#and they spoke about Travis and he said he thinks this is why he fell in love with her | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

davidpastrsnack · 4 years ago

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it’s crazy what you’ll do for a friend - nolan patrick

a/n: here’s a friends to lovers 4+1 with our fav boy loosely inspired by daddy issues by the neighbourhood. but there’s still a splash of smut because you know me lol. hope you enjoy :)

word count: 10.5k

The first time you met Nolan you didn’t know what to think. He was polite, giving you a gentle smile and reaching out to shake your hand, but you couldn’t help but fixate on how quiet he was and his seeming lack of emotion.

Regardless of your hesitation, that was the first time of many that Nolan took care of you.

You were new to Philadelphia, moving to continue your education and expand your horizons. You had always been one to play it safe, to stay in your comfort zone, but after having your heart broken and being unexpectedly accepted to one of the top graduate programs in your field you knew it was time to challenge yourself and leave behind everything you had ever known.

Well, almost everything, aside from Aubrey, one of your best friends since that first day of kindergarten so long ago. She worked in the city, practically begging you to join her when she found out you were considering the move. Just weeks later, the second bedroom in her apartment became yours and that’s how you met him.

one

It was only your third night in Philly and you were still unpacking, a glass of wine sitting on your dresser as you dug through the remaining boxes that were seemingly never-ending. It didn’t seem like this much stuff when you were packing it, but here you were overwhelmed with all of your belongings.

You were humming along to the music, taking it one box at a time as the room slowly came together when you heard a knock on your door.

“Come in,” you called, turning to face the door.

“Woah,” Aubrey muttered, “How’s it going in here?”

“I know, I know,” you laughed, “It looks bad but I’m almost there.”

She nodded, stepping into the room and sitting on your bed, “Time for a break?”

You knew what the hopeful smile on her face meant, she had plans for the two of you.

You looked at her with hesitant eyes and she chuckled, remembering how well you knew her.

“I was thinking we could go meet some of my friends?” Aubrey continued, “I’m kind of seeing this one guy and his friends are great. They’re a lot but I think you’ll love them and they’ll love you.”

“Aubrey, I-” You paused, “I really should finish up in here.”

“Come on, Y/N, we have all day tomorrow to finish and you need a break. I feel like I’ve barely even seen you and it’s been three days.”

You let out a laugh at her words, she was right. It felt like your life had been on hold for so long but now you had the opportunity to start fresh, to put yourself out there in a world that had no existing opinions of you.

“Fine,” you groaned, standing up from your spot on the hardwood, “But you have to help me find something to wear.”

“Deal!” Aubrey exclaimed, dragging you out of the room and into her own to go through her closet.

Just over an hour later, you were squeezed into a booth of the bar surrounded by men almost twice your size. Aubrey failed to mention that the guy she was seeing, but not dating as she vehemently claimed, was a Flyer and so were his friends.

You didn’t know what to expect from the group, but it didn’t take long for you to conclude that they were sweethearts, especially Travis, Aubrey’s “friend.” After introducing you to each of them, it felt like you had always been a part of the gang.

The beer and conversation were flowing, the bellowing laughs coming from the table practically feeling the air of the entire bar. You quickly fell into the banter, fitting in right away after growing up with brothers.

“There he is!” You suddenly heard Kevin shout from next to you, “Took you long enough, Patty.”

You looked up from your drink to see the man you could only assume to be Patty, his tall frame towering over you as you sat on the edge of the booth. He was dressed in all black, and his hair was long and frankly, unkempt as it curled around his ears. Even in the dim light of the bar, you could make out his light eyes, the blue piercing you as he finally met your gaze from his seat directly across from yours.

“Nolan, this is my friend Y/N,” Aubrey started, “She just moved in with me.”

Nolan reached out his hand across the table which you happily met, secretly hoping he couldn’t feel how clammy you had gotten since he walked in. He softly smiled as your hands touched, the corners of his mouth barely lifting but just enough.

“Nice to meet you,” he mumbled.

“You too,” you replied, flickering your eyes to the other end of the table before you caught yourself staring.

You were right away distracted by something Travis was chirping Claude for from this morning’s practice, but something about the man sitting just a few feet away from you was still consuming your thoughts.

You were pretty sure he had already decided that he didn’t like you. He had barely said a word aside from his initial pleasantries, but from then on it was almost like he wasn’t even acknowledging your presence. You didn’t know why you even cared, but there was something about his presence that made you on edge.

“I’m going to get another one,” you blurted out, everyone’s attention shifting to you.

“I’ll come with,” Aubrey declared.

“I’m good, stay,” you responded, giving her a knowing look. She was practically sitting in Travis’s lap, her hands wrapped around his neck while his eyes were stuck on her like she was the only one in the room. Not dating, my ass, you thought to yourself.

You slid off the cushion and headed towards the bar, the air already feeling lighter the further away from the group you got. You loved them, they were great, but it was just so much new at once. You needed a breather.

It was a packed Friday night and you knew it would be a while before you got your drink, so you sat down on the first available stool you saw. You caught the bartender's attention right away, but she was clearly swamped. You sent her a reassuring nod, telling her to take her time. She smiled right back at you, evidently grateful for your patience.

After what felt like barely a minute of waiting, you felt a body slide next to yours, the scent of cheap cologne overwhelming you as you braced yourself for what was about to happen.

“Hi there,” he spoke, leaning his weight against the bar top as he boxed you in.

“Hi,” you sighed. To put it simply, you were not in the mood.

“You got a name?”

“I do,” you chuckled in disbelief, turning your body away from his as your eyes scanned the room for anyone familiar. Which of course there wasn’t.

“A snappy one, alright,” he spoke, his hot breath fanning over your neck, “Well I’m Brett, what are you drinking?”

“Nothing,” you snapped.

“Oh c’mon, let me buy you a drink,” he continued, either not picking up on your hints or purposely ignoring them.

“I’m really all set.”

Just before he was about to open his mouth to speak once again, you felt his hand rest flat against your back, your body arching away from him immediately at the contact.

“Do not fucking touch her.”

The deep voice echoed in front of you, your vision clouded as your mind raced in a million directions.

“Listen, man, I got this.”

“No, I don’t think you do,” you heard, the vibrations of his voice running straight through your body.

Nolan.

You may have just met him, but that was a body and voice you couldn’t forget.

You had no idea what overcame you, but before you could process what you were doing you wrapped your arms around his torso. Nolan immediately reciprocated, his arm falling across your shoulders and pulling you close to his frame.

“Just leave,” Nolan asserted, “Don’t make this more difficult than it has to be. It’s already embarrassing enough that you can’t take no for an answer.”

Your body relaxed against his, Nolan’s words calming your worst fears right away. From your vantage point, you assumed Nolan easily had at least six inches and thirty pounds on him. That seemed to be enough for him, backing away with a faulty glare and disappearing into the crowd.

“Nolan, I-” you stuttered, not knowing what to say, “Thank you,” you finally got out, your voice barely loud enough to hear over the hum of voices.

“Don’t mention it,” he muttered, his aura still cold.

You were so caught up in the shock of the moment that you hadn’t realized you were still holding each other, and right away you dropped your arm from his waist. Nolan did the same, awkwardly moving to sit on the stool next to you and flag the bartender.

You missed the warmth of his body right away, the spicy scent of his skin in stark contrast to the Axe you could only assume the other one was wearing. You swore you could still feel the ripple of his abs beneath his t-shirt on your fingertips. It was silent for a minute, both of you trying to come up with the right words.

“I really can’t thank you enough. Let me buy this round,” you pleaded, your eyes locking with his.

“Y/N,” Nolan started, your face flushing as your name fell from his lips, “I’m buying.”

You smiled up at him, nodding before looking back down in hopes of hiding the flush you felt creeping up your neck and onto your cheeks.

“Can I be honest, Nolan?” You questioned.

“Shoot.”

“Do you not like me? Did I do something? I wasn’t expecting that from you of all people-” you rambled until Nolan cut you off.

“First of all, I would have done that even if I hated you. But no, I like you, Y/N. A friend of a friend of TK’s is a friend of mine.”

You laughed at the last part before you could even process the first. Nolan’s cheeks went red, clearly embarrassed at his cliché phrasing but it didn’t matter how badly he made a fool of himself as long as you were smiling. The way your eyes scrunched and your nose turned up while you laughed was enough to make him forget the day he had.

Your laughter was interrupted by your drinks, the woman leaving you with a knowing smile before she turned away. Nolan and you both stood up ready to head back to the table before he stopped you.

“Friends?” He asked, putting his hand out in front of himself.

“Friends,” you agreed with a grin, shaking his hand before walking back to the group together.

two

You dreaded first days.

No matter how old you got, the anxiety of walking into an unfamiliar room full of unfamiliar faces never lessened. But you were ready, you reminded yourself, putting your head up and walking to the classroom like you had been there a hundred times before.

By the time you were walking out after the 90 minutes were up, your heart was pounding and you could feel the tears pricking the back of your eyes as you ran out of the building, not even bothering to introduce yourself to anyone.

The walk from the university back to your apartment was a blur. You couldn’t believe you had made such a poor first impression. You thought you were prepared, you had your notebook ready and all the right textbooks in order, but you somehow missed that there was an assignment due on the very first day.

As you rushed through the busy streets of the city, dodging people left and right, your mind raced back to that room.

“Ms. Y/L/N, can you please give your thoughts on the first case study?” Your professor questioned, intently watching you as your panic set in.

Your heart began to race and your palms sweat as you struggled to find the words to say that you hadn’t done the reading. This had never happened to you before, you were an A+ student for your entire life, almost unhealthily so. You couldn’t remember the last time you had missed an assignment, it just wasn’t something you did.

“Alright, then. Anyone else who actually checked the syllabus have something to say?”

Your professor's words were stuck in your head, playing over and over again when you finally reached your building. Now that you were so close to being in the comfort of your own space you could feel your wheels spinning, the stress and emotion overtaking your body.

Your hands shook as you tried to unlock the door, your body pushing through the threshold when you finally got it open.

“Aubrey?” You called as you walked through the hallway. She had known you for so long and always knew what to do to calm you down. But instead of Aubrey’s bright voice welcoming you back, you were met with silence.

“Where are you?” You muttered under your breath, your voice shaking as the tears threatened to spill over any second. As you turned the corner into the living room, you found three bodies spread across the couch, none of whom belonged to Aubrey.

“Oh,” you sputtered out, surprised to see Travis, Kevin, and Nolan watching a game.

“Y/N!” Travis called out, his infectious smile almost making your tight-lipped frown fade, “Aubrey just ran out for something but she should be back soon.”

You could feel Nolan’s gaze burning into you. You did your best to avoid his eye contact in hopes of hiding your current state from him. He had been nothing but kind to you, but you still felt so exposed standing in front of him, suddenly insecure about your outfit.

“I’m just going to go,” you whispered, pointing down the hall to your room. You felt horrible just ignoring them like that, but you knew you didn’t have it in you to keep up with them right now.

Your bag fell out of your hands almost instantly as soon as the door to your room clicked shut, the sound of your laptop hitting the hardwood floor making you cringe. You collapsed on your bed face first, the emotion you had been holding back for what felt like forever overwhelming you. Your body wracked in sobs as you replayed your embarrassment in a seemingly endless loop.

Nolan knew something was wrong the second he saw you. He may have only met you just a few days ago, but after growing up with two sisters he recognized the signs right away. He had no idea what was wrong, but he did know that you were barely holding it together.

Your head snapped up when you heard a series of soft knocks on your door, “Aubrey?” You asked, your voice rising with hope.

“No, uh, it’s Nolan.”

Your face fell when you heard his deep voice through the wood. You barely knew Nolan, he couldn’t see you like this. You paused for a moment wondering if he would just leave if you didn’t respond, but you could see his shadow through the bottom crack of your door, his feet were planted and didn’t show any signs of moving any time soon.

You silently groaned and picked yourself up, not even bothering to look in the mirror before opening the door because you knew it was not going to a pretty sight regardless. You hastily wiped underneath your eyes, the black of your mascara flaking right off your tear-stained skin. This wasn’t exactly how you wanted the new boy in your life to see you right after meeting you, but you just were friends, right?

“What, Nolan?” You sighed when you finally opened the door.

You didn’t mean to be so stark, but it just came out. His presence overwhelmed you just like it had at the bar a few nights ago. He was leaning against the door frame with his hands tucked into the pockets of his sweatpants. The backward hat resting atop his head flattered him perfectly, drawing attention to the tufts of his brown hair curling around his ears and neck.

Nolan stood up straight as soon as he saw you, his eyes softening when his suspicions were confirmed: you had been crying.

“I just wanted to check on you,” he mumbled, his eyes never leaving your own.

The tension in your shoulders released as you looked up at him. He didn’t say anything else, just tilting his head down towards you as he continued to scan your face for any signs of how you were feeling. You couldn’t pinpoint it, but there was something about Nolan that made you feel so safe, so secure, like as long as you were with him you could avoid your demons.

“I’m fine,” you murmured, your voice barely above a whisper.

“No you’re not,” Nolan rebutted, raising his eyebrows as if he was challenging you to lie to him again.

You didn’t say anything, but rather you moved your body to the side and ushered him into your room. Nolan happily obliged, awkwardly standing as he took in his surroundings. Your room was just as he expected, it was minimal, just like his. You didn’t like clutter, everything had a place. It was one way you tried to control the chaos that was your life.

“You can sit,” you spoke, breaking the silence.

Nolan nodded and sat next to you at the foot of the bed. You couldn’t help but let your eyes trail along his leg, the way his thighs stretched the fabric of his sweatpants making your cheeks flush.

“It was my first day at this new program I’m in and it didn’t go well, that’s all,” you finally sputtered out, staring down at your lap as your hands fidgeted. “I’ve never been good at first impressions,” you added, a gentle laugh escaping your lip as you thought back to your first time meeting Nolan.

“Listen, I’m sure it wasn’t that bad,” Nolan encouraged, “You seem like a pretty great person.”

You scoffed at his attempt to make you feel better, your emotions creeping their way back into your head.

“It was-” you paused, using every fiber within your being to try not to lose it in front of him, “It was bad.”

“C’mere,” Nolan whispered, turning on the bed to face you more and opening his arms, practically begging for your embrace.

You shook your head, closing your eyes as the fresh tears started burning. You were so selective in who you exposed your most vulnerable state to, and you barely knew Nolan. But despite this, you felt such an instant connection with him, and if his overt kindness was any indication, he felt the same way.

You let your final guard down, leaning back and curling into Nolan’s frame. He immediately wrapped his arms around you, holding you tight against him as one hand moved up to your head to rub soft circles into your hair.

“Go ahead and cry,” he hummed, his body gently rocking you back and forth.

You melted at his touch, your head nuzzling into the crook of his neck, the muted orange of his Flyers hoodie the last thing you saw before your eyes shut in sobs. His scent was overwhelming, the mix of his body wash and the leftover cologne lingering on his hoodie flooding your senses. You felt as if you disappeared in his grasp, like the world around you vanished and nothing else mattered.

You didn’t even know how much time had passed, but Nolan didn’t move an inch. He held you like it was the only thing he had to do all day. Once the tears stopped falling and your breathing steadied, you pulled back, instantly flooded with embarrassment.

“Wow,” you chuckled, wiping your cheeks, “I am so sorry, Nolan, I don’t know what happened I just-”

“Don’t,” he interrupted, “We’re friends, remember?” He teased, the corners of his mouth lifting in a gentle smile as he bumped your shoulder.

“Yeah,” you laughed.

“I think we were planning on grabbing some food,” Nolan mumbled, his hand scratching the back of his neck as he spoke, “If you want to come.”

“Oh, I don’t know.”

“Come on, you’re coming. If I have to put up with those two out there so do you.”

You rolled your eyes, but it was the least you could do after what he had just done for you.

“Give me five minutes to look less dead.”

Nolan smiled as you agreed, slipping out of the room so you could change and freshen up.

“What the fuck was that?” Nolan was bombarded by Kevin as he sat back down.

“Nothing,” Nolan mumbled, not in the mood to be questioned about things he didn’t even know the answer to.

“She let you go in there?” Aubrey asked, just having gotten back.

“Yes?” He responded, confused by her question.

Aubrey didn’t bother getting into it and changed the subject instead, but inside she was scheming. She knew you, how closed off you were, but here you were opening up to Nolan like you’ve known him for years. Nothing made Aubrey happier than watching this friendship bloom, and she couldn’t help but wonder if there was potential for more.

three

Team galas usually didn’t bother Nolan, it was part of the job, but tonight it was the last place he wanted to be. His tux felt too tight, the stuffy conversation with potential sponsors was putting him to sleep, and his date was, to be frank, insufferable.

Nolan had no problem going to an event without a plus one, he and TK were usually the two single guys spending their time causing trouble, but now that Aubrey was in the picture Kevin had decided he had seen enough. So, despite Nolan begging him to leave him alone, Kevin set him up with one of his friends from Boston.

She was just as Kevin described, beautiful and smart, but that was about all. Nolan was calm and reserved, at least until he was comfortable with someone, but she was the complete opposite. Her personality filled the entire room and although he admired her confidence, Nolan was exhausted. He felt like he couldn’t be himself, like he had to work to match her energy.

After what felt like hours of entertaining her and Kevin, Nolan made his escape to the bar. It was the first moment to himself he had, the relief immediately flooding him as he leaned against the counter. He titled his glass to the bartender, silently requesting a refill when he felt his phone buzzing in the pocket of his suit pants.

Nolan begrudgingly pulled the phone, wondering who it could possibly be. The entire team was with him and it was unlike his family to call him on a Saturday night. But when he saw your name flashing across the screen, his whole demeanor shifted.

“Nolan!” He heard you exclaim, your voice like a breath of fresh air.

“Y/N?” He questioned. You had never called him out of the blue like this before. Nolan nodded to the bartender thanking him before taking his drink and walking out to the empty hallway so he could hear you better. “Everything okay?”

It wasn’t really. You had just come back home from a date, one Aubrey practically forced you to go on. You pleaded to her that you were fine, that you weren’t ready to start dating in the city yet, but regardless, you found yourself sitting across from one of her coworkers at a restaurant downtown.

There was nothing wrong with him, he was nice, but it was evident to you before your drinks were even ordered that this wasn’t going to work. You pushed through the meal, putting on your best fake smile and pretending to laugh at his forced humor. You politely declined his offer to walk you home, instead opting to get an Uber so you could get out of your dress as soon as possible.

Now you were home, your sweats on and hair up with a glass of wine in your hand. The glass quickly turned into almost the entire bottle, drowning your sorrows of another failed date with your favorite red. That’s when you made the mistake of picking up your phone, your fingers scrolling through your contacts until you found the one name you knew would be able to distract you.

“I’m great. I mean I’m not, but it’s fine,” you rambled, your words slurred as you spoke.

For once it was you mumbling and not Nolan. He didn’t know what, but his gut was telling him that something was wrong, he could practically smell the alcohol on your tongue through the phone. After a long pause of trying to figure out what to say, his thoughts were interrupted.

“Come over?” You whispered, “I’m so sick of being alone.”

Nolan’s heart dropped at your words, his eyes blinking shut as he pondered his next move. His eyes scanned the ballroom, finally landing on his date. She was sitting at their table, Nolan’s empty seat sticking out like a sore thumb, laughing at whatever story of his college days Kevin was regurgitating. He would feel like an ass if he just left, and he would be lying if he said the prospect of an easy lay hadn’t crossed his mind tonight, but you were more important.

“Give me twenty.”

Since calling Nolan you had migrated from your bed to the couch, a blanket sprawled across your body while you laid horizontal. The only light in the room was from the TV as one of your comfort movies played. You were barely paying attention, instead zoning out and staring at the lit-up city around you from the window.

Your mindless thoughts were interrupted by a series of knocks on the door. You threw the blanket off of your body and stood up, slowly dragging your feet across the hardwood as you made your way. But you were nowhere near prepared for what you saw as soon as you opened the door.

Nolan towered over you in the door frame. He was wearing a suit, the soft, grey fabric clinging to his thighs and shoulders perfectly. His long hair was slicked back and tucked behind his ears. The scent of his cologne overwhelmed you instantly, the warm aroma making you want to melt into him. One hand was resting in his pant pocket, while the other was carrying a take-out bag from one of your favorite spots.

“Hi,” Nolan quietly muttered, breaking the silence.

His deep voice broke the trance you were in, and that’s when the realization hit you.

“I completely forgot you guys had that thing tonight,” you blurted, the alcohol in your bloodstream clogging your train of thought, “I am so sorry. You have to go back, I feel horrible.”

Your hands came up to your face, hiding your embarrassment. How could you forget? You spent hours this morning helping Aubrey pick out her dress.

“Y/N,” Nolan cooed, his large hands gently pulling your own off of your face, “I’m here and I’m not leaving.”

Nolan didn’t let you get another word out before he was pushing past your body. He wasn’t even enjoying himself at the event and the last thing he wanted to do was go back.

It didn’t long for the two of you to finish the food, opting to head back to the couch and ignore the many empty containers for now.

“I’m never going on a date ever again,” you slurred, “I don’t even want to look at a man ever again.”

Despite trying to be quiet, Nolan couldn’t hide his chuckle. He had heard similar frustrations from his two sisters growing up. He had been around endless assholes throughout his life, he knew how exhausting it must have been to try to find a decent one.

“Can’t blame you,” he mumbled.

Your body slumped against the back of the couch, your eyes slipping shut as the wine and food started to lull you into a sleepy haze. Nolan scanned your face, a soft smile creeping onto his face as he watched your chest gently rise and fall with each breath. Before he could catch himself, he lifted his hand and pushed back the hair that had fallen in your face, tucking it behind your ear.

In that moment Nolan knew that he was fucked.

Never before had he dropped everything for a girl as he did for you tonight. But he also had never connected with someone like he did with you. You didn’t force him to be something he wasn’t, there was no pressure to put on an act. It just felt natural with you. But your words from just a few minutes before lingered in the back of his head. You made it clear that you weren’t looking for anything right now, it only took one miserable date to remind you of that. So Nolan pulled his hand away, trying to ignore the burning of your skin against his fingertips as they trailed across your soft cheek.

You were friends. Just friends.

You had no idea how much time had passed, but suddenly you felt yourself stir awake, your eyes peeling open to find yourself tucked into Nolan’s side. His body was warm below yours, his arm resting across your shoulders holding you in place as you lay against his chest. From your peripheral vision, you could see his suit jacket on one of the couch cushions, the soft material of his button-down rubbing on your cheek.

You had two options. You could either acknowledge that you awkwardly fell asleep on him in your drunken state, or you could pretend that you never woke up and continue to enjoy the comfort of his embrace.

Needless to say, you chose the latter.

But you must have dozed off again because the next time you woke up you were being carried into your bedroom. Your arms were wrapped tightly across Nolan’s neck, the tips of your fingers naturally lifting to twirl the tufts of his hair.

“Shhh, I got you,” Nolan whispered as he felt you move, just before he laid you down onto your bed, “I’ll be right back.”

Nolan hastily left the room, leaving you to bask in the memory of his warmth as your head fell back against your pillow. Within just a few seconds he was back, placing a cool glass of water on your nightstand table. But almost just as fast as he came back, he was leaving again.

“Stay,” you murmured, watching him pause at the outline of your door.

“I- I got the couch.”

“Okay,” you responded, trying to hide your disappointment.

Nolan visibly cringed the second your door was closed, his head falling to his lap once he sat down. He wanted nothing more than to climb into bed with you. The thought of holding you beneath the sheets and feeling your soft skin in contrast to his rough hands made him dizzy. But the last thing he wanted to do was make you uncomfortable. You weren’t sober enough to say he could stay, and there was no chance in hell Nolan was going to risk scaring you off. So he took the couch, laying across the cushions with his eyes locked on your door until his eyelids gave in to his exhaustion.

four

It was finally Friday, another week in the books.

Your classes were taking more out of you than you had expected, the hours of reading and note-taking blending together as you finally closed your last tab. You had no plans for the night, and you honestly couldn’t be happier about it. A hot shower, takeout, and falling asleep early encompassed your perfect night recently.

Just as you were about to get in the shower, you were distracted by your phone ringing. You picked it up, surprised to see it was Kevin calling.

“Hi, Kevin,” you spoke, a slight edge to your words. You adored Kevin, he was an absolute sweetheart, but sometimes you just didn’t have the patience.

“What are you doing tonight?”

You rolled your eyes at his question, “Nothing.”

“Incorrect, you’re coming over and hanging out with me and Pat.”

“I am?” You laughed, taken aback by Kevin’s forwardness.

“Teeks and Aubrey are coming too, come on, Y/N,” he continued.

You knew you weren’t getting out of this without a real excuse, no matter how much you wanted to stay in. You hadn’t seen Nolan since the night you embarrassed yourself, the cringe of drunk dialing him after a bad date had yet to escape your memory.

“What time?”

“Uh- Let’s say 7.”

“Alright, Kev. See you later,” you hung up the phone, throwing it back on your bed before getting in the shower.

As you approached the boys’ apartment door, it was quieter than you expected it to be. Aubrey said she was already with Travis and would meet you there, so you were arriving alone. You assumed they would already have been there by now, but you ignored the silence and knocked on the door.

Just a few seconds later, the door swung open and you were face to face with Nolan. Your eyes widened when you saw him, his sweatpants hanging low on his hips and his bare torso staring at you. You quickly composed yourself, using every ounce of self-control within you to avoid trailing your gaze across his broad shoulders and down his chest, the curves and divots of his abs making your mouth water.

“Sorry,” Nolan mumbled, his cheeks flushing even redder than they usually were, “I thought you were Kevin, he always forgets his keys. Come in.”

You followed Nolan into the apartment, the muscles of his back rippling as his arms swung. You sat down on the couch, awkwardly waiting while he disappeared into his room. He came back just a few seconds later, his body now hidden behind a wrinkly t-shirt.

“Where is everyone?” You questioned, your body stiff as Nolan relaxed into the cushion next to you.

“Not sure,” he mumbled, the red of his cheeks lingering, “Kev said you were coming with Aubrey?”

Your face scrunched in confusion, “He told me she was coming here with Travis.”

Nolan then pulled his phone out and started typing a message to Kevin, desperate to figure out where he was. For some reason being here with you alone was making him nervous, there was an awkward energy in the air that had never been there before.

Nolan was reaching for the TV remote, about to ask you if you wanted to put something on when his phone sounded.

Kevin: You’re welcome

Now it was Nolan’s turn to furrow his eyebrows, the boy even more confused by Kevin’s message.

Kevin: We couldn’t watch you two anymore please just do something

Kevin: I’ll be out all night

Kevin: Don’t forget protection!

Of course. Of course, this little miscommunication was, in fact, a setup. But the worst part was that Nolan knew Kevin was right. No matter how hard he tried, he had been pining over you since that very first night. And now here you two were in an empty apartment with enough sexual tension to last the year.

“No one’s coming, are they?” You broke the silence, snapping Nolan out of his trance.

He threw his phone to the side as a slight smile crept across his stern face, “Nope,” he chuckled.

If you thought there was tension before, it didn’t even compare to what you felt now. Since meeting Nolan you were under the impression that your secretly harbored feelings for him were just that, a secret, but apparently, you weren’t as subtle as you thought. This had Aubrey written all over it, and you knew Travis was under her spell and would do anything to help her, and bonus points for chirping Nolan simultaneously. It was the elephant in the room, your mutual feelings still not being spoken but you both knew you had been called out by the people who knew you best.

“What are you thinking about?” Nolan whispered, the rough hum of his voice sending chills down your spine.

You couldn’t get even a single word out, your thoughts and feelings jumbling in your mind. After all this time the perfect opportunity was finally handed to you on a silver platter, but you still couldn’t do it.

Nolan could sense your hesitation, your close proximity and sweet scent clouding his consciousness.

“I’ll tell you what I’m thinking about,” he murmured, turning his body so he was facing you.

Your eyes had yet to leave your lap, your focus stuck on the rip of your jeans. You jumped when you felt his warm touch on your lower thigh, the warmth of his calloused hands making your heart rate rise even though the thick denim. His size was intoxicating and he made you feel like putty as he leaned closer to you.

“Y/N,” Nolan mumbled, his voice deeper than ever before.

You finally lifted your gaze, turning your head up to look at him. His baby blue eyes were piercing yours, the contact lighting a fire within you. Every reasonable thought in your head was telling you to pull away, to grab your bag and politely excuse yourself. You weren’t ready for a relationship, you had barely put yourself back together after your last heartbreak and Philly was supposed to be different. But as you sat here, your face just inches away from Nolan’s, you gave in to your desire.

Before you could talk yourself out of it, you connected your lips with his, immediately sighing in relief as his soft pout worked perfectly against you. You hastily swung your hips over and seated yourself on Nolan’s lap, an eager groan escaping him when your body rolled into his. His hands splayed across your hips, moving to circle your ass as he helped you grind deeper into his already hardening length.

Nolan trailed his lips down your jaw, nibbling and sucking on the plane of your neck. You knew he was leaving marks, but in the moment you couldn’t care less, the euphoria of his touch being the only comprehensive feeling.

“Please,” you whined, tightening your grip on his long locks, “Nolan.”

You couldn’t remember the last time someone had ignited you as Nolan had. He had barely even touched you and you were nearly certain you had already soaked through your panties, withering in his lap desperate for more.

“Now she has something to say,” Nolan teased, whispering into the shell of your ear. He gave you no warning before he was standing up, holding the back of your legs as you instinctually wrapped them around his waist.

Nolan gently tossed you on his bed, pausing to pull his shirt off before he was climbing on top of you. You were in a state of bliss, finally able to admire his frame shamelessly and without fear of getting caught. He continued to attack your neck, leaving mark after mark behind in his wake. You whimpered impatiently as his lips worked your sensitive skin, but Nolan was set on taking his time. He didn’t know if he would ever have you like this again and he was going to savor every second of it.

But you decided to take matters into your own hands, pushing his frame off of yours and pulling your sweater over your head. You grabbed Nolan’s face again, cupping both of his cheeks as your lips met again. He made quick work of your bra, unclasping it with ease behind your back and tossing it across the room.

“Fuck, you’re stunning,” he groaned, pausing to take you in. Your hair was splayed across the pillow, your cheeks flushed while your chest heaved up and down with heavy breathing. His praise went straight to your core, clenching around nothing as you grew more and more desperate for him.

Nolan wasted no more time, finally making his way down your torso before reaching the hem of your pants. His fingertips slowly ran beneath the fabric, stopping only to look up at you. Your eyes locked and you frantically nodded, understanding that he was waiting for your permission before continuing.

“Words, Y/N,” Nolan hummed into your thigh, his order gentle but firm.

“Yes,” you breathed out, “Fuck, yes.”

Nolan did as you said, unzipping your jeans and sliding them down your legs. He almost lost his balance on the mattress when he saw you laying before him, the pink lace resting across your hips being the only thing keeping him from you. Nolan settled himself between your legs, hooking both of them over his shoulders as his hot breath fanned over your pussy.

Nolan placed a soft kiss to your lace-covered clit, basking in your reaction as you let out an embarrassingly loud moan and your hands flew to his head, tangling in his hair. Your hips jerked up into the air, desperate for more friction. Nolan laid his thick forearm across your waist, his weight halting all of your movements and holding you at his mercy.

“Nolan, please just fuck me,” you begged, the suspense too much to handle as you felt yourself drip down the crease of your thigh.

“All in good time, baby,” he cooed, pulling your panties to the side and finally connecting with your throbbing pussy.

You cried out as his tongue flicked your clit back and forth, the pleasure only magnifying when he sucked it between his teeth. Your hands were locked with an iron grip in the roots of his hair, holding on like your life depended on it. Nolan hummed against your core as he continued to taste you, the vibrations of his voice sending shockwaves through your body.

Suddenly Nolan pulled back, but before you could protest you heard ripping. A gasp left your lips when you realized what he had done, the mangled lace of your panties now laying on his floor. You wanted to yell at him, complain that those were your favorite, but before you could get a word out he was back at work, this time fucking his tongue in and out of you.

Your head fell back against the pillow, your mouth opening in a silent scream when you felt him slide two fingers inside while his mouth circled your clit again. Nolan curled his fingers against your sweet spot and you knew you were done for, your back arching off the mattress as you combusted with your orgasm.

Nolan milked you through your high, his tongue flattening against your clit as his head shook and his fingers kept their pace. He finally slowed down as he felt you come down, pulling back to watch you shake as the last waves of pleasure rolled through your body. He slipped his fingers out of your fluttering pussy, only to bring them to his mouth and suck your juices clean.

“You’re really good at that,” you stammered, just now coming back to your senses after almost blacking out.

Nolan laughed, kissing his way back up your body until you two were face to face again. You couldn’t resist pulling him down and crashing your lips against his, moaning into his mouth as you tasted yourself on his tongue.

“I’m good at other things too,” he smirked, tucking your hair behind your ear, just as he had done last week, except this time he didn’t have to hide it. The soft action made your heart flutter, but his words made something else flutter.

“Give me your best, Patrick,” you challenged.

“Your wish is my command, baby.”

Nolan pushed off his arms and stood up, hurriedly stripping himself of his sweats and boxers in one fell swoop. A whimper escaped your lips when you heard the sound of his cock slapping against his stomach, your pupils dilated as your eyes trailed down his thighs admiring his tattoos.

Reaching across you to get a condom from his nightstand, Nolan was surprised when you plucked it right from his hand. You tore open the foil and slowly rolled the condom onto him, a small smile spreading across your face when his hips buckled into your hand at your touch.

You may have been embarrassingly weak for him, but he was just as weak for you.

Nolan shifted on the bed so he was hovering over your body, leaning down to press a kiss to your mouth. Your lips moved in sync with one another, the pure lust filling the room dictating every movement. He felt you grow more and more impatient, your body stirring beneath his as he finally pulled away.

Taking one last look at you spread out before him, waiting for him to touch you, Nolan directed his attention back to between your legs. He locked eyes with you before collecting the salvia in his mouth, harshly spitting on your pussy. The moan you let out was only amplified when he started teasing you even more, dragging the head of his cock through your soaking folds.

“Nolan,” you whined, the last letter of his name prolonged as you begged, your entire body tensing while he tapped your already so sensitive clit.

“Shhh,” he cooed, rubbing his thumb in soothing circles against your hip, “Got to make sure you’re ready for me.”

Before you could get in another word of protest, Nolan was pushing one of your legs into your chest and sliding inside. Your mouth fell open as he slowly bottomed out, the sensation of him filling you paralyzing. A string of deep swears left his lips as he felt you already clenching around him.

After letting you adjust, Nolan started rocking his hips, quickly finding his rhythm. You didn’t have a single thought in your head, the way he hit your sweet spot inside and ground against your clit making you dizzy.

Nolan had never been in such bliss. He could never have imagined how good you would feel wrapped around him, your walls still pulsating from your first high as he slid in and out. The way your name sounded falling from his lips was pure ecstasy, his innate possessiveness in full drive. Your nails dug into his back, dragging burning lines into his skin that he knew he would be tormented about tomorrow in the locker room but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but the way your bodies fit together in perfect harmony right this moment.

You could feel yourself growing close within mere minutes, Nolan’s relentless thrusts giving you no mercy. He could tell you were almost there by the way you were fluttering around him, along with the mindless sounds of pleasure escaping your lips getting louder and louder.

“That’s it,” Nolan encouraged in your ear, “Cum for me, Y/N.”

Between his hot breath against your tingling skin and his plunging thrusts, Nolan had you seeing stars.

“Nolan, Nolan,” you whined.

You swore you almost blacked out, your vision going blank as he fucked you through your high. He wasn’t far behind you, the clenching of your pussy egging him on until he finally let go, his hips stuttering and groans filling the air as his head fell into the crook of your neck.

“Fuck,” Nolan sighed, letting his heart rate steady as he laid above you, resting the majority of his weight on his forearms.

“Yeah,” you responded with a breathy laugh, your mind still blank as you came down.

Nolan stayed there for a few minutes before finally sitting up, cringing as you whimpered when he pulled out. Your eyes slipped shut, but you could hear him shifting around the room. After pulling on a pair of fresh boxers and dampening a towel, Nolan gently cleaned you up, biting back a smirk each time you shivered at his touch. He disappeared again, this time returning with a shirt in hand, urging you to sit up so he could help you pull the soft fabric over your head.

You had every intention of getting dressed and leaving, but you just couldn’t find the energy to remove yourself from his warm bed. The sheets that smelled like him enveloped you, and now his t-shirt was draped over your shoulders begging you to stay. Nolan slid next to you, his body cradling yours from behind as he wrapped an arm around your waist, holding you impossibly close.

“Sleep well, Y/N,” Nolan hummed into your neck as he settled in.

“Goodnight,” you managed to get out, the shame of what you had just done starting to spiral in your head.

You made a mistake. Nolan was good, so good, and he deserved more than you could give him. Your last relationship ended in disaster, leaving you broken and abandoning the idea of finding love ever again. Regardless of what you told your friends and family, it was what drove you from home. Then came Nolan, he was the definition of kind. Even when he barely knew you he did whatever he could to protect you. That kind of guy deserves someone who’s got it together, not whatever mess you were. You couldn’t believe you let your attraction to him get the best of you, and now here you were, pressed against his sleeping frame as he held you.

Everything inside of you was telling you to leave. It was too much, the eventual pain of whatever this was ending was overwhelming. You could hear Nolan snoring behind you, the sound of his contentment almost bringing tears to your eyes. Gently lifting his arm from its spot across your waist, you slid from underneath his grasp. It was nearly impossible to find your clothes in the dark, but you managed to do so without making too much noise. Nolan didn’t even stir as you moved around him, folding the shirt he gave you and placing it on the nightstand.

Just as you reached for the door, you felt yourself pause. Don’t do it, Y/N. Don’t do it. But you couldn’t resist, slowly turning to take in what you were leaving behind.

Nolan was passed out, his body leaning towards the pillow where you once laid your head and his arm laying flat as if he was still holding you. You could make out the redness of his cheeks in the dim light, his eyelashes curling down onto his cheeks. Your heart broke as you looked at him, but you knew it was what you had to do. He deserved the world, which was much more than you were able to give him. Without giving it another second of thought, you opened the door as quietly as possible and made your escape.

+ one

It had been over three weeks since you last spoke to Nolan.

You couldn’t handle facing him just yet, so you did what you knew best: shutting out the people that cared about you the most. You ignored every single one of his calls and texts, eventually muting his number when it became too much. You replayed what you imagined he looked and felt like that morning, waking up to a cold, empty bed. It was heartbreaking, but you stayed firm in your decision. As long as you didn’t have to see his face you would be fine.

But of course, Aubrey had different plans for you.

Since that night, you had been more distant from her than ever before. You left the apartment early in the morning, spending your day in class and bouncing between different coffee shops while working. You kept up appearances when you returned in the evening, saying hello and asking her how her day was, but practically nothing else. You made an early exit to your room, citing homework or lack of sleep as your excuse. But she knew you better than anyone else, it was no secret something was wrong. Much to your content, you could only assume that Nolan was keeping your secret as well, knowing that if he told anyone on the team you would be getting an earful from her.

But Aubrey had decided that she was done letting you sulk about whatever it was you were so clearly upset by. The Flyers had been away for almost two weeks and tonight was their first game back home. Thanks to Travis, she had two tickets in hand ready for the two of you.

Before you had even shut the apartment door behind you after arriving home, she was jumping up to greet you.

“Hey!” Aubrey exclaimed as you walked in, “We’re going out tonight.”

You just stared at her confused, knowing damn well you had no intention of going anywhere. “Hey,” you started, “I- I don’t think so, I have a lot to do.”

“No, you don’t. Listen, I don’t know what is going on with you but I’m sick of watching you wallow in whatever it is. I’ve barely talked to you in almost a month, you’re coming with me,” Aubrey snapped. If there was one thing about having such an old friend it was that she always gave it to you straight.

“Where?” You begrudgingly inquired.

“Nope, it’s a surprise,” she answered. If her inkling was correct, whatever had you in this funk had something to do with a certain Flyers centerman and she was not risking you ditching because of it.

“Fine,” you groaned.

It wasn’t news to you that you had been a horrible friend recently. Despite the anxiety that came with breaking your current routine, maybe a night with Aubrey was just what you needed to take your mind off everything.

A few hours had passed, and you were sitting in the back of an Uber watching the city pass you by. Aubrey maintained the anonymity of the destination, ignoring all of your pleas for even just a hint. But there were some things that she couldn’t control.

Your stomach dropped when you saw where the car was heading towards, the large Wells Fargo Center plastered on the side of the building cluing you in. Of course, you thought, how could you not have known. You had so strictly blocked Nolan and the entire team from your mind that didn’t think to look at their schedule, but now it all made sense.

“Aubrey, no,” you stated, your voice already shaking as you got closer and closer.

“What the hell happened?” she snapped back, finally getting confirmation that your funk was related to Nolan.

“Nothing, nothing happened. I just don’t want to go,” you rebutted, “I’m not in the mood to see everyone, okay?”

“You don’t have to, we’re sitting alone,” she responded, turning her phone on and showing you the location of the tickets. As she promised, they were nowhere near the family boxes.

You didn’t say anything else, instead choosing silence as the car pulled up to the entrance. You both thanked the driver before quickly exiting, a long, awkward silence falling over the two of you as you entered the arena.

You could do this, you told yourself while adjusting in your seat. You could sit through one game, you didn’t even have to see or talk to anyone. If it would make Aubrey happy, you could suck it up and sit down. The two of you had still barely said a word to each other since arriving, and you could see the disappointment on her face. Deciding it was time to get over it, you put your arm around Aubrey, smiling as you instantly felt her relax and place her head on your shoulder. Neither of you said anything, but after knowing each other for so long, you didn’t have to. She knew what you meant.

You didn’t know what to expect, but the second you saw Nolan step onto the ice you were flooded with emotion. He looked tired, like he hadn’t been sleeping much or well, and your heart dropped at the thought that you may have been the reason why. You still were firm in your decision to avoid anything serious right now, but you knew you went about it in the completely wrong way. Nolan was the closest thing you had ever met to an angel, but you treated him like a random one night stand from the bar you barely knew. The guilt had overtaken you over the past few weeks, and seeing him in the flesh wasn’t helping.

It was a relatively uneventful game, the rebuilding Red Wings visiting and not giving the Flyers much of a fight. By the third period they were up 4-0, one of which was scored by number 19 himself. As the horn sounded signaling the end of the game, Aubrey turned to you.

“I was going to go see Travis,” she hesitated, “Do you want to come? Or I can meet you right after?”

“I’ll wait for you,” you encouraged.

Aubrey thanked you, squeezing your hand before getting up and heading downstairs. Instead of going to the main concourse to wait, you stayed in your seat, waiting for the crowds to clear out before you moved. Pulling your phone out of your pocket, you started mindlessly scrolling as a distraction.

But your distraction didn’t last for long.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Your eyes slipped shut when you heard his voice, that same voice that left you weak in the knees. You immediately felt your heart begin to race and your palms sweat. You felt caught. After taking a moment to pause, you finally mustered up the courage to look up at him.

Nolan’s eyes were focused on your own, his hair slicked back and soaking wet still with sweat. He had definitely not showered yet, between the fact that the game just ended minutes ago and his appearance. He was dressed in his undergarments and slides, clearly he wasted no time before coming up here to find you.

“How did you even know I was here?” you questioned back, already feeling yourself on the defense.

“Really?” Nolan scoffed, “Travis told me. How else would I have known? It’s not like you talk to me.” He trailed off, his words becoming quieter.

“Nolan, please,” you pleaded, “Please sit down.”

There was no doubt in your mind that it was time for you to come clean. You could see the pain in his eyes and the hurt behind his voice. He obliged, sinking to sit in the seat beside you, but he didn’t turn to face you. His coldness was evident, and you knew that you deserved nothing else.

“I’m sorry,” you began, “I’m so sorry, Nolan. I- I shouldn’t have left like that, with no explanation-”

“I thought I had you,” he interrupted, “Finally, Y/N, after all those weeks of tiptoeing around it, I thought we were done pretending.”

You could feel the tears burning behind your irises, and it was taking everything within you not to let them out. Nolan’s words broke you, even more than you were already broken.

“Nolan, I wanted- I want,” you corrected yourself, “Nothing more than to give myself to you, but I- I just can’t. I’m not ready.”

“Then why did you sleep with me?” his voice cracked, “And what does that even mean, ‘you’re not ready’?”

“I can’t let myself get hurt again, okay? I can’t do it,” you sighed, finally succumbing to your emotion, “I am so sorry for dragging you into my mess, but I can’t let myself go through that again. And you deserve so much better.”

Your head fell to your hands, hiding your face from him as you cried. Even just speaking out loud your last heartbreak made you a wreck. Deep down you knew Nolan wasn’t capable of hurting you like that, but you wouldn’t let him take care of you anymore. You couldn’t. He deserved someone who didn’t need to be taken care of.

“Y/N,” Nolan hummed, gently placing a hand on your back. He cringed when you jumped at his touch. “Y/N, look at me, please.”

You did as he asked, your red, puffy eyes lifting to meet his baby blues, putting you at ease almost right away.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Nolan murmured, “I don’t know what you think, but you’re not a burden. You’re the complete opposite and I want to show you that. If you’ll let me.” He paused, his eyes frantically scanning your face for any sign of your reaction. You were staring ahead of you, entranced with the ice below as you processed his words. Despite knowing how much it could potentially hurt, Nolan said what he thought he had to, “Even if it’s just as friends, but you can’t disappear on me again.”

You made Nolan feel at peace, like when he was with you nothing else mattered. But no matter how strong his feelings were, he cared for you enough to put them aside if that’s what it took to keep you in his life.

“I don't want to be friends,” you whispered, finally breaking the silence.

As if there was some kind of magnifying force between the two of you, your body lunged towards Nolan’s, your lips crashing together instantly. He was stunned, his body frozen in shock, but within seconds he melted against your touch with one hand on your lower back and the other tangled in your hair. It felt like time stopped in that moment, the only thing making you pull away was the lack of air.

You were both breathless, your foreheads resting against one another. Nolan took both of your hands in his, intertwining his much larger fingers with yours.

“I trust you,” you breathed out.

The grin that spread on Nolan’s face was like nothing you had ever seen before. You matched him right away, smiling as you watched the pure joy and relief wash over. The same joy and relief that you were feeling.

“Does this mean I finally get to take you out?” he asked, his deep mumble making you feel right at home again.

“Maybe,” you teased, “Only if you shower,” you added, pretending to push him off of you.

Nolan couldn’t help but fall into a fit of laughter at your subtle jab. That’s what he loved about you most, the way you could earn a smile or chuckle out of him like no one else.

He stood up from his seat, extending his hand out as he stared down at you. Without even a crumb of doubt creeping its way into your mind, you took his hand. Wrapping your arms around Nolan’s and resting your head against his shoulder, you walked out and into the hallway together.

Nolan leaned down and pressed a gentle peck to your forehead, and for the first time in longer than you could remember, you felt untouchable.

#nolan patrick #nolan patrick imagine #nhl imagine #hockey imagine #nhl smut #hockey smut #my writing

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the-hidden-writer · 4 years ago

Text

And Into The Fire

Chapter 4: A Not-Quite-Plan

Summary:

Months after the Mitchells saved the world, Linda gets a phone call asking if she’s seen two defective Pal MAX bots. Powerful people are after Eric and Deborabot 5000, and it’s up to the Mitchells to protect them.

Check reblogs for AO3 link!

A Not-Quite-Plan

An agent came running into the office just as Mark was about to take a sip of his coffee.

“Ma’am! We’ve got into #009181987!”

Agent Ward turned off her tablet and stood up immediately.

“About time!” She snapped. “Come on, Dr Bowman, this is where we need you.”

He barely had time to grab his coffee cup as she practically dragged him toward the door by his hoodie.

Ever since they’d locked onto the missing Pal MAX bots, Agent Jennifer Ward and her team had pretty much taken control of Pal Labs. Or at least the headquarters where Mark worked.

He’d spent the past week or so locked in his office with the scary Agent Ward herself. The tall woman had ordered him to come into work every day despite the complete CIA take-over of his company, just to keep up pretences for the public. And he also needed to be kept under supervision at all times for some reason. He was basically a prisoner.

Oh well. At least he had WiFi.

After pulling him out of his office (freedom at last!) Agent Ward led him down the stairs to the main work area, which was a large room filled with rows of computer desks.

At the very back of the room were two large screens on the wall. These were usually used for advertising and announcements, but recently they’d served another purpose.

Displayed on each screen was a status. Before now, they’d said the same thing. But for the first time in weeks, one was different.

Pal MAX #012041966 Status: UNRESPONSIVE

Pal MAX #009181987 Status: ONLINE

“Online?” Mark wondered aloud. “So you actually got into it, huh.”

Agent Ward scoffed. “Of course we did. Don’t doubt my team, Dr Bowman. Especially Agent Travis here.”

As if on cue, the young agent that had come to tell them the news before came rushing in through the door behind them, and almost glided straight into the wheelie chair next to the computer he’d been working on.

“Actually, we got through a couple of times.” Travis explained, huffing slightly from having to run. “But we got kicked out before we could change anything. This is the first time it looks stable and ready to be edited.”

“Well, these robots are based on AI.” Said Mark. “They’re not as simple to take down as ordinary machines.”

“Trust me, we know.” Agent Ward sneered. “That’s the reason we’re in this mess to begin with.”

She turned to her team, who all had their fingers poised over their keyboards ready to begin typing. “Delete any excess data and then start to rewrite the functional coding.” She ordered.

“Rewrite?” Mark had been under the impression that they would just delete it all to stop the robots for good. That’s what they were trying to do, right? “I thought-”

“Yes, rewrite. Anything more is classified.”

One of the agents raised their hands. “Uh, Ma’am? All the data here looks pretty messed up. Most of its data’s been built onto the errors presumably caused by defects, we have no idea what it actually does. There's words liked 'brother', 'mother'-”

“Do I need to repeat myself, Barker?”

Even though it wasn’t aimed at him, Mark couldn’t help but gulp at the way Ward was glaring at the poor agent.

“No Ma’am,” mumbled Barker, “sorry, Ma’am. We’ll start the rewrite.”

~-.-~

The three of them raced into the room with Monchi following close behind, probably because he was intrigued by all the commotion.

Linda didn’t want to believe it. Her robo-boys being sick was one thing, but fighting each other? That was truly unbelievable. They would never.

But unfortunately, it was just as Aaron said.

Deborahbot was kneeling on the bed with his back to the door, repeatedly hitting Eric’s screen by alternating between using the clenched fist of one hand and the open palm of another. There was a “clunk” sound with each impact, and Deborahbot showed no sign of stopping.

“Deborahbot!” Linda exclaimed incredulously.

The bot’s head turned 180° to face them but he did not cease the attack on his brother.

“Mother! Other Mitchells!”

“What are you doing?!” Demanded Rick, aggressively pointing at the bot in the bed. Aaron gripped onto the back of Linda’s pant leg in fear.

“I am more defective than my brother.” Deborahbot stated matter-of-factly, his calm voice sounding quite scary compared to the current violence he was inflicting. “I thought if he was more defective like me, he would be himself again.”

Rick waved his arms in annoyance. “That’s insane!”

“Deborahbot, stop hitting your brother right now.” Ordered Linda.

“Ok!”

Linda felt a small stab of guilt in her heart. Since they’d joined the family, they’d all tried their hardest not to order the bots to do anything. By phrasing things the wrong way, their programming would make them obey commands mindlessly, whereas the Mitchells just wanted them to be themselves. The longer the pair of them went without being given an order, the more their individual personalities shone through.

Deborahbot released Eric and stepped away. Two seconds later, once the command had been completed, he held out a warning hand to the family.

“Wait, Mitchells, stop!”

Linda was about to open her mouth to ask why, only she first noticed the movement on the bed.

Movement. On the bed.

Under the blanket, Eric looked like he was shivering. Or, more accurately, vibrating. The screen that had been full of color before was now its usual black self, and his red marker face was visible again. The only indication that anything was wrong was that the small LED in the corner of his screen was flashing an array of different colors.

“What’s happening to him?” Aaron asked from behind her, and Linda nodded to encourage Deborahbot to answer.

“I do not know for certain, but I think that the infiltrators have successfully entered my brother’s system.”

“You’re speaking normal again.” Commented Rick, though his cautious gaze was fixed on Eric, as if he would spring up and attack them at any moment.

“That is why I came to that conclusion.” Elaborated Deborahbot. “They have stopped attacking me, so they must be focusing more on him.”

Unlike earlier, Linda drew up the courage to approach Eric in the bed. His shaking was growing ever more violent by the second, and without Deborahbot keeping him down it was only a matter of time before he fell off the bed completely.

She gently placed a hand on his shoulder and made her voice as soft and calming as possible.

“Eric, honey?”

“Dear, be careful.” Rick warned from behind her but she chose not to listen.

“Can you hear me?”

It didn’t seem like he was going to respond. Feeling defeated, Linda was about to turn to ask Deborahbot what to do next when a voice spoke up.

“User recognised: Linda Mitchell.”

Eric’s voice was even more distorted than Deborahbot’s had been to the point where it was nearly unrecognisable.

“Uh, Mom?”

“Linda, get back!”

Linda understood exactly why her family was scared. The bots had never, not once, called her by her actual name. To not hear “Mother!” come out of Eric’s metaphorical mouth alarmed her, but still she couldn’t bring herself to step back.

“Brother?”

In a similar situation, the bots never called one another by their given names. It was always “Brother”. It only made them seem closer to one another in a way that the Mitchells themselves couldn’t be.

“Unknown user. Verify”

Aaron approached them with caution, one hand automatically searching for his mother’s own. She clasped it tightly.

“It’s like he’s gone back into robot-mode.” Said Aaron.

Linda squeezed his hand in agreement. Out of the two, it was Eric that always seemed more closely related to all the other Pal MAX bots for some reason. Still, Eric was their Eric, and not one of the mindless machines that tried to blast all of humanity into space.

Then a high-pitched whine echoed throughout the room without warning, causing the Mitchells (and Deborahbot, who mimicked them a second later) to cover their ears from the terrible noise. Monchi began to bark.

Once it died down, Rick frowned and used two fingers to massage his temple. “What the-”

“B-Brother!”

Rick snapped his mouth shut and all heads in the room turned to Eric, who was now sitting up straight on the bed.

“Brother!” Deborahbot called back in relief.

Eric's head twisted to face the three extremely shocked Mitchells.

“Mitchells!” Eric cried dramatically, his words accompanied by a more familiar glitch. “You are in danger. Pal Labs is taking over our systems, and it’s only a matter of time before-”

“I already told them all that.” Deborahbot interjected.

“Oh.” Eric muttered softly. “Aww.”

It put Linda a little at ease to see her boys’ dynamic return so quickly. That must mean things were getting better, right?

“Brother, what should we do?”

Deborahbot had always been reliant on Eric for decision-making. Linda had no idea how the bots managed to form such a human-like sibling relationship.

“They’ve already gotten to me.” Said Eric, solely addressing Deborahbot now. “It’s safer if you power me off until they stop. If you wait a while and they don’t, then you might have to go to Pal Labs and stop them yourself.”

Linda’s immediate thought was: No. She was not going to turn off her boy.

“How do we know if they’ve stopped?” Asked Rick.

Eric glitched before shrugging. “My brother might be able to tell you, but-”

He was interrupted by the return of the high-pitched whine. This time, Deborahbot did not cover his ears.

A few seconds later, Eric’s voice was distorted again.

“Status: online. Location-”

He did not get to finish his ominous speech as Deborahbot had quickly moved toward him and placed his hand under Eric’s head. After a few short seconds Eric’s screen went completely black with only his marker face remaining as he fell back onto the bed.

“Deborahbot!” Linda exclaimed in outrage. “Tell me you didn’t-”

“He told me a plan.” Deborahbot said nonchalantly. “First I had to power him off, then-”

“Yeah, we heard.” Scoffed Rick. “But that’s not really a proper plan.”

“It’s a start.” Aaron piped up. “I don’t really know what’s going on but I think the bots have it better together than you do.”

Linda bit the inside of her lip. She did not like how Deborahbot switched off his brother without permission. They were technically under 18 and therefore not adults, so Linda felt responsibility for their wellbeing and safety. She tried her best to keep quiet to avoid snapping at him.

“So... what now?” Asked Rick.

Deborahbot took a moment to look at his brother before turning to face the Mitchells again.

“I don’t want to wait.” He said blankly. “So I think that we should go to Pal Labs and tell them to stop now.”

Comments make my day! :)

#the mitchells vs the machines #tmvtm #fic #tmvtm eric #eric tmvtm #eric and deborahbot5000 #eric and deborahbot #deborahbot 5000 #linda mitchell #rick mitchell #aaron mitchell #mark bowman #and into the fire

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depressedacadamia · 4 years ago

Text

I couldn’t tell!

Word count: 2.1K

Summary: Solangelo one-shot! It started when a Will bought Nico the wrong coloured clothes.

Warnings: Nothing much, just some kissing at the end and solangelo being dorks.

A/N: okay, so this picture does not make sense now but once you finish reading this, it will. This was based off of this post so thanks for @didnt-want-to-be-a-halfblood for the inspiration. I meant to say that Will has tritanomaly not tritanopia- tritanomaly is a kind of blue/yellow colour blindness. I hope yall enjoy and make sure you comment, like, reblog and all that jazz. <3 from moi!

“Uh, Will- I asked for navy, not… camo green?” Nico raised the t-shirt in front of him, his nose wrinkled as if the colour offended him in any way. Now that Nico thought about it, most of the clothes in the shopping bag were a similar colour, looking as if Will was trying to send him off to the army.

“What are you talking about?” Will whipped his head towards Nico, his blond hair following him. Nico pointed to the vast sea of green covering his bed- almost all the clothes were green and there were even some yellow ones in there.

“The clothes, they’re all the wrong colour?” Nico repeated. Cabin 13, for once, was brightly lit, so Nico could prove his point that his clothes were the wrong colour. Camo green jackets, yellow bracelets and nail polishes and only a few navy t-shirts.

“You asked me for some navy stuff,” Will spoke slowly before picking the camo green jacket. “This is navy, just like you asked.”

Nico couldn’t tell if he was meant to laugh or scoff at the statement. Was this a prank? Surely Travis and Conner were right around the corner with a camera filming the entire thing. Perhaps Will was working alone and this was supposed to be some initiation for his birthday- after all, it was right around the corner.

“Will, everything here is green…” Nico picked up the yellow bracelet. “And this is yellow.”

Will’s face bore true and utter confusion. The jacket was navy, just like Nico wanted. He had bought the red bracelet and nail polish for Nico because he thought he could do with some colour and since he refused to wear any clothing of colour, he thought perhaps some red nails would give him a fun look. Will couldn’t see Nico’s problem- it wasn’t like he had bought neon green eyeliner.

“No. It’s not. That’s red,” Will said, his voice on the verge of confusion.

“This is yellow,” Nico’s voice wobbled, also on the verge of laughter. He shook the bracelet in Will’s face. “Will, you dork, stop it with the jokes. It’s yellow.”

Will frowned, his eyebrows creasing and eyes quinting hard at the object. He looked at the clothes strewn across Nico’s bed. What was Nico talking about?

“Nico, I’m not joking- are you sure your lack of sleep hasn’t finally caught up to you?”

“Are you insinuating that my lack of sleep will one day catch up to me?”

“I’m insinuating that your lack of sleep may have altered the way you see things.”

“Are you calling me blind?” Nico’s voice echoed with mock outrage.

“I’m calling you colour blind,” Will pointed to the masses of clothes, accessories and makeup across Nico’s room. Nico raised his eyebrow at the statement. His room was quite monotonous- black covering almost every inch of the walls- the only streams of colour peeking through being the white duvet sheets, the mirror hanging on his wall and Will’s terrible fashion sense. Will may have been cute but boy did he not know how to dress. From his bright orange Camp Half Blood t-shirt to his green zip up hoodie he was wearing. But Nico didn’t care- Nico thought Will looked cute in his clothes.

On the Night of Halloween.

“Will, where is the hair dye you were talking about?” Piper yelled as she went through his belongings, trying to find the box of platinum blond hair dye that Will had been telling her about earlier. He was planning on being Draco Malfoy, because Nico told he couldn’t pull it off, besides- Will had always appreciated snakes; something about the elegant way snakes would move always captured his eye.

“Uh, it should be in the shopping bag!” He called out as he scrambled about to check the time. Piper shoved her hand in the bag, rummaging around until her fingers glided across a box like shape. She pulled it out and immediately frowned at the box.

“Uh.. Will, this is strawberry blonde?” Piper asked questiongly as she looked at the colour of the hair dye label.

“What! No, no, I could have sworn I got platinum blond, I even looked at the little box which shows the hair colour!” Will began to panic as he turned towards Piper.

“Sorry Will, but this is definitely strawberry blonde. Kinda looks red-ish to me.”

Will reached his hand out to Piper, indicating he wanted to check the box. Shrugging her shoulders, Piper handed it over. Surely, Piper was joking? This would be some funny and long elaborate prank that she was playing on him. As he looked at the colour of the label, he sighed in relief- he was right; he had gotten platinum blond.

“Ha ha Piper, very funny,” Will’s sarcastic drawl took her by surprise and just as she was going to point out that she wasn’t joking, the door clicked open and Nico walked in.

“Where have you two been all day?” Nico asked, his voice suspicious- he was not about to dress up for halloween.

“Preparing.” Will stated bluntly. He took a look at Nico’s confused face before adding. “For the Halloween party.”

Nico groaned and threw his head back. “Of course you were, dorks.”

“Says you,” Will muttered as he started unboxing the hair dye in his hands.

“You’re dying your hair?” Nico said, his voice shocked and slightly bewildered. Will knew how much Nico loved his hair. Nico always compared his blond curls to the sun. How whenever Will would glow, Nico would enjoy basking in the warmth his curls provided as well as his golden skin; the freckles on his skin would stand out and make Nico want to kiss his face even more.

“It’s only temporary and it’s just platinum blond.” Will shrugged as he eyed the contents.

“Will, you’re going to look like Octavian if you dye your hair platinum blond,” Nico complained slightly. Piper nodded with her eyes slightly widening. Will stopped, confused and turned around.

“What do you mean I will look like Octavian if I dye my hair platinum? Octavian had red hair,” Will said incredulously as if it were the most obvious thing ever. Piper and Nico froze, their eyes almost bulging out of their heads as they struggled to contain their laughter. While Nico and Piper obviously respected the dead (Well Nico didn’t always respect them but he fed them happy meals and that's what truly mattered), the idea of Octavian sporting red hair was enough to make them crack up.

“What?” Will asked, his voice innocent and his nose scrunching up.

“Octavian had blond hair- Like Jason’s blond hair!” Piper cried.

“No. Octavian’s hair was red. Jason’s hair is red!”

“Will, what colour do you think your hair is?” Nico asked, his face suddenly very serious.

Will struggled on that question. “Uh.. it’s strawberry. It’s strawberry blonde, kinda ginger sometimes, right?”

Nico lost his composure and fell back, laughing so hard, he could have sworn his ribs were breaking. Will was colour blind and he had no idea as well!

“Sunshine, have you ever considered that you’re colour blind?

“Nico what are you on about?”

“Remember when you bought me green clothes instead of navy? And you said you bought me red nail polish but it was actually yellow?” Nico recalled, his hands resting on his hips, making contact with the sword that was practically glued to his side.

Will did indeed remember these circumstances as it wasn’t the first time someone had called out his lack of knowledge when it came to colours. He had always suspected something to be up with his sight but he would forget to book an appointment and other times, he just was not bothered enough. He had never thought his colour issue had been a big problem.

“I guess that’s happened more than once… anyway, I don’t see why you’re complaining. You’re wearing the bracelet and nail polish right now!” Will argued.

Nico snatched his hands away from view. “Those are not for your eyes, Piper,” he snapped as she turned her eyes to Nico’s hands where the sunflower yellow nail polish along with the yellow bracelet (that indeed had sunflower and sun beads on it) resided.

After plenty of arguing, trick or treating and continuous laughing at the fact that Will thought his hair was red (Nico refused to get over it as he believed Will’s blond hair to be his most prominent feature and the very idea of it being red was ridiculous to him), Will and Nico were resting in Cabin 13, where several candy wrappers were strewn across the room.

Will was sitting on Nico’s bed while Nico sat on the floor below him, in between the gap in his legs. Will was leaning over Nico’s shoulder as he showed him more mythomagic cards. Out of nowhere, Nico reached his arm up, weaved his fingers into Will’s golden locks and pulled. Hard.

“Ouch, jee- no need to pull so hard,” Will tutted as he started to glow. The tug on his head started out as a little joke- Nico had once called Will his personal night light and Will, in return, had said that Nico could tug on his head and he would turn on like a lamp. Will never thought that Nico would actually take him seriously.

Will’s skin was gorgeous, warm and glowy. He remembered once when Will had asked him ‘Why does everyone want to be compared to the sun? People should compare others to the moon because all I do is squint at the sun angrily’ .

At the time, Nico had found it funny- considering Will was a child of Apollo. But as time grew, Nico kept on thinking about the statement and he decided that the beauty of the sun sometimes is overwhelming and yet when it is missing, the entire world falls to despair and depression. It glows and basks everyone in their light and when they’re away people complain. That is what Nico would see about Will- why Will was his personal little sun.

“Wait, Will- does that mean when you glow, you think you’re red?” Nico asked all of a sudden, the intonation in his voice raising like a child.

Will groaned and nodded, embarrassed and annoyed.

“I’m sorry, okay! I couldn’t tell!”

Nico turned his face so he could see Will and sat up on his knees so their heads were at the same level. His lips were so close that his breath tickled Will’s lips and he could practically smell the caramel on his breath. Their lips closed together softly and Will sighed into the kiss, one of his hands moving to cup Nico’s cheek and the other to support his back. He pulled Nico deeper into the kiss, their lips moving passionately against one another. Will’s lips were warm, comforting and tasted like the caramel apple he had eaten earlier. Nico’s hands moved against Will’s face and Nico slowly pulled away from the kiss and started planting small butterfly kisses across Will’s face.

Every freckle, every feature, every inch of skin was blessed under Nico’s soft lips, muttering italian words that Will could only imagine the meaning of. Nico’s touch had no possible words to describe it because Will knew no words in english that could describe the magnitude, beauty and divine power his kisses held. No angel could resist the temptation of sin when Nico was the sinner- his onyx eyes so terrifying and yet so beautiful- he felt like he was looking at shattered glass, glass that had cut oneself over and over again; but the way Nico kissed Will made him believe that even if the glass cut him a thousand times, the way Nico kissed him would heal every wound.

The soft hands that cradled Will’s face now were the hands that had caused the death of too many to name. The fingers that grasped the sword and directed such a powerful force of rage now stroked Will’s face softly, holding him. Nico’s aura of pure terror and fear held a bewitching aura- an alluring aura- completely irresistible and filled with desire. He wore the scent of blood and death as if it were his perfume and his eyes so heavenly and yet so shattered, it made Will wonder how anything good can exist without being broken.

“You know I still love you..” Nico muttered. Somehow during the kiss, Nico had climbed up and was now straddling his boyfriend. Will looked up at him in awe. He had no words. He had nothing to say, he was too stunned by the divinity of Nico. So all he did was nod.

“...Even if you do think your hair is red,” Nico added, his lips curling into a smirk. Will threw his head back and groaned. The rest of the night was filled with the echoes of Nico’s laughter.

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alwaysmychoices · 4 years ago

Text

Is This Goodbye?

Synopsis: Charlie and Ethan are running out of time, and if they don’t hurry, this toxin will take everything from them. But with so little time left, is it more important to keep barriers or to finally say how they feel?

this is the final part of the chapter 11 rewrite but is not the end of the series.

Chapter 17 of the “with and without” series

Previous Series: “a weekend with dr. ramsey”

Pairing: Dr. Ethan Ramsey x MC (Charlotte “Charlie�� Greene)

Words: 7.2k

Rating: T (language)

The second Charlie saw Ethan approach her hospital room, she knew he had bad news.

She had seen him give bad news hundreds of times. Every time, he had the same expression, though the degree varied. He walked with determination, yet there was a silent reluctance in each step, like he would be happy to walk just a touch slower. The skin between his eyebrows crinkled together, and his lips formed a hard line. And his eyes…

They were particularly sad today.

In the short time before Ethan reached the glass, Charlie panicked.

She imagined a million scenarios, each worse than the last. She grieved each of them for her friends, her family, and herself. Even Ethan, too.

But once he reached her, she was relieved to see him. Happy, even. Especially because this could be the last time that she would face him like this, before this toxin had taken everything from her.

She paid a great deal of attention to him. He didn’t look like the same man who had kissed her goodbye this morning, and it was so hard to reconcile the two conflicting versions of Ethan. The one from last night had this radiance about him – like, for the first time in a very long time, the world was beautiful and full of possibilities. That man was happy. He made an extra cup of coffee in the morning and sacrificed his morning rituals just to stay in bed with her a little longer.

This man…

He wasn’t happy.

He was devastated.

His life had shattered. His world was chaos. And faced with the most important case of his career, he was failing.

And he was failing the woman he loved…

Looking at him, it was hard to imagine that the Ethan from this morning could ever come back. He was this now – and maybe even forever.

Ethan didn’t know how to begin. He imagined that there were eloquent, efficient words that could professionally and carefully inform her of the team’s new breakthrough. If he had an eternity, he wouldn’t have found them, though. The truth was that he didn’t want to begin. He didn’t want to tell her. He didn’t want it to be true.

Charlie took a moment to weakly approach the glass, and when he remained silent, she offered a kind of sympathetic smile.

“Would it help if I guessed the bad news?” Charlie offered.

“Who said it was bad news?” Ethan asked reflexively.

He didn’t like the knowing smile she offered or how effortlessly she had read him.

He didn’t like that he wouldn’t be able to keep secrets from her in the coming hours. She deserved the luxury of compassionate lies and well-meaning falsehoods. She deserved to be spared, if just from the psychological toll.

“We’ve discovered the type of toxin,” Ethan finally elaborated, watching her intently. He told himself he was looking for new symptoms, but he wasn’t. He was studying her reaction and hoping that she could take it.

Ethan didn’t know Charlie’s limits like he knew his own, not really. She toed the line last year with the combined trauma of Mrs. Martinez, the ethics hearing, Naveen’s illness, and Landry’s betrayal. She got herself off that ledge somehow, though a few cracks remained. But this? Could she take this?

But truthfully, as her doctor, it didn’t matter if she could take it. She would have to.

“You have?” Charlie asked apprehensively. She was looking for the trick, for the subtle clue that would put everything together. Because, at first blush, this was good news, wasn’t it? They were one step closer to treatment if they identified the toxin. They might even have time to save Raf.

What was she missing?

How could this discovery earn Ethan’s somber expression?

Ethan took a deep breath and gave her one last moment of innocent hopefulness before he told her.

“It’s a maitotoxin,” Ethan explained, “One I’ve never seen before. And it’s still present and active on Danny’s body postmortem, including the surface of his skin, which means it’s still dangerous.”

It took Charlie about fifteen seconds to understand why Ethan had hesitated for so long.

There was no cure.

Charlie felt like the wind was knocked out of her, and she stumbled back, almost as if she were fighting this new information. She knew it was true. She had no doubts, yet… she couldn’t accept it.

So, she had to say it.

She had to announce it to herself and to the world. She had to make it real.

“I’m going to die,” she said it softly, so softly that Ethan almost didn’t hear through the glass.

But he did. She kind of wished he hadn’t.

Charlie belatedly realized that Ethan was talking.

No, he was talking to her.

He was saying something about how this wasn’t the time to give up because they were actively working on an antidote, but his words were so distant—nearly white noise.

All she could think was that she was going to die.

She would never keep her promise to Raf. She would never make it out of this room. She would never tell Kyra all the scandalous and sordid details of her private life. She would never sit on Ethan’s kitchen barstool and watch him make coffee in the morning. She wouldn’t even find out if they messed this up again or if, magically, it all fell into place.

All of her dreams and plans meant nothing now.

They would just be the private thoughts of a dead girl.

She could have wallowed in that for the rest of her life – it’s not like she had a lot of time left, anyway.

But she didn’t. She couldn’t.

And once she escaped those horrible thoughts, something worse occurred to her.

Charlie knew that Ethan Ramsey would never forgive himself for this. When she died, she would live on through his self-torment. He would twist and turn her memory until it became his personal hell. He would convince himself that he deserved it, and armed with his stubbornness and a conviction of his inherent badness, nothing could stop him.

She couldn’t fathom the thought.

Yet it felt so real, so decided, that she couldn’t stop thinking it.

It was there. It was true. It was practically inevitable.

And she felt some sense of responsibility in all of it. Like maybe it was her fault. Like she had sealed his fate with her own impulsive need to save others. Like she had betrayed him without even knowing it.

She couldn’t look at him when he was like this, eyes so wide and sad as he pled for her to maintain hope and ignore her own mortality. And she certainly couldn’t listen to him.

His voice didn’t even sound the same. It was too desperate for her agreement. Too grave. Too anxious. He needed her to live the same lie. It grated on her ears.

“Stop talking,” Charlie demanded breathlessly. She sounded like she had run a marathon just to command him. In her mind, she had raced miles and miles just to hold on to the world. But for Ethan, who watched her sway slightly with dizziness, her breathlessness was just another reminder of the horrible truth he couldn’t yet acknowledge.

He didn’t dare speak. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t think of anything to say.

There was a pause.

Charlie realized she didn’t actually want to talk.

She didn’t want to do any of this.

She wanted to crawl back into bed. She wanted to fall asleep. She wanted to wake up tomorrow morning.

“Ethan,” Charlie began, her voice shaking. She silently started to count, promising that she would say it again once she reached three. She didn’t actually do it until she got to five, “I’m going to die.”

“Charlotte, don’t say that,” Ethan’s response was quick and desperate, so much so that the words blended together a little bit.

Charlie’s vision was hazy from the tears building in her eyes. Even then, she could see how intensely he needed her to pretend none of this was happening. She hated herself for not letting him have that.

She hated herself for being sick, for dying, for walking in this goddamn room and ruining everything. She hated herself for needing more, for loving him so much that she had to hurt him. She hated this illness. She hated Travis. She hated Senator Farrugia. She hated Raf for taking the brunt of the toxin and for leaving her here alone.

She hated everyone but Ethan.

But she really hated what she said next.

“I have to say it,” Charlie asserted, “Because it’s true.”

“Charlie, you can’t give up,” Ethan’s voice cracked, and he moved as close as he could through the glass. He was looking at her intently, searching for something familiar to latch on to in her green eyes. All he found was resolute determination.

It crushed him.

“I’m not giving up, Ethan,” Charlie told him. What little control she had over her body seemed to disappear. She was shaking. Breathing was harder. Tears prickled at her eyes. Everything hurt. “But we have to face this. You have to face this.”

“Am I not facing this?” Ethan retorted incredulously, looking like he had been insulted, “Am I not here, Charlie?”

Charlie shook her head vigorously, “No, you’re not facing this. You still think I will walk out of here unscathed, Ethan, and I won’t. Not even I can work my way out of this. I know that. I need you to know it, too.”

“Why?” Ethan snapped, “Why do you need that?”

Ethan seethed.

How could she ask this of him?

How could she give up when he needed her? When he was doing everything he could, how could she not just hold on? Why did she need him to face the one thing that would break him?

“Because I care about you, Ethan, and I need to know you’ll be okay.”

Ethan scoffed.

“I promised Naveen I would be there for you if he died,” Charlie explained forcefully. The way she spoke demanded his attention, and he begrudgingly gave it. “I need that same assurance, Ethan. I need to know that, when I’m gone, you will be okay. That you’re not going to waste years blaming and hating yourself for something that was never even your fault. I got myself in this mess. Blame me,” Charlie’s voice had changed subtly as she spoke, but it was clear now.

She was just as desperate as he was.

He felt it in her stare. He heard it in her voice. It surrounded her.

And it killed him.

When Ethan didn’t speak, she begged, “Please. I won’t let you use my memory to torture yourself.”

Ethan still didn’t say anything.

He didn’t need to. The look on his face told her that he could never agree.

It hit Charlie like a blow, and she stumbled back just a bit. She looked betrayed, even disappointed in him. Ethan felt the urge to avert his eyes in guilt.

“Do you promise?” Charlie was very close to a new emotion – one that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. She heard it in her tone, though. It wasn’t quite angry, not fully disappointed. But it was certainly commanding.

Ethan had to answer her. He knew he did.

But he didn’t.

He was so mad that she forced him to sit in this, that she broke down his carefully constructed barriers. He couldn’t save her if he felt the full weight of what was happening. His grief, his adoration, his fury – it would bury him.

He told himself that he was doing what was best for her.

But there was a small voice in the back of his head that said he was just running away.

“I can’t do this, Greene. I can’t have this conversation,” Ethan announced, evading eye contact. He was too ashamed to look at her, “I’ve been here too long. I need to get back to the team.”

Then he left – so abruptly and dramatically that Charlie couldn’t even get a word before he was too far away to hear her.

Charlie watched him in disbelief.

He… left?

She was dying, and he fucking left?

Charlie didn’t know what she was feeling, but it was something close to anger, fear, and sadness.

She couldn’t believe he would allow his stubbornness to deprive them of what little time they had together. It was one thing for her to not let him hide from the truth, but was it the same for him to run away? Could he do that?

Was there a right way to do any of this?

If there was, Charlie was convinced he certainly hadn’t done it.

She fumed. How could he leave when they were already running out of time?

Quietly, she remembered the spring when she sneaked out of his apartment in the early hours just to avoid saying goodbye. Was he doing the same thing?

Charlie thought of the note she wrote the night she left. She had written, “I love you,” and then crumbled the note up and taken it with her instead of letting him read it.

Once again, when this could be goodbye, she hadn’t told him.

She might never.

Charlie paced as she tried to clear her mind. She stumbled every other step, feeling increasingly dizzy, but she kept trying. If she kept moving, she wouldn’t have to face the silence again.

She had to keep going because, if she didn’t, she would hear Danny’s final, ragged breaths. She would see Raf’s exhausted, pale face as he mumbled his last words. She would hear her own screams…

And now, she would also see Ethan storming away from her in her final hours.

It was too much.

Charlie felt lucky when she heard someone approach the glass. It meant she would have a distraction.

But when she realized that the noisy steps came from her all her best friends coming to check on her, her feeling of good luck wavered.

They all looked so…

Sad. Aware of the threat. And politely trying not to talk about it.

Sienna’s face was red with tears, and something stabbed at Charlie’s heart as she realized that her friend had lost the man she adored and would likely lose even more friends by the end of the night.

Sometimes, it was easy to forget that Charlie wasn’t suffering in isolation. Everyone she loved was also suffering, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

“I saw Dr. Ramsey storming down the hall. Is everything okay?” Bryce asked as soon as he was in Charlie’s earshot, obviously apprehensive and drained from the traumatic afternoon. Charlie had never seen him not smile when he approached. It broke her heart that he only frowned.

No, Charlie thought, Ethan can’t handle his girlfriend’s mortality, so he’s acting like a dick.

But she didn’t say it. She didn’t want her last memories with her friends to be tainted with calling Ethan a dick or complaining about how ridiculous he was.

Instead, Charlie shrugged, “I don’t know, but they’re making progress. They’ve figured out the toxin, so that’s good news.”

“Really? That’s amazing! What is it?” Sienna’s face perked up with hope for the first time since the whole ordeal began.

Charlie hesitated and reluctantly admitted, “Maitotoxin.”

“Oh,” Sienna exclaimed with surprise, and it only took a moment for her face to fall with recognition, “Oh…”

An awkward silence fell between the friends, and Charlie’s eyes fell to the floor. She didn’t like the way they looked at her now, like they were memorizing her so they could remember once she was gone. Elijah’s face was soft with sympathy, a stark contrast to Jackie’s distraught and angry frown. Bryce was trying so hard to be positive that it seemed to break him.

And Sienna…

Charlie knew that, if she looked at Sienna right now, she wouldn’t be able to stop from crying, so she selfishly looked away.

But she couldn’t maintain it. She had to look. She had to connect.

She had to let them know how much she loved and appreciated them, even if they weren’t ready to acknowledge these as their final hours.

“I love you guys,” Charlie sniffed, wiping at her eyes before anyone could see her cry, “I’m so happy I met all of you.”

“We love you, too,” Elijah’s voice hitched, and Bryce put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

“It’s really good that they’ve identified the toxin, Charlie,” Jackie spoke up, nodding firmly, “We’re one step closer.”

“Yeah,” Charlie agreed weakly, “One step closer.”

“You’re going to be okay,” Bryce added, trying to keep everyone optimistic, but not even his bravado couldn’t save the day.

Charlie nodded, “You’re right.”

Everyone tried to stay positive, including Charlie, and she hid her growing tears with awkward sniffles and wiping her eyes. They pretended not to notice and ignored the increasing pain in their hearts.

“How’s Kyra?” Charlie asked.

“She’s good… She made it out of surgery, and she’s recovering,” Bryce clumsily added, “We haven’t… we haven’t told her about this yet. We didn’t want to stress her, but…”

He trailed off before he could say that they would bring her to say goodbye if it became obvious that Charlie wouldn’t survive the hour.

It stung. It was just another reminder that she was actually going to die.

Charlie nodded her approval and expressed relief that Kyra was okay, and she didn’t make Bryce explain. She didn’t need him to tell her. His obvious discomfort and nervousness expressed everything she needed to know. As long as she could say goodbye to Kyra before the end, she was happy to let her stay blissfully ignorant.

She wished she could give all her friends that gift.

As they continued to talk, Charlie found the effort to stay strong for them exhausting. A dark, quiet thought whispered that at least her impending doom meant she could rest after taking blow after blow.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the diagnostics team coming down the hall, and she released a tiny sigh of acceptance.

She knew they didn’t have good news. There was no good news to be had. Whatever it was would be traumatic at worst and depressing at best.

Charlie was so tired.

She longed for her bed so much that she was fine with the fact that she would likely never get out of it. She was ready to let go. She was ready to give in, if everyone would just stand back and let her.

But they wouldn’t.

Charlie’s friends moved to allow June, Baz, and Ethan to face Charlie through the glass. Ethan was staring at her with eyes that begged her to look at him. She didn’t. She was too close to crying already. Instead, she looked at June.

“How are you doing, Charlie?” June asked, and once again, Charlie was comforted by her no-nonsense approach. It was nice to not be causing someone pain for once today.

“Okay,” Charlie shrugged, “No significant changes.”

June nodded considerately, “You know it’s Maitotoxin?”

“Yes.”

“And you know what that means?”

“Yes.”

June looked away just for a second – a second to brace herself. When she looked back, she was stern again.

“I brought some files if you would like to look through it.”

“I don’t want to,” Charlie rejected the offer, “But thank you.”

June nodded understandingly and handed the folder to Baz, who wiped a tear from underneath his glasses, “We’re working on it, Charlie.”

“I know, and thank you,” Charlie acknowledged.

She couldn’t help herself.

She had to look at Ethan.

Her muscles burned with the effort of looking away. She couldn’t fight it. She had to see him.

And she did.

And it…

It broke her and healed her at the same time.

Her Ethan.

She could see him now – the Ethan she loved, not just Dr. Ramsey. He was so sad… So devastated. And so eager for her to glance in his direction.

She loved him. She loved him so much.

In that moment, he felt like the only thing worth looking at. Her heart swelled so much that it felt like it might just burst. She couldn’t imagine staring at anything else.

“This isn’t the time to give up, Charlotte,” Ethan asserted, but it was a plea, really.

He hoped his voice still mattered to her. He hoped he still mattered to her after how he treated her.

“But,” Charlie spoke softly to the group, though she only looked at Ethan, “There isn’t an antidote.”

“Yet,” Ethan emphasized, “We’re going to work around the clock to synthesize one.”

“And you won’t be alone.”

Everyone’s head jerked in the direction of the familiar voice.

For a moment, Charlie wondered if she should add delusions to her growing list of symptoms. She looked at her friends’ expressions for confirmation that they saw it, too, and to her surprise, they did.

But… how?

Aurora approached quickly, flanked with a team of doctors on either side. Just a step ahead of her was Tobias, and it was only then that Charlie recognized that he was the one who spoke.

And just like that, everything was different. Hope rushed down the empty corridor to the sound of a dozen footsteps.

Everyone gaped as the doctors approached. Everyone from Edenbrook was too shocked to say a word, so it was Aurora who spoke next.

“The best doctors and resources Mass Kenmore can offer at your disposal,” Aurora affirmed, and the doctors behind her nodded their agreement.

Charlie was stunned to silence.

“Tobias?” Ethan’s lips were parted in a silent gasp. He couldn’t believe it, and right then, he decided he didn’t care about anything in their past anymore.

Tobias was here now, and if he could save Charlie, Ethan would forgive and forget anything.

The only thing that mattered was Charlie.

“This is bigger than any rivalry. Greene’s not dying on our watch,” Tobias looked at Ethan like he understood.

Normally, this would have terrified Ethan. He would have wondered how Tobias knew about their relationship and if he would dare use it against the two of them in the name of their ongoing competition. He would have feared for Charlie’s career. And he would have hated Tobias for pointing it out.

But Ethan felt none of that.

Instead, he said, “Thank you, Tobias.”

This startled Tobias, but after a beat, he accepted the thanks.

“Yes… Thank you. Both of you,” Charlie echoed, looking between Aurora and Tobias with shocked gratitude, “Aurora… I don’t even know how to express… I …” Charlie stumbled through her words, struggling to express her love for her friend and her gratitude and her relief to even know her.

“Then don’t,” Aurora cut her off, “Thank me by hanging in there, okay?”

Charlie nodded weakly, “I’ll try.”

“We've set up basecamp in the laboratory. We can take you there now,” June offered.

“Anyone else who wants to join us is welcome,” Baz added.

“Count us in. Chemistry was always my strongest subject in college,” Elijah said, earning a nod of approval from Baz.

Sienna pushed her way to the glass, her teary eyes fierce and piercing as they found Charlie, “Don’t you dare die. No comas, either. Just… hold the line, you hear me?” Sienna demanded.

“I hear you,” Charlie confirmed as strongly as she could.

Aurora pulled Sienna from the window and gently lead her away. The others said their goodbyes and hurried after June and Baz to the lab.

Only Ethan stayed behind.

Charlie stared at him in surprise.

“What are you doing?”

“I realized you might need me here more than you need me with them,” Ethan confessed, taking another step towards the glass – towards Charlie.

He didn’t quite know where to start. He was ashamed of his behavior – of his rude cowardice. He was haunted by that last look she’d given before he left, like she knew he would let her down.

And he didn’t want to be that man.

He wasn’t that man.

He might not be able to save her, but that wasn’t what she needed from him. He knew that now.

“I’m so sorry, Charlie,” Ethan said it all at once, like a deep sigh he needed to release. And he did. He had to apologize. He needed her to not hate him.

“For what?” Charlie asked apprehensively. She realized that she was holding her breath as she waited. She wanted to forgive him so very, very badly that she was terrified he wouldn’t say the right words, that this would somehow be ruined.

But really, even if he had made every wrong move, she wasn’t prepared to let him ruin it. She would have forgiven him no matter what he said.

“For everything,” Ethan swallowed heavily, casting his eyes low with humiliation, “For storming off. For not listening to you. for hiding when I should have stood with you.”

He twisted his face, trying to hold back the floodgates of emotion as he added, “You’re asking for something that’s very hard to give, Charlotte.”

Charlie was crying.

She didn’t bother wiping away the tears as she sadly smiled, “I know.”

“But you deserve to ask,” Ethan made himself look at her, even though he wasn’t sure if he even deserved to, “Because you’re right, Charlie. You’re always right.”

Charlie laughed softly. That was the kind of thing she always wanted to hear. If he had told her any other time, she would have stored those words and brought them up time and time again. She wouldn’t get to now, though.

“I forgive you, Ethan,” Charlie quickly corrected, “Actually, no. I don’t. Because I don’t need to. I don’t care. You were a dick, but I… I don’t blame you. I’m just happy you’re here now.”

Ethan shook his head, knowing he didn’t deserve anything she said, “You’re too easy on me.”

“No,” Charlie tentatively held her hand to the glass, “I’m not.”

She offered a small, playful smile – the kind that always filled him with happiness, even now. She whispered, “I knew you were an asshole when I picked you, Ethan.”

He didn’t deserve Charlie.

But he placed his hand on the glass and smiled anyway.

He was supposed to leave now. They both knew it.

But he stood still.

He was devastated to look at her like this, alone and scared. He could see the exhaustion etched in her face, and he knew she hadn’t slept. He doubted she had sat for more than hour all together today. She was so stubborn… And so isolated…

“Can I stay?” Ethan asked impulsively.

Charlie jerked in surprise, instinctively taking a small step back. He missed her proximity immediately.

“Won’t the team miss you?” Charlie asked.

“I don’t care. I want to be here with you.”

Charlie hadn’t thought that there were right words to say. She thought that this situation was too shocking, too dramatic to have anything “right” about it. But she felt differently now. Because those were the right words to say.

She didn’t speak immediately. She didn’t know how to. She was too overcome with emotions she didn’t even recognize. It was harder to breathe. She felt like something was breaking inside of her – some resolve, some barrier. It flooded her until her limbs felt heavy and her mind exhausted.

She was falling apart. She felt it. Ethan saw it.

“Please,” Charlie begged him to come inside.

Ethan nodded emphatically, and he assured her it would be just one minute. As he rushed into his hazmat suit, he was tempted to be reckless with the remaining procedures. Time with Charlie was precious, and one minute felt like too long to wait.

It took about 65 seconds for Ethan to safely enter the hospital room.

Ethan only took one of the following seconds to complain about how slow he moved and how much faster he needed to go to get to her, but he was quickly distracted from those criticisms.

Because Charlie was there.

After hours of staying apart to maintain boundaries and leaving her to struggle on her own, Ethan could finally hold her.

Ethan wordlessly enveloped Charlie in his arms, and she fell deeply into his embrace until he was the only thing keeping her up. She shed the pretense of strength and stability. When Raf crashed and abandoned her in this room, she almost wallowed in the full effect of the night – the pain, the sorrow, the fear. But there was still a part of her that pushed Ethan away for his own good, sacrificing what she wanted for the greater effort. Now, even that was gone.

Charlie succumbed to the darkness.

And really, it was kind of a relief.

She sobbed into his chest, and Ethan held her as tight as he possibly could without breaking her. He wished he could give her all of his remaining strength. She needed it more than he did.

“It’s okay,” Ethan whispered, tracing a soothing pattern on her back, “I’m here.”

“I missed you so much,” Charlie managed breathlessly.

He squeezed her, but he wasn’t sure if he did it to reassure her or to prove to himself that she was really there.

Once her sobs grew softer, Ethan pulled away enough to wipe the tears off her red-stained cheeks. He hated the hazmat suit for keeping them apart. He wanted to feel her skin, her warmth.

“I wish you could touch me,” Charlie told him, a spare tear rolling down her cheek. He caught it with his thumb.

“So, do I,” Ethan affirmed with a sad smile.

She swayed softly in his arms. Her dizziness, coupled with her exhaustion, made it hard to stand. Her eyelids were heavy, and her eyes were bloodshot from hours of tears and not a minute of sleep. She demanded a lot from her body, and it was determined to get its revenge on her.

Though he knew she hadn’t, he asked, “Have you slept at all?”

Charlie shook her head, “I tried, but um…” Charlie had to stop and hold her breath for a minute, too choked up to continue. For anyone else, she would have left it at that, but for Ethan, she bore the pain and explained, “I tried after Raf crashed… And I… I was too afraid I wouldn’t wake up again, and I wasn’t ready.”

Oh.

Ethan swallowed heavily and nodded thoughtfully. He didn’t dare speak. He knew he would break if he did.

His beautiful, wonderful Charlie didn’t deserve this…

“How is Raf?” Charlie asked apprehensively. She doubted she would like his answer.

“He’s holding on,” Ethan told her, “He’s in a coma.”

Charlie knew that was the best she could ask for, so she accepted it quietly.

“Are you tired, Charlie?”

Charlie let out a deep breath as she admitted, “So, so tired.”

Not just physically, either. She was drained completely – emotionally and mentally. The only thing that kept her going was her determination, and even that wore thin.

“Come on, let’s get you to bed,” Ethan suggested softly. When she hesitated, he added, “I’ll be here to make sure you wake up.”

Charlie knew he couldn’t really make a promise like that, but she believed it anyway. She needed it.

Charlie accepted his hand and allowed him to lead her to the bed. As she sank into the mattress, he carefully followed. His arms encircled her, and her head fell comfortably and familiarly to his shoulder.

If they pretended, it almost looked like a normal night in his apartment.

“I think your bed might be just a bit more comfortable,” Charlie whispered playfully, earning his chuckle.

She liked to watch him laugh, even through the bulky hazmat helmet. In fact, she liked almost everything about him.

“Can I tell you something I regret?” Charlie asked, much to Ethan’s surprise.

“Do you want to?”

“Yes.”

“Then, yes, you can,” Ethan affirmed, hiding his own anxiety.

Everything about this night felt final, like the last chapter of his favorite book. Every time they had a “last” anything, Ethan felt closer to the edge.

“If I could go back, I would pick you all the times I almost did.”

“I wouldn’t deserve it.”

“I don’t care,” Charlie shrugged. She was smiling, but it didn’t reach her sad eyes, “You don’t have to deserve me, Ethan. I wasted so much time thinking that, if I couldn’t have you, I had to stay away until I moved on. And I never moved on, not even for a minute.”

“You shouldn’t have had to,” Ethan felt like a fool for all his stubborn, ‘ethical’ arguments. He’d just been hiding, and because of it, they were deprived of so much. “I wish I could take it back, Charlie. I would take a million more months with you.”

This time, when Charlie smiled, he knew it was real.

And she knew she had to tell him. Anxiety built in her chest, and for a terrifying moment, she wondered if she as alone in loving him, if she had always been the foolish, love-struck girl. If he still didn’t need her like she needed him.

“Can I tell you another regret?”

Ethan nodded his consent.

“I should have… I should have told you I loved you the second I felt it.”

The world stopped. Time wasn’t counting down.

Now, it was Ethan’s turn to stop breathing.

“When was that?”

“The spring, the night I left you before you could leave me. I wrote it on a note that I was going to leave for you, but I took it with me instead. I thought it help me move on if I never told you,” Charlie admitted.

She was very aware that Ethan hadn’t said it back yet, and she watched his lips intently, waiting for three words to fall out of them.

But Ethan was distracted.

Because, if he had known, everything would have been different. If she had left that note, he wouldn’t have been able to stay away. He ran away and hid from her for his own safety, to keep him away from her. If he had known that she was suffering, too, he would have stayed.

He could have been happy with her all this time.

All it would have taken was for one of them to say that they loved each other.

“I knew then, too…” Ethan still seemed lost in his own head as he spoke, “I spent every night in the Amazon wondering if I would ever stop.”

“Did you?” Charlie was so afraid of his answer she almost hoped he wouldn’t say anything. That way, she ran no risk of being crushed.

“Never.”

He loves me.

Charlie shouldn’t have been shocked, but she was.

And she was so… so…

So in love with him. So overwhelmed.

Charlie began to cry, hiding her face in Ethan’s shoulder as she mourned. She cried because of how much she loved him. She cried because they had all this time and never told each other. She cried because she wouldn’t get to love him for decades. She cried because this was still the end.

Ethan held her tight and fought off his own ragged, dangerous breath. He didn’t know how to breathe anymore. He was so sad but so happy. So distraught and so relieved.

He should have told her before. In his apartment, on the balcony with a bottle of wine. When she was smiling at him. When her eyes reflected the glimmering cityscape and stars. When she was happy and safe.

“You know,” Ethan murmured, “My dad says I would be an idiot to ruin this because you’re the best thing to ever happen to me,” Ethan wasn’t quite sure why he told her this story, but he just knew he wanted to make her smile, “I told him that I already had once, and he said I was an idiot.”

Charlie laughed softly through her tears. She could imagine it, and she didn’t disagree with Alan.

“My mom found a picture of you on the internet after I moved here. She warned me not to get too close to you because you were too handsome and smart for your own good,” Charlotte murmured. He could hear the exhaustion in her voice, but he was relieved to have the distraction.

“You know, it was pretty strange you claimed to be such a ‘fan’ but had no idea what I looked like,” Ethan teased.

“I was a fan of your research. Was I supposed to keep a poster of your face on my wall?”

“I’m just saying that my picture was in the back of the book.”

“I was too busy reading it to check you out, Ethan.”

Charlie rolled her eyes, and Ethan smiled.

They didn’t say a lot after that, just a few murmured words and the occasional joke. Despite her best efforts to stay awake and enjoy her time with Ethan, Charlie fell asleep. She finally felt safe enough to sleep.

Even after he realized Charlie was asleep, Ethan held her. He wasn’t ready to let go.

He wanted to hold her through the night and keep her safe. He wanted to keep his promise and make sure she woke up in the morning.

But he needed to get back to the team and fight for her while they still had time left.

Ethan reluctantly untangled himself from Charlie, and before he left, he whispered gently that he loved her.

Ethan followed the decontamination procedures methodically. It gave him something else to think about, somewhere for his mind to hide. Once he was done, he slid back into his white coat and started walking down the hall to the lab.

But he didn’t make it there.

Every step, his feet felt like lead. His heart raced. His eyes watered. His breath was irregular.

He had to stop. He had to… crash.

He fell to the linoleum floor with a thud that echoed down the empty hall. He leaned his head back to the wall and begged his body to stop, to just let him focus. He searched for those barriers that kept him safe, but they were gone now.

He loved Charlie.

And she was going to die.

Ethan succumbed to the weight of it all as he sobbed into his hands. It took everything from him, so when the tears stopped flowing, he felt hollow and empty. He was alone. And he missed her.

As soon as he could fathom it, Ethan stood. He walked into the bathroom and splashed his tear-stained face with water. His reflection was so unfamiliar – so distraught and devoid of life – that he avoided looking at it at first. He forced himself to level his gaze with his reflection, and he commanded that he get his shit together and be a good doctor. It didn’t matter if he was sad. All that mattered was that Charlotte survived. He would give anything for her.

Using that as fuel, Ethan marched into the lab.

Everyone was surprised to see him, and they hardly kept it to himself. Even June gaped in alarm. No one expected him to leave Charlie’s side, and they worried what it meant that he had.

“How is Charlie?” Baz asked immediately.

“She’s resting. Heart rate still normal. No obvious deterioration,” Ethan ignored their astonished stares and walked to the half-empty pot of coffee in the corner of the make-shift lab. He poured himself a cup and winced at the taste, “Who made this?”

“I did,” Tobias confirmed.

“Makes sense,” Ethan muttered. If Tobias caught it, he let it slide.

He forced the rest of the cup down, reasoning that he needed the caffeine more than his taste buds needed satisfaction.

As soon as he finished his coffee, Ethan asked for an update and where he could help. Tobias told him about their progress and invited Ethan to work with him. Ethan obliged and fell into the project quickly.

The team benefited from his presence, even if they couldn’t believe he was there.

As they worked, Tobias finally said, “So, the resident, huh?”

Ethan shot him a warning look, “Shut up.”

“I’m not judging.”

“You are, and I don’t care. After we finish this antidote, you have all the time in the world to judge me. Save it for then.”

Tobias raised his hands in surrender and got back to work.

---

Charlie woke the next morning to a sharp, stabbing pain ripping through her stomach. She yelped in pain and instinctively doubled over, silently begging her body to just release whatever the fuck this was. She reached for Ethan beside her but found the bed empty.

As another wave of pain hit her, Charlie longed for Ethan’s reassuring presence but was quietly relieved that he didn’t have to see her bitter end. And anyway, he kept his promise. She woke up this morning.

“Charlotte!”

She recognized Ethan’s voice, but her vision was too blurry to recognize him on the other side of the glass. He was just an outline, but he was the tallest outline out of the group. So, Charlie reasoned it had to be him rushing through the decontamination tent to get to her. A handful of people followed.

Charlie dug her nails into her arm to distract from the pain, but she only ended up drawing blood.

Once it was finally over, she fell back into the bed feebly.

Ethan anxiously approached and demanded, “Are you okay?”

Charlie faintly nodded her head in response, and Ethan released a sigh of relief.

“What’s going on?” Charlie murmured, struggling to keep her eyes open. She needed sleep. She needed relief.

“We did it, Charlie!” Charlie recognized the voice before she recognized Aurora’s form in the glass.

“What?” Charlie’s mouth felt dry, and the word came out cracked.

“We have an antidote, Charlie,” Ethan explained. While she tried to identify Aurora out of the crowd, he had made it to her bedside and was sitting in the chair beside her, holding out his hand for hers.

Charlie didn’t understand.

She had to be imagining this.

But people were talking. They explained the miracle of the formulation and how the antidote worked. She only picked up every other word, but she got the gist of it.

It was real.

They did it.

“Did you give it to Raf?” Charlie breathed as soon as it all clicked together, cutting off someone else. She looked to Ethan like he was the only one she trusted.

“We did,” Sienna confirmed, “We haven’t seen any change. It may have been too late…”

“But we haven’t seen a decline, and that has to mean something,” Elijah chimed in.

Charlie fell back into the bed just a little bit farther. She was relieved he was still alive, even if he might not be by the end of the day.

“Charlotte,” Ethan’s voice was tender, nearly begging as he asked, “Give me your arm.”

Charlie obliged, but her body was so weak that it shook when she held it out. Baz came to her side and steadied her as Ethan prepared the shot.

As Ethan smoothly slid the needle into her skin, he told her, “It’s going to be okay.”

And for the first time, Charlie believed him.

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obx-saltlife · 4 years ago

Text

PAINT

Pairing: JJ x Reader You want to redecorate. JJ wants to help. Your plans change. Loosely based on the song Paint – Travis Garland Feat. Jojo Warnings: Smut (duh!), unprotected sex (please be responsible and do not do this), inappropriate use of paint (honestly, like what?) 3.2k of absolute filth tbh.

A/N: hoookay, here it is. More JJ smut. Enjoy and let me know how you like it!

“Oh, dude! What! I thought you weren’t gonna start today!”

Jumping from your spot in the middle of your mostly cleared out bedroom, you clutched your chest and held the half-poster with your other hand. Moving forward, you turned around to find the culprit of your almost heart attack.

“Shit, JJ! How did you get in here?” You asked as he moved from his spot by the door of room to approach you.

“Your mom was on her way out,” JJ Maybank replied, kicking off his beat up boots. “Is that what’s-his-name and Mila Kunis?”

Glancing back at the poster you were holding up, you flattened it out against the wall. A small cringe finding its way onto your face, not exactly sure what you were thinking with your previous choice in room décor. “Natalie Portman, actually.”

Nodding, JJ moved towards you and helped you rip the tape off the poster lightly. He didn’t notice the small confused look you shot his way. While you had planned to start the process of painting your bedroom, JJ was supposed to be taking his Touron Girl of the Month on a date. It’s exactly why you had picked precisely that moment to put your mind to something else. So you could forget that he was out and about with someone else – someone who wasn’t you. You’d always been very determined so it was no surprise that if you put your mind to re-painting your bedroom, you were going to get it done but it was definitely a surprise that JJ had cut his date short.

“You want some help?” He asked, moving towards the plastic tarp and other things you had set up to the side.

“I would love some, but what happened to….Lacey? Kacey? Macy?” You started. “uh, your date, what happened to your date?” You said, turning to him.

Glancing briefly in your direction, JJ averted his eyes to the painting supplies at his fingertips. “Oh, you know, it ended early. Stage Five clinger.” He ended mimicking the sound of a walkie-talkie and chuckling.

Cocking an eyebrow, you replied, “You could tell she was clingy in less than an hour?”

Grabbing the plastic tarp, JJ extended it and began setting it up on the floor as he continued, “Well, no. But I figured as much when she started going on about coming to visit during her breaks from school and shit.”

Laughing, you slapped a hand to your forehead. “I told you something was off way back at that kegger, man. I’m never wrong, Maybank.”

Throwing his head back in a lazy laugh, he groaned. “Yes, I know. I should have listened to my best friend, but I have needs okay? I’m a young boy, so weak…” He drifted off, laughing at his own joke.

Smirking, you turned back around and helped him finish extending the tarp all over the floor. “You say that as if you’re not already sex on legs to all the other Tourons, hanging on all the stupid shit that you say.” You threw the poster on the ground with the tarp, really seeing no use for it anymore.

Clicking his tongue in the obnoxious way you hated, JJ reached over and pushed you gently. “Do you want me to help you or not? Wouldn’t wanna interrupt all the hard work you’ve obviously already done all by yourself.”

“Of course I want your help,” Rolling your eyes, you moved to grab the paint cans you had picked up from the hardware store earlier that morning.

Walking back to the center of the room, you heard JJ shuffle and follow. Lifting the top of the can open, you made sure it was still the right shade of blue that you wanted to use for your own little space in the house. You sighed and stirred the paint a bit before pouring it onto the tray in front of you. You let it air out before standing up and leaning against the previously plastic-covered dresser. A comfortable silence fell between both of you as the paint aired out.

“Do you think it’s possible?” JJ finally asked, eyeing the poster in the corner of the floor.

“Do I think what’s possible?”

“Casual sex, you know, like, with a friend?”

Shrugging, you looked towards the poster again. “I don’t know. It depends on the people and their situation, I guess. Feelings can be a pain in the ass.”

“But it worked out for them, didn’t it?” JJ pressured, moving closer to where you had started dipping the rod in the paint.

You giggled, “Yeah, but it’s a chick targeted movie. I’m pretty sure if I had someone directing my life, I wouldn’t be painting inside on this beautiful day with you.”

Mocking offense, JJ retorted, “And what exactly would you be doing instead?”

Raising your eyebrows, you turned back around to the bare wall as you started applying the first coat of paint.

‘You, for one’ You thought with a smirk as you continued slathering the paint on the wall. Shrugging, you barely turned in his direction, “Just…other things.”

Repeating the process of dipping the rod into the tray, you continued painting the wall in front of you before turning back around to JJ who was watching you intently.

“Cheer up, JJ! We can watch the movie again later and your dick can live vicariously through Ashton’s as he does Natalie Portman.” You said, turning back to the task at hand.

You both fell into a rhythm as JJ shed his cut-off tank and grabbed the spare rod before helping you add color to your dull bedroom walls. It wasn’t hard for you to work as a team; your friendship went back a few years now, when your genius wit helped him get out of some trouble with Officer Shoupe.

Your friendship only grew from there, even after all the dumb shit you and JJ did (and there was a lot of dumb shit), you remained best friends; always together, for better or for worse, through thick and thin. Pogues for life. Your relationship had always been platonic, up until six months ago.

It started at a bonfire in the middle of the summer. After downing a couple beers and taking a nice long walk along the beach, you confessed to JJ the disaster that your first kiss had been. In his drunken stupor, JJ demanded to “fix it” for you. As you continued to ramble on, JJ swept in and kissed you.

The kiss was sloppy and the distinct taste of cheap beer, weed and a very far off hint of mint kind of ruined it, but from there, a new can of worms had been opened. Feelings weaved in and it had all been extremely confusing to say the least. His naturally flirtatious attitude with everybody put a sour feeling in the pit of your stomach and you could hear the irritated tone in his voice when you mentioned another guy friend from work. The sexual tension was definitely there too and despite neither of you making any move for more, it only increased.

JJ liked to play it hot and cold so there was no telling how he’d reach to his friend suddenly making a move to rip his pants off.

Pushing your thoughts to the side, you returned your attention to the now half-finished wall. You dipped the rod in the tray once again and a sly smirk spread on your face. You scooted towards JJ and turned inconspicuously, throwing him a smile when he turned and looked down at you.

You both remained quiet as you worked for the most part, only the odd sigh or grunt here and there, the music playing at a super low volume. JJ was completely focused and surprisingly taking it all very seriously. That is until you heard him snort when you bent over in your shorts to fix the dripping rod.

Feeling his eyes on you, you looked up at him. “What?” You asked as he looked down at you.

He motioned with his hand to your bent over body and playfully rolled his eyes. “Don’t…don’t do that.”

Cocking your head to the side, you played it off like you didn’t know what he was talking about before turning back to the problematic dripping rod.

You were almost done, a triumphant look making its way to your face when you felt something cold against your thigh. You felt paint drip as JJ slapped his hand on your exposed thigh before gasping loudly.

“What the hell, Maybank!?” You shrieked before dipping your fingers into the tray of paint in front of you and flicking it in his direction.

The ocean blue paint splattered over his defined torso before he let out a loud laugh. Looking over to your best friend, you noticed his eyes had intensified in color, contrasting against their usually hazy appearance. His eyes were trained on you, capturing your full attention. While his head remained still, he ran his hand over the rod, scooping up excess paint and copied your flicking motion right back at you. Never had you seen JJ in this light before and it intrigued you, to say the least.

“Don’t start something you can’t finish,” JJ spoke up; a smirk on his lips and a glint in his eyes.

“Oh?” You smiled coyly, stepping forward and straight up planting your hand on his chest, leaving a paint mark on it.

You bit your lip, “Do you want me to?...finish it?” Inching closer, his hand gravitated back to your exposed thighs. Holding his eyes contact, the right side of your mouth tugged up in a smile.

JJ swallowed hard. “Painting? You want to uh, finish painting?”

‘I’d rather finish you’ You thought, biting your lip again. You simply nodded, knowing your thoughts would make their way out of your mouth if you did otherwise.

Smirking at you, JJ leaned towards you and whispered in your ear. “Then why don’t I believe you?”

He parted his lips to speak but you brought his head back up and crashed your lips together. You could tell he was stunned by your abruptness with his lips staying completely still but JJ was quickly brought into the mood when you felt him nip at your bottom lip. Gasping at his teeth nipping at your lip, you placed your hands on his warm chest, pulling him closer to you. Grabbing the back of your head, paint taking residence in the strands of your hair, he pushed your face closer to his.

Your right hand, still with some leftover paint, traveled to his neck. Your fingernails ran lightly along his neck, leaving traces of the blue pigment. As your nails left his mark on his skin, JJ’s mouth left your own and his tongue ran shyly along your jawline, leaving wet kisses along it before moving down to your neck. You felt his free hand leave a trail of the blue paint alongside your chin and the rest of your neck as he sponged kisses down your throat.

The t-shirt you were wearing was much too big for your frame, allowing JJ to easily pull the shirt up and over your head without much effort. Your mouth dropped, forming an ‘o’ shape, you gripped the nape of his neck, the rest of the paint on your hand finding its way onto the hairs on the back of his head. You guided his head down towards your chest. Feeling you trying to take over the situation, JJ inadvertently reached into the nearby paint can and stepped away from you briefly. A sly smirk donning his face as he flicked his fingers towards your body once more; specks of blue littering your chest before he waved his fingers in a disapproving manner. You gasped in surprise.

“Not tonight,” JJ said, pulling you down to the floor with him. “I’m gonna make you a believer.” You both laughed as he playfully flicked some more paint in your direction.

As he took in your body in front of him, your eyes traced his own. His chest was a little broad and well defined, the clear outline of a ‘V’ defined his hips and disappeared in the waistband of his boxers and his cargo shorts. You pulled your body up so your elbows were resting on the plastic tarp covering the floor as JJ busied himself with his belt buckle. You dipped your fingers into the paint tray and ran two digits down his abs with a smile on your face. With only his belt unbuckled and pants unbuttoned, JJ crawled his way back to you before spreading his legs and bending back down to your chest.

Kissing the hollow space between your collarbones, he moved his head to trail his wet lips along your sternum. Your breathing picked up when JJ moved his head to the left, kissing along the swell of your breast. As his mouth ran along the curvature, his other hand moved to the waistband of the old shorts you were wearing. As JJ undid the button with ease, he ran just the tip of his tongue from the outer part of your breast to your nipple, tracing the areola. The combined sensation of his wet tongue, drying paint and talented fingers rubbing against your underwear, had you curving your back; pushing your chest forward towards him.

Picking up his head, JJ looked at you with his signature shit-eating grin. “Enjoying yourself, are ya’?”

While your body might have given in to JJ, you weren’t ready to verbally admit it yet. Steadying your breathing, you let out a quick, “Not yet.”

Raising an eyebrow, JJ asked, “Not even when I do this?” before lowering his head back to your chest and pursing his lips to take your right nipple in his mouth before sucking it hard.

You pressed your lips together to prevent the moan that vibrated against your vocal chords to escape. You weren’t about to give JJ the satisfaction. You shook your head again as you watched JJ look up at you again.

“Hmm, shame,” JJ replied, bringing his mouth back up to your neck. “Because that little moan you just tried to stop was so fucking hot.”

You could feel his fingers slipping inside your underwear and towards your wet center.

“You don’t have anything you want to say right now?” JJ asked, as his fingers drummed against your clit.

Your breathing was ragged and you struggled to suppress any noises. You shook your head as JJ continued to play with your clit before moving down to your entrance. You were losing to his touch. Wanting to keep an upper hand, you composed yourself fast enough to reach for the zipper of JJ’s cargo shorts.

As JJ continued to whisper dirty but incredibly arousing things in your hear, you slipped your hand in his boxers fast enough so he wouldn’t notice. Feeling he was hardening, you wrapped your hand around him, throwing him completely off-guard. His fingers stopped teasing you, his voice was hitched in his throat.

Moving your hand up and down, you smiled, “Problem, JJ?”

As your hand reached the head of his cock, you ran your thumb along the slit, spreading the first drops of pre-cum around. Gasping, he composed himself just as you shifted your bodies around so that you were now sitting up and JJ was awkwardly hunched over.

JJ groaned your name.

He moved his hands to your back, running them from your shoulder blades to the small of your back. He stopped just at the edge of your underwear. Looping his hand around to your front, he slipped his hand fully into your underwear. Finding your core, he inserted a single finger, curling it upwards and aiming for your g-spot.

With the feeling of his finger pumping into you, you let out your first moan of the afternoon. Your sound caused JJ to pump faster before adding a second finger. You too, continued to pump his length in your hand, the pre-cum oozing from the tip, soothing any friction. Every so often, you would run a finger along the underside of the head, where it met the shaft, causing him to jump.

JJ’s gasps became more frequent and you relished every single one. They hinted he was getting closer to his impending orgasm. Not wanting him to find release in a hand-job, you pushed him down onto the floor. JJ fell back onto the floor with a semi-shocked look on his face. You stood up on your knees and slid your panties all the way down your legs before kicking them off. Now, being fully naked in front of him, you crawled over to JJ, pulling his shorts and boxers down his legs, leaving them in a pool of fabric at his ankles. His length fell back against his stomach and as you positioned yourself above his hips, you took his cock in your hand, guiding him into you. Once JJ filled you completely, you let out a sigh of relief before placing your hands on his chest to steady yourself.

JJ’s own hands moved up form his sides to grip your hips as you found a pace for you both. Using his hands to guide you along his dick, you grinded your hips into his pelvis, causing to blurt out all sorts of profanities.

“Fuck! Oh yeah,” JJ’s eyes rolled back in bliss.

His fingers pressed tightly into the skin of your hips as you felt him moving his hips to meet your own.

“Oh god, JJ” You gasped, quickening your pace. You switched from grinding yourself to moving up and down on his cock.

JJ’s hands traveled down from your hips and rested on your ass. He then began to help you move on top of him, his thrusts becoming harder. You could feel yourself growing closer and closer to your release as JJ’s thrusts had your insides tighten.

As you squeezed around him, your muscles clenched and JJ’s moans grew louder. “Fuck, I’m so…so close.”

Knowing you had brought him to the edge, you clenched your muscles tighter once more before you felt your orgasm explode inside of you; a tight coil, springing loose from deep inside. The evidence of your arousal coating JJ and it wasn’t too long before he followed. The spasm of your walls sent him into a state of ecstasy. His thrusts soon ceased and you felt his head twitch inside you.

With JJ softening inside of you, you leaned down and placed a delicate kiss on his cheek before sneakily dipping two fingers in a nearby paint can and smearing them on his nose. His chest was rising heavily as he tried to regulate his breathing and laughed. He grabbed your head and brought your forehead to his own. Stretching his neck somewhat, he kissed your lips softly and smiled.

“Maybe we should finish painting?” His voice gruff and raspy.

Smirking, you replied. “Dunno, I kinda like what we’re doing right now.”

Returning your smirk, JJ wrapped his arms around you. He pulled you close to him for a repeat of your actions; the painting (at least on the walls) long forgotten.

#JJ Maybank x reader #jj maybank smut #obx #outer banks #outer banks netflix #jj maybank #outer banks fanfiction #outer banks smut #outer banks imagines #obx paint #obx masterlist

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hockeyboistrash · 5 years ago

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that night | k.h

summary: a wedding, a pregnancy test, and a bunch of nosey hockey players. what could possibly go wrong?

The venue was perfect for Jenny’s and Corey's wedding. It was classic but not over the top. There was also enough room for the whole Flyers organisation and the bride and groom's family. While Travis suggested having orange as the colour, Jen decided against that and instead chose a nice shade of purple, which you were grateful for being a bridesmaid and all.

A glass of champagne was put in your hand at some point but you put it down as soon as you saw Carter trying to get your attention. You were friends with some of the younger players on the team but you were more like an older sibling than anything else. You went over to him and he lead you to the downstairs bathroom where Travis and Nolan were. You sent the latter a questioning look who only responded with a shrug.

"Okay, why are you three hanging around in the bathroom? And why am I here?" You asked, folding your arms across your chest and glaring at the three of them when no one said anything.

"Well we may have overheard Corey freaking out about the wedding and then I found this." Travis said showing the pink stick in his hand. "We thought that maybe it’s Jenny's."

"I’m going to stop you right there. Firstly, you do know someone’s peed on that, right?" You started making him drop the stick and scrunch up his face in disgust. "And secondly, you shouldn’t speculate who's it is. No one is going to say anything, got it?" They all nodded, not wanting to have your wrath if they didn’t listen to you. You shooed them out of the bathroom, staying in there yourself for a moment. This was the last thing you needed on top of keeping the wedding on track.

After taking a breather you left the bathroom bumping into Kevin. "Is there a reason why you four were in there together?" He asked, a huge grin on his face. It was one you couldn’t help but reciprocate.

"I don’t even know myself." You said with a little laugh and Kevin joined in. His laugh warmed your chest, it was probably one of your favourite sounds. Once the laughter died down you sighed and the stress you were feeling was apparent.

"Here. You look like you could use this." Kevin said handing you his drink.

"I can’t." You hesitated. "I can relax tomorrow once all of this is over but thank you."

"At least slow down a little. Everything looks perfect." He assured you, putting his hand on your arm.

You sent him a tired smile placing your own hand over his, appreciating the contact. "I’ll try."

"Y/N..." Kevin started and you knew what he wanted to talk about but you weren’t ready for that conversation and in the middle of the wedding weekend was the worst place to have it.

"I’ve got to check on the kitchen, Kev." You told him before leaving him alone in the hallway. You weren’t denying that you were avoiding him. The inevitable conversation was one that you were going to push for as long as you can.

When Kevin came to Philadelphia and to the team you became fast friends. It wasn’t a friendship like you had with the younger players. They were more like your brothers whereas you were in love with Kevin. It was a cliche, you knew that, yet you couldn’t help it. You had fallen for him hard but you never said anything because you didn’t want to ruin your friendship. This year hit differently when Kevin told you his plans of going to Boston over the summer. You knew it was going to happen, he did it last year. This time though you were going to miss him.

He came over the night before he had to leave for the airport. The two of you had dinner and now were watching a film, not that you were paying attention to it. He had is arm wrapped around you, pulling you so you were curled up next to him. It felt very domestic.

"What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?" Kevin asked, looking down at you with that goofy grin you love so much. Heat rose to your cheek at the thought of him catching you glancing at him throughout the evening.

"Just thinking about how quiet my apartment will be with you in Boston for the summer." You laughed.

"Take that back." He gasped although you could tell he was trying to hold back his own laughter.

"Make me." You grinned and Kevin saw that as a challenge as he started tickling you. Both of your laughter filled the apartment. It ended up with you laying on the couch with Kevin on top of you, his arms either side of you.

The alcohol you had earlier paired with the position you were now in had your inhibitions clouded. You looked up to see Kevin looking down at you with so much love in his eyes, or at least that’s what you perceived it to be. You wrapped your arms around the back of his neck and leaned forward, softly pressing a kiss onto his lips. He didn’t pull away, in fact he kissed you harder. Neither of you pulled away until you both needed air.

"Are you sure about this?" Kevin asked and you nodded. He placed his hands under your thighs so he was holding you as he carried you to your bedroom. Laying on your bed, he started undressing you, pressing kisses up your stomach and to your neck then lips.

You ended up snuggled into Kevin's side, his arm around you, mirrored to how you were on the couch. "I’m going to miss you." You mumbled in your sleepy state.

"I’ll miss you too, Y/N/N." He returned before falling asleep himself.

The next morning the space beside you was empty and cold. You couldn’t help but have a sinking feeling in your stomach when you saw that Kevin was gone before you woke up. The thought of him regretting last night plagued your thoughts until you saw a text from him.

You looked peaceful sleeping so I didn’t want to wake you. Call you when I land.

He also sent a picture of him on his flight pouting with the caption 'missing you already'.

Kevin did call when he landed and got settled back home but he didn’t mention the night before. Mind you, you didn’t either. It was a two way street so you could have easily said something yet you felt something holding you back, maybe it was thought of losing him as your friend and not having him in your life.

It was easier to hide behind a phone than seeing him in person. All the feelings you have suppressed from that night came back at full force. You missed the way he held you, the way his kisses felt. Being at a wedding surrounded by your friends didn’t help. This was the last place you wanted to talk.

Thankfully the pregnancy test that was found wasn’t brought up until after the ceremony. The toasts have been done and everyone was chatting amongst themselves having a good time, dancing stupidly to the dj for their Instagram stories. The bride and groom however were standing in the hallway just off to the side of the main room with you and a few others.

"Why didn’t you tell me?" Corey asked.

"Tell you what?" Jen replied confused as to what he was on about.

"That you’re pregnant." He said and everyone’s eyes widened. Yours for a different reason though as you had told Travis to shut his big mouth about it.

"Because I’m not. Where is this coming from?"

"Teeks said he found a pregnancy test and-" He started before getting interrupted. While they were having this conversation you sent a glare to the young forward in question.

"Oh so if TK said it must be true?" Jen asked sarcastically. "And you, why did you just assume it was mine?" Travis shrugged at that and was about to say something when you sighed, having had enough. You shut your eyes momentarily feeling the start of a headache coming.

"It’s mine, okay?" You blurted out and silence fell upon the group. Everyone’s eyes were on you but it was Kevin's you felt drilling into you. It wasn’t confusion like everyone else’s but rather concern. "So can we please just drop it and carry on with this reception." You pleaded. Jen nodded along with the others before they headed back into the main room. You didn’t follow them though but rather made your way outside, tears threatening to fall.

You knew without looking that Kevin followed you outside. He didn’t say anything and instead wrapped his arms around you, letting you cry into his chest. The two of you stood like that in silence until you ran out of tears and you stayed like that with your head on his chest.

"I’m not pregnant." You mumbled. Kevin was surprised momentarily that you spoke up, certain that he’d have to try and get you to speak. "It was a false positive."

"Why didn’t you tell me?" He asked carefully. You knew what he was asking so he didn’t need to elaborate.

"I- I was scared." You admitted. You moved so you were looking at him but still had your arms wrapped around his waist. "We didn’t talk about that night and I didn’t want to ruin our friendship."

Kevin nodded, taking a moment to think about how he wanted to say this. "That night wasn’t just a one time thing for me, Y/N. I hated that I had to leave the next day especially without talking to you about it. Then I called you and I was too much of a wimp to say anything because like you I was fucking scared. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship. Just know that I love you and have done since I first met you."

"I love you too, Kev." You said, leaning up to softly kiss him.

#kevin hayes imagine #kevin hayes x reader #kevin hayes #nhl imagine #nhl imagines

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curiousconch · 4 years ago

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Fight or Flight

Chapter 13 of Ricochet (An Open Heart AU)

Catch up here: Series Masterlist

Chapter Synopsis: Bryce and Heather both need to make major decisions as they face the final revelation about what truly transpired during Heather's kidnapping.

Pairing: Bryce Lahela x MC (Dr. Heather Song) ft. PLATONIC Ethan Ramsey

Words: 3.5k+ | Genre: Crime, Suspense/Thriller, Romance

Rating/Warnings: Mature (16+) / language, hints of violence

Author's Notes: So this took too long to write, and frankly, I'm still reeling with it. I have long planned the conclusion of this series but I am still shocked with how I came up with this final twist. I do hope you forgive me for sitting on this for far too long. Life wasn't making it easier.

Also, disclaimer: Majority of the characters are owned by Pixelberry, except the main character Heather Song.

"You can't go back to the case, Lahela."

Bryce pounded his fists on his oak desk in frustration. He just came out of a meeting from Chief Tanaka, requesting for him to be assigned back on the Farrugia case.

Victim - prosecutor relations. Possible disbarrment. Termination. To sum it all up, his career will be in jeopardy.

These are the looming threats over Bryce's head if he didn't back off the case. Not that he had much choice. Now that his and Heather's faces were plastered across every Boston online article from the gala.

He couldn't help but to think that someone planned to stop his involvement in the case. Probably because that person knows he's doomed once Bryce works his way to untangle the web of conspiracies that transpired.

Resolved, the ADA swears to himself to get to the bottom of it before he lets this go. Sitting down, his mind ventures to Heather, wishing that her day back to Edenbrook was going much smoother than his was.

***

Unfortunately, before noon, Heather found herself in a supply closet.

It was proving more difficult to go back to normalcy after everything that has happened. Patients recognize her from the news coverage. Doctors, nurses, even half the staff was treating her like something fragile. Even the usually grumpy attending that was her boss wasn't trying to get on her toes today.

For Heather, it was incredibly disorienting.

But the probable reason behind how everyone was acting weird around her was that early morning incident.

While taking on an emergency case, she froze up. The last time she did was during her intern year. And that was for an entirely different reason. This time, her head blanked out because she thought she saw Ed Farrugia in that gurney. The slithering snake of a man he was. She couldn't move her fingers, nor speak because of the mixed emotions of her imagined vision.

Edenbrook was where it all began.

Luckily, Dr. Naveen was around to sub for her.

And thus began her slow downturn, reaching the tipping point in this condemned supply closet.

Eyes closed and breathing slowly, Heather struggled to free herself from the suffocation she was feeling. She loved Edenbrook, she loved working here. But now, why does she only feel dread the first day she again set foot on it?

Beep beep.

The sound of her pager momentarily freed her from her prodding mind. It was Ethan. He wanted to see her at Chief Banerji's office. Sighing deeply, she fixed herself and got out of the closet, wondering what this meeting might be about.

An elevator trip and a couple of minutes later, she knocked on Naveen's door and let herself in. Ethan Ramsey was already inside.

"You asked for me?" Heather said, closing the door behind her.

Her mentor and grand-mentor exchanged looks of concern before straightening up.

"Grand-protégé, have a seat," Chief Naveen gestured towards the comfortable chairs in front of her desk, where Ethan already took a seat on one.

She obliged, taking the seat opposite her boss. Dr. Ramsey didn't take long to speak right after.

"We know you've been through a lot recently Dr. Song and we-"

"Please don't put this delicately, Ethan. I can't get anymore fragile," Heather spoke up, demanding for both doctors to tell it to her straight.

"Of course, Heather." Ethan coughed, before sitting up in a more commanding posture.

"Johns Hopkins have offered a long-term position to the Cancer research partnership we have with them," Naveen said. "We both think it's in the best interest of you and Edenbrook to take the opportunity, given that it's your target specialization and -"

"It's not in Boston." Heather finished the sentence for him.

"Yes," Ethan nodded. "We don't want your career to be overshadowed by what has been going on. You have a lot of potential, and this would make you a forerunner in the advancement of cancer research."

"It's frankly what you can call it, hitting two birds with one stone," the eldest of the doctors added.

"How long will it be?" Heather asked, weighing it all in.

"A year, a year and a half, at least." Ethan replied.

"And what of my position in the diagnostics team?"

"You'll stay on to consult remotely, but your responsibilities will be diminished given that we want you to spend more time on the cancer research."

Heather swallowed hard. They're putting me into self-imposed exile.

Sensing her hesitation, Ethan reached out to her and patted her arm.

"We only want what we think is best for you Heather, so please at least give this some thought."

She met her mentors' gaze and nodded at them, before rising to stand up.

"I will think about it," she said, leaving the office.

***

Pulling all the strings he had left, Bryce Lahela stepped foot into the mansion of Massachusetts' prolific senator. Isolated by house arrest, thinking about Ed Farrugia made the young ADA's skin crawl.

As he walked the carpeted floors into a receiving room, he couldn't help but notice the select macabre portraits that showed war scenes hanging on the stuffy walls. Says alot about its owner, that's for sure.

The double doors he entered in opened, and a tall imposing figure in unflattering maroon satin robes came in. He looked a bit older, yet, somehow, more formidable.

"Ah, ADA Lahela. I see you are not backing down?"

Bryce almost snorted at his arrogance, immediately sensing the pretend machismo in his foe's tone.

"We'll see about that, Senator," the prosecutor replied politely. Didn't want to cross the point of no return before I had the answers I wanted.

"So, what does the young and promising prosecutor want from a disgraced politician today?" Ed sat down on one of the most pretentious armchairs Bryce has ever seen in his life.

"The truth," Bryce smiled cheekily, standing opposite the other man, matching his bravado.

The senator's response was to lean back on the too comfortable chair, crossing his legs.

"Well ADA Lahela, are you certain you are ready for the truth? It may get closer to home, more than you will ever think," Farrugia replied, a sinister grin masking his features which suddenly made Bryce feel queasy.

I don't like where this is going. He thought to himself, staying quiet.

"I thought so," Ed Farrugia nodded, watching the lawyer's stoic facade slowly crumble. "But to hell with it, it's just going to be fun to watch how you had a hand on all of what happened to your precious Doctor Song."

The former senator snapped, and in came a butler that carried a tray. In the tray was a white envelope, and a tumbler of what Bryce smelled as scotch. The politico grabbed the glass and sipped the rich liquid, neither offering Bryce any nor pouring him another glass. Instead, he reached for the white envelope and raised it to Bryce's level.

"Recognize the handwriting, young man?" Ed Farrugia was now sneering at him, expectant.

As Bryce's sight slowly trailed the cursive handwriting, he sensed the familiarity of the strokes. Ed Farrugia's name was written, but there was something about the way it was written.

When his eyes fell on the top left side, he recognized the insignia almost immediately, the hairs at the back of his neck standing up.

There it was, the name he tried to get away from since his adolescent life. Lahela. The logo of his parents' godforsaken company that duped so many families.

Bryce can only freeze in place, as the horror of the realization that his parents somehow had a hand in all of the things that happened to Heather slowly dawned on him.

"Heather Song was the doctor that saved my ass, ADA Lahela, so of course I didn't have the motive to hurt her, you know. She prevented my assassination, and I'm not an ungrateful hypocrite," Ed Farrugia began to explain. "But Heather knows this... I am not to shy away from people who can give what I want, what I need, you understand of course? You're a smart young man."

"So in exchange of a generous donation to my campaign, I am to concoct a plan that will mutually be beneficial to me and my donors," Farrugia continued. "My donors wish to teach you a lesson, make sure that you do not forget where you came from, remind you that no matter where you go, once a Lahela, always a Lahela."

"That's why we went with a warning first, remember? Get out of Boston, or else," the senator shook his head. "Your parents didn't think she'd be a good influence to you. Frankly, an orphan with an absentee father? She'd set you up for failure. At least that was what your parents thought."

"And of course, I wanted to gain something more with it, might as well do the work right? I had my kidnapping staged, that dashcam footage you received? That's from me so that you can arrive at the scene before I get killed by that amateur wannabe Jordan. What's in it for me was public sympathy - as the survivor of a second assassination attempt. Public sympathy equals votes. As simple as that."

Ed stood then, and padded his way to the nearest open window, before looking back at Bryce.

"I used my own enemy, the Travis Brothers, to deflect suspicion, of course. I also a used a middle man, someone who already wants payback from Dr. Song, someone with motive... So Declan Nash worked for me, in exchange of leniency in his role on Panacea's medicare fraud." He smirked, satisfied with the grandiose of his plan. "My only mistake was that I underestimated that ungrateful piece of crap though. Who would have thought he had the brains to record me?" his fist connected on the windowsill, startling Bryce.

"So you see, young man, everything that happened, is on you. No one is to be blamed more than you. All because of your ambition to become something you are not. Something you will never be, be apart from your family name."

Stunned into silence, Bryce can only gape at the senator. The turmoil within though, was unparalleled.

The anger that was boiling in him in the revelation that all this time, his parents was the cause of so much misery. Bryce's heart was so quenched of the discovery that he hasn't completely escaped them, nor their relentless hunger for taking control of his life.

His fists clenched, wanting nothing but to smash every single thing in that wretched room. He didn't care anymore.

What right do they have after putting him in so much pain? What do they even want to achieve? Do they want to make him crawl back to them as if nothing happened? Do they want the same pretentious respect that so many others had just for their mercy?

How does he even begin to explain all of this to Heather? That everything that went downhill for her was because of the person she loved? How can she accept him now? How can she love him now?

And as if on queue, Bryce's phone began to ring. When he saw the caller ID, he almost dropped it.

It rang once again. And he knew he had to take it.

"Bryce? Can we meet?" The voice from the other line was firm, but fragile.

He tried to level his voice, not wanting to have her worried. At least not now.

"Sure, babe. Where do you want to go?" Bryce replied, walking out of the mansion that was sucking the life out of him.

"In that cafe, where I bought you coffee that first day we met. Do you remember where?"

Bryce sensed the urgency in Heather's voice. Has she found out? He hoped not.

"Okay, what time?"

"I was hoping now. If you're done working, that is."

He was done. No reason to delay the inevitable.

"Okay, I'll drive there now. I'll see you."

With a heart heavier than it has ever been in his entire life, he drove down to where it all began, praying so much that it wouldn't be a trip to full circle.

***

Heather nervously sat by the glass wall of the Cafe, in a quiet corner. She already ordered two caramel macchiatos, the same drinks she and Bryce had the first day they met.

She rehearsed what she was about to say in her head, hoping that repetition will make it less taunting. Once she sensed Bryce, she waved him to the table and stood up.

He instantly saw her, and the load he was bearing suddenly become a little lighter. But the guilt was still there. The guilt of being the person to have caused much misery in her life.

But years of practice of showing everyone else the facade of his unbreakable confidence helped him hide what he was truly feeling at the moment, and instead smiled at her.

Her beaming return smile proved to be almost too much.

He reached out to her and intertwined his fingers with hers, almost nudging the cup of coffee in front of him.

"Hey, you remembered," Bryce was touched.

"Of course, it's probably the only thing you ordered during those meetings." Heather chuckled, brushing his cheek with her knuckles.

Her chuckle was lackluster, not her usual one full of wit.

"What's going on, Heath? It can't be that you just missed me," Bryce asked, straight to the point, hoping to dodge her intuitive powers of observation.

She sensed the edge in his voice, making her eyebrow quirk. Heather discerned it was best to ask him first.

"No, Bryce. What's up?"

For the second time that day, Bryce was stunned into silence. Heather's sharp perception of him was unimaginably accurate. And he knew he'd explode if he didn't tell her.

So he did.

From the denial and threats of Chief Tanaka, to his prodding, which led him to the heavy weight of the truth of Senator Ed Farrugia's admission. He didn't spare any detail.

Heather listened intently, trying to comprehend exactly what he was saying. She saw the guilt in Bryce's eyes when he told her that his parents set the wheels in motion, apparently for some sick and twisted lesson he needed to learn, like he was still under their supervision, under their control.

The more she heard, the more overwhelmed she got. But she didn't let go of the grip she had on Bryce's hands, reassuring him that she's there to not judge, but only hear out what he learned of the unnerving truth. And to acknowledge the strength of Bryce's character to not hold out the truth to her.

That was what she loved about Bryce. He was never one to back down from the truth, when it mattered. At least that's the case with her.

She has spent half the day pondering about her own decision. She took Bryce's position into account but she didn't expect this other factor to come into play.

If she stayed in Boston, she'd stay with him. And he won't be able to help her case. She knew Bryce, and he'll be unnerved not to be able to personally oversee it. And with this new discovery, he'd want to all the more take this case. This was personal. And Bryce wasn't one to back down against it. She's going to hold her back.

If she left... Well, Bryce would be able to take on the case.

Either way, she'll lose him. And the mere thought of it pained Heather to the core.

Bryce noticed Heather's lack of reply, the contemplative look in her face made him sense something was about to go south.

"What if there's a way, Bryce?" Heather finally spoke. "What if there's a chance for you to fight all this? Would you take it?"

"Heath, I don't think I want to know where this is heading..." Bryce stared at her, confused.

"Answer me first, Lahela. If I give you an out where all those hurdles goes out of your way, will you go through with it?" The intensity with which her eyes bore into his was unparalleled, yet rendering him clueless.

It took him a few moments before answering. Everytime he asked himself the same question, the answer was never different.

"Yes, Heath. I'll fight this to make sure those bastards can do you no more harm." his answer was firm, but as to her way, he still had reservations.

She nodded, her heart screaming not to do this. But she had to do it, else, everything her and Bryce will have between them will be diminished to nothing but resentment and guilt. With him claiming responsibility for his own parents' actions, yet unable to do anything about it. And Heather resentment, because she can't guarantee that a day won't come that she'll blame him.

They can't be together. Not until this is all resolved, not until they can leave everything behind.

Laying it down the line, Heather had to choose. She had to choose for both of them, even if it will surely hurt them both.

"Do you trust me, Bryce? Do you trust us?" Heather was firmly holding his hands, determined.

He nodded, despite himself. He feared what she was about to say, so he held his breath.

"So be it, Bryce. I'll give you an out. I'll give you what I think you need now,"

Bryce was afraid to ask the next question in his mind, but he did anyway, fuelled by Heather’s fire.

"What's the cost, Heath?"

"I'm leaving for Baltimore, Bryce," she said quietly, biting her lower lip, clearly putting in an effort to hold back tears. "I hope two years is enough for you to fight everything alone, because you'll have to. We both have to fight this separately, it seems."

Bryce's blood ran cold. No, no, no, no fucking way.

Seeing the panic in his eyes, Heather soothed him by brushing her fingertips on the back of his hand, sadness beginning to creep into her expression.

"It's the only way, Bryce, it's the only way..." she repeated, as if to convince herself rather than him.

"No, Heather, I can't lose you, not this time, not ever." Bryce's voice was pleading with her, yet he knew, deep down, that she was right. That this seemed to be the only way to fight all the remaining battles of their lives.

"If we concede now, Bryce, it would only break us. If we avoid this now, it will eventually haunt us and we'll succumb to it. We'll just end up hurting each other." She struggled to reassure him, but she pressed on.

"This way, we're not bowing down. We stand more of a chance to overcome this if you'll fight this. If, we will fight this." She rose from her seat to take the chair beside him. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders, comforting him. "We're merely carving our own way around it. It's not going to be easy, but I know we'll overcome... Because you're one hell of a prosecutor, Lahela. You're the best and you know it."

"How come you're the one who's so brave about this?" Bryce stared back at her, tears brimming in the corner of his eyes, aware that this may be their end.

"Because I believe so much in you, Bryce. Because you can do so much for this world more than how your parents defined you. You are your own person, and nothing can ever take that away from you," she paused, brushing the hair away from the beautiful amber eyes that gazed down at her. "Most importantly, because I love you so, so much. And what I can give you now, the love I have now in me, is less than what you deserve. I want to heal, for myself Bryce. I want to be whole again, so that I can give my 100%. When all of this is over, I'll come find you, that's a promise."

Bryce couldn't help himself anymore and pressed his lips against hers with fervent passion, knowing that this will be the last time in a long time before he can find her in his arms like this. Agreeing to this course of action, they bid their goodbyes, never as uncertain as they were about the decision they just made.

In less than a week, Heather left for Johns Hopkins, bidding goodbye to everyone except Bryce. Hoping the moment she stepped inside the plane, life would give her this chance to start over, to completely heal, to become whole again. Because Bryce Lahela deserved more than the fraction of what she could give. He deserved everything of her, no inhibitions, no limits, no holding back.

Bryce watched her go from a distance. He watched her plane took off from the ground, all the while concocting a plan to defeat the shadows of his past lurking around so that he could be with her again. Freely, completely and irreversibly.

That day, two open hearts chose to fight. Fight for the things that hung over their head so that it was no more. But in their decision to fight, they lost the comfort of each other. They embarked on their separate paths with the promise of meeting again one day.

The path to the summit was often lonely. It is in their hopes however, that the moment they reach the end of this hard path they were in, they would no longer be alone anymore.

More than their willingness to overcome another hurdle in their way was their certainty to trust in each other, in the strength of their love for one another. In their endurance. In their hope.

For them, that was more than enough. It has to be enough.

Author's Notes 2: If you're reading this, I want to thank you so much for taking time to read this series. There's an epilogue in the final edits and I promise to tie the loose ends of this final chapter! Please do share your thoughts in the comments, I would really appreciate it!

Tags: @eleanorbloom @ejustlurkshere @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

#open heart #bryce lahela #open heart 2 #choices #choices fanfiction #open heart fanfiction #bryce lahela x mc #pixelberry #fics of the week #choices fic writers creations #play choices #open heart au

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lukecastellandeservedbetter · 4 years ago

Text

9. Exchange Rate

a/n: things be getting excitinggggg

read the others!: Masterlist

Luke had almost forgotten how ridiculous the counselor meetings looked.

It had been years since he had attended one personally, obviously, but it was still the same as he had remembered it. Same dingy pool table, same snacks, same weak lighting. A little more crowded, with all the new cabins, but still the same energy. A bunch of kids pretending to have a clue about the real world.

Although, it was sort of empty, at the same time. Nearly everyone who had been counselors prior to Luke leaving camp had died.

Katie. Beckendorf. Silena. Lee. All gone.

And it was all his fault.

Luke tore his thoughts away from that before he fell down a hole he already spent so much time trying to claw his way out of, and turned his attention to Butch, who was shoving pencils up Clovis’ nose, and to Travis who was sitting in the Hermes seat. Travis looked up at Luke and shot him a grin before going back to trying to light the ping pong ball on fire.

He shook his head with a small smile.

Some things never change.

“It’s good to see you at the table Luke,” Rachel commented. “I was wondering when he was going to start bringing you around.”

Luke studied the girl for a moment. She looked familiar, more than just the Oracle. Obviously he’d seen her around camp, and in the Big House and at the fires when he attended, but there was something that felt off, like he was missing something…

“Blue hairbrush.” He said suddenly, his hand flying up to his eye, as if remembering the stunningly painful memory of being hit with the plastic hairbrush.

Rachel looked surprised. “You remember that?”

“You hit me in the eye, of course I remember it.” He scoffed. “I thought you were a child of Apollo with that aim.”

“You’re not mad?” Rachel asked curiously.

“No, it was a great shot.” He shrugged, leaning back in his chair. “Plus I deserved it.”

“You did.” Rachel agreed with a grin.

“You deserved more than that.” Clarisse snapped.

Luke looked up at Clarisse, matching her eye level. “I know.” He said quietly.

Clarisse seemed surprised at the confession.

Luke glanced around the table again, at all the new faces, catching glimpses of the ghosts he made and moved to stand up, a little overwhelmed, when Rachel grabbed his arm and pulled him back down.

“Trust me.” She said as Chiron came in, calling for order.

He turned the floor over to Jason, who recalled the quest, Leo and Piper adding anything he missed.

“Hera was here?” Annabeth sat up, staring at Jason.

“Well I don’t trust her-”

“Smart.”

“But she’s also right. About the other camp. That’s where I come from.”

“Camp Jupiter.” Luke said, causing everyone to look at him.

“You knew?” Annabeth demanded, slamming her hands on the table, standing up and furious.

“Kind of.” He looked around at the group of demigods staring at him. “Look, I don’t know anything else.” He defended. “They were the ones that destroyed Mount Othrys.”

“Wait, hold up,” Travis spoke up, looking at Chiron. “I thought that it crumbled when we defeated the Titan Army?”

“No,” Jason was the one to answer, though he looked a little pained trying to remember details. “We were there. I took down the Titan Krios myself.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Annabeth was nearly in tears, yelling at Luke.

Luke flinched and looked down at the table. “Look, I don’t know anything, okay? When he… when he used my body, it was like I was trapped in water. Almost drowning but not quite. He needed me alive for a while longer.” He shifted uncomfortably- he hadn’t opened up to anyone about the experience before. “So I could sort of hear and see things that were happening, but not really. A lot of things are fuzzy, I can’t remember specific details about a lot of things that happened when he was using me.” He shifted again, chancing a look at Jason, who somehow seemed the safest option. “Camp Jupiter wasn’t an issue until the final battle. We had limited contact with Mount Othrys when the battle began, so he got a message at some point about other demigods that we hadn’t accounted for, but he didn’t care so he disregarded it. I didn’t catch any details.” His gaze found the table again.

The room was quiet for a minute.

“The Bay Area.” Annabeth muttered finally. “That’s why we were always told to stay away from San Francisco.” She turned her glare to Jason. “Where is it?”

“I don’t know.” Jason admitted. “But I do know it’s guarded by heavy magic. We could look for years and never find it.”

“But you’ll try, right?” Rachel looked relaxed, like this conversation didn’t hold any sort of weight for her.

She went over the plan. Flying to the other Camp. Then to Greece.

It sounded easier said than done.

Annabeth, of course, demanded she go with Jason, who happily complied with the request, reasoning if Jason was here…

Then Percy would be in Camp Jupiter.

Luke sat up a little straighter. Finally.

He remained quiet as the details for the plan were hammered out. The discussion skirted around whether the terms would be friendly between the Romans and Greeks. Eventually, the meeting was disbanded and Luke was left to sit there while everyone filed out.

“Luke,” Travis came over, resting a hand on his shoulder. “It was… brave. Talking about what it was like.” He told him quietly. “I’m proud to call you my brother.”

With that, he headed out the door, leaving Luke with a heavy heart.

“Hey,” Jason sat next to him.

“Hey,” Luke greeted.

Jason was quiet for a moment. “Did you know?” He asked softly. “About Thalia?”

Luke looked at him curiously. “I had my suspicions.” He admitted. “But she already hates me, I didn’t want to bring up hard memories.”

Jason nodded slowly and leaned back in his chair. “So it was you then? You were him?”

Luke kept his gaze on his hands. “You have to understand Jason, I never wanted a war.” He closed his eyes. “I just wanted it to be better. I don’t know. I know I went around it the wrong way. I don’t know.” His hand clenched into a fist. “I was young. Angry.” He paused. “And hurting.”

Jason nodded and observed Luke curiously. “I want you on the quest.”

Luke’s head shot up. “But Annabeth-”

“I’ll talk to Annabeth,” Jason promised. “But I want you on this quest. Maybe we can unlock some of the memories, maybe not. But from what I hear, you’re the best swordsman at this camp, and we could use the experience.”

Luke studied Jason carefully. “You sound like Percy.” He observed.

“Maybe Percy knows the worth of a second chance.” He shrugged and stood up, patting his shoulder. “Think about it?”

Luke nodded and let Jason head out of the meeting room, lost in thought.

And then he got up, and headed out to the Iris fountain to make a call to a very worried mother in New York City.

#Luke Castellan's Second Chance #luke castellan #Percy Jackson and the Olympians #percy jackson #Heroes of Olympus #hoo #pjo #Jason grace

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apoguecalledjj · 4 years ago

Text

Fixation (Chapter 2)

Series summary: Eleanor is new to the outer banks, and the pogues are quick to take her in. But so are the kooks, and as she grows closer with Rafe, trouble emerges. Trying to balance her relationship with the pogues and the kooks, as well as dealing with her own personal problems, Eleanor falls into a hole she may not be able to dig herself out of.

Chapter Word Count: 3447

Chapter Warnings: Drug use

Previous Parts: Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 5

Ellie had expected to spend her first night in the Outer Banks in her new bed at her uncle's house. Instead, she woke up in an unfamiliar room, an unfamiliar arm draped over her, completely naked with a pounding headache.

She could briefly remember the night before. Speaking with the pogues, going to get another drink, meeting Rafe, spending the night...

Shit. Spending the night. Ellie sat up abruptly, waking the boy laid next to her but that was the least of her worries. Her uncle had told her not to stay out late. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, she saw it was 9:17 AM. That definitely classified as late.

“Mhm. What’s wrong?” Rafe muttered sleepily, barely able to open his eyes. He lazily reached his arms out to wrap them around her waist, and that’s when Ellie remembered she was naked, hastily grabbing the sheets and wrapping them around her.

“I have to go home. Where are my clothes?” She glanced frantically around the room.

Rafe finally sat up next to her. “Was I really that bad?” He teased. He knew he wasn’t bad, both of them could remember the way she had screamed last night.

Ellie’s stomach rolled, and she prayed she wouldn’t throw up, at least not till she left Rafe’s house. The last thing she needed was to vomit all over his room. She stood up, finally spotting her shorts and top from the night before. Walking over to retrieve her cardigan, she noticed remnants of white powder on top of the desk.

Cocaine. Had she done it last night? No, she wasn’t that drunk. She would remember. A part of her screamed run, telling her to stay away from the boy behind her. Drugs were a bad idea, addiction ran in her family and she had spent the majority of her life avoiding them at all costs. But the other part of her wanted to stay. She enjoyed being with Rafe, she had a good time with him, and it was only cocaine. Nothing like meth, or the heroin her mother did.

It’s only coke, she finally decided. And it’s not like she was going to do it. She was just spending time with Rafe, who happened to do coke. No big deal.

Ellie pulled on the cardigan and turned to face him. He was still sat up in the bed, gazing at her with a small smile on his face. His hair was messy and fluffy, and she had to admit, it looked better than when it was slicked back.

“Enjoying the view?” His smile turned to a smirk, and she shook her head, chuckling.

“I have to go. Thanks for a great night!” She turned to open the door, but Rafe jumped out of bed.

“Wait!” Ellie turned back around, watching as he rushed to get dressed. “It’s raining. Let me drive you.”

He led her to his truck. “You said you’re staying with Travis right?” He asked, and she nodded.

There was silence for a couple minutes, then Rafe spoke again. “You shouldn’t be hanging with the pogues.”

Ellie, confused, furrowed her eyebrows. “Why? They seem nice.”

“They’re not. They’re dirty, good for nothing criminals. Always getting in trouble with the police and starting fights. How do you think I got this?” He pointed to a bruise on his jaw that she hadn’t noticed before.

She said nothing, instead just nodding and staring out the window. Rafe glanced at her and she smiled, trying to show him that what he had said didn’t bother her, even though it did. The pogues were really nice to her.

The rest of the ride was comfortably silent, the radio playing an unfamiliar song that Rafe hummed along to. He pulled into her driveway and shot her a quick smile. “So will I see you again?”

Ellie nodded. “Of course. Give me your number?”

He took her phone and added his number before driving off, and Ellie began the walk to her front door, dreading facing her uncle and aunt. She opened the door, immediately spotting her uncle sat on the couch in the living room.

“Did you have a good night?” He didn’t seem mad.

“Yeah I did, I’m sorry I didn’t get home last night I-”

He cut her off. “Was that Rafe Cameron that dropped you off? Good family, those Cameron’s are. I guess you spent the night with Sarah then? I forgot she was around your age.”

Ellie simply nodded, she hadn’t even had to lie, her uncle easily created a story for her.

“At first I was upset that you didn’t let me know you weren’t coming home but then I realized I never even gave you my number! What kind of guardian am I?” He chuckled and then rhymed off his number, and Ellie quickly added it to her phone.

“Thank you for being so understanding uncle Travis. I’m going to head upstairs to shower, I start work in an hour!”

Ellie rushed up the stairs, actually quite excited to start work and see her friends again. She felt bad for ditching them last night, but she had also felt uncomfortable around them, they easily fell into conversation with each other and she didn’t fit in. They all seemed preoccupied with their own things last night anyways, so hopefully, they wouldn’t mind.

As she showered, she couldn’t stop thinking about the way the pogues had looked at Rafe last night. And the things Rafe had mentioned on her way home this morning. Both groups seemed nice enough to her, and she didn’t understand why she couldn’t be friends with both.

She shook the thought, rinsing the shampoo out of her hair and moving to grab her loofah. The last thing she needed was to be late for her first day of work at The Wreck.

Ellie quickly got dressed. She grabbed an umbrella, planning to walk the short distance to the restaurant but her uncle stopped her. “You got your license?”

She nodded, she did have her license but could never afford a car. That’s one of the many reasons she was so eager to work: she wanted to be able to drive around.

He pulled out the keys to his truck and tossed them at her. “Here, might as well drive then.”

The trip to The Wreck was much quicker in the truck, and Ellie had missed driving. Pulling up to The Wreck, she noticed Kie’s car as well as the same van that had been there yesterday, so she assumed it was one of the guys.

Opening the door her theory was confirmed, Kiara was stood behind the counter and the three boys were stood next to her, talking. Kie noticed her first and waved her over, “Hey Ellie!”

She walked over, greeting the group with a smile. Kiara waved her behind the counter and passed her an apron. “There’s not much to do right now, so we're just talking.” She giggled and Ellie nodded, knowing how this job usually went anyways.

“Hey, where’d you go off to last night?” JJ asked her.

“Yeah, we saw you with Rafe.” John B added, and Ellie’s cheeks flushed red.

“Oh my god.” They all knew what the blush on her cheeks meant, but Pope was the first one to speak.

“Did you go home with him?” JJ asked. All four pairs of eyes were on her now and her eyes were wide, glancing back and forth between the four.

“Uh yeah? He seemed nice.” She didn’t understand the way the pogues were reacting, nor the way Rafe had reacted. It seemed silly and stupid.

“He’s definitely not nice. He and his fucking friends beat the shit out of us every second day.” John B explained.

“I’m a kook and even I say you should stay away from Rafe and his friends. He’s bad news.” Kie chipped in, the boys nodding along.

“Thanks, guys, I appreciate the concern, but he said the same thing about you guys.” Ellie just wanted the drama to stop.

“You have to believe us, Ellie. Rafe will say anything to keep you away from us. He’s not a good person.” Pope sounded serious, and the way he was staring at her freaked her out.

She nodded. “Okay, I’ll stay away from him.” She knew that wasn’t true, she had a great time with him the night before and wanted it to happen again. She just wanted the topic to change.

A couple walked into the restaurant and Kiara sighed, shooing the boys away from the counter. “That’s our cue,” She said to Ellie. “Time to get to work.”

John B glared at JJ as soon as the two girls walked away. “Bro if you keep acting like that she’s gonna notice somethings up.”

JJ was confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Clenching your jaw and glaring and all that shit. You look pissed.”

JJ sighed, he had hoped no one had noticed. “I really don’t like the idea of her sleeping with Rafe.”

Pope joined into the conversation. “JJ, dude, she’s her own person. She can make her own decisions. Why do you care so much anyway? We only met her yesterday.”

JJ bit his lip. “I know. She just seems really sweet, and I know Rafe is gonna hurt her. He always does.”

“Do you like Ellie?”

JJ’s eyes widened. “No! I don’t fall for people. One night, that’s it. Plus I don’t know her. Like you said, we only met her yesterday. Just don’t want to see her get hurt, is all.”

John B and Pope could both tell JJ felt something for the girl, even if it was just a little crush based mainly on physical attraction. But they both kept their mouths shut, instead waving Kie back over to order some food.

---

Once Ellie’s shift had ended, she drove to John B’s, punching the address into the GPS. Pope told it wouldn’t bring her straight to the house, but she’d be close enough to know where to go.

Kiara’s shift had ended an hour before hers, and she had invited Ellie to hang out with them at John B’s house, which they called The Chateau. She had happily agreed, excited to have plans and friends. She didn’t have that when she lived with her mom.

She finally found the house, if you could even call it that. It was more of a shack, with a rundown porch and a chicken coop off to the side. She could see her new friends sat on the front porch, and she parked and made her way to them.

“Holy shit. That your truck?” John B asked.

“Nope. Uncle Travis’s.”

“You park like shit,” JJ said, grinning at her parking job.

Kiara slapped him lightly. “Stop insulting our new friend!”

Ellie laughed at the banter. “Don’t worry, I know. I hate driving a truck. I’m used to a little car.”

It was still quite early in the day, as Ellie and Kiara both had short shifts, and it was a beautiful day, so they decided to go out in boat. The HMS Pogue, JJ explained to Ellie, blabbing on and on about their precious boat.

Once they were all situated, and John B was working on untying the rope, Ellie turned towards the others. “I have a confession. I’ve never been on a boat. Besides the ferry, obviously.”

“Hopefully you don’t get seasick then.” Pope giggled.

John B had untied the boat and started the engine. Ellie moved to sit down, but she was seconds too late as the boat lurched forward and she fell backward.

She waited for her butt to connect with the hard surface, squeezing her eyes shut to prepare herself for the pain, but it never came. Instead, she fell into someone, their arms wrapping tightly around her waist to steady her.

“Woah there!” JJ’s voice came from directly behind her, as he stepped back slightly to stop himself from stumbling over with her added weight.

The three other pogues laughed, and Ellie couldn’t stop the blush from spreading on her cheeks. “I told you guys I’d never been on a boat!”

JJ carefully lead her over so she could sit, his arm still wrapped tightly around her waist to make sure she wouldn’t fall again. Once she was finally settled down, he reluctantly removed his arm and shifted away, just slightly.

“Thank you,” Ellie said to JJ, sending him a smile that made his heart flutter.

He had never felt like that before. He wasn’t sure what it meant, but it scared him. JJ had only known Ellie for a day, yet she was causing butterflies in his stomach and his heart to beat faster.

Eventually, they decided to anchor the boat and go swimming. Ellie didn’t have her swimsuit on, so she decided to stay on the boat. John B offered to stay with her, assuring her that he didn’t really feel like swimming anyways.

“So,” He said as he sat next to her, taking JJ’s spot. “What brings you to the Outer Banks anyways?”

Ellie paused for a minute, thinking of what to say. She wanted to keep her story a secret, at least for a little bit longer. “There were some issues at home,” She finally said. “I needed a change.”

John B could tell that she didn’t want to get any further into it, so he changed the subject. “What do you think of it here so far?”

This was something Ellie didn’t mind talking about. “I love it here! It’s so different from West Virginia.” She smiled, glancing around at the water around here. “There are so many new things for me to experience. And so far, the people are super nice. Although, I haven’t met many.

“I think I’d like to learn how to surf, but I’m not a great swimmer, so I’m not sure how that would go. Can just barely keep my head above my water.” She laughed.

John B grinned. “We all love surfing. But JJ’s definitely the best. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind teaching you!”

Ellie glanced at JJ in the water, and couldn’t help but blush once again. She couldn’t deny that he was attractive, and being alone with him on the beach might not be such a bad idea.

John B noticed her stare and teased her, “Checking him out now are we?”

She playfully shoved him. “Shut up!”

Ellie loved how comfortable she felt with John B. He was easy to get along with and she enjoyed talking to him. It felt like they had been friends forever, they quickly fell into conversation and before she knew it the pogues were climbing back on the boat.

John B immediately told JJ about the fact that Ellie wanted to learn how to surf, and he agreed to teach her right away. It was an excuse for him to get to be alone with her, to get to know her a little better.

JJ couldn’t help but stare at Ellie as they made their way back to land. She was beautiful, he admired the way her hair fell on her shoulders, how her eyes glistened in the sunlight, the way she smiled while Pope was talking and laughed when Kie teased him.

Ellie’s phone chimed and she picked it up, reading the text. It was from Rafe, asking her if she was busy, and if she wanted to come over again later. She quickly responded yes, smiling as she thought about seeing the boy again.

JJ didn’t miss the way she smiled at her phone, or how her eyes lit up. He quickly looked away, not wanting to think about who made her smile like that. She probably had a boyfriend. For the rest of the ride, JJ was silent. He shouldn’t feel like this anyways. He hardly knew her. And even though he had never felt like this before, he brushed it off, convincing himself that she was just another girl he wanted to fuck.

---

Ellie made her way to Rafe’s house for the second night in a row. She told her uncle she was spending the night at Sarah’s again. She had apologized profusely, feeling bad that she hadn’t spent more than an hour in her new home, but her uncle insisted it was fine, he was just happy she was making friends.

Except she didn’t have a clue who this Sarah girl she was ‘staying with’ even was.

Ellie walked up to the front door of Rafe’s house (which was much bigger than her uncles) and knocked. A blonde girl around her age opened the door and smiled at her. “You must be Ellie. Ready for our sleepover?”

Ellie frowned, looking at the girl. “Sorry?”

The girl burst out laughing. “I’m Sarah. I saw your uncle Travis at the store earlier and he mentioned you spending the night with me last night... Of course, I don’t seem to remember that but I went along with him anyway, don’t worry.”

Ellie looked down sheepishly, she hadn’t expected to get caught in her lie. Sarah continued, “I assume you’ve been spending time with my brother. It’s all good, I don’t mind covering for you. Come in.”

Ellie stopped to talk to Sarah, she didn’t want to seem rude by running away, especially since the girl was helping her out. She was extremely nice, and they even made plans to hang out sometime.

She eventually made her way to Rafe’s room, knocking lightly on the door. “Come in!” Pushing open the door, she saw Rafe sat at his desk, lines of white powder present in front of him.

He wiped his nose. “Sorry. I wasn’t expecting you for another 15 minutes.”

Ellie sat on his bed. “It’s okay,” She said quietly, eyeing the substance. It’s not like she hadn’t seen it before, but it intrigued her. She thought back to this morning when she had first seen the signs that Rafe was a drug user.

He bent down, snorting another line. She watched closely, impressed with how effortless he made it. Ellie had never even smoked weed, terrified of falling in her mother’s footsteps. But Rafe made this look so cool, like it wasn’t even a big deal.

And maybe it wasn’t. Everyone had done coke a the parties she used to go to, treating it as nothing more than a sip of alcohol. Of course, no one had ever offered her any, knowing the story of her family. The story that Rafe didn’t know.

He noticed her staring. “Want a bump?”

She hesitated, knowing she shouldn’t. One line was all it would take. But Rafe was staring at her, a small smirk on his face, one line of powder left on the table. The look in his eye told her that he didn’t expect her to do it though, and she had to prove him wrong, she just had to. Plus, one line wouldn’t hurt.

Ellie had seen her mom, seen what drug abuse turned into. She wouldn’t let that happen to her. A little bit of cocaine would hardly have an effect, she convinced herself, even though she knew that wasn’t true.

But she had a point to prove, and Ellie’s spitefulness wouldn’t let her say no. She knew she was younger than Rafe, and she didn’t want him to think of her as a frightened little girl. She had to prove herself to him.

She promised herself she would only do it once as she walked over to the desk and snatched the rolled bill from his hand, leaning down to the surface. As she breathed in, her nose burned slightly, the drug irritating her nostrils. Ellie stood back up, feeling slightly dizzy as she wobbled a bit.

Rafe reached out to grab her, pulling her down so she was sitting in his lap. “First time?” He asked as he reached around to brush the remains of the coke off her nose. She sniffled slightly, her nose already starting to run.

Ellie nodded, leaning back into his chest. Her head felt fuzzy, similar to alcohol, but not the same, and she found herself loving the feeling. It was better than alcohol had ever made her feel, and she wanted more, forgetting about the promise she had made herself. Her hand slightly trembled as she grabbed Rafe’s, gently rubbing his thumb.

He turned her slightly, leaning in to press his lips to hers. His pupils were dilated and slightly bloodshot, and she knew hers would probably soon be the same. He slipped his tongue in her mouth, moving his hand down to squeeze her ass.

He pulled back. “Want to go to the bed?”

She glanced back at the desk and the small baggie before shaking her head. “Let’s do another line first.”

Taglist: @prejudic3 @margaritatimebaybee

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not-from-the-absence-of-violence · 4 years ago

Text

All of you a verb in perfect view.

"When you move

I'm put to mind of all that I wanna be

When you move

I could never define all that you are to me"

~Movement, Hozier.

Gable, Travis and Margaret dance and very literal magic occurs.

Margaret was pointedly not counseling them. After the whole Dref ordeal she had punctuated in no uncertain terms she was not working.

It was just so that them and Travis were in the same room, and that Margaret was there, with her chair half in front of the door having a distinct “I won’t let you leave until you talk” air about her.

This had become somewhat common, she was just there as an impartial mediator for when they crossed lines. She seemed to enjoy it. She was looking between them with obvious amusement as they both did not look at eachother.

Travis particularly was staring at a fixed point on the wall and shuffling his cards. The effect of him ignoring them was lessened by his legs propped up on their lap.

Gable was pretending to read a book, their hand laid lightly upon Travis’ ankle, occasionally catching Margarets gaze and going back to their book.

“This isn’t a competition you know,” Margaret said, “you aren’t winning or anything.”

“Speak for yourself, I think I’m winning spectacularly.” Travis said, randomly pulling out a card of his deck, pulling the union and quickly shuffling the cards again.

Margaret rolled her eyes.

“I am not here to force you to talk,” she said plainly, “you are welcome to ignore each other how long you want. I am just here so you don’t start a fight again, since that seems to be the only way you resolve tension.”

She had a point. They had recently told her what exactly had happened in Nordia and she was still incredulous at their incapability of conflict resolution.

Gable could hear Travis’ small petulant “we kissed too, you know.” but even he knew that wasn’t that great of an argument.

Gable sighed. They wanted to talk, but they weren’t sure how to anymore. Nordia had very much felt like the climax of something and they had no clue how to continue.

They reimagined their fight. The rain pouring down on them; Travis’ hurt look on his face; the actual fighting. It had been like a dance.

“I have an idea,” they said, standing up suddenly and almost making Travis fall over.

“That doesn’t happen often.” Travis muttered, ever so helpful.

Margaret just had a single raised eyebrow.

“Yes, Gable?” she asked.

“It’s about learning to be comfortable with each other right?”, Gable said. Margaret at least was interested where this was going.

“You could put it that way.” she said.

“What if we danced?”

Gable made direct eye contact with Travis, who had a brief moment of several emotions passing his face before he went back to his disinterested smirk.

Gable had their own things around dancing, the way they always fell into the familiar steps of battle. The rigidity of the dances they still remembered they had done before body or time meant anything.

But that’s exactly why this might help.

“I don’t think they even know how to dance.” Travis said to Margaret, but he was standing up nevertheless.

They stood in front of each other somewhat awkwardly, because as much as they hated to admit it, Travis had a point. Aside from an austere angelic version of a waltz and drunk moving around to music in a bar, Gable had no clue how this worked.

But they noticed in Travis’ hesitation to put his arms around them. Neither did Travis.

Margaret was laughing at them a little. They must look like unsure teenagers in their first ever dance.

She came in between them, her arms crossed but she couldn’t fight the smile on her face.

“You two have never danced together before.” she stated and shook her head a bit.

“Well I mean-”

“There was one time in that bar-”

“You were rather drunk-”

“Oh, you should have seen yourself-”

“There was that ball, then.”

“The heist?”

“I would hardly call it a heist, Gable, you killed everyone if I recall correctly.”

“They were red feathers though.”

“I am not saying you were wrong to kill them, I am just saying we didn’t dance.”

“Alright, that's enough,” Margaret said and took them both by the hand. “I’ll teach you a dance from my hometown, easy to do with three.”

She did, it started with spinning together in a circle, holding hands, some careful back and forth steps and then what should’ve been really easy spins and claps. The sort of dance you would dance in a festival, switching dance partners around and clapping along to music.

Gable picked it up surprisingly quickly, Travis not so much, but even then they all fell into a relaxed rhythm as they attempted to master it. All of them only laughing a little bit when Travis tripped over his own feet.

Margaret was a very kind teacher and soon they were all looking at each other with delight as they swayed.

The size difference was a little bit comical, but it also meant Gable was able to spin them very easily.

They spinned Margaret first, gently and easily, she giggled, and Gable felt the magic filling the room.

Travis was looking at them almost a little breathless, this was going to be fun.

“Feeling left out Matagot?” Margaret said coyly.

He huffed, but didn’t complain when Gable twirled him and by the time he stopped spinning he was fighting a genuine smile.

“I guess you aren’t too bad at this, Gable.” he said, taking their and Margaret's hands again and spinning them in a circle again.

It felt like flying, their heart racing and power in the room giving them a pleasant buzz. The soft candle light and the stars visible outside made the scene almost idyllic. There was softness in the moment and all of them felt more relaxed than they had in a good while.

They went on for a bit, reveling in the intimacy, half-stumbling over each other's feet. Occasionally slowing down to lean against each other and catch their breath. They all felt the magic flowing through them like electricity. Although it would take them a while to see the coil of magic forming around them.

Occasionally one of them would attempt to duck under the arms of the other two, laughing as Gable failed to do so, unbeknownst to them tangling the strings of magic around them further.

It was only when Gable tried to twirl Travis again and he tripped over what seemed like tripwire and Gable was only just able to catch him, ending up practically dipping him, that the dance came to a stop and they all noticed the spell they had weaved together.

Gable couldn’t quite see the string, but they felt it tangled around them, they felt the emotion pulsating through it. It was a little like the strings that tied them up in Nordia, if less pressing this time. But it still left all three of them interlaced in the middle of the room.

“Oh dear,” Margaret said, she was looking at the strings around them “You two make quite powerful magic, it seems I may have let it run a little loose as it were.”

Gable had by now helped Travis up properly but was unable still to move away from him.

“You are saying we accidentally wove a spell.” Travis said, properly exasperated.

Gable felt the wave of fondness that didn’t quite make it into his voice. Travis Matagot was an interesting man to be emotionally tethered to.

Margaret shrugged.

“I don’t know if i would call it a spell perse, but yes essentially.”

“Can you stop it?” Gable asked, as the idea of fully feeling everything Travis was feeling -and vice versa- was a scary thought.

“Yes, but I have to be careful we shouldn’t-”

She didn’t get further than that Travis plucked one of the strings in an attempt to wrestle out of their embrace.

A wave of more than 200 years of concentrated emotion fell over Gable like ice cold water after a warm bath.

it was something like the feeling of needing someone so badly it aches, accompanied by brief flashes of something like memory.

“I need your help,” said in a thousand different ways.

The smell of summer rain.

Gable holding Travis’ hand running from someone, both of them almost bursting into giggles.

A hushed whisper Gable didn’t quite catch in the middle of the night.

It wasn’t too bad, but it was incredibly overwhelming, Gable gasped for air.

Underneath there was the calming presence of Margaret, her composed emotions in the spell, her gentle hand in their hand.

Like the beacon of a lighthouse Gable thought distantly.

Travis pupils were wide and he was shaking ever so slightly.

“As I was saying,” Margaret said now a little softer, “we shouldn’t just yank at the strings.”

“Got it.” Travis said a little like he had been punched in the gut.

“We are going to try and retrace our steps so as to not disturb them too much, and if needed I’ll help you untangle some of these,” she made direct eye contact with Travis, “Gently.”

“Yes, yes fine I get it .”

They set to work, it was like the string games Jonnit had tried to teach Gable.

Step over this string, now twirl Margaret counter clockwise, now carefully under a bridge made by their hands.

Occasionally one of them would brush against a string, unlocking a series of weirdly specific hard to pinpoint emotions and memories each time.

A party neither of them wanted to go to that they both begrudgingly enjoyed.

A long forgotten inside joke.

The feeling of drowning. Together.

Margaret guided them through the steps, occasionally stopping, reminding them to breathe. Gently grounding both of them, like an anchor to reality.

Guilt and grief so intertwined up in each other neither of them knew which bits were their own.

The shaky exhale of fond annoyance.

Let me take care of you (implied but never said).

So many broken and unbroken promises.

None of them spoke, Gable could feel Travis’ hand gripping theirs fiercely. Margaret gave them an encouraging smile.

“Halfway there.” she said, squeezing their hand softly.

The surprise when the other asks if they can come with, because shouldn’t it be obvious by now?

“You won’t get rid of me that easily”

Waking up to an empty room.

The coppery taste of blood.

Kisses- desperate, sweet, while crying, while laughing, on the forehead, in the inside of the palm, on the cheek-

Travis had teared up by now, and Gable felt their knees buckling a bit, Margaret’s energy was somehow still serene.

“Let's take a bit of a break.” she said.

“Are you alright?” Travis asked her, in a smaller, shakier voice than Gable had ever heard from him.

“Don’t worry Travis,” she said, “this is my job and I am really rather good at it.”

They can all feel her but I am proud of you for asking echoing through the remaining threads of magic.

Gable took a big breath and nodded, adjusting their grip on Travis' hand, and Margaret got to work on the next knott.

Going back to a town decades later and realising the square where you danced hasn’t changed at all.

The anger of loving someone that is so recklessly self destructive.

The helplessness of not being able to comfort each other.

A drink that people haven’t made in over a century.

The oppressive smell of a forest.

They are getting the hang of this, Travis’ confident smirk is returning to his face and Gable gets the urge to roll their eyes at him.

Like it has always been.

fire, destruction, justice.

“I hope we both die” and meaning it.

The feeling of tears into the crook of your neck.

A shared look no one else will get.

The sound of rain pattering outside a quiet room.

“How long do you think this will take us Margaret,” Travis said, “This won't be as easy if I am a snake you know.”

Gable lightly poked him, gave him a familiar look that very clearly meant: behave.

“We should be done before daybreak Travis,” she said, the emotions were clearly starting to wear a little on her, she still had a challenging smile however, “as long as you don’t whine that is.”

Travis rolled his eyes, the bastard.

A chord with indescribable melanchancholy tied to it.

Lashing out. Feeling guilty. Feeling attacked, too vulnerable. repeat.

Laughing so hard your ribs hurt.

So many hugs, while saying goodbye, while fearing death, while celebrating victories, to annoy the other.

They had arrived at the last bit of string. Gable was glad it was over but didn’t regret it; this tedious work was probably still easier than explaining any of these things out loud.

Margaret plucked the last knotted thread.

“This one’s strong,” she warned “then it’s over.”

She pulled it loose.

Love, love so big it felt like religion, not quite want not quite need not quite anything.

Quiet mornings with almost too vulnerable looks that you can’t bring yourself to acknowledge.

Raw emotion, I care about you, I don’t want to live in a world you are not in, I am better with you, what would I be without you?

Please don’t leave me, please don’t stay.

A constant melody you no longer know how to live without.

Hands stretched out, just about to grab each other but not quite, not yet.

It aches to see you happy, it hurts to see you suffering.

I have you and that’s the only thing that’s never changed, that I have never lost.

They all collapse into the nearest fainting couch. Gable kindly doesn’t comment on Travis flopping on top of them, exhausted. Processing more emotions than he allowed himself to feel in years.

Margaret looks at them from some distance. She also looks tired and Gable makes an inviting gesture.

Margaret sits next to them but leans practically into their lap. She mumbles something about how now she really isn’t going to work and she will add this to their bill into their chest, Travis mumbles something that might be a quip back.

They just lie there for a while, a half-asleep Travis in their lap and Margaret idly playing with their hands next to them. It’s a pleasant tiredness, like they achieved something at least.

They bashfully kiss the top of Travis head. He stirs a bit raising his head with a sleepy smile

“Gee Gable,” he says, probably more earnestly than he intends “didn’t know you cared.”

He gets cut off by his own yawn, lying his head onto their chest again, trying to get some sleep in before dawn.

Margaret huffs a quiet laugh, wrapping Gable’s arm around herself tucking herself into their side.

“He is incorrigible.” She says and Gable isn’t sure if she really sounds that fond or if it's the remnants of magic in the air.

Gable shakes their head, looking unashamedly adoring at both of them.

“You should also try to get some sleep, Margaret.”

She murmurs what might be a quiet thank you before dozing off as well.

They’ll all have to talk about all of it tomorrow, what it means, what they are, the emotions and memories. Travis will transform, there will be problems to solve, things to do.

For now they can be intertwined, and Gable can hold them as they sleep.

They don’t really need to sleep a lot, so they can enjoy the warmth, the calmness of their rhythmic breathing and the familiar sounds of the Uhuru.

They close their eyes and hold on to this moment and finally, they too, drop off

#campaign podcast #skyjacks #gable skyjacks #travis matagot #margaret skyjacks #trable #yes i am posting the whole thing on tumblr ñafdskj #my writing

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stories-for-sell · 4 years ago

Text

When the bell for lunch rang, Aaron moved to quickly leave the classroom, only to find himself blocked by Balto.

"Outta my way." He growled, trying to slip past him, just to be blocked again. A low warning growl started up, rumbling in the back of his throat.

Balto stood his ground, red eyes staring into black ones. "So, is it actually true? You of all people are dating Alejera?"

"Does it matter? Leave him alone, Balto, our relationship is none of your business."

Aaron snarled at him, walking away, roughly bumping into his shoulder on purpose as he left the classroom. Walking down the hall, he noticed out of the corner of his eyes, kids moving out of his way and whispering, catching snippets of conversations, piecing together what the looks were about.

“Do you think he’s in the Shadow Knights now?”

“-as making out in the bathroom!”

“-jera and Lycan!”

“Balto wasn’t the onl-!”

The comments followed him all the way to the lunch room, where he sat down next to Aphmau, groaning in annoyance. The girl looked up at him, waiting to hear what was annoying him; but as he opened his mouth, a pair of arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him back against someone, who dropped their chin onto his head. Instantly, people around them hushed for a couple seconds before picking up where they left off in their conversation.

Gene grinned down at Aaron, fake sweetness in his voice as he spoke. “Hey baby~ How was class, boring I bet.” He said calmly, like this was a normal thing he did everyday,

Aphmau stared at the two of them, shocked confusion on her face as he lifted a hand, pointing at them and trying to find the words to express what was on her mind.

“What’s wrong Kitty? Jealous that I’m with Aaron and you aren’t?”

Aaron elbowed Gene in the ribs as a warning to watch his mouth and remember their deal, smirking in satisfaction as he heard the soft grunt of pain escape Gene. Turning to look at Aphmau, he gave her a sympathetic look and mouthed ‘Just go with it, please.’ Receiving a nod, he then turned, arms looping around Gene’s waist and yanking him, harder than necessary, half on the seat and half on his lap. He couldn’t help the smirk forming on his face when Gene let out a surprised squeak, tanned face darkening with an embarrassed blush.

“D-Did ya miss me, Puppy~” He asked, trying to regain control of the situation.

“Rule 2, Gene.. Don’t call me puppy or I’ll rip your insides out.~” Aaron snarled gently into his ear, just loud enough for Gene to hear him.

A shudder went down the teen’s spine when the low, dangerous toned voice spoke in his ear, hot breath ruffling his hair. It took a lot in him not to let out a soft whimper, to keep himself from giving in and losing the game they were playing.

The rest of the day consisted of Gene and Aaron bumping into each other, occasionally being somewhat touchy with each other when people were looking. When the final bell rang, Aaron quickly exited the school building and turned to the student parking lot, something catching his attention.

Balto was just visible around the corner, and from the way he was standing, he had someone pinned against the wall. Now usually, Aaron would ignore this, but something in his gut said to save the poor kid who was with Balto. So, he set off swiftly for him, and when he turned the corner and saw who was pinned against the wall, his heart skipped a beat, nearly stopping all together. He took in the scene before him, breath catching in his throat, bile threatening to come up.

Blood soaked the wall behind the poor kid, who looked like they’d just been beaten within centimeters of life. Eyes were dull and gazing at nothing in particular, clothes hung in tatters. There were bite marks crossing all over one arm, but not deep enough for werewolf saliva to get in and turn them, thankfully. His hair hung over his face, shielding the guy’s identity from anyone but Balto. Neither seemed to realize Aaron was there as the wolf reared back, before throwing his fist forward, a loud cracking noise echoing through the parking lot, a nose definitely being broken.

The pained cry sent shivers down Aaron’s spine as the boy began to actually struggle with the little energy and strength he had left, and when he squirmed, his hair fell out of his face, and dull blue eyes caught sight of Aaron, red ones following suite as he nearly bolted with a figurative tail between his legs. But he was stuck, turned to stone as he stared at the mess of a kid Balto had created, and in his mind flashed images of what might happen if he didn’t help.

‘Gene, bruised, bloodied, and damaged, looked up weakly at him, eyes glazed over, cheeks glistening from tears. His uniform was torn to shreds, and Aaron could see blood soaking the undershirt from a nasty wound on his stomach. Balto, shocked at seeing Aaron, let go of Gene, and the world seemed to slow as they watched his body drop to the ground, a pained cough escaping him, blood dripping from his mouth and busted lip. His nose was swollen and broken, eyes already turning black, cheek bruised.

‘Aaron did not recall much of what happens next, only that Balto was in desperate need of a doctor. He sighed, still furious from the sight he saw, driving down the road and turning onto his street, adjusting the rear view mirror of his truck to make sure the teen laying, soaking his seats with blood, in the backseat was still semi-conscious. Which was a no.

‘Him pulled into the drive, relieved to see that his parents weren’t home, which meant he only had to get past Melissa. Stopping the truck and turning it off, he quickly hopped out and opened the back seat door, reaching in to pick Gene up. Doing a quick sweep of the nearby houses and spotting no one, he makes his way to the front door, unlocking it carefully and pushing it open, carrying Gene inside and kicking the door shut. So far so good, but his luck decided to run out very quickly, as Melissa walked into the foyer, opening her mouth to say something before stopping, mouth agape, eyes wide, staring at the unconscious man in her younger brother’s arms.

‘“Aaron.. What did you do!?” She exclaimed, rushing over to take the boy and start patching him up.

‘This resulted in the two basically playing tug-of-war with Gene’s body, jostling the poor boy and hurting him. Eventually they managed to set him on the couch, and were now standing in the nearby open kitchen, arguing about what to do.

‘“You beat a kid nearly to death!”

‘“It wasn’t me, Melissa.. It was the werewolf Alpha at our school, Balto.. He’s been trying to get to Gene for ages.”

‘“We need to patch him up, and make sure he’s ok.. Do you still have a first aid kit in the truck?”

‘“No.. I used the rest of it after I got into a fight.. And I think the ones in here aren’t fully stocked…”

‘“Tengo un botiquín de primeros auxilios en mi auto…” A voice piped up, making both Lycan kids turn to stare at the speaker.

‘Gene looked at them, sitting up slightly, looking disoriented as he gave them a slight goofy grin.

‘“I’m sorry.. What? I’m fluent in Spanish.” Melissa said calmly, taking control of the situation for her brother.

‘“Solo soy fluido porque soy parte latino… Mi papá era latino, mamá era estadounidense. Dante se parecía a mamá.”

‘“I’ve no idea what he’s saying…” Aaron mumbled, waving his hand to get Gene’s attention. “Do you remember what happened?”

‘“Uhh ... Lobo loco estaba enojado porque yo no ... salir con él

??? No recuerdo exactamente.”

‘“.. In English?”

‘“Uhh... Mad wolf was angry cause I wouldn't..date.. him??? I don't remember exactly. Ughhh, my head hurts, Aaron.. What happened.. Everything hurts…. Fuck.. Lycan.. I think I need a hospital... ” His eyes travelled downwards to look at the blood soaked shirt he wore, eyes widening at all the blood; it was strange, for him to seem so calm when he’s bleeding to death on Aaron Lycan’s couch..

‘Melissa sighed, running off to search for a first aid kit, while Aaron walked over to Gene.

‘“Can I have your phone.. Or your mother’s phone number? Or even Dante’s number.”

‘“Simplemente no coquetees con Dante.” He mumbled, slipping out of consciousness once more after handing his phone over and unlocking it for Aaron.’

Aphmau’s scream of horror is what jarred him from the imaginary scenario that had felt like hours long, yet seemed to be only seconds. Balto bolted from the scene as her and her two.. Not-alone buddies?? came running towards them, while Aaron caught Gene as he fell to the ground, pulling him against his chest.

“Holy cow!! What pissed Balto off so much!?” Travis asked, watching Vylad and Aphmau help Aaron lift Gene back up onto his feet again.

“I don’t know.. But he needs a hospital.. Come on, call your parents, let them know why you might be late getting home, but I can’t take him by myself.” Aaron told them, starting off in the direction of his truck and watching the other three scurry after him, Aphmau staying close as she helped support Gene.

They got him into the truck, stretched out in the back seat, head in Aphmau’s lap. Vylad in the other seat, using his over shirt to apply pressure to the bleeding. All of them listened to the soft groans and whines that escaped the barely conscious Latino as he tried squirming away from their grips.

In a spur of intelligence, Travis leaned around in the passenger seat, grabbing Gene’s abandoned backpack Vylad had been smart enough to grab and dug through it, pulling out a phone protected in a dark blue case that had a photo pasted over it of himself and Dante. He handed it over to Aaron after unlocking it and opening emergency contacts… all of which were in spanish.

“We need to call a family member.. Maybe his mom?”

“Gene’s mom is probably at dance practice, waiting for him.. So why not Dante?” Aphmau suggested, ignoring the confused look Vylad shot her.

“I need Google Translate..” Aaron grumbled, looking through the contacts and clicking on the one that was, thankfully, labelled ‘Hermanito(Dante)’. He held it to his ear listening to it ring before a female voice answered the phone, speaking in Spanish, assuming it was her son.

“Eugene .. ¿Está todo bien? Dante está en la ducha.”

“I don’t speak spanish ma’am..”

Silence, before she spoke again, English thank Irene this time, voice turning even more concerned than it originally was.

“What happened to mi hijo?” She asked, waiting for a response, Aaron panicking, unsure of what to tell her. His throat turned dry, closing up, bile once again threatening to come up as the image of Gene torn to shreds flashed in front of his eyes.

Aphmau, seeing his panic, stole the phone from Aaron, putting it on speaker phone.

“Hello Mrs. Alejera.. It’s Aphmau.. Uhm.. Gene was.. We’re on our way to the hospital.. He’s not looking very good.”

“I’m on my way… Aphmau.. Save my son. Please.. We can’t lose him too.”

With that, she hung, apologizing to her dance instructor before speeding to grab all of her stuff.

The drive to the hospital felt like hours, but couldn’t have been longer than 30 minutes at the most. They stopped the car, carefully hoisting Gene, who was now more conscious than earlier. And a lot more expressive of his pain. They were lucky they had Aphmau, who could at least understand what he was saying.

The doctors instantly got him onto a stretcher and began questioning the teens who had brought him in, wondering if they could provide answers as to who did this, where he was found, how much blood was lost.

Saving them from silence as they tried to answer was the sound of a familiar blue-haired flirt bursting through the front doors, demanding to see his older brother. It took Aaron and some doctors to hold Dante back from running into the halls. Behind him, a poor young-looking woman entered the room, rushing to Dante to contain her youngest son from causing commotion. One look at her made it obvious that Gene got his well… genes.. from his father, who was nowhere to be seen.

Seeing the mother of their patient, a nurse made a beeline towards her, gently pulling her to the side to speak, Dante following now and squeezing his mother’s hand in comfort.

The news wasn’t good.. Gene had to have immediate surgery and blood transfer because of the amount he lost. He was basically sitting on Death's stoop, as if deciding whether to walk through the door or not, clinging to the thread of life. If they had waited any longer to bring him here, there wouldn’t be any chance of saving him.

Balto was expelled from the school the following day after police came with the news that Aaron and the others had told them, and was put in jail until they decided on a sentence that would suit him. Gene wasn’t in school for an entire month, and no one involved was allowed to disclose information about what happened and where he was. Not even to Zenix and Sasha. When he finally returned, in the last stages of recovery, no one, not even Dante, knew he was gonna be at school that day, until he walked into the lunch room, effectively silencing the entire school, looking around, and heading straight for Aaron, sitting next to him and leaning on his shoulder. For, during his recovery, Aaron helped him along every step of the way and the two had grown rather close, Aaron was even planned to be in the courtroom for Baloto’s sentencing, since he witnessed part of the attack, and was the one who had driven him to the hospital. But in the end, he was still his pretend boyfriend, right?

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pucksnsticksnhockeyboys · 5 years ago

Text

answers

prompt: “Stay with me, please. Just a minute longer.” / number 17 off of this list with Carter Hart.

summary: when Carter leaves you guessing about how he feels about you, you take matters into your own hands to get answers.

warnings: swearing, angst

word count: 2.1k

requests are currently open!

Sometimes, it really sucked being friends with Philadelphia’s very own Carter Hart. He was confusing and sometimes you didn’t know whether or not even he knew what he wanted.

Firstly, you weren't exactly just friends with him. You had a rather flirty relationship and spent a majority of your free time together so you felt like the two of you were just a bit more than friendly. Always touching, cuddling on the couch, and just all around doing relationship stuff without the actual title. The other guys on the team noticed it, and they would make jokes, calling you his girlfriend. Hearing the term made you happy, but Carter would dismiss them immediately you were left wondering just why you had let your hopes get so high. You desperately wanted something more from him.

You scheduled your evenings around him, and if you didn’t have a class or a project you needed to finish for school, you would find yourself watching the Flyers play. Even if Carter wasn't playing, he wanted you there, and because you would’ve given him the world, you went.

You sighed, rolling your shoulders as you stood up. You were two hours into cramming for a test and you could feel it in your muscles what staying in the same position for so long was doing to you. As if he could sense your movement, there was a knock on your door and before you could even reply, Carter was in your apartment having used the spare key you gave him.

“At least you knocked.” You sighed, grinning despite your mocking tone. Carter rolled his eyes, but pulled you into a hug nonetheless. You hide your blush, you headed into the kitchen to get a glass of water.

“Shouldn't have given me a key if you didn't want me here whenever I wanted.” Carter mocked, and you spotted from the corner of your eye as he flopped down onto the couch. You weren't actually annoyed, but you enjoyed giving him a hard time.

“It’s for emergencies, Carter.” You explained, walking back into your living room. “Like, you’re pretty sure I’ve died because I didn't answer your pre-game phone call.” On away games when he doesn't get to see you before the team plays, he would call you. He claimed that your voice stabilized him and let him focus. You had received hell from not only him, but also half the team, when you had missed his call once and they lost. TK said everyone was so upset because you messed with a goaltender’s superstitions, and that was apparently a big no-no. Since then, you made it a point to call him first if you weren’t sure you’d be available pre-game.

“This is an emergency. I wanted cuddles.” He teased and although you readily agreed, your mind wandered back to what you had been thinking about before he arrived. With your head tucked under his chin and his arms wrapped around you, you thought about how easy it would be for you to just kiss him. No matter how physically affectionate the two of you were, neither had crossed that line—of course, cheeks, foreheads, and fingers weren’t out of bounds, leaning you further confused on just what the rules were to this game you seemed to be playing.

It almost made you angry, all the back and forth. You put your romantic life on hold once you met Carter, holding out hope that maybe some of your feelings were returned. You were pretty sure that he hadn't been seeing anyone else, so you wondered just what was holding him back.

“What are we?” You were so caught up in your thoughts that you didn't even register the question as coming from you until you felt him tense underneath you. As much as you wanted answers from him, you hated confrontation.

“What do you mean?” He started cautiously and you decided it was too late to back out now. Your confusion was out in the open, so you had to address it instead of letting it simmer until it was the only thing you could focus on. You scooted out of his hold, putting a little distance between the two of you. If you were going to have this awkward conversation with him, then you needed to be focused and just his touch had you feeling lightheaded.

You needed answers. And you wanted them now.

“I mean, we’re not just friends, right?” As you spoke, you focused your gaze on anything but him. After he didn't reply for a moment, you cracked, glancing to him to try and gauge a reaction. Your heart clenched when you realized he wasn't even looking at you, instead studying his hands with a conflicted look.

He was thinking of a way to let you down easy.

“So we are just friends.” You spoke, swallowing thickly was the words tasted bitter on your tongue. Your face burned red, you didn't know if it was from embarrassment or anger at yourself for your closest friendship. You put a little more distance between yourself and Carter, watching for the first time as his head snapped up and he finally met your gaze. The look of pure pity in his eyes made you want to throw up, and you had to look away. “I think... I think you should leave.”

He didn't even say anything. He just got up and left. You heard him hesitate by the door, turning back to give you one final look but you couldn't bring yourself to meet his parting gaze. And then he was gone. And you were left with the mounting thoughts about the friendship that just walked out the door with him.

Three days later and you were still throwing yourself a pity party. Your days were all the same, you’d wake up, force yourself to eat, go to class, go home, and order takeout. You felt pathetic, you were acting as if you had broken up with your boyfriend when it had been made very clear that was not what you were. He hadn't even tried texting you, and that night he even played a game without your doing your ritual. You had thought that maybe he would reach out to you for that, but the game came and went and Carter let four goals fly by him. The Flyers had lost, and no matter how poorly things had ended between you and Carter, you still cared for him and wanted to comfort him.

When your phone started ringing at half past one in the morning, the name that flashed on the screen was really the last one you had expected.

“Nolan?” You started, rubbing your eyes in a desperate attempt to wake you up. When you were still close with Carter, he had introduced you to some of the guys on the team, and you had become friends with Nolan and TK in particular.

“Shit, were you sleeping?” There was a slight slur to his words, and you assumed the boys had gone to a bar after their loss. That probably meant Carter was with him.

“Are you good?” You pushed away the ache in your heart and ignored his question when you heard Travis yelling in the background. There was some shuffling on the line, and you heard Nolan whisper a ‘fuck’ before he responded.

“Can you come pick up Carter?” Your eyes widened but before you could interject, he continued. “Please? He’s a mess without you.” Your chest hurt at the thought of Carter being upset, and as you were making up your mind on what to do, there was more shuffling on the line and unintelligible yelling. During this, you had climbed out of bed and started to throw on a pair of leggings and a sweatshirt. As you pulled the material over your head, a new voice joined the conversation.

“He keeps asking for you. He’s like a sad little puppy.” Travis spoke, and you pictured Nolan and Travis fighting for the phone while Carter sat on the curb, outside a bar, pouting. Which was exactly what was happening. Though the phone, you heard Carter ask if it was you that TK was talking to, and when he received confirmation that it was you, a soft ‘she hates me’ fell past his lips. His words had you stilling, leaving you with a sneaker that was half on.

“I don't hate him.” You told Travis, who relayed the message. You didn’t hear Carter’s reaction because you told the boys you would be there in fifteen and hung up promptly after that.

The bar was probably twenty minutes from your apartment, but in your desperation to get to the boys, to get Carter, you cut five minutes off your journey. When you rolled up in front of the bar, all three were waiting for you. You avoided Carter’s gaze as he climbed into your car, and you made sure Nolan and TK had a ride home. They were already climbing into their Uber, though, and suddenly you were left with the boy you had yet to talk to since you asked him to leave.

You turned the radio on to fill the silence in the car. You were positive things had never been so awkward between you and Carter and it felt so unnatural. But that had been when you thought that maybe there could be something more between the two of you.

On the elevator ride up to your apartment you concluded that he wasn’t that drunk. just enough so that he wasn't in control of what he said, which was probably why he had asked for you to come get him. When you were finally inside your apartment, it became obvious that Travis had been right by calling him a sad puppy. He definitely looked the part as he sat on your couch, unable to meet your eyes and a noticeable pout on his lips.

“M’sorry you had to come get me.” He apologized and you couldn't help but make your way over to him. It broke your heart that that was the first thing he has said to you in days.

“Don’t be.” You sighed. Oh how you wished to go back in time and slap yourself for even thinking about confronting him with your feelings. Things were awkward now, and you didn't want them to be. Suddenly, it felt too stifling to be there with him as you remembered how embarrassed you had been after he left your apartment last time. You stood up, ready to get him extra blankets to use when his hand grabbed your wrist. Silently, you cursed his hockey reflexes.

“Stay with me, please. Just a minute longer.” Your lips parted in shock momentarily as you heard the hurt in his voice. You nodded, sitting back onto the couch. He let go of your wrist, only to slide his hand down to interlocking your fingers.

How did he manage to make you this confused on how he felt?

“I was scared. Still am.” Carter’s confession made you furrow your brows. You didn't know what he was talking about—or what could have possibly scared him. “Of losing you, I mean.”

“You’re not going to lose me.” You assured him, studying his face incase this was all a dream and you were going to wake up any minute. Though, with the amount of stress he’s been putting you under as of late, it was more like a nightmare.

“I was afraid that if we put a label on us, that I would somehow fuck it up and you’d leave.” He explained, using his free hand to push his hair back. You squeezed the hand that was joined with his as a way of reminding him that you were there. “And then I still fucked up by not putting a label on us.”

“Carter, I just wanted to know how you felt. And then you didn't say anything so I thought I ruined things by reading too much into it and—” Your rambling was cut off when Carter surged forward, pressing his lips to yours. Your free hand shot up to cup his jaw, making it so he couldn't pull away until you were ready.

“Sorry I was so confusing.” He mumbled, nose pressed against your cheek as he couldn't bring himself to pull away any further. This drew a laugh from you, and you kept giggling as he poked your side.

“Sorry I kicked you out of my apartment the other day.” This time, it was Carter’s turn to chuckle. “Though, you still haven’t put a label on us.”

“I thought I made it obvious I did?” His response to your tease had your brows tugging together in thought. He just apologized for being confusion, so you were pretty sure he was being vague on purpose. Though, you never know with him.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

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