...” said Merula, her lips pursed.

“Maybe it was Father Christmas!” suggested Barnaby. There was muffled laughter, as Matthew cleared his throat.

“Is everyone okay?” he asked, “What I saw of your Boggarts...”

The group nodded, though they all had worried looks. “Matt...” said Tonks, “We’re fine. You’re the one we ought to ask about.”

“It was like you were being crushed...” said Barnaby. “It was awful. I’d never seen Merula scream that much.”

“Yes, well, um, you’re alright now, right?” she asked, her cheeks slightly pink.

“I’m just fine, Merula.” he said. “Thank you for asking.”

She gazed down at the floor. “Can we just find out what’s in this Vault?!”

Matthew smiled. “I’d like nothing more. After all, we’ve got a party to go to. After this I don’t exactly mind.”

[thotwonu]

‘til the casket drops... pt. 1

the rest of Katia’s day went normally. her mind kept circling back to the boy who would come in earlier. she could practically hear her sister’s voice telling her to go to the old mayor’s estate house down the block and make up some reason to talk to the man some more. actually...Katia picked up her phone and called her sister. “what have i told you about that Maya?” she huffed as soon as her sister answered. her sister’s giggle tinkled across the phone. “don’t think so loud and maybe i wouldn’t be able to hear your thoughts.” Katia’s eyes shot up to the door where her twin sister was leaning.

the squeal that spilled from her lips was something she would deny to her grave, but she ran across the store and tossed herself into her sister’s arms. “fuck i’ve missed you!” Katia just held onto her twin for a second and let her calming aura fill her. it only lasted a second though because the comfort of family was overwhelmed by the thrumming of excitement in Amaya. “alright, spit it out. what’s got you so excited? also why are you even home? what happened to mr. muse or whatever his name was?” Amaya was jumping, practically vibrating. her aura around her was pulsing like a disco light, Katia almost had to squint to look at her sister. “he came home with me!” Katia’s eyes grew wide. her stomach flipped and for a second she wondered if the man she’d met earlier had been her sister’s musician friend and her stomach dropped. “god Kat no! he was a friend of my boyfriend’s but no. Brandon is sooooo not my type. i mean i’ve only met the guy like once but still.” 

the way Amaya rolled her eyes before smirking at her sister made Katia wanna hide. “you really liked him?” Amaya’s eyes sparkled with mischief and Katia just turned around and walked back behind the counter with her sister hot on her heels. “i don’t know what you’re talking about Maya. who is Brandon?” Katia winced at her own words. anyone who has ever had a sister knows how nosy the can be. but having one that could actually read your mind, literally the worst. “oh my god Kat, you’re ridiculous. c’mon, let’s close the store early and head over.” Katia turned to face her sister with terror in her eyes, “nope, no thanks. i’m good.”

***

meanwhile in the mayor’s estate...

when Brandon made it back to the house he could have sworn he saw Katia walking out of the house, except this girl had her hair down and was wearing a completely different outfit, and also there was no way Katia could have made it to the house before him. he walked inside and noticed Edwin standing in the doorway and pointed at the girl, “who is-??” the smile on Edwin’s face told him enough. Brandon’s stomach dropped. if that was Katia, why had she given him her number before? “her name is Amaya, she’s kinda the one who hooked us up with the place. her family is from here. she missed her sister, so when we started talking about vacation i suggested here to Austin and he found this place and she hooked us up with the mayor for a discount.” Edwin was sitting on a couch with stars in his eyes, or maybe hearts? Brandon laughed to himself and sat next to his friend, “so you’re the real reason why we’re in Halloweentown.” Edwin’s grin didn’t slip from his face, “dude, i think i love her.”

Brandon’s look softened. “she clearly makes you happy dude. how long have y’all been together? i didn’t even know you had a girl.” his friend’s face fell a little, “it’s been a few months, you actually met her once, but B, you’re barely around anymore. no one can get you out of the studio. this vacation is lowkey our intervention. we want our boy back.” a hum of agreement came from the doorway, “man we’re proud of you for everything you’re doing, but you’re a damn workaholic.” Zion sat himself on the couch across from them and looked around the room. “i really wish this wasn’t where we came for this damn thing though. this house gives me the fucking creeps.” Brandon had to admit, though the rest of the town looked modern enough, this house was creepy as hell. the Victorian architecture was stunning, but the furnishings were so old world that Brandon kept feeling like the pictures were watching him and that he might break something.

realizing he still had his bag in his hand from his little shopping trip he held it out from Zion, “speaking of you. i was in town and i found this little like spice shop thing, anyway, the girl who worked there sold me some stuff to help you and Nick sleep. she said this should help with the nightmares you’ve been having too,” he handed Zion a little bottle of blended oils. Zion raised  an eyebrow skeptically, but accepted the bottle. “thanks man, i guess i’ll try it tonight.” next to him Edwin was bouncing in his seat with the grin back on his face, “so what’s she like? Amaya talks about her all the time. she owns the store by the way, she doesn’t just work there.” it took Brandon a minute to figure out what the fuck Edwin was on about. when the light bulb clicked on he blushed and ducked his head, “so they are twins then.” Edwin laughed and clapped his friend’s shoulder, “is that a blush? bro, that’s adorable.”

Zion was grinning on the couch across from them, “tell us about her then. if she looks like Amaya we know she’s pretty. but what’s got you blushing lover boy?” both of the boys leaned in closer to Brandon trying to see what they could get outta the boy. “ooh, Brandon met a girl? what a miracle.” a third voice entered the room and Brandon groaned hiding his face in his hands. “are we teasing B? this is my favorite game.” the final member of their quintet entered the room and Brandon wanted the couch to suck him into it like a black hole. “Brandon met Maya’s twin and she’s got him all blushy,” Z offered to Nick and Austin who had found spots on the couch next to him. 

“did everyone know Amaya but me?” Brandon asked trying to change the subject even a little. “like Edwin said earlier, you been MIA bro.” the boys around the room got a little quiet and nodded. “we could all see you slipping away into the work B. you’ve been missing so much.” Austin’s sad but supportive smile made Brandon sigh. “i really didn’t realize. i’m really sorry guys.” Nick smiled at the group, “look at us. all 5 of us together in one room! honestly like, you’d think we didn’t all live together regularly with how little we all hang out anymore.” the other guys laughed as a sense of brotherhood settled over them. “oh yeah, dude, i got you some stuff at the shop too.” he pulled out the shower melts and handed them over to Nick. “Katia said that if you put one of those in the shower with you the vapors should help get you to sleep.” his friend nodded, “honestly, if we weren’t in this creepy ass house it’d probably help too.”

a knock on the door pulled the boys out of their comfortable banter. “don’t think you’re off the hook tellin’ us about you’re new girl bro,” Nick said hopping off the couch and going to open the door. there was no one there, but a weird note was taped to the door. “okay, i’m ready to leave this town. it’s creepy as hell,” Zion said reading the note over Nick’s shoulder. it was in weird calligraphy and on faded paper. “literally someone translate this shit please,” Edwin said throwing his hands up in the air. “it says, stay away from she who walks in darkness. the river is stronger than she appears, death to those who are entranced by her beauty. the darkness hides in her waves,” Austin said before looking up at the boys who were all giving him funny looks, “what? i took a calligraphy class in high school. it’s not that hard to read.” Brandon ignored the weirdness that was Austin, before turning back to the note, “so the town has a killer mermaid?”

the group broke out into various theories about what the note could possibly mean. “i told you we shouldn’t have come to this creepy ass town,” Nick yelled above everyone. “you can’t really believe that there’s something supernatural going on here?” Edwin scoffed at his friend. “maybe not supernatural, but there is some nut job out there who thinks so,” Zion backed up Nick’s earlier statement. “guys, it’s probably just some kids playing a prank, this houses is known for being haunted, they’re probably just trying to freak us out because we’re tourists basically,” Austin argued back. “Katia, mentioned this place was called Ye Olde Haunted House...” Brandon shrugged. “it’s not actually called that,” Austin rolled his eyes and made the boys all sit down while he told the story of the house.

he cleared his throat and put on mood lighting, turning all the lights down and lighting some candles. “listen if Austin starts chanting i’m out,” Edwin said pointing to the door. Austin flipped him off and began the story. “when the town was first founded, this was the governor’s mansion, nowadays that position is the mayor, anyway so he lived here with his wife and three sons, and it was during the witch trials, there was a lot of tension between the locals because accusations were being tossed around. basically the eldest of the three sons was seduced by a local girl, her name has kinda been lost, but basically she wasn’t noble, and when she got pregnant, she was accused of witchcraft. like in the sense that the only way a highborn man would sleep with her was if she used magic, anyway she fled before her trial and wasn’t heard from ever again. the eldest son married a rich girl and they had a son. within a year every man in the entire family was dead. the rumors now are that those men haunt this house, and that they died because the scorned witch girl put a curse on the family.”

“that doesn’t explain the killer mermaid in the note dude,” Brandon piped up. Austin rolled his eyes, “i don’t know dude. i only do ghosts, not killer mermaids.” the boys all groaned and rolled their eyes. “as fun as this has all been, i’ve got a girlfriend to go hang out with,” Edwin stood from the couch and waved as he walked to grab a coat. “what the fuck man! this is supposed to be a boys trip! she’s supposed to be visiting her sister!” Nick yelled from the couch. “we can all hang out later! i’ll have her bring Katia so Brandon can get all blushy again,” Edwin teased as he walked out the door.

Brandon thought about seeing the girl again and didn’t mind at all. he took out his phone and sent off a text, apparently, my best friend is dating your sister, so you wanna hang tonight with us at the big bad haunted mansion? her response was quicker than he expected, my sister has already informed me that i don’t have a choice in the matter. don’t drink anything she offers you though... Brandon laughed at the message and sent off a few more texts before pocketing his phone. he thought again about the note that had been taped on the door. “hey what’s Amaya and Katia’s last name?” he asked the boys who remained. “Rivera, why?” Zion said looking away from the corner of the room he’d been staring at suspiciously for a few minutes. Brandon shrugged it off... 

Katia and Amaya Rivera...

[rockbelric]

Birthday Misses

Happy 503 Day!! Edwin Week Day 3: Choose your own prompt!!

Summary: It’s her birthday and she was going to enjoy it with the people she loves, even if Edward was missing. Happy 503 day!!

Rated: K+ 

Enjoy!! Let me know what you think!!

Mr. Garfiel is able to convince Winry to help close up shop a little early today. After all, it is her birthday and he wants to take her out to dinner to celebrate. Unfortunately, all her friends and family were spread out across the country (and world) so it would probably just be her, Garfiel, and Paninya. Not that she was complaining! She had gotten many birthday calls, letters, and presents from loved ones. She’s a popular girl after all.

But to be honest Winry is a bit bummed that she still hasn’t received any recent letters, phone calls, or diddly squat from a certain someone. Someone who promised her half of his life the last time she saw him but was so dense she sometimes had to wonder. Like today. Edward hadn’t reached out to her all day, and it was almost evening. She knows he’s all the way in Aerugo, in a completely different time zone, but she had hoped he would’ve at least thought of her on today of all days! Even Al, who’s in Xing, called her and wished her a happy birthday! What is she going to do with this idiot?

“Alright Sweetie, let’s get upstairs and clean up. We have a dinner reservation to get to!” Garfiel rests a hand to his cheek as he laments, “I do hope Paninya has something appropriate for the occasion.”

“Mhm.” Is all Winry says, a little downhearted. How could he do this to her? All she wanted was a little recognition that he’s thinking of her? Is that too much to ask?

Trudging upstairs to the tiny apartment she sublets from her boss, Winry pulls her bandana off and sighs. She’s not gonna let one tiny little thing ruin her day dammit! So what if she hasn’t heard from Ed today! He sends her plenty of letters and photos and he calls when he gets a chance to, he may not be consistent, but at least he tries.

Opening her front door, Winry immediately notices that someone is already in her apartment. Instead of running downstairs and getting Mr. Garfiel Winry grabs her wrench and calls out. “Hello?”

She hears footsteps approaching and suddenly Alphonse is walking out of her kitchen, wearing a three-piece suit and a huge smile on his face. It takes a couple seconds for her to process what she’s seeing before she screams and runs to him.

“Al!” Grinning so hard her cheeks hurt Winry jumps into his arms. He beams back and gives her a giant hug.

“Hey Winry!” Al laughs, pulling her back so he can look at her properly. “Happy Birthday! Sorry if I scared you, it was supposed to be a surprise.”

“How did you get here? I thought you were in Xing?” She exclaims.

“Well when I called you this morning I was actually having breakfast at Granny’s in Resembool. I got on the afternoon train to Rush Valley, and now here I am.”

“So, why’d you come all the way over here?” Her eyebrows knit in confusion.

“For your birthday, silly! I came to visit you!”

“Aw, you didn’t have to come all the way over here just for little, old me! I’m not that important.” She slaps his arm playfully.

His angry face is comical to say the least. “What are you talking about? You’re my best friend! Of course, you’re important!” He huffs.

She blushes and thanks him, hugging him again because, gosh, she missed him. Xing has done wonders on Al, he looks leaner and sharper. “God, look at you Al! You look like a man!”

“Hey! What did I look like before?”

“Like a little baby boy. My how you’ve grown up!” She presses her hands to her cheeks, closing her eyes.

“Look who’s talking, you’re the one turning a year older today, not me!”

“Are you calling me an old lady?” Winry glares at him.

Quick as a whip, Al teases back, “No, I’d say you’re more midlife than old

“I’ll remember that for your next birthday, Alphonse.”

“Oh! Before I forget, I brought presents!” He walks over to his duffel bag and fishes around. He pulls out a couple packages wrapped in white paper out, handing them to her with a wink.

“For you.”

“Ooh!” Clapping her hands, Winry’s tears into them, eager to see her gifts. “Oh, Al it’s beautiful! I love it!” She pulls out a long, blue silk dress with a golden dragon embroidered down the side.

“You’re welcome, I picked it out myself. I thought the colors would look beautiful on you. Plus, I thought Brother would appreciate the dragon.” He snickers. She giggles at the mention of Edward. Oh right, she almost forgot all about her predicament with him.

“Have you heard from Ed lately?” Winry tries not to seem too eager.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Alphonse casually answers, “Yeah, a couple days ago actually.” Her eyes show the slightest bit of strain behind them, “Why, you haven’t spoken to him today?”

Wiping her sweating hands on her coveralls, Winry shrugs, “No, I figured that he was busy, or traveling today.” Al’s mouth hangs open in surprise. “l guess he forgot.”

“That idiot,” Alphonse looks up as he pinches the bridge of his nose. Glancing at his watch he lets out a long exhale, “You should probably get ready, we have a dinner reservation to get to.” and gently pushes her towards the bathroom.

He shuts the door before she can get another word in. Fighting the urge to go back outside ask Al more questions about his brother, Winry reaches into the shower and turns the knob all the way to hot. She cleans up and puts on her cutest little summer dress. It’s her birthday and she was going to enjoy it with the people she loves, even if Edward was missing. Suddenly a horrible thought comes to her.

Stepping out of her bedroom she finds Alphonse and pounces on him, “What if something’s wrong Ed? Maybe that’s why I haven’t heard from him today. He could be hurt or in trouble and there’s no way for us to know!”

“Huh? I’m sure he’s fine, this is Edward we’re talking about, he’s just an idiot.” He calms her down, “Don’t worry, we’ll probably hear from him soon, just give it some time.”

“How do you know? Are you hiding something, Alphonse?” She puts her hands on her hips, glaring at him with suspicion.

“Wha- no, of course not!” Flustered, he checks his watch and then grabs his dinner jacket, “Come on! We’re going to be late!” Stopping to help her into her own jacket, they close up her apartment.

They meet downstairs with Garfiel and have to wait an extra few minutes for Paninya. She complains about the outfit Garfiel made her wear, and he bats her hand when she tries pulling at the blazer. “But I hate sleeves!”

Ignoring her whining, Garfiel looks Al and Winry up and down, “Well, aren’t we a sharply dressed group of people?” He smiles at them and leads the way.

The restaurant is busy and bustling, but they sat quickly thanks to their reservation. Paninya and Winry gape at the menu prices but Garfiel assures them it’s his treat. He immediately asks for a bottle of wine and it doesn’t take long for the group to loosen up. By the time they’re finished eating, they’re all groaning in their seats, their stomachs completely full.

“Mmm, that paella was heavenly.” Al wipes his mouth with his napkin and waves down the waiter, “Can we have more wine, please?”

“Oh, Alphonse, are you trying to get me drunk?” Garfiel bats his eyes while Winry and Paninya laugh at Al’s horrified reaction.

“Mhm, I’m starting to feel it too,” Winry sits back and swirls the wine in her glass before taking a sip.

“Oh, Winry, before I forget, Ridel and Satella were asking if you wanted to come to dinner at their house tomorrow, you too Al!” Paninya finishes off her glass.

“Sure! I’ve been meaning to visit them and if Al wants to come too?” Winry looks at him for approval.

“Yeah, I can’t wait to see the baby! I haven’t seen him since he was born!”

“Perfect! I’ll let them know-” She’s cut off by the waiter setting a large pastry down on the table and that’s the queue for the entire group to burst into a birthday song for Winry. Clapping along, the birthday girl looks around the table at her friends and her heart is filled with so much joy and happiness. Closing her eyes, Winry wishes that Edward is safe and sound wherever he is and that she hears from him soon. Al and Paninya erupt into cheers as she blows out the candles. Somehow, everyone manages to find extra space in their tummies because the cake is wiped clean off its plate in a matter of minutes.

After dessert, Mr. Garfiel pays, and their little group sets off back to their apartments. Passing by a bar that is packed and lively, Alphonse hooks his thumb over his shoulder, turning to Winry and Paninya. “Do you guys want to grab a couple drinks before we head back, it looks pretty fun in there!”

“Oh, Alphonse, now I know you’re trying to get me drunk!” Garfiel teases the boy again. “Unfortunately, I can’t. I have an early morning tomorrow. But you go ahead! Don’t let me stop you!”

He waves goodbye as the three of them walk in and find a cozy table in the back. They tell each other stories about what’s been going on in the past few months, Al regaling about Xing and all its wonders. They even order some shots that burn going down.

“How can you drink that stuff Al? It’s so strong and bitter!” Winry wrinkles her nose and sticks her tongue out.

Laughing, Al brings the glass of whiskey to his lips, “Trust me, the alcohol they have in Xing is way stronger than this!”

“You sound like an ambassador the way you talk about Xing this, and Xing that!” Paninya teases him, “I’m surprised you didn’t come back riding a panda!”

They all crack up, wiping their eyes. “It’s funny you mention that because I did-”

“Oh my god! Don’t tell me you actually rode one!” Paninya leans forward, her shoulders shaking with amusement.

They enjoy themselves a little longer before Paninya has to excuse herself early, saying she’d better get home before the land lady locks her out of the building again.

Just the two of them now, Alphonse and Winry order a couple more drinks and sit at the bar. It’s starting to clear out, so there’s more privacy for the old friends to discuss more delicate matters.

“So, how are things between you and Mei?” Winry wriggles her eyebrows, swirling her straw around in her glass. If her head was starting to get fuzzy at the restaurant, then she’s totally buzzed by now.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Al’s face is flushed from the alcohol and the sudden mention of Mei.

“Yes, you do! Now spill!” Funnily enough she almost spills her drink trying to pick it up.

“She’s been teaching me alkahestry, it’s not like I’m there to pursue her!”

“So, there’s nothing going on between you two?” She waves her finger back and forth at him. “At allll?”

He shakes his head and looks at her over the top of his drink, mirth in his eyes. Holding back a smile, he takes another swig.

“Alphonse, I swear! If you’re lying to me, I’m gonna kill you!”

Throwing his head back, Al lets out a deep laugh. “Oh wait, maybe something did happen, I just can’t remember.” He rubs his chin, pretending to think hard.

Smacking her hand down on the counter, Winry squeals in excitement, “Tell me everything!”

“There’s not much to tell, really. She really likes me, and I really like her too.”

“Oh wow! You guys are going to get married and then you’ll be a Xingnese prince, and you’ll live in a giant palace together, riding pandas into the sunset.”

They laugh so hard their stomachs hurt. Wiping tears from his eyes, Al decides it’s Winry’s turn in the hot seat.

“And you and Brother? How’s that going?” He gives her a mischievous smirk.

Flipping her hair back, Winry takes a deep breath. “Oh, it’s going great. He only forgot about me on my birthday and is hundreds of miles away and I have no way of contacting him unless he calls first but yeah, it’s so great. So, so great.”

“Winry! I’m sure he didn’t forget! He just gets caught up and things slip past him! It happens all the time!”

“Uh, huh.” She tosses back the rest of her drink and slams it back down on the bar. “How about another one of those shots?”

They drink and joke until it gets too late and they’re too drunk. Stumbling back to her building was difficult. Al has to throw his arm over Winry’s shoulder and they support each other as they amble down the deserted street. They stop to giggle at almost everything, trying to keep their voices down but failing horribly at it.

Finally arriving at her building, Winry stops and grabs Alphonse by his jacket, unexpectedly serious. “I’m so happy you came to visit me, Al. Really. You’re the best friend ever. God, I love you!” She’s got tears in her eyes as she wrestles him down into a bear hug.

“Aw, Winry, don’t cry!” He pats her back, suddenly emotional as well “I love you!”

“I’m so happy you have a body again!” Winry sobs into the front of his jacket. “I still can’t believe it!”

“Yeah! Me too!” He can’t stop the tears running down his face. They’re both drunk and crying in front of her door, suddenly overcome with their love for one another.

“And I can’t believe you’re marrying Brother! You’re gonna be my sister, but for real this time! I love you guys so much!”

“No, I love you guys more!”

“No way! I’ve been waiting forever for you guys to get married!”

“Shut up! No, you haven’t!”

“Wanna bet? I even planned out some stuff!”

“Alphonse!” Winry laughs, “What the hell?”

“Hey! I got bored sometimes!” He grins, putting his hands up. Cracking up, the two friends feel more like the little kids they once were, so many years ago. Eventually the laughter dies down and they’re leaning back on the building, looking up at the night sky.

“We’re really growing up, aren’t we?” Winry muses aloud.

“Yeah… but I’m not the one having a midlife crisis here.”

Huffing, she smacks him on the head, while he laughs, trying to block her attacks. Deciding she’s had enough, Winry runs upstairs and locks Alphonse out. She makes him beg through the door and say that she is the youngest, most beautiful, and most talented automail mechanic in all of Amestris before letting him in.

Once they’re ready for bed, they sit on the couch in their pajamas and reminisce about their childhood. They yawn and giggle until their eyes feel heavy and fall asleep on the couch.

In Winry’s dream there’s a persistent clacking sound. She doesn’t know where its coming from but it’s annoying the hell out of her. Blinking awake, she realizes she’s curled on one side of her tiny couch while Alphonse is softly snoring on the other.

Clack!

It came from the window. It must’ve been the middle of the night because the sun still wasn’t out yet. Creeping over, Winry peers down into the street and sees a dark figure standing under her window. Trying to make out who could possibly be trying to wake her up in the middle of the night another pebble sails through the air and hits the window.

Clack!

Opening the frame, Winry pokes her head out and calls into the night. “Hello?”

“Winry! You’re awake!” Oh my god. It couldn’t be.

“Edward?”

“Yeah! It’s me! Can you come downstairs and let me in?”

“Uh… sure, give me a second.” Closing the window shut, Winry tip-toes around her dark living room looking for her slippers. Alphonse was still sleeping peacefully on the couch, not disturbed in the slightest.

Winry meets Ed downstairs, opening the door for him. “Hey, Win, how’re you?” He smiles at her, as if it isn’t the middle of the fucking night and he showed up completely unannounced.

“What are you doing here?” She whispers harshly, “It’s the middle of the night!”

“Heh, sorry about that. There was a bit of a mix up with my train ticket. I guess I’m not as good as planning as Al is.” They softly trudge upstairs, avoiding the living room, so as not to wake Al. Setting his suitcase down on Winry’s bed, Ed shrugs off his coat, hanging it up in her closet. He explains that he accidentally bought a ticket for 10pm instead of 10am and had to spend the day haggling with the ticket agency in West City and was finally able to get on a train heading to Rush Valley for three times the price.

“I don’t understand, why’d you go through all that trouble for a train ticket?”

“What do you mean why?” He takes his shoes off, peeling the socks off too, and stands up straight “I came for your birthday, dummy!”

“My birthday?” Winry blinks.

“Yeah! Well, I know I’m late, and it’s technically not your birthday anymore, but those bastards wouldn’t budge. So, I had no choice but to get here so late and- did you know how long I was standing out there, trying to wake you up? Almost 20 minutes!” He hooks a thumb towards the window.

“So, you were trying to get here for my birthday all day?” She asks, still in disbelief. And here she thought he’d forgotten about her.

“Yeah, I thought Al told you? That was the plan; to meet up here for your birthday and surprise you,” Walking in front of her, Ed rubs his hand on top of her head, “I’m sorry I fucked it up.”

Tears form in her eyes and Winry hugs him as tight as she possibly can, catching him off guard. Her face is pressed against his shoulder as she muffles, “I thought you forgot.”

“Dummy, how could I forget about you?” He rests his cheek against her hair and hugs her back.

Pulling away, she glares up at him, “Because you didn’t call or write! How was I supposed to know? You made me worry about you again, idiot!” Her eyes were shining with anger as she points a finger at him. Man, did he miss her.

“Alright, alright, I said I was sorry. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” He chuckles and leans down to kiss her. It’s been so long since they’ve done this, they both melt into the kiss. It’s soft and slow and perfect. Humming in delight, Winry smiles against his lips, unable to contain her happiness.

“Missed you.” He murmurs and her heart bursts with love.

“I missed you too.”

“Love you.”

Giggling, she pecks him on the mouth, “I love you, too.”

Kissing her forehead, Edward looks down at her. “Come on, let’s go to sleep, I’m beat.” He undresses to his boxers, while Winry turns down her bed. Before Ed can climb into her tiny bed though he freezes.

“What’s wrong?”

“Al’s in the living room.”

“Yeah, and?”

“What if he wakes up before us and sees us in bed together?”

“Wha- It’s not like were naked!” She laughs, “I’m sure he’d survive.”

“That’s easy for you to say! It’s not your little brother seeing you sleep with your girlfriend!”

Putting her hands on her hips, she raises an eyebrow, “Excuse me, girlfriend?”

“You know what I mean!”

“Edward, stop being so stupid! Al doesn’t care! He even told me he’s planned our wedding before!”

“What? How? What?” He sputters, blushing so hard he looks like a tomato. “Why the hell would he do that?”

“Both of you shut up and go to bed!” They hear Al yell from the living room.

Huffing, Edward yells back “Fine!” and rips the covers down callously. They have to cuddle up really close to fit together so Ed pulls her partially on top of him.

“Goodnight, Win, I hope your birthday was good, even if I wasn’t there.”

“Mhm, yeah it was. And my wish came true.”

“Oh yeah? What was it?”

“That you’re safe here, with me.”

Butterflies flutter in his stomach and he brings her closer to him. “I love you, automail freak.”

“I love you too, alchemy nerd.”

[wanderlustforarreaga-blog]

At My Best. ~Austin~

"Hey guys?" You called out to the group of guys sitting on the sofa watching 'The Bachelor'.

"Yeah, Y/N? Ooh, Are you coming to watch?" Nick asked turning his to you with eyes that seemed to want to return to the TV.

"No... Have you seen Austin? I've been trying to call him all day and he isn't picking up so I  just came over to check on him..." You said meekly. Brandon gasped at the tv before finally noticing your presence.

"Oh! Hey Y/N, If you're looking for Austin he might be in his room." He said before grabbing the pack of chips fro Zion, who in turn looked to you with an annoyed expression from being chip snatched.

"Please fix your boy, he's been sulking since last night about God knows what. When we tried to talk to him he just started shouting. He had a meltdown, one worse than the occasional Nick meltdown." Zion whispered the last part in effort to avoid backlash from Nick but got a slap on the back of his head from Nick.

"Okay, thanks by the way and tell me what happens later!" You shouted as you walked towards Austin's room. The door was closed and the only sound coming from inside was the song at my best by Machine Gun Kelly. You knocked softly and awaited permission to get in. You heard a groan and took it as an invitation opening the door slowly.

"Whoever it is get out! I'm not in the mood for your motivational shit because you have no idea what's going on." He shouted before even seeing it was you. The minute his eyes landed on your body they lit up slightly and he lifted his head off the pillow it had been rested upon. It was as if he had never imagined you'd come to visit him or maybe he was just happy it wasn't the guys.

"Does that include me?" You asked sweetly and his eyes darkened slightly as he laid his head back on the pillow below him. You stood by the door frame and admired your boyfriend silently, the way his hair landed gracefully onto the pillow and his eyelashes combed the bags beneath his eyes. You stared in awe and thought about how someone who was in so much pain could still manage to look so incredible and at that moment you realized how lucky you actually were to have someone like Austin in your life.

"Are you gonna just stand there and stare or are you gonna come and join me?" He asked in a condescending tone and you were taken aback by it but you gathered yourself and assumed it was just because he was upset. You closed the door and took of your shoes before hopping onto the bed and lying beside the blonde haired boy who was staring at the ceiling blankly.

"Hey..." You whispered nervously, unsure about how to approach the situation correctly. He turned his head slightly to send you a bothered eye roll and went back to staring at the ceiling.

"Hey? That's how you wanna start this discussion?" He asked sounding shocked and maybe even angry but you just sighed and continued talking.

"I don't know what to do... And maybe I don't know what to do because Idon't now what's wrong..." You said as your voice cracked with concern.

"I didn't think you would come... I thought the guys would've been the ones to fix this." He said dismissing your 'suave' request.

"Why'd you think that?" You asked innocently. He turned his head completely and looked you in the eyes as he whispered words that were laced with such sadness and vulnerability that it could broken down a military instructor.

"Because, I thought you were already sick of me. That you were ready to leave me like everybody else in my life did." His eyes began to water as he turned away from you and turned back to the ceiling.

"What? Is that what this is about?" You asked with shock and brought your head up from the bed.

"I don't know what this about. I have been thinking for the last few days and maybe it's best if you leave me." He sat up on the bed as well.

"No... I'm not going to do that."

"You should... I think that for the next few weeks that I'm going to be unbearable and maybe the next few months." He said as he got off the bed and walked to the window.

"More than you already are? Cause it's gonna be hard to the beat the way you are being right now." You scoffed out at him and got up to stand behind him.

"Y/N... My mom... She..." He stopped halfway as he chocked on the tears that rolled down his cheeks. You grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him around into your chest. He whimpered and you shushed into his ears while patting his back.

"It's okay. Whatever happened, it's gonna be okay." You whispered into his ears and he sniffed before letting go of you and facing you.

"3 days ago, my mom called..."He paused and sucked in a breath and you nodded. "She told me that... She was going to get a scan..."He looked into your eyes and you furrowed your eyebrows in confusion but nodded for him to continue. "She might have breast cancer..." He finally let out before breaking into tears again. You sighed in sympathy and dragged him back to you.

"Listen, might means that there is an even greater chance that she doesn't have it and even if she does that's not the end of the world. There are treatments for this and she is quite healthy so helping her probably won't be hard." You said trying to hold back the sobs within you as well. Even though the two of you hadn't been together that long you knew how amazing Austin's mother was and how much she meant to him.

"You don't get it. The thought of losing her is what scares me because without her I don't know who I am. I can't go a day without hearing her voice, without knowing that she is gonna call me and tell me about whatever it is that I'm missing in North Carolina. My mom is the one thing in my life that is always constant, she is the only routine in my life that never changes and I'm afraid to lose that. She is the reason I am here today, if it weren't for her I wouldn't have come out here and been a part of this band, I wouldn't have such great friends, I wouldn't be having a new adventure everyday and most of all... I never would have met you."  He latched onto your hand and laced your fingers together as he said the last part.

"She isn't the only constant thing in your life. Every day I call you in the morning and greet you, you guys do a live stream at lunch and Edwin makes eggs, Brandon and Zion go around the house screaming "Did someone say hype!?", Nick punches that wall by the backyard every morning and you take a lap around the pool for good luck. This house and these people are your constants too, you need to learn to give into the fact that life goes on. I'm not telling you to give up on your mom's health but I'm telling you to embrace every moment you have with her and the rest of people that make you happy." You stroked his shoulder softly and he smiled.

"Thank you, not for the speech or for coming over... Thank you for being with me at my worst." He hugged you once more.

"I wanted to, the guys called me and demanded that I come and talk to you because they knew you wouldn't tell them anything." You said with a chuckle and he made a fake shocked face.

"Yeah, I had no faith that they could help me whatsoever." He said and the two of you laughed.

[hphmmatthewluther]

When Your Reflection Plots Against You: Part 1/3

Matthew Luther sighed, and leant onto a sink in the boy’s toilets. It had not been going well for him today. He loosened his blue and silver tie (he preferred it to the more traditional blue and bronze tie, and was glad to have a choice in the matter) and pushed the hair out of his face. No, today had not gone well. To start, he was nowhere nearer to finding his brother or the next Cursed Vault. Then, he found himself unable to focus on any lessons as a result, and finished the day with a shouting match with Merula Snyde, which led to Snape banning him from Hogsmeade for a week. These arguments usually made him feel a little better, though something was...off about today. Her insults seemed to hurt more, for some reason.

So there he was, looking up and seeing his hair flop in front of his face again in the mirror. Could nothing work for him today? He scowled at his own reflection.

“It isn’t fair. Everyone else seems to get by just fine. But oh no, not me. I bet even Merula does better than me. I have to be the one who struggles along...” He grumbled to himself.

“Hey...keep on stepping, my guy.” came a voice. Matthew scanned the room, hoping to see whoever had spoken.

“Nope, over here, in the mirror, you know?” He looked up, and was slightly surprised to find his own reflection replaced by someone else. He had black-and-white hair and was wearing denim jeans and a red flannel shirt. On his back was a large guitar case, which he put down at his feet.

“What’s shaking, dude?” he asked, in a way Matthew hadn’t heard anyone speak for nearly ten years. He had a smirk on his face that put Matthew off. However, it wasn’t like he had anyone else to talk to.

“Um...did you hear what I was saying?” he asked, looking around to make sure nobody saw him talking to a mirror.

“I caught a bit of it, y’know, this and that...” he said, looking around. “Sounds like you could use some assistance.”

“Well, that would be-” Matthew had to stop himself. “Hang on, who are you even?” he had to ask himself.

The boy in the mirror gave a laugh. “Right, right, sorry. I’m Edwin. Edwin Luther.” he announced, giving himself a small flourish as he did so. “And you?”

“Oh, well, funnily enough my name’s Matthew Luther.”

“Really?” said Edwin, his eyebrow raised. “Maybe we’re related.”

“Doubt it.” Matthew said, looking away. “My Dad was a Muggle, so that probably isn’t it...” 

Edwin sighed, and leant forward on the reflected sink. “So, you need my help. You want to be better around people, right?”

Matthew nodded. It certainly would be nice...sometimes, it seemed like everyone except him knew what to say, and anything he said or did only made things worse, and so often he was left doing very little...but he didn’t completely trust this guy just yet. “Okay, hang on. Before anything else...what’s your story?”

“Me?” asked Edwin, moving back slightly, “I’m trapped in all the mirrors of Hogwarts, y’know? Been here for a while, too. Most people just seem to blow me off, but you...you can see me. There’s something about you, dig?”

Matthew thought about this. One the one hand, he really ought to know by now that not everyone could be trusted. But his thoughts lingered back to his last argument with Merula...if he had done something different, maybe…

“How can you help me?” he asked, leaning closer to the mirror to get a closer look.

“Look, kid. I know people. Just, for now, you go about your day and I’ll give you advice.” Edwin explained. “In return...well, as you may have guessed, I’d like to blow this popsicle stand and return to the land of actual people...but that can come later.” He put his hand towards the mirror, and it appeared as a ghostly image on the other side. “So, we have a deal?”

Matthew looked at the spectral hand, then moved his own hand towards Edwin’s and shook it.

“Far out!” exclaimed Edwin, drawing his hand back. “Let’s boogie!”

“Before we carry on, when were you sealed in that mirror?” Matthew asked, “Cause the stuff you’re saying is...painful to hear.”

Edwin laughed and picked up his guitar case, slinging it onto his back. “Well, I was last out and about in, ooh, 1976, I think.”

Matthew’s eyes widened at this. “Blimey...ten years...okay, now what?”

“Do you have something reflective on you?” Edwin inquired. Matthew fished around in his pockets until he pulled out a silver spoon that he used in potion making. He watched as his warped reflection disintegrated, replaced by an in-proportion Edwin.

“Lovely jubbly, Matt.” began Edwin, moving around his new environment. “Now, what do you really want help with, hm?”

Matthew initially wanted to ask about the Cursed Vaults, but he somehow knew to keep that to himself. Ravenclaws were good at reading people, and there was something about Edwin that made him unsure about divulging information. Instead, he focused on what Edwin already knew.

“Well, I’d really like to do something about that argument with Merula.” Matthew whispered, as he left the toilets and joined the crowds of people in the corridors.

“Hmm...Merula, huh? So there’s a girl involved, I see…” “What? No, nonononono!” Matthew hissed, hoping nobody was paying too close attention to him. “It’s not...she isn’t...we’ve been enemies since our first year, ok?”

“Okay, you’re saying that, but it sounds to me like this bunny-”

“Don’t call her a ‘bunny’, she’d rip you apart for that.” Matthew noted.

“Righto, righto...” Edwin trailed off, “Still, it’s a route you could go for...”

“Trust me, Edwin, it really isn’t.”

They had made their way down to the Dungeons, for their last lesson of the day: Potions with Snape. Matthew was dreading this. He didn’t even have Rowan with him, as he was in Hogsmeade for the day. Then came a moment he was dreading:

“Oi, Luther!”

Matthew spun around and saw Merula Snyde walking up to him. He heard Edwin squeaking from his pocket.

“Wow, man...what did you say to her?”

“Nothing...” Matthew muttered before stepping forward to meet the Slytherin girl.

“Well, well, well. I suppose it’s time for you to make a fool of yourself. Again.” Matthew wanted to say something back, but something was stopping him from fully focusing.

“Why aren’t you at Hogsmeade?” he blurted out. He could hear Edwin sighing.

“Oh, boy...”

“None of your business, Luther!” she shouted, stomping on the ground. Edwin, who had been complaining for a few seconds, suddenly stopped.

“Hey...those are some killer boots...why don’t you talk about them? Change the subject!” he suggested. Matthew had to work very hard to mask his shock at Edwin’s advice.

“No, no, think about it. It sounds like you two talk about what keeps you apart all the time. You need to try different avenues.” Matthew was going to ignore this, but Edwin hadn’t finished. “Come on, dude. You hate each other already. I doubt her opinion of you can get worse. What do you have to lose?”

Merula was getting impatient. “Well? Cat got your tongue, Luther?”

“No, I just...never mind. Sorry for intruding, I guess. But, I...” Matthew sighed. Here we go. “How’d you convince Snape to let you wear combat boots?”

Merula looked at him, the malice in her expression replaced by pure confusion. She took a quick look at her feet, then looked straight back up at Matthew. “I...I...what?”

“Justify the question, mate. Doesn’t have to be anything good...I think her brain’s stopped working.” Edwin ordered, the smirk on his face palpable.

“It’s just...well, Flitwick’s always really on the ball about what we wear with our robes, and I’d imagined Snape would be even more on it, so...”

It was a few seconds before Merula’s brain started working again. “Oh, that...I mean, he’s never really said anything about it...”

“That doesn’t sound like Snape.” Matthew observed.

“Hah, yeah, I suppose not...” Merula pushed a hand through her hand, offering a rare smile. “I mean, if you’d seen the shoes they expect us to wear you’d do the same, if I’m honest!”

“Yeah, the dress code for boys is ever-so-slightly shorter for boys than for girls.” Matthew admitted.

“You can say that again!” exclaimed Merula, laughing at herself slightly, “You’re luckier than you know…” she paused and looked around. Nobody else was there. They had all gone to Hogsmeade, which made sense seeing as it was the first trip for the third-years. The crowd that usually watched their ‘debates’ had vanished. Now they were gone, there didn’t seem to be much point. Matthew sniffed the air. Merula coughed into her elbow.

“Um...where is Snape?” Matthew asked aloud. The two-third years looked around the Dungeons, but the man was nowhere to be seen.

“Do you think we could knock on his office door?” Matthew inquired, moving towards a dark green door that was near the empty potions classroom. However, before he could knock on the door, his arm was pulled back by Merula.

“Wait, you idiot!” she whispered, her eyes darting around the empty room. “I think he’s in there! If you interrupt him, you’ll get in trouble, and I’ll get in trouble, and...”

Matthew wanted to respond, he really did, but he was too focused on the hand that was gripping his arm. Merula must have noticed this, as she suddenly pulled her arm back, clearing her throat with it.

“Not an option, hmm?” Edwin remarked, “You two...compliment her again! Go ahead! Say how nice she looks!”

Matthew had half a mind to chuck that silver spoon out of sight, but before either of them could say anything, a ringing noise emerged from behind Snape’s door, causing both teenagers to jump. It was high-pitched and buzzing, and sounded somewhat...mugglish.

Matthew heard footsteps from the other side of the door. There was the sound of latches being undone, followed by the door being pulled open, and there in the doorway stood Professor Snape, looking rather surprised.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded, the alarm still ringing, “Why are you not in Hogsmeade?”

“You barred me from going as punishment.” Matthew reminded the man, “Sir.”

Snape looked at Matthew like he had sprouted an extra head, then turned to Merula. He looked like he was about to say something, but stopped himself before doing so.

“There is work on the board.” he said hurriedly, flicking his wand at his desk to turn the ringing off. “I suppose if you finish early, you may return to your common rooms.” And with that, he was gone. Merula and Matthew stared at the corridor he had darted down before entering the classroom and getting their notebooks out. The silence was deafening. Matthew tried to focus on his work, but couldn’t help but wonder why Merula was here with him. Why hadn’t she gone to Hogsmeade?

“Am I blocking your view of the board or something?” she asked indignantly. Matthew quickly shook his head and looked back at his notes. He eyed the spoon. Edwin was smiling.

“I don’t believe it. Sev’s still at Hogwarts after all this time.” he mused. Matthew took a scrap of paper and wrote ‘You knew him before?’ on it before moving it so Edwin could see.

“Very clever, mate...and yes, I did know him. We got on well when we wanted to, but I doubt he’d be pleased to see me.”

‘Snape isn’t pleased to see anyone’ he wrote back. That got a laugh out of the strange wizard. Suddenly, something occurred to Matthew. Quickly, he wrote another note: ‘You are a wizard, right? Just checking.’

Edwin looked at the note and laughed. “Of course! Y’know, back in my day we started calling Muggles squares.”

Matthew could imagine Edwin calling a lot of people squares. He tried to focus on the work, but it was difficult to do so as Edwin kept moving across anything with a reflection, making loud observations as he did so (“That was there back then !”). What Matthew did notice, however, was that Edwin never appeared on the silver bracelet Matthew always wore. He had had an inkling that it was magical, considering how he got it, but knew very little about its origins. But no matter what, Edwin never crossed it. Matthew made a mental note of it; he was still a little unsure that he could trust him. It was then that he noticed Merula staring at his arm as well.

“What?” he said suddenly, the theories in his head quickly dispersing. “Am I doing something- I mean,”

“What is that?” she asked, pointing down.

“What?”

“No, not your bracelet, you dolt. That.” she said, poking at the biro Matthew had been using. He hadn’t even realised he was using it instead of his quill.

“Oh, that’s a pen.” Matthew explained. Merula still looked lost. “It’s like a quill, but you don’t have to keep dipping it in ink every few seconds. It’s way better.”

“Oh...” said Merula, glancing down at the several inkblots on her parchment. “Well, I think quills are better. We’ve used them for centuries, after all.”

“Yeah, I mean, so did Muggles.” Matthew reminded her, “But then we found a better way of doing things.” There was a silence, and Matthew could see Edwin examining the situation. But then, the obvious solution hit him. “Do you want one?”

Merula looked up from her parchment. “Do I...what?”

“I have loads of spare pens. I was asking if you wanted one.” Matthew fished an identical biro out of his pencil case and placed it on the table. Merula slowly moved her hand towards it, before snatching it quickly, eyeing Matthew with suspicion. She looked at her parchment, before slowly writing out a sentence with the pen. Then she kept going. She looked at the pen, then at Matthew.

“A-..And M-Muggles have been using these for...”

“A good hundred years or so, yeah.” Matthew finished. It only then occurred to him just how backward the Wizarding World could be. I mean, they had house-elves, they didn’t have electricity, and they still worried about ink stains. It was just so...trivial.

Matthew saw Edwin give him a thumbs up, before moving off to explore elsewhere. The Ravenclaw stared at his work, and quickly realised he had done very little. Furthermore, it looked like some of the most difficult potion work devised by wizardkind. A few minutes later, Merula slammed her quill on the desk in a rage.

“Aag! This is impossible!” yelled Merula, “Why isn’t this...in any way...for third-years?”

“Because it probably wasn’t for third-years.” observed Matthew, putting his own quill down, “I imagine he would have made it a test if he hadn’t been distracted by whatever that alarm was.”

“But...why would he give such advanced work to us?” Merula asked.

“Actually, he probably planned to give it to me.” Matthew looked over at the board again. “He wasn’t expecting you to be here, remember?”

Merula nodded at this, frowning. “Thanks for the extra work, Luther. Much appreciated.”

“Anytime.” Matthew replied with a smile.

Merula returned a smirk, before gesturing at the work before them. “Well, if you’ve got any ideas, I’m all ears.”

Edwin had been silently guiding Matthew for a lot of this, but was starting to get slightly louder now. “Okay, now flirt a little.”

Matthew really had to focus to keep his face still now. He stared at the problem at hand. With regards to a Dreamless Sleep potion, discuss whether the Fleamont or Daedalus approach is more effective at preventing Rapid Eye Movement, and-

“Oh come on, dude!” Edwin moved from the spoon to the various bottles around the room, passing by the reversed lettering on the labels. “You are alone with a girl. How much more perfect can this get?” Matthew was surprised to find himself considering the previously unthinkable. Sure, these sorts of thoughts had started showing up recently, but they were never...realistic. But he had to admit that Edwin had a point. Nobody else was around. They could talk without being egged on by anyone nearby. They could just...reflect on things.

“Well?” said Merula, leaning forward slightly to hover over the book, “Anything?”

Matthew shook his head, turning towards the Slytherin. “‘Fraid not. I mean, we haven’t learnt either of these approaches, and all I can tell you is that one of them is named after Fleamont Potter, but that’s about it.”

Merula didn’t move back, but pulled the book closer to her, albeit with Matthew’s hand still on it. She gazed at the question with clear irritation. Edwin looked on from a nearby flask.

“Hey, Matt...you thinking what I’m thinking?” Both boys turned around and looked at Snape’s office through the open door. Even from here, they could see a large file on the desk, but not what had caused the ringing.

“What is it?��� Merula asked, noticing that Matthew had turned away from the work.

“This is going nowhere.” Matthew admitted. “We don’t have a solution, but I imagine Snape might...”

He turned back to her and pointed at the office. Merula eyed it for a moment, then turned back to him. She seemed to be processing what Matthew was suggesting.

“If he comes back, we’re dead.” Merula said, looking straight at Matthew.

“If we don’t do the essay, we’re dead.” Matthew reminded her, trying desperately not to sound stressed.

“You really think Snape’s stitched us up?”

“Well, if the Greatest Witch in all of Hogwarts can’t do it, who can?”

“Good point.” Merula got off her stool and moved towards the corridor. “Nobody’s there. Let’s go.”

They quickly slipped into the office, Matthew closing the door behind him. It was just as dark and dingy as the rest of the rooms in the Dungeons, although this room was slightly more colourful, with a large red chest of drawers behind the desk. On the left wall of the room was a large silver box with a bell on it, which he assumed had made the alarm. It reflected everything perfectly, yet for some reason Edwin didn’t appear in it. It was like he couldn’t even see it was there. Attached to the box was a note, which read:

Severus,

Before she died, she returned here to place one of these in each of the Heads of House’s offices to warn us when they rear their heads again. She also said that if one was ever to emerge, they would have to be banished again via the way they came in, if that helps any. The devices are a mixture of magic and “science” the likes of which the world has never seen. I can only imagine the things she could have done with her magic if she were still with us.

Good luck, and do Slytherin proud,

-Horace.

“Find anything?!” Edwin yelled from the other side of the room. He was awfully loud, yet it was odd to see Merula completely unable to hear it. Matthew quietly shook his head, and left the box alone. 

The two scoured over the room until Merula noticed an open book on Snape’s desk.

“Hah, here it is!” she exclaimed, leaning right onto the desk so that her feet left the floor. Edwin chose this moment to reappear in a nearby mirror.

“Wow, you choose well...that is one fine...”

“Shut up...” Matthew said under his breath. He didn’t just hate that Edwin was saying some outrageous things when Merula was right in front of them, but he hated that he found himself agreeing. He moved next to Merula, keeping his eyes away from her lower robes, and positioned himself next to her.

“Now how were we supposed to know that?” Merula said, scowling, before turning to Matthew. “Well, I mean, how were you supposed to know that. It’s...it’s...”

He nodded in return. “It’s bull. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s been doing this the entire time. Hang on…” Matthew sifted through the papers, until he caught a glimpse of a tiny post-it note with three equations on it. There was one labelled “Slyth'', one labelled “Other”, and one filled with division signs called “Weaks''. Merula’s jaw dropped.

“He’s...he’s been...but that’s...” she stammered, taking the post-it note with her hand. 

Matthew didn’t know what to say. He knew exactly what sort of thoughts were running through her head, as they’d run through his head time and time again. What on earth could he do? Edwin saw them struggling, and pointed at a sheet of paper on the far side of the desk. It was a collection of raw test scores. Matthew allowed himself to smile.

“Merula, look.” he said, offering her the table. “It’s the scores before they’ve been altered.”

The two gazed down the list until they came to “Snyde, Merula”, under which there was a list of perfect scores. Merula took the file with both hands as a smile formed on her face, as her breathing began to relax.

“So...panic over?” Matthew asked hopefully.

She looked up at him, the happiest she had been for a while. “Panic over, Luther.”

After about half an hour, they had both written an essay which was good enough to get a pass but original enough for Snape not to notice. Matthew put his hands behind his head and leant back on his stool.

“Boy, I can’t wait to see the look on Snape’s face when he sees our essays.” he mused, “He can’t even punish us! We’ve done the work!”

Merula smirked as she packed her things away. “Don’t get smug, Luther. He’ll find something to get you for next lesson.”

“Maybe, though I doubt it.” said Matthew. “Now I know his secret he’s a lot less of a threat.”

“As if!” Merula retorted. There didn’t seem to be anyone else around at all. They hadn’t heard anyone nearby, not even the first or second years.

“It...really is quiet, huh?” Matthew said, turning back to Merula.

“Mm, funny that.” said Merula. She paused. “Are we really the only ones here?”

“Yes, yes you are, Matt.” said Edwin, grinning, “Think of what could be!”

Matthew’s imagination began to kick into high gear. Moving towards her. Telling her how he hated their rivalry. How he wanted to be friends. How he wanted…

“Well,” she said, moving towards the door. “That’s that, I suppose.”

“Wait!” Matthew said suddenly, surprising himself. Merula looked a little shocked at that too.

“Come on, the castle’s all yours, right?” whispered Edwin, “You can do whatever you want...” At this, an idea suddenly struck Matthew.

“I was just thinking.”

“First time for everything.” Merula remarked.

“No, listen. Most of the school’s in Hogsmeade, right?”

“Yes...”

“So, nobody’s going to notice us if we...look for clues for the next Vault?”

Merula stared at him for a moment, then smiled. “Alright, sure. I suppose you won’t get another opportunity, and why wouldn’t you want to work with Hogwarts’ Greatest Ever Witch?”

“Quite so. Shall we?” Matthew said, gesturing up the stairs.

Merula smirked, and headed up the stairs, Matthew following after. This could actually work out, Matthew thought, glancing at Edwin in the silver again. He was grinning wildly. He moved around all the metals they passed as Matthew and Merula scoured the grounds for clues. As they did so, something occurred to the Ravenclaw. Edwin was a wizard, and he clearly knew Snape, but something was off. He meant to ask the strange boy about it, but he was too close to Merula at any given time to risk it, and that was a distraction in and of itself. Nevertheless, the question remained:

Where was Edwin’s wand?