#another cashier broke a glass bottle and i somehow cut the back of my hand and accidentally got it on my jeans cleaning it up

[problematicsashawaybright]

number of blood stains on my work jeans as of today: 3

[drumboydowoon]

Woof Woof | Stray Kids Au

Chapter One / Misunderstandings in Kinkshaming

Werewolf!Chan au

Warnings / swearing, kink and sex mention, this isn’t smut I promise, mature themes

Words / 4k+

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Working at the convenience corner store wasn’t the most ideal place to be, but what else is a broke college student to do? So the only thing you can do is suck it up and deal with another unpleasant night of boredom. 

Nothing exciting happened, only what you would expect to happen in an almost unknown store. The customers would avoid any kind of small talk, so they could get out of there and on with their lives. 

There were a few exceptions, however. Every once in a while, some drunk or other douche waltzed into the store for more booze and a phone number from the very unlucky cashier, which happened to be you. Of course, you’ve had to tell them off and from time to time, threatened to call management if they continued to harass you. Adventures in working the evening to night shift were always a joy. 

The only highlight of your night was when two of your favorite idiots walked in. Suddenly the room lit up and it became a party. A very sad pity party of three. 

Once they’ve come through the sliding doors, the sensors ring throughout the building. You greet them with a small smile and wave of your hand. Jisung was the first to wave back happily (and a little too enthusiastically). Minho stuck with something more simple and opted for a quick glance and smile of his own. 

Usually they only come in for snacks and other “boy’s night in” necessities. But every once in a while, they come for some things that are very… odd. At least for college boys that never go out and do anything. It seemed normal at first, but the more it happened, the more you began to question it.

Each month, the two of them would stride in and grab one of the carrying baskets. Completely normal. Watching them head straight for the freezer section and then proceed to struggle to pack their basket full of meat was a little weird, though. Afterwards, Minho strayed away from Jisung to come back with some cheap doggy bowls, which you didn’t even know you had in stock. And to bring their shopping trip to a conclusion, they both came to the cash register by slamming two cases of water bottles onto the counter, along with their basket that’s nearly overfilled.

“Doing weird shit again tonight, boys?” you ask as you begin the long process of scanning their seemingly endless items. 

Jisung chuckles and scratches the nape of his neck, “Well, you know how grandma is… She just always craves a good steak and gallons of water to wash it down,” he answers with his smart ass attitude. 

“Alright, little red riding hood. Make sure you tell ‘grandma’ hello for me, or should I say the big bad wolf?,” there’s a sarcastic tone in your voice, but you end with a small laugh anyways. 

Every time you dared to ask what they were doing with these things, they managed to come up with some ridiculous answer (or excuse) that somehow amused you. Of course it would only increase your curiosity about what they were actually up to every one day in the month, though. You can only wait for the day that they finally tell you what they're doing. 

Jisung momentarily chokes, “I-I’m sorry wolf--?”

Minho elbows the side of his friend and clears his own throat, “That’s just some silly fairy tale,” he rolls his eyes, “Jisung just has some really weird relatives,” he jokes. His voice is a little darker than before, “Trust me, you don’t want to meet them.” A shudder is sent down your spine. Sure his words seem lighthearted, but something in his tone makes you believe that he really means it. 

Jisung nods and agrees, “Yeah, my family’s just-- Hey, wait!”, he cuts himself off as he realizes he’s being insulted. Laughing at the both of them, you finish scanning the rest of their things and ring up their total.

Minho glares at Jisung, then looks back to you. Minho pulls out his wallet and hands over the amount that was due while his murderous intent was still focused on his poor Jisung. You wondered what he could’ve done wrong to earn the wrath of the older boy, but it’s best you don’t interfere. After that, he quickly gathers the heavy plastic bags and makes Jisung carry the water cases. 

“We have to get going now,” he announces just when he’s about to start walking away. But Minho pauses for a moment in thought. He takes a few steps back and glances at you with a coy smile, “Hey, do you maybe want to hang out sometime soon?” he asks.

The request catches you off guard at first. Mr. brooding and quiet, actually asking you to hang out? Unheard of. “Uhm… sure,” you respond a little awkwardly and unsure. It’s not like you didn’t want to, you’re just surprised is all. Not only that, it was also strange since you’re literally going to see him and everyone else later tonight. 

Jisung snorts loudly as Minho shyly averts his gaze (most likely internalizing the cringe). “Okay, nice… ” Minho blurted out before rushing out with a laughing Jisung in tow, who was sure to face the death penalty as soon as they were out of eyesight. Poor poor Jisung. 

“See you later!” you call out to them, but the sliding glass door already slid closed by the time you were able to fully get your words out. Sighing deeply, you shrug your shoulders in indifference. They’ll see you later at the house. Then maybe you can ask about their activities and what was up with the weird farewell. 

For now, all you can do is wait for the time to pass by and pray you don’t lose your mind. 

--------

By the time your shift ended, the sun was already going down. Letting out a long tired breath of air, you look at the time and wonder if you should really stop by Felix’s, or if you should go back to the dorms and give him the notes he missed in the morning. 

You silently debated in your head as you grabbed your backpack from the break room and proceeded to head out to the back of the building, where your bike was locked up. One thought, two thoughts, three thoughts...

It’s decided a moment later that you would ride over to Felix’s place. It’s not like you had anything better to do on a Friday night, anyways. It wasn’t ideal to pedal all the way to the house considering that he and his friend’s live quite a distance away. But if you’re lucky (and if he values your friendship) he’ll let you stay the night. And in the morning, perhaps he can convince his oldest roommate to drive you home. 

After unlocking your bike, you begin riding off towards Felix’s house. Before you took off, you texted him, telling him that you were on your way, but he never responded. Maybe he was doing something at the time, which isn't a big deal. He knows that you’re coming over anyways. 

Even if he doesn’t answer, one of his roommates is bound to be home. He lives with three other guys that hardly ever go out. Jisung and Minho moved into the almost mansion sized house at the beginning of the year. One day, out of the blue, they decided not to live in the student housing anymore. Instead, they wanted to live with Felix and their sugar daddy, Chan, who lets them stay by barely paying for anything. 

Chan is the oldest roommate, who you’re the least close with and hardly know whatsoever. He’s also the owner of the house they all live in. He’s nice enough, but you’ve only spoken with him a handful of times. Sometimes it feels like he avoids you, but you try not to let it bother you too much. You have the other three boys to keep you company when you’re over.

You didn’t even realize that you were lost in your thoughts at first. It’s just that the bike ride was taking so long, that you had nothing better to do. Pedaling for over an hour was exhausting, but since you’ve done it nearly everyday, you were used to it by now.

Before long, you could see the gates that lead to the property the house is on. Each time you saw the fenced off private property, you couldn’t help but be in awe of it. In short, the area is huge. So huge that you can’t even see the house yet because you still have to go through their forested front yard that was a mile long, before you actually reached the house. How anyone could afford such a massive place that was also gorgeous, was beyond you. 

It took a couple of minutes until you finally made it to the house’s driveway. The first thing you can recognize is Chan’s beat up car sadly parked in front of the garage. Then your gaze drifts to the unidentified motorcycle sitting next to the van. As you can recall, no one here owned a two wheel vehicle, except for Felix’s red bicycle that’s been thrown haphazardly thrown into the bushes. 

After walking up to the door, you knock, then wait… then wait… and wait some more.  You knock again, this time louder.... There’s still no response. It’s a little strange. Clearly someone’s in the house. Everyone looks like their home and there’s lights on.

Sighing, you tap your foot impatiently. Finally you decide to look in the flower pot that sat alone next to the door. There the spare house key was found, that was supposed to be used in emergencies. This isn’t necessarily an emergency, but if no one’s home and Felix made you ride your bike all the way to Nowhereville, then you’re going to be seriously pissed off. In that case, you’re leaving a very harshly worded note. 

As you unlock the door and enter the house, you notice that it’s eerily dark in the front room, which is unusual since the boys are almost always still awake lazing around on the couches. You quietly click the door shut and slowly move through the unlit room and towards the stairs where the lit up bedrooms were.

About to walk up the stairs, you’re stopped in your tracks as you begin to hear a strange noise. At first, you think you hear someone, who sounds almost exactly like Minho, telling someone, who also sounds almost exactly like Jisung, to shut up very loudly.

Following shortly after, there’s something that sounds somewhat like a rumbling, or perhaps it’s a growl. You’re pretty sure the boys don’t own any pets. It must be the darkness and the quiet messing with your mind. Maybe it’s the boys and they’re playing video games or something. 

It sounds like the voices are coming from the basement, so you step down from the stairs you were previously about to walk up, and head to the basement door by the kitchen. Once the door opens, you take one step down and call out, “Hello? Anyone home?” Then you take another step down and the staircase creaks along with it. 

It must have caught someone’s attention because in an instant there’s shoes thudding hastily towards you. Soon the familiar head of lightly dyed orange hair belonging to none other than Han Jisung, rounds the corner of the staircase. As soon as his eyes lock on you from below, he’s jumping in surprise. His face is pale and his forehead is covered in sweat, so his hair looks messily matted. Your heart beats a little faster at the sight. Him looking scared for some unknown reason, was making your own anxiety peek around the corner.

Jisung’s sudden appearance makes you pause and stare at him. Before you could even say a word or take another step forward, Jisung rushes up to you, making you flinch back at the unexpected movement. His arms spread out to either side of the walls to completely block you off. 

Out of breath, he chuckles nervously, “H-hey there, Y/n! When did you get here??” his voice is jittery. It’s suspicious. 

You furrow your brows at his behavior. “Hey..? Just got here… Is everything okay down there?” you ask, trying to find a way past him. There’s worry lacing itself into your words. Something doesn’t seem right. 

Jisung’s voice cracks, “Yeah, everything’s fine here! Why wouldn’t it be?” He’s too quick to answer. His gaze keeps wandering from you and hastily down the stairs, even though you can’t see anything from here.

“Jisung...” you warn in a stern voice. It’s clear that he’s hiding something from you. He’s not exactly the best at lying, unfortunately for him. 

“Y/n…” he says back in a mocking tone that makes you frown at him.

Then another odd sound resounds in the room and up the stairs. Even when listening closely, it’s difficult to precisely make out what it is. It almost sounds like a person, but it almost doesn’t at the same time. The noise is deep and rumbling, like before when you first heard it in the front room. 

The gutturaling shoots a strange sense throughout your body. Suddenly your chest pounds more than when you first entered. There’s unease going through your mind. You wonder if it’s actually a good idea to go downstairs. But then there’s a throaty whimper that follows shortly after, which affirms your determination to see what it is making the noise. 

“Alright let me through,” you demand, trying to push past Jisung, however each time you try to advance, he moves to block you from going any further. You scoff at his childish behavior, “It sounds like someone is hurt. Get out of my way.” 

“I can’t let you do that,” he struggles to say as he tries to fight against you. 

“Get out of the way,” you repeat, attempting to pull his arms down and out of the way. 

“No!”

Finally, you overpower him and push his arms out of your way. Roughly, you shove past him. You descend down the steps quickly before Jisung can make another effort to stop you. 

Jisung hurriedly follows after you. Alas, his attempts proved fruitless when he realized that you already reached the bottom of the stairs before he could get to you. Though he couldn’t stop you from getting past him, he could try to save your innocent eyes before it was too late as a last effort. 

Seconds before you can even glimpse at the scene, Jisung hurries to cover your vision with his hands. Like when he tried to stop you from going downstairs, he failed to keep your eyes covered for long. Immediately you shrug his hold off of you and give him a disappointing frown.

Once you’re able to see what’s in front of you, it takes you a couple of moments to fully process it. After blinking once, then twice, you almost wished that Jisung still was protecting your vision. This was just flat out disturbing. 

First there’s Felix to the left, then Chan to the right. A little further away, sat a long dark haired boy that you couldn’t identify yet. Metal chains wrapped around their wrists and connected to the concrete wall behind them. With each pull from one of the boys, the chains rattled and clicked against each other. They pulled against the chains as if they were trying to escape, but it was impossible. 

Each one of them looked utterly exhausted as sweat dripped off of them and onto the cold grey floor. Dark bags were formed under their eyes as far as you could tell. You were mostly basing this off of seeing Chan’s face and part of Felix’s downturned gaze. The third member was unreadable since his head hung low and his hair covered most of his expression. But overall, they look like shit. 

Their eyes… looking closely you slowly begin to realize that they don’t look normal. Chan’s usual dark brown eyes were no longer there, and were instead replaced with a shade that surely wasn’t normal. They were the brightest yellow you’ve ever seen before. It’s almost like they were glowing in the barely lit room. The little golden glow reminded you of the stars, and nearly captivated you. 

What snaps you out of your trance is steel smacking down onto the ground. When you search for the source, you see Minho standing in the corner of the room. Had he always been standing there, or were you too busy trying to process what was in front of you to realize that he was there? 

Looking down, you notice one of the doggy bowls he purchased earlier. The contents spill out of the bowl while the bowl continues to settle down. The meat flops onto the floor and stains the concrete beneath it. It smells raw and appears raw. 

Looking back to Minho now, you see his expression. He looks like he’s just seen a ghost, and that ghost happens to be you. His jaw drops as he stammers to say something, anything. It must’ve been an illusion right? Minho was sure that he was just imagining you and that you’re not actually here right now. There’s no way that you’re currently witnessing the secret that they’ve all been trying to keep from you and the rest of the world, right? Nope, no way. Impossible.

He blinks once more. You’re still standing there. He’s freaking out, Jisung’s freaking out, and you’re about to start freaking out yourself. Everyone’s freaking out. So before you can fully freak out, Minho hurryingly marches up to you, “Y/n, it… it’s not what it looks like. I can explain. I-”

“You guys are into some freaky shit…” you breathe out in a barely audible whisper. You continue to stare on at the scene. It hardly registers in your mind the chained up boys are snarling and staring right back at you now. 

Minho keeps rambling excuses, but he pauses once he hears you. He backtracks, “I’m sorry, what?” He glances at Jisung momentarily. In return, the younger boy just shrugs tensely. 

This time you stare at Minho with a blank expression, “I said you guys are into some freaky shit… If this is some sex dungeon, it’s really fucked up…” you inform him. You swallow anxiously. 

Both Minho and Jisung look at each other, then back to you. Standing directly in front of you now, Minho blocks your view from the three chained up boys. He places his hands on your shoulders tightly. He’s ready to explain a few things then make you go back upstairs until they can get everything sorted out. 

You had different plans, however. Instead of listening to what he had to say, you pushed Minho’s arms off of you. It was your god given right to blow up over what’s in front of you. Sweat drips down your forehead and each breath comes out uneven. Your heart accelerates in, not only fear, but pure, untampered rage as well. 

“What the hell is all of this?!” you screech in his face unintentionally, which immediately panics both parties standing around you. You were so calm before, so your sudden explosion took them by surprise. 

Jisung is quick to hush, “Y/n, be quiet, please…!” he raspingly mumbles. He continues to eye both you and the three boys warily. The rattling metal from the wall becomes slightly more frequent and louder. 

You being in such a frenzied state, did not listen of course.

Instead your voice is louder than before, “What is this?!” you repeat, “Is this really some weird freaky sex dungeon?!” you question angrily, confused, and among other things. 

You glance to wearily three behind Minho. It was hard to believe what you were seeing. You kept praying that you somehow got hit by a car on your way over, and now you’re having some weird coma dream that you would wake up from soon. The nerves and adrenaline felt too real to be a dream, though. 

“Like who’s into chaining people to the wall and making them eat raw meat from a doggy bowl?!” you throw your hands up as you gesture to the knocked over bowl on the ground, “ A goddamn doggy bowl!” you throw your hands up as you gesture towards the spilled over bowl on the ground. 

A low growl interrupts your interrogation. It come from Chan, who, might you add, didn’t look right in the mind at all. Before, you never noticed it, but now that you were eyes were jumping around the room, you finally see it. There’s a pill bottle sitting on a table over on the other side of the room. 

Your eyes widen as you suddenly come to a conclusion, “Oh my god…” you gasp in shock, then look between Minho and Jisung, “Did you drug them?” it comes out as more of a shocked whisper than your previous shouts. 

Did you just walk right into the middle of a crime? Two of your closest friends, drugging people are dragging them to the basement for whatever weird sick purposes… was unbelievable. But you couldn’t deny the sight in front of you.

There’s a much longer rant lingering at the back of your throat, but Minho places a hand over your mouth before a peep gets out. A harsh glare is etched on his face as he tells you to shut up. Your immediate reaction is to shove his hand off of you, but the look he is giving you tells you that it’s best not to. 

He lifts a finger up to his lips and wordlessly quiets you. After a moment, Minho cautiously removes his hand off your lips and sighs. “Listen, I know this looks really bad, but I can explain everything. I just need you to calm down,” he tells you “And, as for you,” he pointedly says as he gives Jisung a harsh glare, “I can’t believe you just let her come down here!”

“Hey, it’s not my fault that Y/n showed up out of the blue! She’s the one who almost pushed me down the stairs to get here!” Jisung defends himself. 

“You could’ve at least tried a little harder! I mean how hard is it to--”

A loud metal snap from behind Minho is what interrupts him next. Suddenly, the room becomes completely silent with the exception of the low growling that is heard throughout the room. Immediately, your gaze fixes itself on the source of the noise and what, or rather who, it was coming from. 

You nervously look and see exactly who it’s coming from, and it didn’t even really look like him anymore. There, Felix stands, with the chains that were previously secured on his wrists, now broken off in half. How is that possible? That’s what you want to know.

Many times, you’ve seen Felix when he was in a bad mood. He didn’t look nice then, and he certainly doesn’t look any nicer now. The only difference between then and now is the fact that your best friend looks absolutely terrifying. The cold sweat runs down your back as he breathes in and out heavily. The atmosphere becomes thick and heavy. It’s getting harder to breathe properly. 

There’s a hunger in his unnaturally golden glowing eyes, one that you’ve never seen before in another person. It’s nearly animalistic how ready he looks to pounce on one of you. This isn’t the Felix you know. This isn’t your Felix, your goofy friend, who makes you laugh at the dumbest things. This is some kind of beast standing before you.

Besides you, Jisung is tense and shaking so much that you can almost hear his teeth clattering. In front of you, Minho is frozen solid. It takes him a moment to build up the courage to look behind him. He slowly cranes his neck in Felix's direction, who stands not too far behind him. He gulps anxiously. Then he turns back to you with his grip much tighter than before. 

“Don’t. Move…” he mouths to both of you shakily. Everything is silent. The only sound is the rugged breathing that hangs in the air.

[ourooboroos]

something in the way you look at me

Summary: Even though so many of Magnus’s texts (clean texts, too, not innuendos or dirty talk or anything -- just kind, friendly texts) had Alec blushing, Alec couldn’t wait to see him again. He was positive he would make a fool of himself, that’s just how he operated, but regardless, he wanted to see Magnus again. That brief time in the bookstore had not been enough. Not enough to get to know each other, obviously, and not nearly enough to appreciate Magnus’s carefully styled hair, inimitable style, and easy grace. 

So Alec asked him out.  Read on my AO3 or under the cut!

I don't know how or why I feel different in your eyes -Christian Bautista, "Missing Piece"

It wasn’t like Alec had a bad childhood.

He was safe; he never questioned where his next meal would come from, or whether he would have a bed to sleep in at night. His parents provided him with toys and three siblings and every opportunity he could ask for, like guitar lessons, carpools to swim practice, and a laptop when he went away to college. Even his adopted brother, Jace, couldn’t say the same about all of these things until the Lightwood family took him in at age ten. It’s not like Alec had any misconceptions about how lucky and privileged he was.

But he did sometimes feel like something was missing. He just didn’t know what.

*

Alec was 20 when he met Magnus.

The campus bookstore was crowded; it made sense, it was two days before classes started and students were piling in to buy necessary texts. Alec was working the register, a bit tired due to the early start to his shift, and had just handed change back to a nice blonde girl when a man stepped forward. He was just a few inches shorter than Alec’s impressive 6’3” and dressed to kill in a silky-looking deep red button down shirt and tight black pants. Necklaces draped across his neck and hid under his collar and he placed two large history books on the counter. Alec saw painted nails and various rings glinting under the fluorescent lights above them. He scanned the books’ barcodes with a gulp.

“Buying or renting?” he managed, chancing a glance at the man and immediately regretting it. His face burned as deep brown eyes lined in kohl stare back at him, a smirk playing on the man’s lips.

“Renting.”

“That’s 145 dollars.” He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and handed him a credit card. After completing the transaction, the other man signing a receipt, Alec handed him his books, ignoring the way their fingers brushed. “Good luck,” he said.

The other man’s eyes crinkled in a smile. “You, too.”

Alec tried to be subtle as he watched him walk away, his hips swaying this way and that with his books clutched in his arms, but when he looked towards the next customer in front of him he found her staring with raised eyebrows. Oops.

Smiling sheepishly, he quickly grabbed the man’s receipt to put away when he noticed something -- on the bottom, written in curvy script, was Magnus followed by ten numbers -- and he could feel his face flushing as he quietly set it aside to deal with later.

He grinned at the next customer in line. “Buying or renting?”

*

That night, as Izzy was cooking dinner (Alec told her she didn’t have to, and secretly he would’ve preferred if she didn’t, but she never listened), Alec stared at his phone. He had entered Magnus’s number at the end of his shift before putting the receipt back in its place, but he wasn’t sure what to do now. And he was realizing that whether he and Magnus talk at all is all in his control, and wasn’t that frightening? He’d never made the first move -- or, he guessed, second move, since Magnus had given him his number after all -- especially not on a guy as attractive as Magnus.

“Dinner’s ready!” Izzy’s voice echoed through their open kitchen and living area, startling Alec out of his thoughts. Before he could think about it any longer, he quickly tapped out Hey, it’s the cashier from the bookstore. I hope it’s alright that I’m texting and sent it to Magnus in the hopes that Izzy’s disaster of a dinner would distract him from waiting for a text back.

It turned out not even Izzy could ruin Stouffer’s premade lasagna and a simple salad, and Alec’s phone vibrated in his pocket in the middle of the meal.

*

Alec hadn’t come to the realization that he was gay all at once. It wasn’t like there was some earth-shattering moment where he suddenly just knew. It was more like he experienced a lot of little moments that added up to this inevitable realization.

The one that stood out to him the most was the time he took the chance in 11th grade to audition for the school musical. It was completely unlike him, and to be completely honest, he only did it because Andrew Underhill always auditioned and always got a leading role. Andrew Underhill was cute. And he was the only openly gay student at Alicante High.

But Alec pretended it was because of Lydia Branwell.

Lydia was awesome. She had a graceful yet take-no-shit way about her. She was the class president and Alec was certain that she could kick his ass if she wanted to. They had been friends since 5th grade. And when he knew and could find the words, Lydia was the first person Alec told.

Anyway, during one fateful rehearsal, Alec caught wind of a party being held that Friday night. He hadn’t been invited, but that was fine with him -- he wasn’t a big party guy. It was not fine with Lydia, who pleaded with him to come along, offering to let him copy her chemistry homework for the rest of the week. And of course Alec caved. (But he didn’t copy her homework. Much.)

The basement was dimly lit and walled with wood panelling, music pumping through an iPod hooked up to an old stereo. It was sweaty and gross as dozens of teens danced sloppily, some spilling out the sliding glass doors into the backyard and lounging around the pool. Soon, glass bottles of alcohol mixed with teenage hormones led a large crowd to play Spin the Bottle. As Lydia dragged Alec into the circle he was overwhelmed by the feeling that this was a scene in a the teen drama that was somebody’s life, and he was an extra. He sat cross-legged next to Lydia and giggled and watched the bottle spin round and round, classmates sharing awkward, inebriated kisses. The bottle had blessedly passed him every time until suddenly… it didn’t.

Alec’s eyes widened. The green-eyed girl across from him, the one who had spun the bottle, looked familiar but he couldn’t place her in his boozy fog. Maybe they had stats class together? She crawled across the large circle towards him, and he swallowed, tense. When she reached him, she paused, glancing from his eyes to his lips and back again, asking silently for permission. The other students cheered. So Alec leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

And he felt nothing.

It was a perfectly decent kiss, but Alec found his thoughts wandering even in the few seconds their lips were connected. She tasted like vodka punch mixed with a fruity lip gloss, and their lips slid together, and Alec felt nothing except confusion at how he was analyzing this whole event so factually.

It wasn’t how he thought his first kiss would be.

They broke apart and Alec offered a small rueful smile. She pecked his cheek and backed into her spot in the circle. A few others took their turns and Alec sat silently, picking at the rubber of his Converse and wondering what it all meant. And that, of course, was when it was Underhill’s turn.

Alec knew what was going to happen even before it did. Underhill took the bottle in his right hand and spun it and Alec watched, nearly boiling over with nerves, as it landed on him.

Underhill’s eyes were questioning as he looked at Alec. The students around him were quiet, and Alec could hear someone suck in a quick breath. Nobody knew how Alec would react. Nobody knew that he had been waiting, wanting, to kiss Underhill for months.

So when Alec nodded minutely and he and Underhill met in the middle of the circle, he paused only briefly before grabbing the back of Underhill’s neck and pulling him in.

That was the moment it all came together for Alec. Every hint he’d felt -- how he couldn’t take his eyes off Underhill when he walked in the room; how, while Jace was preoccupied with Lara Croft, he was more interested in Nathan Drake; how his stomach churned every time his parents tried to reassure him that one day he would settle down with a “nice girl” -- combined and formed a cohesive thought in his head, one that maybe he’d known before but had been too afraid to really consciously consider. He was gay.

He was gay, and he figured it out mid-kiss with Andrew Underhill in a classmate’s dingy basement.

*

At the time, Alec thought that knowing that he was gay might be the thing he had been missing. He thought that, since he’d figured it out, the missing puzzle piece might appear and slide into place. But even once he’d come out -- once he’d told Lydia, who just smiled and hugged him; once he’d told Izzy and Jace and Max, who reacted as kindly as he had known they would; once he’d told his parents, who didn’t disown him but didn’t want to talk about it, either; once he’d told Andrew, and asked him on a date, and kissed him in the Dairy Queen -- he still felt that hole. He was more himself than he had ever been, but he still didn’t feel complete.

*

M: If I had a problem with you texting me, I wouldn’t have given you my number. ;) Alec stared at the text. The boy from the bookstore -- Magnus -- had texted him back. With a winky face. And his face had turned red just reading it. How embarrassing.

Alec exhaled, thumbing a message back. He’s halfway through an introduction when another text comes through.

M: I fear I’m at a disadvantage, though, seeing as how you know my name and I don’t know yours.

A: It’s Alec. M: Hmm. Short for Alexander? A handsome name for a handsome man.

It, somehow, was easier from there.

*

Even though so many of Magnus’s texts (clean texts, too, not innuendos or dirty talk or anything -- just kind, friendly texts) had Alec blushing, Alec couldn’t wait to see him again. He was positive he would make a fool of himself, that’s just how he operated, but regardless, he wanted to see Magnus again. That brief time in the bookstore had not been enough. Not enough to get to know each other, obviously, and not nearly enough to appreciate Magnus’s carefully styled hair, inimitable style, and easy grace.

So Alec asked him out.

He called him, this time, felt it would be more appropriate than a text, if a bit harder. When Magnus picked up, curious, Alec felt his heart beat like a hummingbird’s wings.

“Oh, hello.” Magnus’s voice was teasing, happy. “To what do I owe the pleasure, Alexander?”

Alec swallowed, willing his nerves to go away, and rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. “Do you… would you like to meet up for coffee, sometime?” He winced at the way his voice cracked.

Magnus hummed. Alec smiled at the sound, even as his nerves raced. “Is it a date?”

“Preferably,” Alec all but stuttered.

“Then yes, I think I would.”

*

The coffee shop near campus was small and nearly empty, odd considering classes had started and it was usually a prime studying spot. Alec waited, sitting at a table in the corner, eyes on the door. When Magnus walked in, he couldn’t help but stare. Magnus was wearing blue skinny jeans and a thin burgundy sweater. He had on the same layering of necklaces and rings he did on the bookstore, his hair was swept back in a sort of faux-hawk, and his eyeliner was dark and intense. He was absolutely beautiful. And when he saw Alec, his face lit up.

As they sat and talked, laughing about anecdotes from class and how they’d chosen their majors, Magnus scooted a little closer and put his hand atop Alec’s. It was warm and soft and felt right. The butterflies in Alec's stomach settled.

And he felt something, some missing piece, some part of a puzzle, fall into place.

[somethinginthewayiam]

PRESSing matters (Part 9)

Pairing: Ben x reader

Warnings: none

Words: 2058

Summary: Joe brings you and Ben to 7Eleven and it is heaven to your empty stomach. Then it’s time to party your asses off at the Vanity Fair afterparty and Pam has a little reminder for you at midnight...

Previous chapter: Part 8

“Welcome to 7Eleven”, Joe said as the automatic doors opened and the three of you stepped inside. You had never been to one and in your hungry, slightly drunk state, it was heaven. “Joe, you have taken me to heaven”, you gasped and held on to his arm.

“Alright children, spread out, get what you want. Daddy’s paying”, he offered and gestured towards the aisles. “Hold my purse”, you said and pushed your clutch into his hands before you started your run for food. You immediately spotted the snack aisle and went there as fast as your heels would take you.

You were so hungry, you opened a bag of Doritos right there and started basically inhaling them while looking over the other items. You found some pretzels for Gwil and took a pack of gum to get the Doritos off your breath later.

While strolling through the aisles, you stacked package upon package on your arms, holding the little tower with your chin to keep it from falling over. You lost track of the guys and apparently of time as well.

“Oi, Y/N, are you done yet? We wanna go”, Ben called out for you over the aisles. “Don’t oi me, Ben”, you said as you came around the corner.

“Y/N, what are you doing? Are you really planning on eating all of this?”, Joe asked as he spotted you coming towards him in the aisle. “Listen, you don't know all of the food and joy I had to deny myself to fit in this dress, okay?”, you could barely look at him as you were trying to balance all the packets in your arms. “And you're planning to eat, all that you've missed out on, tonight?”, he asked in disbelief. “If that was true, we would have to stop at a pizza joint on the way back”, you joked, but actually, it wasn’t the worst idea.

“Hey, grab me a Coke too”, you said to Ben as you saw a bottle in his hand. He huffed, but turned around to get another one out of the fridge on the other end of the store. Beat it by Michael Jackson started playing over the speakers and you started bouncing your head to the beat.

You unloaded your snacks onto the counter. When Ben came back, he put the two bottles to the pile and the cashier started scanning the items. You kept eating the Doritos and just held it forward for a moment so the cashier could scan it too. You held the package up to Ben and he grabbed a few and put them in his mouth. “Oh wait, you got a few…there”, you said and automatically reached up to wipe away a few crumbs without thinking. Ben froze for a second and put his hand up as well. You quickly pulled your hand back. You felt your cheeks blushing.

“So, how’s 7Eleven?”, Joe asked and as you turned your head you found him recording a video on Instagram. “Not bad, huh?”, he asked as he turned to look at you. “Honestly, it’s the best”, you said while holding up your open bag of Doritos, playing over the fear that Joe might caught that wipe-away-moment on camera.

“You wanna say hi?”, Joe turned to the cashier, who just shook his head while packing your stuff into a plastic bag. “No? Okay”, Joe shrugged his shoulders. “Didn’t think so”, he said directly into the camera. Ben got out his credit card and paid. “You come from the Oscars?”, the cashier asked. You just nodded because you had your mouth full. “The Oscars, yeah”, Joe confirmed. “Was it good?”, was the man’s follow-up question. “Pretty good”, Joe nodded his head and looked at Ben. “Pretty good”, he agreed with a smile. If you could call four out of five Oscars just pretty good, then yeah, the night was pretty good so far, you thought to yourself.

“Thanks, cheers”, Joe said as the cashier handed over the bag. You mumbled a thanks as well and happily took the bag full of snacks. Joe was still filming when you walked away and Ben started dancing to Beat it, but Joe cut the video way too soon.

“Hey, I thought daddy was paying?”, you asked him as you reached for the last few Doritos in your bag. “Who’s your daddy now?”, Ben asked behind you, chuckling. Although it sounded odd to you, you had to laugh out loud. “Well, there’s a kink for you”, you just said the first thing that popped in your head and blushed immediately as your own words got to you.

Outside, you threw away the empty bag and took a sip of your Coke. You felt already better and were ready for the afterparty.

 A cab brought you to the Vanity Fair afterparty and while Ben and Joe walked the red carpet, you somehow managed to smuggle the bag of snacks into the venue. There was a booth reserved for the cast and team of the Bohemian Rhapsody movie. You met up again with the others and Lucy and Rami had arrived as well. Lucy was now wearing a silver, shining dress and looked better than ever. “I come baring gifts”, you said and put the snacks on the little table. Everyone immediately put their hands on it and ripped the packages open. Gwil smiling happily as he ate his pretzels.

A little later, Brian May and Roger Taylor came with their wives and also the director of the movie and you would all have drinks together, congratulations flying all over the place. “Let’s do shots for every Oscar we’ve won”, Roger announced. “I don’t know, babe”, his wife put a hand on his shoulder. “Love, this is the Oscars, we’ll never win another one. Live a little”, he said to her and handed her a shot from a trey that seemed to have magically appeared in your booth.

“Alright, what the hell”, she took it and the next moment, Roger Taylor himself handed you a shot and you took it without hesitation. Even Brian May and his wife had a shot in their hand and the next moment you all threw your heads back and knocked one down.

Ben was standing next to you as you turned to him. “Oh my god, I’m doing shots with Roger Taylor and Brian May”, you sort of whisper-screamed towards him, but freaking out mostly internally. Ben just laughed at you and handed you another shot. Thank god, you had the full bag of Doritos before or otherwise you might already be lying under the table.

Soon, Roger and Brian and the director left with their wives and it was back to just the cast, Jessica, Pam and you. You were impressed by Pam’s party stamina despite the fact that she was over fifty years old and you had never seen her drink that much.

As soon as it struck midnight, Pam handed you a glass of champagne. “This is it, darling. We’re done with the movie, done with the press tour. I think we did an incredible job and I couldn’t have asked for a better partner”, she told you and clinked glasses. You felt sad that this magical time had now come to an end. You really liked Pam, you had never had a boss as nice and as great as her. You didn’t know if it was the alcohol or just the fact that you had to say goodbye now, but you felt tears rushing to your eyes and one even making its way down your cheek. “No tears, darling. This is a time to celebrate”, she wiped it away with her finger. She then hugged you tightly. “I’m sure we will work together in the future and you know, if you don’t want to do that freelance thing anymore, you will always have a place at my agency”, she said as she let go of you. You just nodded, not able to speak at the moment.

Pam then walked around, saying goodbye to everybody as she was tired and knew when to stop drinking but the youngsters, as she called you, should have more fun, booze and a lot of dancing. Before she finally left, she gave you another hug. “You know that as ten minutes ago, you are no longer working for the studio. Which means you can have fun with whoever you fancy, darling”, she said and her head lightly motioned over to Ben, standing a few feet away, talking to Allen and Joe. She didn’t say it openly, but she wiggled her eyebrows and said it with a special tone in her voice.

At first, you freaked internally. She knew, oh god, she knew! But then you realized that she was right and it didn’t seem like she was going to tell anyone or reprehend you for anything.

When Pam was gone, you looked over at Ben, who, right at that moment, looked over to you and gave you a loving smile. You swallowed hard. You drank the rest of your champagne and put the empty glass down.

You motioned him with your head that he should come over to you. You quickly checked if everyone was occupied with talking, drinking and dancing, then you just took Ben’s hand and without saying anything, led him out of the booth. He followed you, but looked a bit confused. Of course, he didn’t know what Pam had said to you.

You walked away a few feet from the group and pulled him behind a giant plant in the corner. You walked backwards until you felt the wall in your back, a hand in his neck, pulling him down for a kiss. You tasted the alcohol on his breath, but most all you tasted him. Pictures from the weekend flashed through your mind as you felt his hands on your hips and his tongue in your mouth. This was the best weekend you ever had and probably ever will.

“Woah, not that I’m complaining, but where is that mood change coming from?”, he asked as you broke the kiss after a few moments. “I just had to, you look so good”, you said with a dirty grin on your lips. “Well, then I should get an Oscar for restraining myself all evening because you look absolutely stunning in that dress and I behaved”, he countered and licked his lips. You bit down on your bottom lip as you pulled him back down for another kiss.

The alcohol helped you in thinking that tonight hadn’t to be the end of whatever it was that was going on between you two, but the last part of your brain that wasn’t drunk, and it was a little part, reminded you that this was far from reality. And reality would hit you as soon as the plane touched down in London.

But now you were still on the Vanity Fair Oscar afterparty, not a thing you thought you would ever be able to say, and you would enjoy every single second of it.

You walked back first as you didn’t want anyone to see you two coming back together. You found Joe dancing with Lucy and joined them.

Purple Rain came on and you and Joe immediately looked at each other, remembering that night of karaoke in Japan. “Oh my god, are you okay?”, you asked overly dramatic. “I’m…okay, but I’m on the edge”, he said in a whiny tone and held on to your arm. You both looked over to Ben, who had no idea what was going on. Back in Japan, Joe had sung that sung, completely drunk, for Ben because he missed him so much and “invented” Cardboard Ben as a compensatory friend. Which still lived with Joe in his house.

It was an amazing night. You were taking pictures of each other, danced together and tried to drink away the fact that this was the end to the movie and the press tour. They would all still be friends of course, but would not be able to travel and be together in that capacity and for those long periods of time that were behind you. And you mostly drank over the fact that you didn’t know if you had any place in there at all.

Next chapter: Part 10

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