#and then they go on believing someone saying they overhead a guy saying harry was in a ******** during a party lol..... :)
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mysticscrystalrevelation · 7 months ago
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Game 9 With One Eye Closed Tues, June 4 7pm EDT Washington @ Connecticut
Starting: WASH: Atkins, Dolson, Edwards, Samuelson, Vanloo (Sykes out with ankle injury, Austin injury rest?) CONN: Bonner, Carrington, Harris, Jones, Thomas
1st Quarter A few misses early, then Ariel gets a nice shot off over Breezy to open up our scoring. Edwards is starting today as Austin rests. Edwards has been so impressive thus far this season. The matchups are good between these starting lineups. Earl on Carrington, JVL v Harris, Edwards gets to test her chops against AT. 8-9 early The difference maker is going to be can we make 3s tonight in order to open up the whole court on O more than anything. If yes, we have a chance. If no? No chance. AT is May Player of the Month yeah guess what that doesn't make up for the MVP snub. Hines-Allen in, Edwards and her go 2-man getting multiple good chances on the possession that they can't convert, but it felt like a good sign to get offensive boards. Nelson-Ododa was a problem for us last matchup. JVL no look to Karlie for 3. Ambitious scoop overhead passes need to stop. So many turnovers from them all season. 10-2 run for the Sun. Edwards getting crowd support on her foul shots. Another multiple o-board possession and this time we convert. Much improved. Must continue through 40 minutes though. We grind back to 18-19 to end the quarter. CONN not yet in groove though.
2nd Quarter Great stop to start the quarter, excellent D. Unfortunately we turn it over via ambitious pass. Jade is left a lane and knows what to do. Gets a bonus too. Proud of Jade's D on Carrington. Game still within 1. O boards up to 7 with 6 min left in the half. Engstler getting some minutes here. Right now she and Edwards are responsible for the bigs which makes me nervous. Shot clock violation on us :( We have a very younnnnng (to the league) lineup in. A couple vets return and OOh great possession on O, creative trust-based, SUCCESSFUL. We tie it up at 30 and force a shot clock violation and Sun timeout. Yip! They come back from the break and we force another! We struggle to score but manage to end the half with a Stef 3 to pull ahead 33-32. A lead at half!
3rd Quarter Things looking physical early. A string of misses for DC. Two silly turns from the Sun save it from being a Connecticut run. Make that three. Connecticut clearly got told to body during the half time chat. Too many misses and Ty hits a three. 35-42 and we need time. Comig back Ty hits another. The lead is ten. Vanloo answers. Two horrible turnovers. in a row. We need an energy shift here. Karlie has a tough tough job tonight against Bonner. She has gotten some dumb whistles and lots of physcality. Bonner sits and she finally takes and makes a 3. 43-58. Terrible quarter on both ends of the floor for DC.
4th Quarter Hey Briann January :D It appears that we are forcing things instead of getting what is given. Shatori with a squeaky clean block. DC starting to lose hope and needs a mental reset. Thank you for mentioning the absence of Tianna Hawkins announcer. We love you, T. Lead still 15. We can't figure it out on O. As I said in the first, without the 3 ball, the Sun D will not be challenged. Vanloo comes back in which seems smart to me. Attention male commentators: if you must exist, be more like this guy—say way less, do not yell, pronounce names correctly, provide accurate information. But also resist the urge to say stupid things. 3:42 left 52-68. I feel like Karlie will need a hug after this one. She does get a quick trigger three here. Eric has to be fired after this. What else gives? You are out of time to pray things change without making change. Do the players believe in him? You don't even have to fire him. Demote him. LaToya Sanders HC. Snatch Kristi back. Someone who is a confidence machine. Benches are in with a couple starters now. It's just rec ball for the last minute. Absolutely our worst second half performance. 59-76
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thruthewire · 4 years ago
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nebulablakemurphy · 3 years ago
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Total Eclipse Of The Heart (Part Five)
Jacob Black x Fem!Vampire!Swan!Reader
Summary: Jacob Black, alpha of his pack, would never fall in love with a bloodsucker, much less imprint on one. The problem is that Y/N Swan was human…until she wasn’t anymore.
Prologue | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
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The bike works for a while, Bella can see Edward; until she gets good at operating the vehicle. After that the danger is gone and so is any version of him.
Jacob and Y/N are hunting Victoria. Charlie is hunting the wolves, who he still believes to be bears, responsible for the killings around town.
Bella’s alone again.
She decides to try something new, to get that rush of adrenaline. Cliff jumping is about as stupid as it is recreational. But Edward is there, begging her not to jump. So she does, anything to make him stay.
———————————————————————
“She’s freezing cold. I can’t touch her.”
“Relax. Human hot box, remember? I hope you don’t mind, I’m gonna have to give her mouth to mouth.”
“Jake,” thwack.
Beyond the voices, Bella can feel pressure. Like someone is pounding on her chest, commanding her heart to beat.
“Come on Bella. Breathe.”
With a sputtering inhale she chokes up the water that invaded her lungs.
“Bella!”
The brunette opens her eyes just in time to see her sister reach for her and then remember her temperature, dropping both hands back to her sides.
“I’m ok,” Bella tells her, through chattering teeth.
“What the hell were you doing?” Y/N demands, tossing a blanket around her shoulders.
Jacob lifts Bella from the sand to lean against him, soaking up his warmth.
“I just wanted to see something.” Bella looks away from Y/N. The venom has eaten away her contacts and she can see her now for what she truly is.
“We’ve gotta get her home.” Jacob says, lifting Bella with ease.
“Your eyes,” Bella tries to warn her.
“It’s ok,” Y/N shakes her head. “Dad’s not home. He’s over at the Clearwater’s.”
“Did something happen?” Bella wonders.
“Harry had a heart attack.” Jacob breathes, the words striking like a hot iron. “He didn’t make it.”
“I’m so sorry.” Bella whispers to no one in particular.
“Let’s go,” Y/N jerks her chin in the direction of the road.
“I’ll run her,” the wolf offers.
“My truck,” Bella pushes feebly against his chest.
“I got it,” Y/N sighs, taking the keys. “You go, keep her warm.”
“On it.” Jacob nods, breaking into a sprint.
Y/N heads back to the truck, opening the door and waiting as it rattles to life. Her fingers curl over the steering wheel harshly, distorting it with the force of her grasp.
The phone buzzes to life in her pocket, not a number she recognizes. “Hello?”
“Y/N, it’s Edward.”
“Edward…” The Y/H/C nearly short circuits.
“Is Bella alright?” He asks immediately.
How did he know? “Now you care what happens to Bella?”
“Y/N please-“
“No,” she cuts him off. “Edward, you left. You left and you didn’t care. I mean where the hell have you been? Where were you while I was here picking up the pieces?”
“I’m sorry.” Edward grovels, the way she had on the front lawn of the Cullen’s home after Bella’s birthday party. “It was a mistake.”
“Your sorry means nothing to me.” Y/N ends the call. Tossing the phone to the passenger seat. Her foot pressing the gas pedal to the floor.
Arriving home at record speed, she finds a black car in the driveway. Carlisle’s car. Parking the truck, she jots through the front door.
Alice, Jacob and Bella are deep in conversation.
“What are you doing here?” Y/N asks Alice.
“I had a vision of Bella jumping off a cliff. I didn’t see her get pulled out of the water-“ Alice breaks off. Her eyes fluttering, then she gasps.
“What now?” Jacob runs a hand over his face.
“It’s Edward, he thinks Bella’s dead.” Alice chokes out. “He’s going to the Volturi, he wants to die too.”
“What?” Bella’s entire body lurches forward.
“Rosalie told him why I came here. Then Y/N-“
“You spoke to him?” Bella cuts Alice off. “What did you say?”
“I told him to screw himself. Not kill himself.” Y/N says defensively.
“Y/N!” Bella is hysterical.
She never meant for this to happen. “Tell me where he is and how to get there.”
“What are you gonna do?” Jacob leans in, his fingers closing around her wrist.
“I have to go,” Y/N rolls her eyes at the ridiculous nature of the situation, “save Edward.”
Jacob’s face falls into a scowl, “no, no way in hell.”
“Jake-“
“The Volturi, isn’t that some kind of vampire judge and jury situation? The ones you’re so afraid of that you can’t even tell Charlie what happened to you?” Jacob can put up with a lot, and he has. But this…
“Jacob, I know that this sucks.” Y/N pulls him away from Alice and Bella for a shred of privacy. “But it’s my fault. I have to make it right.”
“Stop blaming yourself for his shitty decisions!” Jacob roars, “it’s not your fault that he left, it’s not your fault that he didn’t come back and it’s not your fault that you told him to shove it where the sun don’t shine.”
Y/N takes step back, “please don’t.”
“Please don’t what?” Jake snarls, closing the distance between them. “Tell you the truth?”
“Please don’t hate me for what I’m about to do.” Y/N pleads, allowing his fingers to sear her skin.
“If you die…” he strokes her jaw reverently, “I’ll kill you.”
“I love you so much,” she turns into his palm and presses gentle kisses there.
Jacob lets his hand fall away as they break apart. “What do you want me to tell Charlie?”
“Last minute girls trip or something,” Y/N shrugs.
“How long will you be gone?” Jacob wants to say it back. That he loves her.
Y/N looks to Alice.
“Three days, round trip.” The pixie tells them.
Bella has already gone up to pack.
“Perfect,” Jacob acknowledges. Keeping the words to himself.
———————————————————————
The plan ride to Italy is tense. Bella hardly sleeps, she is a nervous wreck.
Alice is flooded with vision after vision as she watches Edward and the Volturi’s decisions.
Y/N plucks anxiously at the wolf charm on her wrist.
The car Alice steals is a beautiful canary yellow color. It shifts gears like butter and glides over the road.
“The Volturi refused him.” Alice says, surprise and relief in her voice.
“Should you be driving?” Y/N wonders, there’s no way she can concentrate with the future flashing before her eyes.
“You can channel for me” Alice offers. There is no time to stop.
Y/N closes her eyes, willing the visions to come to her. “He’s waiting until noon, when the sun’s at it’s highest. Then he’s going to reveal himself to the humans.”
“Alice, you gotta hurry up.” Bella pleads, tugging at the roots of her hair.
“Bella,” Alice coos, “breathe.”
Y/N opens her mind, but Edward is decided, so nothing changes. Until something unexpected appears.
Jacob. He’s seated on their living room couch, shooting the breeze with Charlie. Clearly waiting for something as his eyes flicker to the clock repeatedly. Her, Y/N realizes, he’s waiting for her.
“What did you see?”
“It wasn’t Edward, don’t worry.” Y/N drawls. Just her letting down the most important person in her life…again.
The crowd surrounding Volterra is massive, Alice cuts through as much as she can with the stolen Porsche, but eventually Bella has to make a run for it. To the clock tower at the center of the festival before Edward exposes himself in the sunlight. She is the only one Edward can’t see coming.
“So, what now?” Y/N demands.
“What did you see?” Alice asks instead.
“Doesn’t matter.” The Y/H/C shakes her head. “We can’t just sit here-“
“You saw him, didn’t you?” Alice steals a glance at her. “Jacob?”
“Does he always look so miserable in your visions,” she wonders.
“I can’t see him.” The other vampires admits, “the wolves are a blind spot.”
“Why?”
“I’m not sure.” Alice’s brows furrow, the visions are back in her own head. “We have to go.”
The two of them weave through the festival, skin covered from the sun that shines bright overhead. Finally taking shelter in a door off the alley way.
“Come on guys,” Alice pulls the scarf from her head as they enter. “Wouldn’t want to cause a scene.”
The ‘guys’ in question have glowing red eyes, their diet is strictly human blood.
Bella is against the wall, with Edward between her and the two men wearing black cloaks.
“No we certainly wouldn’t.” The shorter blonde man purrs. “Aro requests your presence.”
“Bella,” Edward addresses her, “why don’t you go back out and enjoy the festival?”
“All of you,” the larger man clarifies.
A third vampire joins them, a girl with blonde hair pulled back into a tight bun. “Aro sent me to see what’s taking so long.”
“So no festival?” Y/N cocks her head to the side.
“I’m afraid not.” The girl gives her a tight lipped grin. “Right this way.”
The four of them are led down a long corridor to a stair case, then to an elevator.
Abandon all hope ye who enter here.
Edward’s eyes, dark with thirst, cut to Y/N. Bella tucked securely beneath his arm.
‘Sorry,’ she mentally shoots back.
He turns his gaze ahead as the elevator doors open onto a checkered marble floor. The ceilings are high, adorned with paintings that put the Sistine chapel to shame.
“Don’t be afraid,” Edward whispers to Bella.
“Are you?” Bella stares up at him.
“No,” he lies.
They land at double doors, pushed open to reveal three more men, seated in high back chairs that resemble thrones.
The one in the center moves to stand, the other brunette and blonde vampires can’t be bothered.
“What a happy surprise!” The man rejoices, “Bella is alive after all. And you’ve brought a friend.”
“I’m just here for moral support.” Y/N explains, jerking her thumb at Bella, “she’s my sister.”
Aro looks her over, “welcome…”
“Y/N,” she introduces herself.
Aro steps forward then, taking Edward’s hand from Bella’s into his own.
“Aro can read every thought I’ve ever had with a single touch.” Edward tells them.
“You are quite a soul reader yourself Edward. Although you can’t hear Bella’s thoughts.” Aro remarks, “would you do me the honor?” He extends a hand to Bella.
Warily she steps forward, allowing him to encase her hand with both of his.
“How strange,” Aro pulls away after a moment. “I see nothing. I wonder if…let us see if she is immune to all our powers, Jane.”
“No,” Edward protests, jumping in front of Bella.
“Pain,” the blonde girl murmurs, a satisfied smirk spreading across her features as Edward falls to the ground. He writhes silently at Bella’s feet.
“Stop! Please.” Bella yells, “stop hurting him.”
Aro watches her in fascination, allowing the torture to continue for a moment. “Jane.”
“Master?” The girl says.
Edward relaxes with a grunt.
“Go ahead my darling,” Aro motions to Bella.
“This might hurt just a little,” Jane warns.
But Bella feels nothing.
“Remarkable.” Aro marvels, “she confounds us all. So, what do we do with you now?”
“She knows too much, she’s a liability.” The blonde man on the right croons, from his chair.
“That’s true.” Aro replies, “Felix.”
“No,” Edward flips Bella behind him, having read his thoughts.
Alice seen Aro’s decision to have Bella killed.
And Y/N catches on quickly enough. Stepping in front of her sister.
Alice is restrained by the short blonde haired guard and Edward is wrestling with the larger vampire, which eventually leaves Edward on the ground.
Y/N’s never engaged in combat, but fight or flight is still a thing. She’s stronger and faster than anyone in the room, perks of being a newborn. She uses it to her advantage.
Fending off every attack the guard throws at her. But she is wreckless, untrained in her youth. Eventually she is restrained, with a hand at her throat.
The exchange gives Edward enough time to recover, he comes back swinging. For Bella. Anything for her.
Felix is strong. Edward is going to lose and her sister is going to die.
Y/N does the only thing she can do, “pain.”
The large man twists inhumanly at the crippling pain coursing through him.
Aro’s mouth sits slightly agape, watching in wonder as Edward returns to his feet.
“Call him off and I’ll stop,” Y/N jerks her chin toward Felix.
“Let us discuss this in a civilized manner.” Aro tries to defuse the situation.
“Tell your men to stop trying to kill my sister,” Y/N tosses the guard’s hand from her neck. “Then we discuss.”
“Felix, stand down.” Aro orders.
Y/N releases the man from her clutches, hearing him struggle to regain composure.
“You have the most peculiar scent.” Aro comments, “come.” He holds a hand out, “let me see.”
Y/N steps toward him, allowing his palm to rest under hers.
His eyes fall closed as he weaves through the facets of her memories. From birth to death and after life. “Ahh,” Aro coos.
Y/N resists the urge to pull away.
“Your gift is…untouched.” The things she could do, if only- “I can teach you.”
“Let my sister go,” Y/N repeats.
“So young, so much control.” Aro remarks. “To have resisted her blood twice within the first year. You are magnificent.” He smiles, drunk on the idea of harnessing the power she possesses. “You could join us.”
“I have someone waiting for me.” Y/N declines the offer.
“The child of the moon.” Aro recalls the boy from her mind. Dark hair, bright smile, “you love him impossibly so, against everything in your nature. It makes my heart ache.”
“Consorting with a werewolf?” Caius rushes to his feet. “Our sworn enemy?”
“This is different brother,” Aro stops him. If only he earns the young vampire’s trust, all that power will be his. “They have no qualms with us, nor each other. Misfortune has befallen them, much like our young friends Bella and Edward. This is a sadness.”
“You already know what you’re going to do, Aro. Let us be done with this.” Marcus motions dismissively.
“If only it were your intention to change her.” Aro addresses Edward now.
“Bella will be one of us.” Alice interrupts, “I’ve seen it. I’ll change her myself.”
Aro steps away from Y/N, to where Alice stands. Whatever she shows him must be proof enough. They’re free to go. For now.
———————————————————————-
The plane ride home is awkward. Both better and worse that the flight there.
“Thank you, for what you did.” Edward breaks the silence, as Bella sleeps peacefully against his shoulder. “Only it wasn’t smart. Aro has taken interest now, he’ll try to win you over.”
“Better men have tried.” Y/N turns her nose up at the idea, and him.
“I’m not going to push for your forgiveness. Or hers.” He looks over at Bella, “I’m going to earn it.”
“Sure.” The Y/H/C crosses her arms, “holding my breath.”
“Good thing you don’t need air.” Edward cracks a smile.
“Can you not pick my brain right now? I need to think.” Y/N tries to refocus. “Alone.”
“Jacob will forgive you.” Edward ignores her comment.
“Jacob always forgives me.” She whispers, “I want to deserve it this time.”
Edward nods in understanding. “I’ll leave you to your thoughts.”
If he hears anything else he doesn’t comment on it. Falling into a comfortable silence.
Y/N is largely on autopilot until they make it home.
Charlie rushes out onto the porch at the sound of a car engine. “There you are.”
“Hi, Dad.” Y/N steps up to hug him.
Charlie kisses the top of her head, returning the embrace. “Jacob said it was a girls trip.” He’s not thrilled to see Edward.
“It was supposed to be,” Y/N pulls away. “He surprised us.”
“She does look better though, doesn’t she?” Charlie notes, seeing Bella.
“Yeah,” as much as Y/N hates to admit it, she agrees.
“Go on. He’s been waiting for ya.” Charlie nods toward the house. “I’m gonna have a word with Edward.”
“Ok,” Y/N takes the stairs two at a time. “Don’t be too hard on him though.” She calls after her father. “He’s been through hell too.”
Charlie squints at her, hoping she will elaborate but knowing she won’t.
“Honey, I’m home.” Y/N sings into the living room.
Jacob doesn’t say a word. Just makes his way to her and wraps her up in his arms. Inhaling the scent at the crook of her neck, deeply. “Never thought I’d miss your stink.”
Y/N takes a whiff of her own. “The wet dog and earthy tones are starting to smell like home.”
“Yeah.” He feels it too.
“Can I ask you something?” She murmurs against his shoulder.
“Sounds like a loaded question already.” Jacob can hear it in her voice.
“How much of you staying here is because of the imprint? How much of it is your soul needing mine? And how much of it is just Jake?”
“I guess I-“ he breaks off. “I’ll never really know for sure. But I think the Jacob I’ve been my whole life would stay. Imprint Jacob would have no choice but to please you. And my soul just wants to be close to yours, anyway it can.”
“Do you ever wish you could un-imprint?” If that’s even a word. “I hate the thought of you chipping away parts of yourself…to please me.”
Jacob nuzzles her forehead with his own. “I’m lucky that I got to imprint on someone who loves me. Someone I didn’t have to change for. Being with you is easy, like breathing.”
“I want to give you more than I take.” Y/N tells him.
“I can feel you,” heart and soul, “how much you love me.”
“You can,” the vampire tenses, “feel me?”
“I know how guilty you feel for leaving, how scared you are that you’ll have to do it again.” Jacob places her hand over his heart. “I’ll wait.”
“You shouldn’t have to,” she argues. “You’re already giving away too much.”
“Stop beating yourself up. I can handle you. Have little faith.”
“I have faith in you.” That was never the problem.
“Give yourself some credit too.” He taps her chin, “quit brooding.”
“I’ll try.”
“Good,” Jacob holds Y/N at arms length, “now tell me everything. What’d I miss on the trip of a lifetime?”
“Well Alice stole a car.” She starts with the fun part. “Porsche I think, crazy fast. You would’ve loved it.”
———————————————————————-
The night they return from Italy, Bella insists that her mortality be put up for a vote. The Cullens gather around the staircase in their home, calling for Y/N and Jacob as well.
“You are part of this family, Y/N.” Carlisle rests a hand on her shoulder. “Jacob is your mate. Bella is your sister. You have a say in this.”
Jacob votes no.
Y/N votes not to vote. Only expressing her opinion based on her own experience. “I know what it feels like to have your choices taken away. I won’t do it to you.”
Life goes on. Y/N visits the reservation often. Like Jacob promised, everyone is coming around.
Graduation is right around the corner. Bella is waiting until after to become a vampire. Hoping it’ll be easier on Charlie.
He’s definitely not going to let it go a second time. He’ll demand answers that they won’t be able to give. They’ll have to leave. All of them.
Billy can see how much Y/N is wrestling with the decision. “In your heart you know that this is the best thing for everyone. Why are you hellbent on torturing yourself?”
“I’m not,” she shakes her head.
“You and Jake will get each other through.” Billy isn’t worried about that.
“What about my Dad?” He’ll be devastated.
Billy sighs, resting a hand on her shoulder. “What’d you want me to say kid?”
“Give me another choice.” She covers his fingers with her own.
“You having a pity party without me?” Jacob catches them, leaning heavily against the doorframe of his childhood kitchen.
“You were sleeping.” Y/N sniffs, breaking away from Billy. “I made you breakfast. Pancakes, French toast, eggs, bacon, sausage and-“
“And?” Jacob perks up.
“Chocolate chips muffins for dessert.”
“You’re trying to butter me up, huh?” Jacob grins, making his way to the breakfast table. “It’s working. Just give it to me straight.”
“I’ll leave you to it,” Billy excuses himself.
“The Cullens are having a graduation party for Bella.” Y/N watches the wolf take a bit of food from each dish.
“Just Bella?” Jacob arches a brow.
She huffs, reaching into her bag for the formal invite.
‘Congrats Grad!’
‘Please join us to celebrate, Alice, Jasper, Bella, Edward, Y/N and Jacob.’
‘R.S.V.P. To Alice or Esme Cullen.’
“Wow,” Jacob takes it all in. “They shouldn’t have.”
“They gave them to half of Forks high school.” Y/N explains, “most of my senior class remembers you as my hot boyfriend from a different school.”
“I am your hot boyfriend from a different school.” There is no denying it.
Y/N bites her lip. “They gave me a handful of invites for you too. If you want…”
“Really trying to push the whole ‘happy family’ agenda.” Jacob takes the stack of envelopes.
“It’ll only get worse if we indulge them.”
“In a few months they’ll be the only people we know.” Jacob reminds her. “Should probably get used to it.”
Y/N nods, turning her gaze out the window. “The younger we start out in a new place the longer we get to stay.”
“So high school again.” Jacob laughs humorlessly. “Can’t wait.”
“I want to stay in Forks.” Y/N forces out the words. “I want to stay with my Dad.”
“Baby,” Jacob breathes. That’s one thing he can’t give her.
“But it doesn’t matter what I want. Bella has to turn. We have to move on.” Y/N squares her shoulders. “Just let me sulk a little.”
“Sulk away, beautiful.” Jacob takes a bite of scrambled eggs. “Just pass the salt first.”
Series Taglist: @remembered-license @itscheybaby
Part 6
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trueshellz · 4 years ago
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Meeting Sukuna: JJK Scenario
Part 2 (NSFW)
If anyone ever asked you how this situation came about, you weren’t even sure if they would believe you. I mean, shit like this happens in the dark with the lead actress following a spooky path down to an abandoned building. Then there would be a gust of wind and bats scattering about as she got scared, then lightning bleeding across the sky... the whole shebang you know? In none of those scenarios, was it a clear day with a young girl deciding to go sightseeing in the middle of April thinking that the local story you had heard about Ryoumen Sukuna was something she would want to go check out.
Oh how wrong you had been.
You were sure that the path to hell was paved with good intentions... wasn’t that how the story went?
All you wanted to do was get some good pictures for your scrapbook, after all you had spent weeks travelling with friends and the one morning that they were tired, you seemed bundling with energy. Local tale had said that there was a shrine for an old sorcerer turned demon of some sort, locals would often steer clear but it was a spot that tourists loved going to. And come on, who wasn’t sightly interested in magic at one point? Hello, Harry Potter anyone?
After following the path up, and taking a dozen or so pictures of the wildlife and foliage, you had finally reached the top of the hill. It was beautiful; the grass was emerald green with vividly contrasting flowers and you could hear crickets and birds chirping around you. As you kept walking, the shrine or temple you had heard about came into view. It was huge and imposing, with arches and paths stemming down and around. You could see the intricate design and artwork as you delved further in. The writing etched into the walls wasn’t a language you spoke but the penmanship and calligraphy was stunning. Snapping a few more pictures, you followed a corridor upwards leading to what you thought was a throne room. A huge dominating chair in the middle with an overhead panel of a story, the sides had armours or statues with what felt like guards or soldiers. Walking towards the throne you could see that it was placed on skulls, perched as though they had perished under it. You hoped they were made of stone and not bone and looking behind it, you could see the backdrop of a man with four arms and multiple eyes. In his arm was a spear or trident pointing outwards, he had a muscular body with intricate markings all over it and in a purely aesthetic way, you thought he was kinda hot. For a sorcerer turned demon.
Shaking your head at your thoughts, you added a few more photos to your album before venturing towards the back but something on the floor had caught you eye. Reaching down, you picked up a jewelled dagger which seemed really out of place... its handle was polished gold with a woven pattern and it shone like stars in the night sky. As you moved it out the way, the side of it caught you hand and you hissed as it cut your palm, blood dripping down your hand to the floor below you. Wiping it on your jeans, you noticed the cut wasn’t very big and not something you felt would need a bandage. Kicking the knife out the way and under some rocks, you took one last glance at the sketches of Sukuna.
“Must be losing my mind thinking you’re hot as fuck. I swear to God, why do I always got for the bad guys? Why? For once, can I not have a cute guy who will treat me well as well as fuck me ten ways til Monday? Is that too much to ask?”
Shaking your head at your monologue, you started moving through the temple when you heard a pitter patter of feet behind you. It has been weirdly quiet on your way up but then again, it was very early in the morning so you put that down to your own eagerness. Whipping around in fear, you held out your hands as you came face to face with a cat. An adorable black cat with green eyes and a white tipped tail who was looking up at you in confusion. Sighing in relief, you reached down to pet it, only for it to bleed away into smoke and dissipate into air.
“It’s not everyday that someone like you wanders into my domain.”
You jumped and whirled around as a voice echoed through the room. “What?”
“I have to say, you’re definitely an upgrade from the last person who came to see me. Much nicer to look at, that’s for sure.”
You were losing your mind, that was the only explanation.
“Why is it mortals ultimately think they’ve ingested a hallucinogen?”
“Who’s there? What do you want?”
A slow series of steps moved around the room and you felt the air change as the voice came closer.
“Tch, you’re in my house and you have the nerve to ask who I am? Such insolence.”
“Wha-“
Your words were cut short as a hand wrapped themselves around your mouth, voice close to your ear as you felt a presence behind you. Another hand around your waist, your eyes widened as you saw familiar marking adorn his wrists, two black stripes.
“Ryoumen Sukuna, at your service.”
Couldn’t get out my head all day, smut to follow.
205 notes · View notes
wizkiddx · 4 years ago
Note
i saw that you at least used to write for harry could u do another? like maybe im just a basic bitch but 'only one bed' trope or sm
Summary: honestly just me shitty attempt at the only one bed thing ahah with Harry Holland x reader
no warnings I don’t think apart from my ramabling :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
God you were groggy. It had been a long 16 hour flight and you were well and truly completely over this day. Once you’d had some proper sleep, no doubt you will be beyond excited to explore the forest and beaches of this remote island in Indonesia. You were certain it was beautiful, even if you’d arrived in the dead of night so you couldn’t see any of the majesty yet. It was one of the joys of being Tom’s makeup artist - travelling the world and being paid for it? A literal dream. 
Except maybe the previous 24 hours. The Holland name carried a lot of weight in the world, but not enough to control typhoons across the tropics - there were some limitations to his power. And yes first class lounges were nice but none had beds to crash on during the 6 hour weather delay. The four of you (Tom, Harry, Andrew and yourself)  ended up camping out in a out-the-way corner. Tom got the long sofa; Andrew in one of those weird egg line chairs; you and Harry splayed on the floor. Why you’d had to get up at 4 am to catch a flight that was now not departing till 12 hours later actually hurt to think about - especially because you’d all gone out for a meal the night before that had inevitable went a lot later than planned. 
Two connecting flights with a very angry baby later, the four of you were checking in to the only hotel on the island - which was now almost exclusively filled with the production team for Tom’s newest movie. It wasn’t especially big-budget with massive million pound overheads, instead a smaller scale indie film (that you privately thought might earn Tom a number of accolades). But yeh, shooting on an island that received almost no tourism meant everything was different to the usual. None more so than for Tom and his team (including you) who he normally would look after very well, with the nicest hotel rooms or rental homes. 
The hotel was basic, you’d known that before you arrived but seeing is believing is it not? Most entertaining though, was seeing Tom’s face. Andrew was a well travelled older guy, he had stayed in some shitholes in his life. Equally you and Harry had both travelled when you were younger (you through inter railing and him in australia), so had stayed in hostels before. But for Hollywood star Tom Holland? The way he tilted his head to the side as if to say ‘really this place?’ did lift your spirits momentarily. 
Andrew had got his key first, bidding you all good night with a grunt, then Tom - who still seemed confused as to the whole arrangements. It left you and Harry at the small dingy reception, the warm glow of an old lantern-esque light fixing illuminating the place. The guy behind the desk was a smiley local and greeted you warmly, if incorrectly.
“Ah and finally the couple I see!” He spoke with a thick accent but still very clear English which had you questioning if this was just a translational error. Harry looked at you instantly, his eyes wide which made you scoff - him joining in, shaking his unruly curly mop emphatically.
“No no we um… we aren’t together.” All the while Harry pointed between the two of you, communicating through actions rather than just the language, given that you were both the very typical Brits abroad who hadn’t learnt the language of the place they were visiting. 
“Still under Holland name?” The guy asked in a perplexed manner, flicking through a book filled with cursive scribbles and scanning to see if he’d made a mistake. He checked one, then looked up nervously before checking the same page once again- you saw where this was going. ”We, we only have couples room down for you though? 3 double rooms is the booking for Holland.” 
It was late, you both stunk of a combination of plane and BO, you both just wanted your individual and respective beds. 
“Well can we get another room then?” Harry didn’t quite snap but there was still an impatientcy to his voice, which came out whenever he was a little agitated. Seeing the slightly worried look the mans eyes, you leaned onto the desk with a genuine smile. 
“Sorry we know its last minute and its not your fault, we’ve just had a really long flight.”
“I am terribly sorry miss but we are only small hotel and Hollywood has filled us up. I have no other rooms. I am truly sorry sir, ma’am.” The guy went from looking worried to terrified as Harrys jaw tensed up, you naturally squeezed his arm to try and ground him, instantly deciding that you’d just work it out. 
“No no it’s not your fault, don’t worry we’ll figure it out. Can I just get the key?”
Harry stepped back and let youtakeover proceedings, signing all the insurance documents etc and asking the man about the breakfast arrangements and such, though you saw him furiously typing on his phone and by the buzzing in your pocket- presumed he was messaging the group of you Tom, Andrew and himself. 
Once finished the guy pointed you on your way, up two flights of stairs and down a hall. The whole time Harry was muttering about how useless the other two were for not replying and also for making the wrong booking in the first place. If only you hadn’t been the last two to checkin, then it would’ve been someone else’s problem.
He felt especially guilty just because you were the only girl-  he didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable, hence why he was trying to locate his brother so they could share tonight till they got it figured out. The tension, combined with sleep deprivation, was palpable as you both walked in silence toward the room - Harry was trying to formulate a plan in his head as they did so. And honestly? You just couldn’t be bothered to deal with it. So, once you reached the door 57 holding the physical key (old school, rather than a key card) you just decided to address it. 
“Will you chill please?” 
“Well if my idiot broth-“
“Oh leave him be for god sake. If you’re okay with it I really don’t mind sharing with you tonight?” Not bothering to laugh at his slightly shocked expression with mouth hanging a little open, you fiddled with the key until the lock clicked open. From the entrance you had a pretty clear view of the whole room and… well, lets just say dated would be a fair expression - when compared to what you were used to? The floor was tiled and the bed was a small double, with some funky and slightly washed out prints of blue and red on the cover. The pillows looked a little limp, more like glorified pieces of cardboard than anything fluffy and comfortable. The walls were that yellowy magnolia shade that everyone in the UK had gone insane for in the 80s and there was an old school wooden wardrobe in the corner. 
Home for 5 weeks. 
With a shrug of your shoulders you entered, dumping your personal and work suitcases by the far wall carelessly - the higher priority action being to collapse on the bed. Doing so with an overdramatic huff, you let your eyes close but payed special attention to the delayed footsteps of Harry as he entered, then the slight creaking noise as he perched on the other side of the bed - no doubt looking at you, at least slightly fearfully. 
The relationship between you and Harry was complex to say the least. Well no… it should be, not on the face of it. You had met through work and made friends. And you wished it was that simple but alas, nothing ever really is. When you’d first worked with Tom you were in the tail end of a relationship you had long since forgotten about - literally meaningless, not worth the time and effort you’d put into it. From the start you’d had a feeling Harry was more interested in you than the average co-worker (even if your job and therefore co-workers were anything but normal and average) but you were in a relationship so nothing ever came. 
Then almost as if synchronised, just as you got out your relationship, Harry threw himself in the deep end with a girl he’d met through his family friends. Then the roles were somewhat reversed, you now spent a good chunk of your day just entertaining yourself with thoughts of the curly headed, slightly awkward, very-passionate-about-tea-making Holland. The cliche is so real - your always want what you cannot have. 
However, a couple months ago his relationship had fizzled and faded away leaving both of you in a sort of no mans land. The sort of not wanting to ruin the friendship situation. The subject was never broached by either you - except you assumed he was being tormented in a similar way to how you were by his big brother and Andrew. Never publicly, yet whenever you found yourself alone in a room with one of them (being Tom’s makeup artist that happened often enough) there would always be a sly dig. The chemistry was  so ‘obvious even a blind man could see it’. Somehow though, weeks of this and your were still stuck. Stuck in the middle. 
“You sure you’re alright with this?” His voice was gruffer and hoarser from the long journey but you could hear the self-consciousness and naivety in his tone, without having to peel your eyes open and look at his face. 
“I know your not a murder and plus, we shared the airport floor this morning… this is pretty much the same.” He hummed in acknowledgement so you carried on “and plus your pint sized.” That earned you a playful shove in the side as you sniggered, before pulling yourself up so you we now sitting next to him, legs hanging off the edge of the bed. His brown eyes searched deeply into yours, as if physically checking for any hint of regret or hesitation. “Don’t even dare offering to go on the floor.” 
“Okay okay okay!” Holding his hands up in surrender, you both laughed, breaking the peace of the late night of the remote Indonesian island. Once an impressive yawn interrupted you though, Harry proclaimed it was time for bed and shooed you into the bathroom to get changed and sorted. 
Honestly you were too tired and lazy to dig out your cleanser and skin stuff, instead opting to just splash a bit of water on your face before swapping into your pj shorts and an old tattered oversized tee. Once done you and Harry swapped, him coming out a couple minutes later in basketball shorts and a black loose fitting tee. 
It wasn’t awkward so to speak, more a sort of excited-tense atmosphere, which there was no doubt Harry was mainly responsible. The boy was jittery and on edge, which to put simply, you didn’t have the energy to reciprocate. 
With a quiet wish of goodnight to each other, Harry flicked off the bedside lamp and you both rolled to your respective edges of the bed, a large space of no mans land between you. In the middle. You know the first time you share a room with someone and you overthink everything? When you don’t want to move about or fidget too much in case it disturbs the other? When your listening intently to their breathing, in the hope it’ll even out and only then will you feel able to fall asleep yourself? 
Well it doesn’t work when both of you are doing it. When both of you are professional over thinkers. 
God knows how long it took till you gave up, favouring sleep over your worries and concerns. So you flipped over, no doubt rocking the whole bed, turning to face his back that was still huddled almost teetering off the edge of the bed. The only light within the whole room was that coming under the actually scarily large gap between the floor and the door to the hallway. It was just enough to see the back of Harry’s curls and you must’ve fallen asleep trying to trace all the torturous and windy routes of the strands.
///////////
In the morning the process of waking up didn’t come easy to you as normal for many reasons; the long day prior; the jet lag; the weird surroundings. So you stayed in this sort of blissful haze for probably longer than you should. Half aware but not really; half asleep but not quite. In the middle  of sleep and alertness. Therefore it took you longer than it should have to notice the extra weight on the dip of your waist. Not anything alarming, just a presence you were absolutely not used to. It was only when you shifted a bit to lie further on your back, that enough of a stimulus from the added pressure made you actually open your eyes blearily. And sure enough, a limp hand looked to have casually and unconsciously been thrown over your side. 
As if in slow motion, you traced the arm backwards - first with your eyes, but then having to twist your neck too. Only then could you fully see the browny ginger haired boy who was lowkey spooning you? It was certainly a way to fully wake you up, breath halted to a stand still in your lungs, in fear of disturbing him and having to confront what would almost certainly be an awkward situation. 
There was still a safe hands width distance between the two of you except for the rogue arm. Harry’s head was placed to the edge of his pillow, mouth slightly parted as his breathing slightly tickled the wispy hairs on the back of your neck. He looked so peaceful and calm - a difference to the normal Harry who, even on a good day, took great pleasure in meticulously picking things apart and being a bit cynical. It was part of his ‘charm’; but seeing him like this was a type of vulnerability he rarely chose to show. 
To be fair he was asleep, he dint realise he was exposing himself in this way.
Finding yourself a little transfixed (a bit creepy but hey) on the natural curves and definition of his face, you ever so carefully rolled over in the bed to face him. It stopped you from craning your neck and gave the sleepy boy a slight nudge, making him tense his arm a little more tightly round you. 
He settled quickly though, giving you ample opportunity to just observe what was going on . Both right in front of you… and what the hell was going on in your head. Because to be honest it was an overwhelming amount of emotion thoughts for the early morning. 
Somehow you must’ve eventually drifted off once again because the next thing you were aware of was a shuffling from immediately next to you. This time though, you were instantly aware of exactly the situation you found yourself in and chose to keep up the pretence of sleep - a little interested in how Harry would play it. 
You heard a small gasp, having to suppress a chuckle at what you imagined Harry’s sleepy and panicked face looked like. That lasted a couple of moments, before you felt him painstakingly slowly peel his hand from your waist and if you were being 100% honest… you heart sort of sank. 
What you had been expecting?- you don’t know and really there was really no reason to be disappointed. Yet, you still felt this deflated and disappointed feeling, hit your chest especially hard. Perhaps it was because of your focus on that emptyness that you forgot you were supposed to be pretending to be asleep./.
Because when he had delicately brushed the side of your face to tuck a rogue bit of hair behind your ear - your eyes flickered open.  Like a rabbit caught in headlights, Harry froze, his hand still hovering over your jaw. Equally, you didn’t know what to do. Because really… do friends tuck hair behind the others ears? And do friends look at each other with this matched expression of confusion and fear? 
It took a painfully long time (though in reality was probably only a matter of seconds) before the boy retracted his hand, suddenly sitting up from his reclined position down at you. Mirroring his actions, you both ended up sitting, facing the opposite wall, bodies closer than they needed to be in the double bed. Both still very much in the middle. 
“I er-“
“-No no don’t… was nice of you” He had been about to apologise which you didn’t want to hear. You didn’t want to hear ‘ I didn’t mean it’ - you wanted him to mean it. In response Harry nodded jerkily, and from your peripheries, noticed he was searching your face for any sign of emotion.
“Still can’t believe this all happened… I-I didn’t disturb you too much did I?” He sounded really nervous. You were never like this with each other. So static and forced. 
“No no… I slept really good actually.” Your register was quieter, waiting till you’d finished speaking before looking over at him with a self conscious smile. 
“Ah I’m glad… I um-I did too.” The silence returned and the atmosphere just felt sharp. It felt like you were quite literally walking either side of a knife edge. It made you chew on your bottom lip, playing with the slightly frayed edges of the vintage quilt. 
“Y/n- I look…” He’d bolted upright and voice was more raised than normal for the morning. “This is gonna sound so fucking weird, especially cos we’re literally in the same bed but... but I was thinking we could maybe go on a hike or something together?” What he seemed to be suggesting didn’t match the level of panic that was conveyed in his body language which confused you. And what the bed had to do with it… was yet to make sense in your head. 
“I think Andrew said we’re getting some tour of island this afternoon so-“
“ I kinda meant just you and me.” 
The penny dropped and it had you focusing all energy on processing what was happening - understandably causing Harry to only worry more with the lack of response. “I’m sorry if I’ve ruined ever-“
“No I-I….I’d really like that too.”
“Oh er… well… really?” The sheer shock made you giggle, feeling the two of you sliding back into the normal dynamic.
“Normally a boy has to buy me a drink before he gets in my bed but….” A mischevious smirk that spread across your lips gave Harry the final confirmation that just maybe you were interested too, making him scoff and quietly chuckle.
It was odd; mainly because this was the two of you being incredibly vulnerable and honest with each other - something that you hadn’t allowed yourself to be for fear of messing things up. And then one lazy morning, both with morning breath and slightly puffy eyes, it changed. For the first time when you looked at him, he really saw - and vice versa. You were still in the middle of something, yet it was completely different. 
This time you were in the middle together figuratively as well as literally. In the middle of the bed, closer than you needed to be, but not wanting to retreat - while you both just looked shyly and bashfully at each… Eventually you lips hesitantly met in the middle. 
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sunflowerhazzavol6 · 5 years ago
Text
Man After Midnight
Y/N is out for the night on a quest to find someone to sleep with and forget about the next day. The last thing she expects is to run into someone and find herself feeling like she's known them forever. 4k words of fluff, partying, drinking, and cursing (will most likely end up being a series). Enjoy!
Y/n was always up to go out.
It was fun, to get drunk, to party with her friends. It was fun to go to bars all dressed up, flirt with guys that she had absolutely no intentions of committing to. She supposed that was the case for most people her age; making decisions based on the theory that they were invincible. That there was no way they could get hurt when there was nothing and no one they were responsible for.
Tonight was no different than any other. San Francisco was bustling with its usual nightlife, twenty-something year olds stumbling into the entrance of the next bar they were going into. Y/n and her friends had just left one of their favorite places, beginning to head to the next destination for the night.
“Can you believe that guy?” Lydia, one of her friends, frustratedly wipes at her jacket with an old receipt from her purse. “Clumsily grinding on someone and then spilling your drink all over them is not a one way ticket inside their pants.”
“God, it was like watching a train wreck!” Her other friend Veronica skips around them holding a flask. “So bad you want to look away and yet you can’t help but watch.”
Y/n laughs, plucking the flask from her hand. “I kind of feel bad for the guy. He clearly had no clue what he was doing.” She takes a swig, coughing and handing it off to Penelope.
“Fuck that. He was definitely just drunk, not inexperienced.” Penelope says, rolling her eyes.
“Fuck him and fuck these hills. A bitch wants to be able to wear heels out without breaking an ankle.” Lydia groans.
“Cheers to that.” Y/n takes another sip and the girls pass it around, laughing.
Y/n never really got time with her girl friends like this. She was currently working at a coffee shop part time while she got her degree in digital marketing, which meant that between studying and work, she had no time to herself.
“You know, I think this is the one.” Y/n says at a pause in the conversation.
“The one?” Veronica laughs, narrowly avoiding a very drunk couple sloppily making out against a storefront. “You said the last one was ‘the one’.”
“I feel it this time.” Y/n turns to walk backwards to face her friends, entering the bar. “Mama is gonna get her p- Oh!” She falls against someone, laughing.”Fuck, I’m sorry, I should have-”
“Not been walking backwards?” The person interrupts her with a thick British accent, laughing heartily. She turns around, biting her lip when she sees the victim of her drunkenness.
“Well shit, of all the people to fall into...” Lydia says under her breath. Penelope elbows her in the side to shut her up.
Lydia was right. He was hot. Tattoos were littered around his tan arms, the sleeves of his white button up pushed past his elbows. A handful of the top buttons were undone, tattoos of sparrows just below his collar bones peeking out from underneath the fabric. Beautiful pale green eyes looked at her through long, thick eyelashes. His hair was a curly mop on top of his head, slick with sweat from dancing. The worst of it all was his smile. Blindingly white, crooked, dimples. That smile could make an honest woman out of her and she wouldn't mind one bit.
“Fuck- I mean, I’m sorry. You’re right, I probably shouldn’t be walking backwards, let alone walking backwards while drunk.” She laughs, holding out her hand. “No harm no foul?”
“None at all.” He shakes it firmly, his skin rough and calloused. Musician hands. She could feel them on the pads of his fingers.
“Well, we’ll be on our way then.” She says, nodding toward the inside of the club.
“Good luck to you, don’t back into anyone else.” He flashes his crooked grin at her again before his blonde-haired friend slaps him on the back and leads him out.
“What the fuck, y/n!” Lydia says, smacking her friend’s shoulder with her clutch. “He was the one! That was fate!”
“There's no way I’m going to talk it up with a guy that I quite literally ran into.” Y/n leads the group to the bar, ordering herself a drink.
“The sex gods not only sent you a bedtime buddy, they sent you one of their fucking own. Did you even see that man? Are you blind? Does your insurance cover eye care?”
“Forget about it.” She laughs. “They're probably long gone by now anyways.”
“I think Lydia is right. Anyone after looking at him is going to be mediocre at best.” Penelope says, sitting on the stool beside her.
“Whatever, I’ll find someone else.” Y/n says, trying to play it off. Maybe she had been to quick to brush him off. Usually she was the type to be forward and flirtatious, not the type to be nervous. “So, shots?”
As usual, their lucky bar had been a total success. Lydia had already left with a tall guy that said he was an engineer. (“Smart guys have the best dick, trust me.” She had said before she left. “They bottle up all that sexuality in high school and then release the beast when they go out into the real world.”) Veronica had met a guy and was currently pulling him off the dance floor to y/n and Penelope at the bar.
“Derek here says that there's this great spot just a block over with a bar downstairs and a DJ on the roof. Wanna go?”
“Sure.” Y/n shrugs. “Penny?”
“I think I’m going to head back home. I’ve got work in the morning. Should I wait up for you guys?”
“No, don’t worry about it, get some rest.” Y/n kisses her on the cheek, squeezing her arm. “Text me when you get there, alright?”
“Yeah, no problem. Be safe.”
“Always.” Veronica says, grabbing y/n’s arm. She barely has time to slap down money for the tab before she's pulled back out onto the street.
Veronica spends the walk clinging to Derek, leaving y/n to her thoughts. Maybe she was stupid for not talking to that guy more. He was really good-looking, and nice enough to not yell at her for tumbling into him. Not to mention that smile. God, she had never thought about a smile so goddamn much. She shakes her head to rid herself of those thoughts. He was long gone anyways, and if she wanted to get any tonight, this was the last stop.
Derek was right, this place was very cool. The bar was dimly lit and clearly busy, people ordering drinks and laughing with their friends. Even from down here she could hear the vibrations of the bass coming from the rooftop.
“Wanna dance?” Veronica yells over the noise.
“Sure! Drinks?”
“I’ve got them. You guys head upstairs.” Derek says, waving them off. Veronica shrugs with a laugh and grabs y/n’s hand to pull her upstairs.
If y/n was impressed by the bar portion, she was blown away by the rooftop. Tables were spread around the edge of a large dance floor brimming with bodies, lights strung up back and forth overhead of them. The DJ had his own light set up as well, colorful lasers darting back and forth to the beat of the music. The sky was clear above them to top it all off, no token San Francisco haze to block their view of the stars. Y/n was suddenly grateful for the rain she had complained about in the morning.
“Fuck, this song is my shit!” Veronica exclaims as ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme’ by ABBA comes on.
“Ronnie it's our girl group song!” She laughs, grabbing her friends hands.
“Hell yeah it is.” She takes two shots from the mini-bar adjacent to the dance floor, handing one to y/n and holding her own up. “To getting a man after midnight.”
“To getting a man after midnight.” Y/n grins, tapping their glasses together and downing the amber liquid. She coughs slightly before setting the glass back down and making her way to the dance floor.
Song after song plays, y/n somehow making her way to the center of the crowd of people. It was too tight for anyone to really dance, so she was just jumping around laughing and having fun. This was what it was about. What all the stress and hard work came back to. This. Letting go, having fun, dancing next to strangers who were equally as drunk and stressed and tired. A mass of twenty-somethings tossing away every bad part of their life. Y/n closes her eyes to soak it all in, tipping her head towards the sky.
“Fancy seeing you here. Run into anyone else yet?” A British accent yells over the music next to her. She opens her eyes.
“Not way.” She laughs, pushing her hair out of her face. “Hey!”
“You didn’t answer my question.” He grins, looking up at the DJ when the song changes.
“Not so far. The night is still young, though.”
“Right, of course. Silly me to think one would only step on a single person in a night.”
“I didn’t step on you!”
He looks down at his shoes, which were scuffed up at the point.
“Shit, my bad. I’ll pay for a shining?”
“Don’t worry about it. Pay me back with a drink?”
Y/n smiles. “I’d love to.”
The man takes her hand and weaves through the crowd of people back down to the bar. By now most of the crowd had either left or were upstairs, leaving the bar quiet besides a handful of people and the muffled noises from upstairs.
“What do you drink?” She asks, sitting on a stool.
“I’ll have a scotch, please.” He says, sitting beside her.
“A martini for me, and a scotch for...”
“Harry.” He finishes. “Thanks.” He says to the bartender.
“Y/n.” She says to him. “Nice to officially introduce myself in a way other than fucking up your shoe.”
“Indeed.” He laughs. “Well, y/n, where are you from?”
“Really? We’re starting with that question?”
“Is that a bad question to start with?” The corner of his mouth turns up, amused.
“A terrible one. People always ask that when they’re trying to get to know you, but I’ve found that where someone is from is the least telling information there is.”
“And why is that.” He grabs his scotch when it's set in front of him, nodding his head to the bartender in thanks.
“Well, there's a reason people left wherever they’re from. A reason why they wanted to get out of that place as soon as they could. So, therefore, they are likely the opposite of wherever they’re from and that information is irrelevant.”
“Thats contradictory. If they’re the opposite of wherever they’re from, doesn’t that tell you what they’re like anyways? Perhaps not so plainly, but it still does all the same.”
Y/n pauses and then laughs. “You got me there.”
“So then, where are you from?” He tries again.
“A small town outside of Chicago.”
“Aha. A midwesterner.”
“See, these are the exact kind of assumptions I wanted to avoid.” She takes a sip of her martini.
“You don’t want people to assume you’re nice?”
“I don’t want people to assume I’m a pushover.” She corrects.
“Darling, I have no assumptions whatsoever.” He turns in his seat to face her. “I’m from Cheshire, England. A little place called Holmes Chapel.”
“Little place? You’re from a small town?”
“Population 5,000.” He shrugs.
“I just assume every English person I meet is from London.”
“That's very American of you.” He laughs. “But I suppose I can’t judge you for that, I assume everyone is from LA or New York.”
“Is there anything about me that screams LA?” She raises an eyebrow.
“Nothing. As soon as your large midwesterner feet landed on my posh English shoes I knew exactly the type you were.”
“Did not!” She smacks his shoulder jokingly.
“’Did not’ indeed. That would have been cool, though.”
Y/n laughs, finishing her drink. Usually by this time she would have been in between the sheets with this stranger, and definitely wouldn’t know where he was from (or maybe even his name). Something was different about Harry. Maybe it was his teasing, or maybe she just wasn’t drunk enough. Or maybe it was because she felt like she had already known him for forever, which seemed crazy even to her.
“Hey.” Harry clears his throat, setting his empty glass down. “What do you say we get out of here?”
“And go where?” She bites her lower lip, running a hand through her hair. Maybe she had spoken too soon and this was just foreplay after all.
“It's a really clear night for San Francisco, right? My friend told me about this place where you can see the Golden and the entire bay. We could pick up a drink on the way, if you’re interested.”
“I am interested. Let me just let my friend know I’m leaving and we’ll meet back on the street?”
“Absolutely.” He grins lopsidedly, standing up and then helping her out of her chair.
“I’ll be right back, I promise.” She sets down money for the tab and then walks back up the stairs, finding Veronica.
“You found who?” She yells over the music, grinning. “No fucking way!”
“Yes fucking way.” Y/n grins. “So I’m leaving with him right now, if you’re good with Derek.”
“Absolutely I am. Go get that dick, baby!” She says, high-fiving her. “I guess you were right about that bar being ‘the one’, huh?”
Y/n rolls her eyes, squeezing her friend’s arm before making her way back down to the street. Harry is standing just outside of a taxi, leaning against it. He immediately smiles when he sees her, standing up and opening the door. “Ready?”
“To leave with a man I violently assaulted and just met? I guess.” She jokes, sliding into the car. He slides in next to her, leaning towards the driver, saying something she couldn’t hear.
“Alright, what other get to know you question can I bore you with?” He asks, sitting back.
“What brings you here?”
“What brings you here?” He repeats, looking at her.
“No, I’m asking you.” Y/n laughs, crossing her legs. “No offense, but your accent puts you heavily out of place.”
“Is that so? I hadn’t noticed.” He twists a ring around his middle finger. “I’m here on business. I work for a record label seeking new talent.”
“I would expect you to be a musician.”
“Now who’s assuming?” He teases, running his tongue along his lower lip. “I mean, I am one. A musician, I mean. I write stuff for people sometimes, and just for myself, but I prefer being on the sidelines for the time being.” He shrugs.
“So you sing?”
“I do.”
“That's cool. I wish I had a talent like that.”
“Tell me what you’re good at then.”
“Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of humility?”
“A bit, but you don’t strike me as someone shy.” He glances out the window when they stop at a 7/11, smiling. “Press pause on that, looks like we’re stopped at the epitome of class winery. Thanks for the ride, mate.” He hands the driver some cash, opening the door and helping y/n out.
“7/11? Really?” She laughs.
“Can you think of anywhere else open at nearly three in the morning that sells wine?”
“So we’re drinking wine? That’s very classy of you.”
“I’m trying to impress you, what can I say?” He shrugs. The door chimes when he opens it for her, following behind her and waving to the bored clerk. She walks to the wine section, Harry standing behind her with his hands stuffed in his pockets. “This isn’t your first midnight 7/11 wine run, I’m assuming.”
“What makes you say that?” She bites her lower lip, looking back at him.
He looks at her mouth and then back up at her eyes. “No reason. You just went straight for the wine section without so much as a glance at any of the directory signs.”
“So what if I have?” She turns back to the shelf, surveying the selection. “Are you a white or red wine type of guy?”
“I feel like that's a trick question, seeing as how you’re obviously an expert on 7/11 wine.” He grins when she looks back at him, glaring. “Are you going to judge me?”
“Would I ever?”
He snorts. “White. Chardonnay especially.”
“I would never have pegged you for a white wine bitch.”
“Hey! What happened to no judgement?”
“That was before you revealed you were a basic white wine bitch.” She grabs a bottle, pressing it to his chest. She can feel the warmth of his skin radiating through his shirt to the back of her hand, and it gives her the chills. “It’s okay. Chardonnay is one of my favorites too.”
“Is it?” He pulls his lower lip into his mouth, suppressing a smile at her touch. He wraps his hand around the neck of the bottle, covering hers. “Guess we’ll have to settle on that then, shall we?”
“We shall.” She lets go of the bottle, casually walking to the aisle full of snacks and grabbing a bag of Doritos.
“Wine and Doritos?” Harry quirked up an eyebrow.
“Wine and cheese is considered fancy and socially appropriate. Why not wine and… nacho cheese?”
“Right, of course,” He laughs, reaching over her to grab oreos. His arm was positioned beside her head like a boy leaning against his girlfriends locker in every high school rom com, and she wasn’t sure if the heat in her cheeks was from the alcohol or from his proximity.  “And we can’t forget the chocolate.”
“It would be an absolute crime to consume wine without chocolate.” She laughs.
“Precisely.” He takes the bag or Doritos from her hand, walking to the clerk and paying for their haul.
“You didn’t have to do that.” Y/n says, following him out the door. “Pay for everything. I could have pitched in.”
“Don’t worry yourself with it. I’m the one that asked you out, remember?”
“Asked me out? Is this a date?”
He shrugs, smiling slyly. “It’s whatever you want it to be. Come on, the spot is a short walk from here.”
Y/n looks down at her heels with a small sigh before wrinkling her nose and shrugging. “Are you going to be thoroughly disgusted if I take off my shoes?” She asks.
Harry snorts. “I wouldn’t want to wear them. Go ahead.”
She puts her hand on his shoulder to stabilize herself, stepping out of her heels. Harry bites his lip at the contact, placing his hand in between her shoulder blades to assist. “Better?”
“Much.”
He shakes his head with a slight laugh before continuing on again. He leads her up the street and then turns down an alleyway, checking behind him every once in awhile to see if she was keeping up. Y/n trudges behind him with her heels and Doritos in hand, glaring at him when he looks back at her for the fifth or sixth time. “I’m perfectly capable of keeping up.”
“I don’t doubt your abilities.” He falls into step beside her, taking the Doritos. She doesn’t say anything, but smiles to herself. Harry grins wider when they get to a steep hill, blocking their view of what's ahead.
“Are you serious? A hill?” She groans, watching him bound up easily with his long male legs.
“Because a hill is the worst thing you’ve encountered in your life?” He calls behind him. She raises her middle finger in the air. He laughs.
She stomps up the hill, mumbling to herself about being a sucker for tattoos and dimples.
“For fucks sake, y/n. You’re almost there. I promise it's worth it.”
“You don’t live here, of course you think it's-” She cuts herself off, looking out over the view. The Golden Gate bridge was as twinkling in the night, lit up from end to end just to the right of them. Sometimes you couldn't see the other end of it, but tonight you could see the whole city, lit up and peaceful as sleep fell over it. She could taste the salt in the air here, feel the slight humidity on her skin. She could feel the grass between her toes too, this hidden little hill having not been trampled by the feet of locals and tourists alike. He was right. “...worth it.”
“Right?” Harry grins, placing his hands on his hips pridefully. “Not bad for a non-local.”
“Not bad at all.” She approaches him finally, biting her lower lip. “So…”
“So…” He smiles lopsidedly, holding up the wine in one hand and their snacks in the other.
“So.” She grins, taking the wine from his hands and screwing the cap off. Classic, convenient cheap wine. No cork to get in the way. She raises it up in the air, smiling to herself. “To getting a man after midnight.” She says before taking a swig.
Harry snorts, taking the bottle from her and tipping it in her direction. “To getting a man after midnight.” Y/n giggles when he sputters slightly after taking a sip. “Oh. This is cheap cheap.”
“Hey, you’re the one that took us to 7/11.”
“Sure, blame the foreigner.” He grins, sitting on the top of a lone picnic table, his feet on the bench. Y/n drunkenly hoists herself up to sit beside him, their sides pressed together as they pass the bottle back and forth.
“You know, I’ve never done this.” Y/n says, looking out at the water.
“Never done what?” Harry asks, looking at her profile.
“Hung out with a guy after meeting him at a bar. Or even wanting to hang out with a guy after meeting him at a bar.” She shakes her head with a laugh. “I was kicking myself for not talking to you, and then there you were showing me your shoes. I am sorry about that, by the way.”
“Don’t be.” He smiles, putting his hand over hers when she starts to pass him the bottle so that they’re both holding it when he leans in. She meets his eyes, biting her lower lip. “I like them better scuffed up. It reminds me of you.”
She had never had a kiss like this one.
One like the movies, the kind where you move slowly and bump noses before you kiss. The kind where your teeth knock together because you’re both smiling, where the kiss turns for a serious note when he holds your face in his hands and kisses you so hard it makes you breathless. He was kissing her like that now, setting the bottle to the side before immediately pulling her closer. There was no hand traveling up her thigh, no nudging her hands to certain places. He was completely invested in her, not her body.
She moves her hand to his forearm, pulling herself closer to him until she's on her knees on the table. Her hand slides up his arm and to his neck, tipping his jaw to fit his mouth to hers like two pieces to a puzzle. He takes this as a que to pull her into his lap, resting a hand on her hip and another in her hair. “Harry…” She breathes.
He pulls away slightly, biting his lip to keep from smiling embarrassingly big. His hand moves from her hair down to her hip. “We kind of forgot about the snacks.” He says quietly.
Y/n laughs, rubbing her thumbs along his jaw and putting her forehead on his chest to catch her breath. He rubs her back, resting his chin on top of her head. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but that was not a hook-up type of kiss.”
“That was not a hook-up type of kiss.” Y/n confirms, sitting back onto his thighs. “Whatsoever.”
“Well, in that case, what are you doing tomorrow?”
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izzielizzie · 4 years ago
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Chapter Five
Here it is! It sucks because I had no idea what to write, but since I made y’all wait so long, I’ll post Maeve’s chapter too. Oh and a big thank you to @natewynoou for getting me through my writer’s block. Enjoy!
“Hey Babe,” Jake says, leaning against my locker. “Hey,” I say back, smiling up at him. He’s wearing his football jacket today, and he looks lovely in it. His arm wraps around my waist as I slam my locker shut. “Ready for gym?” “Ugh, never.” Jake grins at me and pulls me close. I sink into him. This is my favorite part of the day. Being with Jake. I only see him during last block, and I always miss how he’s strong and kind and makes me feel seen for once. I let him lead me to the track, but before we can reach the door, a voice floats out from the overhead speakers. Would Cooper Clay, Nate Macauley, Adelaide Prentiss, and Bronwyn Rojas please report to the main office? Again, Cooper Clay, Nate Macauley, Adelaide Prentiss, and Bronwyn Rojas to the main office. Jake turns to look at me.
“What’s that about?” 
I shrug. “I’ll see you later.” I stand on my toes and give him a quick kiss before turning in the opposite direction. I’m nearly at the office when someone falls in step with me. “What do you think this is about?” Nate asks me. I shrug again. “Hopefully nothing.” We reach for the door at the same time, and I step back. Nate pulls the door open for me with an exaggerated bow and I enter the room as I giggle. The giggle stops suddenly though, when I see perfect little Bronwyn Rojas frowning at me from her seat next to Cooper. I slink into the seat across from Cooper as Nate drops next to me. “‘Sup?” Nate asks, tipping back his chair. Bronwyn gives him an exasperated look. “You’re going to crack your head open Nate,” Bronwyn snaps. “Bold of you to assume that’s not my intent,” Nate fires back with a smirk. Bronwyn rolls her eyes. “What are we doing here?” Cooper asks suddenly. He looks a little restless. Bronwyn opens her mouth, but before she can answer, the door flies open, and about an eighth of the girl’s soccer team comes marching in behind their coach. I can see Vanessa smirking at all of us, and behind her is Maeve Rojas. Maeve catches sight of the four of us and tilts her head questioningly, but doesn’t say anything as the coach turns to her. “Rojas! Stay here and see if you can find Gupta. This is absurd.”
“Sure thing Coach.” The coach leaves with the rest of the girls, and Maeve rolls her eyes at the closed door. “Hi, Maeve,” Bronwyn says. “Hey,” Maeve responds. “What’s going on?” “Gupta didn’t provide the school van for our soccer game.” Maeve pauses. “Again.” Bronwyn smiles a little. She looks uncomfortable, almost as if she doesn’t know what to say to Maeve, which is weird considering they once practically shared a brain. Before she has to say anything though, the door opens again, nearly hitting Maeve in the face. She steps back as Luis Santos steps in. He looks around at the people in the room and pauses. “Um, hi?” “Hey,” Cooper says. “What’s happening here?” “Family reunion,” Maeve says sarcastically, and Luis smiles at her. Maeve glares back. I’ll never understand why Luis keeps treating Maeve nicely when it’s obvious his crush is one sided. Or at least, it’s obvious to everyone but him. As it always has been. “What?” He asks hesitantly. “Nothing. Obviously. We’re all waiting for Principal Gupta. She’s MIA.” “Just like our football van.” “You guys have a football game?” I ask. Luis nods. Huh. Jake didn’t tell me about that. Usually he tells me when he has a game so I can get a ride home from a friend. Maeve ignores me and tilts her head at Luis. “Our soccer van is missing too.” Luis nods slowly, stuffs his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants with a contemplative look and twists so he’s leaning against the wall next to Maeve. “You going to the captain’s charity event?” The captain’s charity event. The event of the year after prom. Basically, ten years ago some rich football captain created a fund for the school that benefited the sports teams, as long as a dinner and dance was held for all the captains. Being invited is the greatest honor this school has. I’ve been once, with Jake, in my freshman year as his date. Sophomore year, though, Luis got the title of football captain and he and Olivia took our place. Cooper goes too, with Keely, to represent the boy’s baseball team. And from what I gathered, Maeve and TJ went together last year. Not that they will this year.
“Yeah, but I don’t have a date this year,” says Maeve as she twists her braid over her shoulder and wraps the end around her finger. “Are you?” “Yeah, I’m dateless too though.” Maybe Luis was expecting something from Maeve. Maybe a simple “we should go together”. Judging from his face, he didn’t expect Maeve to shrug, toss her braid over her shoulder and say: “Well, that sucks.” Luis’s shoulders slump right as Principal Gupta walks into the office with a harried look. She pushes open the door, and right before it can hit Maeve, Luis tugs her towards him. She falls against him. I catch sight of Bronwyn and Cooper’s small smiles before Gupta starts talking. “Sorry I’m late. Mr. Santos, Ms. Rojas, what are you doing here?” Luis and Maeve explain their van problem, and Gupta follows them to sort it out. She returns nearly forty minutes later looking exasperated and muttering about sports teams. She looks at us, and drops into a chair at the head of the table. “I’m sorry to keep you all waiting, but we had some difficulties with our sports teams today.” As if she had to tell us that. I zone out as she talks to us about how she understands we’re shaken up about Simon’s death (I’ve heard this enough times before) until I hear Cooper’s saying “With all due respect ma’am,” (Why is he so polite anyway? He only lived in the south for two years) “It sounds like you’re accusing us.” My head snaps up. “What?” Everyone turns to look at me. Nate’s smirking at me. “I was just saying that the four of you are well known students, and all four of you have a history with Simon.” I flinch a little. “So you think we killed him?” I ask. “We are simply following threads Addy, no need to be defensive.” “With all due re-” Cooper stops at the smirk on Nate’s face and then continues. “We’re being accused of something ridiculous, I think we have the right to be defensive.” “There’s no probable cause for investigation, is there?” Bronwyn asks. “It was an accident, and in a court of law, following threads wouldn’t convince a jury.” I roll my eyes. She always sounds older than she is. And like she knows more than everyone. Gupta opens her mouth the answer, when the bell rings, singling the end of school. “Are we free to go?” Nate asks. “Yes, but-” We don’t let her finish her sentence, because we’re too busy standing up, swinging our bags over our shoulders, and marching out of the room.
Maybe I shouldn’t have agreed to go to Glenn’s diner with Bronwyn, Cooper, and Nate, but I’m filled with pent up anger at Gupta for suggesting something that might mess up our lives that I said yes. Now I’m sitting in a booth next to Cooper picking at my salad. “Want some fries?” Cooper asks me. I shake my head even though I do really want some. The faster I get out of here, the better. I’m not really listening to the conversation around me until I hear Nate saying my name. “What?” I ask. “Did Simon have anything against you?” I pause before I shake my head vehemently. I look at the unconvinced faces staring at me. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing against me.” Bronwyn raises an eyebrow. “What did you do?” “Nothing!” “You really want us to believe that?” Nate asks. “I mean, I might have… hooked up with TJ last summer,” I say, the last words a whisper. I jump when Bronwyn slams her glass down. “What the HELL, Addy? You hooked up my sister’s boyfriend?” “I,” I can’t say anything more as the shame I’d pushed down resurfaces. “Addy, seriously?” Cooper asks me. “I didn’t know,” I say, shrinking away from him. “That’s bullshit you saw them together at every party we went to.” “He told me he wasn’t dating anyone.” “But you had a boyfriend.” Bronwyn’s glaring at me now, her arms crossed. Cooper’s staring at me like he’s never seen me before. Nate’s smirking, like always, and I’m pretty sure that if he wasn’t in the booth, he’d be tilting his chair back. “I know, I just-” “Addy Maeve is miserable.” “I’m sorry. If I could take it back I would.” “But, you can’t, can you?” “No, I can’t.” “Addy, do you really think it’s fair to Jake and Maeve?” Cooper asks me. “No, but-” “Seriously, Addy, that it the bitchiest thing anyone could do.” I don’t even know what to say anymore. I’ve ignored my actions for months because I didn’t want to think about what I did and how it might hurt people. And I can’t relive it now, here with people I’ve hurt more than once. I shrink into myself as Nate starts talking. “Funny how you left us for a guy you cheated on, Ads.” That’s it. I can’t. I pull my bag out from under the table and stand through my tears. I push my way through the diner until I step outside and breath in the fresh air. I look down at my phone when it starts ringing. It’s Vanessa. “Hey,” I say, praying to the trees in front of me that Vanessa can’t hear the tears in my voice. “Oh my god. Have you heard the news?” “What news?” “The Tumblr post? Saying you guys killed Simon?”
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creatively--challenged · 5 years ago
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Thanks, Zoom | Harrison Osterfield x Fem!Reader
Summary: You and Harrison have been dating a while, though have yet to meet each other’s parents. You’re trying to plan the perfect way to introduce him to yours until Zoom does it for you. 
Words: 2K
Warnings: None, just pure fluff.
A/N: I apologise but I have been on a massive Harrison buzz lately. I just need him to be my boyfriend. Let me know what you think! Enjoy x
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            You squeezed the tea bag against the side of your cup before removing it and adding a drop of milk, stirring it into your tea as you waited for your laptop to connect. You had it set up on the island in the kitchen, sunlight streamed through the overhead skylights and birdsongs drifted through the open back door while you waited for the newly installed Zoom app to connect to a meeting with your parents back home. You’d been forced to download the app to see your family since the government had announced a lockdown and you couldn’t travel home for the Easter break as you had planned to see your loved ones. Instead, you were stuck indoors with four boys who you loved dearly, but it still didn’t take away the ache you felt from missing your family.
              You’d moved to London about a year ago to start your career as a writer and it was going incredibly! You had your own flat, your dream job, and you’d even started dating the most amazing man a couple of months ago. You had met Harrison through work, technically. You were sent to interview a couple of the models at a Joshua Kane runway event to get a take on how to models themselves felt about the line and how to clothing made them feel. You were more interested in writing about film and pop culture but when your co-worker went on maternity leave early, you had to share her projects with two of your other co-workers; something you’d have to thank her for profusely when she got back because otherwise you wouldn’t have fallen head over heels for Harrison. You had never been one to believe in that ‘love at first sight’ crap but you didn’t really know how to describe it otherwise. He was so captivating. He answered all of your questions honestly and really went into detail, giving you lots of material to write with. You were hanging onto his every last word, marvelling at the innate beauty he held, the slight goofy way in which he presented himself (extremely different to how he displayed himself on the runway), and the adorable crumple of his nose and hand gestures he made while cracking little jokes mid-conversation.
             Too nervous, and professional, to ask for his number or anything like that, you’d thanked him and left kicking yourself that you didn’t know more about him. Sure, you looked him up you realised who he was and what acting projects he was involved in (for future reference so you could request to cover those interviews) but he was practically a stranger. Until, a week after your article was published one of the interns at your firm popped his head over your computer monitor to let you know a Mr. Osterfield was in reception waiting to see you. You freaked. Had you misrepresented him? Paraphrased too much? Was he pissed that your article focused on what he had to say too much? Or not enough? Your legs shook as they carried you towards reception. You curled the ends of your hair around your fingers, cursing yourself for not foreseeing this and wearing a nicer outfit, or putting more makeup on this morning. Here you were, meeting an actual male model and you looked like a complete Plain Jane in a bottle green jumper and dark grey slacks.
             Except, when you saw him in the waiting area, he was a completely different Harrison to the one you’d met previously. Fluffy hair pushed back loosely, an oversized cream jumper hiding his perfect frame, and a pair of baby blue jeans on him. He also had a pair of glasses balanced on his nose and wore a nervous expression, much like the one adorning your face. Oh no. You liked this Harrison so much more. He was adorable, stumbling over his words as he explained he had searched for your article on the web so that he could contact you, disappointed in himself for not getting your number that night. His eyes darted around the room and he scratched at the back of his neck idly as he nervously asked if you would be interested in meeting him for lunch the next day. You had giggled like a schoolgirl and told him ‘of course’, before exchanging numbers with him and waving goodbye from the foot of the stairs up to your office; vaguely catching him high-fiving a very familiar brown eyed and brown haired man once he thought he was out of sight.
            You two quickly became inseparable. He’d introduced you to the boys and you’d gotten along with them amazingly, especially Tom who confirmed he had bullied and encouraged Harrison to contact you once he found the article. Harrison had brought you with him to walk Monty and was a little put out when Monty seemed to favour walking beside you rather than him. You made it official between the two of you after a couple of months of seeing each other, but you still had one major obstacle to get over before you could be 100% solidified as a couple; meeting each other’s family. You’d both spoken about it, wanting to find the perfect time to arrange dinners and get togethers which was especially hard with both your work schedules. But any half-plan the two of you had made was now moot since quarantine began. You were thankful when Harrison cleared it with the boys and invited you to stay with them for the duration of lockdown since the thought of spending all that time alone in your flat was lowkey killing you. The topic of meeting each other’s family was on hold for now, though you both knew it was the first port of call as soon as this was all over.
            You had told your parents briefly about Harrison, said you were dating someone from London, but never actually mentioned how serious the relationship was and your parents never pried. You had been reluctant to video call them from Harrison’s shared house for some reason but when Tom and Harry went out to bring Tessa for a walk, Tuwaine was locked up in his room, and Harrison said he was going to workout for an hour or so, you thought it was the perfect time for a quick video call before the lads wreaked havoc on the house again. So here you were, sipping on your tea and appreciating the springtime sounds drifting through the windows while waiting on your laptop to connect. Eventually the screen changed from a loading one to one of your parents sitting in front of their computer screen. A bit pixely, but they were there. You smiled and waved enthusiastically at them and laughed when they waved back before lowering the camera to show you the family dog back home, wagging his tail at the excitement.
           “Hey, honey! How are you? How have you been coping?” Your mum asks as you tell them all about your boredom in lockdown. They fill you in on all the family drama you’d missed over the last few months and ask if you’re coming to see them when lockdown ends. Before you’d realised it you had already been on video chat with them for almost 40 minutes, laughing and swapping inside jokes.
           “Where are you, darling? The background doesn’t look like your flat. Have you gotten some work done?” Your dad asks inquisitively. Just as you’re about to tell them you’re staying at a “friend’s house” you hear movement coming from the kitchen door.
           “Y/N? Sweetheart, have you seen my headphones? I’ve decided to go for a run instead but I can’t find – oh. Sorry are you in the middle of something?” Harrison catches your wide eyes and frantic expression. You’re desperately trying to think of a way to avoid your parents asking about who’s calling you ‘sweetheart’ but it doesn’t work.
          “Ahhh, you’re staying with the boyfriend? I didn’t think it had gotten that serious.” Your mum quips, eyeing the camera knowingly. It’s now Harrison’s turn to look frantic, his eyes going as wide as saucers. He mouths the word ‘sorry’ at least 7 times before you let out a nervous laugh.
          “Ehh, yeah, Mum. I’m staying with my boyfriend for lockdown. Couldn’t stand being in my flat alone for God knows how long.” You say, desperately hoping she won’t ask what you know she will. Harrison is frozen to the spot, not really knowing what to do. Should he go? Should he just appear on screen? You’re not sure either.
         “Well…? Is he invisible? Can we meet him?” Your dad asks gruffly, a hint of humour to his voice. You let out a relenting sigh. Scooting your chair to the side while meeting Harrison’s eyes in question over the screen. He nods frantically in response, running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to tidy it up.
        “For the record, I wanted to introduce you in person over Easter but with all that’s going on we never got the chance to visit. I suppose this is the next best thing. Mum, dad, this is Harrison, my boyfriend.” You present as Harrison appears on screen beside you, a relaxed smile appearing on his face. He really is a great actor.
       “Uh hi it’s really great to meet you guys! Well, see you guys, technically. I know Y/N was really excited about introducing us properly and I was really looking forward to meeting you.” You hold your breath as you wait for this encounter to be less awkward than it was turning out to be and soon enough with Harrison’s charm and your parents’ easy-going demeanours, the four of you were chatting comfortably and making plans to meet up as soon as lockdown was over.
       “Oh Y/N, I can see why you were keeping this one to yourself. He’s quite the Prince Charming.” Your mum exclaims, causing you to groan and drop your head into your hands while Harrison held in a delighted chuckle.
       “Okay, Mum. Yep, thanks. Listen, I’ll call you tomorrow okay? It was lovely seeing you, stay safe!” You call, waving though the screen.
       “Nice to meet you, guys! Look forward to actually meeting you!” Harrison shouts, waving like a madman. You close the lid on your laptop and groan as you lower your head into your arms. You can hear Harrison chuckling behind you, arms coming around your frame comfortably.
        “I’m so sorry. I should have warned you I was going on video call.” You mumble and Harrison’s body vibrates against yours with laughter.
        “Why are you apologising? That was really nice, actually! Trial by fire, as it were.” He laughs out and you turn to face him. He’s smiling so widely at you and your heart melts a little. “I mean, as much as I would have loved to drive out to your parent’s house for dinner with a lovely bottle of wine and a bouquet of flowers for them, the impromptu meeting was perfect and makes me all the more excited to actually meet them. At least I’ve already laid down some groundwork with your dad, he definitely won’t hate me now, I’m sure of it.” He tells you and you slap his chest lightly, laughing with him.
       “Oh shut it, you know no one could ever hate you. You’re way too charming. Plus, you play golf so that’s an immediate common ground with my dad.” Harrison leans down and presses his lips to yours sweetly. Holding you in a delicate embrace.
        “You know, this means that now you definitely have to meet my family. Maybe I can feature you in my next Zoom call? My sister has been asking me endless questions about the ‘mystery woman in my life’.” He jokes and you both laugh again.
         “Mystery woman! That sounds like an article half the people in my office would write. You know I don’t do tabloids.” Your eyes narrow at him and he holds his hands up in defense. “But I would love to feature in your next Zoom call, on one condition; Monty is in it too.”
        “Deal.” Harrison then swoops you up into his arms making you cry out in surprise. “I’ve decided not to go for a run. There are other ways to get my cardio in for today.” You giggle as Harrison lightly peppers your face in kisses as he carries you up the stairs towards his bedroom.
Maybe this Quarantine wasn’t half as bad as you thought.
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okay-j-hannah · 5 years ago
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Flustered Feelings
Harry Potter : Fic
Fred x Reader
Word Count: 1664
Warnings: I LOVE IT! I don’t think it’s as angsty as I would have liked it to be - but it definitely brings out the feels 
Request: “Hi!! First I just wanted to say that I love your writing and I absolutely loved a “mini series “ with Fred 💕I wanted to ask if you could write something with Fred Weasley like a soulmate Au where they can feel what their soulmate is feeling low key angsty but a happy and cute ending pleaseee 💗💗” - @itsp-erf
A/N: Still at a loss as to who your soulmate could be, you keep a sharp eye out when you grow suspicious of a boy you notice at the grand Weasley wedding
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(Y/N) put a hand to her chest and felt a sudden wave of panic fly to her limbs. Though she was resting calmly in the living room, a pang burned in her head as her stomach dropped. This had become a regular occurrence for the last year or so. At the most random moments she’d experience significant feelings of loss or dread.
It didn’t necessarily surprise her – their world was currently being controlled by the darkest wizard of the age. Whoever this mystery soulmate of hers was, he was constantly being thrown into the pits.
Her godmother, Tonks, came into the space with two cups of tea in her grasp, “Oh no. Something happen again?”
“Not as bad as the other day,” (Y/N) responded, taking the cup and saucer Tonks offered her. “That was almost like he lost someone. I wouldn’t be surprised with everything that’s going on.” The strange panic subsided slightly.
“I suppose with the number of disappearances and deaths, this soulmate of yours could be tangled right in the middle of it.”
(Y/N) warmed her fingers against the teacup and wondered, “That’s going to make it hard to figure out who it is. With everyone being in a constant state of panic.”
“As long as you keep him as soon as you find him. You know it took Remus months to accept the fact that I was the one for him,” Tonks took a sip of her drink. “But you know you’re never really happy until you find your soulmate.”
Ever since the war began, (Y/N) had moved in with her godmother and her husband, wishing to be closer to the Order. Her parents disapproved, of course, but this was a time for wizards to gather against the common enemy.
“Dora,” came a small voice from the kitchen. “If we’re going to make it to the wedding at all we’ll have to leave now.”
Remus Lupin stood in the shadow of the doorway, his shabby coat making him look thinner than normal. (Y/N) gave him a warm smile and gazed at Tonks for a response.
“You’re right; you still coming, (Y/N)?”
With a nod, (Y/N) followed suit, watching Tonks stand from the couch and rub an ache in her back.
“Are you feeling any better?” Lupin asked, moving towards his wife, hesitantly placing a hand on her shoulder.
“I’ve stopped throwing up all my organs if that’s what you mean,” she laughed to convince him it was a joke, but he kept his stony gaze. “Honestly, Remus, I’m alright. Let’s go! I can’t wait for (Y/N) to finally meet everyone.”
The following wedding ceremony of Bill and Fleur Weasley was absolutely breathtaking. And what with everything that’s been brewing in the community – it was nice to have something as normal as a wedding happen.
(Y/N) remained close to Lupin and Tonks, being sure to introduce herself only when necessary. She discovered that a defining quality of the Weasley’s was their flaming red hair and freckled faces. It was even more evident after Tonks pulled Ginny Weasley aside for (Y/N) to become acquainted with.
Of the many siblings of the groom, Ginny was the one closest to (Y/N) in age.
“So, you’re Tonks’ goddaughter?” the ginger asked, straightening her pale gold bridesmaid dress. She looked rather pretty in it.
“Yes. Our families have always been close, and my mother made a promise that she could be my godmother, even though she was way underage when I was born,” she smiled, sipping her champagne.
Ginny nodded, “We love Tonks over here. She’s always been the life of the party. Do you live with her?”
They walked around the dance floor, noticing couples pull each other to get in on the slow song.
“I do. My parents find it ridiculous that I support Harry Potter and the Order. But I told them there was nothing they could do that would stop me from helping the cause. They’ve basically turned me into the Ministry – a blood traitor. Tonks and Remus are professionals at not being seen, so it helps me stay hidden.”
Ginny sneered, “That’s horrible. How could your parents be…”
“Hey, Ginny!” Another red head rammed into her as he attempted to catch a couple of gnomes scuttling across the ground.
“George, I swear if you…”
He yelled back, “No time to talk!”
A flouncy girl with big eyes and streaming blonde hair followed him in an airy fashion, “If you see George suddenly sing Opera or begin speaking in Mermish, please tell me. Thank you.”
After she floated away towards the gnomes, (Y/N) gave an exasperated puzzled expression, “Mermish?”
“That’s Luna,” Ginny laughed. “She’s a bit odd, but we love her all the same. I think she believes that gnome bites give you random talents.”
(Y/N) laughed along with her, “And who was the red head? Another Weasley I assume.”
“One of my brothers – I swear I have a hundred of them. I wonder where Fred is. They’re twins, see, they’re usually not far from each other.”
They scanned the dance floor when (Y/N) suddenly got a fluttering in her stomach. Heat was rising in her neck and flooding her cheeks as her chest seized up.
“Someone’s gotten a bit flustered,” Ginny smirked, eyeing her new friend. “Spot something you like?”
“No, I’m sorry,” she shook her head hard, pushing away the sudden feelings. “It’s the whole soulmate thing. It’s been acting up lately, I think I’m closer to him than I think. He’s getting butterflies – it’s him that’s gotten all flustered.”
Ginny crossed her arms, “I get it. That’s Fred by the way – over there across the dance floor. The one that’s staring at you.”
(Y/N) turned her gaze and found a tall, slender guy standing close to the tent. He looked remarkably like George, whom she just saw, but there was still something different about him. He turned away immediately after realizing that she was gazing back at him.
She suddenly got a suspicion.
“Ginny, will you kick me in the knee?”
“What?” she whipped around and scoffed, “I’ve known you for twenty minutes and you’re asking me to kick you…”
“In the knee, yes.” Her eyes remained on Fred as she asked this.
In the next second, Ginny squared a sharp tap to her shin and (Y/N) bent slightly on the impact but didn’t turn her eyes away from her target.
Fred suddenly jerked to the side, his hand reaching down to his leg with a puzzled expression.
Could he really be?
But a bolt of bright blue shot into the tent, a delicate Lynx standing in the midst of surprised people, its mouth open and a deep voice emitting from it.
“The Ministry has fallen. The Minister of Magic is dead. They are coming.”
Chaos ensued as couples and families scurried to each other to Disapparate. Members of the Order began casting Shield Charms, (Y/N) noticing Tonks and Lupin. Dark shadows grew overhead as many flying objects came crashing around the yard.
“We need to go,” Ginny cried, grabbing (Y/N)’s hand and darting for outside the tent. But a handful of Death Eaters appeared and aimed their wands.
(Y/N) lowered hers from her sleeve and muttered, “We’ll have to fight our way out.”
“Stop there and we won’t hurt you. We have questions,” one of the hooded figures stated, advancing. “Where is Potter?”
“Not here. Not anywhere near here,” Ginny frantically replied, “You should be doing something more useful with your time than investigating places he wouldn’t be.”
(Y/N) made to move past them, but another Death Eater flicked his wand, sending her flying to the ground, “Did I say you could leave? Stay there!”
“Move along, boys. What you’re doing is pointless with Harry not here. No one knows where he is.” It was Fred. And he was cautiously making his way over to the two girls.
(Y/N) attempted to get up off the ground, but was struck with another spell, making her wince.
“Do you just not follow orders?” the Death Eater asked.
“Not from monsters like you,” she grimaced, the last paralyzing spell still lingering in her limbs. She paused to glance at Fred who held a slight twinge of pain in his face.
It had to be him, she thought.
One of the Death Eaters stepped forward, “Lay off ‘em. They’re just kids. There are plenty members of the Order by the house we could question. Don’t waste your time on this insolence.”
The cohort agreed, jetting past the one figure still pointing his wand at (Y/N), “Don’t think I won’t forget your pretty face, eh sweetheart?” He jabbed his weapon towards her and relished in the sharp intake of breath she gave, holding her side.
When he left, Ginny rounded on her new friend, “Are you alright? What did he do?”
“Some kind of stinging jinx.” Fred was the one to reply, him rubbing a spot on his ribs, “It’s almost like it’s burning.”
Ginny flickered her eyes to her brother before standing, pulling (Y/N) up with her. A slow smile filled her face as she gestured between the two people adjacent to her.
“Woah, woah, wait a minute. Fred – are you saying that…”
Fred advanced (Y/N), concern in his eyes, but also something else. Admiration? Confusion? Hope? (Y/N) wondered.
“Is that what you’re feeling?” he muttered, pointing to her side.
She subtly nodded, “But you weren’t hit with anything.”
“Didn’t have to be,” he smirked, sticking out his hand. “Fred Weasley.”
“(Y/N) (Y/L/N).” She reached for his hand and suddenly felt those same fluttering feelings grow in her stomach. It was because Fred was looking at her. “You’re feeling a bit flustered at the moment.”
The slight confidence that was growing in his gaze began to fall, “You feel that too?”
“How many butterflies do you have in your stomach?” she giggled, a newfound blush creeping on her cheeks.
“I’m thinking we have a lot more in common than you think,” he grinned.
~~~
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494 notes · View notes
lunatens · 5 years ago
Text
felix felicis (i)
word count: 2.5k
part i/iv
genre: fluff, harry potter au
pairing: hufflepuff!felix x ravenclaw!reader
a/n: the drought is over....i’m finally posting again gsdjfhsjfh i hope u all like harry potter! i truly don’t know how many parts this’ll be so i guess we’ll see as we go. also i haven’t read or watched harry potter in a lil while so if some of the rules don’t make sense just ignore them (lol plus i can do what i want)
“you know, you don’t have to be the best in every class,” chan says as he slides into the seat beside you at your usual spot in the great hall. you give him a glare, then continue stabbing at your plate of eggs. 
“it’s not the fact that i’m not the best; if someone like seungmin, for example, did better than me, i’d be happy for him! it’s because it’s that stupid felix kid! he never pays attention in class, he rarely studies or does his homework, and he’s always out playing quidditch or visiting hogsmeade or something. he should be failing! not getting higher grades than ME of all people! i don’t know how he does it. i’m in the library like, 24/7, and i take notes in class and i don’t know i just...work harder than him. it’s stupid and unfair,” you rant, ending with an angry huff as you shovel a forkful of eggs in your mouth. chan stares at you blankly for a couple seconds, processing everything you just said. 
“you seem a little jealous, y/n,” he comments, and you glare daggers at him. 
“i am NOT. i just don’t understand how he, of ALL PEOPLE, was the only person in our class who could brew a draught of peace successfully,” you respond, and chan sighs. 
“maybe he’s just naturally really smart. or he’s just lucky. besides, it’s been 2 days since that potions class, maybe it’s time to stop being so bitter about it,” he says, patting your shoulder in comfort. “i gotta go, i’m meeting up with changbin and jisung soon. you coming to the quidditch game tonight?” he says as he stands up and gathers his things. 
“i don’t know, probably not, i have to stu-“
“wrong answer, you’re coming to the game. it’s ravenclaw against hufflepuff, you could at least support your own house,” he tells you. chan reaches over to snatch a piece of toast off of your plate, walking away before you can say anything. 
“i’ll be waiting for you outside your common room later,” he calls over his shoulder, and you glare at his back as he heads to class. it’s moments like this that make you question your friendship with chan. you finish your breakfast, then pick up the stack of books you’d been reading before going to leave yourself. you make your way out of the great hall, heading back to the ravenclaw common room to grab an extra quill and some parchment (chan always seemed to forget his, and you had muggle studies with him later). you whirl around the corner only to collide with someone so hard you’re both sent flying to the ground, your books spilling over the floor. 
“oops, i’m so sorry!” the other person says, and you recognize felix’s deep voice immediately. he begins picking up your books while you sit there fuming, staring at his mess of blonde hair. he stands up and brushes himself off, then reaches a hand out to help you up. 
“sorry, i always forget to watch where i’m going,” he says sheepishly. a faint blush grows on his freckled cheeks, and you hate how cute he looks. you swat his hand away, then reach to take your books from him as you stand up. of all people, of course felix had to be the one you ran into. 
“how’d you make that potion?” you blurt out; you don’t mean to sound so aggressive in your questioning—actually, you don’t mean to even talk to felix at all, you wanted to just leave without a word, but you have to know how he does so well. felix seems unphased at your bluntness. 
“beginners luck, i guess,” he says with a shrug. you squint at him, skeptical of his answer. 
“i don’t believe in luck,” you say. “for real, how do you do it? you’re always at the top of the class, but i’ve literally never seen you set foot in the library…”
“i don’t know, i just kind of show up and do my best. the universe must just like me or something,” he says nonchalantly. “you’re y/n, right? i think we have a few classes together,” he adds on. 
“yeah, we do,” you reply, your voice cold. how could felix be so friendly towards you when you’ve been nothing but rude to him? his laid back demeanour just irritates you more. “anyways, i have a class to get to. i’ll see you around,” you say, before slipping into the sea of students bustling around in the hallways, leaving felix behind. 
~
chan flops into the seat beside yours, sending an apologetic wave to the professor for being a couple minutes late. you slide your extra supplies towards him wordlessly, your other hand continuing to madly scribble notes. 
“oh thanks y/n, you’re a lifesaver,” chan says gratefully. “i got caught up talking about game strategy with changbin and jisung and lost track of time,” he admits. 
“mhm,” you mumble, too focused on the lesson to really pay attention. 
class is about halfway over, and your professor is droning on about microwaves and various kitchen appliances when a tiny paper bird lands on your desk, interrupting your note taking. you turn in your seat to see where it came from only to meet the gaze of felix, leaning back in his seat in the back of the class beside his slytherin friend, hyunjin (who you’re pretty sure is taking a nap). he waves at you, and you scrunch up your nose at him and turn back around. the paper bird won’t stop flapping around, so you shove it in your pocket to look at it later and continue your note taking. 
~
“can i change my mind? i don’t wanna go anymore,” you grumble as you walk to the quidditch pitch with chan, changbin and jisung. you stuff your hands in your coat pockets, trying to protect them from the biting cold wind. 
“it’s just a quidditch match, y/n, it’s not the end of the world,” chan says with a sigh. 
“it is when felix is keeper for the hufflepuff team,” you mutter to yourself. you pull out the paper he sent you in class earlier, creases unfolded to display the black ink on the crinkled paper. felix has crudely drawn (what you assume is supposed to be) him flying around in front of the hoops on the quidditch pitch, with you sitting in the stands holding a book. felix has given you a frowny face, and he’s drawn a little storm cloud above your head. underneath the drawing he’s written, in his sloppy handwriting, “you should consider taking your nose out of your books and doing something fun, aka coming to tonight’s quidditch game ;-).” 
“ooh, who’s that from?” jisung asks, grabbing the note from your hands to look at it. “felix? i thought you hated that kid,” he says before handing it back to you. the three gryffindors all turn to look at you. 
“i do, which is precisely why i didn’t wanna come to the game tonight. especially now—he’s gonna think i’m here because of him!” you complain. jisung laughs at this, and changbin smirks at you. 
“relax, y/n, it’s gonna be fine. he’s just being nice—maybe you should give that a try. besides, the stands’ll be packed, what are the odds he’ll even see you in the crowd?” chan asks. 
“besides, you’re clearly the best at taking notes, so we need you to write down what happens so we can crush ravenclaw next week. no offense,” changbin adds, and you roll your eyes at him. 
“you’re lucky i love you guys,” you say as the four of you weasel your way to the front of the stands. it’s not long before you hear minho’s voice booming across the pitch as he begins announcing the game, introducing the lineup for each team. you duck into chan as the hufflepuff team flies by, not wanting to be seen by felix. he laughs and ruffles your hair before nudging you off of him. 
“relax, y/n, it’s gonna be fine! look, the game’s starting—jisung and changbin, watch the ravenclaw beaters and try to figure out their tactics; i’ll watch the chasers and try to figure out their plays so we can copy them in practice,” he says, and the three gryffindor boys lean forward eagerly to watch as ravenclaw takes possession of the quaffle. your quill scribbles furiously as you listen to the boys’ commentary, taking notes so they can go over them later. you don’t really mind not being able to watch the game; you don’t really care much for the sport, plus your friends always take you out for butterbeer afterwards, so you don’t have any complaints. 
“damn, felix is really good,” chan mutters, and your head snaps up at his name. you watch as felix somehow deflects a ravenclaw’s attempt at scoring—you’re not quite sure how he even managed to make it in time, but you have to admit it was impressive. as hufflepuff supporters cheer in the crowd, felix does some goofy poses on his broomstick (honestly you have no idea how he hasn’t fallen off yet). 
“yeah that was a really good save—too bad he’s not a gryffindor, we could use a good keeper,” changbin adds on, and you giggle at the bitterness in his tone; last year’s keeper and captain of the gryffindor quidditch team, jaebeom, was amazing—after he graduated and appointed chan captain, chan had been left with the task of finding a keeper good enough to replace jaebeom. 
“yeah, we really could,” chan says with a sigh. the game continues, the ravenclaw and hufflepuff teams fairly evenly matched and the snitch nowhere to be seen. one of the ravenclaw chasers flies right overhead, a whoosh of cold air rushing over everyone in the stands as she races away from a bludger. you shiver, cursing yourself for forgetting your hat and scarf. 
“a little chilly over there?” chan says with a laugh as he wraps his scarf around your neck. the small bit of warmth is comforting, and you’re able to keep taking notes for the boys. 
~
“and first-year seeker, hufflepuff’s yang jeongin catches the golden snitch, ending the game with a score of 210-80 for hufflepuff!” minho announces, and the crowd erupts in applause. defeated ravenclaws (you’re not one of them) and ecstatic hufflepuffs make their way from the stands back to the castle. you pass your notes to chan, who stuffs them in his robes. 
“thanks again y/n, we’ll be sure to thank you when we destroy ravenclaw!!” chan says excitedly. “you coming to the three broomsticks with us?” he questions. you shake your head in response. 
“nah, i’ve got a herbology test tomorrow and i’m behind on studying. bring me back some candy from honeyduke’s though!” you say, waving as you head back along the path to the castle. 
you’re enjoying the quiet walk alone in the brisk autumn air; the chatter of distant groups of students mixes in with satisfying crunch of dead leaves as you shuffle along the path. the wind nips at your ears and nose, and you cozy into chan’s scarf for warmth. 
“y/n, wait up!” a voice calls from behind you. you turn to see felix jogging up the path, broomstick clutched tightly in one hand while his scarf trails behind him like a kite string, the yellow and black stripes standing out against the darkening gray sky. 
“oh, hi felix,” you mutter, turning around and continuing your walk. you don’t bother waiting for him to catch up, rather listening to his footsteps and breaths grow louder as he runs after you. 
“you came to the game!” he says, and his freckles cheeks are rosy from the cold. his slightly breathless, and his sweaty hair is blown every which way. 
“nice observation. i was only there because my friends dragged me along though, don’t get any ideas,” you tell him. 
“what, you’re sure you weren’t there to watch me play?” felix teases. “only kidding; i saw you bent over your parchment the whole time. do you ever take a break from school?” 
“it wasn’t for school, but yes, i take breaks. just the other day i walked up to the astronomy tower just to look at the stars, that wasn’t for school, just for fun!” you reply. felix’s eyes widen at your statement. 
“really y/n? that’s your idea of fun?” he questions, shaking his head when you nod. “you need to get out more; i mean there’s nothing wrong with stargazing, but you could definitely use a little more excitement in your life. me and my friends are going to hogsmeade this weekend, you should come with us!!” he says excitedly. you don’t say anything, but you eye felix suspiciously. why on earth would he invite you, when you (admittedly) have been super rude to him? 
“....okay, fine,” you find yourself agreeing—you aren’t quite sure if they’re your words or if someone put you under the imperius curse to say them, because why would you agree to spending a day with felix, your sworn enemy? 
“wait, really? not gonna lie, i was expecting you to say no. well that’s good, i was gonna bribe you with chocolate frogs, but i gu—“
“i’ll still take the chocolate frogs,” you say, and you find yourself actually smiling at felix. he smiles back, but you see his smile falter slightly and his brows furrow in confusion. 
“i thought you were a ravenclaw,” he says, gesturing to your scarf. 
“oh i am, this is chan’s,” you mention casually. you look down at the scarf (you’d forgotten you borrowed it, to be honest), and in doing so you miss the way felix’s face falls. “i forgot to give it back.”
“oh...uh, is he, um, are you, you know….like, together?” felix asks, and the question really throws you off. you almost laugh out loud at the absurdity. 
“what?? oh my god—no. definitely not. i love chan, but..no. he’s just my best friend,” you say, and you can practically see the relief wash over felix. 
“ah okay, just curious,” felix says, laughing nervously. you continue walking across the grounds, almost back at the castle now. you’re still keeping your distance, but you’re no longer walking on the opposite edge of the path as felix. maybe he’s not so awful; it’s not his fault he’s better than me….no, what am i thinking? i still need to find out how he does so well. he’s perfect in school, he’s somehow amazing at quidditch, and he’s also gifted with those looks?? something doesn’t add up, you think to yourself. 
“felix!! i caught the snitch!” an excited voice yells from behind you. you and felix both turn to see jeongin sprinting down the path, grinning ear to ear. 
“yes!! good job out there, innie,” felix says as he beams at the younger boy, and you melt a little at the sight. “i’ll see you in class tomorrow y/n!” felix says, waving as he and jeongin head to the hufflepuff common room, leaving you to question what the strange bubbly feeling in your stomach is. 
[click here for part ii!]
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velocitae · 7 years ago
Text
Cotton Candy
genre: fluff, slight angst, slight smut, werewolf!jungkook x witch!reader
pairing: jungkook x reader
word count: 9.7k+
warning: sexual content
summary: your lure for fairies turned out to be a soulmate potion and you accidentally used it on a werewolf.
author’s note: hello everyone! I’m a new bts writer. This is my first story here and I’m sorry if this sucks. It’s my first attempt of writing smut, so this will probably be my first and last smut fic lol bcs it’s very hard to write and I’m totally not satisfied with it. This is inspired by Harry Potter’s amortentia. Enjoy!
The woods was incredibly dark that night, but that didn’t stop you from going deeper into the forest, alone. The trees around and overhead were so thick that the light from the full moon above was completely blocked. It might be unnerving for the first time, however, since you’d been through this over and over again for a couple dozen times, you’d kind of got used to it. The darkness or the quietness didn’t scare you anymore, thanks to your final project.
As a senior-year student majoring in potions at Art of Witchcraft University, you were faced with final project which required you to create your own potion that no one had ever made before. After so many failed attempts, you were certain that this time you would succeed. Overflowed with confidence, you picked a location that seemed like a comfortable hiding place for magical creatures - lush area close to the lake - and took out a spray bottle filled with light pink liquid. You sprayed your scented potion to everywhere around you and chanted the spell, hoping that some fairies would be lured into you. That’s what the purpose of the potion afterall: to lure fairies out of their hiding, which would help other wizards and witches to gather fairy dust from them.
So, when a half-naked man in nothing but a pair of worn out pants came out instead of fairies, you were completely caught off guard.
Your free hand reached your bag to take out your wand just in case. You stiffened, your eyes weren’t leaving him, watching his every movement. Whoever - or whatever - this man was, he’s creeping you out.
It was too dark so you couldn’t see well. But when he was only a few meters away from you and the moonlight found its way to his face, you finally got a clear view of the stranger. Your eyes met his. He seemed distraught, confused, as he kept walking towards you like he was entranced. However, you knew how fairies looked like, and obviously they didn’t look like him.
“Cotton candy,” he suddenly said, causing you to nearly throw your spray bottle at him out of surprise.
Though alarmed, you couldn’t help but say, “Excuse me?”
He took a step forward again, closing the gap between the two of you. You moved away from him until you were backed against a tree. He finally stopped advancing towards you when you pointed your wand at his face. You two were only half a meter apart now and the short distance enabled you to see him much clearer.
You’d been overly cautious because you’d thought he was a magical creature. But seeing his chiseled jaw, round eyes, and plump lips made you doubt yourself. He looked exactly like a human. He’s just like you.
“You smell like cotton candy,” he spoke again, his eyes still fixated on yours.
“What?” you said in disbelief. You weren’t wearing cotton candy perfume - you weren’t wearing any perfumes at all. Your scented potion did smell sweet, but it surely didn’t smell like cotton candy; your favorite scent was cotton candy, so you’d been trying to make your potion smell like one, but you never succeeded. Hence, there’s no way you would smell like cotton candy.
“What have you done to me?” His voice was low, almost like a whisper. He was holding your gaze, staring into your eyes with what seemed like adoration, refusing to look away. Which was weird since you saw each other for the first time today. So you looked away first before it became too awkward.
You had no idea what he’s talking about, but you were slightly offended that he accused you of doing something to him. “I’ve never seen you before, so obviously, I didn’t and I couldn’t do anything to you.”
“Then why do I desperately want to find you?” He stepped towards you again and you held up your wand higher as a warning. “Why is the only thing I can smell is you?” Your wand was touching his cheek by now but he didn’t care one bit. “Why can’t I look away from you?” He gently pushed the wand down, so your wand-holding hand dropped to your side. “Why is my heart beating so fast around you?” He placed both of his hands on the tree, trapping you. “Why do I want to kiss you so bad?” At this point, your heart started pounding against your rib cage due to the proximity and you gulped nervously. He was so close that you could feel his breath brushing your cheeks. “Why is it so hard for me to hold myself back from telling you ‘I love you’?”
The seriousness in his face prevented you from considering him as a dangerous freak and running for your life. The eyes that were gazing into your eyes lovingly hadn’t looked away at all since he first found you. Something in the tone of his voice told you that he was sincere. All the things he’d said were most likely true.
“Y-you’re in love with me?” Your voice was barely audible. You kept shaking your head in disbelief, laughing at the ridiculous situation you were in. “That’s not possible. I don’t even know you. I doubt you know me either.”
You didn’t believe in love at first sight. And this was on another level of bullshit. He’d indicated that he’d been attracted to you before he even found you. That could only happen if he was under the influence of love potion and of course, you didn’t give him one.
Wait. Love potion?
He exhaled impatiently and leant his face forward, demanding explanation. “Well, I don’t know. You’re the witch. You tell me.”
You’d sprayed your newly made potion minutes ago and until now, there were no fairies showing themselves, which could mean that your potion was not yet perfect. If it wasn’t a potion to lure fairies, then what potion was that? Was your potion the one affecting the man in front of you? What if it accidentally turned out to be some kind of love potion? And that guy was hanging around too close?
Your brows furrowed as you tried to figure out every possibility. You had never made love potion, so you didn’t know the ingredients and the know-how. Besides, there’s no need to, your lecturer had made it clear that love potion was off-limits. He was strongly against the idea of making love potion to get other’s heart. And then suddenly, you were reminded of the potion-brewing session earlier this afternoon at the uni’s lab with Yoora, your best friend.
“God!” Yoora walked over to you from her table, sniffing the light pink liquid in your cauldron. “It smells so good! Are you trying to make me fall in love with you?”
“Shut up,” you muttered distractedly, focusing on stirring your potion instead.
It was nearly done and you couldn’t wait to test it out in the woods. If you worked fast enough, it would be done in a couple of hours and you would be able to try it tonight. The excitement filled you as you pictured the fairies swarming towards you once you sprayed the potion. The thought of graduation brought a smile to your face. You wanted to be a certified potions master and open your own potions shop; it had been your dream since you’d been saved by a healing potion when you’d gotten badly injured at eight in a car crash. So first, you needed to graduate.
“But it’s working!” Yoora dramatically placed her hand on her chest where her heart was. “I’m in love.”
You only rolled your eyes at her silly remark and proceeded to finish your potion. Pissed at your lack of response, Yoora snatched the wooden ladle from your hand to draw your attention to her. You glared at her when she brought the ladle closer to take another whiff on the liquid.
“Seriously, Yoora?” You sighed in exasperation. “Since when did you like vanilla scent so much?”
Yoora raised a brow, a puzzled look on her face. “What are you talking about? This smells exactly like my boyfriend’s favorite cologne - mint.”
You gasped as you snapped back to reality. The realization struck you hard. This couldn’t be a coincidence. Her boyfriend’s favorite scent was mint and the potion smelled like mint to her. Your favorite scent was cotton candy and the stranger in front of you had said you, who had been around the potion all day, smelled like cotton candy.
Oh fuck.
“What’s wrong?” he asked you, his eyes full with worry. You had winced when the realization had just sunk in and apparently, he must have thought you got hurt or something. Now you believed that what you’d made was most likely a love potion, quite a strong one.
And you just had to make sure. “Uh… What’s your name?”
“Jungkook,” he answered.
“Well, Jungkook.” You saw him flinch when you said his name. “Do you like the vanilla scent?”
Wide eyed with surprise, Jungkook breathed out, “How did you know?”
“Oh God.” You closed your eyes, trying to understand how your potion worked. It smelled like vanilla to you, just like Jungkook’s favorite scent. This new piece of information certainly made it more complicated. Did that mean, according to the potion, Jungkook was supposed to be the guy you loved? But you’re obviously not; you’re in love with someone else, your classmate, but he hated vanilla - you’d seen him cringe when someone spray a vanilla scented air freshener. So clearly, all of this didn’t make sense.
“What is it?” Jungkook demanded, his eyes searching yours.
You opened your mouth and closed it again. You hesitated, worried that he would sue you or worse if he knew what you’d done to him. Not everyone would be delighted knowing they were under the love potion’s influence. Fortunately, someone invented an antidote to love potion, so you could just give him an antidote and he would be back to normal without having to know about it.
“Actually…” you paused to laugh awkwardly. “It’s a long story. I messed up, but there’s no need to worry. I’ll definitely figure something out. Just give me time.” The explanation was vague, but it’s not a lie, so it’s good for now. “See you later.”
“Wait!” Jungkook stopped you, looking horrified. “You’re leaving?”
“Well, it’s late. I’m going home. You should too. I promise I’ll do something about this.” You gestured towards yourself and him. You started to walk when he spoke again.
“How am I supposed to let you go when my inner wolf insists that you’re my mate?” Jungkook shouted, his tone desperate. Seeing you leave must be torturing him. Then his voice broke. “Don’t leave me.”
Feeling utterly guilty, you rushed back to Jungkook’s side. You saw his face light up in relief as he lifted his hand to reach you, but he immediately dropped it down, assumedly holding himself back from touching you.
“Alright, alright. I’m here,” you quickly said to reassure him. He looked like he’s in a lot of pain and the guilt crept into you. Whatever potion you’d made, it was nothing like the other love potions you’d known. It was stronger and a lot more real.
“You can hold my hand, if that can make you feel better.” You offered your hand sheepishly. You couldn’t believe yourself for allowing him to hold your hand when you’d just met him a few minutes ago.
Jungkook slowly brought his hand to yours and intertwined your fingers. A sigh escaped his lips. “Thanks. This really is a lot better.” He glanced at your eyes, looked away, and met your gaze again. “Can I stay with you?” He then added hastily, “I’ll sleep outside your house. I won’t disturb you or anything. I just can’t imagine being apart from you.”
You pondered Jungkook’s request for a while and you recalled his remark earlier. “You’re not a human, right?”
He nodded. “Werewolf.”
“And you mentioned something about mate. Did you mean soulmate?” The potion was certainly not a regular love potion. It was something more.
He nodded again. “Werewolves take soulmates very seriously.”
“You said I’m your soulmate.”
“Yes.” Jungkook tilted his head slightly. “It’s weird, though. Normally, we have to make eye contact first before knowing whether they’re our soulmates or not. But this time is different. I know - my inner wolf knows - that you’re my soulmate before I even met you.”
Shit. It’s a soulmate potion.
You ended up taking Jungkook home with you that night, walking hand in hand all the way back to your small house from the woods. Luckily, you lived alone, if not, it’d be a hell lot more complicated. He kept his promise and didn’t enter the house when you arrived. You felt bad at him, but you didn’t exactly want a stranger to sleep under the same roof as yours, so you let him stay outside.
The next morning, Jungkook followed you to the university, but he didn’t walk through the gate. He just stood right outside the entrance, saying that he would wait for you to finish your classes. As soon as you entered the class you had with Yoora, you explained everything to her and told her your suspicion that it was a soulmate potion. She quickly called her boyfriend to take a sniff of your potion and tell her what it smells like. Your suspicion was totally correct.
Her boyfriend, Jimin, said it smelled like coffee. And Yoora drank coffee like water. But the most important thing was: Jimin was also a werewolf and she was his soulmate.
You’d heard of love potion antidote before, but no one had ever talked about soulmate potion, not that you knew of. So, you and Yoora decided to go to the public library in the weekend to find clues about this soulmate potion; you didn’t want to risk losing your chance to get good marks by asking your potions lecturer.
“Don’t be too hard on him, okay?” Jimin advised as you’re about to head out of the lab. “Wolves are possessive, overprotective and craving for physical affection, especially after finding their soulmates. So, he can’t help it. Trust me, I know the feelings. I almost died when we got into a fight.”
Jimin flung an arm around Yoora’s shoulders and pulled her close to him, planting a kiss on her cheek. Yoora giggled and buried her face in his neck. Watching the two of them being a lovey-dovey couple made you envious. You glanced at the table in the corner of the lab, where the guy you’d been crushing on since the freshman year was.
Taehyung was the smartest guy in your year and probably, he didn’t even know you existed. Well, you hadn’t actually tried to talk to him, though. You preferred being holed up alone in the library over hanging out in house parties. And Taehyung was like everyone’s friends. There’s no way you two would match. So you kind of gave up before even trying, forcing yourself to be content with only watching him from afar.
“Oh and don’t forget the heat too,” Jimin said again, distracting you from Taehyung.
“God, your heat last time was intense,” Yoora groaned, reminiscing the past. “I couldn’t walk for days!”
“Days?” You widened your eyes in surprise. Just how severe this heat was? You’d briefly read somewhere about wolves’ heat. But you’d never known exactly what happened during the cycle.
“The heat can last for three to seven days, or more. It’s different everytime. But during those days, we get this very strong desire to mate. Yoora helped me get through it a lot, though.” Jimin wiggled his eyebrows at Yoora. She gave him a light smack on his back.
“So what should I do if he’s in heat?” you asked, slightly terrified imagining you had to face a wolf in heat. You knew they could hardly control themselves during the cycle.
“Depends,” Jimin said. “He won’t want any other girls besides you, now that he knows you’re his mate. It’s up to you to tie him up or help him go through it.” He smirked. “For your information, a wolf in heat can fuck you good.”
“Shut up,” you and Yoora said in unison.
Although it was as expected, you were still stunned to find Jungkook was right where you left him. Instead of tired and annoyed from having to wait for you all day, he seemed happy to see you. The guilt gnawed at your stomach, moreover after listening to Jimin’s explanation about werewolves.
The least you could do was help him ease his pain. “Hey, want to hold hands?” you offered your hand.
Jungkook took your hand in his immediately, as if afraid you would change your mind. “How’s school?”
“Fine,” you said curtly. But seeing the slightest hint of hurt expression on his face, you quickly spoke again, “How about you? Don’t you have to go to school or something?”
He smiled weakly. “No. I left my pack after graduating high school. So I have no one to pay for my studies. My pack is the only family I have.”
You hesitated to ask him more about his pack, since it was too personal. But thanks to the damn soulmate potion, you were his soulmate now, which meant you were in personal relationships with him, so you might as well ask. “Why did you leave?”
He sighed, talking about his pack must have pained him. You wondered whether you should stop asking. “There can’t be two alphas in one pack. There would be a lot of clashes and disagreements.”
“You’re an alpha?”
“Yeah. I realized that when I was in my senior year of high school. I started rebelling then and when I shouldn’t have been able to refuse following the alpha’s order, I could. That’s how I know I’m on the same level as him. Things have gone awry since then and I figured out, two alphas in one pack won’t work. So I left.”
You squeezed his hand a little to comfort him. It must have been hard for him to leave his family. He’s just a young boy. “Do you miss them?”
“A lot.” Jungkook squeezed your hand back, appreciating your concern.
Jungkook let go of your hand once you arrived at your house. He automatically sat on the floor near the door and leant his back against the wall. The awful feeling gradually seeped into you. The only things you had done to him was take him for a walk, make him wait for you, hold his hands, and let him sleep outside your house. You only started talking to him a few minutes ago. What did you think he was? Your pet? This whole thing was your fault. He didn’t deserve to be treated like this.
Don’t be too hard on him, okay? You could hear Jimin’s voice in your head.
“Jungkook?” You saw Jungkook flinch again at your mention of his name. “Do you want to come inside and drink a cup of tea with me or something?”
“Are you sure?” Jungkook jumped to his feet instantly and looked at you with excitement. Then he probably realized he was overly excited, so he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Coffee maybe?” he added hesitantly.
You laughed at his cuteness. “Alright, coffee it is.”
You spent all day at home with Jungkook, talking about yourselves to get to know each other. He turned out to be a very fun person. And he’s also adorable, especially the way he asked for more cups of coffee with the excuse that it’d been a long time since he last drank coffee. He was able to keep you interested with everything he’s said. You admitted that you enjoyed his company.
When night fell, you stopped Jungkook from going outside to sleep and told him that he could take the couch. He didn’t stop smiling while you were arranging the pillow and blanket on the couch for him to sleep with.
“Good night,” you said, walking to your room.
“Good night, Y/N,” Jungkook said instantly. “I love you.”
You were so taken aback with the unexpected confession that you stopped dead in your tracks.
“I’m really sorry, Y/N,” Jungkook said quickly in panic after realizing what he’d just said. “It slipped out of my mouth. I promise I won’t say it again to you if you’re uncomfortable. I just had the urge and needed to get it out of my chest.”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry,” you said, smiling to him. You actually didn’t mind the confession at all. Knowing that someone loved you made you happy. You were just caught off guard because you didn’t expect it. “Thank you. For loving me.”
His smile reached his eyes. “Can I say it to you everyday?”
“If it helps,” you muttered shyly and rushed back to your room, cheeks flushing a rosy pink in embarrassment. You couldn’t believe what you’d just said, but the thought of it sent butterflies to your stomach.
Staying together with Jungkook was not bad. It was nice, to be honest. You and him clicked with one another almost immediately. You’d been living alone for years, so you really appreciated a company. Doing everything with him was a lot more fun. You both took turns in cooking; he was unexpectedly good at cooking despite living in the woods alone for so long. To help paying household expenses, he transformed into a wolf to go hunting while you were in classes and sold the animals he’d hunted to the market. After hunting, he would wait for you in front of your uni to pick you up when you’re done. Then you two would have dinner together and drink coffee while telling each other about your day. Sometimes, both of you would share the couch and watch TV instead, huddled up under his blanket.
Jungkook never failed to say “I love you” every night before you slept.
Although, the fact that all the sweet things he did for you were because of the potion gradually started weighing on your mind.
“Are you sure you still want to make this soulmate potion antidote?” Yoora asked you one day in the library when she saw you smiling at the text you got from Jungkook. You both were searching for the soulmate antidote recipe. “You look happy with him.”
Your face fell at Yoora’s question. You indeed liked being with Jungkook. “But this is all not real, Yoora. I made him think I’m his soulmate with that stupid potion. This is unfair. I can’t do that to him.” You needed to make the antidote faster. You couldn’t make him live under the influence of the potion forever. But the thought that he would no longer love you after drinking the antidote made you feel dejected.
Yoora sighed. “You have a point. If he knows his love for you is because of a damn soulmate potion, he will be very disappointed.”
Nodding, you started reading another book on the table. “That’s why we need to hurry up. Preferably, before his heat starts.”
There was a long silence before Yoora said, “Have you considered telling him the truth? Who knows he might be totally fine with it.”
You scoffed at how ridiculous Yoora’s suggestion sounded. “Would you be fine if I give Jimin this soulmate potion and he’s in love with me instead? Would Jimin be fine?”
“Okay. Forget I asked.”
“Speaking of Jimin, where’s he?” It’s weird to see Yoora alone. Jimin would usually be around, stuck to her like glue.
“It’s pack day.” Yoora elaborated when you only gaped at her, “It’s a day to spend time with the pack. Bonding and such. Oh, and do you know that Taehyung is in Jimin’s pack too?”
You nearly choke on your saliva. Just how many werewolves were there living so close to you? You thought at least Jimin was the only one in your uni. “Taehyung is a werewolf?”
“What?” Yoora’s voice went louder out of shock; the librarian shushed her, giving her a warning glare. She muttered an apology to everyone before whispering to you, “I can’t believe it! I know you’d never talked to him, but come on! You’ve been smitten with him since forever! You should’ve at least known what he is!”
“Well, I’m sorry for being too ignorant,” you grumbled, embarrassed that Yoora had to remind you about your crush on Taehyung which was totally one-sided.
Yoora huffed, irritated with your shyness. “That’s it! I’m going to set you two up on a date!”
You grabbed Yoora’s wrist in panic. Your heart wouldn’t be able to handle it and you would just end up embarrassing yourself if you were alone with Taehyung. “Don’t!”
Rolling her eyes, she said, “It’s just a date, Y/N. You two need to talk already. You’ve been staring at him a lot. And if you don’t want him to think you’re creepy, you should start talking.”
“Am I that obvious?” You gulped nervously, taking a quick glance at Taehyung. He didn’t seem to notice you’d been staring. He’s always surrounded by his group of friends. There’s no way he would pay attention to you.
Yoora hummed as an answer.
“But how about-?”
“The victim of your soulmate potion?” Yoora finished your question for you; you winced at how she called Jungkook. “He’ll be fine. We just need to make this antidote as soon as possible, then he will not care about you at all.”
Somehow, you felt a pang of pain at the thought of that.
It was odd to see Jungkook sitting on the porch outside of your house, leaning against the wall, when he had the key. He could just go inside, why would he stay outside? You realized something was wrong with him when you got close enough. He was trembling, hugging his legs to his chest, burying his face into his knees.
Worried, you rushed to Jungkook’s side. “Jungkook, are you okay?”
Jungkook flinched as you called his name, something he always did that you didn’t understand. “Don’t call my name,” he croaked out.
“Let’s get you inside,” you said and grabbed his arm, but you retracted your hand right away. “You’re burning hot! Are you sick? I’m calling the doctor.”
Jungkook jumped to his feet to stopped you from reaching your phone. “No, I’m not sick. It’s just…” When you looked at him, he awkwardly covered his crotch with his hands. That’s when realization hit you.
Cheeks reddening, you looked away hastily, almost spraining your neck in the process. “Oh God! I’m so sorry. It’s your heat, right?”
From the corner of your eyes, you could see Jungkook nodding sheepishly. He looked constipated and pale, drenched in sweat. His body was shaking and his fists were tightly clenched. He’s doing his best to hold back his desire for your sake. He seemed barely in control of himself, but he’s holding on. It looked awfully painful.
“Is there something I can do to help?” you asked, feeling bad to see him suffer since mostly, it’s all because of you. This was something you’d been afraid of from the start. You had no idea what to do.
“I’m fine,” he said through gritted teeth. You were totally unconvinced. He didn’t look fine at all to you. “Just stay away from me.”
“But, Jungkook-”
Jungkook cut you off by letting out a sound which sounded like a moan, causing you to freeze. His breath was uneven. He was practically panting by now. You felt hot all over.
“Stop calling my name, please,” he pleaded.
“W-why?”
“It arouses me,” Jungkook said breathily and your own breath hitched. “I don’t think I’ll be able to control myself if you keep doing that.”
Completely speechless, you only managed to let out a short, “Alright.” before scurrying back into the house, unable to handle the heat that started pooling deep in your stomach. You’d never thought Jungkook could affect you like this. So you hid under the blanket in your room and tried to get his moan out of your head by forcing yourself to sleep.
However, you were woken up from your nap by the sound of knocking on your door. You reluctantly left your bed to open the door, completely forgetting there was only a wolf in heat that could enter and exit your house freely. Gasping out of shock, you quickly closed the door in reflex, but Jungkook blocked it before you could. Your heart pounded hard at the sight of him about to enter your room with eyes full of lust. Part of you wanted to let him in, but the other part of you insisted that this was a bad idea.
“I’m only going to use the bathroom,” Jungkook said in a hurry to reassure you. “I badly need to jack off. Don’t mind me.”
Oh. Of course. He’d been hard all day. It must be painful to hold it in the whole time. It wouldn’t do you much harm to just let him do his thing, right?
“O-okay,” you stuttered, stepping back to invite him in.
Jungkook bolted to the bathroom like his life depended on it. You could hear him unzip his pants and sigh in relief as he got inside. You’d been right. This was a very bad idea. The walls were really thin and you could hear everything from where you were standing right now. It certainly didn’t help you get over the dirty thoughts of him when you could hear him moaning your name right behind that door. He was jerking off to thoughts of you.
Unconsciously, you started rubbing your thighs together uncomfortably, desperate to pleasure yourself. His moans made you wet your underwear. If you opened the door, you could see him, probably naked or half naked, doing himself. You could just offer to help him and you could-
No. You shook your head hard to get rid of the thoughts. This isn’t right.
Plugging your ears with earphones and turning on the music loudly in a desperate attempt to drown out Jungkook’s voice, you jumped into your bed and covered your head with your blanket. Thanks to him, you ended up being sexually frustrated. And it didn’t happen only once. Jungkook occasionally borrowed the bathroom a few times a day, which got more frequently as he approached the end of his heat cycle; it’s so often that he basically lived there. You called Yoora on the third day of his heat to tell her how this was killing you too, but she only laughed it off.
“Just suck him off once and you’ll feel better. I promise,” Yoora said over the phone.
“You’re not helping,” you muttered and you heard Jungkook groan again from your bathroom. “Fuck, he’s at it again. Just how many times he’s going to get off today? I can’t even go to the bathroom now!”
Yoora laughed loudly. “He’s getting desperate to fuck you. I’m impressed he hasn’t touched you at all in three days. That kid has an amazing self-control. You would have already been screwed if it’s a guy like Jimin. That guy has no self-control honestly. He fucks like he breathes.”
Then you heard Jimin’s laughter on the other end of the line. “You’re with Jimin now?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Can you pass the phone to him?”
“What is it, Y/N?” Jimin spoke to the phone.
You glanced at your bathroom where you could hear Jungkook breathing heavily behind the walls. This time, he screamed your name like he didn’t care whether he would be heard. And that was the last straw; his voice turned you on and you could no longer ignore him, not when he got you this wet. You gulped, making up your mind.
“Jimin, how can I help him?” you asked, getting up from your bed to approach the bathroom. You knew you’re going to regret this later, but you couldn’t help yourself.
Jimin laughed again. “So you finally decided to fuck him, Y/N?”
Embarrassed, you quickly denied, though your mind said otherwise. “No. Not to that extent. Is there any other way besides fucking?”
“From how he hasn’t touched you at all after three days, I can know how much he treasures you. It’s a very hard thing - nearly impossible - to do, you know, for us wolves to control ourselves during the heat. So I think you can trust him that he won’t do anything against your will.” Jimin paused to let his words sink in. “Well, he’s craving for your physical affection. Your touch will give him bliss. Though, it would be best if you let him get into your pants.” Jimin groaned in pain after that; you assumed Yoora hit him.
“Just don’t force yourself, okay? Don’t make yourself uncomfortable,” Yoora said in a worried voice as if she already knew what you were about to do.
“Okay,” you said to reassure her before hanging up.
Without warning, you opened the bathroom door, revealing a completely naked Jungkook sitting on the floor, touching himself. You were lying if you said he wasn’t attractive. Since from the first time you saw him, you’d always thought he’s cute; his beautiful round eyes, his bunny teeth, his innocent smile. But you’d never thought of him anything other than a victim of your failed potion. Now that you saw him jacking off while screaming your name, you could only think that he’s hot. The sight of his toned abs, sweats dampening his hair, and his erection made you almost drool, heat pooling in your lower stomach.
“Shit, Y/N! What the hell are you doing?” Jungkook shouted in panic, stopping what he’d been doing to cover his cock with his hand. “Close the door!”
“Let me help you,” you said, walking over to him, your heart beating very fast against your rib cage.
“No. You don’t want this, Y/N,” Jungkook said, panting heavily as your eyes traveled from his face to his lower half.
You crouched down next to him and pushed his hand away to touch him with your hand instead. As you wrapped your hand around his cock, Jungkook cursed loudly and threw his head back, leaning against the wall, shutting his eyes in pleasure.
“Fuck, that feels so good.” Jungkook breathed heavily and let out a loud moan when you started pumping him. He was already wet with precum so it’s easier for you to move your hand up and down his cock. The more he moaned, the stronger the heat you felt between your legs. Your mouth went dry at the sight of him enjoying himself because of your touch, giving you the sudden desire to taste him. You were about to lean down when he stopped you. “What are you doing?” He didn’t seem like he wanted you to stop, but you guessed he just wanted to make sure you knew what you’re doing.
“Helping you of course.” You leant down again, this time he didn’t stop you. You kissed the tip before you took him in your mouth. He gasped loudly before bringing his hand to your hair to move it away from your face, gathering it into a ponytail. You looked up to meet his lustful gaze. He was staring down at you with hooded eyes. From the way he looked and how breathless he was, you knew he’s not going to last much longer.
“I’m close, Y/N. Use your hands,” Jungkook choked out, gently lifting your head up by pulling your ponytail, away from his cock.
You did what he asked and continued pumping him with your hand. You felt his dick twitch at your touch and not long after, he came into your hand with a loud moan. You helped him ride it out until he went soft, then he got to his feet to take the wet towel he’d put on the sink; he used it to wipe his cum on himself and on your hand.
After you two were cleaned up, Jungkook put his clothes back on and sat down beside you on the floor. An awkward silence passed between you before he said while rubbing the back of his neck, “Thank you. You didn’t have to, actually.”
You waved your hand dismissively. “It’s fine. I wanted to help anyway.” Your cheeks must be red by now. You’d just basically told him that you’re attracted to him. Well, he was the reason why you’re sexually frustrated now - and why you’re feeling like this.
“So do you want me to…?” Jungkook trailed off as his eyes shifted down to your lap.
You took that as an offer to eat you out as a repay and you quickly shook your head, your face heating up. “No, I’m okay.” As much as you wanted it, you had to decline. You didn’t want him to do it while he’s still under the influence of the potion - and plus, he’s also currently in heat. It’s not his real feelings towards you, so you shouldn’t take advantage on him. And you didn’t even know whether he actually wanted to do this with you.
“But a kiss is fine, right?” Jungkook didn’t wait for your answer and crashed his lips onto yours, kissing you passionately.
At that second, you forgot everything about the damn soulmate potion and your determination to not take advantage on him. You kissed him back, as passionately, tilting your head slightly so that you could deepen the kiss. With your hands wrapped around his neck, you pulled him closer towards you until there’s no space left between the two of you. You never knew kissing him would feel this good.
Jungkook pulled away to say breathlessly, “Hold on tight.”
“What?” you said, followed with a shriek since he suddenly lifted you up and you wrapped your legs around his waist reflexively.
A laughter filled the house as both of you giggled while he was carrying you to your room, gently dropping you on the bed. Hovering on top of you, he continued savoring the taste of your lips, his elbows propping himself up. His kiss was warm and full of passion, hard and soft at the same time. His hand left the bed to caress your cheek tenderly and you felt cherished; you found comfort in his touch. But you’re still quite unsure of what you’re feeling towards him. The situation you’re in now made everything a lot more complicated.
Jungkook broke the kiss when you were both out of breath. He was so close to you that you could feel his breath brush against your face. Your heart skipped a beat at the way he looked at you as if you’re the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen in his entire life.
“You’re beautiful,” Jungkook said softly, pushing a strand of hair away from your face to get a clearer look. He smiled at you lovingly and you melted. “I love you so much, Y/N. God, if only I can tell you how much I love you.”
I love you too. You nearly said it back to him, but you could hear the voice in your mind screamed that this wasn’t real. This was all because of a potion. None of this was genuine.
Your hand reached up to stroke his cheek. He leant into your touch and grinned wider. It was heartbreaking to learn that he wouldn’t react like this once he drank the antidote. But you mustered a smile for him. “You already have. You never missed a day to tell me. Thank you, Jungkook. For loving me.”
“Anytime, candy,” Jungkook said before lying down on the bed beside you.
“Candy?” You raised a brow at his new nickname for you, snuggling up to him. You sighed contentedly when you felt his warmth.
Jungkook put an arm around you and pulled you closer to him. “Cotton candy. You smell like cotton candy.”
That night was the first time you allowed Jungkook to sleep on the bed with you.
“You love him,” Yoora stated bluntly. “Obviously.”
You furrowed your brows, unable to accept her judgement of your feelings towards Jungkook. “No. Of course not.”
It was a few weeks after Jungkook’s heat and things hadn’t gotten awkward between the two of you, instead you’d become a lot closer and more comfortable with each other. He kissed you at the most random times, but it’s not like you hated it either. You two shared the bed now and you were practically inseparable. The only time you weren’t with him was when you’re in classes. And you liked it - you liked to be with him, even if it was as simple as having dinner together.
Yoora sighed in exasperation. “You can keep lying to me, but I can see through your lies easily, you know. You’re not the type to just blow someone you don’t love.” You quickly shushed her in embarrassment, but she only laughed and continued. “You just don’t want to be hurt. That’s why you should quickly give that antidote to him. No more lies.”
You bit your lower lip, your fists clenched. You didn’t know whether you wanted Jungkook to stay with you and keep giving you fake love or you wanted to end all of this. But your conscience told you that this wasn’t fair for Jungkook. The least you could do as an apology was return him back to normal, before you’d accidentally gave him the soulmate potion. This must be done. It’s your fault from the beginning, so you must make it right.
“Alright. I’ll give it to him today. I’ll tell him everything,” you said, lifting your hand to ask her for the antidote.
The two of you had worked on the antidote for weeks under the supervision of the lecturer - Yoora had lied that the antidote was for her friend - and managed to finish it yesterday. You’d asked her to hold on to it while you’re making up your mind. And now that you’d decided, you would give the antidote to Jungkook today.
“Good. It’s best if he hears it from you. And you can try it out with Taehyung to forget about him.” Yoora gave you a thumbs up before rummaging through her bag. Her eyebrows furrowed after digging into the bag for a while. “Where the hell is it? I’m sure it’s in my bag.”
You frowned. Yoora was a meticulous person. If she said it’s in her bag, then it should be in her bag, unless someone took it from her. “Is it possible if Jimin or someone else searches through your bag?”
It seemed your guess was right because Yoora gasped out of shock afterwards. “Jimin!”
As if on cue, Jimin came over to your table at the lab with eyebrows furrowed. But rather than approaching his soulmate, he headed towards you. He was panting as if he’d just run all the way here.
“Why didn’t you tell me it’s Jungkook?” Jimin asked in an accusing tone.
“You know him?” you asked him back, eyes wide with surprise. You never mentioned Jungkook’s name to Yoora and Jimin.
“He’s a part of our pack! Of course I know him!” Jimin growled at you angrily, causing you to flinch. You took a step back involuntarily out of fear.
Yoora must have seen that you’re scared of Jimin. She put a hand on Jimin’s chest to calm him down. “Babe, she doesn’t know that he’s in your pack. Obviously, she can’t tell you. How did you find out anyway?”
Jimin didn’t look away from you. “I went to Y/N’s house this morning, because I couldn’t find you anywhere. But then I met Jungkook, sitting on her porch, waiting for her to come home like a dog.” Jimin started raising his voice again and Yoora had to squeeze his hand to tame his temper. He was talking to you now. “Did you know how long we’ve been searching for him since he left our pack four years ago? He always ran away when we got closer to him. And now he didn’t even budge when I approached him in your house! He couldn’t leave! Why? Because of your fucking soulmate potion!”
“I-I’m sorry, Jimin. I-I didn’t know,” you stuttered, dropping your gaze to the ground, moving back another step.
“Stop, Jimin! You’re freaking her out!” Yoora said, louder this time to make him know that she’s serious.
Jimin went silent in an instant, only his ragged breaths were heard. No one spoke for a few minutes. People who’d been staring since Jimin’s sudden outburst went back to do what they’d been doing.
“So did you take the antidote from my bag, Jimin?” Yoora finally asked, breaking the silence.
Jimin answered, a lot calmer than earlier, “Yeah, I gave it to Jungkook. I told him everything. But I don’t know whether he already drank it or not. He looked pretty shocked. Where’s Taehyung? I have to tell him that I found Jungkook.”
You could hear the sound of your heart breaking. It’s all over. Not only that Jungkook would hate you, he would also be gone from your life forever. No kisses, no meals together, no cuddles. Tears nearly escaped your eyes, but you didn’t even have the leisure to mope around.
Yoora’s eyes widened in horror as she said, “I just told Taehyung to go to Y/N’s house!”
“What?” you and Jimin exclaimed in unison.
She raked her fingers through her hair in frustration. “I was trying to set them up - Y/N and Taehyung.”
Jimin cursed. “Shit! If Jungkook hasn’t drunk the antidote, this will turn out very bad!”
You and Jimin were about to storm out of the lab and ran all the way to your house when Yoora stopped you, flashing her car key to you. “Let’s go in my car,” she said hastily and led the way, sprinting towards the parking lot.
The three of you arrived a bit too late at your house. The condition of your front yard was disastrous; most of the plants were destroyed, a tree was snapped in half, a huge mess of soil everywhere, and most importantly, there were two huge wolves fighting. Jungkook hadn’t drunk the antidote and that was the worst scenario. In a blink of an eye, Jimin jumped off the car while it was still moving and transformed into a wolf to pull them apart. Yoora stopped the car hastily and the two of you hurriedly got off to get closer to the fight.
“Jungkook! Stop!” you yelled out loud. But Jungkook didn’t react. He continued on biting and scratching Jimin and Taehyung who weren’t fighting back. You didn’t know whether he couldn’t hear or he chose to not hear you. You kept advancing to get closer to the wolves until Yoora tugged your wrist to stop you from getting too close. So you had no other choices but to shout again, “Jungkook! Listen to me! Enough! I’m here!”
Jungkook finally froze at your voice and turned back to face you. Within a few seconds, he changed back into human and jogged cheerfully towards you as if he hadn’t just hurt his own packmates. It made you feel awful like you’re the worst witch on earth. The consequences of your failure were not only causing Jungkook to be infatuated with you, but also hurting his friends. The guilt was too much for you to take and you instantly broke down in tears.
“Are you okay, Y/N?” Jungkook asked worriedly as he crouched down next to you.
Seeing Jungkook under the potion’s influence reminded you of all the things you’d done. Anger took over you. “Just go away, Jungkook! Drink that stupid antidote and get out of my sight!”
Jungkook flinched at your burst of anger, looking very hurt. But you no longer cared. It’s all over anyway once he’d drunk the antidote. You took the nearest rock and threw it at him. He stepped back to avoid it, but his eyes didn’t leave you.
“Go away!” you shouted louder while sobbing heavily, continuously throwing rocks in frustration. “Go!”
Jungkook gave you one last sad look and changed back into a wolf, scurrying off into the woods. After he completely disappeared from you, it finally sank in that he’s gone and he’s not coming back. Yoora came to give you a hug and you cried your heart out in her arms.
You realized two things at that moment: Jungkook was gone and you loved him.
The first couple of weeks were the worst. You had a hard time sleeping because you’re used to his warmth next to you on your bed. You lost your appetite on every meal because you’re used to eating together with him. You still searched for him at the uni’s front gate after classes because he used to wait for you everyday. And the hardest of all, you could no longer hear “I love you” from his lips every night before you went to sleep.
You called Yoora on the third week, since you wanted to check on Jimin’s condition; it’s mostly your fault that he ended up like that. But you were also feeling lonely. You asked as soon as Yoora answered the phone, “Hey, how’s Jimin?”
“He’s as good as new. His wounds are not that deep. But Taehyung…” Yoora trailed off.
“What happened to Taehyung? Is there something wrong?” you asked in a heartbeat, suddenly getting very nervous. What if-
“No, he’s fine,” Yoora reassured you quickly and you sighed in relief. “He’s just put on bed rest for another week. Well, you know, Jungkook’s an alpha, he’s bound to be a lot stronger than the others.”
You tensed when she mentioned Jungkook. You knew she didn’t mean to, but still, it hurt you to hear his name. She only realized what she’d said after you went silent for a few seconds.
“Oh god, I’m sorry, Y/N,” Yoora added apologetically. “I didn’t-”
“It’s fine,” you cut her off before she could start saying anything else that would probably make you cry. “I should be the one apologizing. I’m sorry for what happened to Jimin and Taehyung. I hope they’ll get well soon.”
Without waiting for her response, you hung up the phone. You’re glad to hear that Jimin and Taehyung were fine. But the mention of Jungkook’s name tore you apart. You missed him, a lot. Knowing that you had no idea how to contact him broke you down in pieces. He hadn’t made any efforts to see you either, so it really was over. Of course, he probably hated you for giving him the potion.
As an attempt to heal your broken heart, you decided to go into the woods, where you first met Jungkook to reminisce the good memories that had happened between you and him. But you hadn’t expected to see a huge black wolf sitting near the lake, as if waiting for something. Letting out a loud gasp, you stopped dead in your tracks. It felt like your heart ceased to beat for a moment.
“Jungkook?” Your voice was quiet like a whisper. You couldn’t believe what you saw.
The wolf turned back into human and, as if to prove your own doubts, Jungkook appeared before you, smiling gently at you. He’s still wearing the same clothes from the last time you’d seen him, which might mean he’d been in his wolf form since then and staying here like this all the time.
“Took you long enough,” Jungkook said softly as he approached you. There’s no sign of hatred in his eyes.
“Have you been waiting for me?” you asked in disbelief. Hadn’t he drunk his antidote already? Why wasn’t he angry at you?
“Of course.” Jungkook shook his head as he grinned wider. “I thought I was going to die if I had to wait a few more days. I almost barged into your house, you know. But I know you won’t like that.”
“Wait, Jungkook.” All of his words didn’t make sense to you. He still seemed like he’s under the potion’s influence from the way he spoke to you. And that was absurd. Why would he let himself suffer after knowing the whole truth? “Why didn’t you drink the antidote Jimin gave you?”
Jungkook chuckled. “I drank it immediately after he told me everything and gave me the antidote.”
“Then why…?” You’re at a loss for words, unable to ask what you actually wanted to know. The effect of the soulmate potion was supposed to be completely gone. Then why did he still look at you that way? Like you’re the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen?
Jungkook took out something from the bag slung over his shoulder. Your eyes widened in recognition as you saw what it was: a bottle of your spare soulmate potion that was supposed to be safely kept inside your drawer. Why did he have it with him?
“Try smelling it.” Jungkook opened the lid and shoved it towards you.
You warily leant closer to the bottle and took a whiff. A tear escaped your eye as your hand covered your mouth in disbelief. It still smelled like vanilla. Jungkook’s favorite scent.
Jungkook wiped your tears with his thumb affectionately. “You want to know why? Because it still smells like cotton candy to me, even when I’m not under your spell. Do you know what that means?”
You didn’t say anything, too overwhelmed with your emotion. More tears rolled down your cheeks and you started sobbing heavily. Jungkook wrapped his arms around your back and pulled you towards him, embracing you as if he never wanted to let you go again.
“It means you’re my real soulmate,” Jungkook whispered to your ear. “Even if you hadn’t casted a spell of soulmate potion on me, you would still be my soulmate.”
With that, Jungkook pulled away and cradled your face in his hands, capturing your lips with his in a kiss. The kiss was slow and soft. It was different compared to your first kiss with him that was clouded with lust. This was sweet and you could feel how much he loved you, how much you loved him. It was as if the time stopped around you and there were only you and him in this world. You were almost disappointed when he broke the kiss to let you catch your breaths.
You were greeted with a grinning Jungkook when you pulled away. He took your hand in his and started walking towards the edge of the lake. “Come with me. There’s something I want to show you.”
Jungkook let go of your hand when you two arrived at the lake. He made you hold the soulmate potion bottle while he plucked a few strands of his hair.
You raised an eyebrow at him. “Jungkook, what are you doing?”
Dropping his hair into the bottle, he said excitedly, “Recite your spell.”
You shoved the bottle away from you in reflex. “What? No, Jungkook. I don’t want to accidentally bind you again with the potion.”
Jungkook gently pushed the bottle towards you again. “Trust me.”
Taking a deep breath, you decided to trust Jungkook. You were his soulmate, with or without the potion. Since it wouldn’t make any differences anyway, you might as well do what he asked you to. You closed your eyes and chanted your spell. You felt the liquid in the bottle go warm after you’re done reciting.
“Y/N, open your eyes.” You heard Jungkook say.
The moment you opened your eyes, you caught your breath at the mind-blowing sight before you. The lake at the woods that was dark was now lit up by the many tiny lights coming from between the trees. They were flying, swarming towards the surface of the lake, illuminating the water. And then you realized that they were fairies, lighting up the lake with their fairy dust. That was probably the most beautiful view you’d ever seen.
“Wow.” was the only thing you said at the breathtaking scenery in front of you.
“Beautiful, aren’t they?” Jungkook muttered in awe next to you, enjoying the view too.
Once you recovered from your shock, you shifted your gaze to Jungkook, giving him a questioning look. You had tried the potion before and you’d been sure it’d been a failure - it’d been a soulmate potion instead of a lure for fairies. Then how come this time the fairies really came out from their hiding?
“How?” you asked Jungkook, unable to hide your smile because finally, you’d succeeded in gathering the fairies and you could submit this to the lecturer for your final project.
Jungkook shrugged. “I did a few researches and I found out from your recipe that you lack one ingredient: werewolf’s hair. I hope you don’t mind me stealing your soulmate potion for experiments.”
It was touching that he would go out of his way to do researches for you. He might have been doing that while you’d been moping around after he’d left you. You rested your head on his shoulder while watching the fairies dance above the lake. You took his hand and intertwined your fingers with his. “I can’t believe you did that for me. Thank you.”
“I would do anything for you.” Jungkook said, resting his head on top of yours and wrapping his arm around your waist.
“So will you go back home with me and apologize to your packmates?” you asked, snuggling up to him and basking in his presence.
“Of course. Anything for you, candy. Because I love you.” Jungkook planted a soft kiss on the top of your head and you could feel how much he treasured you.
Your heart fluttered at his love confession for you although he’d said it to you a lot of times before and you knew in that very moment, you loved him more than anyone else in the world and you would also do anything for him.
Instead of thanking him for loving you like usual, for the first time you replied with, “I love you too, Jungkook.”
author’s note: thanks for reading! Hope you liked it! Feedback is greatly appreciated!
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takemedancingmaine · 6 years ago
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Adrenaline
“I cannot believe that you’re considering spending $200 on a ticket,” I said.
“I really want to see her.” Cleo shrugged as she stirred the macaroni for our macaroni and cheese on her cooktop.
“I know that you have this obsession with Ariana Grande but $200?” I frowned from where I was sitting on her counter.
I loved Cleo’s apartment. She never turned on her overhead lights. She used twinkle lights and lamps, she even had a lamp that looked like a paper lantern. There was always at least one candle lit in her apartment whenever she was home. She had copious amounts of blankets on her sofa and an excessive amount of pillows on her bed. Cleo loved being comfortable and made it into a decor style. It worked well.
Then there were the posters and photographs on her walls. She had photos of her travels from the time she got her camera when she was sixteen and started travelling the country and the world beyond. She had a large map of the world with pins all over. There was an extra large pin for Chicago because it was her home, and for Thailand, because it was where she fell in love with the world.
I enjoyed being in Cleo’s apartment. The scenes in the photos and the comfort of the decor made it feel exotic and homey at the same time. When I was living here I was stressed about finding a place while somehow, simultaneously being here calmed me down. Whenever we weren’t going out or with the group, I would come here just to spend time in the apartment. Even though my tenure here was brief, s small part of myself still felt at home here.
It could be that it also reminded me of the two of us living together in college, of all the late nights talking and watching television, of the adventures we dreamed and the adventures we made a reality. Cleo and I shared a lot of firsts with each other. Our first failing grades and first time living in an apartment, first time almost setting that apartment on fire, first time learning how to use a fire extinguisher… we learned so much and grew up together. Alone time with Cleo reminded me of that.
“Well, yes. Also, it would be for a date,” she said now. I came back to Earth from inside my thoughts when she said that.
“A date?” I raised my eyebrows.
“Remember the girl from a month ago?” She asked me, looking over as I bit a carrot in half.
“The girl that said she didn't want to see you again after you had a great time?” I clarified.
“That's the one.”
“Wait.” I dropped the carrot that had been in my hand. “You saw her again?” I asked.
“Twice, yeah,” she said sheepishly, knowing I was upset that she hadn't told me sooner.
“What?”
“We met on Tuesday for dinner and on Friday for drinks.”
“So after her saying she didn't want to see you again she just, what? Changed her mind?” I picked up the carrot that had fallen onto the counter and took a bite. I watched Cleo closely as she turned and poured the pasta into the colander in her sink.
“She sent me a text last week saying that yes, she had changed her mind,” Cleo said over her shoulder. She brought the pot back over and began making the cheese sauce. I didn't know whether to say something or wait for her to say something.
“She explained on Friday that she was scared.”
“Scared?”
“Yeah.” Cleo shrugged.
“Of?” I prompted. It was unusual that I was having to prompt her to say anything. Typical Cleo would have already spewed out the whole story, thrown in unnecessary details, said it all and more by now.
“She said she just got out of a long term relationship when we met up last time,” Cleo explained now. “She said that she wasn't ready to open herself up again, especially to someone she could really see herself with, but also that she couldn't stop thinking about me.”
“She said she could see herself with you?” I asked, my voice increasing in pitch. I looked closely and saw that my friend was blushing. It had been a minute since she blushed over a girl like this.
Cleo nodded.
“I don't know, Ruby,” she said. “It just seems kind of effortless with her. She likes the same music and we’ve read the same books. She likes sushi almost as much as I do,” she laughed, “and we haven't even kissed yet. I mean, I really want to, but I'm trying to do it all on her terms.”
“What's her name?”
“Natalia.” Cleo looked absolutely precious, her cheeks still flushed pink and a tiny smile falling to her lips as she said her name.
“Well,” I took a deep breath, “I am up for giving her a second chance.”
“Yeah?” She asked.
“I can see why she would be scared.” I nodded. “You're a catch. That's intimidating as hell.”
“Ruby.”
“Cleo.”
“I mean, I am a catch, but still.”
I laughed.
“Plus I gave Niall a second chance and that is working out well,” I said now.
“Wait, what?”
“It's nothing,” I waved it away. “I didn't realise that our first date was actually our first date so we had to have a second first date. But we're talking about you and Natalia. Tell me everything.”
“I'm so unsurprised that you didn't realise Niall had asked you out. I mean, that's probably the most you thing that's ever happened.” Cleo finished making the cheese sauce and dumped the pasta back into the pot, stirring it all together.
“You and Natalia.” I prodded, ignoring her.
“Fine,” she huffed as she poured equal portions of the mac & cheese into bowls for us. “So, she grew up in Argentina, which is really amazing. She has so many stories about it, Ruby,” she said. “I could listen to her talk about it for ages. Anyway, her family moved to Naperville when she was sixteen and despite having to learn the language and assimilate into the school system, she got into U of I and studied business.”
I was handed my bowl and Cleo jumped up to sit next to me on the counter, her own bowl beside her. I dug in while she kept talking.
“She works as a corporate partnerships coordinator for the Chicago Fire. She says that because she is now fluent in three languages that it helps her so much when it comes to talking to partners on the job, to describing things and sorting out details. She's also just around our age. She turns twenty-seven sometime in October, I think is what she said. She lives out in West Loop, kind of near where Ana and Harry are, but further west than them.”
“She seems really great, Cleo,” I said. “When do I get to meet her?”
“I have no idea,” Cleo said. “But I think you'll really like her.”
“If she keeps making you blush like that, then she'll probably stay in my good graces.”
Cleo laughed and nudged my shoulder with hers.
“Now we’ve just got to get Liam and Louis partnered off and the whole group can be doubled.”
“Louis is married to the bakery,” I said, not in an unkind or negative way. “And I honestly am still trying to figure out how Liam is single.”
“Right?” Cleo asks, her eyes wide as she agrees with me. “He's gorgeous and he's fiercely loyal. Plus, he's a teacher. That's super honourable.”
“You're just saying that to pat your own shoulder because you're also a teacher.” I smirked.
Cleo shrugged.
“Seriously though, do you think it's because of his side hustle that he just hasn't had the time or something?” She asked.
“That could be it,” I admitted. “But I think he and Louis are both happy as they are. Well, I know Louis is. Liam is still a mystery. Maybe it'll change once he's finally in the condo he's been stressing over.”
“He still has to show it to us once he closes on it,” I pointed out. “Not even the Styles’s own their apartment. I wonder if it'll feel different.”
“Probably, just like a different air?” She asked.
“Yeah, it just smells more final or something.” I smiled.
“What does that smell like?”
“Bank loans and adulthood.”
“That sounds about right,” she laughed.
There's a short lull as we each take a bit of our food.
“How are things with you and Niall?”
“We’re really good,” I told her. “When Mehar was here she said that she liked that Niall and I didn't complete each other. That we’re companions.”
“Sounds cheesy, but okay.” Cleo smiled.
“That's what I thought,” I told her. “But, if anything is cheesy tonight it's this mac & cheese.”
“I'm glad I bought the good kind.” Cleo nodded.
“I mean, if I'm gonna splurge on calories, I expect nothing less than the best,” I tell her.
Cleo laughed and we fell into an easy rhythm of asking questions about Natalia and Niall, laughing together, and eating more mac & cheese than either of us would like to admit.
I loved spending time with just Cleo. When we were with the group it was a different dynamic, on that I also loved, but sometimes Cleo and I would say something that even Louis wouldn't understand and we'd share a look.
The two of us have a history. It didn't mean she was a better friend than any of my other friends, but it was our shared history that added to the comfortability that existed between us. They had heard the stories, but Cleo had lived them.
We ended up together on her couch watching YouTube videos and eating a mixture of vegan cookie dough and popcorn. We were snuggled under blankets and my head was on her shoulder.
“Seriously,  when do I get to meet Natalia?” I asked in between two videos.
“I'm going to move at her pace, but literally the moment she green lights meeting you guys I will be annoying you so much to come out and get to know her.”
“Are you worried?”
“That she’ll get freaked out and run?” Cleo asked.
I nodded.
“A little,” she admitted, “but I keep thinking about how she came back the first time when she couldn't stop thinking about me. I got under her skin,  in a good way. I keep holding onto that.”
“I think that's a good sign,” I agreed. “I like seeing you like this.”
“You've seen me date one person more than once before,” she defended herself.
“Yeah, but it's been a while,” I said. “Your dating app escapades and stories will become no longer, and then where will I seek out entertainment?” I complain. “I'll have to start enjoying books and movies and television again. All of the tales of Cleo will crumble and dissolve into darkness.”
“Shut up.” She pinched my arm, gently. “I'll still have stories.”
“So you say,” I keep on. “But everyone knows that these stories will pale in comparison, will be lacking lustre and life, will be but shadows of their-”
Cleo pushed me off the couch and I ended up on my butt on the floor wedges between it and the coffee table. My words were cut off with an ‘oomph’ when I hit the ground.
“Heyyyy,” I whined.
Cleo was giggling at the sight of me on the floor.
“You're awful.”
“I'm the best,” she said through her giggles.
“Sometime--I don't know when--I will get you back for that.”
“I'm sure you will, Rubes, now get back up here and let's pick a video.”
I crawled back up onto the couch and resumed my position lounging against her, content as we chose another video to view.
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I was back in the dream.
I kept telling myself it was the dream. All of this was just me in a dream.
There was no way that I was being followed. The dream had probably just altered after my not having it for so long. I was more than likely still asleep on my couch. I had probably just dreamed that I’d woken up and started over to Niall’s. We were supposed to do dinner together, but it was going to be later because he had to finish the last few notes on a project, which gave me just enough time to go home and nap for twenty minutes before heading over to his.
Clearly, I was still asleep.
But then why had the dream changed since I'd last had it?
This time I knew where I was and I knew where I was going. It was dark like it always was in the dream, but when I pulled my hand from my pocket and looked down, my watch was on my wrist. It was never there in the dream.
I was awake.
I was only a block and a half from Niall’s and the sound of footsteps behind me had sent a chill so cold up my spine I thought I was going to literally freeze into my spot on the sidewalk, feet mid-stride and everything. I didn't though, which was a huge improvement over the original dream.
I looked over my shoulder. It was a man in a dark hoodie, with the hood pulled up. Which was not something I should be worried about. It was misting outside. I hadn’t bothered with my own hood, but I had also already taken my makeup off and put my hair in a bun. The weather wasn’t a worry for me, I was accustomed to it.
Still, the sight of a man with his hood pulled up walking behind me on an otherwise empty and dark street had caused my heart to jump up into my throat. I took a deep breath and pushed it down, telling myself that it was fine, that everything was fine, and that I was worrying over nothing.
I thought through everything Brian had taught me over the past few months. I was in a well-lit area. I had an umbrella I could use if I needed it. I could even probably make it to Niall’s ahead of my follower if I sprinted. I also knew how to handle myself if I was attacked from behind or otherwise. I was strong, physically and mentally.
I swallowed my fear and willed myself to keep walking and not panic. I forced my pulse to slow down as I altered my pace and noticed that the man behind me didn’t bother trying to change his stride. That was a comfort in itself.
I was still freaking out though.
Until I got to Niall’s street and when I turned onto it, the man behind me didn’t. He kept going straight.
I felt myself let out a shaky breath before I hunched over, putting my hands in my knees and pulling in another deep breath. It took me a few moments but I pulled myself together and made it the rest of the way to Niall’s.
It took me a minute to stop shaking so that I could send a text to let him know to come down and get me. During that time, I tried my hardest to pull myself together as best as I could before Niall came out through the front door to greet me.
“Hey, I just got home a few minutes ago,” he smiled as he came up to me, “so the food is still really hot.”
Food. Right. We’d agreed on Chinese takeout before he left work. He picked it up on his way.
“Ruby?”
I took a deep breath and looked up at him when he reached out to me and put a hand on each of my shoulders. His eyes clouded over with concern. I was still focusing on breathing evenly, but I could feel that my face was flushed and knew my eyes were probably blown wide from my stressor before.
“What's wrong?”
“I just…  I can't… And then the…” I was stuttering, unable to finish my sentences and thoughts. Niall didn't look panicked, but he was searching my face for any signs of what was causing me to act like this.
I just kept thinking through what I would've done had that man actually been following, had he attacked me. I could see the moves in my mind. Unlike my dream, I could feel in my bones that I would've done what I had been taught by Brian. I knew I would've done it.
It wasn't that I was scared by how weak I was. I was horrified by how I had been thinking of ways to defend myself from a harmless person that was just walking by. I had thought through ways to hurt someone who was just going about his business.
That was what scared me. That I had intended to hurt someone who had no intent to hurt me.
Then there was the problem of my adrenaline. I had been on such high alert that my nerves were frayed and now that the danger was gone, I had no energy left to hold myself together. It wasn't just these past three minutes either.
It felt like the last four months of my constantly being on guard around my friends, my family, and even myself were just snapping into me and like a rubber band that had been stretched so much for so long, I was far too useless at this point and unable to keep anything in place. The lie that I had told to protect myself felt like it was coming back at me and ready to punch me out.
I hadn't realised how physically exhausted I was or how mentally taxing it had been. I noticed here and there, but now it felt like every single moment of fear and paranoia and brokenness was crashing down onto me.
Because the threat was non-credible and my adrenaline was not used in aid of self-defence, it was being used to fuel the crippling pressure I get all over.
“C’mon, let's get you inside,” Niall said now. His voice sounded like it was coming from very far away, and distorted like I was hearing it through water. He still looked confused, but he was confident as he led me into his building, his arms around me, holding me safely.
In the elevator, he wiped my cheeks with his thumbs and it was then that I realised I was crying, that that raspy sound was my breathing echoing around the small room as I struggled to hold myself as together as possible.
Apparently, I wasn’t doing a very good job. After a sob wracked through me, Niall moved so that my face was pressed against his chest and his arms wrapped around me, holding me close to him. I fisted my hands into his sweater as I held onto him.
When the elevator opened I didn’t think I could move to get out. The physical exhaustion had settled over me. I was useless at this point.
Without me saying anything, Niall kneeled down and picked me up from underneath my knees, holding me bridal style and carrying me to his apartment. He didn’t put me down once we crossed the threshold. Instead, he carried me over to his couch and sat down, cradling me to him as he pulled a blanket around us both.
I felt myself let loose and I just started weeping, not holding anything back as my tears soaked through Niall’s sweater. He made me feel safe, even while I was falling apart in his arms. He began rubbing soothing circles on my back, his cheek resting against the top of my head. He didn’t say anything. He just held me while I cried, and cried, and cried. My sobs echoed throughout his tiny apartment, but he held steadfast, didn’t falter, didn’t distance himself.
I don’t know how long we stayed like that, with him holding me while I cried, but it felt like ages when I finally hiccupped and my tears slowed. My eyes were still closed, but it felt like what I assumed a hungover to feel like. My head felt like it had been run over by a truck and my body felt as if it had been beaten with a sledgehammer. I was as limp as a jellyfish. If Niall hadn’t been holding me I would have puddled into an amorphous pile on his floor.
He let me speak first. I don’t think I would ever forget that he let me speak first, that he left it up to me to decide when I was finally ready to talk. He didn’t have to prompt me. I just knew he was willing to listen, his words weren’t necessary.
Now that the tears had stopped and my hiccups paused as I forced deep breaths into my body, I felt myself as I was: broken. I had been naive to think that I was getting better simply because I was ignoring the problem, ignoring the signs. My naivety had cost me the illusion and was shattered, a shadow of who I was.
“It was maybe a week or so before you got here something happened,” I worked out. My voice was scratchy and hollow. Not only did I feel like a shadow of myself, but I also sounded like one as well. “I was walking home from a night out with everyone. It was probably only eleven, but I don’t really remember exactly. I was only a few blocks from home. It’s a walk I’ve made hundreds of times no problem. It’s a walk I still make all the time, without a problem. Everything was normal, except, back then I had been having problems with my front door lock.”
I could feel Niall’s arms stiffen around me, but he still didn’t say anything.
“It had been going on for probably over a month.” I took a deep breath to hold back the tears. I thought I had been all cried out, but apparently, I wasn’t. Still, I bit them back and soldiered on with my story.
“At first it was just that it was sticky and took an extra jiggle, then it was that I had to pull my key our a little bit and then turn it, and just the day before it happened it took me close to fifteen minutes of swearing and yelling at my door, trying and failing to turn my key even a little bit before my door finally opened. I had made a note to text my landlord, but it was only a day later and he hadn’t gotten to it.
“Anyway, when I was walking home that night everything was fine until I turned onto my block, and someone was behind me. It was fine. I even felt guilty for thinking the worst of them when I got really afraid of what could happen. And then I made it through my gate and was at my door, putting my key into the lock I had just remembered didn’t work properly, and I heard my gate creak open again behind me.”
When I paused to catch my breath this time I felt Niall’s arms tighten around me. Him being there for me really helped push me forward, really helped me to say the words aloud for the first time. I mean, I’d told Brian it had happened at home. Had told Brian I had been attacked. I had not sketched out the scene for him, had not told him move-by-move what had happened. This was different. This was harder. It would’ve been impossible with anyone but Niall.
“The worst part was that I knew what was going to happen and I had no way of preventing it. I had no idea how to save myself from what was about to… from what did… He grabbed me around my throat so that I couldn’t even scream. I wasn’t able to do anything because of the fear and because after a little bit of a struggle I was starting to grow weaker, was starting to see spots from the lack of oxygen. I couldn’t even think to do what he was telling me to. When I heard the switchblade open I was able to finally force myself to move and hand him my bag out of my sense of self-preservation. He gave one final squeeze, one that bruised my ribs and severely damaged my throat and then was gone. Vanished into the night.”
Niall’s breathing was steady underneath me but for one hitch when I’d mentioned the word switchblade.
“My throat was bruised for over a week. I hid it with makeup and scarves and turtlenecks. I couldn’t go for a run to clear my mind because when I tried I was spitting up blood, agitating the injury… Not being able to workout to clear my mind was what upset me most, but I managed. I got through the worst of it and successfully hid my bruises. I started going to kickboxing classes during the week instead of running, and every Thursday I go to my self-defence class. The instructor, Brian, noticed my injuries and has been so helpful. I wouldn’t have made it through I don’t think if it wasn’t for him.”
Niall kissed the top of my head and then my forehead. He was so warm around me, radiating calming energy into me to keep me grounded. His hand rubbing circles on my back settled the unease in my stomach, the bile that had been rising in my throat as I recanted my story.
“Everything was going well until the nightmare started in November. It was dark and one man in a dark hood turned into hundreds of identical men and I wasn’t able to move in the dream. I was frozen. It was terrible because I had thought I was making progress with my classes and in my dream, I wasn’t doing anything. It was maddening. I haven’t had it in a few weeks, but tonight when I was walking to yours I had a someone walking behind me. He was bigger, had his hood up because of the rain, and in my mind, I immediately flashed back. I was able to swallow down my fear and think through everything I knew to do. I was scared but in control.”
Niall nodded, I think absentmindedly, as he listened.
“When I made it to your street and turned he kept walking straight and I was flooded with relief and fear at my thoughts and I didn’t know what to do with all of my adrenaline and everything just kept rushing through me and I couldn’t… I couldn’t control my reactions after that.”
“You’re safe now, Ruby,” he held me close.
“I know,” I said, my voice cracking. “I know, but that doesn’t change anything.”
“I know.” He nodded against me. He didn’t try to change my mind, didn’t try to belittle what I was thinking. He just agreed and that was all. His validation spread through me. I didn’t need it, I wasn’t seeking it, but it comforted me nonetheless. It felt like coming home after a long day and sinking onto your sofa and just feeling that relief seep in through all of your pores, into your muscles and lulling you into a state of bliss.
This was far from bliss, but the effect was the same.
“Who else-”
“Brian,” I said before he could finish his question.
“Your self-defence teacher?” 
I nodded. 
“Who else?”
“Well, you know.”
“And that’s it?”
I nodded.
“Nobody else knows?”
“Nobody else.”
“Okay,” he said. “Okay. That’s okay.”
He wasn’t asking me why I hadn’t told anyone. He wasn’t judging me for not telling anyone. He wasn’t telling me to tell anyone. He just accepted that I hadn’t told anyone and kept on going.
“How about I make you some tea and once you’re settled down, we can eat and we can get you to bed.”
“Okay,” I agreed.
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probably-writing-x · 6 years ago
Text
High Society (The Reveal)
~A Tom Holland AU Series~
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Tags: @imarypayne @sunshine112 @sleepwalkingdragon @supernatural-girl97 @vibhati123 @butithasntkilledyouyet @faefictions @carisi-sonny @trap-house-homiecide @shamelessbookaddict @tommydaspidey @oneblckcoffee
Warnings: In-detail depictions of death and murder, language warning, mentions of violence and gang crime.
Notes: Wow! It's finally here!!! I hope this reveal lives up to your expectations... I'm so nervous to post it ahhhh! Let me know allof your final thoughts...
~~~Wednesday 30th January 2019~~~
"-I am arresting you under suspicion of the murder of Imogen Clarke. You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you do not mention something that you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given as evidence," Her voice is certain of every word and you swear for a moment you feel all hearts drop to the tiled floor. Going, going, gone.
~~~Friday 25th January 2019~~~
"Dad, please stop going on about it," You sigh, fixing the light curls of your hair for the millionth time, "Can I not just enjoy tonight? Or is that not allowed after the big sister reveal?"
Peter and Evan were stood in the doorway of your bedroom, clearly giving you extremely unimpressed looks about your decision to attend the Winter Ball.
"It's not just Imogen," Peter points out, nudging at his husband, "You know how we feel about that Thomas kid,"
You let out an exaggerated groan, turning around to face them, "Stop it! You're acting like he's completely destroying who I am. In fact, he's the only reason I actually want to be there tonight. I would be very happy to never have to see Imogen again. But I want to spend one last night at that school before you flip everything upside down again, okay?"
Your outburst was unexpected by all of you and your Dads are stunned into a welcomed silence, both of them looking at their baby girl with blinking eyes, refusing to believe that this school had changed her that much. But it had. And, of course, they wouldn't accept that. She was too pure to be tainted by the posh kids at that school.
"Tom's here," You sigh, more thankful than you'd be able to express to him. Turning quickly to check yourself in the mirror, you brush your hands cautiously over the material of your dainty dress, making sure the boxing gloves still hung right over your heart. You welcomed the nerves, it made this all feel like a real school dance - and not a shattering goodbye.
Tom was waiting at the door when you made your way down the stairs and the shine in his eyes made you instantly know you'd made the right choice with your dress. It was a dark sky blue colour and fell over the curves of your hips, cutting off at the point on your thighs where your stretch marks faded. His eyes echoed a mix of complete adoration and an utter surprise that you'd be the one he'd attend the ball with tonight.
"Hello stranger," He croaks out, quickly clearing his throat to try to avoid his cheeks growing too much of a pink glow.
"Hello, Thomas," You chuckle, realising just how much you'd missed that damn face.
He grabs your hand when you're just close enough to him and pulls you flush against his chest, "Do we really have to go to the ball? Can't we have our own party?"
You hum against his words, welcoming the hot air that they bathed your face in, "Maybe we could sneak a few moments to ourselves,"
"I know this is meant to be some big reunion or whatever but can we please get going?" Sam calls from his seat in the back of Tom's car, poking his head out from the open window.
You laugh and greet the twins who had opted to dress in matching suits for the night. Tom opened your door for you and, soon, the four of you were journeying towards school; still with the sickening feeling in your stomach that it would be your last time.
~~~
The school was electrified with a warm buzz, with all of your year filtering through the doors and welcoming the familiarity of chart songs blasting through the overhead speakers. Tom was greeted by everyone he walked past and he made sure to say hello to them all, still happy to take the title of King of this school. It was only when he saw Lily that he really had to force the 'nice boy' demeanour.
"It's nice to see you Lily," He smiles politely, twisting his hand in yours slightly as though he still needed to confirm you were there, "Did you have a good holiday?"
"Oh relax with the small talk," She rolls her eyes, "Talk to me when you've got rid of the downgrade, honey," Her lips press against his cheek in a bitter display of affection before she's strutting off with an excessive display of confidence.
You speak up before Tom can even try to apologise, "Let's get a drink, I think we might need something stronger than punch if we're going to make it through comments like that,"
His laugh is a sound you didn't realise you were missing as he willingly accepts you tugging him towards the refreshments stand where Noah and Z are visible.
"Well hello, stars of the show," Noah wiggles his brows at the two of you, handing over a cup of fruit punch to Sam who had walked over too.
"Hey guys," You grin, reaching over to get two cups for you and Tom, "Did you have a good holiday?"
All of you engage in relaxed small talk until the sound of the microphone cracking makes everyone's eyes divert toward the stage.
Mrs Osterfield took her position behind the microphone and cleared her throat. It was only then that everyone else joined you: Harrison, Lily, Harry, Noah, Zendaya, Sam, Imogen, Tom and you.
"Well, you all look beautiful tonight guys and I'm glad we can all be here to celebrate together. Something I've really noticed about this group is the community spirit - you are all one big team and that's something that you should really embrace-" She continues with her speech about how brilliant you all were before the lights dim in the sports hall and you're all left in a strange, prolonged darkness.
It is only then that something flashes. You can't help but divert your eyes to Zendaya and Noah, both hiding a deep pride for all of this, clearly being at the heart of the plan. You go back to reading the words spilling across the electronic screen.
'We were all told this term to expose something about ourselves and about each other. But it's time we expose something about the school we're relying on for our futures. How about them completely dismissing everything fucked up that's going on in our year? The manipulation of their teachers by eighteen year old students. The manipulation of other students by people forcing them into twisted relationships,'
Everybody in your group looks to Imogen who is red with a burning fury.
'We're living in a fucked up school. And Lily, Imogen, all of you, this is where it stops,"
The lights don't come back on but the chatter of every student in here is enough to cover any need for illumination. Enough had already been seen. And, in the blue light glow of the enlarged screen, you watch Imogen storm away from the crowd. When you glance back up, Zendaya and Noah have disappeared into the crowd and it is too dark to see where they've gone.
You find yourself following the focus of the recent exposure and you finally catch up with Imogen at the stairs.
"Imogen," You start, watching as she pauses in her high-heeled steps on the inclined floor.
"Did you set this up? Was this all you?" She questions, clearly not holding enough respect for you to justify her making any eye contact.
"No, god, no. I had no idea," You respond.
It felt strange to be seeing her now, not just as the bitch Imogen but as a girl you had spent your first moments as the sibling of. The girl you had the potential to grow up to want to be just like.
"Then what do you want? Are you here for an apology or something?" It is only now that she turns round, arms folded and looking in all ways dissimilar from you. Maybe you were thankful for that - her beauty held a chilling sin.
"I found something out over Christmas and I think it's important that you know," You begin, wrapping your hands around each other to express your nerves without trembling onto the ground.
"Well? Spit it out,"
"You're my sister," You manage to finally release, the words feeling sickening to be directed at someone you wanted to completely despise.
The look on her face was one you were all too knowing to not expect. A mocking smirk and the delicate release of a pathetic laugh.
"What the fuck is that meant to mean?" She scoffs, stepping one stair closer to you.
"What I just said. I was ado-" You begin but she is quick to cut you off, stepping so close that you could see every particle of her makeup.
"Oh, honey, don't act like there's some familial bond between us," She lets out an exasperated laugh, "Because, sis, I'm pretty sure family wouldn't be willing to help somebody steal from me,"
You're sure it is audible when your words clatter against the floor, echoing irritatingly through mocking halls.
"Don't test me, (Y/N)," She shakes her head, "And don't ever assume we're family, darling,"
And then she's gone, leaving you at the bottom of these stairs, sure that you were going to wake up in any moment. Nothing.
You're not sure how long you stay there, sitting against the cold stairs, until someone is there to greet you.
The familiar aftershave of Tom's wraps around you like a blanket as his arms hold your waist with a relieving comfort.
"So I lost everyone at the party, I literally couldn't find anyone," He comments, a harmless remark for now.
Tom pulls himself closer to you, his head only inches from yours.
"Is this our chance to get away?" He mumbles, breath hot as his lips brush your ear.
Tom needs no reply as he pulls you through the corridors and out through the doors towards the swimming pool.
"Tom," You hiss but you can't say anything more as you feel your back press against the harshness of the cold wall tiles. It forces you to let out an involuntary squeak that is instantly silenced by Tom's lips on yours.
You melt into the contact that you had been missing for weeks and forget all about the rest. It was just him.
When he pulls away, his forehead is on yours and his nose bumps subconsciously with yours, "(Y/N)," He begins, welcoming the breathless nature of his words, "I know. I know your parents want you to leave. And I know you're going to leave after tonight," His confession feels like you've just been hit against the tiled wall once again, forceful and unforgiving.
"I-" You start, "How did you find out?"
"I knew your Dads were still debating it so I found Evan's number and I spoke to him whilst you were away," You find yourself gripping onto him a little tighter as he speaks, "I pleaded with him for ages to try to get you to stay. But he said the only way you'd ever be able to carry on here would be if you separated yourself from everyone who's had a bad impact on you. From me,"
"Tom I'm not staying here if-"
"I also knew that would be your response. So, I want to spend this one last weekend with you and then we'll decide your fate after that. We'll decide if you stay or go. But, let's just get away for a weekend," His positive encouragement is enough to make you want to agree wholeheartedly.
"Okay," You whisper and his face brightens enough to make your dark surroundings feel blinding.
"Then let's go, you know what your parents are like. They wouldn't want you to step a foot out of here with me," He points out, his hand gripping yours with more certainty than ever.
Tom goes to pull you away and it is in that moment that everything just stops. The shattering blow was an unmistakable sound and so was the ear bursting thud that followed. And, then, a stumbling silence.
"What wa-" Tom begins but he sees the way your eyes glaze over. The way your hand falls out of his and the way he's sure your heart audibly stops. It is only then that his eyes follow yours, tracing the invisible path to where you couldn't bare to rip your gaze from.
Unmistakable.
You could see how their hands were trembling, and how the trophy fit into them with a deathly uncertainty, a foreign power. Their eyes held a fury that was washed over with a sheer shock at what their own actions had just caused. And their stumbling feet told you that their mind still hadn't processed what their instincts had just caused.
"No," Tom shakes his head, feet chasing after the scene like they'd run fast enough to rewind it, "No, no, no, no,"
It was as clear as day in the dim setting. Her body, unforgivingly lifeless in the scarlet pooling of her once rushing blood. Her eyes, fluttered shut to echo a false hope that she was peaceful, only to be shattered by the ragged wound across her styled hair.
"What have you done?" Tom yells, his eyes diverting around every single feature of this mess.
The trophy clattered to the floor in another bone shuddering clash. And you could see how their hands trembled, a vision of thankfulness for the power they were able ro release from grip.
"She- she knew too much," They stumbled over the words like it wasn't their mouth saying them and it wasn't their hands that had just stopped all knowledge she could have held.
It was in that moment you could see how unreal this all seemed to Tom. In front of him was no longer a person he knew. It was a person he was sure he never wanted to meet. Because, behind trembling hands and crying eyes, there was someone who had just killed another. A murderer. His brother.
"She knew about the gang, and she knew about the pregnancy test," He shakes and the movement is recognisable in his fearful words, "And then I heard her talking to you (y/n), she knew about the necklace and us and Harrison,"
Tom can't possibly rip his eyes away from the boy in front of him but you know he's wishing he could be anywhere else. That he could wake up and have his younger brother again, and not this tainted form of the boy he once was.
"Okay, you need to get out of here," You nod, certain of your unsure words, "Go through the back alley to your house and stay there until we tell you to come back. We'll just say you didn't feel well and you came back once you heard something had happened,"
He looks at you and his eyes are blurring with a terrified haze.
"Tom, me and you need to go. We'll go to the gym and just say that we went there after the whole fiasco at the ball to spend some time together. Nobody will question it," You say to him and it is only then that he makes eye contact with you.
"Tom, am I going to prison?" The younger holland brother asks, and it is only then that he truly starts to cry.
"Hey, hey," Tom steps over to him and grips his shoulders, "You're my brother. I'd do anything for you. That's what it means to be a Holland, okay Harry?"
And then he's running.
You force yourself with everything to look down at the lifeless body. The dried blood that stained her hair and trailed down her face. It all felt too gone. Like she'd been gone for far too long.
"We need to get rid of that fucking trophy," You mention and you're sure that everything around you is spinning apart from that blood soaked weapon.
"T-Tom?"
Both of you look up to see Sam stood frozen in the doorway of the swimming pool, looking between you and Tom like he wanted to run as far away from you as possible.
"Sam, buddy, we need you to do something," Tom states, "I need you to take that trophy, go out the back door, and get it as far away from here as possible,"
Sam can't help but listen to the words of his brother, whom he was willing to trust with his life.
"It was Harry, wasn't it?" He says as his hands grasp the cold, twisted metal of the trophy.
"Now's not the time," Tom replies, still refusing to confirm it yet, "Get out of here, go!"
It is as soon as his brothers are out of here that you see Tom decline. He runs his hands through his hair and you're sure he can feel everything around him crumbling.
"Babe, come on, we can't stay here," You grab at his hand and start pulling him toward the door, wanting to get as far away from the scene as your mind would let you run.
And the two of you set off like there's a fire at your heels. But what really chased at your escape was much worse than any fire could muster. It was the glass eyes of your blood relation, at the cold hands of Tom's own brother.
You're sprinting down the corridor behind Tom and watch as his hands tug at the tie around his neck, throwing it's silk to the floor in an absentminded throw. The restriction in his chest was impossible to stop.
And you were running - away from a fate that was far too sickening to fathom.
33 notes · View notes
harrv · 7 years ago
Note
I saw this on my other fandom so I hope you don't mind. Make a list of your top 20 favorite fics. Then, tag 20 people (or as many as you like) ❤️
ooooh okay! i never made a long ass ficrec before so here we go *cracks knuckles* 
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[not in particular order!] [all are harry/louis]
~ also, i tag anyone who wants to do a fic rec! just say i tag u :)
1. Unbelievers by isthatyoularry / 136k
It’s Louis’ senior year, and he’s dead set on doing it right. However, along with his pair of cleats, a healthy dose of sarcasm and his ridiculous best friend, he’s also got a complicated family, a terrifyingly uncertain future, and a mortal enemy making his life just that much worse. Mortal enemies “with benefits” was not exactly the plan.
Or: The one where Louis and Harry definitely aren’t friends, and football is everything.
2. Young & Beautiful by Velvetoscar / 227k
Louis, to his horror, attends an elitist university in which the name Zayn Malik means something, Niall Horan doesn’t stop talking, there are pianos everywhere, and Harry Styles, only son of a drug-addled, clinically insane ex-rocker, has a perfect smile and empty eyes.
3. Gods & Monsters by Velvetoscar / 201k
The instructions were simple: seduce and destroy Harry Styles. Not once did they discuss the option of Louis actually falling in love. So, naturally, that’s exactly what he did.
4. all we can do is keep breathing by @avocadolouie / 149k+ (as of june 7)
“Harry, I-I’m so sorry…” Louis stutters out, trying to keep his voice level and even, to portray a depiction of strength, but with the way Harry is looking at him, staring at him like he has a personal passage way straight to Louis’ soul, it’s so hard, nearly impossible.
That simple opening phrase, that short introductory acknowledgement that is often rushed out so easily, painlessly, at a safe distance. Giving a doctor the ability to portray empathy without true emotion, without feeling the full brunt and sheer force of the underlying pain itself.
But Louis feels it, he feels the crushing agony laced behind the phrase, he feels the weight of the painful words slipping from his lips, the cause and effect that the three-word expression holds. The distantly empty “I’m so sorry” that doctors throw out in self-preservation, isn’t at all empty for him. Louis recognizes it, he understands it, he feels it.
a fated story of two broken and battered boys who barely survived the unimaginable and how the love of one little brave girl defies all the odds and somehow puts them back together.
[more under the cut]
5. Empty Gold by rainbow_kings / 148k
AU where Louis Tomlinson attends the vigorous, demanding performing arts school: Guildhall in hopes to complete his theatre degree. He is a scholarship student, always having to work twice as hard to prove his worth which has caused him to feel resentment and anger towards his subordinate position.
Harry Styles is the wealthy, naturally gifted actor who effortlessly snatches all the main roles within the class. The complete contrast to everything Louis is.Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles have had bad blood and despised each other for the two years they attended Guildhall together, making each task a competition between each other.
In the final year, when Guildhall produces and performs an original play, Louis is heartbroken to learn the lead role has been been received to Harry and he’s the second role. He’s mostly terrified, however, when he realises he has to date Harry in the play as their characters. They come together through awkward stage kisses that transforms to hate sex, heated arguments, rehearsal times after lectures and baking carrot cake together.
6. Crave by @dimpled-halo​ / 89k
All eyes are on Louis Tomlinson to bring new talent to save Hanover Records from the mess the previous executive left behind. His newest artist, Harry Styles, is charismatic and everything Louis needs to revive the label. It’s up to Louis and his team to make Harry the star he was born to be. When Harry and Louis come face to face, it isn’t the first time they’ve met, and their worlds are about to be turned upside down.
7. Needing You More and More, Let’s Give Love A Try by supernope / 33k
When Harry gets pregnant after a one night stand, Louis helps him get everything together, from buying pregnancy clothes to taking him on a babymoon. Somewhere along the way, they realize that their feelings for each other are more than platonic. 
8. The Night Sky is Changing Overhead by @domestic-harry / 124k
“Um, sorry, but I believe that’s actually mine,”
Harry said a bit awkwardly, pointing at the cup. The man huffed, slightly narrowing his blue eyes, “Nope, large Americano, dash of cream.” He held the coffee up closer to Harry and honestly, Harry knew exactly what was in the cup because it was his coffee.
“Right,” Harry slowly drawled out as if he was talking to a toddler, “Which would make that mine.”“
Look, I really don’t have time for this, I’m running late. And this,” he said before he took a sip from the cup, “Is mine.”
Harry’s jaw dropped and he held his hands out, failing them slightly, “Wha-you can’t just drink it!”
“Well I did, so, do you still want it or can I be on my way?” The man challenged.Harry shook his head disbelievingly, “Take it, but for the record, it says Harry on it.”
The man turned the cup around and a sharp laugh came out of his mouth, “Well, shit.” He looked at Harry, a smile stretched across his face as crinkles formed next to his eyes. “Thanks, Harry.”
9. the wonderlands by stylinsoncity / 150k
Harry’s daughter, Andy, is signed to Louis’ girl band. Her path to success is marked by competition, chaos, and for Harry, a love affair.
10. If I Was Stronger by haloeverlasting / 50k
Harry lets out a breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding. She feels tingly, and hot, and absolutely terrified, but the next time she looks in the mirror, she sees someone she knows intimately. She sees that girl with bright green eyes, and unruly hair, and parted lips, and she loses her breath a moment, because while she knows that girl inside and out, she hasn’t been honest with herself until… well, now.
“I might be gay.”
A Girl Direction AU where Louis holds universes inside her, and Harry just wants to hold her.
11. Now In A Minute by @avocadolouie / 150k
13 feels like yesterday for many people, but for Louis it actually was.More than anything in the world, Louis Tomlinson dreams of growing up. Simply skipping over all of the awkward, embarrassing years of teenage existence and getting on with life. Real life.
So when thirteen-year-old Louis wakes up in the body of his thirty-year-old self, he expected everything in his adult life to be picture perfect. And maybe it is. He has it all…or so it seems.
Except his favorite person and lifelong best mate, Harry Styles, is totally missing from the equation and Louis doesn’t understand why. He has a lot of catching up to do and as adult life turns out to be more than what he bargained for, Louis can’t help wondering why a life that seemed so perfect, feels so empty.
Or the 13 going on 30 au that should have been done years ago.
12. Fake It Till You Make It by @avocadolouie / 136k
In a twisted turn of events, Louis finds himself posing as the brother of his fiancé, Harry, for an annual company retreat.
Did he sign up for this? No.
Is he doing it anyway? Yes.
Can they actually pull this off? Probably not.
13. precious little thing by mercutionotromeo / 21k
Niall grins deviously and hits “make call”, putting his phone on speaker. They lean in close to peer down at the screen, heads knocking lightly together. Dull rings reverberate quietly around the room and mix with the monotonous buzz of the lights. It rings for a while - maybe six or seven times - then the other line picks up.
There’s a slow, steady inhale, and a low voice purrs, “Hi, sexy.”
Jesus - this guy has barely said two words, and both of them have made Harry’s cock twitch in his jeans. That’s not even getting to what those words are, and why he’s saying them, and how Harry’s stomach is dropping into his shoes at the mere thought of him saying… other words. Words like “cock”, and “please”, and “come”.
Also known as: a university AU featuring phone sex operator Louis, copious amounts of sweet, soft kink discovery, and Louis being Harry’s Daddy.
14. Say You’ll Remember by whisperdlullaby / 93k
au. louis and harry are best mates that are only half aware that they’re also soulmates. alternatively, louis goes to university and harry travels the world, and they always manage to find their way back to each other.
takes place over nine years, in which they love and hurt, make mistakes and learn, and above all, grow.
15. Grenadine Sunshine by @horsegirlharry / 18k
Harry’s only sixteen, it shows right now, and Louis wants…he wants so many things. He wants to taste the faint, sugary ghost of lip gloss, he wants to cup Harry’s face between his palms and swipe the shimmery wet shadows from beneath his eyes. He wants to show him everything he knows, even though he doesn’t know anything about this, about kissing boys or flirting with them or doing their makeup or even showing them it’s okay to want to wear makeup in the first place. Still, Louis just wants, wants and wants and wants. It’s what Harry does to him.
16. California Sold by isthatyoularry / 123k
Notoriously closeted boyband member Harry Styles is famous on a global scale, meanwhile Louis, as his best friend, is back home in Manchester, living the typical life of a 24 year old. When Harry needs Louis with him in LA, a publicity stunt gone wrong changes their friendship forever.
A fake-relationship AU between two lifelong best friends.
17. Do Not Go Gentle by afirethatcannotdie / 70k
“This is all a game to you, isn’t it? Well, it’s not for me. This is a real life or death situation,” Louis says, spitting the words at him. “And I just don’t think you’re cut out for it.”
For a moment, they stare at each other in complete silence. Harry can feel his blood thrumming between his ears, can see Louis glaring at him, feels red-hot anger. And then all he feels, oppressively and desperately, is lust.
Suddenly Louis is surging up to him to press his lips against Harry’s. Harry walks the two of them backwards, pressing Louis back against the door. Louis oomphs in surprise and brings his hands under Harry’s scrub top, scratching at his lower back.
“Lock — oh — lock the… fucking door,” Louis mutters.
When Harry Styles starts his first day as a surgical intern, he expects a lot of things: to treat patients, to observe a surgery, to feel a bit overwhelmed. What he definitely doesn’t expect, however, is that the handsome guy he kicked out of his bed this morning is also an intern.A Grey’s Anatomy AU where tensions are high, Harry and Louis are hooking up in secret, and no one has time for love. Or do they?
18. Finding Lou by stylinsoncity / 60k
Louis is the nomadic stranger who wanders into Harry’s bookstore. Harry is the skeptic who falls for him.
19. Coax the Cold by MediaWhore  / 86k
England, 1897.
English Professor Louis Tomlinson’s passion for the occult has been a source of mockery and derision for most of his life. When he hears whispers of a travelling freak show newly established in London claiming the existence of a monstrous sea hybrid, half-man, half-fish, Louis sees it as his ticket to credibility amongst his peers. The summer he spends undercover working on the show, however, gives him much more than that. 
20. Here In The Afterglow by @fondleeds
“If you hadn’t noticed, I don’t have many friends,” Louis whispers, the blossom of insecurity in his stomach unfurling and clawing its way into his throat.
Harry is silent for a long time, and then he speaks; a soft, slow uncurl that makes Louis’ stomach shake. “I’ll be your friend.”
-1970’s AU. In a tiny town in Idaho, Louis’ life is changed forever by the arrival of a curious stranger. 
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ayearofpike · 6 years ago
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Spooksville #22: The Creepy Creature
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Pocket Books, 1998 112 pages, 12 chapters ISBN 0-671-00270-8 LOC: CPB Box no. 1474 vol. 13 OCLC: 39525120 Released August 1, 1998 (per B&N)
A slime monster has eaten and absorbed Bryce Poole. Cindy Makey is the only one to have seen it happen, and when they find Bryce in the woods it’s naturally hard to believe her. But Bryce is acting different. Strange. And when he slimes out of his bed and tries to attack his other friends, they realize Cindy was telling the truth, and they have to go back into the woods to stop these creatures from invading and multiplying. But the trail leads back to a land that they’ve heard of before, and the slime monsters are only a small part of it.
This fuckin’ book gave me whiplash. We’ll get there. But I’m not convinced that Pike was totally happy with the beginning. A lot of the searching and talking is somewhat haphazardly written (like this blog), like he just didn’t care about that part and wanted to get on to the good stuff (like this blog). With two more Spooksvilles coming down the lane, he must have seen the light at the end of the tunnel and been ready to be done. Hmm, where have we seen that before.
It’s fortuitous that I closed my last post talking about Bryce and Cindy and their feels, because this one opens with them walking in the woods alone together. Cindy is trying to drop hints that maybe she’s interested in Bryce, but Bryce is too busy being a twelve-year-old boy with a savior complex to really understand what’s being said. It doesn’t really matter, because this ... THING oozes up behind him and starts reaching tentacles. They try to run, and for a minute they think they’re safe, but then it lunges out from behind a bush and totally absorbs Bryce. Cindy has no choice but to run.
She finds her friends — where else — eating donuts, and tells them what happened to Bryce. After a quick pit stop at the army surplus for flamethrowers (like, this fuckin’ town, man), they hike up to the caves where the creature first appeared. And they run into Bryce, who says that he walked into a monster spider web and the spider in it must have scared Cindy away. Which ... bullshit, because these guys know Cindy and she’s seen a lot worse than a goddamn spider. But he insists that now he’s tired and wants to go home, so they just follow him.
They split up back in town. Adam and Watch have to return the flamethrowers, but then they part ways too, and Adam is almost home for dinner when Cindy leaps out of a bush and insists they go confront Bryce now, because Bryce is not Bryce. She knows what she saw, and even throws in a tidy little The Thing reference to try to make Adam understand. He still doesn’t totally believe her, but agrees to go along and stake out the house. Bryce isn’t there yet, but when he does get home he takes off all his clothes and oozes across the bed. So now Adam is convinced.
What to do? Maybe they can burn it. Bryce happens to have several gas cans in his garage, and the house goes up without an argument. Only — oh shit! — he got out, and is now going to grab and turn both Adam and Cindy. This doesn’t last too long, because Watch has been tailing them with his flamethrower that he checked back out I guess, like the army surplus in Spooksville is a lending library, and he torches The Blob Formerly Known as Bryce into so much melted Jell-o.
So just like Harry Potter, these kids gotta go fighting battles that nobody else is willing to back. They wake Sally and get more flamethrowers, then make their way up to the caves. Watch decides they need to follow the one with the most slime around the opening, because duh, and they take it down. And down. And down. And eventually it starts opening up and spreading out and being lit by a strange green light, almost like there’s a sky with a nebulous light source over the top of this massive cavern, which is so big that even Pike seems to forget they’re fucking underground.
They bump into another slime creature, which grabs Sally’s ankle but otherwise seems to have no interest in ingestion. Watch decides to get a better angle on burning it away, so he climbs a tree and shoots straight down. Of course, this pisses the creature off, and before Watch can do much damage it lashes out and grabs him and takes off. So the other kids gotta follow, right? 
They smell smoke and see hints of activity in the distance, but before they can get really close a rock comes chasing after them. Literally — it’s a big ass rock monster, running straight at Sally. Why does she keep getting targeted down here? Before she can even scream, this purple laser shoots out of nowhere and blows it up. The wielder is a beautiful young woman with purple hair, dressed for combat in that way male artists do female superheroes: breast plate, bare arms, bare legs, high boots. Come to think of it, the warrior princess in The Dangerous Quest was dressed much the same. Frickin’ Pike.
The woman says that they need to go with her to the control center of her city, because the rock monsters are taking over and they’re not safe out here. She doesn’t seem to know anything about the slime monsters, which is weird if this is where they came from. You see the hard turn this storyline just took? Whiplash.
Watch pops out of a bush, or at least he thinks he’s Watch. The others keep a careful eye on him, but they’re not ready to just kill, because he’s saying all the right things and in that analytical way Watch has. But he’s naked, because the slime creature stole his clothes, so Adam has to give up his shirt for Watch’s modesty (which he takes as another sign that it’s really Watch; would a slime monster care if you could see its ding-dong?). They make it to the control center, and the warrior takes them straight to the top, where there’s an old man — and Bryce.
And yes, it’s really Bryce, the old man confirms. He’s been brought here by the slime creature, which the man created, to fight for the sake of Lemuria. Yeah, did you figure it out? Somehow the cave took them to this underwater continent, which might explain the green light if it’s all sealed off overhead. But the slime creatures were meant to only duplicate fighters, not to hurt their targets or try to do stuff on their own, so it should be all OK. Still, sometimes our creations go awry and do things we don’t expect. The old man acknowledges as much, with a knowing glance at the warrior (who of course is his child).
The old guy says that the rock monsters are aliens coming up from the deep, where they’ve lived more or less peacefully, because Lemuria is shifting and crowding their domain. So now the rock monsters want to take over not just the undersea continent, but all of them. The only way to stop them is to overload the security shield on the control center when the rocks have gotten close enough, which will blow both the locals and the invaders sky-high. Nobody seems upset about this, but obviously our human friends don’t want to die in someone else’s war. It so happens that there’s a hidden high-speed train that can take them back to the mouth of the tunnel that brought them down here. But Adam insists that the girl come with them and escape, and live out the rest of her life even though she doesn’t seem to know what that means.
As they hit the tunnel, the whole cavern is rocked by an explosion, meaning the Lemurians are dead. Not so for the rock monsters, at least not the two who hung back here just in case. The warrior is rattled into dropping her weapon as she fights them, and Sally picks it up. And levels it at her friends.
That’s right, fuckers! Sally’s been a slime creature this whole time! Slime-Bryce turned her before he went home, and she tied the real Sally up in the garage. Only now they all know too much and she better just kill the Spook Squad before moving on to her master plan of taking over the world by making more slime creatures. She aims the gun at Adam and pulls the trigger — but the warrior leaps in front of the laser, taking the blast and still having enough strength (which is amazing; remember this is a laser that VAPORIZED A ROCK) to turn the pistol back on Slime-Sally, who immediately evaporates.
How did she do it? Well, when she finally does fall, Adam turns her over — and sees wires and circuitry inside her chest. Somehow from here he makes the leap that all of the people in Lemuria must have been robots, which is why they didn’t cry over sacrificing themselves. And it’s too late to repair this robot, but at least she dies having known friends, which is so sappy I don’t actually believe it. Like, has Adam actually fallen for some robot babe in a couple of hours, so hard that he’s going to mourn her robot chassis unto eternity? Feh, says I.
Two more to go! Can I make it? Not right now, because I have to sleep!
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pottergerms · 7 years ago
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Ouch, my heart: an analysis of the Sectumsempra
Well, well well…. look who’s back from the dead (me, if you couldn’t guess).
First of all, I want to apologise for not doing these for so long. Things got a little insane in my life. I haven’t had time to blink these days, but here I am, because I love you all.
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First of all: thank you and sorry it took me over a year to do this. And second of all: of course I can! 
I think this is the post everyone was waiting for and I have no idea if I'm ready for it. Wait. I know I'm not.
But since I'm either a masochist or already too numb from all the pain this ship causes me, I'll try anyway. Fuck the police.
I'll open this discussion with Harry's last thought about Draco before the horrible tragedy that we call Sectumsempra:
Was it his imagination, or did Malfoy, like Tonks, look thinner? Certainly he looked paler; his skin still had that greyish tinge, probably because he so rarely saw daylight these days. But there was no air of smugness, or excitement, or superiority; none of the swagger that he had had on the Hogwarts Express, when he had boasted openly of the mission he had been given by Voldemort … there could be only one conclusion, in Harry’s opinion: the mission, whatever it was, was going badly.
Ok, let's start by the fact Harry says Draco has a "swagger". Not my words!
And also: Yer a stupid wizard, Harry.
The boy is falling behind in classes, he's sad and lonely, he looks sick, you know he's terrified he's not pleasing Voldemort. So instead of trying to help him, you go and use a spell for enemies on him. A boy genius.
I don't even know why I'll point this out again, but it's not normal to keep noticing those things about people you don't care about, ok? It's just not done. You're fooling yourself!
Meanwhile, Harry is getting desperate here. If it's because Draco looks sick or because he couldn't find out what his mission was, we'll never know. But he knows he's running out of time, and he has other personal problems to deal with, like the horcruxes and his huge crush *sarcasm* on Ginny.
And coincidentally his crush on her seems to grow, suddenly. Almost like it's a distraction... hm. She's exactly like the opposite of his true crush, I mean, obsession, I mean... Malfoy. She makes him forget, instead of making him feel like everything is falling apart; she doesn't have any problems besides boys and Quidditch, while Draco's buried in shit.
But still, he thinks about her far less than he thinks about *someone else*. Because a constant in this book is that nothing is more pressing than Draco Malfoy. Not the Prince himself, not the horcruxes, not girls or Quidditch. Nothing.
In the midst of all his preoccupations Harry had not forgotten his other ambition: finding out what Malfoy was up to in the Room of Requirement. He was still checking the Marauder’s Map and, as he was often unable to locate Malfoy on it, deduced that Malfoy was still spending plenty of time within the Room.
Oh yeah, in the midst of his problems, one being he didn't know if Ginny was worth upsetting Ron (and if that's not an indicative that she's not your one true love, Harry, I don't know what is), he still has plenty of time to obsess over Draco Malfoy.
Just healthy, really.
And now, because I didn't forget the real issue here, let's read what brilliant thoughts Harry Potter has about the Sectumsempra:
...he saw the Sectumsempra spell, captioned ‘For Enemies’, that he had marked a few weeks previously. He had still not found out what it did, mainly because he did not want to test it around Hermione, but he was considering trying it out on McLaggen next time he came up behind him unawares.
Oh yeah! He was considering trying the Sectumsempra on Cormac! That's how much of a genius he is. Harry, go study some latin before you use a fucking spell, will ya?
I mean, you would think that a boy who lost both parents to a curse and studied Charms for 6 years would think to at least check the etymology of a spell before using it on another human being. Or not, if you're stupid as fuck!
Ok, so are you ready for the heartbreak? *takes deep breath*
Harry made his usual detour along the seventh-floor corridor, checking the Marauder’s Map as he went. For a moment he could not find Malfoy anywhere, and assumed he must indeed be inside the Room of Requirement again, but then he saw Malfoy’s tiny, labelled dot standing in a boys’ bathroom on the floor below, accompanied, not by Crabbe or Goyle, but by Moaning Myrtle.
First of all, Harry, why??? What kind of dodgy business could he be planning with the ghost of a muggleborn girl murdered by Voldemort? If anything, that shows he's really not who you think he is.
It took me years after reading this book to realise Draco was confessing to a mudblood, and a victim of Voldemort. To me, that's a symbol of how his views were changing and how, in the end, he was a victim, not a villain. He was like her in a way. 
Also, how fucking lonely he was. *sobbing*
God, that makes me so mad! This is the only time Harry really disappointed me and I think he fucking knows it. He disappointed himself too.
Draco Malfoy was standing with his back to the door, his hands clutching either side of the sink, his white-blond head bowed.
‘Don’t,’ crooned Moaning Myrtle’s voice from one of the cubicles. ‘Don’t … tell me what’s wrong… I can help you …’
‘No one can help me,’ said Malfoy. His whole body was shaking. ‘I can’t do it … I can’t … it won’t work … and unless I do it soon … he says he’ll kill me …’
And Harry realised, with a shock so huge it seemed to root him to the spot, that Malfoy was crying – actually crying – tears streaming down his pale face into the grimy basin.
To be honest, I can't choose what's worse about this whole thing. Draco confessing to a ghost, because he has no one (and not just any ghost, but the one everyone can't stand)? The fact he is crying because he's so scared?
Or maybe the fact that Harry is just so stupid he can't use simple logic and understand that, whatever this is, Draco doesn't have a choice???
Ouch, my heart just broke real quick.
Malfoy gasped and gulped and then, with a great shudder, looked up into the cracked mirror and saw Harry staring at him over his shoulder.
Malfoy wheeled round, drawing his wand. Instinctively, Harry pulled out his own. Malfoy’s hex missed Harry by inches, shattering the lamp on the wall beside him; Harry threw himself sideways, thought Levicorpus! and flicked his wand, but Malfoy blocked the jinx and raised his wand for another –
(...)
There was a loud bang and the bin behind Harry exploded; Harry attempted a Leg-Locker Curse that backfired off the wall behind Malfoy’s ear and smashed the cistern beneath Moaning Myrtle, who screamed loudly; water poured everywhere and Harry slipped over as Malfoy, his face contorted, cried, ‘Cruci—’
I can't imagine how humiliated he feels, and how terrified he is, because not only was he crying because of Voldemort, but now Harry Potter knows too much. And Harry won't help him, he's sure of that.
You know what breaks me? They start do duel with childish hexes and curses, and it escalates so quickly, before any of them can take a moment to realise the seriousness of it.
And I wish Draco was going to say "Crucifix nail nipples!", but we know he was not. But do you wanna know what I believe? If he had time to finish saying the word, nothing would happen, and Harry would be able to see he's not evil. He obviously didn't mean the Crucio. 
But before he has that chance, Harry goes and fucks up royally:
‘SECTUMSEMPRA!’ bellowed Harry from the floor, waving his wand wildly.
Blood spurted from Malfoy’s face and chest as though he had been slashed with an invisible sword. He staggered backwards and collapsed on to the waterlogged floor with a great splash, his wand falling from his limp right hand.
‘No –’ gasped Harry.
Slipping and staggering, Harry got to his feet and plunged towards Malfoy, whose face was now shining scarlet, his white hands scrabbling at his blood-soaked chest.
‘No – I didn’t –’
Harry did not know what he was saying; he fell to his knees beside Malfoy, who was shaking uncontrollably in a pool of his own blood.
To be honest, Harry never in a million years thought that would be a lethal curse. Never. He wanted to test it on McLaggen!
I can't stand this moment, I can't. I makes me tear up every time.
Because there is Draco's physical pain, which was probably horrible, then there's his emotional pain, because he's at his most vulnerable moment and it's such a betrayal! Harry is one of the good guys. He was afraid Voldemort would do something like that to him, not Harry. And that is so so so sad.
And there's Harry's pain as well, because he's fucking terrified. He knows Draco is dying, he knows he did something unthinkable, he knows he fucked up. Sometimes I can't believe Draco actually saved Harry after that, because this probably haunted him for a long time.
Just imagine seeing someone surrounded by their own blood, with deep cuts and shaking in pain. I don't think you can forget it that easily. Especially if you were responsible for it.
And you know what makes me angry? That Harry compartmentalises what he's feeling so well that it's like two different people: one when he's alone, looking at what he did, and one once he finds his friends. It's maddening.
But there's a reason for that, and we'll get into it soon.
“Harry was still watching, horrified by what he had done, barely aware that he too was soaked in blood and water. Moaning Myrtle was still sobbing and wailing overhead. When Snape had performed his counter-curse for the third time, he half-lifted Malfoy into a standing position.
‘You need the hospital wing. There may be a certain amount of scarring, but if you take dittany immediately we might avoid even that … come …’
He supported Malfoy across the bathroom, turning at the door to say in a voice of cold fury, ‘And you, Potter … you wait here for me.’
It did not occur to Harry for a second to disobey. He stood up slowly, shaking, and looked down at the wet floor. There were bloodstains floating like crimson flowers across its surface. He could not even find it in himself to tell Moaning Myrtle to be quiet, as she continued to wail and sob with increasingly evident enjoyment.”
I love the way JKR describes how Harry sees it, how vivid are the consequences of what happened. And I obviously love how Snape tells Draco it might scar, possibly more for Harry to hear than for him. Snape knows him well, he knows the guilt trip he could go into and is trying to push him into it. And Harry deserves it.
It doesn't happen, though, because immediately after, he goes to find his friends (and Ginny), who make him forget about his feelings.
But before we get into that, I'd like to talk about the symbolism of Harry finding the room of hidden things when he's trying to hide the book. It's the room he's been trying to get in all year, and it's almost like a physical representation of Draco at this point.
It's very interesting how he can suddenly get in, almost like the barriers are all down, almost like Draco stopped caring about hiding it from him. Almost like he's so sad and hopeless he stops trying. Thinking about the wave of disappointment he must be feeling, it's very possible that Draco's feelings were an influence in the door showing up for Harry.
Anyway, then Harry tells his friends about what just happened and they respond exactly like you would expect them too, almost to a stereotypical extreme.
“I won’t say “I told you so”,’ said Hermione, an hour later in the common room. ‘Leave it, Hermione,’ said Ron angrily.”
Isn't it interesting how none of them we just horrified by the whole thing? How Hermione just focuses on the book, not on the teenager almost bleeding to death?
“(...) Malfoy had already been visited in the hospital wing by Pansy Parkinson, who had lost no time in vilifying Harry far and wide...”
I just love this sentence. First of all, with all her flaws, I love Pansy. She's just the best friend Draco could have in that moment, because she takes no bullshit. And to be fair, Harry deserved to be vilified. And you can sense his opinions on what he's done are changing because his friends just excuse what he did, especially Ginny:
“Give it a rest, Hermione!’ said Ginny, and Harry was so amazed, so grateful, he looked up. ‘By the sound of it Malfoy was trying to use an Unforgivable Curse, you should be glad Harry had something good up his sleeve!”
I hated her so much in that moment. What Harry did it's inexcusable, and he knows it. So it hurts my eyes to see her say something so dismissive. Draco would not be able to actually Crucio him and, deep down, Harry knows it. He doesn't even try to convince himself he's faultless, that it was self-defense.
Ok, so let's expand on Ginny's rare presence being right in this chapter.
It's no coincidence this is the same chapter where Harry kisses Ginny for the first time. Remember what I mentioned in the beginning of this post? The whole of Half-Blood Prince is built using a parallel between Harry's relationship with Draco and his relationship with Ginny to move the plot in the right direction.
“Hermione and Ginny, who had always got on together very well, were now sitting with their arms folded, glaring in opposite directions. Ron looked nervously at Harry, then snatched up a book at random and hid behind it. Harry, however, though he knew he little deserved it, felt unbelievably cheerful all of a sudden, even though none of them spoke again for the rest of the evening.”
I mean, come on. He literally buries his guilt in giddiness because Ginny is defending him. Defending him against something he knows is his fault. She's helping him forget Malfoy. Again.
And this chapter is so cleverly written it splits his feelings with the places and situations he's in: when he's with Snape, in the dungeons, he can feel the guilt as a physical presence. Snape makes sure he understands that the detention is about making him feel guilty:
“Mr Filch has been looking for someone to clear out these old files,’ said Snape softly. ‘They are the records of other Hogwarts wrongdoers and their punishments. Where the ink has grown faint, or the cards have suffered damage from mice, we would like you to copy out the crimes and punishments afresh and, making sure that they are in alphabetical order, replace them in the boxes. You will not use magic.”
When he thinks about Gryffindor and Ginny, he forgets about any negative thing happening with him: 
“And while he copied out all their various offences and punishments, he wondered what was going on outside, where the match would have just started … Ginny playing Seeker against Cho …”
To be honest, that is one of the things that always bothered me with this ship being canon. Ginny never sees the Harry we see, she always sees someone who's always right, someone who's the hero. And Harry only sees Ginny as a ladder to a life he wants so desperately. A life with no complications, with a family, with giddiness and lightness. He holds onto her because she makes him forget all the horrible things he has gone through, and that's one reason why he never tells her anything: he wants her in a bell jar, untouched by his traumas.
And we all know that's not who he really is. The final proof is how this chapter ends:
Harry looked around; there was Ginny running towards him; she had a hard, blazing look in her face as she threw her arms around him. And without thinking, without planning it, without worrying about the fact that fifty people were watching, Harry kissed her.
(...)
The creature in his chest roaring in triumph, Harry grinned down at Ginny and gestured wordlessly out of the portrait hole. A long walk in the grounds seemed indicated, during which – if they had time – they might discuss the match.”
This moment is like a completely different book. It's a fantasy. Something Harry knew couldn't last. It was escapism.
This chapter is also the last before Malfoy finally figures out how to fix the cabinet and Harry goes with Dumbledore to retrieve the horcrux. It's almost like a tragic farewell to the relationship the two of them had prior to thing getting fucking serious. It all changes after that.
The Sectumsempra in itself changes everything. Harry, someone who we know as heroic and honourable, commits an act that shifts what we know about him, and at the same time Draco, who up until then we see as a bidimensional character, comes alive and gets layers on top of layers. It's the only possible introduction to what happens in Deathly Hallows. Tragic and horrible, but beautiful to watch.
I mean, I could go on and on. If I had the time, I would probably debate every single sentence in this book that, to me, is the most symbolic and crucial of them all.
But I do have a job, so this will do. Hope you guys enjoyed it!
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