#anyway i’ll probably text them soon not to tell them i low key stalked their twitter

[figuerockfaeth]

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[artificialqueens]

Stupid For You, Chapter 4 (Crygi, Jankie, Jaida x Nicky) - Metaluna

summary: Jackie has to address her actions from the party, while Gigi has to process feelings she’d rather not. Also, if you aren’t familiar with speaking on radios, 10-4 means affirmative.

Gigi spent the rest of the day in bed. After crying until her eyes were red and puffy, she sat in bed trying to process everything. Crystal had a boyfriend. A boyfriend. When she shut her eyes, all she could see was the blonde boy and Crystal kissing. All Gigi could do was think about their relationship. How did they meet? Who asked who out? Have they slept together? Were they in love? Was it serious? She then pictured them doing gross romantic couple things. The thought of Crystal and that boy going to a pumpkin patch and picking out a pumpkin while sharing hot apple cider made her heart sink. Gigi pictured the two of them at prom, his tux matching her dress, dancing the night away. After breaking her heart with more scenarios, she forced herself to stop thinking so hard about it.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop thinking about the night before. Gigi thought about how beautiful and carefree Crystal looked… She thought about the way her face lit up when she won beer pong. She started thinking about the two of them dancing… The way Crystal’s hips swayed against her… Gigi’s mind wandered to when Crystal changed in front of her.

Never had Gigi Goode seen anyone’s bare chest but her own. She bit her lip as she pictured Crystal topless, while stroking her own breast, while her other hand trailed downward… She knew it was a bad idea, so she forced herself to stop. Gigi sat up in bed, trying desperately to clear her head.

Her next thoughts were about Crystal’s sexuality. Was she straight? With the way that she acted around her, Gigi was almost certain that she wasn’t. There was no way. But what if she was? What if she was reaching, and everything Crystal did was completely reasonable for a friend to do?

Back when Nora lived at home, Gigi watched her older sister get her heartbroken many times. Nora, much like Jaida, got extremely invested extremely quickly. One time when she was fourteen and Nora was eighteen, Gigi watched her big sister cry over some boy on the debate team. It had been the second time that month. Gigi, who had finally had enough told her sister to stop being so stupid for him.

Now she was trying to tell herself to stop being so stupid for Crystal. Four years later, Gigi understood that her words were much easier said than done.

Gigi just hoped to God that she would be able to keep it together the next morning.

“Hello, my love!” Crystal said cheerfully handing an extremely unenthused Gigi a coffee mug.

Gigi forced herself to snap out of it. It’s not like Crystal was shattering her heart into a million pieces and then torching them on purpose.

Crystal looked at Gigi. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m just tired.”

“Gotcha. I feel you. Me and Ryan went hiking yesterday. Hiking isn’t fun hungover. It’s not very much fun to begin with, but especially not when you’re hungover, but I promised him I’d go.”

This was her chance. “I didn’t know you even had a boyfriend.”

“Yeah! We’ve been together since freshman year of high school. I guess I’m just not the type of person to gush about her boyfriend.”

“That’s so… sweet,” Gigi managed through gritted teeth.

“I really love him. This is so lame, but we won homecoming king and queen.”

“Awe, cute.” Gigi could hear her the insincerity dripping from her voice. Thankfully Crystal couldn’t.

“He’s really the best. I think you guys would get along really well.”

Yeah, right.

Gigi hesitated. “Why don’t you ever post pictures with him?” Because of the many nights spent stalking Crystal’s social media, if there was any mention of a boyfriend, she would have known.

“Honestly?” Crystal began. “He doesn’t really like to take pictures. He’s very anti-social media. Ryan is low key a conspiracy theorist. Almost every day he tells me to delete my social media because now North Korea has my information or something.”

“That’s so… interesting.”

 What about you, do you have a boyfriend?”

“Nope.”

“Did you just not want one or…”

Gigi trusted Crystal, but didn’t trust her enough to tell her everything about her. Not yet. “I think that I’m afraid to let people in.”

“Really?”

She sighed. “Ever since my dad, I’ve had a hard time trusting anyone. Abandonment issues and shit.”

“I am so sorry.”

“I guess I just look at as what’s the point of dating if they’re just going to leave anyway?”

Crystal held her hand on top of Gigi’s and looked at her with a face full of sincerity. “I’ll never leave you.”

“Thank you,” Gigi managed in just above a whisper.

“You know too much about me. I like you, and really don’t want to have to kill you.”

—

Jackie was one to always be on time. However, she was not one to be an extra half an hour early. But, she knew that Jan was opening, and aimed to avoid the blonde at all costs. Unfortunately for Jackie, when opening her locker, she saw blonde hair and a purple backpack out of the corner of her eye. As much as she hoped she wouldn’t, Jan made her way over.

“Jackie, hi. Do you want to talk about… it?”

“I’d prefer to not if that’s okay,” Jackie said shoving her bag inside of her locker.

“Jackie, don’t shut me out. I know that it probably isn’t like you to do something like that, but it happened. It happened, and you can’t take it back. I know we haven’t known each other for that long, but I really value and respect you as a person. I don’t know why you freaked out, especially because kissed me first. I’ll give you space if you want space, but please. Talk to me when you’re ready.” She walked away without waiting for a response.

For the rest of the day, Jackie couldn’t focus. She was team lead that day, and almost forgot to send Nicky on her break. While in tower, all Jackie could think about was Jan. She had no idea why she couldn’t shake the blonde from her head. Even though she dated boys all through school, she never felt strongly toward any of them. She slept with her boyfriend in junior year, but broke up with him right after, because she felt nothing toward him. There was something different about Jan. Jackie felt things toward Jan that she thought she was supposed to feel to her boyfriends. The keyword being boyfriend. Being gay was out of the question for Jackie. Her entire life, both of her parents that being gay was immoral and disgusting, something Jackie never understood. It was up until she met Jaida her first summer at Paradise Isle before she even met a gay person. As Jackie looked at the monitors from tower, she tried to reassure herself that she definitely wasn’t gay, and that Jan was just pretty. Even if she knew it wasn’t true.

Finally, it was time for her break. Jackie looked around, making sure that Jan wasn’t also on her break. Thankfully, she was in the clear. Jaida was sitting at a table by herself eating a salad.

“Hey, girl,” Jaida said as Jackie sat across from her.

“Jaida. I have a problem.”

“Is that problem a pretty blonde girl named Jan?”

“How did you know?”

“What do you remember about the party?”

“I kissed Jan. Like. I initiated it, apparently. But it was just one kiss right?”

“Ooh, chile. No, you guys were making out. For a while. Everyone saw. You were grabbing her ass and everything.”

Jackie buried her head in her hands. “Oh, no.”

“Have you seen her today?“

“Yeah, this morning. She tried to talk to me, but I wouldn’t listen. She agreed to give me space… I can’t hold this off forever, Jaida.”

“No. You can’t. You know what y’all need?” Jaida questioned.

“What?”

“You know what.”

“I’m not taking Jan onto the Ferris wheel.”

Because Paradise Isle was mostly ran by people who were all around the same age, there were plenty of relationships, flings, and conflicts. When any problems arose, it was customary to go into the Ferris wheel to resolve any issues. The parties in question would ride until they either they resolved their issues, stormed off angrily, or ran away crying. It wasn’t something management allowed, but the supervisors knew how much conflict it resolved, so they let it slide. Jackie had never had to take any rides in the Ferris wheel. Jaida, however, took at least one a summer. Her second summer she took three.

“If you don’t take her, I’m going to shove your skinny Persian ass into that ride. I’ll drag Jan by the hair if I have to. You are going to talk this out. Okay?”

Jackie grumbled. “I guess.”

“Tell Jan to meet you at the Ferris wheel. The Genie closes early tonight for maintenance, right?”

Jackie nodded.  Once a month, The Genie closed a half an hour early for maintenance, which made it the perfect night.

“Okay, perfect. Jan’s stocking tonight, so it’ll be easy for her to slip away.”

Jackie’s heart beat fast as she tried to come up with what to text Jan. She reread it twice and made Jaida read it, too before she sent it.

Hey. I’m really sorry. Can we talk? I’ll be at the Ferris wheel at close.

Jan responded almost immediately.

ill see you then

“How did she respond so fast?” Jackie questioned.

“Stockers do whatever they want. Anyway. My break’s over. Let me know how it goes.”

“Will do.”

—

Gigi couldn’t stop thinking about Crystal. It didn’t help that she was in the slowest store, at the slowest time of the night, all by herself. Nobody wanted to buy overpriced, blurry photos of themselves on rides. She debated calling Jan because she was bored, but decided against it, since Jan was going to be by soon to close the store.

“Hey, gorg,” Jan said as she made her way inside.

“Hey.”

“What’s wrong?”

“What do you mean?”

“’Hey.’” Jan mocked Gigi’s depressed tone as she started shutting down photo monitors.

“Promise you won’t tell?” Gigi felt like she was in middle school saying that sentence.

“Pinky promise.”

Gigi linked pinkies with Jan while emptying the register. “So me and Crystal got super close super quickly, I’m sure you saw.”

“Yeah, of course. She’s a sweetheart.”

 “Yeah she is. Anyway. I started feeling…. Feelings toward her. Do you follow?” Jan nodded. “And honestly, I thought she felt the same way… She spent the night at my house after the party and literally cuddled with me.”

“Oh wow, really?”

“Yeah. So here I was, thinking that she felt the same way. Turns out I was completely wrong. Get this, she gets picked up from my house by her boyfriend.”

“Oof.”

“Oof, indeed.”

“Well,” Jan said. “Have you thought about telling her?”

“Absolutely not.” Gigi finished putting the rest of the money in the locked bag. The two girls headed out of the store.

“Why not?”

“What good is it going to do?”

Jan slammed the gate in front of the store shut as they left.

“Would it give you any sort of peace of mind?”

“I mean, maybe. But what if it ruins everything? It’s not like she’s gonna break up with him on the spot to date me. Why would–”

They were interrupted on their way to the money room by an older woman.

“I’m supposed to meet my family at The Landing. How do I get there?”

Jan smiled kindly. “Ma’am you’re on The Landing right now.”

“I am? Where’s my family?”

“Can’t help you with that ma’am, hope you find them!” Jan walked away before the woman could continue.

Gigi rolled her eyes at the woman. “Why would I risk the friendship? I’d rather have her in my life as my friend than not at all.”

They reached the money room, where they were greeted by Nina. After handing her the locked money bag, they made their way to Isle Mercantile’s stockroom to help close.

“At the end of the day, it’s up to you. I can’t tell you what to do. It’s not an easy situation, and it doesn’t have a clear answer. I’m sorry Gigi.” Jan hugged Gigi.

“Thanks, Jan.”

Jan. “Oh shit. I’m late.”

“Late for what?”

“Jackie wants to talk about… things.”

“Good luck.”

—

The rest of Jackie’s workday went by disgustingly slow. At least she spent the rest of her shift at Load 1, which meant that she ran back and forth checking lapbars, and then engaging her console. It kept her busy and kept her mind off of Jan, at least for a while.

Once her shift ended, Jackie changed into the clothes that she had in her bag, old jean shorts, and a t-shirt with her university’s logo, desperately wishing that she kept cuter spare clothes. Close to closing, all attractions on The Boardwalk had a short wait. When she got there, a slightly unusual girl named Yvie was operating the ride. Jackie didn’t know Yvie well, but remembered that the year prior, Yvie had to ride the wheel with a girl named Scarlet.

It was five minutes after close. All Jackie could do was think about what a big mistake she made until she saw Jan running full force down The Boardwalk. “I’m so sorry! I was mending a broken heart.”

“Good luck,” Yvie said as they went up.

Jackie and Jan didn’t say anything at first.

Finally, Jan broke the silence. “Do you regret it?”

“What?”

“Do you regret kissing me?”

Jackie sat, methodically constructing her answer. “No. No, I don’t.”

“Well why did you freak out then? I hope you know that you really fucking hurt me, Jackie.”

This made Jackie’s heart break. Knowing that she caused such a kind soul hurt killed her. “Jan, I am so, so sorry. That is the last thing I wanted to do. I just need you to know one thing.”

“What?”

“It had absolutely nothing to do with you… Honestly my entire life my parents told me being gay was bad, and I didn’t think I believed them, but maybe part of my subconscious did. Not that at all is an excuse for my behavior. The thought of liking a girl the way I was told I was supposed to like boys freaked me the fuck out.” 

They reached the platform.

“Again?” Yvie asked.

Jackie nodded.

“Gotcha.”

“I never even considered the fact that I could be gay. And then I met you, and you’re so confident in who you are.”

“Confident in who I am? Jackie, I’ve never labelled my sexuality. I dated a couple boys in my time, but also hooked up with a girl on my soccer team. I just know that if I like someone, I like them. I don’t really think anything beyond that matters, not that I haven’t had late nights where I couldn’t stop thinking about how confused I was.”

Jackie was surprised. Jan seemed so sure of herself, so it was unusual to imagine her being unsure about anything. “Really? You seem so confident about literally everything.”

“Do you wanna know a secret? Most of it’s fake. My mom used to always tell me ‘fake it til you make it,’ and I guess it stuck.”

They reached the bottom again. Yvie looked at them and Jackie nodded.

“10-4.”

They started rising again.

Jackie exhaled. Her heart was pounding. It was now or never. “I’ve dated boys all throughout school. I slept with one of them. And honestly, Jan? I felt more when I kissed you the other night than I ever did when I was with any of them, and I was drunk… Jan, I haven’t stopped thinking about you since the party. I think about how you light up every room you go into. I think about how pretty you are when you smile. I keep thinking about kissing you again.”

“Wow.”

“And I’m sorry if that’s strong, but I just need to tell let that off my chest and I understand if–”

Jan didn’t let Jackie finish. Instead, she grabbed her shirt and kissed her. If Jackie thought kissing Jan drunk was nice, kissing her sober was incredible. Their lips moved in perfect synchronization. Jackie was used to boys who led with the tongue. Instead, Jan’s kisses were gentle, yet powerful. Jackie unconsciously moved her hand through Jan’s soft hair. Eventually, Jan broke the kiss.

“Is that okay that I did that?”

Instead of answering, Jackie pulled her into another kiss. At this point, they reached the top.

“I really like you, Jan. I don’t really know how to process that information, but I know that I like kissing you.”

“I like kissing you, too. We can take it as slowly as you want. I want to see where this goes. I think we have something good here.”

“I think so, too.”

Jan rested her head on Jackie’s shoulder the rest of the way down.

Yvie looked in at them.  “You guys good?”

Jan smiled. “Never better.”

[sparklemichele]

Flawless Part 2

Florian Munteanu x Black Reader

Read Part One here

As soon as you walked in the door of your apartment you made a beeline to your closet. You flew the doors open, walked in and started to search. Within ten minutes you were frustrated and Facetimed your best friend in Atlanta.

“I can’t find anything to wear!” You screamed at her as soon as the call connected.

“First of all, calm down. Wear for what?”

You realize you forgot to tell her the news.

“What?!! With Big Nasty?!!” Now it was her turn to scream.

“Don’t scream. You are going to make me freak out even more.” You were going to cry.

“Girl, have you seen his Instagram post today?”

“No! I don’t need to see it. I just saw him a few minutes ago.” You were starting to panic again. Your friend was not helping.

“Angela you are not helping.”

“Look, your wardrobe is flawless. It’s a mesh between Olivia Pope and Annalise Keating. You have something. Look harder!”

“Angela, the man lives in fuckin track suits for God sakes. What would I have that would go with that?”

“It doesn’t matter ‘cause you will be naked by the end of the night anyway.” Angela laughed.

“You know what…fuck you!” You laughed.

“Not me honey....him.”

“I can’t with you right now. I will call you later.” You ended the call more frazzled. She did not help your situation. You continued to search and finally sighed with relief when you came across an off white off the shoulder large sweater and white trousers. 

(Michele’s Note M/N- Kerry Washington is not my face claim. Just the outfit)

 It will have to do. You looked in your full-length mirror and gazed at your hair that was pulled up in a bun. It would have to be a quick wash and go for this 4C hair tonight. You blew a raspberry as you thought of what you were going to do for the next five and a half hours. It surely would not take you that long to get ready. You decided to have a glass of wine to calm your nerves and stalk his Instagram. You smiled as you gazed at the pic he posted of the day. It was from his workout today. The man had the body of a God. After a few moments of looking at his IG you found yourself squirming on your couch. You closed the app. You found something to busy yourself with around the house until it was time to get ready. You were putting on your makeup when you received a text from a number asking for your address. You assumed it was Florian and you texted him your address.

 See you in a few.

 You smiled at his reply.

 You looked at yourself in your full-length mirror. You looked damn good you thought. You were still self-conscious about your extra pounds, but the sweater had help hidden them.  Your hair had dried just at your shoulders. Your makeup was flawless. You were proud of yourself. You jumped when you heard the hard knock at the door. Damn he knocked like he was the police. You tried to take your time getting to the door, but you knew you probably opened it too fast. You did little to stifle back the gasp that came from your mouth. He had on blue jeans with a black, tight long sleeve shirt on that showed off his physique and his gold cross adorn his neck. He was gorgeous.

“Wow! You look beautiful.” He told you.

Heat rose to your face. “Thank you.”  You said sheepishly.

“Are you ready?” He asked.

“Yes.” You grabbed your keys and small purse off the hall table and followed Florian out to his car. You almost laughed as he had a BMW as well. Well they were popular Germany cars. Florian opened the passenger side for you and you crawled in. After a few moments Florian squeezed in.

“I’m going to take you to one of my favorite restaurants. It is own by this couple who I have known for years. The food is outstanding. Would you like that?”

You nodded yes. You didn’t know if you were able to form a full sentence yet. Florian tried to make conversation with you and you warmed up a little but not much as a lot of your answers were yes or no. You needed wine stat. You both finally pulled up to the quaint restaurant. Florian quickly got out the car and opened your side of the car. He took your hand and helped you out. You chose to ignore the spark you felt when your hand was in his. Florian put his hand at the small of your back as you both walked into the restaurant. You didn’t know if it was who Florian was and his size or your skin color, but the restaurant seems to have gone silent went you both walked in.  The stares made you uncomfortable. Picking up on your emotion Florian wrapped his arm around your waist. You don’t know if that made you feel better or worse.  

“Florian! How good to see you!” and older lady called to him as she walked up hugging him tight. “You must be Y/N. Aren’t you just stunning.” She said genuinely.

“Thank you.” You smiled. You sighed with relief when you both were seated at your table. “Can I have your wine list please.”

“Of course, my dear.”

“Look at me.” Florian demanded when his friend left. Your eyes found his. “Don’t worry about the people in here. It’s just you and me. Sophia and Walter are good people. That’s all you need to worry about. I wouldn’t bring you to a place where you need to worry.”

“I just don’t want no one to come hit me in the back of me head.” You confessed. Florian frowned.

“That’s not going to happen. More importantly you think I would let anything like that happen to you?”

Florian looked at you sternly waiting for your reply.

“No.” You finally answered.

“No, I would not. Let’s enjoy the evening and not worry about the other patrons.” Florian requested and that was what you did. You enjoyed your evening with him. You let him order for you and you were not disappointed in your dish. You enjoyed hearing him speak in German to the waiter as he ordered. You enjoyed the wine you had and most of all you enjoyed his company. You were looser and more talkative on the way home. You found yourself touching him more to emphasize points in your conversations. He made you laugh, and you made him laugh. You did not want the night to end when he pulled up to your apartment. Florian as always, a gentleman opened the door for you and this time took your hand in his massive hand and walked you to your door.

“I had a wonderful time tonight.” You told him once to your door.

“I did as well.” Florian caressed your cheek and the look of passion on Florian’s face caught you off guard. You did not expect to see his eyes ablaze looking at you with pure desire. Florian reached down, cupped your face, angled his head as not to hit your nose and softly kissed your lips. Florian kissed you softly, slowly and gently. Your heart was pounding in your chest as he intensified the kiss. Florian’s tongue found places in your mouth you didn’t even realize you had, and your knees became so weak that you lost your balance. Florian snaked his thick arm around your waist to hold you up without breaking the kiss. You moaned in his mouth as he sucked on your tongue long and slow. You knew you needed to pull away as your knees continued to buckle and he was literally holding you up and you began to feel wetness pool at your center. All this from a kiss? Florian finally pulled away with a low growl and a hazy look in his eyes. He closed his eyes and rest his forehead with yours.

“Damn.” He whispered. “I can smell how wet you are.”

Your head flew back and hit the wall.

“Oh my God!” You screeched with embarrassment.

Florian’s eyes flew open and he grabbed the back of your head as he heard the loud thud of your head hitting the wall.

“Are you ok?”

“I’m fine.” You were mortified. “I better go.” You started to move to head up stairs, but Florian would not budge. “Florian, let me go.”

His response was to lean over, and softy kiss you and you instantly calmed down from your embarrassment. Florian kept the kiss light and short this time. He pulled at your bottom lip between his teeth when he pulled away causing you to shudder. He caressed your cheek smiling down at you and you could not help but smile back.

“I’ll see you tomorrow ok?”

“Ok” You replied. You watch him walk to his car and as he drove away you remembered you didn’t have a training session tomorrow. So, he already made plans to see you again. You smiled to yourself as you walked into your apartment.

@mimigemrose @readsalot73 @captstefanbrandt @titty-teetee @emmysrandomthoughts @poe-slittleraven13 @ml0103 @mitchcheckmyprofile @jojolu

[queenssunshine]

Making a Living off of Death (1/4)

I literally cannot believe I’ve posted my first fic to AO3! This is my first fic in almost seven years, so I’m really excited to become a contributing member of fandom again. 

Anyway, here’s my first Spider-boy fic, and in the spirit of Whumptober, it is of course whump.

Read On AO3 Here

When people ask him what he does, he generally tells them he’s a freelancer. On occasion they will enquire further, “A freelance what?”, to which he will respond, “Whatever I can.” That’s basically true—while he deals mostly in assassinations, he also does assaults and robberies on occasion. Sometimes he needs to put the fear of God into people. Sometimes he just needs to play God.

The hit on Tony Stark comes to him in a heavily encrypted email that takes his computer two days to work through. Sometimes clients are paranoid like that, making the orders so difficult to access that most people in the business walk away before they even know what they’re for. He supposes this isn’t a bad idea. Plausible deniability and all that. But it’s annoying for him to have to wait around for his program to work out the endless lines of tangled code. This also probably means payment will come in a similar form, which is even more annoying.

Anyway, the hit on Tony Stark gets sent to him and three other colleagues and he’s the first one to decode it (and probably the only one to try) so first come, first kill. The built-in kill code activates and his instructions unwrite themselves from the screen, his laptop defaulting to his desktop photo of the silhouette of a dog on a sunset. Alright, time to strategize.

First, he has to get to New York. Then he has to figure out how to get Stark’s schedule. Then he has to get close to him. Then he has to kill him.

Hacking into Stark’s security team is above his skill set but gaining access to his employee files ends up being pretty easy. Cross-check some names, Google some addresses, hack a local AT&T store, and boom, he has access to the personal phones of who he has decided is two key players in his plan: the head of security and an intern.

He decides these two are key because he sees them too much. Photos from expos, parties, conferences, press events—the two are a constant presence at the side of Tony Stark. The security head quite frankly looks like an oaf, and the intern doesn’t appear to be older than college age, so he decides that they can’t do too much thwarting to his plan. The more he gets to know them through the screen, the more he feels that way.

The emails that the two have sent back and forth are heavily encrypted, and there are heaps of text messages that are as well. He can’t believe it, but his main source of information is coming from the animojis that the two send each other on occasion. The intern favors the alien. The security head favors the brown bear. (The intern also thinks the security head should use the poop one more, but that’s beside the point.)

Through the animojis, GPS tracking, and some old-fashioned stalking-- er, in-person reconnaissance, he discovers that the intern is a student at a magnet school in Forest Hills and that the security head is, for whatever reason, his personal after-school driver. The relationship between the two of them seems pretty relaxed. They clearly have a long history of uneventful school pick-ups, because he just sits in the visitor parking lot and stares at them without detection as the security head pulls up in the black Audi, the intern hops in, and they wait in the long queue to get off the campus. He trails the car, but the location of drop-off changes on the daily—sometimes a restaurant, sometimes a bodega, twice it was just an alleyway. Once they went to Stark Tower, or at least he assumes that’s where they were heading, but by the time they were two blocks away he decided to drop off to avoid getting clocked on any of Stark’s cameras. Even though Stark probably had access to every CCTV in town. Sometimes you just have to play it safe.

After about two weeks of monitoring, he gets his golden ticket. His phone pings a few times in a row, and he opens it to witness an exchange between Alien and Brown Bear:

[Alien] Are we still on for after school? [Brown Bear] Yeah, he had to move some stuff around so we might be late, but we’ll still be there. [Alien] Cool! It’s probably better, I don’t want—[the alien hesitates, rotates his head, lowers voice] Mr. Stark to have to deal with people freaking out about him being here. [Brown Bear] Don’t worry about it, kid. [Brown Bear] I think he’s kind of excited to see your school and your friends. [Alien] Okay, well I’ll see you guys later then. [Alien] OH! Can we please go to Julio’s again? Please? I’m craving breadsticks. [Brown Bear] Boss says okay.

So the decision had to be made: to carry out the assassination on a high school campus, or at an Italian restaurant in Brooklyn. He sighs as he Googles “Midtown academic calendar forest hills,” and sighs again when he discovers that tonight is the Annual Science Fair. What will Tony Stark do in the presence of one thousand geeks and their parents: double down on security or keep it modest? He rapidly Googles some more, trying to find instances of Tony Stark, billionaire and savior of the universe, attending a high school science fair. Bingo. Seven years ago he had attended the science fair of the Bronx High School of Science, and according to r/TonyStark and r/IronMan, he had only had Brown Bear and his gauntlets at his disposal. No supplementary guards? Not wise, Stark. Still, one instance was not enough to base his operation on.

Further inquiries reveal that Stark, in his years since becoming the savior of the universe, has only grown laxer. His prosthetic arm doubles as a housing unit for the Iron Man suit, sure, but it seems to be de-weaponized most of the time. He’s spotted without security regularly—outings with clients, with the Avengers team, with the kid, all solo. Rarely a body guard appears, but it’s only when he’s with his daughter or wife. Maybe it’s because Stark thinks he’s too big to fuck with. Maybe Stark is, and maybe this is a big mess in the making. Oh well. He decides the assassination is going to go down at the school, but he needs one more thing to make it go off well. So he calls a colleague, has them transfer the encrypted message, decodes it again (but faster, thank you machine learning), backward engineers it, and makes a phone call. And a request.

Two hours later, a cloaking suit arrives at a P.O. box, to which he has the key.

Sometimes his clients gift him cool things to execute a mission, but a cloaking suit is hands-down the coolest thing he’s gotten. He didn’t know what he expected when he takes it out of the courier box, but it looks almost civilian—a thick grey windbreaker with lines of reflective material running down the sleeves, and a pair of pants to match. It’s basically a tracksuit. He’s relieved. New Yorkers have likely seen weirder things than a man dressed in full tactical attire on the subway, but it’s still nice to have a low profile.

He messes around with the settings and soon enough he’s standing before the hotel bathroom mirror almost completely invisible, only a slight warp betraying where he is. Nothing anyone would see unless they were looking for it. Without the hood on, he looks like Harry Potter on his first Christmas at Hogwarts. He is—he dare say—giddy.

He deactivates the cloaking, grabs his guitar case (read: sniper rifle) and wallet and leaves the hotel.

Before getting to the school, he has a slice of pizza, a coke, and a bag of gummy bears. This is not good fuel for the potential get-away sprint, but he can’t help himself. He’s so happy, he can just feel the brewing of a good mission on its way.

He arrives at the school after classes have let out and before the end of the science fair, meaning that the parking lot is a ghost town. His cloaking suit already activated, he climbs up on his predetermined hiding spot (a portable building next to the bus parking lot which would allow him ample cover and a quick escape were things to get hairy), sets up his Barrett M82 (already sheathed in its matching grey cloaking suit), and hunkers down. He lets his mind wander as half an hour passes, thoughts looping around his ex-wife (that bitch), his breakfast tomorrow (maybe that 2.8-star diner down the street), and his dog (who was currently boarding at a doggy daycare next to his house in Kentucky and got a time-out today). Finally, families start spilling out of the front doors of the school, and from his view atop the portable, he can clearly see the faces of all exiting.

Fifteen minutes pass of parental pride and filial embarrassment before Stark, the security head, and the intern come walking out. By the time they exit, most of the fair has cleared out and only a few cars remain in the lot—probably teachers and staff. The intern is clutching a blue ribbon and a small trophy while the security head struggles to maintain hold of some kind of robotic device. Stark has his hands jammed in his pockets, strolling casually, lips quirked in a contented smile as the intern rambles about something. He can barely hear it—something about how the intern knew his project was good but didn’t think it would win an award or anything. For a moment, he pauses, feeling a little remorse. He had always wanted kids. The intern seemed pretty endearing. Oh well. Moment over.

He lines up the sight on Stark. It’s a clean shot, a beautiful shot, a stars-have-aligned-and-I’m-about-to-get-away-with-this shot, and he feels the rush of a perfectly executed assassination flow through his veins. This moment is why he mainly deals in assassinations. This high of having so much power yet not even being seen, it hits different. He drops the safety and just as his finger twitches back to the trigger the most bizarre thing happens.

The intern looks at him.

Of course, the kid can’t look at him, he has the cloaking suit on, but the kid’s suspicious eyes pass over the top of the portable and he feels violated.

Also, he squeezes the trigger thrice.

And then a more bizarre thing happens: the kid drops.

Well, shit.

[arcaneapologist]

Partners in Crime- Ch. 4

So i finally thought of a title and it’s really dumb but I’m keeping it. Anyways, this is chapter four! It’s also a day late because yesterday was an absolute mess for me. So uh, enjoy as we learn more about Dan and Arin and their lives! Thanks in advance for the feedback! (and as usual here’s the link to it on a03!)

Chapter 4: Take the Key (and This Apology)

Danny looked up the girl’s address and saw she was only two blocks away, so he decided to walk. He could have sworn Ego looked slightly offended by him leaving, but then again, he did leave really suddenly. He didn’t care either way, to be honest. For as tough as Egoraptor acted, Danny could tell he was the clingy, needy type. And that was not how Danny operated, by any means. He was low commitment as it came. If it hadn’t been for the threat of death, he never would have agreed to even be work partners with Arin. Unfortunately, though, that threat was there, which is why he was going to fake the friendship until he was in the clear.

As he walked, he realized Arin lived in the same neighborhood as most of the girls he hung out with. Well this could be useful, he thought. I wouldn’t have to catch a cab or bus all the way back to the other side of town. I can just crash at Ego’s place. And that’s just what he did for about two weeks. He’d meet up with a girl around two, and be on Arin’s doorstep, usually drunk, at four. Each time, Arin seemed more irritated, but then Danny would stay for breakfast and talk and things were okay, sort of. If he knew had plans with a girl, he'd be sure to go over to Arin’s to have dinner and play games. He was great at giving the illusion of caring. Danny knew Arin was too kind to see through what he was doing and say something, despite, his growing anger.

It was kind of true, Arin was too nice to ask him to stop. So instead, he had a spare key made for the apartment and gave it to Danny. He was pissed off about being woken up, but Dan was his friend and work partner, so he dealt with it. This was part of becoming friends with someone, right? Figuring out the parts about then that frustrated you and learning how to handle them? Arin hoped the key would show Danny that he did actually care about him and trust him. Danny didn’t seem to think the same way.

“That’s fucking weird. We’ve known each other for like. Three weeks. And I know absolutely nothing about you. I don’t even know your name yet.” Dan was leaning against the kitchen counter while Arin cleaned up the breakfast dishes. He was tired, dark circles under his eyes, and already on edge because of Dan waking him up earlier that morning.

“I’m tired of being woken up every night. Now you can let yourself in and not bother me.” Arin became exponentially more upset. He was tired of Danny using him as a place to stay when he was too drunk to go home, and just tired period. “I just thought this would be easier. And, you know, if you asked my name again, I’d tell you. But you’ve been too busy getting high and fucking every girl in the goddamn neighborhood to care.”

“Dude, come on. All I’m saying is giving me a key just seems oddly serious. Partners or not.” Dan chose to ignore the comment about his sex life, it was kind of true after all.

“Shit, Danny. If a key is too serious for you, then stop staying here every night and go back to your own damn place.” As Arin spoke he scrubbed at a plate, not wanting to look at him. “I’m doing you a favor by keeping you alive. I will not let you use me as a place to crash in return.”

Danny hated fighting with people, but Arin’s last comment set him off. “You’re doing me a favor? How are you doing me a favor? You’re just being an okay human being by not letting someone kill me! Doing me a favor would have been leaving me out of all of this!”

Arin dropped the plate in the sink with a clatter, then stalked over to Danny. He decided that Arin’s size was less intimidating in the daylight, and the Hello Kitty pajama pants weren’t helping, but his yelling was terrifying.

“Listen, I did not have to do this. Because, newsflash, if something goes wrong we both end up dead and I’ve got people that depend on me!” Arin took a deep breath to compose himself before continuing. “You know what. Just forget it. Don’t take the key, but don’t expect to be let in tonight either. Go home. We have somewhere to be this evening and you need a fucking shower. I’ll be over at four to pick you up.”

Arin went back to the sink, and Danny slipped out the front door. Egor//aptor is terrifying when he’s that angry, Danny thought, then decided that he would never make him that angry again. And, he had to admit, maybe he could use one consistent, close friend in his life. Ego, seemed to be fiercely attached to him despite their brief time together. So maybe he could try. He would need to apologize, though. Ego seemed like the type of person who would melt and forgive you if you gave him an apology. He wasn't sure how to apologize, yet another thing he wasn't the best at. He knew someone who could help him, though.

Danny had found out the first time he’d met Commander and Mortemer that both of them, but especially Mortemer, were very protective of Arin. As soon as he’d left Danny alone with them, they attacked. Both women warned him against doing anything to hurt Arin. They claimed they wouldn’t do anything physical to him, but they had other ways to ruin his life. Danny believed Commander when she said this, but he got a sneaking feeling Mortemer would kill him.

He pulled out his work phone, Connect was alarmingly quick with getting it to him, and dialed Mortemer’s number. Danny knew she and Egoraptor had been friends for an incredibly long time and figured she could be the most help. She was furious with him when he told her what had happened and bitched him out for a solid five minutes before telling him how to apologize. Before hanging up, she made it very clear to Dan that she was only helping him because Arin liked him. She also made it incredibly clear that she would ruin him if he messed up again.

When Arin text Danny that he was waiting outside that afternoon, Danny was anxious about how he was going to act, worried the hostility from that morning would still be there. Dan didn’t like being angry, hated the way it made him feel. Even more, he didn’t like people being angry with him. Meanwhile, Arin was still hurt at the way Danny had treated him, but he knew he had no right to be. They hadn’t even known each other a month, and if Danny wanted to keep everything professional then they would. Arin knew he really shouldn’t have expected anything more.

As Danny shut the car door, Arin began to apologize, “Hey, listen. I’m sorry for how I-”

“No listen, Ego. I’m sorry. I’ve been treating you like dog shit for two weeks now. You’re a good person. Mostly. You deserve better. Truth is, I don’t like commitments… To anything. That's why I freaked out about the keys. But, for you, I’m willing to try to be serious. And actually try, not just pretend like I have been for the past few weeks. I could probably use one consistent thing in my life and you seem like a pretty solid choice.” Danny handed Arin a Sailor Moon keychain with a small A on it. “And, I swear I’m not trying to buy your forgiveness, I just wanted to get you something… Because I am sorry and you are kind of saving my life.”

Arin stared down at the keychain in his hand, expressionless. Danny kept talking, hoping to he’d he’d he’d respond at some point. “I don’t know what the ‘A’ stands for. I was going to get an E, but Mortemer told me to get that one instead. I… I’m assuming your name starts with an A?”

Arin gave him a small smile, “Arin. The A is for Arin. That’s my name… Thanks Danny.”

“No problem, man.” Danny. “And you probably already know this, but I go by Dan.”

Arin put the car in drive, laughing, “Yeah I know, Le/igh Da/niel ‘Dan-slash-Danny Sexb//ang’ Avid//an.”

“Oh come on.” Dan groaned. “You know all this stuff and all I get is “Arin” and what I can piece together from your apartment?”

“What do you want to know? Ask me things.”

Dan thought for a minute, “Let’s start from the beginning. What was your childhood like?”

A look passed over Arin’s face, but Dan couldn’t quite tell what it was, “Well. My dad died when I was young. My mom was an addict so we were constantly broke and moved around a lot. She’d hold a job for a while and keep herself semi-clean. Then she’d get fired and things would get bad again. In highschool, when things got really bad, I tried selling art commissions and cartoon animations, but didn’t make enough money to keep us afloat. So, I started pickpocketing. We lived above Brian’s restaurant at the time, and if I was on the run from someone, he helped me out. Then, our landlord found out how we were getting the money, evicted us, Brian helped us get a new apartment, and a year later I dropped out of high school.”

Arin held his breath after he finished speaking, nervous, while Dan stared at him. He knew Dan had done well in school and even graduated from college. He knew the judgement of being an high school dropout was coming. He parked the car outside a small diner, and opened his door, wanting to get out of the confined space as soon as possible. Dan followed, but surprised Arin, however, when he asked where his mom was now.

“She lives in a long-term care facility. I have no way to take care of her. She overdosed one day and by the time I found her, the brain damage was permanent. She’s the ‘people’ that depend on me.” Arin focused on the ground as he walked. “I was on the run from police when it happened. If I hadn’t been so careless and made it home earlier, she might not be.”

Dan felt terrible for asking, so he awkwardly pat Arin’s shoulder then opened the door to the diner for him. Both men were thankful for the break in conversation. They ordered and ate in silence, neither had eaten since breakfast and were starving. Arin had decided they were just going to walk around that night and see what they could get into, maybe steal some money along the way. Arin knew a lot of objective facts about Dan, but he knew very little about his opinions and interests. Connect only told him enough to have a few conversations and keep him alive. That needed to change. As they walked around they asked each other more personal questions.

“I thought you knew everything about me.” Dan said, jokingly, after Arin asked him about his love of singing. “I don’t know. I just really enjoyed music when I was younger. I was in a band and we called ourselves Vacuum because we sucked. I tried singing serious stuff and it never went anywhere, and then I got into comedy music. I created a fake name and persona for myself and everything.”

Arin waited for Dan to continue. He turned a deep red and sighed, “I was going to be a sexy, Jewish superhero who wore a blue spandex suit with a red Star of David on the front…”

Arin was barely holding it together at the thought of Dan singing and dancing around in spandex, “And what was the name?”

“Danny Sexb//ang,” Dan turned an even darker shade of red, “It was originally SweetNuts.”

Arin doubled over and howled with laughter. They had to stop walking so he could compose himself.  When he was finished Danny continued, suddenly bitter and angry, “It doesn’t matter though. That dream is dead, just like everything else I’ve ever tried to do. So now I’m just some ‘shitty thief’ who is ‘only good at being a distraction’ as you once said.”

Dan shoved his hands in his jacket pockets, and stared at the ground. Arin bumped his shoulder into his, “Aw come on dude. You’re not that bad. I was joking. And you’ll get better. Then one day you’ll have enough money to quit this and you’ll find someone to be in a band with you and you’ll become ultra famous. And then you can sleep with women all over the world and not just my neighborhood.”

Dan just shrugged and asked if they were done for the night, then asked if Arin could just take him back to his own apartment. As they drove, Arin tried to ask Dan about other hobbies and interests he had, but only got shrugs in return. The silence in the car was tense and awkward, and Arin felt like it was his fault. He tried to think of anything to lighten the mood, but he had nothing.

Arin stopped Dan as he got out of the car, “Hey, man. We all have our failed dreams, you know? But they’re never actually failed. Just incomplete dreams. You’ll do it eventually. I promise.”

Danny gave him a small smile and shut the car door. Arin watched as he unlocked his door and went in. The bedroom light cut on a few minutes later, but he didn’t leave just yet. Arin felt awful, hearing the way Dan talked about himself. He knew all too well how that felt. I’m going to make his dreams come true, Arin thought. He didn’t know how he would do it, but he was determined that Dan would become the musician he’d always wanted to be.

[kpopfanticscenarios]

Keep Me Safe (Jonghyun x Reader)

Pairing: Kim Jonghyun x Reader

Genre: Fluff, a bit angst

Word Count: 2K

Prompt: In a world where mythical creatures roam with humans in somewhat harmony, Y/n has no idea that her boyfriend is not what he appears to be.

“You’re really going to scare her if you don’t tell her soon Jonghyun.”

“You don’t think I know that? Hyung, if I could I would tell her everything about me. About all of us. But I can’t right now. Not during all this crap that’s going on at the moment.”

Beware of Vampires. 3rd Killing This Week.

Flyers upon flyers spread across the city. Mythical creatures roamed around the world; it wasn’t a secret that vampires or werewolves or angels or demons walked among the human race. They were just good at hiding it. Even though it was known, it was a new and unknown concept to humans. They were still afraid, scared of what these creatures can do. All those books and movies that exaggerated that these other races were evil, that they were strange, they were not welcomed into the human community is what made humans scared.

Jonghyun was what you called a vampire as well as his four other friends: Onew, Minho, Key, and Taemin. They created a pack, with Onew as their leader in a sense. Jonghyun was the only with a girlfriend, you. You two had been together for two years now, young and in love. He and his friends have been friends with you for five years, ever since you all met in college. At first they were all wary of you. You were a human, who knew what you thought about them, their species. They never once brought it up to you, and you didn’t to them either. No one wanted to ruin the relationship you all had. It was special. And soon Jonghyun had caught feelings for you.

Onew was very cautious about this. He didn’t want anything bad happening to Jonghyun, obviously. But Jonghyun was determined to be in a relationship with you. You both just ‘clicked’. There was this chemistry between you two that you couldn’t shake away. In the end, Onew let Jonghyun do what he wanted, he couldn’t really stop him anyway.

And now here they were. These past two weeks there’s been a reckless vampire loose, killing innocent people. It’s been making everyone nervous, including you.

Key stood up now, walking towards Jonghyun, “It’s something you need to have a leap of faith for. She loves you, Jonghyun. I don’t think she’d hate you or love you any different just because you aren’t a human.”

He was about to say more, though you had bursted through the door in front of them. They all jumped in their seats, but didn’t say anything about it; it was your apartment they were at after all.

“I thought I heard Key’s voice when I was coming up here. I’m so glad to see you all, it’s been awhile hasn’t it. Now it makes sense why Jonghyun wanted me to grab some pizzas along the way.” You laughed. It was the same laugh that Jonghyun fell in love with and he was quick to help you with the boxes of pizzas in your hand, giving you a quick kiss on the cheek before placing the boxes down on the table.

“We couldn’t be too gone from our girl. We missed you Y/n.” Minho said, and one by one they all started standing up to greet you. They gave you warm hugs, muttering welcomes and smiles.

Jonghyun scoffed, “You mean my girl. I’m the one dating her.”

“For now.”

“Yah! Taemin, do you have a death wish?!” Laughter filled the air as Jonghyun made his way to strangle the maknae. Luckily, you were able to stop him with a slice of pizza in front of his vision. Everyone soon was busy chewing on the food, giving small talks of their previous days, work, and venting.

“So, Y/n.” Onew has called, “Have you seen the news lately?”

You nodded, “Yeah, it’s kind of scary. Not knowing who’s doing these killings.”

“They said it was a vampire at fault.”

“Yes, a vampire. Now there’s some debate whether vampires should be banned from this city or not.” You chuckled a bit. “It’s kind of stupid in my opinion. At the moment police only have clues that it’s one vampire doing it, and they’re obviously not good. There may be hundreds more around the city. Hell, maybe you guys are vampires too.”

There was a tense pause that seeped through the air. All the guys stopped eating and just looked at you. Did you just figure them out? Were you going to scream? Were you going to run?

It was Minho who filled that empty void, seeing you looking at them curiously, “Ah, and you’re probably a siren, right?” He gave a small chuckle, with the rest of the guys joining along, and soon you too were giggling at the supposed nonsense.

“So,” you held up a slice of pizza, “seconds?”

And the night went on happily and merrily. Everyone was well, everyone had nothing to worry about. And that lasted through the week, and the week after that. There hadn’t been any case of those vampire killings, so the media was hardly covering it anymore. Although, there still hadn’t been any leads as to who this killer was, nobody batted their eyes on it anymore. You didn’t, Jonghyun didn’t, his friends didn’t either.

One night, while you were getting ready to make an evening dinner, you had entirely forgotten an important part of the meal. You looked at your phone, seeing that the closest supermarket would close for another hour or so, you hurriedly put on your shoes and shot Jonghyun a text stating you were making a quick run to get groceries and to make himself at home.

It was supposed to be a fast transaction. It took you only ten minutes to get the things you needed, another five minutes to wait in line, and another five to pay. You were so close to your apartment, you were already imagining seeing Jonghyun washing the dishes that you forgot to clean and him greeting you by splattering droplets of water all of your face.

But you probably wouldn’t get that opportunity to enjoy the cute things Jonghyun would do for you because you had been grabbed roughly and pulled into an alley. A bag of your groceries lay mindlessly on the sidewalk as your perpetrator pulled you further and further into the darkness. You struggled with all your might, but you were no match for the person holding you.

“You really think your puny hands would be able to hurt me? Or maybe you think you’ll run away from me, huh? Let me tell you something first sweetheart, none of my victims ever run away from me.”

‘She’s really taking some time, she should have been here by now.’ Jonghyun had just been sitting on your couch, watching some tv, wondering what was taking you so long.

“I’ll just call her, I’m sure she’d love to hear my voice.” He chuckled to himself as he quickly pulled up your contact and started dialing the number. The ringer went on for a couple seconds before it took him to voicemail. Jonghyun furrowed his brows before redailing you. Again, voicemail. He tried again and again, and each time it took him to voicemail.

Normally, he wouldn’t be concerned, but he just had a horrible feeling in his stomach. You were his soulmate, he could say, and he always knew when you were in trouble. He quickly called the rest of the guys, telling them his concerns and they wasted no time in going to look for you.

Jonghyun quickly got up from his seat, storming out of the apartment and retracting the steps you should have gone going to and back from the supermarket. He saw nothing out of the ordinary. Not until he saw a bag of smashed groceries just laying on the floor. His senses heightened, he looked all around the perimeter for any other clues.

There it was, he heard it. A slight scuffle. Very miniscule; one that no human could ever hear. He looked to his right: an alley. He felt his anger rise. As he stalked towards the alley, he messaged the other guys, informing them to quickly go to where he was.

Again he heard it, another scuffle followed by a low groan. He wasted no time in going further into the alley until he saw your familiar figure.

“Get the fuck away from her now.” he growled.

The perpetrator, a man a bit older than him and holding a knife quickly shifted his gaze and Jonghyun. He gave a low chuckle, moving even closer to you, the knife in his hand uncomfortably close to your neck.

“You’re really going to save this human’s life? Come on now, don’t tell me her blood doesn’t smell delightful. I’ll even let you have a taste if you want.”

You gave a muffled scream, your eyes wide and confused. What was Jonghyun doing there, why is this monster asking him if he wanted a taste?

Jonghyun sighed, “You have 3 seconds to let her go.”

“And what are you going to do if-”

But the man had no time to finish his thought. All to quickly, with inhuman speed, Jonghyun grabbed the man and snapped his neck in half. He quickly took hold of the knife and threw it across the ground.

He wasted no time in untying the ropes that were around your figure and tearing off the tape that was bound over your mouth. He held onto you as you cried against his shoulder, he saw the many small cuts and bruises over your body.

“Shh, shh. It’s okay darling. I’m here, there’s no need to worry. I’m here, I’m here.”

That only made you cry even more, gripping to his shirt. All the while his four friends had made it a bit afterwards. Jonghyun quickly told them to take the body to the authorities; their authorities. It would be safe if the human race didn’t know of what actually happened and make their presence as vampires known.

After some time you had finally calmed down. You wiped your eyes to get rid of the excess tears. You looked into Jonghyun’s eyes, leaning in and hitting him in the back of the head.

“Ow! Jagi, why did you do that? I just saved your life, you should be showering me with kisses and compliments.”

“I will after you tell me why you never told me about your secret life! We’ve been together for years and I have to find out through a near death experience?!” You hit him again, but softer this time.

Jonghyun gave a slight whine, “I didn’t know how you’d react. I mean, my kind isn’t the best people pleaser. I was afraid you’d leave me.”

“Jonghyun,” you closed your eyes for a moment before opening them and giving him a light kiss. “You idiot, I wouldn’t care if you an outer world being or whatever. I love you, I love you for who you are, not what you are. You being a vampire doesn’t change the fact that you’re still the same Jonghyun that I love and care about. Stop worrying. And you saved me too, I think that justifies me being with you even more.”

After your words, Jonghyun gave you a bone-crushing hug, swaying you side-to-side, giving you kisses all around your face.

“You make me so happy, you know that? Come on, let’s go finish that dinner. Dinner isn’t the same without my wonderful Jagi cooking it.”

So, you both went back to your apartment, going back to normal. Nothing had changed, you were still a bit shaken up about the incident, but Jonghyun was able to distract you from it and comfort you.

“Wait, so are the rest of the guys vampires too?”

“Yup, we have a pack.”

“And you guys don’t really sparkle? Wow, bummer.”

“YAH! Vampires don’t sparkle! That’s not a thing! Why must people always assume such things.”

Kpop Scenario Masterlist ←

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This is for @realjonghyun99. They had requested this before Jonghyun’s passing, so I still wanted to finish it. I’m sorry sorry that it took so long to do, it should not have taken this long and I deeply apologize for that; that was my fault. But I do hope you enjoy it. I hope you all enjoy it and remember Jonghyun as someone who was great and so happy and gave his fans his love and much much more. This will probably be the last time I do a Jonghyun based thing on here, so...yeah

[worstchosenone]

Even If It’s Just Pretend

Wow, I'm back! Hopefully, there will be no more crazy long gaps. So, the actual study...I know nothing about Psychology. Like I took one High School course but...I didn't learn much. I also did some research, but I'm not sure if it helped. So if you do know anything about psychology and those parts are laughable, I warned you.

Read on Ao3

Description: Simon is broke, his foster father is an asshole, and he knows he has nowhere to go when summer break comes around. So when he sees an ad for a paid psychology experiment involving romantic couples, he’s quick to pretend he’s in a relationship…with his nemesis/roommate Baz. AKA the faking dating trope that we know we all love.

Chapter 1/Chapter 2/Chapter 3/ Chapter 4

Baz

We separate after lunch, most of us having class to attend, and I hear Bunce huff off something to Simon about needing notes from me from our shared Biology class (which is absolute shit, Bunce has never needed notes from anyone in her life) before she approaches me from behind, throwing her hand onto my shoulder and urging me to stop. I want to keep going, but Bunce has a fierce grip, so I growl at her and turn around with a sneer. “What do you want, Bunce?” “To talk to you,” She tilts her head ever so slightly, like she’s trying to see through me. “Why would I want to talk to you?” I ask, narrowing my eyes. “Maybe because I’m the best friend of the guy you want to snog,” She grins up at me, not even bothering to hide her amusement. The git. “I do not want to snog Snow,” I growl. Lie, total lie. “Right,” She nods. “So, for how long and what are you going to do about it?” I just roll my eyes at her and keep walking.

Ever persistent, Bunce keeps on me.

“Basil, what are you going to do?” She’s practically jogging to keep up with me, which is pretty funny. “Are you just going to pine after him until you graduate?” “Why not? I’ve been doing it for nearly two years now,” I don’t want to give her even that, but she already knows enough to damn me by telling Snow (she won’t). So I figure this will appease her, for now. It does, she stops walking. Dropping behind me and probably heading back to Snow. When I glance back a few minutes later, I can’t see her at all. Simon When Penny finally catches up to me, she has no notes in hand. I tell her this, eying her suspiciously. “Oh,” She shrugs casually, “He didn’t have them on him. I’ll just have to pick them up next time we’re in biology.” I nod, my eyes on the ground. “What are you doing with Baz?” She blurts, keeping her eyes on the sidewalk ahead of us. “What do you mean?” I furrow my brows, she knows what I’m doing. “What do you mean? I needed the money.” I shrug at her, pushing my hands into my pockets. “These studies pay crap, Simon,” She says, I can tell that she is trying (and failing) to keep her tone disinterested. “Like 50 pounds, max.” “Everything helps,” I mumble, I don’t know what she’s getting at. “You’re putting in a lot of effort, and time, for 50 pounds,” She’s prying like she does when she’s trying to tell me something without saying it. “You’re pretending to date someone that you hate,” A pause. “You do still hate him, right?” I whip my head to her, my eyes widening. “Of course I hate him!” Throwing my hands up. “He’s been out to get me since freshman year! I just...we’re on a truce,” I stop walking abruptly, Penny stumbles to a stop a few feet ahead. “You don’t understand what it is to have no money, I don’t even know where I’m going to stay this summer.” “I know, and I’m sorry for pushing you. But you know you can stay with my family, anytime,” She’s completely turned around, and her usually intense eyes have gone soft. I snort, “You’re spending the summer with Micah in America, I don’t think I’m welcome in your house without you. I don’t think your mom likes me,” I scrunch up my nose at the thought of the Christmas vacation I’d spent at her house. Any moment without her there had been unbearably awkward. “She just doesn’t like who you align yourself with,” Penny points out. “Though, in light of recent events,” She throws me a sympathetic look. “You can probably bond over it.” I smile a little, and I don’t think it quite reaches my eyes. --- I spend the rest of my classes running what Penny said through my head, I don’t understand what she means. Sure, Baz seemed nice for what he did. But it was really only another chance to drive me insane. I do hate Baz, or at least strongly dislike him. And he hates me. Penny doesn’t know everything, not when it comes to this. Baz I only have one more class that day, and it finishes up around 1 o’clock. I head back to our dorm with the plan to get some revising done. It’s rudely interrupted only minutes through by a loud knock on the door. I growl and roll my eyes, I don’t know who would possibly be knocking on our door. Dev and Niall never come around, they just text me until I finally tell them where to meet. I’d think it was Snow (that git is always forgetting his key) if I didn’t know he had classes until three. I stalk over to the door and throw it open to find Bunce’s face grinning up at me. I briefly consider just slamming it in her face when she pushes right through me and into the room. “Excuse me, Bunce,” I sneer. Closing the door behind me, “But Snow isn’t here.” “I know he isn’t here,” She smiles, “I’m here to see you.” I groan, knowing that getting rid of her is going to be a long (and painful) process. “Why?” “Because, Basil,” She says, sitting herself down on Snow’s bed. “We’re friends now, aren’t we?” I huff, “Friends? No.” I sit down across from her on my own bed. “We’re temporarily not out to get each other.” “I only have three friends,” She points out, leaning towards me. “Without you, that’s two.” “You’ve had only two friends for a long time Bunce,” I scoff, “I’d think you’d be used to it by now.” “Fine, two-point-five, but Basil,” She starts, “What you’re doing with Simon, it's probably not a good idea.” “Wow, Bunce,” I roll my eyes, laying on a thick layer of sarcasm, “That’s very insightful. Pretending to date the guy who hates me, who I’m also slightly in love with. Seems stellar to me.” “Love?” Fuck, “I mean. It’s a crush,” I brush it off, leaning back against my desk. “Whatever it is-” She pauses, her mouth hanging open like she wants to say something, but can’t. “Spit it out, Bunce,” I push, “I don’t have all day.” “Have you ever wondered why Simon might be doing this?” She ponders, narrowing her eyes. I have a feeling she already knows the answer, or at least she thinks she already knows the answer. “You already know why Snow’s doing this, a desperate need for money,” I don’t know where Bunce is going with this. But I know that it can’t be anything short of a disaster. “Baz,” She doesn’t usually use my name, the one everyone else calls me. “One hundred pounds isn’t going to change his life, and it certainly wouldn’t be worth putting up with someone he hates. All this time and effort, he could get a bloody second job.” “Bunce, if you’re trying to imply in any way, shape, or form that Snow has feelings for me, then you’re an absolute lunatic,” She really is, Snow hates me. He’d probably kick me out of this school right now for fifty pounds. She doesn’t say anything, just shrugs, and gives me a cheeky look. “I won’t push it. I don’t know anything.” Bunce leaves soon after that, mumbling about how behind on schoolwork she is (and by behind she means to say not weeks ahead). When I’m alone, I don’t let myself think about what she was saying. I even let myself consider, for a single second, that she might be right. I definitely don’t spare a single thought to the idea that she is his best friend, and that she might know him better than I do. Because when Snow is involved, I don’t get lucky like that. And thinking I might could only lead to pain.

----- Simon When I get back to the room, Baz is clearly waiting for me. His backpack is slung over his shoulder and he looks up before I can even get the door open all the way. “Where have you been?” He keeps glancing at his watch like he has someplace to be. “I was revising,” I say, throwing my bag down next to my bed. “Why?” “Our first study is today,” He says it like he always does when he thinks I'm stupid. I’m not stupid, I just forgot. “We’re going to be late as-is.” “Shit,” I swear, “I completely forgot.” “Of course you forgot,” Baz sneers, “Because I have to be here to hold your hand through every bloody step of this. And I’m not even the one who cares.” “Oh, fuck off, Baz,” I growl as he pushes past me and out of the room. “You sure seem to care, for someone who hates me,” I mutter, low enough that I think he won’t hear me. “What?” Baz all but whips around to face me, apparently, It wasn’t that quiet. “What’s that supposed to mean?” “Nothing,” I roll my eyes. “This isn’t worth it, we’re late.” “Right,” He agrees, turning back around toward the stairs. --- When we get to the building that houses the psychology department, Baz doesn’t grab my hand. He barely even looks at me. I can’t help but wish that he would (just so that we make a realistic couple). “We’re here for an appointment, we’re a couple that’s participating of one of the studies. Simon and Baz,” Baz announces, like he owns the place. Like he has any idea how we’re going to pull this off. “I remember you,” The lady at the desk smiles, a tight, strained smile. She’s the same one that’s always been there. I don’t think she likes us very much at this point. “You’re late.” “We-” Baz starts, no doubt with a good explanation. “I forgot,” I cut in, smiling as widely as I can. “If it weren’t for Baz we wouldn’t even be here at all.” I put my arm on his shoulder and squeeze. He stiffens a little at the touch, and I don’t know why I’m hurt by that. She practically rolls her eyes, and I kind of want to glare at her, but I don’t (Baz is doing enough glaring for both us, anyway). “Alright, sit down. They’ll call you in soon enough.” We only sit for about five minutes before we’re called back. When we do, we enter this sterile, white room with a table and a box lying on top. The table has three chairs pulled up to it, two are facing each other and one is to the left. A young man, couldn’t be older than a college senior, stands in the corner. “Please take a seat opposite each other,” He tells us, motioning to the table. When we do, he takes the seat to the left and opens the box, pulling out wires and little devices. “We’re going to be hooking these up to you, to monitor your heart rates while we do some activities and ask you some questions.” I glance at Baz fearfully, what if this is some kind of lie detector test? What if we fail miserably? I feel like I’m going to fall apart, but Baz looks absolutely cool, which reassures me a bit. He hooks up a few wires to our wrists, then adjusts a few things on his device (I don’t even try to understand it, it’s very high tech). “Okay, first off,” He glances at the clipboard in his hand. “I’m Connor, if you have any questions about the study, now is the time to ask them.” I shrug, and Baz just look bored, so he continues. “Alright, I’m going to ask a few questions then,” He looks again at the clipboard, his pen hovering over it. “Simon?” He glances at me, of course, he knows who I am. “Yes.” “Would you say you’ve reached a point in your relationship where you’re in love with your partner?” I open my mouth, glancing frantically at Baz. I don’t know what to say, that I love him? I can feel my cheeks heat at the thought. But we’ve supposedly been dating for over a year, so shouldn’t we be in love? Why did they have to ask me first? Baz would know what to say, but his face is cool, giving nothing away. “Uh, yeah-yes.” I cringe at the hesitant answer. “Alright,” A mark of the pen. “And, Tyrannus?” He looks at Baz, and nearly chuckle at his first name. “Call me Baz,” He throws a somewhat subtle glare at me. “And, yes, I am in love with him.” I can’t help but blush, despite the fact that this is all an act and I just said the very same thing. “Great,” A short scribble. “Now, I’m just going to have you stare into each other's eyes for a few minutes. I’ll be monitoring your heart rate, among other things,” He writes something else, looking expectantly up at us. Right, okay. Looking Baz in the eyes, I can do this. I make my eyes meet his, and as soon as they do, I feel kind of like I shouldn’t ever stop. His eyes are soft, softer than I’ve ever seen them in my life. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I think about how he’s just acting. But that’s not the part of my mind that’s in control right now, so I just let myself study his eyes. He looks so in love, and I didn’t ever know Baz could act so well, and suddenly I’m thinking how lucky someone would be for him to look at them like that, for real. Wait, no. I don’t want Baz to look at me like that, because he’s a git. And he’s boy. And I’m not gay, and even if I were gay, I wouldn’t like Baz because he’s a git. But his eyes. Baz This is possibly the worst thing I’ve ever done, because Simon is looking at me with those dopey eyes of his. The eyes usually reserved for Wellbelove, and I don’t really care that it’s not real because those eyes. Simon I don’t know why I feel this way, I mean, I’ve never even felt this way about Agatha (I mean, close, but not this intensely). But again, he’s my enemy (maybe that’s a little dramatic, but nemesis at least). And he’s also a boy, and he’s straight, surely. Right? And so am I. I think. When the activity is finally over I force myself to tear my eyes away from Baz, as soon as I do, Baz goes back to looking just as indifferent to me as he always does (or as indifferent as he looks when he’s not actively glaring at me), and it hurts a little. Maybe we should be friends, that would be nice.

[dolanmedown]

Hate You (E.D)

Authors note: I’m sorry for being so inactive but I’m going to be on all day today so if you requested anything it will most likely be up today or early tomorrow!!

Request: i’m running on three hours of sleep so my inspiration is running low but for some reason i really love imagines where like they both hate eachother for..whatever reason and so eventually they just kinda yk yk. it could be fluff or smut with either boy.

Warnings: Not really, maybe language or light smut

There were many reasons as to why I hated Ethan Dolan. In first grade, he poured Elmer’s glue down my back. My mom gave me a 2 hour shower when I got home. In 4th grade, he threw my notebook in the garbage during lunch. I was a goody tissues, and my notebook had all my homework in it. I cried to my teacher for 25 minutes. In 7th grade, he took a video of me sleeping and put it on vine for out entire school to see. I didn’t go to school for 3 days.

But the biggest reason that I hate the Ethan Grant Dolan: he left me in 10th grade.

I’m not talking about we were dating and he left me or whatever. I’m talking we were best friends. The Dolan twins and I. We were the 3 musketeers. I was featured on some of their vines. I was the one who pushed them to continue doing vine and chasing their dream, even when they were getting bullied in 9th grade.

When they continued to be homeschooled, it was a little weird to get used to not having them annoy me in school. But I still got to see them when I came home. And I was happy for them. They could continue doing what they loved to do.

I remember I came home from the last day of and I raced over to the Dolan house. With school ending, we could spend more time doing stupid crap together like we usually did. I didn’t bother knocking because I never knocked. I walked into the living room where they were usually sitting. They weren’t there. Cameron came down the stairs.

“Hey, where’s E and G?"I asked. Her face dropped and suddenly became super red.

"They didn’t tell you?"she asked.

"Tell me what?"I asked.

"They um, well they-”

“Cam"I almost demanded.

"They flew out to LA and have an apartment there. That’s where they’re living for know on"she said. Now my jaw dropped.

"Why didn’t they tell me?"I asked, my voice cracking. Cam responded by hugging me.

"I’ll kill them"she whispered in my ear.

I didn’t bother texting or calling them. Even when I wanted to. I wanted to so bad. But they were the ones who did me wrong.

I ended up becoming closer with Cam then ever. Even though she went to college, we still talked everyday. I ended up focusing on basketball. I always played with E and G, but now that they weren’t here, I put more focus on it.

So flash forward 2 years. I’m going to college in 2 months. The UCLA Bruins with a full scholarship ride. I couldn’t wait. Cam told me the best thing about college is the experiences. For now, I was just counting down the days until I took off.

Anyways, I went to the closest ice cream place I could find to get a gift card for my coach. He’s done so much for me that man and I know he loves ice cream, so I wanted to give him a little gift before I left for college. I went up to the cashier and asked for a $50 gift card. After handing the cash to her, she handed me the gift card. It was super cute, with sprinkles and hot fudge all over. As I was admiring the gift card, I accidentally bumped into someone, or a wall for that matter.

"I’m sorry!"we both said at the same time. I looked up, and I came face to face with Ethan. After not seeing him for 2 years, here he was, standing right it front of me. He looked different. Before it was sort of hard to tell apart him and Gray. Now they look nothing alike. He’s gotten bigger too. Way bigger. And tanner.

I didn’t know what to say. Do I even say anything? He was staring at me the same way I was staring at him. Jaw dropped, inspecting every element of each other.

"Yo E why are you-holy shit. Y/N?"he asked. He knew the answer to that, but clarification I guess.

"Uh, hi"I said, pretty awkwardly. I didn’t know what to do. Or say. I haven’t spoken to them in 2 years, do I act like everything is fine or still be mad? How about neither. Instead I do what no one should do but I always end up doing. Run away.

"Look I really gotta go-"I said almost running to the door.

"Wait Y/N!"Gray said but I didn’t let him finish.

"Sorry!"I said as I was out the door, speed walking to my car. I took a look back. Ethan had the same face on from when we first bumped into each other, while Grayson seemed sadder. I put my car in reverse and drove back to my house.

The way home was nothing but thinking. Why were the twins in NJ again? Did they come home to visit family? How long are they going to be staying home for? What if they’re permanently staying? Overthinking was really just the gist of the whole car ride. I walked inside to see my mom with her car keys in her hand.

"Hey mom. Where are you going?"I asked.

"Just some food shopping. I’ll be back soon"she replied.

"Mom it takes you 3 hours for food shopping"I said. She chuckled.

"Oh sweetie. Did you know the twins are back? You should go say hi!"she suggested. I gave her a look, and she read my mind.

"I know you didn’t leave off good but you guys are the 3 amigos. Maybe not right now, but just try to talk to them?"she asked. I groaned and plopped down on the couch. She left, locking the door on her way out.

I was scrolling through Instagram, Snapchat, twitter, everything. And I was stalking the twins. I’m almost 100% sure that when they left, I blocked them on every social media possible and deleted their contact so they couldn’t follow me. 14 minutes when by when I heard a knock on the door.

I got up, fixing my jeans a little bit before opening the door. I was again, face to face with Ethan. Why does this keep happening to me?

Again, I didn’t know what to do. But he looked like he had everything thought out. He pushed past me, entering my house without even saying a word. I closed the door, suddenly my blood starting boiling of anger.

"Can you leave my house?"I asked. Except I didn’t want him to option. I wanted him to leave my house.

"No. We’re going to settle this once and for all,"he said.

"Settle what? Did we go to war or something?"I remarked.

"Why you hate us so much!"he exclaimed.

"Oh let me think. Maybe it’s because all of the sudden, you left for LA without even telling your best friend! Or I thought I was your best friend at least. I had to find out from fucking Cameron. Who just leaves and doesn’t tell anyone?"I yelled.

"How could I try to tell you when you blocked me on everything?"he started to raise his voice too.

"Me? You’re blaming this on me now?"I asked, almost at shock. My voice was still high.

"I wasn’t the one who just totally cut off ties with someone!"he yelled.

"I wasn’t the one who got a plane to across the fucking country and didn’t even tell their best friend! Do you speak English? I wouldn’t have done what I did if you weren’t such a dick!"I yelled. We just looked at each other. My heart was beating out of my chest. My face was flushed from yelling. My face went into this RBF. Ethan’s hands were in his hair, tugging on it. His jaw was clenched and his face was flushed as well.

"Why didn’t you tell me?"I asked, my voice back at normal. He didn’t answer, instead he just turned around, his hands going to his hair for support again.

"Wow great. I can’t believe it,"I said.

He walked towards me, getting closer and closer. And didn’t stop until he grabbed my face in his hands and planted his lips right onto mine. I melted right into the kiss at first. Not going to lie. But then I realized, why am I kissing Ethan? I pulled back and pushed him back a bit, to which he stumbled a bit being taken off guard.

"No Ethan. You can’t just kiss me and think that’s going to solve everything. You didn’t answer my question"I demanded.

"Ok fine. You wanna know why I didn’t tell you?"he asked.

"Kinda"I scoffed.

"Because I was madly in love with you. I still am. How was I supposed to say that I’m leaving for who knows how long to someone I can’t stand not seeing for more than 2 seconds? I couldn’t bring myself to say bye because if I did I didn’t know what else might come out of my mouth. And I thought it was a phase. I thought I would get over you after a couple of months of not seeing you everyday. Hell, I even got a fucking girlfriend to try and distract myself from you. But I can’t. I can’t seem to get you out of my fucking head Y/N. Every girl I see I try to look for you. And I can’t. Because you are the only person that I want. Ok. There I said it"he ended his speech with a quick gasp, like he lost all the air he had inside when he spoke.

For the third time today, I was speechless. I didn’t know what to say.

"I know, I ruined our friendship and now you don’t want to talk to me"he said, walking towards me, except to go to the door. Except this time, I grabbed his collar and pulled him towards me, connecting our lips. He backed us into a wall, my the top of my back using the wall as support as his hands grabbed the small of my back to bring us closer.

We didn’t stop kissing. Things only got more heated from there. His tongue slipped in my mouth, as his hands traveled lower towards my ass giving it a good grab.

Eventually I needed to breathe, so I pulled away.

"Let me make it up to you,"he said, lifting me off the ground as my legs wrapped around his waist. He placed me on the couch, hovering over me.

You probably know what happened after that. It was a good night. But afterwards it was even better. Catching up on each other’s lives, we finally put the last behind us and moved forward. I was happy to say the least. I finally had my best friend, or even more then that, next to me and back in my life.

[welcometophu]

Not Your Destiny: Chapter 17

Marked Book 1: Not Your Destiny

Chapter 17

[ Previous | First | Next ]

Luca leaves after an hour or two, taking Maritsa with him to drop her off at a dress fitting. Cleto remains camped in the same seat, chatting quietly with Hayley, answering questions about Ángel’s childhood. Ángel feels like he should regret this, especially when Tanner starts helping Cleto tell stories, but he can see how it helps. He doesn’t want to break the fragile peace that Tanner seems to feel.

Lira comes back, lips pursed when she looks at Cleto, gaze drifting from him to Hayley to Tanner with narrowed eyes. Ángel stares at her, waits for her attention to fall on him then meets her gaze calmly until she blinks and looks away, expression sour.

“Is there news?” Mary asks, twisting in her seat to look at Lira. Joey’s hand rests on Mary’s knee, Mary’s other hand tangled with Papi.

Lira smiles when she turns back to them, sweet and soft. “He’s awake,” she says, “and the doctor’s cleared him for visitors. Only two at a time; until we know what set off this round of seizures, the doctor would prefer to keep stimulation to a minimum. She’s also called for one of the elders of our Mages to come see him, see if she can see what has upset his Talent.”

Mary’s expression thins, and Tanner makes a low nose. Hayley’s brow furrows, but Ángel shakes his head. If Mary wants to explain how everyone’s seen Emerson at one time or another, that’s up to her. Not them. Every single adult Mage in the northern part of Florida met Emerson when he was younger, it seemed like, and none of them had any experience with his Talent. None of them knew why the seizures came with the magic, or why they seemed link to the color and number of the bubbles.

Ángel makes a mental note to talk to Pawel when he gets the chance. Maybe he’ll have a better idea, or at least someone else they could talk to. Someone with a new perspective.

“Do you want to see him?” Lira asks, and Tanner’s out of his seat, Hayley moving in his wake, before she finishes the sentence. Lira frowns as Hayley follows Tanner to the door, and Hayley stops, rocking back on her heels.

“I’ll just… wait… here.” Hayley turns, gestures at the chairs. “With Papi?”

“You don’t need to stay,” Mary says quietly, hugging Joey quickly, squeezing Papi’s hand. “I’ll be fine. Take Abuela home to get some rest, and Tanner and I will stay.”

Hayley bites her lip, wavers in place.

“Come on, Hayley, we’ll take you home.” Joey stands, smoothes the wrinkles from her shirt. “We’ll come back later to bring Tanner and Mary some lunch; something better than the hospital has in the cafeteria.”

“It’s okay,” Tanner says, his hand already on the handle for the door. He reaches for Mary, an arm across his mother’s back as they nudge open the door together. Hayley deflates as she watches them go.

“Do you want me to come home?” Ángel asks, because at this point he’s not really sure what he should do. He needs to work off the payment for Helga, but at the same time, he wants to support his family. But he can’t support Tanner if he leaves, although maybe he could help Hayley.

It’s confusing.

Hayley shakes her head, crosses her arms and bounces a little on her toes. “No, I’m fine. I mean. I’ll go home, and I’ll text Zita and maybe she needs some help today or something. I don’t really think I can sleep again. Not until tonight. I’m just.” She lifts her hands, flicks her fingers near her temples, and sparks spill out. “Wired.”

Cleto laughs, soft and low.

Tanner and Mary disappear. Ángel takes the moment to hug and be hugged by everyone except Cleto, before Cleto carefully pulls him away from his family. “I’ll drop you off,” Cleto offers, and well, that takes care of that decision.

The Camaro rumbles loudly, more like a friendly warning growl than a purr. But it rides smoothly, and the interior is clean and neat. Ángel suspects the upholstery has been redone, rather than patched, or else the seats have been replaced completely. “It looks good,” he says when they arrive, and Cleto just nods his reply.

Cleto doesn’t stick around while Ángel goes inside.

He walks past the floor, pausing when he hears Luca hiss. He glances over, and Luca points at the office door that sits mostly closed, then presses a finger to his lips, twists his fingers like a key.

Locked lips? Zipped lips? Ángel’s brow furrows, and he shakes his head, taking another step down the hall. Luca rolls his eyes, waves him away.

Gabi looks up as soon as Ángel walks in, eyebrows rising, then falling into a scowl just as quickly. “Of course it’s you,” she mutters. “Weren’t you taking the day off? Go help Emerson.”

“There’s not really anything I can do to help,” Ángel says. “Figured it’s better to come here. Hayley’s going to try to help out Zita again, if she needs it. Tanner and Mary are with Emerson.” Ángel glances back at the door, finally figuring out what was wrong when he walked in. “Is Luca the only one on the floor?”

A dark, dry laugh. “Million dollar question, there. Yes, yes he is,” Gabi grumbles. “Want to place your bet on how long he’s on his own, or do you want to get out there and help him?”

“Tony said not to touch anything unless he said—” Ángel cuts off at Gabi’s glare.

“Tony isn’t here, so take your orders from Luca,” she snaps. “Just go. Do something. We have too many cars and not enough mechanics and the work’s piling up. Someone needs to deal with it.”

There’s no arguing with her, and it isn’t worth Ángel’s life to sit there in the office with her glaring at him. He heads back out to the floor, takes the paperwork that Luca hands him, and hits the button to open the door for the middle bay. It’s an oil change, of course. Ángel has a feeling that they’ll all be oil changes, since that’s most of what Tony’s had him do so far. He’s going to be a mess by the time he goes home.

It’s easy to get lost in the work. He gets through three oil changes before Gabi yells for him to get the truck out to change a flat. He’s on his way back from that when she calls him to bring someone in with a car that won’t start. The woman comes with him, sitting quietly in the cab of the tow truck, ignoring him after he explained that neither Tony nor Cleto was coming to help.

The woman stalks inside while Ángel lowers the car, Luca coming to help him get it off the truck. They’re just winding the chains back up on the truck when a car pulls in and stops. Ángel glances over, expecting a customer, but Tony gets out. Luca clears his throat, taps his wrist, but Tony ignores him, leaning back in through the open door. Even from a distance, Ángel can see the way Daphne twists her hand in Tony’s collar, tugs him close before they kiss.

Ángel drops the coil of chain with a clatter.

Tony jerks back, just barely clearing the top of the door. He turns, glares as he slams the door, and Daphne peals out.

“You’re late!” Luca yells. “And we’re really fucking busy!”

“Are there any more oil changes on the list for today?” Ángel asks. He jumps down from the back of the truck, makes sure everything’s tight and solid. He could warn Tony that whoever she was is inside, and probably interested in running into him, but he decides he doesn’t care. He has a feeling Gabi will be entertained, anyway, if Tony has to deal with her.

“None that I saw, unless Gabi added one while you were out,” Luca says. He steps back from the truck, avoids Tony’s path as Ángel climbs into the truck. “Why?”

“Sounds like you don’t need me anymore. I’ll put the truck out back, clean up, and see what Gabi needs,” Ángel says. He slams the door closed, twists the key and revs the engine. It feels good when it rumbles under his foot, the shift moving with a low clunk into gear. He leaves them behind and takes the truck into the back lot, parking it in the open space.

Helga’s sitting there, off to one side, lonely and ignored. Ángel trails his fingers just above her hood, not wanting to touch with his greasy fingers. Maybe later. Maybe just for a little while.

He lingers over washing his hands, avoiding the office as long as he can hear Tony’s low voice inside. He waits until Tony stalks past on his way to the floor, then heads in to find Gabi slumped at the desk, her head resting against the cold wood.

Ángel grabs the other chair, slides it next to her and sinks into it, his hand at the nape of her neck. “Hey. You okay?”

“Frustrated,” Gabi mutters to the desk. “I bet Zita how long they’d stay broken up. She thought it’d take a month to get them back together. I said less than a week, but I really didn’t want to be right. And it’s not like he—” She cuts off with a sour growl, her back arching up into Ángel’s touch. He flattens his hand in response, rubs small circles until the sound she makes is more pleased than annoyed. She finally huffs, sighs, and pushes herself to sitting upright.

“You got anything you want me to do?” Ángel asks, pulling back enough to give her space.

Her gaze drifts to the paperwork, all neatly stacked and ready for filing, then she shakes her head. “I’ve got this. I’m not going out on the floor. Does Luca have anything else for you to do?”

Ángel bites his tongue on the response that Tony’s here now, and shouldn’t he check with him instead? He just shakes his head. “I’ve done all the oil changes, and I’m not approved for anything else yet.” If Gabi’s not going to say his name, then Ángel won’t either.

“Just go find something to do until the next call comes in,” Gabi says quietly. “You had a shit night. If you want to crawl into a corner and take a nap, I’m not telling, and Tony has no room to bitch.”

Ángel’s not tired. He’s getting hungry, but he can ignore it for the moment, and he’s not going to give up a chance at some quiet. “I’ll be out back if anyone’s looking. We’ve got a vacuum for cleaning cars somewhere, right?”

Gabi shows him where the vacuum’s tucked in a closet, and Ángel grabs that and a couple of trash bags and heads out to Helga. It’s not anything glamorous, but it’s needed to be done for months, and why not now? Ángel digs all the trash out, puts the returnable bottles into another bag to take back to New York after break to be returned. Once he’s got it clear, he shucks the hoodie he wore during the cooler overnight hours, leaving it on the hood, and crawls in under the dashboard to pull out the floor mats and vacuum up the multitude of crumbs that have somehow fallen down.

He slides out, straightens up to find Tony standing there, arms crossed, leaning one hip against the hood. Tony arches an eyebrow, and Ángel turns away. “Got another oil change for me?” Ángel asks dryly. “Gabi said she was all set, so I figured I’d clean Helga out.”

“Luca told me about Emerson,” Tony says, and Ángel turns around slowly.

“I’m not expecting special treatment because I was at the hospital overnight,” Ángel tells him. “Besides, I’m not the one who was—” He cuts off, not wanting to start an argument.

“I was thinking we could do her brakes.”

That’s not the response Ángel was expecting. “Aren’t you busy?”

Tony shrugs one shoulder. “Yes, but sometimes things take time while we’re waiting for parts to come in. Or we don’t get to them because there are calls that interrupt. Bring your car around, put her in the middle bay.”

Ángel wants to protest that it’s Wednesday. That they shouldn’t bump anyone else’s business for his car. But at the same time, he stubbornly wants one thing for himself right now, so he bites down on the words, instead choosing to say, “Helga.”

Tony snorts, comes to his feet with a roll of his shoulders. “Bring Helga around. I’ll meet you in the middle bay.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to push her?” Ángel asks. “She still won’t start. Hitching her to the truck seems like overkill.”

Tony makes a noise of agreement, and they open the two front doors, each getting a shoulder in. Ángel knocks the car into neutral, and together they push her around and get her situated in the bay. Tony puts her up on the lift, gathers what’s needed for the brakes.

It’s half work and half lessons. It’s not Ángel’s first brake job, but it’s been a couple of years. It helps that Luca’s doing the brakes on an Audi in his bay, and slowly the mood shifts from tense to something closer to the usual easy banter. It’s not as good as it was on Sunday, when it was just him and Tony, but that’s because there’s a residual tension in Tony’s shoulders, pinning them back.

Gabi comes out and brings up a chair, swings it around to sit on it backwards, her elbows and chin leaning on the back. “Is there any news from Tanner about Emerson?” she asks.

Ángel’s grip on the wrench slips; Tony reaches past him, leaning against him as he anchors it in place before Ángel can make a mess. Tony jerks his chin at the wrench, and Ángel leaves him holding it, steps back enough to be able to get his phone out.

He shakes his head at the blank screen. “Nothing.”

“But he’s going to be okay,” Gabi says quietly, and Ángel feels his heart twist at her concern.

“Hope so. They might have to change his meds.” Ángel isn’t sure how it all works, and he feels like there should be a better solution. He opens up his email while he’s thinking about it, composes a quick message to Pawel: I have a weird case of Talent I’d like to talk to you about.

Tony nudges him, and Ángel ducks in close again, listening while Tony explains what they’re doing next. In the background, he can hear Luca telling Gabi the story of Emerson’s first seizure, and he wonders how Luca heard that particular story. Ángel answers questions when he’s asked, but it’s only with half a brain.

“It’s a pity that there’s nothing that can just make Talent fizzle out and stop,” Gabi muses idly, and Ángel huffs.

“That’d be one solution.” He sinks down to sit for a moment, knees up. His ass is probably covered in grime, but what’s one more pair of jeans ruined at this point? “It’s like he’s got a half a Talent. It doesn’t do anything useful, and maybe it would if it worked completely. Maybe the seizures are his brain trying to do something else, but the bubbles just pop ineffectually and then his synapses short circuit, and down he goes. It’d be good if it could either be what it’s supposed to be, or just stop.”

“Do you think he can come over on New Year’s Eve?” Gabi spins back and forth in the chair, looks up at where Tony is reaching down, fingers opening and closing like he’s asking Ángel for something.

Ángel looks around, finds the part and rises to bring it to Tony.

“Are you inviting Emerson and not me?” Ángel asks, and Luca laughs out loud.

“Ángel, you are entertaining and of course you’re invited for the new year,” Luca calls out. “The whole family. This is a big party, not just us kids.” He makes a little scoffing noise. “Not that Zita and Tony are kids.”

“It’s my house,” Tony points out.

“Our house.” Gabi’s hand circles to indicate herself and Luca along with Tony. “Our house. All of us. Not you, Ángel, you don’t live there. If you decide to move in, you’re paying rent.”

Why would he do that? “I’m fine where I am,” Ángel says. “I’m going back to PHU in January, remember?”

“Expect to stay over on New Year’s Eve,” Luca tells him. “We have guest rooms. Most of our relatives will go home, but there’s plenty of space for anyone who wants to drink and stay.”

“Your father and grandmother can come,” Tony says quietly. “When we say family, we mean family. Our great aunt—our grandmother’s sister—will be there, at least for part of the evening, until Danny takes her home.”

“It’s about ringing in the new year with the most important people around you,” Gabi says. “You need your people there.”

“Why do you need me there?” It’s the most obvious question that Ángel has to ask. Luca’s silent, suddenly busy with a stuck lug nut, and Tony’s equally quiet. Ángel looks over at Gabi, and she raises both eyebrows, glances at his wrist.

“I licked you,” she says, amusement in her tone. “You’re stuck with me now.”

For all that it doesn’t make any sense, there also isn’t any argument Ángel can make against that. She licked him, therefore he’s family.

When Tony holds out his hand, Ángel hands him the wrench. Changing the brakes makes a lot more sense than this family right now.

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[lostherlemons]

BIG gay post about how my girlfriend i came to be: laura version

i wanna make my own post like that but i don’t know if i could properly convey everything because oftentimes words can’t really do my experience justice. but like. that made me relive everything from my point of you and i can very tangibly feel affection and happiness bubbling up within the depths of my stomach and i gotta spill it out. i just gotta.

for those of you that didn’t know me beforehand bc you followed me from robin or just generally followed me sometime in the last half year or so, my relationship before robin was very very bad. the entire thing was kind of a giant guilt trip where i got emotionally manipulated for months until I succumbed to dating the guy (and being sexual with him when i Was Not Ready) and it was often miserable- but due to the toxic nature of the situation and my inability to assert myself in a way that he could take seriously, the relationship lasted for a pretty long time and took me a good 7 months to finally break up with him. I’ll leave it at that because it’s not the focus and explaining it isn’t a fun experience.

I’m hesitant to start the story like this because it seems so negative but like. It’s important for the context because the aftermath of what he put me through lasted a long time. we broke up probably exactly a year ago but i was reeling and recovering for a very long time and it made me very bitter towards romance in general and very much a skeptic (which robin turned right back around). but anyway. now for the happy part!

robin and i met, as they said, on their 18th birthday at a lgbt ice cream social. my very first distinct memory is of robin being part of the group i was talking to at the time and in a very cute moment, got me to guess what age they were. i guessed 20+ and was wrong and robin was very pleased that they came off so mature to me. we generally stuck together after that through the event (after sharing Tumblrs and such), which i didn’t think much of at the time because I was in the prior relationship still and i was just having a good time with my friends!! eventually we decided to ditch the place and hang out at friends apartment but robin was very new to the Bellingham scene and wasn’t sure about taking the bus and stuff and got left behind. I felt very bad because I was driving everyone and could have easily transported robin without the bus and such. I agonized over it for a long time!! It was very silly of me but I spent a lot of time wishing we could have hung out more than just that night.

We of course had a long period of just being Silently Supportive mutuals and never got to hang out. I remember them staying in school over the summer and wanting VERY BADLY to hang out but not being sure how to go about it because I’m awkward and didn’t know Rob that well. Over the summer we ended up interacting, and low-key commenting and stuff, and it was good. At a certain point I remember thinking Robin was cute. Immediately after this realization I kinda figured out I was in for a shitshow in crush town.

I spent most of September with a big huge growing crush. Every time robin even POSTED a selfie I got so excited! They were so cute!!! At a certain point I was aware of my crush and COULD NOT SHUT UP ABOUT IT. Every time robin even liked my post I would gush about it nonstop to @funkadacious and you can ask him because I would never shut up and stop sending him their cute selfies. Somewhere in the midst of all this, in an interaction during robin’s fai blogging, i reassured them that they were pretty and robin IMMEDIATELY AND SHOCKINGLY admitted they thought i was hot upon first meeting me and i lost my shit, died, and descended unto gay heaven all while continuing to flirt back and forth for a bit.

I could not believe it. ROBIN. THE ONE I COULD NOT SHUT UP ABOUT. THOUGHT I WAS HOT AND WAS FLIRTING WITH ME. WHAT. AM I DREAMING. WHAT IS HAPPENING. you can imagine.

when school started in late september, i posted a few VERY INTENTIONALLY FLATTERING AND CUTE SELFIES, literally only so that i could passively grab more attention from robin. who reblogged them and made me feel very nice.

now, when my year-long depressive episode got to a bad spot in october, robin surprised me by offering to hang out because I probably needed someone to talk to. I of course said yes (all while gushing to nick, casey, all my classmates in theatre class, and literally any coworker that would listen including my poor boss who still hears this all the time) and spent the next few days in a giddy excitement until meeting robin for coffee after my theatre class.

i was dizzy upon seeing them sitting at that last table in the cafe. this was real and robin was there, VERY CUTE and in person for the first time in over a year, and they were waiting for me. ME. WHAT. i got a coffee and a pastry to share and sat down.

We talked for hours and hours and hours. About art, school, growing up, mental health, everything. I remembered how robin talked fast when they were excited and thought it was adorable. Eventually the sun started to set and it reflected in their eyes and I literally had to pause the conversation to admit I could not stop staring at how beautiful they were. Eventually my mom called me and i didn’t have the nerve to tell her I was getting coffee with my crush but eventually she hung up and soon after the dreaded question popped up.

“So. Im kinda wondering. Is this a… uh.. a date? Or like a friend thing? Or both..? I’m just curious, anything is fine.”

“Oh! UH. IT… CAN BE WHATEVER YOU WANT IT TO BE…..”

“Okay! It’s a date then.”

Cue me dying. At the end of said date, robin asked if a hug was ok (right after I made the best pun of my life about kissing) and it was VERY okay and I clung for dear life and it was wonderful.

The weekend after this, I was traveling internationally during what was hyped up to be a VERY BIG STORM to get up to canada for @limes-and-kiwis birthday. I was told by many Not to go, but I’m a stubborn fuck. Robin texted me and was VERY FLIRTATIOUS when I was on my way up saying I had to stay safe! For our second date!! And this text made me so excited I literally had to stop by my work on my way up and show the text to my manager and I was dead!!!!

i of course made it safely and had a wonderful time with casey. Me, being gay, at one point had to go through robin’s selfie tag to show Casey, and I passed her my phone. Immediately after i had the realization that my best friend was an untrustworthy wingman and I was a dead man. I of course get my phone back with EVERY SELFIE OF ROBINS FOR THE LAST YEAR, LIKED, and of course casey is extremely proud of herself and smug as all hell. Me, being mortified, of course had to send a very embarrassing “IT WASN’T ME STALKING THROUGH YOUR PHOTOS I CAN EXPLAIN” message to robin over snapchat, which opened a new can of worms and was a cue for MUCH MUCH MORE FLIRTING.

we of course went on a second date after I got back, and also ran into eachother at the grocery store a few days later which I gave robin a ride home from and got a kiss on the cheek. I was grinning for hours afterwards and my boss made fun of me.

eventually at the party with robin’s friends, I flirted A LOT and we were very affectionate and at one point a friend said we very very cute and asked how long we had been dating. We looked at eachother and I was like “ok so this is official? We’re gfs?? Yeah?” And robin agreed and we were OFFICIAL. GFS. THE ONES YOU KNOW AND LOVE. and the rest of the night was very very good and cuddly and I was the happiest I had been in a while.

the relationship really only got better and better from there. Robin is SO supportive and so loving and smart and I adore them so so much. They make me feel safe and appreciated and I can only hope I do the same. Robin touched on A Lot in their post and described things better than I ever could but like. It’s true. Everything is just… better.

robin’s February Thing was also accompanied by Laura’s February Thing, and so we both had very bad brains at the time and being silly, had a hard time reaching out. But the next day when I found out what was going on, I had a moment of clarity. Sure I was terrified of reaching out, and being rejected, or having a fight, but I realized I couldn’t risk losing what I have with robin. It’s grown to be everything to me and i knew I had to see them no matter what and I did and it was so healing and good and I’ll never regret just marching across campus to their dorm.

but anyway. This got long. Basically I’m very much in love and will never shut up about it. @flovvright is the light of my life and every moment I spend with robin is perfect. Because we fit so perfectly together and it’s just… It’s good. It’s real good. I never thought I’d be at this point and it constantly amazes me. I don’t know what else to say but rest assured there’s a lot left unsaid and I just want my girlfriend to know how much they mean the absolute world to me and how they just consistently make my life a better life no matter how hard things get.