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dazevi · 3 months ago

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CHAPTER ONE: GHOST IN THE ROOM

heart to heart series | vi x fem!reader

synopsis: with the tour coming to an end, vi's manager insists on the band taking a break. meanwhile, you help your best friend, mel, with planning her wedding.

content warnings: MDNI. angst (lots of it), slightly suggestive, rockstar!vi, writer!reader, eventual exes to lovers (more like exes to fwb to lovers), no smut but mentions of sex, jaymel cameo, bestfriend!mel, time skips, mentions of alcohol and smoking

wc: 11,388 (about—i made some edits lol)

note: good morning!! (its morning where i am) this is my first time writing a series so feedback would be very much appreciated—would love to hear what you guys think!!! also i had some trouble deciding if i wanted to write jayvik or jaymel but i felt like mel would’ve been more fitting for reader to have as a best friend lol anyways here is the first chapter! i hope you all enjoy!!! (fanart by bunimint_ on ig)

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The hum of the venue echoed faintly through the backstage room, muffled by layers of concrete and steel.

The crowd had been electric tonight, their cheers and screams still ringing faintly in Vi’s ears as she sat on the small stool in front of a mirror. Her guitar sat propped against the brick wall behind her, its strings still vibrating in her memory from the final chords of the night. The air in the room smelled faintly of sweat and smoke, the residue of adrenaline and effort clinging to her skin.

The band was as much a family as it was a group of musicians. While Vi stands in front, Ekko was on lead guitar, the youngest of them but by far the most electric on stage, shredding solos and occasionally stepping up to rap when a song called for it. Then there was Steb on drums. He didn’t talk much, but he didn’t really need to. He was a crucial part of the band already and quite creative with his beats. And on bass was Loris, a big guy with a bigger heart, who filled every song with lines that could shake the floor of any venue.

But she was alone now, the rest of the band off celebrating the end of the tour, their laughter faint in the distance, just past the door. Her reflection in the mirror stared back at her—flushed cheeks, damp hair sticking to her temples, her tank top slightly wrinkled. Her chest rose and fell steadily, but her mind wasn’t calm.

Not really.

She reached up to push a strand of hair from her face when her fingers brushed against the cool silver chain around her neck.

Her hand stilled.

The necklace felt heavy on her neck as always, but she hardly thought about anymore.

Tonight, for some reason, it felt heavier. Vi tugged gently at it, pulling the necklace out from under her shirt to let it fall against her chest. They glimmered faintly in the dim backstage light, catching her eye like they always had.

She stared at them for a long moment, her throat tightening.

She hadn’t thought about it—about you—in a while.

Or… maybe that wasn’t true.

Maybe she’d just gotten better at pretending she didn’t.

But now, with the adrenaline of the stage fading away and the silence of the backstage room settling in, it hit her all over again.

Six years had passed since graduating high school. She remembers all the memories that came with it—that came with being with you—as if they happened yesterday.

But, three years.

It had been three years since the two of you had broken up, and Vi still couldn’t let go of this last piece of you. She told herself it was just a necklace, just a reminder of a time when life seemed simple, but deep down she knew it was more than that.

It was a lifeline to a past she hadn’t entirely made peace with—a time when the world didn’t feel quite so big, and her dreams hadn’t come at the cost of losing you.

She blinked at her reflection, her jaw tightening as her fingers played with the rings. The memories came flooding back despite her best efforts to push them down. The nights spent tangled up together in her room, the sound of your laugh as you teased her for pretending to know how to play certain songs when she wanted to impress you, the way you always smelled faintly of lavender and paper from all those books you carried around and loved so much. God, she could almost hear your voice if she closed her eyes, could almost feel the way your hands used to cup her face when you kissed her.

But you weren’t here. And you hadn’t been for years.

Vi exhaled shakily, letting the necklace fall back against her chest. She rubbed her hands over her face, her calloused fingers catching slightly on her damp skin.

She tried to tell herself this was what she wanted—what she had worked so hard for. The sold-out shows, the screaming fans, the endless crowds. It had been her dream for as long as she could remember.

But the truth was, none of it felt quite as fulfilling as she thought it would. Not without you.

The buzz of her phone on the dressing table broke her train of thought. She glanced at it, the screen lighting up with a text from Ekko reminding her to join them at the bar. She hesitated, her gaze drifting back to the mirror.

For a quick moment, she thought about it—thought about texting you. Maybe, calling you. Just to say hi. Just to hear your voice again, even if only through the cold distance of a phone call.

But she knew better. You had probably already moved on, or at least, you deserved to.

Vi stood slowly, adjusting the chain so it tucked back under her shirt, hidden from view. She ran a hand through her hair and grabbed her jacket, shrugging it on. As she walked out of the room, she felt the rings press lightly against her chest.

The party the next night was loud, chaotic, and everything it should have been to celebrate the end of a year-long tour. Vi found herself tucked into a corner of the room, a half-empty beer bottle in her hand as she watched her bandmates laugh and shout over the music. People swarmed around them—fans, industry suits, and a few familiar faces from the tour circuit.

It was exactly what she used to love, the kind of scene she’d dreamed about when she first picked up a guitar in her mom’s garage. But tonight, it all felt hollow.

She plastered on a grin when someone approached, making small talk she wouldn’t remember later, pretending the music wasn’t giving her a headache.

It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate the celebration. She should have been celebrating. A year long tour. Ninety shows. Sold-out venues in cities she never thought she’d even visit, let alone play in.

But now that it was over, the rush was fading.

Vi’s manager had pulled the band aside after the final show, giving them a rundown of what came next.

Or rather, what didn’t come next.

“You’ve earned it,” the manager had said, looking around at the group. “Take a break. Go home. Recharge. You’ve been going non-stop for years. You deserve this.”

Home. The word lingered in Vi’s mind. It felt heavy and unfamiliar.

She sipped her beer and glanced around the party again. Everyone seemed to be having the time of their lives, but Vi felt detached, like she was watching it all through a screen.

The truth was, she didn’t know what she was supposed to do now. This band, for the time being, had been her life. The shows, the music, the adrenaline—it all kept her moving forward, kept her distracted.

But now? Now she was being told to stop.

Her fingers brushed against the chain around her neck, hidden beneath her shirt. She’d done it out of habit, her thumb grazing the spot where the rings rested against her skin. She swallowed hard, her jaw tightening as she felt some sort of pain swell in her chest. She pushed it down, forcing herself to focus on the noise and the people around her.

When a girl caught her eye across the room—pretty, confident, the kind of girl who wouldn’t ask too many questions—Vi didn’t hesitate.

She let the girl take her hand and pull her upstairs to some empty room in the penthouse suite. It was mechanical by now, second nature. She knew what to say, where to touch, how to make it seem like she was present when, in truth, her mind was somewhere else.

Or rather, with someone else.

It always ended the same way.

Vi closed her eyes, and it was you. There was no one else she could think of other than you.

It didn’t help that every time she hovered over someone else, her necklace would dangle just in front of her, and she’d look down and catch a glimpse of you beneath her, all pretty and waiting, with eyes full of love and warmth—the very eyes she fell in love with again and again. Every laugh, every touch, every kiss—it was you she conjured up in her mind.

But it never lasted.

Reality always came crashing back when the girl whispered her name in a way that had no effect on her or when she clung to her a little too tightly, too roughly.

When it was over, Vi sat silently by the bed, pulling on her shirt, avoiding eye contact.

“Can you stay?” the girl asked softly.

“No,” Vi shook her head, grabbing her jacket. She never stayed. She never left her number. And she never looked back.

Walking out into the cold night air, Vi lit a cigarette with trembling hands.

She thought about you—again. She thought about the way you used to smile at her, how your fingers used to trail through her hair when she rested her head in your lap, how you’d call her name so softly that it felt like she was listening to her favorite song. The ache in her chest was unbearable, but it was the only thing that reminded her she was still alive.

Since the breakup, Vi had grown bitter, the world feeling heavier with each passing day. She hadn’t felt truly happy in years, hadn’t laughed the way she used to.

So she buried herself into anything that could distract her—work, music, and nights like this one.

But it was useless.

Because no matter how far she ran, how many strangers she kissed, or how loud the music played, she always had you in her mind.

Always you. Only you.

To the little town she used to call home. To the life she’d walked away from when she chose this one.

And for the first time in a long time, Vi wasn’t sure she’d made the right choice.

The chime of the bell above the flower shop door rang faintly as a customer left, and you glanced up from where you sat behind the counter, absentmindedly wrapping a bouquet of daisies in soft brown paper. The shop smelled sweet and earthy—comforting in a way that nothing else had been for the past few years.

It had been your mom’s idea for you to work here after you graduated college, though you hadn’t exactly protested. It was a nice job to have. Stress free. Relaxing. Arranging flowers, chatting with customers, and helping with orders had its own kind of peace.

You figured it would be nice way to pass some time while saving up money for your own shop—a book shop.

But some time has passed now, and all you’ve got to do is find the courage to go downtown and lease out that nice empty spot by the town gardens.

But, you decide to put that off for next month. Maybe after the wedding.

Your degree in literature had been the culmination of years of dreaming, of late nights spent pouring over books and writing short stories that no one else ever read. And for a while, everything felt like it was falling into place. That book—the one you poured your soul into, the one that had felt like ripping your heart out to write—had done surprisingly well. It wasn’t a bestseller, but it had been enough. Enough to make you believe you were on the right path, to reassure you that the sacrifices had been worth it.

But now, the blank pages in your notebook always stared back at you, mocking. The words didn’t come as easily as they used to. It wasn’t writer’s block, not exactly—it was something deeper. A lack of fire, you called it. And you told yourself that the flower shop was just a temporary stop, a place to regroup until the inspiration came back.

But part of you worried it never would.

As you finished tying a ribbon around the bouquet, your gaze drifted to the small bookshelf by the window. Copies of your book sat there, stacked neatly, the cover facing out. Your mom kept them in stock, proud and supportive as always, even if the sight of them made you wince. Every time you looked at it, you remembered how much of yourself you’d poured into that story—how you’d been told it was heartbreaking and beautiful, and yet writing it had felt like stitching up a wound that refused to heal.

You always tried not to think about who had inspired it.

But of course, you failed. You always did.

Some days, it was easier to pretend that part of your life hadn’t happened, to bury it under layers of routine and busy nights. Other days, it hit you out of nowhere—a song on the radio, a laugh in a movie, the way a stranger’s voice pitched just so.

And suddenly, you’d be back there.

Back to her.

The chime of the bell rang again, snapping you out of your thoughts as a new customer stepped in. You forced a polite smile, brushing your hands against your apron. The shop was warm and safe, a place where you could hide from the rest of the world.

But somewhere out there, the rest of the world kept moving—just as it had for Vi.

You remembered the day you saw that headline.

You hadn’t expected to see it, but there it was—Violet Lanes Spotted Dining With Famous Actress Caitlyn Kiramman—in bold, glaring letters across the entertainment news section of your phone screen.

The date on the article was just two weeks after your breakup, and it felt like the universe had decided to make sure you never forgot. You could still remember the way your heart sank as you read it, like the air was suddenly sucked out of your lungs, leaving you breathless and dizzy.

You’d known about Vi’s fame, how it grew quickly when she started making music professionally, of course—how could you not? She was a rockstar, her face plastered everywhere, her name trending almost daily.

But this… this was different.

Caitlyn Kiramman was an actress with a reputation that preceded her, a star on a different level entirely. Vi was supposed to be with you—at least, you thought so, at the time. But as you read through the details, the pictures of Vi smiling across the table at Caitlyn, her arm casually draped around the actress’s shoulders, something inside you snapped. It was the first time, in the aftermath of everything, that you’d truly felt like you’d lost her.

You tried to dismiss the burning ache in your chest. After all, you hadn’t exactly been an innocent party in your breakup. You had your reasons for walking away, too.

But seeing Vi so effortlessly move on, laughing and drinking wine with someone like Caitlyn—someone who could stand next to her in the spotlight without being swallowed by it—hit you harder than you expected.

It wasn’t jealousy, not really.

It was just you realizing that Vi had stepped into a world without you, just as you had stepped into one without her.

You thought about calling her, but you didn’t.

The last time you’d spoken, you’d said what needed to be said, even if it hadn’t felt like it at the time. You had told yourself you were better off, that you deserved more than being constantly second place to her career.

You didn’t want to call. Instead, you buried yourself in your work, threw yourself into your job, and started writing stories that felt too hollow to ever really be finished. You kept your distance from everything that reminded you of her, trying to forget the feeling of her hand in yours, the sound of her voice when she’d whisper your name in that low, raspy tone that made your heart flutter.

Maybe Vi was happy. Maybe she had found someone else who could give her the things you couldn’t. The thought hit you harder than it should, but you couldn’t stop it.

You thought about the necklace—the one Vi had worn, the one that had been yours too, back in high school. Your fingers traced the small silver chain around your neck, the one you hadn’t taken off since that night you two shared it.

Had she kept hers? You wondered, for the briefest second, if she still thought about you.

But you had no way of knowing. You hadn’t heard from her in years, and you had convinced yourself that it was for the best.

The familiar sound of the bell above the shop’s door jingled softly as your mom stepped out from the back room, balancing a couple of boxes in her arms. She looked like she’d been at it for hours, strands of her hair falling from the bun on top of her head.

“Sweetheart,” she said, setting the boxes down on the counter with a thud. “Mel’s going to call about the flowers soon. You know how particular she can be about the arrangements.”

You sighed, pausing mid-wrap on a bouquet of white roses and eucalyptus.

“I know, Mom,” you muttered, though you couldn’t quite keep the smile off your face.

Mel had been one of your closest friends since high school, and if anyone had a reason to be particular, it was her. She deserved the perfect wedding, after all.

“She’s already called three times this week about those centerpieces. I’m pretty sure I know her vision better than she does at this point.”

Your mom laughed softly, brushing her hands on her apron. “She’s just excited. It’s a big day.”

She gave you a knowing look, the kind that said she wasn’t just talking about Mel.

Before you could respond, the phone behind the counter buzzed, cutting through the silence of the shop. You reached for it instinctively, already knowing who it would be.

“I swear, she has a sixth sense for these things,” you mumbled as you picked up the receiver.

“Hello, Lane Florals, how can I help—”

“Don’t even start with the formalities, I know it’s you,” came Mel’s voice, bright and slightly exasperated on the other end. “And I know I’ve already called you a million times this week, but I need to talk about the bouquets again. Jayce thinks we’re good, but I’m having second thoughts about the hydrangeas.”

You let out a dramatic groan, though you couldn’t help the laugh that followed. “Mel, you’ve gotta stop stressing. You’re going to make me go gray before your wedding day. What’s wrong with the hydrangeas now?”

“I don’t know!” she exclaimed. “I just feel like they don’t have the right… feeling. Maybe we should go with lilies? Or peonies? Or—oh! Do you think we could mix in some sunflowers? Jayce looooves sunflowers.”

You pinched the bridge of your nose, glancing over at your mom, who was now suppressing a grin as she watered the potted plants by the window.

“Mel, we’re two weeks away from the wedding,” you said gently. “If we keep changing things, you’re not going to have any flowers at all.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and then Mel sighed dramatically. “You’re right. Ugh, you’re right. I’m just overthinking it. I’m sorry, I’ll stop being such a pain your ass.”

“You’re not a pain,” you said, softening. “You’re just… a perfectionist. But it’s all going to be perfect, I promise. The hydrangeas are beautiful, and they’re going to look amazing with everything else. Trust me. I’ll throw in some sunflowers, too, for Jayce.”

Mel let out a small, relieved laugh. “Thanks, babe. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Lose your mind, probably,” you teased, leaning back against the counter. “But seriously, you’re going to be fine. And as your maid of honor, I think you should take my advice and roll with it.”

“Okay, okay,” she said, and you could hear the smile in her voice. “Oh, and don’t forget, you promised to help me with the seating chart this weekend.”

“I know, I know,” you assured her, though the thought of wrangling that seating chart made you want to pour yourself a strong drink. “I’ll see you Saturday, okay?”

“Okay. Love you!” she said quickly before hanging up.

You set the phone down with a sigh, turning to your mom, who was now watching you with an amused expression. “Hydrangeas again?” she asked.

“Hydrangeas,” you confirmed with a laugh, shaking your head. “I swear, if I hear the word one more time, I’m going to lose it.”

But despite the teasing, you felt nothing but warmth for Mel. She was one of the few people who had stuck by you through everything, and seeing her so happy with Jayce was something you couldn’t begrudge, no matter how stressful wedding planning had become.

You glanced at the calendar on the wall, your thoughts drifting briefly, as they so often did, to Vi.

It wasn’t supposed to be this hard.

At least, that’s what Vi had told you when she kissed you goodbye at the airport years ago, both of you standing on the edge of the new chapter—her with her band’s first big break, and you heading off to college.

She had cupped your face, her calloused hands warm against your cheeks, and promised, “We’ll make it work. You and me, we’re solid, baby. Nothing’s gonna change that.”

But it did.

You used to call everyday. Text everyday. It was so often that Vi would fall asleep on the phone every night, to the sound of your voice, telling her how much you missed her. You’d do the same, too.

But the calls that used to stretch into the early hours of the morning grew shorter and less frequent.

At first, Vi always made time for you, even if she was in the middle of nowhere, some dingy tour bus parked at a rest stop. She’d stay on the line, her gravelly voice cutting through the static as she told you about the show that night or the funny thing Ekko had done to annoy Steb. And you’d tell her about your classes, your professors, the friends you were making in your lit program. She also always used to mention you in interviews when people would ask the band if they were single or whatever.

And Vi would always say, “I’ve actually got a girl waiting for me back at home,” with cheekiest smile she could throw on.

For a while, it was enough.

But then the band’s success started to pick up, and Vi’s world got louder, busier. The calls started to come later and later—or sometimes not at all.

You’d stay up, staring at your phone, waiting for it to ring, only to wake up hours later with an empty inbox and a dull ache in your chest.

And the texts? They dwindled too.

You used to send each other everything—pictures, inside jokes, songs that reminded you of each other.

Days would pass before you’d hear from her. And when you did, it was always rushed. A quick voice message, “Sorry, babe, crazy day. Miss you, though. Love you,�� followed by radio silence for the rest of the week.

You tried to understand. You really did.

You knew how much this meant to her, how hard she’d worked to get where she was. You were proud of her, more than you could ever put into words.

But knowing that didn’t make it hurt any less.

One night, you were in your dorm room, sitting at your desk with a stack of notes and an unfinished essay in front of you, your phone balanced precariously on the edge. Vi had promised to call after a show—it had been over two weeks since you’d last spoken properly—but the clock was inching toward midnight, and there was still no word.

When the phone finally buzzed, you snatched it up, your heart pounding. “Vi?”

Her voice came through the line, raspy and tired. “Hey, baby. Sorry, show ran late.”

“It’s okay,” you lied, sinking back into your chair. “How was it?”

She sighed, and you could hear the exhaustion in it. “Good. Crowd was wild. But I’m beat.”

There was a pause, one that stretched too long, too heavy. You could feel the distance between you, the miles and the time zones and the weeks of missed calls.

“I miss you,” you said softly, your voice breaking a little.

“I miss you too,” she said, but it sounded automatic, like something she’d said a thousand times before—who are you kidding? She probably has.

You wanted to ask her why she hadn’t called, why it felt like you were slipping further and further apart.

But the words caught in your throat.

Instead, you said, “When are you coming home?”

“Uh…” Another pause. Then, “I don’t know, babe. Not for a while.”

It felt like a punch to the gut.

“Right,” you said, trying to keep your voice steady.

“I’m sorry,” she added quickly, like she could sense your disappointment in her. “It’s just… everything’s so crazy right now. But I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

You nodded, even though she couldn’t see it. “Okay.”

When the call ended, you stared at your phone for a long time, tears blurring your vision. Vi had always been your safe place. But at that time, it felt like she was slipping away, and no matter how tightly you held on, you couldn’t stop it.

And Vi felt it too.

She hated the way things were between you, the way she could hear the hurt in your voice even when you tried to hide it. She wanted to fix it, to drop everything, fly to you and hold you and tell you that everything was going to be okay.

But the truth was, she didn’t know if it would be.

Because no matter how much you loved each other, the distance was pulling you apart. And neither of you knew how to stop it.

NOVEMBER, THREE YEARS AGO.

It had been months since you’d last seen her—months that felt like years. You’d tried to bury yourself in your studies, keeping busy so you didn’t have to think about the loneliness she left behind with you.

But then your phone rang one rainy afternoon, and when Vi’s name flashed on the screen, you hesitated for only a moment before answering.

“Hey,” you said softly, curling up on your bed as you balanced the phone against your ear.

“Hey, babe,” she replied, her voice a little hoarse, like she’d been yelling or maybe singing too much. “How’s school?”

“It’s… fine,” you said, trying to keep your tone neutral.

You wanted to tell her everything—how much you missed her, how hard it was to fall asleep without her voice in your ear—but you swallowed the words.

“What are you up to?” You asked, bringing a hand up to rub the side of your neck.

“Nothing, right now… I’m in bed. I just finished up at the studio,” she said quietly. “It ran pretty late so…”

“Are you doing okay?”

You hear her take a breath before sighing softly, “Yeah, I’m… I just miss you.”

“I miss you, too,” you echoed.

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and then she said, “I was thinking… I want you to come to New York.”

You blinked, caught off guard. “New York?”

“Yeah. The band got invited to this award show. It’s kind of a big deal, I guess. I—I want you to be my date.”

Your stomach twisted at the invitation. You could hear the hope in her voice, and for a second, all you wanted to do was say yes. But then reality set in.

“Vi, I don’t know. I have finals coming up, and plane tickets are—”

“Will be taken care of,” she interrupted quickly. “I’ll handle it, everything. Just say yes.”

“Vi…”

“I wanna see you,” she said, and her voice was soft, almost pleading. It caught you off guard. “Please. It’s been too long. I miss you.”

You closed your eyes, leaning your head back against the wall, and sighed.

It was always hard to say no to Vi.

“Okay,” you murmured. “I’ll come.”

“Yeah?” she asked, her voice brightening.

“Yeah.”

The next few weeks all happened too quickly.

Vi arranged everything—a plane ticket, a car to pick you up from the airport, even a dress for the event. You didn’t know how she’d managed it all, but you weren’t surprised. She could practically do anything she sets her mind to.

When you stepped off the plane and into the terminal, you were expecting to just follow the signs to baggage claim, look for the driver Vi had mentioned in passing, and quietly make your way to whatever fancy hotel she had booked for you.

It wasn’t that you didn’t appreciate her effort—Vi always went all out when it came to you—but you figured this was just another one of those things she couldn’t be present for, one more event she’d planned out from a distance.

But when you rounded the corner toward the arrivals area, your feet froze mid-step.

There she was.

Vi was standing near the entrance, her tall frame wrapped in an all-black outfit. A long black coat hung open over a fitted turtleneck and dark jeans, her combat boots planted firmly on the tiled floor. In her hands, she held a small bouquet of flowers—white daisies and a few pale pink roses wrapped in simple brown paper.

She looked every bit the rockstar she’d become, yet look on her face told a different story.

Her eyes scanned the crowd eagerly, her fingers fidgeting with the edge of the paper wrapping as though she were nervous.

Your breath hitched, and tears prickled at the corners of your eyes.

For a moment, you couldn’t move.

Then Vi’s eyes found yours.

Her face lit up like the sun breaking through a storm, and before you could even process what was happening, she was running toward you. Her long strides closed the distance in seconds, and then she was there—her arms wrapping tightly around you, pulling you into her chest.

“Hey, baby,” she whispered against your hair.

You couldn’t respond.

Your throat was too tight, and the only thing you could do was cling to her, burying your face in her neck as the tears spilled over. The flowers were crushed slightly between your bodies, but neither of you cared. Vi’s hand slid up to cradle the back of your head, holding you like she was afraid you might disappear.

“I missed you so much,” she whispered.

She pulled back just enough to look at you, her hands cupping your face as she scanned your features like she needed to memorize them all over again.

She let out a breathy sigh, a smile making its way onto her face, “God, you’re even prettier than I remember.”

You let out a watery laugh, wiping at your cheeks with trembling fingers.

“Shut up,” you teased, though your voice wavered.

Vi grinned, a little sheepishly, and handed you the now slightly crumpled bouquet. “These are for you. Sorry, I think I crushed them a little.”

“They’re perfect,” you said, taking the flowers and holding them close to your chest.

She smiled again, softer this time, and reached out to take your suitcase.

“Come on. Let’s get out of here. We can go get lunch after the hotel. I know a place you might like.”

And for the first time in a long while, being with her finally felt right.

The weekend passed like something out of a dream. Vi stuck close to you, almost glued to your side, like she couldn’t bear to let go of you for even a second. She carried your bags, opened every door, kissed you in every private corner she could find.

In the the hotel room, with the city skyline stretching endlessly outside the window, she kissed you until her lips felt bruised, like she was trying to make up for every kiss she hadn’t been able to give you.

She made love to you slowly, tenderly, the way you deserved—whispering soft words against your skin, brushing stray strands of hair from your face, as if she couldn’t believe you were there with her.

“God, I missed you,” she murmured over and over again, her voice thick and quiet, spilling out each time her lips found yours. “I missed you so much.”

And it wasn’t just the being this close to you that left Vi breathless—it was everything else.

The way your laugh filled the room when she cracked a joke. The way you shyly tucked your head into her shoulder when she kissed your temple in public. The way your voice softened when you told her you missed her, that you loved her. Vi felt like she was relearning you, rediscovering all the tiny details she’d loved about you from the start—the way your fingertips felt trailing down her arm, the way you hummed absentmindedly when you were happy, the way you fit perfectly in her arms like you’d been made for her.

For once, Vi wasn’t thinking about work, about the band, about the next tour or the endless cycle of interviews and late-night rehearsals.

None of that mattered here.

The world felt smaller, quieter, when it was just the two of you.

She couldn’t believe how much she’d missed you, how much she’d missed this.

As the weekend was drawing to a close, you were lying in bed together, your head resting on her chest. Vi traced lazy circles along your shoulder with her fingertips, her other hand draped protectively across your waist. The sheets were tangled around your bare legs, the city lights painting soft, dim patterns on the walls.

“I forgot what this feels like,” Vi had said, her voice almost a whisper. “Just… being with you. I missed it.”

You tilted your head to look up at her, your eyes warm and full of something she couldn’t quite name.

“Me too,” you said softly, your hand reaching up to brush a strand of hair from her face.

Vi leaned down to kiss you again slowly, her hand cradling your jaw.

She wanted to stay in this moment forever, to bottle it up and carry it with her wherever she went.

Being with you, she wasn’t worried about the distance, about the time apart, about anything other than you.

But happiness like that didn’t last for long and, tomorrow, it would all go to shit.

The night of the music award show was everything Vi had hoped it would be, glimmering lights, and flashing cameras. She could hardly contain her pride as she stood beside you, her arm around your waist, guiding you through. Everything had been planned, from your dress to the after-party, and it seemed like everything was falling into place.

You looked stunning in the dress she had picked out for you. It was a deep shade of red that hugged your body in all the right places, with delicate lace detailing along the neckline that made your girlfriend want to cover your collarbone with kisses. Vi couldn’t take her eyes off you when she first saw you in it. She kept telling you how beautiful you looked, her voice filled with awe every time she caught a glimpse of you.

You had always been beautiful in Vi’s eyes, but tonight, you looked like someone straight out of a dream, her dreams. She felt a pride swell up inside her every time she looked at you, like the world had never seemed brighter, knowing that you, her girl, were beside her.

But despite how nice it was all going, it wasn’t without its discomforts for you.

There were moments when you felt too out of place in the spotlight, when the flashing of cameras made your chest tighten, or when you were pulled away from Vi to stand beside some celebrities for interviews, your smile feeling stiff and forced. Every time you were apart from her, even for a moment, you couldn’t help but feel a bit of loneliness, wanting to be close to her again.

The show itself went smoothly, though.

Vi did her thing and you watched from the sidelines, starstruck and completely in awe. It was so surreal to see her like this, her bandmates by her side, to see other celebrities you watched from home, the crowd cheering for her every time her name was called. She looked radiant. And it was hard to not feel overwhelmed by it all.

But the further the night dragged on, the more it felt like you were losing her to this new world.

You felt more of it at the after party. Vi had been swept away by a group of celebrities who wanted to talk to her, leaving you standing alone at the bar.

Ekko noticed and came over to keep you company, but it still wasn’t the same. He asked about how things were at home, mentioned how much he missed eating Benzo’s cooking. And it was nice talking to him—nice to have a friend around who didn’t feel too far into the fame as everyone else did in the room.

As you leaned against the bar, nursing your drink, you found your eyes wandering back to Vi, standing across the room, laughing and chatting with some famous actress, her hand resting on her arm. She looked completely at ease, her eyes sparkling as she talked with the other guests.

But it was clear that you that were nothing more than a bystander to her world now.

Ekko’s voice snapped you out of your daze. “You okay?” he asked, noticing your distracted expression.

You nodded quickly, forcing a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just… a bit tired, I guess.”

Ekko raised an eyebrow but didn’t press further. “You sure? Vi looks like she’s having a blast. I’m sure she’ll be back soon.”

You smiled again, though it felt hollow. “Yeah, she always has a way of talking to people, doesn’t she?”

“Yeah, she does,” Ekko agreed, grinning. “But you know she’s really happy to have you here tonight. She’s always talking about you. Can’t get her to shut up about you sometimes.”

You couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at your lips, but it faded almost as quickly as it appeared.

You stand there, drink in hand, feeling an odd tension settle in your chest as you watch Vi across the room. She’s talking to someone—a tall woman, all legs and sharp angles, with dark blue hair that catches the light in an almost ethereal way. The way the actress moves, the way she laughs—effortless, magnetic, like she’s always been in the spotlight.

You’ve seen her before, vaguely—magazines, red carpets, maybe a movie trailer. She’s the kind of woman people can’t help but stare at. Perfectly polished, perfectly poised.

And there’s Vi, her face bright with a smile you once thought was reserved just for you. But now, as she stands there, chatting easily, you feel like a ghost in the room, watching from the sidelines.

Your fingers tighten around your glass, but you don’t move. You can’t.

It’s strange, this feeling that tightens your chest, this longing and bitterness you can’t seem to shake. Vi’s laugh carries over through the party, and for a moment, you close your eyes, remembering when you were the one who made her laugh like that. When you were the one who kissed that smile from her lips.

But it all feels so far away now.

The more you watch them, the more out of place you feel.

The more you look at Vi, the more she seems to belong in this world—this world of lights and flashes, of perfect strangers who all seem to know exactly who they are, exactly where they fit.

And you?

You’re still standing in the corner of this room, feeling like you’re made of something that doesn’t belong, something that’s too small for this space.

You swallow, trying to force down the lump in your throat.

It’s stupid, you know it’s stupid.

You’re just a girl from a small town with college exams coming up and some books you wrote.

Nothing glamorous.

And Vi—Vi’s everything you aren’t. She’s out here, living the life you never had the guts to chase. You can’t even blame her for it. She’s been nothing but amazing, talented and hardworking, giving you so much of herself, even when it all felt too complicated.

But seeing her like this, only reminds you of how out of place you feel now, in her world, in this world.

“I… I think I’m just gonna get some fresh air,” you say quietly.

You excuse yourself from Ekko, offering him a small smile as you slip away from the conversation. You need air—fresh, cool, anything to clear the thoughts that have taken root in your mind.

You take the elevator down to the ground floor, your heels clicking softly on the polished floors. The doors open with a soft ding, and you step out, immediately greeted by the cool bite of the night air. It’s a entirely different compared to the warmth of the party inside, and for a moment, it feels like a relief, like you can finally breathe without the walls of the venue pressing in on you.

The city lights glow in the distance, the hustle of traffic and the low hum of conversations from nearby streets filled your ears. You pull your coat tighter around you, the fabric clinging to your shoulders, but it doesn’t do much to shield you from the knot tightening in your chest.

You stand there for a moment, breathing deeply. The cool air is refreshing, but it can’t seem to cool the heat rising in your cheeks, the bitter ache in your stomach. Everything about it reminds you of how far things have come—and how far apart you and Vi have drifted.

You didn’t want to feel this way tonight. You didn’t want to spend another evening consumed by jealousy, by doubt.

But here you are, standing outside in the dark, unable to fight the feeling.

You really hadn’t expected it to be this hard.

Maybe it’s silly to think you could’ve ever fit into that world.

But the truth stings.

You want things to be different. You want to be the one she looks at, the one she chooses. But everything about tonight has made you feel like that’s something you’ll never be again.

You look up at the sky, the stars barely visible through the city’s haze, and for a moment, you close your eyes, letting the cold air fill your lungs.

You wish things were different. You wish you could go back to when you were everything to each other.

But you can’t.

Not anymore.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

Vi’s voice cuts through your train of thought.

She must have slipped out unnoticed, and now, there she is, standing behind you. Her arms come around your waist, pulling you closer, her front pressed against your back. Her chin rests gently on your shoulder, her breath tickling the back of your neck.

“Hi, baby,” she muttered quietly.

You want to speak, to tell her how you feel, how the space between you both is only growing wider.

But the words stick in your throat.

Vi stays there, waiting for you, her body warm against yours. Her hands move from your waist, softly tracing over your arms, gently coaxing you into the safety of her touch, even though you don’t know how safe it feels anymore.

For a moment, all you can do is breathe, just breathe, feeling her arms around you… as if it’s the last time you’ll feel it.

When you do finally speak, it’s quieter than you intend, barely above a whisper. “Vi, I think we… I think we should stop this.”

Vi stiffens behind you, her hands pausing on your skin.

You can feel her heart rate quicken slightly. But she doesn’t pull away.

Instead, she presses closer, her breath brushing your ear as she whispers, “What are you talking about?”

She holds you tighter, and for a brief second, you feel the urge to give in to her touch, to forget the mess in your head.

But it’s not enough anymore.

You try to speak again, but your words come out jumbled, like you’re struggling to find the right pieces to fit together.

“I… I don’t know. We’re not the same anymore.” You let out a shaky breath, frustrated with yourself for not being able to explain the mess of feelings inside your chest. “It’s like we’re just… strangers now. I can’t keep pretending it’s the same, Vi.”

Vi’s hands stay on your waist, but you feel her pause for a moment. She pulls back just a little, enough to look at you, but not enough to fully let go.

You can hear the uncertainty in her voice when she speaks, “What? It’s still us. You and me. I—” She swallows, and you can hear the faint tremor in her words. “I thought we were okay.”

You shake your head, your chest tight.

“We’re not. We haven’t been for a while. And, I can’t tell if you even notice. Do you? You’re… you’re so far away, and I’m just… here.” The pain in your voice stings, but it feels like it’s the only truth you have left. “And I don’t know how to make it work anymore. I don’t know how to feel close to you when you’re a million miles away all the time.”

Vi’s arms move again, but this time, they’re softer, as if she’s afraid you’ll break under her touch.

“Don’t say that. I-I do notice. I do. I know it’s been a bit rough lately, but we can fix this… right? We’ve always been able to fix things before.” She tries to lighten the air, a little laugh escaping her lips as if she’s trying to erase the tension in the air. “I-I promise to call more, baby, please—”

But it doesn’t reach you.

You step back from her, the space between you both growing with each step, and for the first time in so long, you feel something other than the ache in your chest. It’s cold, too cold, and the distance feels like it’s swallowing you whole.

Vi’s arms drop at her sides, her hands twitching as if she doesn’t know what to do with them.

She watches you carefully, her eyes wide as you move away. When she tries to move closer, you flinch. It’s instinct, something you didn’t mean to do, but you can’t help it. You just need space.

And Vi hates it.

“I wanna go home,” you say, your voice shaking with the everything you’ve been trying to ignore, trying to bury.

Vi’s smile falters, her brows furrow as she processes your words. She takes a small step toward you, the panic creeping into her voice. “O-Okay. I-I’ll call a cab and we can go back to the hotel and—“

You cut her off before she can finish, your heart hammering in your chest. “No, Vi. I want to go back home. I don’t… I don’t belong here with you.”

The ring in her ears and as soon as they leave your lips, you can see the color drain from Vi’s face. Her breath catches in her throat, and you watch her, eyes wide, disbelief settling in. She furrows her eyebrows, her entire posture faltering as she tries to process what you just said.

“What?” she whispers.

She takes a shaky breath, her gaze searching your face, looking for any sign that this might be some kind of cruel joke, some kind of misunderstanding.

But you can’t give her that. You can’t pretend anymore.

“I just…” you start, but the words get caught in your throat, like you’re suffocating on them. You look at her, at the girl you once knew better than anyone else, and you realize that you’re not the same person anymore. “I thought I could keep pretending, but I can’t. And… I-I don’t see how we can change anything right now. I’m sorry, I—”

Vi opens her mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. She just stares at you, like she’s trying to wrap her mind around what’s happening, and in her silence, you hear all the things you can’t say.

The tears begin yo roll down your cheeks and Vi wants to wipe them away immediately, wants to take all that pain you’re feeling away for good… but…

“I need to go home,” you whisper again, this time your voice firmer, because if you don’t say it again, you might never leave.

And the look in her eyes—this heartbreaking, raw pain that flits across her face—makes your heart shatter even more.

Because you never wanted to hurt her.

But you’re not sure how to fix any of this. How to find your way back when it feels like everything between you two has crumbled into dust.

“I’m sorry,” you whisper, but the words feel so small. So insignificant.

Vi doesn’t say anything at first, just stands there, frozen in place. She swallows hard, her lips trembling as she finally finds her voice.

“I thought we were… I thought you wanted to be with me.”

“I always want to be with you, I do, but this—” you bring a hand up, wiping your cheeks quickly. “What did you think was gonna to happen after this weekend’s over? That we’d have a great time here together, then everything would be okay? All of our problems aren’t just magically gonna disappear, Vi… You barely call. You barely text. And I’ll go back home and you’ll stay here and I… What, I won’t see you again for another four—five months? I-I cant be in a relationship with someone who—fuck, with someone who can’t even really be with me. And I don’t want to make you choose. I can’t make you choose but, Vi…”

Her eyes widen in panic, her face twisting with desperation.

“Don’t say that. I-I can fix this. We can fix this, baby, just—” she starts, her voice broken, her words faltering, as though she’s trying to pull something, anything, to make things right.

“Stop it, Violet,” you say quiet.

“No, no, just—just tell me what to do,” she says. She’s shaking, but it’s not the gentle tremor of someone trying to hold it together. It’s raw. It’s frantic. “Tell me what I need to do to, please—”

You stand your ground, feeling the anger swell within you as her frustration starts to mirror your own.

“Stop it.”

“I love you.”

You freeze. Your heart skips a beat, and for a split second, you wonder if she’s right, if there’s a chance, if somehow everything can go back to how it used to be.

But then the reality sets in.

“Are you happy with me, Vi?” You ask.

Vi looks at you and furrows her brows, confused at the question, “Of course, I am—”

“You’re happy with the way things are right now? Really?”

Vi freezes, the words caught in her throat. The certainty she usually wears like armor slips away.

“You’re happy with how far apart we always are? You’re happy that we barely talk anymore? That we don’t have time for each other anymore? T-That when I go home, you’ll forget all about me until you suddenly remember that you have a girlfriend miles and miles away, just waiting for you to call or pick up your damn phone?”

“I…” she stammers, her brow furrowing as she tries to find the right thing to say, but nothing feels right. She’s taken aback, not just by your question but by the realization behind it—the way your words cut through the illusion that she’s been clinging to, that everything is okay.

The silence between you stretches for so long and Vi fucking hates it. She hates the way you’re looking at her, as if you already know the answer she’s too afraid to give. Because deep down, she knows she’s not happy—not with the distance, not with the missed calls and the half-hearted promises, not with the way she’s been letting you slip away.

But admitting that feels like admitting defeat, like saying out loud that she’s failing you, failing this.

“I—” she tries again, but she looks away, her jaw tightening. “I’m sorry.”

She wants to say that she’s happy, that you’re enough, that she wouldn’t trade this for anything—but the truth is, she doesn’t even know what this is anymore either.

And by the look in your eyes, neither do you.

You close your eyes and take a deep breath, before opening them again to look up at her. Your hand reaches up, trembling slightly, and cups Vi’s cheek. Her skin is warm, damp from the tears she didn’t realize had fallen until now. The moment your palm makes contact, Vi leans into it instinctively. Her eyes flutter closed, and her shoulders quake as she lets out the softest, most broken sound—a quiet sob she tries to hide but can’t.

“Don’t,” she whispers, shaky and fragile. “Please…”

You don’t pull your hand away. Instead, your thumb brushes along the line of her cheekbone, and how gentle you were with her makes her cry harder. She feels your breath, and she hates how much she craves you, hates how much it hurts.

You swallow hard, the sound of your barely louder than a breath as you say, “This isn’t good for us.”

Vi’s eyes snap open, bloodshot and wide, her lips parting in disbelief. For a second, she freezes, the words not fully sinking in, like her brain refuses to process them.

“We should stop,” you say again, softer this time. Your hand is still on her cheek, and Vi clings to it, her larger hand wrapping around yours as though she could keep you there forever. “We’re hurting each other, Violet. We’ve been hurting each other for a while now.”

“No,” Vi pleads, shaking her head, her voice so weak you could barely hear her as she presses harder into your touch, desperate. “I don’t wanna stop. Please, just—let me fix this—”

You shake your head, biting down on the inside of your cheek to keep the tears at bay, though they’re already blurring your vision.

“It’s not about fixing anything, Vi. We’re just in two completely different places and…” Your voice falters for a moment, breaking. “…and it’s not working for us.”

Vi’s breath hitches, and the hand gripping yours starts to tremble.

“I don’t know how to—” Her voice cracks, and she looks down, her tears falling freely onto the ground. “I don’t know how to do any of this this without you.”

Your heart clenches painfully, and for a fleeting second, you want to take it all back. You lean down slightly, pressing your forehead to hers, closing your eyes.

“Yeah, you do,” you whisper, the words like a final goodbye. “You’ve been doing all of this without me already.”

She shakes her head softly, “That’s not true.”

Vi’s breath comes out shaky, her tears mingling with yours as she presses herself closer, trying to savor the moment, to memorize the feel of you before it slips away entirely.

“I love you,” she says, words trembling as if the words are the last lifeline she has left to offer.

She watches you closely, her wide, teary eyes searching yours, desperate for something—anything—to tell her this isn’t the end.

But you don’t say it back right away.

And for those few agonizing seconds, the silence feels suffocating. Vi’s heart pounds painfully in her chest, and a lump forms in her throat, threatening to choke her. Her lips part to say something, to plead again, but before she can, you finally speak.

“I love you, Violet.”

It’s everything Vi wanted to hear, but as soon as the words leave your lips, they cut deeper than any silence ever could. There’s a softness to your voice, a finality in the way you say it, and Vi knows.

She knows what it means, what you’re trying to say without saying it outright.

And it hurts so fucking bad.

Her breath catches, and her hands drop slightly from where they’d been holding you, as if the weight of the words has drained her strength.

She shakes her head, voice cracking as she stammers, “Don’t say it like that.”

You look at her with so much tenderness it almost shatters her completely, but it’s that softness that makes it clear you’ve already made up your mind.

“Vi,” you whisper, and the way you say her name only makes the tears come faster.

She hates it. She hates how much of a goodbye it sounds.

“I love you so much,” she says, words breaking, barely audible now.

But even as the words leave her mouth, she knows they’re futile. She knows that no matter how much she loves you, no matter how much she tries to hold on, she can’t stop you from slipping through her fingers.

And for the first time, the love she’s always clung to feels hollow, like it’s not enough to keep you here.

Like she’s already lost you.

After a moment, you lean in, pressing a soft kiss to Vi’s cheek, the warmth of your lips lingering on her skin.

Vi closes her eyes at the touch, savoring it, even though something deep inside her tells her this is the last time. She wants to hold onto it, to freeze this moment, to make you stay just a little longer. But you’re already stepping back, pulling away from her reach.

“I’m gonna head back to the hotel,” you say quietly.

Vi nods instinctively, her breath catching in her throat as she responds, “I’ll go with you.”

Just a little more time, she thinks. She just wants whatever time she could get with you. Her voice is so weak under her breath, but she takes a step forward, already moving to follow, to stay by your side no matter what.

But then you stop her.

You place a hand up between you—not to push her away, but enough to keep her there, frozen in place. And when she sees the look in your eyes, Vi feels the first crack split through her chest.

“I’ll be okay,” you say softly. “I’ll call a cab and find my way back.”

It’s not the words themselves that break her; it’s the way you say them, like you’re letting her go in every sense of the word. Her heart shatters, the pieces falling one by one, and she doesn’t know how to stop it. She doesn’t know how to stop you.

“Let me go with you,” she breathes out, her voice, desperate to see more of you for as long as she still can.

But you shake your head gently, the tears in your eyes threatening to spill over, and she knows there’s no changing your mind.

She’s never felt so powerless, so useless, and all she can do is stand there, watching you walk away, feeling like you’re taking every part of her with you.

She watches your silhouette grow smaller and smaller, her mind clinging to every detail—how your hair looked under the dim streetlights, how soft your lips felt against her cheek, how your voice cracked when you said her name. She already misses all of it, every little piece of you.

But deep down, she knows she’s been missing you for far longer than just tonight.

The air is damp and Vi doesn’t move. She doesn’t know how long she’s been standing there, rooted to the ground, staring at the spot where you disappeared from her sight. A faint drizzle begins, tiny drops kissing her skin. She barely notices it at first, but soon the rain falls harder, soaking through her clothes.

She shivers, but she doesn’t move. Her hands fall limply at her sides, her mind replaying every moment of the night, every word you said, every second she couldn’t hold on to you. Her knees feel weak, but the ache in her chest is worse.

She wants to run after you, to stop you, but even if she said all the right words, she knows you’d still be leaving.

And it’s her fault, she thinks. She let it all slip away.

Hours pass, or maybe just minutes—it doesn’t matter. By the time she finally stumbles back to the party, her hair is dripping, her hands are trembling, and her heart feels hollow.

You booked the earliest flight you could, and as the sky begins to lighten, you pull your coat tighter around you and make your way to the airport.

In the next couple of days, in a big headline on your phone, you find out that Vi punched someone at that party.

SATURDAY, PRESENT DAY.

The hum of soft music drifted through the flower shop as you sat at the counter, a list of names and scribbled notes sprawled out in front of you. A steaming cup of tea sat untouched by your elbow, the faint aroma of lavender and honey filling the air.

You tapped your pen lightly against the edge of the paper, squinting at Mel’s unusually messy handwriting.

“Does Jayce even know this many people?” you muttered, half to yourself and half to Mel, who sat cross-legged on a stool across from you, flipping through her wedding binder.

Mel let out a melodious laugh, shaking her head.

“Oh, you’d be surprised. He seems to think everyone he’s ever spoken to needs a seat at this wedding.”

She reached over and plucked the list from your hands, glancing at the names.

“This is ridiculous. He even invited his college professor,” she squinted, pointing at a name near the bottom of the page, “—Heimer…dinger?”

You laughed softly, shrugging. “Don’t look at me.”

Mel groaned, leaning back and rubbing her temples. “I swear, at this rate, we’re going to have to build a second venue just to fit all these people.”

“Maybe you could just cut the guest list in half,” you suggested lightly, marking a few names off with your pen. “Say the venue has a sudden capacity issue.”

She smirked. “Tempting. Though, knowing Jayce, he’d probably build a whole new venue himself just to make sure no one gets left out.”

You smiled at her, then turned your attention back to the seating chart—you were only halfway through the list. You could feel the warmth of the afternoon sun filtering through the shop’s windows. The scent of fresh blooms mixed with the faint perfume Mel always wore, filling the air with a sense of comfort you’ve gotten familiar with long ago.

“Do you think my mother will mind sitting next to Jayce’s?” Mel asks, uncertain. She tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear and frowns at the chart like it’s a puzzle she just can’t solve.

You glance up at her and let out a soft laugh, shaking your head. “I think they’re are old enough to behave for one meal.”

Mel sighs, throwing her hands up in mock defeat. “You clearly haven’t met my family.”

“Yes, I have,” you roll your eyes and lean forward, studying the chart. “Okay, well… how about this?”

You move a few names around, scribbling quick arrows to new spots.

“We put your mom near your college friends. She can’t cause too much trouble if they’re surrounded by strangers.”

Mel grins at you, resting her chin on her hand as she watches you work.

“Perfect,” she says.

“How’s your mom holding up with all of this?” Mel asked suddenly, watching you as you meticulously rearranged the tiny paper name tags on the chart.

“She’s good,” you replied, your voice soft. “Excited, mostly. She keeps talking about how nice it is to have the shop involved in something so big.”

You paused, your hand hovering over one of the name tags.

“She’s just happy to see you and Jayce so… settled, I guess.”

Mel tilted her head, studying you with a thoughtful look in her eyes. “And you? How are you holding up?”

You hesitated, your fingers lightly brushing against the edge of the seating chart. For a moment, you considered giving her the same polite, surface-level answer you gave everyone else. But this was Mel—your best friend, the one person who’d known you through every high and low.

“I’m fine,” you said finally, though the words felt heavier than they should have. “Really.”

Mel’s gaze softened, but she didn’t push. Instead, she reached over and placed a reassuring hand on yours, her smile warm and understanding. “Well, for what it’s worth, I think you’re doing great. And if you need anything—anything at all—you know I’m here.”

The phone rings before you can reply. You instinctively reach for it, the receiver cool against your hand as you press it to your ear. “Lane Florals, how can I help you?”

“Oh, hey! It’s Jayce,” a familiar voice greets you cheerfully on the other end. “Just checking in to see if Mel’s still holding you hostage over there.”

You laugh softly. “Hostage is a strong word, but yes, we’re almost done.”

Mel perks up at the sound of his name and reaches for the phone.

“Give me that,” she says playfully, taking it from you. “Jayce, we’ve been over this—your input doesn’t count unless you actually help with something.”

As Mel steps into the back to argue with her fiancé, you sit back in the chair, momentarily tuning out the sound of her voice. Your eyes wander around the shop, landing on the bundles of flowers waiting to be arranged, the sunlight filtering in through the windows, and the stillness of this place.

You absently twirl the pen in your hand, your mind drifting for a moment. It’s easy to stay busy here, to focus on what’s in front of you instead of the ache you don’t like to name.

“Jayce insists we keep his cousins together,” Mel said with a playful roll of her eyes as she returned to you. “I love him, but the man doesn’t understand how chaotic that side of the family is.”

“Maybe put them near the bar. That way they won’t bother anyone too much,” you suggested, earning a grateful laugh from Mel.

“Alright, I think we’ve almost got it,” she said, standing up to pour herself a glass of water.

Left alone for a moment, you leaned over the chart, eyes scanning the names to double-check the placements. Your gaze moved quickly at first, recognizing some familiar names and skimming unfamiliar ones, until it landed on something—towards the end of the list—that made your breath hitch.

Violet Lanes.

It was there, clear as day—her name printed neatly on a delicate little card, tucked beside a few other names at one of the smaller tables. Your hands stilled, hovering over the paper as a wave of something sharp and overwhelming crashed over you.

“Hey, you okay?” Mel’s voice pulled you back to the present.

You swallowed hard, nodding quickly.

“Yeah, I just—” You glanced down at the name again, your fingers brushing against the edge of the paper. “I’m fine.”

Mel’s eyes softened as she walked over, leaning over your shoulder. She followed your gaze to the card and let out a quiet sigh.

“I was going to tell you,” she said gently. “Jayce invited her. You know how they’ve been since high school. They’ve been in touch for a while, I guess. He didn’t think it would be a big deal.”

You nodded again, but the tightness in your chest didn’t ease.

“It’s fine,” you murmured, though the words felt hollow.

Mel reached out and placed a comforting hand on your shoulder.

“If it’s too much, I can figure something out,” she offered. “She hasn’t even confirmed with us yet… She’s probably so busy anyway.”

You shook your head, forcing a small smile. “No, it’s… it’s your wedding. I’ll be fine.”

“I’m sorry, babe.”

“Mel, really. It’s okay,” you threw on one of the best fake smiles you could give. “It just caught me off guard, is all.”

Mel studies you for a moment, her gaze lingering on your face. “If you don’t want her there, I can tell Jayce—”

You cut her off with a quick shake of your head. “It’s okay. I’m okay. I promise.”

The words taste bitter on your tongue, but you push through it. The last thing you want is for Mel to feel guilty, or worse, pitying you.

She doesn’t seem convinced, but she nods anyway, going back to arranging the seating chart. You know she’s trying to keep things light, to keep you from feeling weighed down by whatever’s hanging in the air. And maybe you’re fooling yourself into thinking you’re not still carrying it.

But the truth is, you don’t know what to do with the ghost of her, or your love for her, lingering between everything you do.

“Hey,” Mel says after a beat, snapping you out of your thoughts. “Want to grab a coffee after we finish here? We could use a break.”

You nod, grateful for the distraction. “That sounds good.”

Glancing at the seating chart again, your finger rests on the name that’s still too familiar.

series masterlist | next chapter

taglist: @norwayromanoff @killuomi @wicked-laugh @bunnyrose01 @jupitism @sawaagyapong @trulyzizi @saturnhas82moons @oidloid @mk-a-1 @pornoangelz @savedforlaterr @catrapplesauces @ishamyshaylaaa @baylegend6 @auraclus @theapollochronicles @jivimatcha @chobssss @mystar-girl57 @narislvr @danonered @mikellie @xxyourlocaledgelordxx @thalchmy

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#— heart to heart // series #b’s writings #vi x reader #vi arcane #arcane #arcane x reader #fanfic #arcane fanfiction #violet #violet x reader #violet arcane #angst #x reader #reader insert #series #vi smut #league of legends

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kilojulietsierra · 21 days ago

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Fun thought: I’m my head Sam must have told Jack about Mel and how she’s her favorite resident from the VA.

When Mel eventually works night shift with Jack he understands why his wife loves the new resident and is a little more encouraging to her.

Did you ask for this? No. DId I write something anyway? Yes.

It was too good to not come up with a little one shot!

~~~~~

It was in the middle of the night from Hell, the night of the Pittfest shooting, that Mel saw her for the first time.

"Sam!" Mel called out on her way out of BH with and arm full of supplies. "What are you doing here?"

Sam, who at that moment had been assiting Jack as he intubated a difficult patient, had to look around a couple times before she found the voice she faintly recognized. "Oh, Mel, hey! Are you good?"

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm... good. Just, nice to see you!" She nodded once and then hurried back to her zone.

"You too." Sam said, but the young doctor was already gone.

Beside her Jack had successfully intubated and stepped back, "Bag him." He watched as his wife attached the bag and waited for the nod that indicated they were good before he asked, "You know her?"

As Sam bagged the patient, breathed for him while they waited for transport to come take him to ICU, she nodded, "Kind of, yeah. She worked dayshit at the VA for a few months I think. They put her in as a secondary on nights when we were short. "Good kid. Wicked smart"

Jack gave her a nod, "We can take a red!" He called out as transpo took their previous patient, "She seemed awfully cheery this morning."

He handed his wife a pair of fresh medium gloves and took a pair of large for himself.

Sam smiled at the gesture as she gloved up, "Don't you remember what it was like to be young and excited for your new job?"

Her husband stared back at her as the next gurney pulled up, 'No." He shook his head and turned to Jesse, "What've we got?"

A month had passed when Jack came home from his first shift with the med students in his rotation.

"Hey babe," Sam looked up from her spot on the couch and put a finger in her book to keep her place, "How was your night?"

He'd already showered and put on his sweats so he came around and laid on the couch, with his head in her lap. "Med students and interns switched to nights."

Sam bit her lip and fought back a smile. She rested the hand holding her book on his chest and with her free hand combed through his hair. "And?"

His chest rose and fell with a deep breath, "Long night."

Sam fought back the smile again, "Set that on the table?" She let him take the book and grinned as he flipped it over to keep her place as he set it down. Her other hand free she tested it on his bare chest, "How did they do?"

Jack took another deep breath, "Samira's a rockstar."

"Mhmm. So i've heard. Interesting how she requested a rotation on nights all the sudden."

Jack reached back to pinch her thigh, "Don't start. She is good, you've said it yourself."

"I know." Sam chuckled, she trusted her husband more than anyone in the world and would never doubt him in their marriage, but she also knew that the young doctor had gone a little starry eyed over Jack since the Pittfest incident. "How about Santos? You said she had it."

He stayed quiet for a minute, "She's got the balls, she just needs to get her attitude sorted out."

Sam stroked her hand back and forth over his chest, "And how did that go?" Sam knew her husband well enough to know that guts and motivation only got you so far in his ER. You had to be a team player, and follow orders too.

"She has to sit out anymore 'cool' cases," he made air quotes with his fingers, "She'll figure it out pretty damn fast." When he cracked a hint of a smirk that told her everything she needed to know.

"You made her run chairs all night didn't you?" Sam shook her head. "Jack…"

"She was trying to cherry pick, should've seen her face when she found out the farm kid got to do run lead on a bilateral pneumothorax while she was holding an emesis bag for a case of food poisoning."

Sam smiled as she combed her fingers through his hair, "How's Mel doing?"

He didn't answer right away. "She's smart."

She gave him a moment to expound, but when he didn't she prodded him, "But?

Jack looked up at her, "She gets flustered." He laced his fingers through hers over his chest, "Know you said you liked her, but we had some rough ones tonight by the end of the shift she was pretty emotional."

"People get emotional, you know, those of us that have them anyway." She teased and tweaked his nipple.

"Smart ass." Jack batted her hand away and sat up.

Sam bit her lip as she watched the muscles in his core flex as he sat upright and twisted so his feet were on the floor.

"C'mere." He motioned for her and smirked as she moved to straddle his lap, "Just mean she comes across as soft, easily overwhelmed."

"Because she cares." Sam defended the resident, "Open to some advise from a lowly nurse?"

Jack dropped his head back against the couch and smoothed his hands over his wife's thighs, "Only from one's that let me do inappropriate things to them after hours."

She rolled her eyes, "I'm serious."

"So am I." His face remained stoic, scowl in place. When she only scowled right back at him he gave her a smile, "Always from you."

Sam wrapped her arms around his neck, "You're on with them tomorrow right?" When he nodded she continued, "Just try and watch her tomorrow, get her on some of the tough ones, but don't watch her like… well, like you." She smirked when he swatted her on the ass lightly. "Just give her room to breath, work the problem on her own, lead her with a question if she gets a little flustered, but don't put the pressure on her like you normally would."

"Baby, we're a trauma,"

"I know," Sam interrupted him, "and I know she'll impress you, she's just…" Sam licked her lips and thought for a minute, "Just give her room to think."

Jack studied her face for a long moment and she let him.

"You trust me right?" She arched an eyebrow at him.

"WIth my life." There was no hesitation in his answer.

Sam nodded, "Give her room to work, you'll see."

After a beat Jack nodded, moved his hands up to her hips and tugged her close. "Okay. Give her room. Check." For a long moment he just held her gaze, took advantage of the calm she brought him and could almost feel his blood pressure regulate as they sat. "You eat yet?"

She shook her head, "Waited for you."

He took in her shorts and favorite hoodie, clear sign they wouldn't be leaving the house and nodded to himself as he slid his hands underneath to stroke over her back, "What sounds good?"

"You goin' to cook for me?"

"I am gonna order UberEATS for you." He gave her a grin.

"Order me my pizza from Nick's and we can talk about some of those 'inappropriate things'." She gave him a quick kiss and smiled into it when he didn't let her go right away.

~~~~~

Jack remembered that conversation the next night when EMS brought in two rollover victims, one of whom ejected from the vehicle.

"Ellis take Trauma 2 with Whitacre, King with me." He watched her eyes get wide for a moment before she followed.

It was hard for him at first. He had no trouble handing off a procedure to a student, they were here to learn and he whole heatedly believed in trial by fire. but he had a tone, a presence, he was aware of that. So, he took a step back, literally and figuratively, "What do you see Dr. King?"

The look she gave him made him skeptical, but he trusted Sam and so he gave the young doctor an encouraging nod. Then he saw it, the deep breath, the slow blink and the nod in return.

Sam had been wrong. Sort of.

Jack smirked from two steps away while Dr. King ran the trauma without one single leading question from him. At most he nodded, talked her through steps occasionally. Once they were done he gave her a smile, "Excellent work Dr. King."

The smile on her face was possibly the biggest he'd seen it yet, she nearly bounced on the balls of her feet. "Thanks!."

Bridget met them at the door to the trauma room, "We've got a teen, fell off a second story balcony, parents brought him in."

Abbot dipped his hand under the hand sanitizer and rubbed it in. "Dr. King," He took a half second and decided, 'on me." Jack couldn't help but chuckle quietly to himself when he saw her shocked expression followed by the big smile again as she hurried after him.

Nights changed after that. Santos slowly but surely developed a hint of humility and was eventually allowed back in the trauma bay, Whitacre was...Whitacre he still had some progress to make, but Mel. Mel had surprised him.

As she got more comfortable she just got better. He'd see her sometimes sneek off on her own for a few minutes and then return, but every time she came back she was on his hip ready for the next one. She soaked everything in and then could turn around and use it.

Jack found himself not just teaching her medicine, he was teaching her how to get creative, how to problem solve, how to navigate the beaucratic bullshit, how to take command and run a trauma, a code, the department. By the end of her night shift rotation that timidness had nearly disappeared, but not at the cost of her empathy.

On the last night she had even given him an order in the middle of a trauma. She hadn't really noticed until it was too late, based on the look of pure panic, but Jack had kept his face straight, handed her the instrument she had requested and allowed the barest slip of a smile.

He found her out in the ambulance bay that morning, catching her breath, humming to herself. When she saw him she immediatly perked up, "Something coming in?"

Jack shook his head, "Nope, just wanted to come check on you."

Mel looked surprised but gave him a nod and a smile, "I'm fine. Good, really. This month has been so great. I, I feel like I learned more in the last four weeks than I have all year. Thank you."

"Of course." He stuck his hands in his pockets, "Mel, I just want you to know that I may have had my reservations about you at first, but you have absolutely exceeded my expectations. You are a damned good doctor."

She looked like she might cry for a minute, "Thank you, for giving me the chance. Really, I'm so grateful."

Jack gave her a little grin. "Sam wanted me to tell you she's proud of you too. She speaks very highly of you."

Mel smiled wide, "Oh that's so sweet, I loved working with her. I, I guess I didn't know you two were related."

Jack turned to his side a little still with the grin, "We're married. Sam's my wife."

"Oh! Oh, that's so awesome, plus that makes sense. You're both so..." She made some hand motion to indicate something about him. "You know."

He gave her a strange look but nodded, kept his face relaxed, "Have you made any decisions yet, after this?"

"Umm yes and no, I'm definitly staying in emergency medicine. Just not sure where." The big, bright smile was back

"Good to hear." Jack nodded and reached into the pocket of his scrub pants and pulled out two envelopes. He ducked his head slightly to catch her eye, "These are for you."

Mel took them carefully, "What, what are these?"

Jack put his hands back in his pockets and continued to stare down the street. "Letter of recommendation, for when the time comes, I know you're not finished just yet." He glanced her way and the look on her face makes him grin, "Top one is generic, for wherever you might decide to go."

She stared at the envelopes, at the signature scrawled over the closed flaps, "What's the second one?"

Still with a grin Jack turned to face her and nodded back towards the ambulance bay and the ED behind, "For here. If you decide to stay," He caught her eye and smiled, really smiled, "Which I hope you do."

The young doctor stood with her mouth agape, the letters in her hand clutched delicately. She just kept shaking her head, like she didn't know what to say. J

ack chuckled, "In the meantime, I'd like you to consider switching to nights. If you can make the schedule work with you sister. I'd be happy to have you, we all would. I've already cleared it with the education director and admin, if you're interested."

Her only response was to wrap her arms around him so fast and so tight he barely knew what hit him, "Thank you." She squeezed him so tight Jack thought she might be shaking. "For everything, thank you so much."

After a second of hesitation Jack returned the hug, "No problem kid. It's what I'm here for." He gave a squeeze in return and then stepped back , "Now go home, get some sleep okay."

Mel nearly levitated back through the bay and Jack realized he was still smiling. He checked his watch and then pulled out his phone to call Sam. "Hey babe, yeah I'm almost done. Robby's going to be pissed." He paused in front of the doors as he saw the man in question walking towards the entrance. "Beause, I'm stealing his best resident."

~~~~~

#the pitt #the pitt hbo #the pitt fanfic #dr jack abbot #dr jack abbot x ofc #dr melissa king #mel king

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avelera · 3 months ago

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what would you say are the biggest misconceptions about jayce's and viktor's characters respectively? i see a lot of mischaracterization for both of them, especially jayce, and i wanted to know your thoughts.

Hmm, hard to say because a lot is open to interpretation and I also don't want to rain on people's parades if it's a characterization they enjoy, but two that stick out to me as a couple of my knee-jerk "Who the fuck is this? This isn't Jayce/Viktor!" would be:

"Jayce is Power Hungry" - This one feels incredibly baffling to me. When offered power, Jayce specifically says to Mel, "I never wanted anything to do with politics! You pushed this on me!"

Like, do people just forget that line? Mel then in her character flaw of "always wanting to be the power behind the throne" then initiates one of her most direct and, in my opinion, morally reprehensible instances of manipulation against Jayce by literally whispering in his ear that he can use politics to shape his own destiny. But she includes the fact that he's in danger if he doesn't, and she plays to his male ego by saying others are underestimating him. Game, set, match, she tees up Jayce to pursue power out of self-defense because he was forced into a situation he never wanted, and he buys the bait because he has pretty much no defenses against that kind of power play. (This is, imo, the moment the narrative punishes Mel for the most. First, by Jayce becoming an unreliable puppet she can no longer control and second, when he later breaks up with her over this moment in particular, just at the point where she was feeling vulnerable and seeking comfort from someone she cared for, just as Jayce was vulnerable with her while she was using him, before she eventually fell for him, but I digress.)

Anyway, Jayce is not power hungry. He is very much a victim of circumstance and manipulation and he is clear about that at every step in S1. Yes, he makes use of the power he's given and then a crisis makes it impossible for him to step aside, but once he has a solution for the crisis, he immediately intends to resign. It's maddening to see people characterize him as someone who sought power at any point.

"Viktor is Mean" - I've talked about this one elsewhere, at length, but I see a lot of characterization especially in fic of Viktor being short with Jayce, or whacking him with his cane, or being exasperated him, and genuinely? Footage not fucking found. Not fucking once does Viktor insult Jayce or direct personal comments at him and he has never, ever raised his hand to anyone to harm them.

FFS, even in full villain mode, Viktor's fight with Jayce, the only person he ever engages with in real combat, in the Council Chamber and at the Hexgates is almost entirely dodging and trapping. Even when he grabs Jayce by the throat a couple of times, it's about paralyzing Jayce and stopping him from fighting, basically knocking him out with a chokehold. Viktor is perhaps the least violent person in the entire show, even in his fight scenes when you actually analyze the way he fights defensively and focuses on paralyzing an active opponent.

Look, I understand snark, and I think Viktor has a cutting wit, but it's definitely an instant "nope" for me when I see fics or other fan-takes where Viktor is insulting Jayce repeatedly or in a mean-spirited way, or otherwise raising his hand to others, including the whole idea of him whacking anyone with his cane. It's a squick for me but people are welcome to write whatever they want.

#arcane #jayvik #arcane meta

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morgana-larkin · 3 months ago

Text

No one asked for this but I wrote it anyway because I can. Obviously it’s based off the line “I’d eat her ass.” I decided to dip my toe into something anal, I never thought about writing anything like that because I personally am not into that. Not edited in the slightest and I hope you like it!

On another note: I have 4 other fics on the go including ‘Mine’ and ‘Worth It’! Also I noticed a couple people requested to have a reader that’s taller than Mel in their prompts, so I’m sorry to everyone that’s taller than Lisa. I am not one of those people as I’m 5’1 which is why I usually write a shorter reader.

Something New

Warnings: Smut, sexual teasing, switch reader and Mel, strap ons, ass eating

Words: 3k

“Thank goodness the volunteers get here today.” Janine says as she fixes her cup of coffee then goes to sit down. “It is so weird how we all fall behind after break when we get back.”

“Yeah, not me, I’m good.” Melissa says and you look at her briefly before going back to your lesson plan.

“I’m actually ahead of schedule.” Barb says proudly and with a smile.

“Well I’m behind.” You say and Melissa looks at you.

“Why didn’t you tell me? I could help you.” She asks.

“Because I don’t need help, I’m good doing it myself.” You tell her and she tilts her head.

“You’re so stubborn.” She says and you roll your eyes.

“You’re one to talk.” You tell her and she shakes her head at you with a smile.

“I need help with my vents. Some of the seats are too cold, others too hot. It’s a whole Goldilocks sitch.” You hear Jacob say.

“You know if a girl came into my house and ate my porridge, and slept in my bed, I’m eating her ass.” Melissa says randomly and you all look at her with a shocked and confused face. “To be clear, in this hypothetical, I’m a bear.” She says and you all still give her a weird look. “The animal.” She adds and you burst out laughing. “What are you laughing at?” Melissa asks as she turns to look at you.

Before you get a chance to answer, Ava announces that the volunteers have arrived and you all go to greet them. While on the way there, she wraps an arm around your waist and holds you close.

“So what were you laughing about?” She asks again.

“I’ll tell you after.” You say and then reach the volunteers. You all greet them and then Ava gets them to work after a brief encounter. You and Melissa make your way to her classroom and then she slips her glasses on and starts going through paperwork.

“So what were you laughing about earlier?” She asks and you smirk.

“You.” You simply say and she looks at you.

“What about me?” She asks as she gets up and starts handing out a piece of paper to each desk.

“You said you’d eat a girl’s ass.” You bluntly say as she continues handing out the paper.

“And? I was telling the truth.”

“Oh? So you’re interested in eating ass?” You ask her mischievously and she stops to look at you.

“You know I meant that I would eat a girl whole, because I would be a bear.” She says and you smirk.

“So you’d go to town on an ass? You animal.” You say and she scoffs out.

“Go get ready for your class Y/n.” She says with a shake of her head.

“There’s still 5 minutes left.” You tell her after checking the time and you lean against her desk as you face her as she’s handing out papers. She walks up to you after a few seconds and traps you between her and her desk.

“Get to your class hon.” She says and gives you a quick kiss on the lips. You smile at her before nodding your head.

“Alright, don’t miss me too much.” You tell her and then leave and she chuckles slightly at you.

The bells rings for lunch and you bring your class to the caf before you head to the break room.

“Does anybody else think there’s something seriously off about these volunteers?” Gregory asks as you enter the break room.

“Long morning hon?” Melissa asks as you slump down in your seat and you nod.

“Not only is taking care of first graders tiring, but that Dennis guy, the one who doesn’t show his face on camera, keeps asking me out to this gross bar with like 300 one star reviews.” You tell her and everyone looks at you.

“He what?” Melissa asks and you give her a look that says ‘leave it be’. “Wait, a gross bar in south?” Melissa asks as she has a curious look on her face and you nod. “I knew I knew those schulbs.” She says as she packs the lid on her salad and gets up. “Guys come on.” She says and everyone gets up. “You too Y/n.” She adds and helps you up. “Hey, you guys own that Paddy’s Pub, that’s the skeeviest bar I ever been to.” She says and then Dennis goes to leave but she grabs his arm. “And you, stop asking my girlfriend out.” She says and they all look at Melissa. Dennis immediately nods with a look of fear on his face.

“Melissa, let go of his arm.” You tell her and you have to peel her hand off of his arm. Once she lets go of his arm you have to hold her back with an arm around her waist. “You’ve already told him off, honey.” You tell her and she looks at you and calms down.

Melissa wraps an arm around you for the entire conversation to keep you close to her, and to let other people know you’re claimed. After the conversation, you and Melissa walk back to the break room with you holding hands with her.

“So you got a little jealous over there.” You tell her and she groans.

“Well I can’t have people thinking you don’t belong to me, no matter what.” She says and you smile at her.

“Well maybe you can use some of that jealousy tonight?” You tell her.

“Oh ya, and anything specific that you have in mind?” She asks.

“Well how about we try something that you mentioned earlier?” You tell her and she quirks an eyebrow at you.

“And what did I mention earlier?” She asks and you hum.

“Well you mentioned something about eating ass.” You tell her and she whips her head at you.

“I was talking about killing, nothing sexual.”

“I know, still doesn’t mean that my mind didn’t go places.” You say with a smirk and she shakes her head at you.

“You’re really a wonder, you know that?” She says and you giggle as you reach the break room and sit down.

“You haven’t said yes or no.” You tell her and she snorts.

“I’ll think about it.” She says as she continues eating.

“Well, don't take too long.” You tell her and then you take the bite of food off of her fork and she gasps in disbelief.

“Are you always going to take my food?” She asks and you smile.

“I will until you stop me.” You tell her and she sighs.

“Then you’re always going to take my food then.” She says and you smirk.

“So you’re not going to stop me?” You ask and take a tomato and eat it.

“You know I won’t.” She tells you. “I take it as a compliment, you like my food better.” She adds you and she wiggles her eyebrows and you laugh.

“I do like eating something you make better.” You tell her and you hear Barb cough and you see Melissa blushing. You then lean and whisper in her ear. “I love eating all those juices you make.” You pull back and you see her eyes darken. “But yes I do love your food as well.”

“I know, that’s why you always steal my food.” She tells you and then switches her salad with yours. “There, no need to steal it now.” She says and then takes a bite of the food.

“You’re sweet.” You say and then lean in near her ear. “I hope you taste sweet after school.” You say and you hear her breathing hitch before you pull back.

“J-Jacob.” She says and you see Jacob turning around to look at her.

“Ya.” He says and Melissa looks at you before answering him.

“Get lost after school.” She says and Jacob sees you smirking.

“Again? Why can’t you go to Y/n’s place?” He complains with.

“Because I live in an apartment and my neighbours already told me that we were really loud and to keep it down next time.” You tell him and Melissa smiles proudly before taking a bite of your food.

“You can spend the afternoon with me, Jacob.” Janine offers and Jacob nods.

“Thanks.” He says.

You quietly take off a shoe and carefully bring your foot to Melissa’s thigh. Melissa flinches and accidentally hits the leg of the table and you retract your foot immediately as everyone looks.

“You ok Melissa?” Janine asks and Melissa nods before glaring at you, while you just happily eat the salad she gave you, unfazed by her glares anymore.

“I’m fine.” Melissa says. “Just got itchy, moved my leg too far.” She quickly covers and everyone nods before going back to their food.

As you all walk to the caf, she pulls you in close to her. “You played dirty in there.” She tells you and you look at her with a smile.

“No idea what you’re talking about.” You tell her innocently.

“What you do to me at work determines what I do to you in bed.” She says and you blush immediately before reaching the caf. “Alright my little eagles, line up in a straight line.” Melissa tells her class and she then glances at you as you’re helping a student pack up their lunch while the others get in a line.

“Ms. Schemmenti?” One student asks her and she looks at them and nods her head. “Why do you always look at Ms. Y/l/n?” They ask her and Melissa feels heat rise to her cheeks at being caught.

“Just making sure she’s ok as we’re friends.” She tells them and sees you looking over with a smile as you heard the conversation.

“Just making sure I’m ok?” You ask her as she’s right across from you.

“Yes, I do that.” She says and you hum as you watch your class walk in the classroom.

“You know I was thinking about something. How would you feel about doing a combined movie together with our classrooms today?” You ask her and she looks at you.

“Why?”

“Well you want to show your class a movie and I need to catch up on work.” You tell her and she thinks about it.

“Alright, sure. Bring them over in an hour.” She tells you and you nod before going back to your classroom.

In an hour you bring your class over with all their stuff and they all sit on the mat or a free chair in the classroom. You brought your chair over and you sit by Melissa as you start catching up on your work. Melissa finishes all of her work 20 minutes into the movie and then she starts helping you with yours. You go to protest but she stops you before you do.

“Don’t even think about saying no.” She says sternly and then you shut your mouth and let her help you. You and Melissa catch up on your work and then you both watch the last 10 minutes of The Incredibles.

Everyone gets their things ready to leave and you both stand outside her class as the students are getting picked up or they walk to the school bus.

“Ready to go home?” She asks as the last student leaves and you nod. She locks up her classroom and then she grabs your hand as you walk to her car. You both put your bags in the backseat and then you wrap your arms around her waist before she goes to the driver’s seat. “Whatcha doing hon?” She asks and you hum before kissing her.

“I’ve had to wait to do that all day.” You complain and she giggles.

“The torture.” She jokes and you nod.

“It is, specially since I’m right across the hall from you.” You tell her and then kiss her again.

“Get a room you dorks.” Ava says as she passes by you both. You both pull away with a smile before getting in the car and she drives you home.

As soon as you take your shoes and jacket off, she excitedly pulls you to her room and you squeeze her ass on the stairs.

She takes your shirt and bra off before pushing you on the bed. She then takes the rest of your clothes off and she looks at you with a smile, as you’re completely bare on her bed. She gets on her knees and pulls you close to the side of the bed.

She dives down to your pussy and starts licking your entrance as you moan out. She then moves up to your clit and sticks two fingers in your entrance. You reach out and grab the back of her head to keep her there. She hums at that and it vibrates on your clit and you buck your hips. She does some hard sucks on your clit and you gasp out.

After a couple minutes you feel your orgasm building and you start grinding her face and you feel her smile. She lets you keep doing that even though it’s occasionally blocking off her air supply. She starts curling her fingers inside of you and you scream out.

“Melissa, I’m so close!” You scream and she gives your clit hard sucks until you come. While coming down from your high, Melissa gets up and flips you on your stomach. “Melissa, what are you- oh my god!” You get cut off as she goes back down on your knees and starts licking your ass.

Some of your juices dripped down to your ass when you came and she had no problem licking all of that up. She keeps your ass cheeks spread open as she keeps licking the hole over and over again. You moan out as the new sensation feels amazing and wonder why you never thought of this before.

“Does this feel good baby?” She asks.

“Yes, keep going.” You tell her quickly and she dives back down.

“Rub your clit baby.” She tells you and you bring your hand to your clit and start rubbing it. You start moving your hips after about 30 seconds as you feel your orgasm building. She then sticks two fingers in your entrance and you scream out. The pleasure from your clit, entrance and ass is overwhelming and you end up coming hard.

You flip onto your back as Melissa gets up and sees you trying to catch your breath. She sits down beside you and you place your head on her lap as she scratches your scalp to help you calm down.

“Why-why are you sti fully dressed?” You ask her after a few seconds.

“Because no one’s taken them off yet.” She says with a smirk. You then sit up and push her down on the bed and she looks up at you and giggles as you immediately take her shirt off and bra off. “Sometimes I think you love my tits more than me.” She jokes and you laugh.

“Maybe equally.” You play along with and she laughs. You place your mouth around a nipple and start sucking. She gasps out and puts her hands in your hair. You feel her rub her thighs together for friction and you smirk. You switch to her other nipple and you undo the button on her jeans and unzip them. You pull away and then get off the bed and then take her pants and underwear off. You go into the nightstand and pull out the harness and dildo and put it on. You get back on top of her and go down to suck her neck. “Now everyone will know you’re claimed.” You tell her as you pull away.

You get on your knees in between her legs and move her hips up slightly and align the dildo with her entrance. You slid it in slowly and she gasps out at the feeling of it filling her up. You bottom out inside of her and you give her a second before you start moving. She starts gasping and moaning like crazy as you start speeding up more and more. She wraps her legs around you and she starts bucking her hips. You pin her down and then start pounding into her. Her legs drop down to the bed as she couldn’t keep them wrapped around you with the pleasure you’re giving her. You placed the dildo in the exact spot where it can rub your clit and you start gasping out as well. You see her grab one of her boobs with her hand and you smirk.

“Rub your clit.” You tell her, just like she did with you. She obeys immediately and starts rubbing her clit and she gasps out.

“Oh god!” She screams out and you can tell she’s about to come.

“I need you to hold it in.” You tell her and she whines. “Just for a bit as I’m close as well, I want you to come with me.” You tell her. Her legs start moving all around and you can tell she’s having difficulty holding it in.

“I can’t hold it anymore.” She cries out.

“Ok, come for me.” You tell her and she lets go immediately and comes hard. You come a few seconds later with a moan and then pull out of her carefully. You take the strap off and then you curl up beside her and places an arm around you.

“You know, I don’t think I can ever let you go.” She says and you look at her.

“And why’s that?” You ask and she smiles before looking at you.

“Cause you always give me one hell of an orgasm.” She says and smirk before giving her a kiss.

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Let me know if you want to be added!

#melissa schemmenti x reader #melissa schemmenti x oc #melissa schemmenti x you #melissa schemmenti fanfic #melissa schemmenti #lisa ann walter #law #x reader #fanfic #abbott elementary

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arcane-temp-fandomblog · 5 months ago

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The more I rethink Mel's arc which Amanda said was the best arc, the more I feel it encapsulates all the issues of Season 2.

Yes, I think Mel's arc is one of the most coherent with setup at end of Season 1 and end at Season 2. It's bittersweet but good.

But then I think how we got there and there are glaring problems:

- contrived way of being removed from the plot - the abduction by Black rose, Mel is now not a character influencing the plot, not even having opinion on the events of the plot - she will be in Black rose limbo until plot needs her to respawn in plot required place to get her 3 step resolution of the arc. This happens to Jayce, Ekko and Viktor too.

- over the top shocking cliffhanger that feels like something interesting is coming but in hindsight are just for cheap tension - so when Mel is abducted, it spawns speculation of what are Black Rose's intentions, I thought it was building towards something BUT it just segways into clips of exposition of her powers, of the Doomsday coming to piltover and of her mother's history. They abduct this poor woman for months on end to give us exposition. The same happens with Jayce shooting Viktor. We do not understand these actions, they just seem soo final and shocking and leading into something great. I would like to compare it to finale of S1 which is more shocking with Jinx's rocket yet we understand everything about it.

- making things emotional but in hindsight in a cheap way - so, remember when Black Rose kills Elora, Mel's friend? The emotions! The shock, right? BUT Why do they do it? Please, why would an organization that wants Mel to join them kill off her friend? What's the point of it aside for Mel to be sad? Elora actually got off well, she at least has a dialogue about her death unlike Isha or Vander or Jinx or Vander 2.0. If you compare these deaths to how logical deaths of Marcus or Finn were.

- inefficient storytelling - we get black rose scenes but they're just exposition that never flows into the main story. Never influences it. Contrary it makes the whole story worse, because now Black rose abducted Mel for months to tell her she needs to figure out how to avert the Doomsday. So months on end this organization just waited for her to solve the wall puzzle instead of trying to locate and assassinate the threat in Viktor, or influence Piltover politics to throw out Ambessa. This is cartoon logic.

- impossible to resolve conflicts - this is more on Ambessa' writing, because in ep. 8 she goes like this: Mel, it's not enough you'd join me to avenge Kino, we now have this weapon in you and this nice old chemist is lending me a hand making more weapons BUT it's impossible for me to change plans, because to stick it to Black Rose and mages in noxus as magic is unfair, I'm making this new army with the help of this nice mage I just found in the rubble. This army is also exclusively puppeteer by him. This is cartoon logic of a bad guy, not a human.

- keeping conflicts simple by keeping characters apart until 2 scenes before finale - this is hypothetical so please friends be nice, what if instead of Black rose abduction plotline the whole exposition part of it went like this: Black rose possesed Amara asks Mel to help her get introduction to her mother. Mel and Amara meet Ambessa, where Black rose reveals herself like in original scene and delivers the exposition about Mel's origins and Kino's fate. All the while changing faces between Amara, the Ionia princess and Kino to the horror of all involved. Then Mel's powers awaken like in the puzzle wall scene. Idk if that'd be better but it'd be more efficient and would keep Mel in Piltover. One scene instead of several, leaving Mel and Ambessa more time for an arc build up. Also Elora lives. Anyway, that's my stab at it while chilling and listening to 60 y/o lady showing off her spoon collection in an asmr. It's a very nice asmr.

- symbolism as character development - so when Black Rose gives Mel the Ionian processes necklace I felt really good, it felt as if Mel is finally carving her identity as Medarda from Medarda family history. But then it hit me, we don't know what she thinks of it, we don't know why she goes back to noxus on the ship, we know nothing of ot in her words. It's symbolism. Not as bad as Jayce having his whole character development this season conveyed in symbolism by role playing as Bear Grylls in Apocalypse survivor man, but it feels cheap anyway to not write character just use symbolism.

Anyway, those are my gripes and apparently this is the best arc of this show.

#arcane critical #mel medarda #arcane season 2 #arcane spoilers #ambessa medarda

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4me2knowandyou2wonder · 3 months ago

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Just some MelVik "early days dynamic" brain worms. I had fun writing a scene. no real shipping here actully, just the good ol mel and viktor dynamics we should have gotten 800~ words, writen at like 2am, not reread at all before posting.

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Viktor’s left leg has fallen asleep. For a while now he had been aware of the slow tingling crawling down his nerves, but he’d finally gotten into a position that let his right leg stop throbbing and found he was unwilling to keep looking for a way to sit that appeased both limbs. It is for this reason that when the lab door loudly swings open Viktor makes no attempt to rise. There is no doubt in his mind that that could only end with him on the floor. He does not know who entered the laboratory, certainly not Jayce—he had left an hour ago, but no matter how open he was to the intruder being a stranger, he was still unprepared for councilor Medarda herself, to sit down on top of his notes.

“As concentrated on progress as ever I see,” she lulled, dragging the page he’d been staring at from his fingers.

Once over his initial shock, Viktor snatched the paper back with force and glared at the councilor with flames in his eyes. “What are you doing here?”

The counselor at least had the wherewithal to look a little embarrassed after that. “Well, honestly, I am here seeking counsel.”

“Jayce left two hours ago.”

“I know. I came for you.”

Viktor could keep the indignation from his voice. “Me?”

Councilor Medarda finally removed her butt from Viktor’s desk in favor of pacing about the room. Viktor reluctantly unfolded himself to watch her movements. His legs had very differing opinions about this action.

“I’m trying to undo an outdated law, but the council is not in my favor.” Viktor wanted to interject with a comment about that but the councilor offered no pause. “For years doctors who are licensed in Piltover have been barred from practicing medicine in the undercity.”

He was well aware. Viktor focused on her with more interest. Why would she care about doctors being allowed in Zaun?

“I thought it was an obvious law to over turn.” Her pacing had gotten faster now. “Why are we controlling the movements of our citizens? Wanting to help others across the bridge doesn’t make anyone less capable of medicine! Its—”

“It is because they want the resource for themself,” Viktor interrupted, “and, well, they do not want their doctors to be put in danger.”

The councilor’s pacing stopped. “You agree with them!”

Viktor frowned. He wasn’t sure how much he was willing to say. He said it anyway. “Miss Medarda, I have watched friends and family alike die from preventable diseases. Die, just because the available doctors are too scared to work with them. If you are from Zaun, it does not matter if you make it all the way to Piltover. It does not matter if you have the money. This very law scares doctors enough that they will turn me away.” Even while curled over in a rickety wooden chair, his gaze was enough to level her. “Of course I do not agree with the council.”

“Viktor—”

He let out a sigh and leaded back in his chair. “I simply… understand their flawed minds.”

“I want to change it.”

“A noble thought.” He didn’t try to hide his skepticism.

The councilor is suddenly much closer to him. “I was a single vote away from reversing it.” There is a conviction in her voice that intrigues Viktor. “Hoskel is malleable. But he’s scared of change.”

She pauses long enough Viktor thinks she might be waiting for him to speak. “I-”

“Can you hide a calming agent in a kid’s fidget puzzle?”

There is fire in her eyes. A rueful smile plays over Viktor’s face. “Miss Medarda…” he drawls. “Are you here to ask me to help you drug your fellow counselor, so that you can pass a law?”

The councilor doesn’t recoil. She doesn’t even blink. Unwavering determination. Viktor is faced with a choice. He doesn't like the thought of being used, but a reversal of this jurisdiction could mean everything for hundreds of Zaunite citizens. One trinket is all it would take for him and the counselor to change the dynamics of the whole population.

Viktor wins the staring contest. Councilor Medarda sighs and lets her shoulders fall. “I’m sorry for bothering you. Goodnight, Viktor.”

“Goodnight, Councilor.”

He lets her touch the brass handle before calling out. “Are you not going to tell me when the next council meeting is?”

Councilor Madarda’s head whips around. She is met with the widest, most cunning grin she’s ever seen on Viktor. Her next few breaths come out a bit like she might be laughing, but Viktor cannot be sure.

“It’s- It's tomorrow evening.”

Viktor pushes his bottom lip up and nods his knocks to the side. “I’ll see you in the morning then.”

He picks up his pencil from the desk and turns away. He does not look up again until a closed door muffles the councilor’s footsteps. Perhaps Viktor should play Powerful more often, he concedes, that was fun.

#melvik #jaymelvik #arcane #viktor arcane #mel medarda #meljayvik #jayvikmel #arcane wip #no on screen jayvik but viktor is also weary of mel because of her interactions with jayce??? so maybe

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demontouched · 4 months ago

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a small list of things that i haven't seen anybody talk about in regards to arcane:

-jayce and mel literally fuck

i've seen anything and everything about jayvik, and i've seen jokes about jaymel, but it was never said that they literally fucked. i thought it was another implied thing, like jayvik. but no, they straight up fuck.

-sevika vs vi parts 1&2

okay, half of this is a lie, i did see a breakdown of sevika vs vi pt 1, but nobody mentioned that vi WENT BACK FOR MORE. and that she saw vander. (more on that at point 5)

-sky's death

she was in love with viktor and had been researching something to show him. while i dont think viktor reciprocated her feelings, she seemed like a friend to him and to see someone you know just disintegrate? that's horrifying. especially when they were trying to save you.

-jinx is an expert eavesdropper

vander's basement, the bridge, silco's office (i think he set up her little rafter hangout bc she kept eavesdropping on him), the statue, probably more. she's exceptionally sneaky and seemingly a good tracker. i need to write a timebomb fic about little powder and ekko sneaking around.

-vi hallucinates but only when she's almost dead

jinx's hallucinations appear with triggers. she's been traumatized enough that even a verbal cue is enough to trigger them. vi's hallucinations only appear when she's extremely injured. physically traumatized. they're less volatile, but they are still hallucinations.

-zaun posture vs piltover posture

zaunite's are slouched. vi walks with her head down, silco leans over his desk, jinx walks with a head tilt and sits with a shrimp back. piltover citizens all stand upright, shoulders squared. espeically the rich ones. even when she is injured, caitlyn has a straighter back than vi ever did uninjured. jayce is never slouching. even viktor, who has spent years and years in piltover still sits hunched.

anyway, feel free to add on to this

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k3nz1ekorn · 4 months ago

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Jayvik actor au- "This isn't my bedroom?"

Shooting continues at the lot, production is finally ramping up and our beloved actors Vlad and Joel get to talk a bit more. Part 2 chronologically in the au.

Character cheat sheet: Vi-Viola, Cait-Cathrin, Mel-Miah, Savannah- Sevika, Sky- Skyler, Powder/Jinx-Piper, Ekko-Elijah

Disclaimer: I know nothing about professional acting or studios, lot setup, etc. I will not be looking things up while writing this so if you notice something is blatantly wrong leave a comment about it! This is purely self indulgent and fics will probably be posted out of chronological order in the timeline. (If I write enough I’ll make a timeline list of them tho)

It was obvious to anyone with eyes that Vlad had a busy schedule. Between shooting for arcane and his other projects he was on the production lot practically 24/7 this week. It was mostly other roles he’d booked that he was shooting this week since basically all of his scenes in Arcane involved Joel, who was turning out to be quite the busy man. They’d barely spoken since their first official meeting and none of it had even been to run lines! He was a bit worried about that specifically. They were both good actors, but that on screen chemistry didn’t always come naturally. It was always good to practice, he thought as he absently massaged a knot in his thigh. It was only in these early hours that he really had time to himself, time to just exist as he is, to not think about his lines or how to say them, and especially not to think about any of his co-stars. It wasn’t that he hated them, quite the opposite actually. The ones he’d met so far he gets along with very well, even joining them for lunch when his schedule allows it. They’re people he could actually see himself enjoying the company of outside of work. He makes a mental note to invite them all out for drinks this weekend, the ones that were going to be in town for it that is. The problem with his co-stars was actually a singular person, one with striking golden eyes and a face Vlad is sure was sculpted by the gods themselves with the explicit intent to taunt him.

The brunette squeezed his eyes shut and brought his mug up off the table to take a long sip of his coffee, to distract his wandering mind. He wasn’t going to think about Joel right now. This was his me time, not fantasizing about his coworker time. He had found it too much of a hassle to make the drive back to his apartment the previous night and had opted to instead sleep in his trailer, meaning his clothing for the day were whatever he had supplied for himself when he packed the dressers before it was brought to the lot. A pair of black jeans and a thick dark grey sweater seemed to be his best options that day, it didn’t matter too much anyways, he would be in and out of costume all day anyways, this outfit was just for his meal breaks.

He was already showered and ready for the day, which he knew was going to be starting soon, it was already- Jesus 8AM? He had to get moving. He stood up as he chugged the rest of his half finished barely lukewarm coffee, rinsing the mug in the sink and moving to the table on the opposite side of his trailer to grab his script and water bottle before descending the steep ass ramp out of his trailer. Skyler should be here soon, he thought absently, should she not? It wasn’t like her to be late and call time was slowly approaching. He pulled his phone from his pocket as he let the door shut behind him, did she maybe text him and he just hadn’t seen it?

Ah. He had a few missed texts it seemed.

Displayed brightly on his screen were three texts, the first from his aforementioned assistant, saying the line at their usual coffee shop had been longer than usual and she was running a bit late, delivered maybe 15 minutes ago. Second was from Viola, a picture he’d have to actually open the message to see and the words ‘did you get it yet?????????’ received about 3 minutes ago. He didn’t need to guess what she meant as yes, he had in fact gotten it. The third text is no doubt what she was referring to, and the one that had initially caught his attention. It was from an unknown number, a simple ‘this is joel we should meet to run lines over lunch,’ and he definitely wasn’t mentally scolding his clothing choice for the day. He didn’t have time to dwell on it though as he felt a hand on his shoulder and saw two coffees on a holder come into his line of vision.

“SO sorry for running late Vlad, the line was crazy, even mobile ordering ahead of time they were just slammed.” She sounded out of breath as she spoke to him, her other hand holding the coffee lowering a bit as the hand that had been on his shoulder moved to cover her chest. She looked as professional as ever in her black pantsuit and deep red button up. Her hair was up in a high puff today, a few pieces coming out to frame her face. She moved her free hand to grab her phone from her pocket to go over the itinerary she no doubt had open. “You have a few new faces for your scenes today, some old ones too I noticed! So we should probably get you there just a pinch ahead of time. Wanna head to the set now?” She finally looked up at him as she caught her breath. Vlad was already looking at her when he opened his mouth to speak. He hadn’t thought about a response yet. She’d given him plenty of time to refocus himself and yet here he was, still reeling over a text like some teenager. He raised his phone just a bit.

“Joel texted me.” The silence was deafening. Skylar blinked once. Then twice, before finally letting a smirk overtake her face.

“Oh did he? And why are you telling me this?” Truth be told he didn’t know. Most likely because he hadn’t had a coherent thought since she got there and he’d like to believe they are at least on friendly terms by now.

“I should respond to it before we head over. It would be rude not to, no?” He turned back to his phone and unlocked it before clicking on the new number to respond, Skyler let out an amused laugh from beside him. He had to send something before he could overthink this, and fast. ‘Yes please omg’ seemed like too much, and a simple ‘Sure.’ was definitely too cold, he needed to be professional but enthusiastic about it. He settled on, ‘I’d actually been meaning to ask you the same, we will discuss further when I get to the set, yes?’ He quickly clicked out of their texts to stop himself from rereading it and opened the text from Viola instead. Texting back a quick ‘I did :3’ he looked over the photo she sent. The picture was quite cute to say the least. The camera was at a high angle, only showing her forehead and eyes at the bottom of the screen, the main focus of the photo being Cathrin and Joel a few feet away holding out their phones in front of one another. Was that a blush he saw? He quickly blinked the thought away and pocketed his phone before turning back to Skyler to let her know he was ready to go.

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Vlad had finished his second cup of coffee before they even stepped foot onto the set they’d be at for their first scene. He had to, after nearly spilling coffee on his Academy uniform earlier in the week he’d had to cut back on his on set coffee breaks. That’s actually why he was now drinking more water,.much to Skyler’s delight he may add. His cane gave gentle clicks as he moved into view of the set, a dark hallway and a door loomed in front of him, this was their scene breaking into the lab if he was not mistaken. The schedule had said all of their group scenes would be before lunch, which meant this one, the trial with the council, and the scene where they get to be hooked up to a bunch of wires. That one made him a bit uneasy if he was telling the truth, he never liked heights much, and having no experience with being hooked up like that he was unsure of how his leg would handle it. They had a fantastic team helping to make accommodations for him, but he’d had his fair share of bad experiences so it was natural to be cautious.

He was broken from his thoughts as he recognized a familiar face out of the corner of his eye. He adjusted himself to face the newcomer and gave a warm smile, “Miah! I was hoping we’d get a chance to chat before we were called to places. You look wonderful! That makeup was a great choice I must say.” His old friend only laughs in response, head tilting back in amusement before coming to embrace him in a small side hug. There was no lie, she was a vision really, in a beautiful all white dress with gold accents that perfectly matched the jewelry in her hair and makeup painting her face.

“Hey Vlad, can’t say I’ve seen the costume or makeup department make anyone look bad so far, yourself included. Did they make your moles bigger? And that vest, oh my god!” She circled him once, as if he didn’t already know how good he looked right now. “The lace up sides are a very nice touch, on both you and Mr. Torres over there.” She gestures somewhere behind him and he has to grip his cane a bit tighter to keep himself from shooting around to gawk at the new topic of their conversation. Instead he just gives a light chuckle and takes a breath to respond- “He’s on his way over.” She says glancing between him and who he can only imagine is the very man that had been capturing every other thought he’d had for the past week. His eyes crease at the corners every so slightly as he turns to look over a shoulder to greet the new addition to their conversation with a polite smile.

“Joel, how good to see you again, have you met Miah yet? She’ll be playing Mel.” It would be rude to not introduce them, he thought, especially since they’d all be filming the next few scenes together. Joel gives him a glance and turns his attention towards Miah to extend a hand.

“Pleasure to meet you, you are Vladimir's friend?” A shiver definitely does not try to make its way down his spine upon hearing his full name, and gods does he hope he’s not blushing again. The handshake, he notes, is much slower and longer than the one he had received…he tries not to read into that. He looks up at the woman beside them as their hands part, she clasps hers together in front of herself and gives a polite nod.

“The pleasure’s all mine! I was very excited to hear I’d finally be getting a chance to work with you! And to work with Vlad again too, on the same project no less. We’ve been friends since filming that weird pumpkin themed horror movie a few years back. Have you two worked together before? Vlad didn’t mention it when we went over the cast list together.” She raised her eyebrow as she spoke, her eyes pointedly moving between the two of them, as if trying to hint at something almost. It was at that moment he realized Joel had stopped nearly directly behind him, just barely off to the side enough for them to see each other's faces actually. The cough that escapes him is definitely not nervous, just a tickle is what he tells himself as he brings his hand back down to readjust his cane. He reminds himself to ask Skyler where she’d had them put his chair.

“We haven’t. I met him filming a scene earlier in the week,” the taller man’s eyes move to Vlad again, “I’d like to have a word before we’re called to places. I’ll be in my chair.” He started to turn to leave, eyes moving back to Miah, “I look forward to working with you.” And with that he was walking away. He really didn’t like letting people respond did he? Two of their interactions now he’d ended by just walking away. With a small shake of the head he turns back to his friend, who is now trying to hide some very obvious amusement. She says her next words in a hushed tone, her wrist partially covering her mouth.

“Oh my god he’s so into you.”

“He’s what now?”

Vlad’s jaw drops open and he gives the most incredulous look at the woman across from him. He turns away from her, only to look back at her completely aghast, “He barely looked at me when he was actively speaking to me just now. What about that indicates he’s into me? If anything I’d say he was checking you out!” He emphasizes his words with a flick of the wrist in her direction and tries to keep his voice hushed so nobody overhears their conversation. It is quite embarrassing to be having this conversation while at work actually, something he’d rather keep private.

“Are you kidding me? First of all,” she raises a finger up beside her head. Oh great, she’s making a list, “you didn’t see what his eyes were doing when your back was turned. Second,” another finger and a pointed tilt of the head, “he was staring me down. NOT the same as checking me out. Third,” hopefully the final finger in this conversation raises, “even if he had been we both know he’s nowhere near my type in men. Much too…stoic.” She finishes with a slight downward curl on her lips and a shake of the head before finally putting her hand down to cross her arms over each other. She glanced over his shoulder once more and her eyes just barely widened before she smirks, letting her eyes fall back to his once more. “You better get a move on with your conversation, your man keeps looking at us.” As she looks back again her eyes shift to a new area behind him and stop, her mouth forms a soft ‘o’ and a new look overtakes her and she seems to spot something else, something not Joel he decides. A hand is placed on his shoulder as she very quickly steps around him. Her next words come out quiet as he walks away. “Speaking of my type…I’ll see you on set.” He turns to watch her go with a mild curiosity, eyes following her direction of travel to the prosthetics tent where he could see a very muscular woman with a short ponytail getting pieces attached to her already augmented arm. He gives an impressed hum to himself and nods, he’d definitely have to invite them all out for drinks if for no other reason than to hear about how that develops.

He turns a bit more to face Joel’s direction and notices the other man’s eyes just barely darting down to the script he held in his hand. Vlad begins to make his way over when a very very small chuckle breaks through his lips, any previous tension about how the other perceived him already forgotten. Either he was trying to look nonchalant and failing miserably, or he could read upside down, seeing as that’s the way the script was being held. With a final few steps they’re next to each other and Vlad decides at the last minute he won’t mention the little continuity error in the other's facade.

“Eager to steal my attention eh? I already agreed to have lunch with you.” There’s a chuckle in the way he says it, something light. Joel lifts his eyes from the pages he’d definitely been pretending to read and gives a small hum. His unoccupied hand came up to smooth over his jaw and chin before he spoke, turning his head in his direction but still not fully looking at the man he’s addressing.

“We have a lot of scenes together. It seems our characters become…very good friends, by the end of the season. Over half of the dialogue I’ve read so far is either directed at or talking about your character in some way. We should discuss their dynamic.” With that he turns his head to rest it on his hand, and finally makes eye contact with the other. There’s no real identifiable emotion on his face aside from what seems to be sheer boredom. “I was told by my manager the production team wants them,” he raises his head to make air quotes with the hand he had been leaning on as he continues,”‘strictly platonic with no room for romantic interpretation,’ I assume you were told the same?” Vlad closes his eyes and he lets a little giggle slip at that, bringing the back of his hand up to cover it. He misses the way the other’s light up just a bit more at it.

“I was, yes, I assume you think we should take more creative liberties with it? You wouldn’t be talking to me about it otherwise, correct?” His hand comes back down to rest in his pocket, his posture relaxed, and he gives an inquisitive look. He really hopes he’s about to suggest what he thinks he is.

“Yes. Whether my character knows it or not, he will be in love with yours by the end of the season, and whether yours reciprocates or not is up to you.” He speaks with an air of certainty that leaves no room for discussion, luckily Vlad is already in agreement with him.

“He will. I’m very glad we had this chat actually, I had been planning on adding a level of…longing? I’m aware your character is romantically involved with Miah’s by the second half of the season, however I do love some good old fashioned, one sided, seemingly unrequited tension.” He lets his lip curl up into a mischievous grin as he looks down at the other. “It won’t be too obvious of course, just an underlying something or other to give a bit more depth to their relationship…though it does seem quite deep even without it. They become quite close, no? We should find some time outside of filming to talk, get into character a little as they say.” He’d already said he wanted to find ways to get to know him more, and he fully meant that shit. Whether the reasoning he was giving was the only reason was not important. Joel gives a hum of agreement and looks back down at his script, he’s silent for a second before- oh he’s blushing. He must have finally noticed his script was upside-down.

Credit where it’s due, Joel has a very good poker face aside from the light blush dusted across his cheeks. Vlad keeps his eyes on him as the other clears his throat and closes his script, looking back up as if nothing had even happened. The bell to signal a start rings and places are called, cutting the rest of their conversation short.

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“So far, so good.” He whispers, the glowstick just barely illuminating the lock enough for him to see it. Suddenly a bright light flows over them both, slightly startled he looks directly into it before bringing his hand up to try and deflect some of it. Blinking a few times to correct his eyes he hears a familiar voice in front of him.

“Hmm. Willing to risk exile for your endeavour. That’s quite the conviction.” It’s said with a hint of amusement. They’d filmed this scene a few times already and he felt his lack of lines right here kept making the whole exchange rather awkward. Time for a new strategy I guess.

“Councilor!” He hears from behind him. Quirking a brow up he barely listens to the continued flustered rambling, he feigns confusion and turns back to the keys still in the lock by his face.

“Wait a minute this isn’t my bedroom?” He mutters with mock embarrassment, “How could I have…” Their voices overlap for a second before silence engulfs them. He looks back up at the ‘Councilor’ and sees her fighting for her damn life to keep in the laugh that’s threatening to spill out. She’s come to expect this of him, he supposes, makes it easier to keep her composure. Joel seems as composed as ever, easily continuing on with his lines and it’s only a little disappointing he didn’t laugh. It’s almost too easy the way the rest of the scene flows from there, almost too easy the way Joel looks at Miah with such curiosity and wonder as she walks away with the security guard. Almost too easy how he doesn’t have to fake the way his lips pull up to his nose in distaste, or even the slightly annoyed huff he gives before turning back to the door, bending down to finish unlocking it as the director yells cut. They didn’t have to redo the scene again at least.

Authors note: This shit is 3.5k words and I edited without coffee. Thanks for the love so far! Glad to know yall are liking it. I'll definitely be branching out at some point to do more with Caitvi and Melvika. I'm not sorry about it.

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picklypickle · 1 year ago

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- The only one -

a/n: hiii everyone!! this is my first little story, I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it, if you want to see more of my writing feel free to send me a request!! Enjoy! ;) words: 1.9k

warnings: tiny bit of swearing, I wrote this with a fem reader, kinda jealous Melissa

When you walk into the staff room in the morning, the first person you notice is your beautiful girlfriend, sitting at her usual table, sipping her coffee with her work wife, Barb, right next to her. At first, she doesn’t notice you, being way too preoccupied by whatever story Barbara is telling. But when she does turn to you, with a frown still on her face from the conversation that was happening prior, her gaze softens and she gives you a soft smile only you can recognize as an “I love you”.

“There she is!” you hear Jacob saying from across the room “Where were you? How come you didn’t get here at the same time as Melissa? Oh no, did you guys fight?” He nervously says as he quickly makes his way over to you.

“Nooo!! No no, I was just running a little bit late so I told Mel to leave without me, thank you for your concern tho!” you laugh.

Everyone at Abbott knew you and Melissa were together, infact, they were the ones who had gotten you two together in the first place, six months ago and they were the biggest fans too. If anything ever happened between you two, your colleagues would probably be more crushed than you and your own girlfriend.

You hear the teacher’s lounge door open and turn around to see who it might be. Suddenly, one of your very close friends and fellow teacher at Abbott, Lauryn, bursts into the room with her usual smile plastered on her face. When she sees you waving, she makes her way over to you.

“Hey girl!! Such a nice day today huh?” she says.

“It is! Oh my god I love your dress!!” you exclaim as you look up and down at her outfit. She is wearing the most beautiful flower patterned dress. You make a mental note to look online for a similar one when you get home tonight.

“Thank you so much!! You know, I bet it would make that perfect ass of yours stand out, you should get one.” She says and proceeds to lick her lips.

You blush out of embarrassment. Did she forget you are with someone? Even worse, that Melissa is literally sitting not even 2 meters from where this very awkward interaction just took place and heard it? You quickly try and look at Jacob, trying to see if he heard the same thing, but unfortunately, he has already left and is talking to Gregory. You quickly glance over at your girlfriend who you can tell very well, has her fists clenched so hard and is fuming right now.

“Uh, thanks!” you try to say as normally as possible, trying to hide the confusion in your face. “Um anyways, I really have to go, the kids are going to get here soon.” You quickly say and wave goodbye, smiling at her. You rush out of the room, wanting to get away from this whole situation as fast as possible. However, Melissa notices this weird behavior, as she is getting up to come check on you Barb sits her back down.

“Melissa, you heard what she said, the kids will be getting here soon, she probably just wants to prepare everything.” she says “And besides i'm not done with my story yet, so sit back down.” she adds, while tugging at her sleeve to bring her back down.

When you get to your classroom, you start writing everything you need down on the board, such as the date and the kids schedule that they can rely on during the day. While you’re writing with your favouite purple dry erase marker, your mind starts to wander off. You start to think about how everyone has been telling you for weeks now that Lauryn might be in love with you, but you’ve just been denying it and shrugging it off. But now, you’re starting to wonder if it’s actually true. It’s not like you’re into Lauryn or anything, you have the best girlfriend in the world! Infact, Lauryn’s flirty comments are starting to make you feel uncomfortable, you thought she knew that you were dating Melissa…maybe she forgot?

Before you know it, the bell rings and your little kiddos are running in and hugging you like they normally do every morning. You snap out of your thoughts and start your lesson, you’ll deal with the issue eventually, but for now, all that matters is your students.

★

After lunch was your free period while your students were in gym class. Today, you preferred to avoid everyone and stay in your classroom to do some grading on the most recent test.

Just as you put a sticker on the last copy, you hear a soft knock at the door, you turn arround expecting to see Melissa but you’re met with Lauryn’s grin, holding her cellphone.

“Hey! Am I bothering you?” She asks, peeking into your classroom to see if anyone else is there.

“Nope, I just finished grading these papers.” You reply, gesturing to the stack of documents on the corner of your desk.

“Ahhh alright well, I need to show you this video, it’s so us!” She says excitedly and comes to stand next to where you’re sitting down.

You start to watch the video but quickly realise it’s dedicated to couples… you stop paying attention and focus more on the reflection of the glass of the phone, when you see Lauryn, she’s not.. looking at the video? You try to see what she’s looking at and realize that she is staring directly at your cleavage, practically drooling too. You get red. You get uncomfortable. You start to pray for her to leave or someone to wal-

Someone knocks at the door, again.

“Am I interrupting something?” You look up, recognizing the voice.

Melissa is standing at the door, hands on her hips.

“Oh hey Melissa!” says Lauryn “You aren’t interrupting anything, I was just showing Y/N this video.” She goes to show Mel the clip.

Your girlfriend clearly also realizes the video is meant for couples and clears her throat, crossing her arms. This makes you look up at her. You can see that she’s jealous, she is part of the group of people that think Lauryn is in love with you and she is also not having it right now.

“Well, I’ll leave you two lovebirds to it!” Says Lauryn, she waves goodbye at the two of you and walks out of your classroom. Clearly she knows that you and Mel are together, so what is this all about?

You and your girlfriend stare at eachother for what feels like forever, until you decide to speak up first.

“Look I d-” You start.

“What the hell was that?” Your girlfriend cuts you off.

“Listen Melissa, I have no idea she just, ugh!” You say, being exhausted from this whole situation “Please don’t be mad, I don’t feel like fighting, I’ll talk to her later.” You finish.

“Hon,I'm not mad, heck if anything I'm jealous!” she says, uncrossing her arms and slowly walking towards you “She’s always making these comments and remarks about your body and undressing you with her eyes! I’m the only one who gets to do that here. And the worst part is, I can tell you hate it, it makes you extremely uncomfortable.” She continues, bending down infront of you and resting her hands on the armrests of your chair. You blush, she knows you perfectly.

“It does.” You say, getting more and more red. You quickly look down at her lips, unknowingly licking your own. The redhead in front of you notices.

“I know it does” she answers, bending her face down to yours, your mouths are inches away from each other “And no, i’ll be the one to do something about it.”

You smile before kissing her softly, she kisses you back with just as much softness. After a moment, the kiss starts to turn more and more hungry. She places her hand on the back of your neck, pulling you closer. You smile into the kiss. The school bell suddenly rings, signaling that you have to go get your kids from the gym.

You groan as you pull away from her mouth

“Fuck, I have to go get my kids at the gym! I’m so sorry Mel, I'll talk to you later!” You quickly peck her lips before exiting your class.

Melissa stays there for a moment, smiling to herself, thinking about how much she loves you.

★

It’s the end of the day, you students have alrea dy gone home and all that’s left to do is go down to the teacher’s lounge to collect your things that you had left there.

When you get there, you’re greeted by all your friends who are also gathering their things.

“Hey girl, did you have a good day? I didn’t see you around much?” Asks Janine, with a small frown, her face slightly coated in worry.

“Yes I had a good day, I just had a lot of grading to do and preferred to do it in my own space.” You reply reassuringly.

“Oh okay!” She smiles at you.

“Hey, uh, Y/N?” You recognize the voice, it’s Lauryn “Do you think maybe.. you’d wanna um, get drinks or something tonight?” She asks nervously.

“Uh, um” you have no idea what to say “I uh..”

Melissa, who was talking to Barb as per usual, notices you and Lauryn right away and decides that this is her time to shine, this is where this little Lauryn thing stops.

“Hey, Lauryn?” Melissa says while approaching you from behind “Have you ever noticed in the last six months that, I don’t know, me and Y/N are dating? Or did you just think we were joking?”

“Oh! Well..” The girl in front of you says

“Save it glasses, and save up that money for a new pair because this one isn’t working” Mel says “Now back the fuck off before I throw you down the stairs and the only drinks you’ll be getting are jello cups from the hospital” She finishes, before quickly turning around to grab her things and you by the arm and dragging you out the door.

“Oh, bye guys!!” She loudly says to everyone else in the room to make sure everyone heard.

“Bye Melissa!” Janine awkwardly says and makes her way towards Lauryn to check on her, not to comfort her, just to make sure no one ends up hating her in the future.

★

When you get to Melissa’s car, you can’t help but smile at her, and then well, laugh. You had no idea she was going to do this right then and there but she did. She joins the laughing fit after a few seconds.

“Oh how I love you!” You kiss her passionately before turning to your own car “I’ll see you at home sweetheart!” You yell at her before shutting your car door and starting your engine.

“I love you more hon, i’ll cook you your favorite pasta for dinner!” She yells back before shutting her car door as well.

With that, you both drive away to where was originally only Melissa’s house, but is now yours too, and you plan on it being for a very long time. Plus, you get to look for that new dress you want!

#melissa schemmenti #x reader #fanfic #oneshot #abbott elementary #melissa schemmenti x reader #i love her

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ilovehugslikealotalot · 1 year ago

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The Woman she Is

gif by azertyrobaz

req: maybe just a tiny one-shot? I know you’re win the middle of writing many fics so no pressure. But Ava Coleman x fem!reader? Where r and Ava have been in a relationship and no one knew bc it was secret, r has a daughter and just loves Ava, even calling her Mom. You can decide the kids name maybe she could be mixed? but basically one day the kid has like a bad day and won’t talk to Miss Howard and finally gets r to try and talk to her but she wants to talk to Ava. (I haven’t seen anyone write for mom!ava) idk what else. But I’m just in the mood for mom Ava. Also, please put mom figure Melissa to y/n and Mel has her happy ending in relationships :,)

Been waving this one off for a while so here ya go anon! :)

Their daughter’s name is Hallie and it’s implied that she’s mixed.

————————————

“I even cut your strawberries into hearts!” Ava exclaimed placing a plate of pancakes in front of Hallie, she also put some fruit on the plate and a placed a small glass of orange juice on the table. “Tank you, mom!” She smiled, she ate her breakfast quickly, throughly enjoying her strawberries and taking nibbles of her pancake at a time. Y/n was upstairs getting ready, already having eaten. Ava was packing the little girls lunch, making sure to put her water bottle in the pocket of her backpack.

“Good morning to my two favorite girls!” Y/n smiled, placing her bag down on one of the chairs placing a kiss on Hallie’s bunny cheeks. “Good morning, Mama!” “Good morning, baby”

Y/n also placed a small peck on Ava’s lips, she might’ve been stubborn and might not do her job sometimes, but she really cared for the kids, she always wanted to be a mom.

Now, that dream has come true, she’s a mom to the cutest daughter, though, she might not be hers biologically that didn’t stop the little girl from calling her Mom. The best part was she gets to help raise this little girl with the love of her life. She may have been a player but she knew when she saw y/n that she was the one. As cheesy as it sounds, Ava couldn’t have fallen faster or harder. Falling for y/n was like falling face first into pavement for Ava.

They all got into Ava’s car, Hallie sat in her booster seat and happily played on her iPad as they drove to the school. Her backpack, sat next to her the sequins shining in the sunlight. Ava never thought that she was gonna actually fall in love with one of her Co-workers. She’d flirt, yes, but never actually date any of them. That was were y/n came in, she transferred to Abbott as a new first grade teacher. She charmed everyon

Ava was playing ‘Pick Up Your Feelings’ by Jazmine Sullivan, it was one of her favorites, actually. Even Hallie seemed to have learned some of the lyrics from how many times Ava’s played it. Though, if anything, Ava listens to Beyoncé the most.

You need to hurry and pick up your, ooh, feelings While I'm up cleaning

Boy please (boy please, oh) I don't need you (I don't need you)

Y/n let a smile take over her face as she looked out her window, nothing could’ve ruined this moment. Everything she could’ve needed was right here. Her life was perfect as it was and she wouldn’t change it for anything.

Her job might’ve not been a six figure paying job but it brought her memories that were priceless, her job might’ve been stressful but it helped the next generation. She couldn’t have wished for anything more. “You okay, baby?” Ava asked, placing a hand on her thigh, the principal’s brows furrowed, stealing a glance at her girlfriend.

”Yeah, just a little tired, I could go for some coffee right now” The woman yawned, regretting her choice of just drinking orange juice. Ava smirked, she made a U-turn to Starbucks, “We have some extra time anyway so why not make a pit stop?” Hallie giggled in the back, “Can I get a cake pop, pwease!”

Y/n nodded, she thought it was cute when she got lazy and forgot to pronounce the ‘L’ sound. It seemed like yesterday she couldn’t talk at all. “Well, I already know what to get everyone, then!”

——————

Ava made jokes about how the barista looked like 50 cent the whole ride to Abbott. They arrived a little bit early but they didn’t mind, Getting out of the car, Ava unbuckled Hallie out of her seat. “Ready for school, lil’ curly fry?” She smiled, chuckled as she tousled the little girl’s curly hair that was nicely slicked back into a half up, half down hairdo.

Hallie threw up a thumbs up, holding Ava’s hand and y/n’s in the other, not many cars were parked in the lot. The three entered the only person visible was Mr. Johnson.

He nodded at the to grown woman and smiled at the little girl. It was safe to say that Mr. Johnson was Hallie’s favorite person at school, besides Mel and Barb.

Ava gave y/n a soft kiss, and gave Hal a peck on the forehead. “Have a good day, you two” she said before walking to the break room, y/n unlocked her classroom door, letting Hallie in, she flicked on the lights. She usually just let her color until the bell rang signaling that she needed to go to Barb’s class.

“I have to go to the break room, will you be okay by yourself for a few minutes?” Y/n asked, placing a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. The little girl nodded, her attention not faltering from her coloring page.

Leaving her classroom, she trusted her young daughter to finish the coloring page, quickly coming into the break room she grabbed a donut happily munching down on the sweet treat, “There ya are! Was wondering you was! Where’s the kid?” Melissa questions, looking around to make sure she wasn’t hiding. Y/n laughed, leaning against the counter, “In my room, I’ll go grab her for you”

Being a woman of her word, the teacher walked back to her class, before she reached the door she heard a thud and a “uh oh..”

Y/n hurried into the room to see Hallie standing next to her desk, a cup in hand. She tried hiding the coffee puddle that was clearly on the ground, even her clothes were stained a dark brown color.

“Hal..what did you do!” She exclaimed, picking up the little girl and sitting her on the chair, quickly cleaning up the mess. “I’m sorry Mama, I didn’ mean to” her little head fell to her lap, seeing her clothes now ruined, she pouted, hating when she made her mama upset.

“It’s alright, sweet girl. Just be more careful, okay?” She cooed, kissing her cheek with a smile to let her know she wasn’t upset. “Go see your Mom while I clean this up,” the girl nodded, hopping off the chair and hurriedly running out of the classroom.

On the way, Hallie saw Melissa she waved and hugged the second grade teacher, “Mornin’ to you too, kid” she said sweetly, missing the coffee stains on the child’s clothes. Continuing her journey to her Mom’s office, she knocked and spoke in between the crack between the door and frame. “Mommy!” She called, the sounded muffled by the metal, shuffling was heard on the other side, Ava opened the door with a sweet smile.

A cough was heard behind the girl, The principal lifted her head to see a whole camera crew behind her. “Oh, damn” she let her jaw drop, ushering her daughter into the office, she stared the crew down as they all wore shocked faces.

“Go on doing whatever it is y’all do”

Ava closed the door, turning to the little girl who was sitting in her chair looking at the picture of Y/n, Hallie, and Ava. It was the picture they took at when they had gone on vacation last year. “You like it, baby girl?” She chuckled, grabbing some news clothes in the makeshift closet The principal made in her closet. It was quite impressive how she could hardly do her job as a principal but somehow renovate a old storage room into a high fashion closet in less than a day.

Hallie quickly got her clothes on, hugging the taller woman tightly. “Bye Mommy!” Though the morning was joyful and peaceful, since the coffee accident Hallie’s little day went tragically wrong. She had miss placed her lunch, hurt her knee during P.E., she couldn’t color inside the lines, She couldn’t even sleep during nap time because this girl in her class sleep kicked, At lunch time. Miss Howard had sat the little girl down.

“Sweetheart, what’s the matter? You’ve been upset all day!” She exclaimed, listening intently for an answer, the little girl only crossed arms and huffed, realizing she had no other way to get her to crack due to y/n being in a meeting. She brought her to the break room, “Melissa, help me with this one. Do you want to tell Aunt Mel what’s the matter?” Hal only, hugged into the red headed teacher, “Oh, hon..what’s got you in all worked up, huh?” She asked, Hallie finally spoke up huffing, she really did have her mothers attitude.

“I want my Mommy!” She pouted, crossing her arms, Barb groaned, “She’s more stubborn than her Mother, but we can’t get y/n she’s in a meeting!”

No one on the staff had figured out y/n was dating Ava let alone it was serious, Hallie had done a pretty good job keeping it on the down low too. Everyone didn’t really put two and two together when they’d see Ava coming out of her car with y/n. Now that Melissa thinks about it, maybe they’re not bestfriends.

Though, Melissa couldn’t jump to conclusions, “Well, I dunno, I guess we’ll-” Melissa was interupted by the sound of a familar sound of yawning as the breakroom door opened, “Oh hello, you three! Everything alright?” Y/n said, dropping her keys and lanyard on the counter, ripping open a granola bar that she had grabbed from the shelf.

“She’s been upset all day and won’t tell anybody the reason why..” Melissa cooed, booping th kindergarteners nose, she only cuddled closer and pouted even more, “she says she wants her Mommy, so here ya go!” The redhead stood up placing the little girl in her mothers arms, y/n sighed knowing it wasn’t her that she wanted.

Y/n comtemplated fessing up, Ava and had had been keeping it under wraps for so long, so surely, they’ll understand. Melissa was like y/n’s work mom, or real mom actually.

”Okay, don’t make a big deal out of this..but i’m dating Ava! Surprise!” Y/n smiled, Barb’s face dropped in shocked, Mel lit up, “I KNEW IT!” she exclaimed, clapping her hand together and jabbing her finger in the younger teachers direction.

Really, the young woman thought their reactions would be more complicated, Well, at least Barb’s. She just kept standing their with her mouth agape. As if the two had been stalking, Janine and Jacob stumbled in, “GREGORY OWES ME!” Jacob squealed, Janine happily shuffled from side to side with that big smile. Gregory stands speechless, looking at the two who’ve dragged him into another one of their adventures.

“Well, I’m gonna take this one to Ava, see y’all!”

—————

“Well, a knock would’ve been nice but come in wit’ yo’ fine self” Ava smirked, biting her lower lip as she eyed her up and down. Y/n rolled her eyes, “what? Acting like you can give me attitude knowing I can eat that body up like Megan Thee Stallion” She slapped her hand on her desk, laughing hard at her own joke. Y/n huffed, closing her eyes trying to hold onto any piece of patience she had left with her girlfriend, someday she really might explode from these jokes. In the mean time, she’ll secretly like them.

“Why you huffin’ and puffin’ like a choo-choo train?” She asked, y/n went to go tell her the reason why she was even in here but Ava was determined in finishing. “Chugga, Chugga, CHOO CHOO!” She howled and slapped her knee, almost falling out of her chair, Hallie began to laugh too. “You kinda do soun’ like a train, Mama” Ava smirked as y/n groaned, “That’s my lil’ curly fry!” She laughed, opening her arms up for the little girl. Hallie giggled, squealing when the principal would tickle her sides.

Y/n’s frustrations quickly disappeared, it had only been 6 months, yet, Ava’s changed so much. They’d been dating for 4 months, only recently did Hallie start saying Mom to Ava. Now that y/n takes a moment to see the impact this woman had on her life and the little human she called her daughter she melted.

Maybe Melissa was wrong for once. They may think that Ava’s rude or stupid for not doing her job, but she cared, no doubt about it. She’d Show softness here and there but never frequently, Lord help them if she ever was caught being nice to Janine.

Y/n noticed too, Ava seemed a little nice since they’d gotton together. Melissa just thinks she’s up to something but y/n couldn’t help but think it was because she was changing as a person, principal, and now…parent.

“She wanted her mommy” Y/n mocked, smirking as Ava’s eyes lit up. She loved that little girl more than any other little girl. She would knowingly drop everything for that girl. “Really? Oh, come ‘ere you cutie!” She hugged her tight, y/n playfully sighed, looking away with her hand on her forehead. Ava chuckled, “You too, doofus” the woman opened her arm out for her girlfriend kissing her lips softly.

A shriek was heard at the door, they whipped their heads around to see the same familiar faces at the door. Melissa’s face was most likely impressed (then again you never know), Janine was probably the one that shrieked as she jumped up and down, Gregory’s eyes were wide, Jacob was frozen like Barbara.

“Uhm, suprise?” Y/n chuckled, looking at Ava kissing her cheek sweetly turning back to them with a large smile.

———

The two women explained to them how long they’ve been dating, the Abbott crew listened carefully and happily. Barb was still in shock, Ava and y/n wasn’t something they thought would actually get together. Sure, they were polar opposites but they fit so well together. The rest of the school day was quite interesting with Melissa lecturing Ava on how if she ever hurt y/n she’s got a guy who take care of the principal real quick. “I got my eye on you, Coleman” Melissa said, with a stern tone, slowly walking back to her class while staring the tall woman down. Y/n snorted, “don’t mind her, she’s just trying to scare you” y/n smiled, hugging Ava tightly, “I know, but I don’t think I’d ever willingly leave you, baby. Someone would have to physically restrain me, I love you and lil’ Hal too much” She admitted all too easily, to her this was all she wanted for the rest of her life. Of course, someday she’d get down on a bended knee, she planned on getting married, maybe even get a dog?

Who knows, only time will tell.

But maybe this won’t even work, then someday they’ll see this as a learning experience. But if there was one thing they everyone knew, was that they were meant to be together, whether or not if it was the right time, place, or even moment.

They’d up together, that’s how it was in every universe. So, whatever happened in this one, maybe they’d mess up and separate or even just drift apart. They needed each other, in every universe.

Time is something no one is Master of, but this story surely ends happily.

——

As the day ended, Melissa waved bye to her colleagues, smiling as she saw y/n and Ava give each other a small peck on the lips, they were cute together that was for sure. Maybe someday she’d-

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” A voice apologized profusely, Mel had been too focused on the couple in the distance she wasn’t even focusing on where she was walking.

“It’s fine, really” Melissa chuckled, fixing her hair before looking up to see..damn. The woman in front of her was absolutely gorgeous, she felt her heart flutter for second. “Erm, hi, I’m lissame! No, sorry, Melissa! Melissa Schemmenti” she gave a bashful smile, securing her bag onto her shoulder once more.

“I’m Georgia Prescott, the new librarian”

huh. Looks like Abbott’s in for another love story.

———————

the whole thing was rushed 😭

forgive me for this 🙏

#open requests #ava coleman #abbott elementary #melissa schemmenti #barbara howard #ava coleman x reader #i actually cant #like seriously #she’s so silly #just like me <3 #melissa schemmenti x reader

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g1rld1ary · 1 year ago

Note

omg hiiiiii! just saw your requests opened, so excited! i was hoping you could write something for lockwood with the enemies to lovers trope. anything you feel like with that is awesome! and ofc if you don’t want to feel free to not write it 🩷🩷

-mel

what once was ; anthony lockwood x reader

➻ synopsis: you and lockwood hated each other, you had since you were just starting out as agents. when your team is made to work with his on a big case, deeper feelings might just get revealed

➻ word count: 10K exactly (what are the chances?)

➻ warnings: swearing, mentions of kissing, angst maybe?, injuries

➻ thank u so much for this request lovely!!!! i am SO sorry this took almost a month, but it's the longest fic I've ever posted here so hopefully that makes up for it a little?? if this isn't what u had in mind pls let me know and I'd be happy to write something different! ik it might not be exactly enemies to lovers but I hateee when the dynamic has no respect or reason to be lovers. anyway thank u for the request lolol!!!! xxxxx

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

You thought you were a good person. You dedicated your life to fighting ghosts, you helped old ladies cross the street, you recycled when you could. That was enough to be considered a good person, right? You were almost totally convinced, except for the all the vile things you had to say about Anthony Lockwood.

He was, with no exaggeration, the bane of your existence. You had known him all your life, but hadn’t been friends with him since you were both twelve, just beginner agents. And yet, despite all of this hatred burning up within you, it seemed like the universe wouldn’t give you a moment of peace.

You understood running into his company every once in a while — agency events, maybe the occasional case, but lately it seemed like it was every week you had to face Lockwood’s nauseating grin and infuriating attempts at being charming. Whether it was your respective teams being sent on overlapping missions, picking up more supplies or just trying to pick up a coffee after a draining night, you had started to see Lockwood everywhere.

When you saw him again whilst you were picking up some doughnuts for your team you couldn’t help yourself snapping at him.

“God, are you obsessed with me or something, Anthony?” You barely spared him a glance as you finished the transaction with the cashier, quietly thanking him as you left. Lockwood did the same, practically throwing down his cash to catch up to you.

“You wish I was obsessed with you! I am just as unhappy as you are, trust me.”

“So what, you chased after me just say something we both already knew? Or do you have something you’d like to say, an apology perhaps?” You chanced a look in his eyes. Hurt flashed through them, and you felt a sick sense of satisfaction.

“I’ve told you before and I’ll tell you again, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” He cried, almost dropping his own box of pastries when he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. You didn’t try to hide the rolling of your eyes.

“Whatever,” You huffed, before being struck with an idea. “By the way, did you hear that I’m now a team leader? That makes me the youngest in at least ten years — maybe ever. Pretty good for someone not fit to be an agent, don’t you think?” You feigned an interest in his opinion. His face dropped for a moment, then contorted to become almost polite.

“That was never—” You interrupted him with another sigh.

“Anthony, I really don’t care to listen to you discredit my achievements anymore.” You left him on the side of the street, marching back to your dorm at Fittes. You didn’t need to hear him tear you down and ruin your self-confidence more than he already had — not that you would ever tell him that. Lockwood was similarly disgruntled. Every interaction between you two turned into a fight regardless of what he said; he just couldn’t win.

You had a week of blissful distance from Lockwood and Co before you ran into them, quite unfortunately. You and your team had been assigned to an apartment that allegedly housed a few Type Ones, nothing serious but the residents had complained of hearing noises at odd hours. You held a bit of doubt — living in the dorms had forced you to become accustomed to the most bizarre noises at night, and those were most definitely not ghosts. Plus, adults tended to be paranoid; the noise could be anything from rodents to their little children being awake in the early hours of the morning.

Still, you had a job to complete, so you trudged your small team up to the apartment in question, ready for a quick job and to be cozy in bed before midnight. When Lockwood and Co were standing outside the apartment next to your appointed one, your face dropped into a scowl.

“What are you doing here?” You snapped, talking directly to Lockwood. He hesitated for a moment before turning to face you, brilliant smile shining.

“Lovely to see you again too, sweetheart, we’re actually here on a job? Nice of you to come as our clean-up crew, but that really won’t be necessary. Run along now.” You had to hand it to him, Lockwood had perfected his condescending tone. You were going to respond when the girl behind him began to talk.

“Hey, I recognise you! You’re—” Lockwood cut her off quickly.

“Alright, Luce, I think it’s time we go inside, don’t you?” He was shepherding the girl through the apartment door before you could process what was happening. George, to his credit, looked highly amused at the whole thing. You always liked George, even when he was at Fittes, and seeing him was usually the only upside to your interactions with Lockwood and Co.

“Who’s the girl?” You asked, nodding your head to where she and Lockwood had disappeared to.

“Lucy Carlyle,” He answered, “She’s a Listener — still learning the ropes.”

“And she knows me how?” George just smiled, and you could tell he was keeping secrets.

“I’m sure you’ll find out one day.” He began to follow the rest of his coworkers and you pouted.

“I hate when you side with him!” You called after him, before composing yourself and directing your own team to start the night. They just went along with it, used to your behaviour, and set up your equipment for the mission.

It was not going well. You could all feel a supernatural presence, but no ghosts and no signs of what you’d thought might’ve been the source. Plus, all you could hear was the apartment next door — their stompy footsteps, their laughter over the tea you knew they always had, and one of them wouldn’t stop knocking on the fucking wall.

It was supremely childish, and you would put all of your bets on it being Lockwood trying to throw you off your game. Unfortunately, it was working. And your bad mood was spreading to your teammates. The mission was certainly not going well, all four of you picking fights and throwing digs at each other as you searched uselessly for what could possible be the source, all with no confirmed supernatural presence.

Just as you were about to say something really cruel to your favourite member of your team, the words died in your throat. The temperature rose a few degrees, and you could practically see all your negative thoughts floating away. By the looks of it, your teammates all felt it too. When the freezing shock of the change wore off, you all resigned to embarrassment, realising exactly what had just happened.

This was only furthered when Lockwood waltzed into the apartment, cocky grin practically blinding you.

“Guess that another successful mission for Lockwood and Co now includes saving the careers of egotistical Fittes agents too now,” He crowed, and you rolled your eyes so hard you thought they might disconnect from your face.

“Clearly,” You tried to keep your tone level, “The source wasn’t in this apartment, so we couldn’t have found it regardless of if you were here.”

“Plus they were just Type Ones. You didn’t save any lives, Lockwood,” Your best friend, Sarah, piped up and you smirked.

“Maybe not in the physical sense,” He conceded, “But I definitely saved the career of the ‘youngest ever team leader’ — don’t think you would’ve kept the position for very long if you couldn’t fight a simple Type One.” You turned red in humiliation. How dare Lockwood act so high and mighty, like you owed him the career you fought so hard for? You wanted to express all the seething fury that burned your tongue, but the only thing that came out was a vicious declaration.

“I hate you, Anthony Lockwood.” Lockwood at least had the decency to look somewhat hurt. Although you’d been arguing for years with the insults only getting meaner as you both grew up and developed more precise vocabularies, neither of you had ever vocalised any hatred before. It cut deeper than Lockwood thought it would. You didn’t wait to observe the intricacies of his reaction, storming out of the apartment, making sure your kit bag hit him heavily as you passed.

“Well,” Lockwood broke the awkward silence that fell over the apartment, “I think we’re all done for the night. Let’s go.” Lockwood and Co began packing up their kit bags and gear, Lucy sweeping some leftover magnesium dust under an armchair. Lockwood paused in the doorway, looking back to Sarah with a curious softness.

“Make sure she’s alright, yeah?” Sarah nodded, swallowing a curious look. With a final nod he was gone, leaving the rest of your team to wonder what had just happened to shift the dynamic.

Back in your dorm at Fittes, you were still fired up. Pissed off by Lockwood’s ego, his audacity, you had practically already paced a hole in the floor upon your short return from dinner. All of these years and he still didn’t believe you were a capable agent, let alone team leader! You may not have really hated him; it was hard to truly hate someone who you shared so much history with, but you were glad you said it. Glad you hurt him, even a little. Maybe then he’d know how you felt.

He had — probably unwittingly — saved you arse though. It was one of your very first missions and unfortunately Lockwood was right; a team leader who couldn’t defeat a simple Type One, or realise that their case was a goose chase in the wrong apartment, wouldn’t last. So although he was the one who had told you you couldn’t be an agent in the first place, you probably owed your current position to him, which only mad you more mad. It was an endless cycle of being angry at Anthony Lockwood.

When Sarah came in to sit on your bed, you still weren’t done, taking the opportunity to verbalise your stream of thought.

“He is simply the worst person in the whole world and has no respect for me! I mean, he wouldn’t have helped at all if it didn’t serve his own inflated ego ,” You said, throwing your hands in the air in anguish. Sarah simply watched, barely concealing her amusement.

“Ok, but have you considered maybe he just argues back because you hate him? I mean, where did it start?” You huffed, vaulting yourself back onto your mattress.

“When we were twelve years old, he told me I couldn’t be an agent. I said ‘fuck you’ and have worked my bloody arse off to be one despite it, and to become the youngest team leader at Fittes, and yet every time I see him he still tries to sabotage my career or make me look stupid! God, he drives me up the wall!”

“So you’ve said all these horrid things because he didn’t believe in you?” She laughed a little, eliciting a deep frown from you.

“You don’t get it,” You said, tone solemn, “He was my best friend. He was supposed to believe in me even when everyone else said it was dumb.” The dampened mood brought a premature end to your conversation, Sarah leaving you to your thoughts and feelings as you dwelled on the past in a way you would usually forbid yourself from.

You pulled a framed photo out from behind your stack of books on the shelf. You and Lockwood as children, smiling brightly on a day at the beach, a spade in your hand and a bucket in his, your free ones intertwined as kids often do. You didn’t know why you’d kept it after all these years, looking at any photo of Lockwood typically made you mad, but you felt a bit guilty discarding the keepsake, especially the handmade frame his parents had given you one birthday before they passed. Plus, the memory untouched was one of your favourites — one of the last of your carefree days in childhood when you and Lockwood were best friends and both your families were whole. You held it softly for a moment, indulging yourself in being swept away by memories before deciding enough was enough and returning to the present, distracting yourself with a novel you’d picked up.

You were given a few weeks to cool down, blissfully free from any trace of Lockwood. You thought he must’ve been aware of the heightened tension between you recently, since you’d seen Lucy shopping around Arif’s and ran into George whilst getting your usual Friday night takeaway.

Hearing your name being called from around the corner of an aisle you turned quickly, reflexes on edge. Seeing it was just the redhead you relaxed, making yourself smile.

“Oh, hi, Lucy. How are you?” You made polite conversation, continuing on with your shopping. She replied cordially, a vague awkward air between you that you were both trying your best to overcome.

“We’re all really sorry about the case the other day, by the way. We didn’t mean to take it over or jeopardise your job or anything.”

“It’s nothing,” You assured, “I shouldn’t have let my emotions get the best of me, every agent knows that.”

“Yeah, but if Lockwood hadn’t—”

“Lucy,” You interrupted, “You don’t need to condemn Lockwood, or defend him. We both know where we stand with each other and that’s ok. I hope that doesn’t stop us from being friends either; you’re sweet.” Lucy managed a smile, revealing a pretty sparkle in her eye.

“I’d like to be friends too. Maybe we just won’t tell him,” She giggled, and you nodded gravely.

“Sounds like a plan.” You left Arif’s with a bag full of groceries and plan for coffee sometime.

George was less forgiving than Lucy. As you bickered over who got the last can of Coke in the restaurant’s little fridge, he imparted some of his very much unwanted advice.

“You should apologise. I think you crossed a line,” He said and you rolled your eyes.

“He questioned my right to even be where I am — I think I have the right to be pissed at him.”

“He didn’t mean it,” George said quickly. Almost too quickly.

“How would you know?” You narrowed your eyes. George recoiled — he’d been caught.

“You know,” He trailed off, “Lockwood’s not like that. You should know that better than anyone.” You huffed again, fed up.

“I knew,” You corrected, “He’s shown me exactly how he feels about me now. And I am absolutely fine with that. I’m taking the Coke.” You ended the conversation abruptly, snatching the can out of George’s grip.

“But Lockwood doesn’t like any of the other flavours!” He called after you. You exaggerated a laugh, not looking back as you opened the restaurant door quickly.

“I know!” You yelled over your shoulder. George watched you leave, calculating look in his eyes. You said you hated Lockwood, he didn’t doubt you believed it, too. But he knew that most people didn’t remember which fizzy drinks their enemies liked.

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Thankfully, you got just the distraction you needed. Your team had been given one of the most exciting cases on the Fittes roster. One of those old boutique hotels with funnily named rooms and a long, terrible history that had you buried in fascinating research. You couldn’t believe your team had been given the assignment, it was a sign that you were really beginning to be respected as a team leader in the agency. So, you couldn’t screw it up.

You and your team had been practically camped out in the Fittes archives, researching as much as you possibly could about the old hotel. There were a smattering of unfortunate deaths across the years — some darker than others, but you were confident it was nothing you couldn’t handle. The owners hadn’t specified exactly what supernatural experiences they had seen around the hotel, just that it was clear there were several presences around and they wanted them all gone to reopen the hotel as soon as possible. This did admittedly make you a little apprehensive — you didn’t actually have a solid idea of how many ghosts you’d be dealing with, and it was anyone’s guess how many of them would be Type Twos.

Finally, you were confident you and your team had done as much research as you could, and you were prepared for anything. And so you packed your kit bags, took the train ride and rocked up to the hotel mid afternoon, confidence overflowing. By nightfall you’d been on a tour of the grounds, set up your base and had started brewing some tea to get you all in the zone. You took a glance out the front window, seeing movement in one of the windows of the house next door. It was owned by the people who ran the hotel and they intended to open it as a second venue, but delegated the job to some smaller agency since the stakes for it weren’t as high.

It was all going well for a while. You had a plan to go room by room, making each ghost free before finishing in the majorly haunted kitchen. You were inclined to believe there’d be a cluster of Type Twos there since it was set alight years ago, and the accident had been swept under the rug in favour of saving the business.

The entryway was easy; a few Type Ones that practically led you their sources, clearly just wanting to finally be laid to rest. There was one nasty Limbless that gave you all a fright, but your researcher, Ben, was always miles ahead of the rest of you and knew exactly who the ghost was and therefore how to put him to rest. You told him you owed him a beer later and moved on, crossing a single room off the floor plan and shifting into the library, which was not so easy.

You started to think things were not as great as you originally anticipated when you turned to face the mass of Type Ones. Not the end of the world, a little bloody annoying though. Sarah seemed to agree, kicking the leg of a couch in frustration. The four of you figured your way out of it, though significantly depleted of supplies.

You returned to your home base to recoup, physically and mentally battered.

“What’s the plan?” Sarah asked, chugging down mouthfuls from her water bottle. You bit the inside of your cheek as you thought hard, tapping your fingers insistently on the old wooden table.

“Alright, I think we’ve got enough for one more safely. Kyan, you go outside and get the rest of our equipment whilst we hit the second bedroom.”

“If we’re right then there should only be the one ghost there, right? The strangled woman?” You nodded in response to Ben, mentally drawing your plan.

“And if you’re wrong?” Kyan asked.

“We won’t be,” You affirmed, tapping twice on the table to get you all moving.

Kyan left the building to go fetch the spare supplies and the remaining three of you ventured into the second bedroom. Everything was as it should be; lower temperature, creeping feelings of unease and miasma. You’d put together your chain circle and were feeling good about the Type Two woman you were facing, well, as good as you could in those circumstances.

That was, until it wasn’t just one Type Two. Despite the research and preparation you’d undertaken, there was definitely more than one Type Two enraged by your presence in the room at that moment. There was the woman, an angry apparition of some sort — you didn’t have the time to exactly figure out which subtype she fell into when a man also appeared. Shit. He wasted no time showing you he was aggressive too, and your heart sunk into your toes.

Doing some quick mental calculations, you announced the new plan — to get out. As team leader, you refused to be responsible for an injury or something worse because you wouldn’t back down when you knew you didn’t have enough defences left.

“Soon as it’s safe, get the fuck out of here,” You said, feeling to make sure they were still both in the circle with you as you stood with backs inward. “Use your defences as liberally as you feel you need to — we’re all getting out of here tonight.”

“What about the sources?” Sarah asked nervously, “We’ve only got one or two so far.”

“Who cares? Most agencies get one or two a mission and we’re in a giant bloody hotel. We’ve got more nights to get this done. We can’t get it done if you lot go off and die, can we?” Ben shrugged.

“S’pose not. Let’s go.” With that the three of you made a run for it, bolting out the bedroom door and into the corridor.

“Oh fuck!” You yelled, dodging out the way of another phantom headed your way. Evidently your previous endeavours had attracted the attention of some of the other ghosts inhabiting the hotel, none looking all that happy.

Your swear words didn’t falter as you continued the escape, ducking and jumping and making an utter fool of yourself to ensure you all made it out alive. You’d been covered by Sarah a few minutes ago with one of her magnesium flares, and so returned the favour without hesitation, only faltering slightly when you realised it was your last. You tried not to worry about it too much, you were nearing the laundry where there was a back door you could get to.

The closer you got to your escape the fewer visible apparitions there were. That was a good thing, your chances of ghost touch reducing greatly. However, that didn’t mean you weren’t still being hunted. A poltergeist had found you somewhere along the way, and the stream of things being thrown at you hadn’t ended yet. You’d vaguely felt something heavy hitting the back of your head and shoulders, but the adrenaline pumping through your veins was withholding the pain for the moment.

You’d crossed the threshold into the laundry, the back door within your sights. Maybe you got complacent, believing the end was nearer than you thought. Maybe it was just awful timing. However, as your feet hit the tiles of the room, you were being swept off your feet by the washing machine sliding into you, crushing you between it and the wall. You cried out unintentionally, feeling a sickening crack inside your chest. Your teammates turned back, door wide open and safety in sight.

“Don’t you dare come back for me,” You croaked, the wind pushed out of you. “Or I swear to God I’ll come and haunt you.” Ben took the threat and ran, ducking out the door into the fresh air of the night. Sarah hesitated, turning back to lock eyes with you, regret painted across her features. With a final threat she left too, leaving you to try and push the machine away from you in order to make your own escape. However, in an unfortunate series of events, the adrenaline started to wear off after your chase and you felt the sharp pain running along your skull, a thick drop of blood making its way down from a strand of hair into your left eye. Plus, you were pretty sure the machine had broken one of your wrists as any pressure you put onto it trying to move the machine set your nerves on fire, leaving you just your legs to try and make an escape. Turns out it’s harder than it looks to push a stupidly heavy washing machine away from you with your legs when you’re incapacitated on the floor.

Seeing your best friend the strangled woman approaching you sighed, trying to resign yourself to your fate. There was no way you were making it out without a miracle, and you were never the lucky kind. As she spotted you, you sealed your eyes tightly closed, unwilling to watch your own demise. It never came. When you chanced one eye open all you saw was sparks, the unmistakeable smell of a magnesium flare filling the room. You didn’t know what to feel. Relieved, of course, pissed off that your team had disrespected your wishes and endangered themselves, faint from the adrenaline and blood loss. Mostly faint, you decided, as you lay your head back against the tile, a sleep sounding like the nicest thing in the world suddenly.

You must have passed out for a minute or two as when you opened your eyes again you were in the air, distant voices yelling over the explosions and lights, but you felt a million miles away. You cuddled yourself into the body of whoever was carrying you — they were warm and your body felt ice cold. Everywhere you looked appeared blurry (and slightly pink, presumably from the blood in your eye), so you granted yourself some mercy and simply closed them. You thought you heard a mumbled “Hold on for me,” But you couldn’t be sure, everything was ringing in your head and the weight of staying awake was heavy on your foggy brain.

The next time you woke up was about half an hour later, or so you guessed. The sky was fractionally lighter than you remembered seeing, inching towards dawn, and you were laid down on dewey wet grass. The cool of it was nice on your skin, though you knew it would do major damage to your hair. Not that that was your greatest concern at the moment. You pushed yourself up on your elbows slowly, looking around at the scene that was coming into focus. Your team were on one side of you, looking exhausted but mostly physically fine. Straight ahead of you was Barnes, not looking as disappointed as you thought he would after a failed case. To your left was Lockwood and Co. Why were Lockwood and Co here? Why was Lockwood looking at you so intently, and why did he look like he was worried about you?

Only the first of your questions was answered. Evidently Lockwood and Co were the ‘small agency’ the hotel owners had given a chance for the smaller house on the edge of the property. They heard the commotion your team had made and Sarah’s screaming outside the kitchen door and came to save the day — of course. You were about to put up the protest that you didn’t need saving but it died in your throat when you saw the serious looks of everyone around you. Clearly this wasn’t the time for any of your bullshit.

“Clearly this case is bigger than your team can achieve,” Barnes said, and the fire was reignited within you. He must have been able to see what you were going to say and cut you off, “But I’m not taking you off the case.”

“Thank you,” You said quickly, tension in your shoulders releasing slightly.

“Lockwood and Co will work with you until the hotel is ghost free.”

“What?” You and Lockwood cried in unison, and you felt his eyes fall back on you. You refused to meet his gaze.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Sir—” You started, being cut off by Lockwood.

“We don’t work well together—”

“I happen to know you both need this case, or do you not care about the future of your jobs?” Barnes raised an eyebrow in the intimidating way only he could pull off. He had you there. Failing in a case, especially one that resulted in a near death experience would certainly jeopardise your trajectory at Fittes, and, unbeknownst to you, Lockwood and Co were pretty desperate for some good representation, unable to receive the praise deserved from the Combe Carey Hall case. You looked at Lockwood to find him already searching your face. After a moment of silent arguing between the two of you, you turned back to face Barnes, exaggerated smiles on both your faces.

“We’ll do it.” You smiled sweetly. A few more formalities sent Barnes and the other DEPRAC officer off, and only the two teams were left standing around, shifting uncomfortably under the weight of all the kit bags.

“So what do we do now?” Sarah asked, a thought very similar to the ones bouncing around your head at the moment.

“Breakfast?” George suggested, and you didn’t think you’d ever seen your team agree to something so enthusiastically. The group of you all headed back to the train station, but Lockwood didn’t let you continue in the line to get your ticket. Instead he pulled you away from the crowd, seeming to have already told Lucy what was happening, judging from her cheerful wave goodbye.

You glared at him, yanking your arm away then groaning at the pain.

“What are we doing, Lockwood?” You asked with an exaggerated huff.

“We’re going to the hospital,” He said, unbothered by your protests. “And don’t say you’re fine because it’s clear you’re injured. I’d say a broken wrist, concussion and maybe a cracked rib, but we can let the doctors tell us I’m wrong, I’d be happy for them to tell you otherwise.” That shut you up, not least because you knew he was probably right. You’d been given a shot of adrenaline and a few painkillers by the DEPRAC officer who accompanied Barnes over, but you probably did need actual medical attention.

It was a very awkward cab ride to the local hospital. You and Lockwood were so used to arguing by now that silence felt like the only other viable option. You couldn’t make small talk, what would you even talk about? The only thing you knew about his life was his childhood, and you sure as hell weren’t gonna talk about that. The tension was palpable in the backseat, and when the cab driver wished you good luck for the hospital visit, you figured he didn’t just mean because of your injuries. You did force yourself to thank Lockwood when he paid for the ride though, even if it was just for the sake of the day moving on faster.

At least the waiting room created its own noise; beeping and chattering and footsteps filling the silence between you two. You struggled with the form in front of you, inconveniently having your dominant hand be out of working order. You painfully etched out your information over an embarrassing amount of time before Lockwood huffed loudly and snatched the clipboard from your lap.

“Fuck’s sake,” He muttered, pulling his own pen from his suit pocket, beginning to scribble down the answers for you. You just relaxed, your tired, drug-addled brain being allowed to rest for a moment. It wasn’t until he asked about your health insurance that you fully realised he was answering the questions by memory and forced your eyes to focus on the paper. Sure enough he’d gotten it all right, birthday and middle name included. You glanced up at him curiously, but it seemed like this was the moment he refused to make eye contact. You only had to inform him of things that had changed since you’d fallen out, neither of you verbalising that fact.

Things didn’t change when you were called into the doctor’s office either. The mix of pain, medicine and sleep deprivation led you to embrace the exam table and bordered on falling asleep as Lockwood talked for you. He’d gotten the rundown of the actual events from Sarah and his brief moments when he saved you, and explained the night as you got an x-ray for your hand. Plus, as you were waiting for the cast (it was, in fact, broken), he explained your previous medical history — the knee you dislocated when you were nine and the broken pinky finger from the year after. You only had to participate to explain the injuries you’d acquired during your career as an agent; the ones from after you and Lockwood stopped being friends.

The whole trip was extremely bizarre and slightly unnerving, and you were glad to get on the train on the way back.

“You were wrong about one thing,” You said, pulling out your walkman from your kit bag.

“And what’s that?” Lockwood asked, and you got the impression he was bracing to be yelled at again — you felt almost bad.

“No cracked rib for me.” You grinned, beginning to laugh uncharacteristically. You didn’t know why, it really wasn’t that funny, but Lockwood followed suit soon after. The two of you laughed borderline hysterically, much too energetic for that hour of the morning when everyone else was still heading to work. It only tapered off when your poor ribs couldn’t take it anymore (not broken but aggressively bruised), and the two of you fell back into silence. You had your music and Lockwood had a magazine you suspected he’d stolen from the A+E waiting room.

The only other time you spoke during the trip was when you summoned the courage to utter a somewhat genuine “Thank you.”

“What?”

“Thanks. For not letting me die. And stuff.”

“Oh. You’re welcome,” Lockwood shot you a smile, the glowing kind you rarely got to see anymore.

As you got back to London and closer to Portland Row where your team was waiting, the air seemed to get thicker between the two of you once again. Maybe it was the proximity to the things that had torn you apart or the sense that you had predefined roles to play, but the carefree air between you had dissipated, leaving only the familiar tension that had been building over the last four years.

You followed Lockwood inside, trying to hide the out of body experience you were having returning to his family home after so many years. It had changed a little, of course, but still felt overwhelmingly the same, which both scared and comforted you. All the freaky foreign ghost hunting objects still littered the shelves, and you took the liberty of admiring them once again, remembering the stories Lockwood’s parents would tell about them and the adventures they’d had when collecting them. In your periphery you saw Lockwood hurriedly grab something off the wall by the stairs, shoving it in a drawer, but you really had no interest, choosing instead to reacquaint yourself with the house. The glimpse you got up the stairs showed a myriad of framed pictures of Lockwood and you scoffed — of course his ego would be on full display within his own home.

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It was surprisingly easy to get into the groove of working with Lockwood and Co. Obviously you already liked George and Lucy, but your team seemed to work unexpectedly well with theirs. You and Lockwood stayed out of each other’s ways, the few times you were left to work together resulting in another stupid argument. The first time when you thought he was calling you dumb, the second over something minuscule; who’d let the tea brew too long so it tasted shit. And then who had to subsequently get up and make the next pot. Despite both of you honestly trying to be professional and get on with the job, it was agreed by everyone that it was simply easiest to keep the two of you apart as much as possible.

However, when the hotel owners wanted the leaders of both teams to meet up for updates on the case, you couldn’t get out of it. The day wasn’t looking good. You’d shown up to Portland Row so you could get a cab together — the meeting being dinner in central London, and had already argued with him over his choice of socks. In your defence, the powder blue socks matching your dress did make it look like you were a high school couple trying to match at a formal! However, George had rolled his eyes and pushed the two of you back out and towards the waiting cab, effectively ending that argument. You’d also teased Lockwood for bringing his rapier to a business dinner, but that was neither here nor there.

You’d held it together for most of the dinner, both of you putting on your best fronts and using your most formal tones to convince the elder couple that you were confident about the case. You found yourself kicking his shins to stop Lockwood from making promises you couldn’t keep regarding the case, and he got you back with condescending remarks, correcting you when he disagreed with how you presented the case. Altogether though you thought you were pretty subtle, and the two of you were presenting a model image of your respective companies.

However, when you shot Lockwood one of your saccharine smiles under the pretence of friendliness — he’d just undermined your authority again and stolen the best piece of dessert that you were going for, as if he didn’t torture you enough — you were shocked to hear the woman across from you laugh.

“It’s so wonderful to see you two bicker like an old married couple,” She giggled, and both you and Lockwood’s jaws dropped. “I mean, it just seems so dismal to be dating in these times, but you two give me hope that the future generations will still be able find love despite the Problem.”

“And clearly you’re both sensible kids, which is very important for a lasting relationship. Working for two different agencies would surely diffuse tensions around all those dangerous missions and such you agents partake in — except for this one, of course,” Her husband chimed in, jolly glint in his eyes.

“Yes, yes, but it’s important to remember to be kids as much as you can. But you two playing footsies all night has proved that you’ve got that covered too. Silliness is just as crucial as being sensible, it’s how a marriage stays fun. We would know, we’ve had fifty odd years of it!”

You didn’t know how to react, and by the looks of it, Lockwood didn’t know either with his signature smile frozen on his face. First of all, you were not playing footsies with Anthony Lockwood — the bruise forming under his trouser leg was testament to that. Second of all, you had no idea how the woman could get your dynamic so incredibly wrong. Aside from all of Lockwood’s double edged comments and cocky corrections of basically anything you said, the two of you had hardly addressed each other directly all night, you might as well have been strangers!

The dinner wrapped up very soon after. The couple had taken a liking to you both and so trusted your teams to handle the case as you saw fit, only making you promise to take a romantic weekend getaway (or honeymoon! As the woman had remarked optimistically) to the hotel once it was completely ghost-free and renovated. For once you were glad that Lockwood was unable to ever shut up as he took the lead, seeming to believe that corroborating their assumption was the best choice in your situation. You weren’t sure you were entirely comfortable with lying to this sweet old couple, but you couldn’t deny that Lockwood was a better talker than you, and would probably handle the situation with more delicacy.

That was how you ended up being led out of the restaurant with Lockwood’s hand on the small of your back. You wondered if he’d ever done this before, and you didn’t know if you meant for a real or pretend relationship. You both said your goodbyes to the couple, flattered by the abundance of compliments they paid you — both personally and professionally, assuring you they were overjoyed to have your teams work the case. Just before they stepped into the cab the woman took you aside.

“Hold onto a boy who looks at you like that,” She said, “You might fight, but when he’s this in awe of you, you’ll find a way to make it work.” You didn’t know how to respond to that and so simply nodded, offering a weak smile as she slid into the back seat of the taxi.

That left you and Lockwood alone. You just looked at each other for a moment, unsure of how to proceed.

“Do you mind if we walk home? I really fancy some air right now.” Lockwood easily agreed, looking rather flustered himself, and off the two of you went into the night.

Neither of you spoke for a while, but you could tell he wanted to. Lockwood always chewed his lip when he was holding something back, he had since he was a child. You sighed and asked him, knowing it was the only way to make the habit go away.

“Nothing,” He said, “Just weird. Don’t you think?”

“Nah,” You lied, “Old people just say things like that all the time. They don’t care to know the full picture.”

“Which is?”

“We hate each other.” Hurt flashed through his eyes, but it didn’t make you feel as good as it did the first time you’d said it.

“I don’t hate you,” He said quietly, almost a whisper.

“What?”

“I don’t hate you. We don’t get along anymore, but I don’t hate you. I hope you know that.” You faltered for a second. Had his use of ‘anymore’ been intentional to create a stabbing feeling in your gut?

“Oh. I guess I don’t really hate you either, if we’re getting sappy about it.” You tried to diffuse the tension growing between you, not wanting it to evolve into a discussion about what estranged you in the first place. Lockwood refused to apologise and you refused to forget, resulting in the bitter stalemate you’d been locked in for the past few years.

Your distraction came with a glance over Lockwood’s shoulder, and the wisp of a phantom coming into view. Lockwood was trying to continue the conversation about your developing relationship, but stopped when he noticed you frozen beside him. Turning slowly he swore when he saw the ghost, going straight for his rapier.

“Put your hand into my coat pocket,” He said, effectively drawing you from your freeze.

“Excuse me?” You whisper-yelled, not in the mood for him to try and lighten the mood with whatever dumb joke he was trying to make.

“Just trust me, I have flares in the inside pocket, just reach in and grab them to defend yourself whilst I keep an eye on them.” Them? You wondered until you looked around, seeing other ghosts start to emerge from the shadows, attracted by the scene you were obviously creating. You wasted no more time, ignoring the intimacy of reaching into Lockwood’s jacket, grabbing yourself a flare for each hand. With you accounted for, Lockwood told you the plan, he’d fight a path back to Portland Row and you’d cover the both of you with the flares, since you weren’t good for very much else with a broken wrist and no rapier.

It was hardly the most intense situation you or Lockwood had been in, but as the primary fighter in the situation, Lockwood was still putting up a good show of skill. Despite yourself you were entranced, admiring the graceful way he moved with the rapier, so in tune with it you’d think it was connected to his arm. As much as you hated Lockwood — well, you’d just established you didn’t actually hate him. As much as you thought he was egotistical and irritating, you had to admit that you really admired him as an agent. Lockwood was undeniably talented with a rapier — it was the fencing competition that got him started in this business in the first place — but to watch him in action was really something special. If you didn’t know better you’d think it was easy for him, he fought with the same ease and elegance he might drink a cup of tea.

You were so caught up in watching him that you hardly noticed when you arrived in front of 35 Portland Row, both luckily un-ghost touched. You were also alerted to the proximity you’d found yourself in. You’d stayed close obviously, not wanting to be left to the ghosts, but when Lockwood had turned to make sure you were still with him safely inside the iron fence, you found yourself only inches apart.

At this distance you were alerted to just how much he’d changed since you were kids. He was taller, obviously, your chin tilted up to make eye contact. He’d lost the baby fat that used to fill out his cheeks, leaving his face defined and bordering on gaunt — you figured he wasn’t taking very good care of himself, judging on the dark circles that seemed by now permanent. Plus something had changed in his eyes. He didn’t look carefree anymore, something dark and tortured lay behind the charming smiles. It wasn’t hard to guess what it was, and you figured you probably had something identical. However, the small scar on his jawline from when you accidentally flung a plastic toy into his face was still there which drew a small smile from you. Something within you urged to run your finger along it, and you felt your fingers twitch before you realised how inappropriate it was. That instinct didn’t feel so bad though when you caught Lockwood’s gaze shift down to your lips. Only momentarily, but you saw it. And worse? The fact that you didn’t mind. After all of these years and the fighting and terrible words shared, here you were maybe about to kiss Anthony Lockwood. You would be disgusted with yourself if you didn’t have so many other feelings fighting their way to the top.

The front door opening was enough to make you both jump apart, you rushing towards it to get as far from Lockwood as possible.

“Hey Lucy!” You called, practically floating up the front steps you were going so fast.

“Uh, hey, guys. We thought we heard you outside so I got sent to check. Had to make sure you weren’t secretly making out or something,” She joked and you forced out a laugh, far too loud to be real.

“As if! Come on, I’m dying for some tea.” You slid past her, rushing straight to the kitchen for a minute to think.

Lucy watched you go suspiciously, before turning to Lockwood.

“What did you do?” She interrogated, all her scary Lucy-ness coming out.

“I don’t know,” Lockwood replied earnestly, still somewhat dazed himself. Lucy gave him one last look up and down before returning inside, leaving Lockwood to fix his smile on before rejoining the two teams.

⋆ ˚｡ ⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡ ⋆

The week leading up to your team’s next attempt at the hotel was extremely weird. You and Lockwood hadn’t spoken about what had happened (or almost happened) out in the front garden, but you had had a long talk about your behaviour lately. Over a few cups of tea in the kitchen whilst the rest of your teams were working down in the basement, you managed to both admit you were being dickheads. There was no mention of the underlying factors of your resentment, but you both agreed for the sake of your jobs you would try and be friends, or at least civil. No more bickering, no more picking apart small comments, no more rolling eyes.

It worked for a bit, which was really complicating your emotions. On the one hand, Lockwood was lovely, like he’d always been, and it was kind of nice to be able to talk and joke with him again after so many years, although you both carefully avoided the topic of your personal lives. On the other hand, it made you sad to pretend that everything was fine when you knew what you did. He didn’t think you could be an agent; Lockwood didn’t think you were good enough. And you could both pretend all you liked to be friends, but as long as that was what he thought about you it could never be real. So, while you’d both stopped your rivalry on the surface and gotten on with the case, there was a tension bubbling behind your smiles that both of you could see whenever you locked eyes.

It all came to a head when you started discussing your action plan for the hotel. All seven of you were standing in the basement of Portland Row, staring at a blown up floor plan of the place, little figurines representing each of you. It didn’t take you long to realise that you weren’t being represented.

“Where am I?” You asked, an uneasy silence falling over the room.

“You’re not coming.” Lockwood took the fall, even though it had been a unanimous decision whilst you were on an Arif’s run one afternoon.

“Excuse me?” You couldn’t help the biting tone in your words, fury you’d worked hard to conceal bubbling back up to the surface.

“Your wrist—” Sarah tried to reason, but something in you had unlocked and you were not backing down this time.

“You and I know full well if this was a Fittes case I would still be out in the field, broken wrist be damned,” You spat, and you could practically see the gears turning in Lockwood and Lucy’s heads.

“They make you go into the field injured?” Lucy asked, but you weren’t focused on answering her — George nodded for you.

“So who’s barred me from being in the field, on what I might remind you, was my case first.” There were a few moments of silence where no one wanted to be the subject of your anger, but with a resigned sigh, Lockwood accepted the blame.

“It was my idea.” You couldn’t help the frustrated groan that came out of your mouth.

“God, this is so typical! You’ve never thought I was good enough, and now what? Sabotaging my cases? My career? Because you don’t believe in me,” Your voice broke on the last sentence, and you could feel the tears heavy behind your eyes, threatening to fall. You spat a final “Fuck you,” before running up the basement stairs, up to where you knew the bathroom would be for some privacy.

You realised when you were at the top of the stairs that in your time working with Lockwood and Co you hadn’t actually used their bathroom, and didn’t remember which of the closed doors it was. Choosing one blindly you shut yourself inside, finally letting the tears that blurred your vision roll down your cheeks.

You sobbed heavily, indulging all the terrible feelings you’d been concealing for far too long. When the tears weren’t so frequent the setting around you came back into focus, and you noticed with a start you definitely weren’t in the bathroom. The view from the window told you it was Lockwood’s late parent’s bedroom, but the used furniture and messy bed said someone was still living there. Your stomach dropped as you stood, wiping the tears from your eyes. Looking around you were sure this was Lockwood’s room, the suit jacket on the desk chair a dead giveaway. However, a picture frame on his nightstand attracted your attention the most. It was the same one you had in your dorm at Fittes, the one gifted to you by Lockwood’s parents for your birthday. Both of you grinning widely and carelessly joyful. It had been so long since you’d felt like that, even longer since you’d felt it around Lockwood. The thought made your heart ache a bit. His parents would be so disappointed in the two of you. That made you start crying a little again, picking up the photo to examine it closer.

“It’s been there since you left,” A voice from behind you said. “I couldn’t bring myself to put it away.” You hadn’t noticed Lockwood come in and you didn’t know how long he’d been standing there. You put the photo down with a start, turning away to wipe your face dry again.

“Go away, Lockwood. Just give me a minute and I’ll be back downstairs. I overreacted but I need to get over it, okay?” You snapped, praying your face wasn’t still red and splotchy (it was).

“No,” He said, and you turned to face him curiously. “Look, this has gone on long enough and we need to fix things.” You crossed your arms petulantly, a silent challenge for him to fix the damage you believed to be all his. “You said downstairs that I thought you couldn’t be an agent. Why?”

“Don’t you remember when I told you I wanted to be an agent like you?” You scoffed, “You all but laughed in my face! You said I couldn’t do it, that I’d be injured or killed and I couldn’t handle it. I’ve thought about that every case since, you killed my self esteem for years. I thought that if no one else, my best friend should have believed in me. But here I am, youngest team leader at Fittes with the highest successful case rate for my division. All in spite of you.” Lockwood stared at you, and you could practically see his neurons firing and making connections at a million miles an hour.

“That’s not what I said.” You could barely contain your bitter laugh.

“Does it matter? You didn’t believe in me, that’s what’s important.”

“No,” He said, “Because that’s not what I meant at all. I did believe in you — I do. I always have.” You scoffed again as he stumbled over his words. A little grovelling now couldn’t make up for all the years of anxiety and insecurity he’d caused.

“I mean it! If I didn’t believe in you, then what’s all this?” He led you to one of his dresser drawers. Opening it there were a stack of papers and you picked a few of them up, flipping through them. Every single one was about you. Photos from your childhood together, newspaper clippings of your successes throughout the years, the magazine article you interviewed for talking about women in power in the ghost hunting field. Lockwood had saved every piece of media about you, the ragged edges showing he’d ripped them out just to keep them. You remained silent, astonished by this new revelation. You looked up at him, and Lockwood could have cried at the look in your eyes.

“I didn’t say you couldn’t be an agent,” He explained, “Or that’s not what I meant. I meant that you shouldn’t, or more clearly, I was saying don’t. Asking. Don’t you remember? My parents were dead, my sister had just died. You were all I had left, and I didn’t want you to jump head first into the most dangerous job in the world. I wanted to protect you.” It was Lockwood’s turn for his voice to break and tears to arise, and you suddenly felt supremely stupid.

“Oh,” Was all you could say. After all of these years; the insults thrown and dirty looks exchanged, all your anger came from a misunderstanding? Not only that, a misunderstanding that twisted such an earnest declaration of care into something so awful.

“But you did it, and you weren’t just any agent,” He laughed slightly despite his emotions, “You were the best bloody agent Fittes has ever seen and all I could do was watch from the shadows and be proud of you silently. Why do you think Lucy knew who you were already? There were pictures of you all over the house before I made them take them all down when I knew we were working together. I didn’t want to scare you off.”

“But all the arguing…” You trailed off, still unable to completely process this information.

“Just because I love you doesn’t mean you don’t drive me up the wall, especially when you were being — or I believed you were — deliberately obtuse to my efforts to explain myself. But now I see we were just on totally different wavelengths.” You were really struggling, there was a lot of new information being revealed at such a rapid pace that was completely changing your perspective on your whole adolescence.

“You love me?” Lockwood did laugh this time, loudly and with the same charm he usually had.

“Yes, you idiot. I have since we were kids.”

Oh. Oh. You suddenly felt like an idiot. All of this time you thought that Lockwood believed you were weak, not good enough, not worthy of your successes, when in fact it was the complete opposite. And then you thought about how you felt about Lockwood. How his believed lack of faith in you affected you so much because you cared so deeply about what he thought of you. How you could never bring yourself to look away when he was fighting because he was so completely in his element. How nice it had been to be able to joke around with him during your research. Oh God. You thought you simply respected him and his skills as an agent, but evidently the truth had been just out of reach your whole life.

“Anthony?” He was already looking at you, eyes searching deep into your soul. “I think I might love you too.” Neither of you could help the kiddish smiles making their way on your faces, and he wrapped his arms around you tightly before you knew what was happening. It felt nice to be held by him again, the last time would have been after his sister died. These were much better circumstances.

When you both came down the stairs later, no one mentioned your intertwined hands. You all had a lovely dinner at Portland Row, warmth and laughter filling the space and making you feel at home like you used to when you were a kid.

It wasn’t until you were on your way back to the Fittes dorms that Sarah leaned over to you, mischievous grin on her face.

“Tell me you were making out up there, please,” She giggled, and you shoved her away lightheartedly.

“Shut up,” You laughed, “Besides, it wasn’t making out.”

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random111sposts · 4 months ago

Text

[S2 SPOILERS] My problems with JayVik (Mostly Jayce) and season 2 in general

DISCLAIMER: YOU CAN SHIP JAYVIK, IT'S FINE, I JUST WANNA EXPLAIN WHY I DON'T AND HOW THE SHIP ENDED UP HARMING THE CHARACTERS' ARCS INSTEAD

WE HAVE DIFFERENT OPINIONS, THIS IS MINE

The more and more I rewatch season 2 of Arcane and the more I talk about it with my friend, the more I see problems with the writing and how they did the characters

A lot of it revolving around Jayce specifically and how they seem to have sacrificed Jayce and Viktor's individual characterization and why I don't see Viktor and Jayce together and much prefer they stay just friends and focused more on their own individual struggles and stories

(It seemed like they wanted to put more emphasis on how much Viktor and Jayce need each other rather than focus on how they need to fix up their own individual growth, like how Mel was basically cast aside for some reason as if she and Jayce weren't a thing so he left her alone to become astral buddies with his partner without even saying good bye to Mel first

Sure, just forget the woman who influenced you greatly both in bad and good ways, the same woman who was trying to convince the council not to want weapons made with Hexcore

Forget the woman who you would go to for comfort and who WAS THERE FOR YOU WHILE YOU WERE STRUGGLING WITH YOUR DYING BEST FRIEND

And how Viktor keeps on doing stupid shit like not defending himself or hiding in Act 2 when he himself says that Jayce is not acting like himself and even invites Jayce, thus allowing Jayce to do exactly what you would expect your bestfriend who you said seemed not like himself would do, kill people

He wastes Ambessa's and Singed's time and visits Jayce first even though he can just forcefully get Jayce to join him anyway by having Singed already go through the plan in Act 3 when Viktor was a villain

But nah, doc, gotta talk with my boyfriend first even though I'm currently supposed to be the version of myself that prioritizes evolution more cuz I changed after being killed)

(I wish they went more in depth about Viktor wanting to help the people of Zaun and creating inventions while also struggling with his own flaws and weaknesses both physically and mentally while also having to deal with the discrimination and ignorance of Piltover towards what they keep doing that ends up harming Zaun)

(I wish they went more in depth about how ignorant and naive Jayce is with how he keep accidentally causing more harm towards Zaun like when Ekko called him out for basically making shit that bring the trash of Piltover over to Zaun. Then have Jayce start to grow more as a character and actually LEARN AND KEEP TRYING to go against the superficial demands of his fellow council members and actually try to help the people of Zaun properly by actually listening to them and not just listen to the higher ups because he's a people pleaser. Have Jayce learn more to be independent and less susceptible to being easily manipulated and influenced

DO NOT JUST IMMEDIATELY SHOW SOME TIME TRAVELLING BULLSHIT THEN HAVE JAYCE SUDDENLY KILL GOD VIKTOR THEN SUDDENLY MAKE JAYCE SEEM LIKE HE'S RHE HERO ALL ALONG WHEN WE DIDN'T PROPERLY SEE HIS CHARACTER GROW OTHER THAN HIM BEING FORCED TO BE HARDENED DUE TO THE TRAUMA OF BEING TRAPPED IN A DYSTOPIA

That's not growth, THAT'S TRAUMA

AND PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF FUCKING GOD, STOP MAKING HIM DO THE "Trust me bro" SHIT LIKE HOW HE DIDN'T ELABORATE ON HOW HEXCORE IS A CURSE TO VIKTOR AND HOW ALL HE DID TO PROVE VIKTOR IS BAD IS SHOW A MANNEQUIN)

Like, with Jayce and Mel, they barely had a proper resolution with Jayce just leaving Mel to play Astral God with Viktor without even thinking about how this would affect Mel

And with Jayce's decision to kill Viktor I initially thought "Okay, cool"

But then, the more I think about it, why didn't Jayce just talk to Viktor and ACTUALLY explain how the Hexcore is a curse? THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HE DOES ANYWAYS AT THE FINALE, SO WHY NOT DO IT BACK IN ACT 2?

SHOW VIKTOR YOUR MEMORIES OR TALK OR SOMETHING SINCE YOU DO THAT ANYWAYS AT THE END

Like Jesus, all Jayce said was "Hexcore is a curse" without elaborating then kills Salo

I keep justifying why Jayce killed Viktor immediately with the whole "Jayce is traumatized cuz he was trapped in a dystopia for God knows how long" but someone else pointed out that it probably isn't enough to justify Jayce's brutality

And I already made a post all about Viktor's POV during all of season 2 so I wouldn't blame Viktor for now changing his views on the world AFTER BEING KILLED BY HIS BESTFRIEND AND WAKING UP TO ALL HIS PEOPLE DYING TOO

https://www.tumblr.com/random111sposts/769459212648693760/viktors-pov-hexcore-kills-friend-i-am-about

I was initially fine with Jayce being a dumbass in season 1 mostly because his dumbassery is constantly called out (Vi calls him out when he panics about killing a child by pointing out how he people have been harming for years and he is just to ignorant about it, Viktor KEEPS calling out Jayce's bullshit like with preventing Zaunites from crossing the bridge and Jayce considering making weapons)

But season 2, not many people do that as much so I ended up getting more and more mad with Jayce's actions since not many of the characters are gonna call him out

The closest was (again) Viktor who full on ended their partnership because Jayce broke their promised, revived Viktor with the thing that killed Sky, and MADE WEAPONS with said thing

Now onto Viktor, my main problem is THEY HAD MORE POTENTIAL TO FLESH OUT VIKTOR'S CHARACTER

LIKE HAVING HIM WORK TOGETHER WITH JINX?

HAVE HIM HAVE MORE PARALLELS WITH SINGED?

HAVE HIM REALIZE BEFORE THAT HE ACCIDENTALLY MADE A HIVEMIND AND STRUGGLE TO UNDO IT THEN GET DEPRESSED THAT HE ONCE AGAIN ENDED UP HARMING PEOPLE IN AN ATTEMPT TO SAVE OTHERS?

BUT NO, LET'S HAVE VIKTOR BE AN EMOTIONAL DUMB FUCK AND NOT ASK JINX AND VI "Hey, since I'm helping your dad and stuff, mind helping me by defending my people since my ex BFF is coming here and he seems not to be in the right mind?"

VIKTOR WOULDN'T HAVE KNOWN IF THEY WOULD SAY YES BUT MIGHT AS WELL TRY, RIGHT?

WE COULD'VE HAD A COOL ZAUN NATION THING WHERE VI, JINX, ISHA, VANDER, AND VIKTOR WORK TOGETHER TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE

BUT NO, HAVE VIKTOR DO NOTHING TO TRY TO DEFEND HIMSELF, HAVE HIM INVITE JAYCE OVER, THEN HAVE HIM MEDITATE WHILE JAYCE TURNS HIM INTO A DAMN DONUT

YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?

Also, the damn line "You were trying to fix imperfections" or whatever

JAYCE, VIKTOR WAS FUCKING DYING

COUGHING BLOOD

WHAT? THE HELL YOU MEAN HE'S A PERFECTIONIST

If anyone was a perfectionist, IT WAS FUCKING PILTOVER, NOT THE DISABLED GUY DYING WHILE TRYING TO HELP OTHERS

Another missed potential, they kept show Jinx as Les Miserables or something in the intro, so obviously seemed like she would be a revolutionist

And Viktor wants to help the less fortunate and gets mad whenever Piltover does anything to further ostracize Zaunites

WHY NOT HAVE THE TWO WORK TOGETHER IN THE REVOLUTION?

MACHINE HERALD AND THE FEARED WANTED GIRL WORKING TOGETHER TO REBEL AGAINST THE PRIVILEGED

THAT WOULD'VE BEEN SO FUCKING COOL

COME ON

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morgana-larkin · 9 months ago

Note

helloooo!! I’ve been reading your fics for a while and I just had a prompt for Melissa that I’ll hope you will consider writing!

So it’s set in that episode where Abbott goes to a field trip to the park and Melissa is beefing with that teacher from the other school. Reader is a teacher from Abbott and that other teacher takes an interest in reader and flirts with her and tries to ask her out BUT Melissa and reader are dating so if Melissa didn’t like that teacher before, she most certainly despises her now. You can choose what Melissa does as a show of jealousy ��

Hi! I’m happy you’re enjoying my fics, anon! And I do love to write a good Jealous Mel fic. No there isn’t smut in this but there is a reference. And I did skip a few prompts and wrote this one first but hey you get two fics in 2 days soooo…. Anyway, not edited in the slightest and I hope you like it!

On another note: I got a big fic that I’m currently writing, I’m not saying anything about it but I think all of you will love it. 😉😏. Also I asked @babytakeittothehead to create a gif from the episode specifically for this prompt so thank you 🙏🏻

Park Rivalry

Warnings: Jealous Mel, reference to smut, a bit of swearing

Words: 3.26k

“Field trip worksheets, hot off the press!” Jacob says and hands you and Melissa a binder.

“What in the hot hell is this?” Melissa asks and you snort.

“Jacob, nobody needs this.” Barb tells him and hands the binder back to him. “You pulled off a field trip with no money and no help. Baby relax.”

“Yeah, we’re going to the park. Kids don’t wanna work. We don’t wanna work. Ava definitely doesn’t want to work.” She says and you nod as you place an arm on her shoulder as you both look at the binder.

“I never do. And today I get to not work while lounging in my air chair. I love furniture that rhymes.” Ava says and walks away.

“Yeah. So knock it off with the worksheets, or you’re gonna ruin this trip.” Melissa says to him.

“Ya Jacob, field trips are supposed to be fun, not educational and boring.” You tell him as you hand your binder back to him.

“Ah Morton. For all your flaws, I know you appreciate the value of education.” Jacob says and hands Mr. Morton a binder.

“Ah thanks buddy. You’re a lifesaver.” Morton says and then proceeds to use one of the papers as a napkin and throws the binder in the trash. You see the disappointment on Jacob’s face and you proceed to laugh and he gives you a pout.

You, Melissa and Barb get off the bus and you see Ava running around trying to fill her chair with air.

“My air chair needs air, and there’s no wind.” She says, disappointed.

“Try running north to south.” Barb says and you try not to laugh.

“Ms. Schemmenti, a kid pushed me.” A kid runs up to Melissa and you start to walk off with your kids to another spot in the playground, you do hear Melissa’s response and you love seeing her with the kids.

“Oh, no. You okay kiddo? Which kid?” Melissa asks her.

A few minutes later and you see the camera crew pulled Melissa aside and asks her a few questions.

About 10 minutes later you make your way over to where Melissa, Barb and Jacob are talking to the Liberty teachers.

“We just, you know, want to keep things fair.” Melissa tells them as you make your way over to her side and you put your hand on her lower back.

“Alright well you know, life’s not fair.” She says as you, Jacob, Barb and Melissa start to walk away. “You have to teach at Abbott so…” The teacher adds and all four of you turn back around.

“What?!?” You say.

“Excuse you!?!” Melissa snaps as she surges forward with anger.

“The audacity!” Barb says at the same time with a step forward.

Jacob holds both Melissa and Barb back and gives a reply. “No, we get to teach at Abbott.”

“Ya well I get to be lactose intolerant.” The teacher replies with and the Liberty teachers walk away.

“I shouldn’t punch someone at the park right?” Melissa says.

“No.” Jacob immediately tells her.

“You know I thought if anyone was gonna ruin this field trip for the kids it was gonna be you.” You hear Melissa tell Jacob and you giggle. Melissa hears you laugh as you stand next to her. “Hey Morton, are your students having any trouble with the Liberty kids today?” She says and Mr Morton comes up to you all.

“I honestly have no idea. I’ve been angrily texting my ex-wife all morning. She thinks she should get the grill. What’s a woman gonna do with a grill?” He says with a confused tone.

“You’re scum.” Jacob quickly tells him. “Listen, these Liberty teachers have got to be stopped.” He says and you look at Melissa.

“Wait, your students are having trouble with the other school students as well?” You say to them and Melissa turns to you and nods. “I’ve been talking with one of the teachers all morning to try and sort it out but nothing is being solved.” You say with a bit of annoyance in your voice.

“Which teacher?” Melissa asks and you point at the one.

“The one we were just talking too, Ms. Barco.” You tell her and she huffs.

“We’ve been dealing with her as well. And she keeps throwing insults at us.” Melissa tells you while Jacob is pacing back and forth.

“They’ve been insulting you?” You ask surprised and she turns to look at you.

“She hasn’t insulted you?” She asks.

“No, she’s been nice but like I said, they’re not doing anything about their students' behaviour.” You tell them and Melissa angrily looks at the teacher.

“Y’all need to let it go, it’s not that deep. I’m trying to listen to an oral history of oral history, and I can’t hear it over all y’all’s pettiness.” Ava pipes up then puts her earphone back in.

All of a sudden, a red ball comes bouncing your way and Melissa catches it. You all then look at where it came from and see one of the Liberty teachers stepping forward.

“Hey uh, that’s our ball. Toss it back? Just as far as you can. Don’t want you to hurt yourself.” She tells Melissa and you widen your eyes at the comment towards your girlfriend. You surge forward a bit but you get held back by Jacob and you then look at Melissa who seems to get an idea of what to do with the ball.

“Maybe not throw it at her face.” You tell her and she looks at you and huffs.

“Fine.” She says and then kicks the ball and the Liberty kids complain as well as the teacher who just insulted Melissa.

“Seriously?” The Liberty teacher says, annoyed.

“Slow down, you don’t wanna hurt yourself.” Melissa teases and you giggle. Melissa wraps her arm around your shoulders while she gives Barb a high five.

About 10 minutes later Melissa is watching you and Ms. Barco talking and she decides to go and see what you’re talking about. She was about to start walking when she freezes in place when Ms. Barco touches your arm and you both continue talking like it didn’t happen. Melissa balls her hands into fists.

“She ain’t getting away with that!” Melissa says angrily and Jacob and Barb turn to see what she’s looking at. Jacob runs a little to stop Melissa when she started storming off to you and Ms. Barco.

“We can’t have more conflict with that school.” Jacob tells her and she gives Jacob a glare.

“She’s flirting with my girl.” Melissa says angrily and points to you. Jacob takes a look at you and then back to Melissa.

“It doesn’t look like Y/N is flirting back with her.” Jacob says calmly.

“I know that, but it doesn’t matter. No one can flirt with my girlfriend and get away with it, especially a Liberty teacher.” Melissa says and tries to free her arm from Jacob’s grip.

Melissa sees you walking away from the teacher and start walking towards where she is. Jacob sees all the rage leave Melissa so he finally lets go of her arm. Melissa meets you halfway and puts an arm around your shoulders and sends a glare to Ms. Barco behind her.

“What did she say to you?” Melissa asks you and you look at her.

“Not much, we were just talking about what we do outside of school.” You tell her and you feel her grip on you tighten. “But how about we just have some fun. They’re over there and we got the good side of the park.” You tell her and she smiles at you as you continue to walk where all the kids are.

At lunchtime you all walk over to the trees where you put your lunches.

“Ok kiddos. Let’s go get us our lunches and get in the shade.” Melissa says with you walking right beside her.

“Oh thank goodness, let’s get out of the sun.” Barb says while trying to fan herself.

You then all look at the shady spot and see Liberty school there. You see Ms. Barco there as well and she sees you all looking at her.

“Oh, we had to move your little lunches. I hope it’s not a problem.” She says with a fake apologetic tone while pointing to where they put Abbott’s lunches in the sun. The kids start whining at that as you all walk to your lunches.

“That was supposed to be our spot.” Jacob says furiously.

“They threw our lunches into the sun!” Barb says dramatically.

“I have never known evil like that, and I have been to a cowboys home game.” Melissa says and you hold her hand to help calm her down. “You two.” Melissa says as she spots Janine and Gregory. “Where have you been? We’re at war here.” Melissa says and she takes a deep breath when she feels you squeeze her hand.

“War?” Janine says confused.

“With the park?” Gregory asks, just as confused.

Jacob then ushers Gregory to another spot to chat while you and the other teachers make sure that all the kids get their lunch and sit somewhere.

You, Melissa and Barb sit on one of the benches when everyone starts eating. “You know hot PB&J is considered a delicacy in a lot of places. It’s like a panini basically.” Melissa says and takes a bite. “So we’re being fancy.” She adds on and chuckles. You giggle at her actions from right beside her and she looks at you with a smile.

“Ha! Y’all did this to yourselves.” Ava says with a laugh.

“Ava, you’re deflating.” Janine says unimpressed.

“Hey, how are your warm, toasty sandwiches?” Ms Barco says as she walks over with a cold drink in hand and takes a sip.

“What did you say about our sandwiches?” Melissa says while standing up, anger activated immediately. She goes to stand in front of Ms. Barco while you and Barb join her so she doesn’t do something stupid.

“I just wanted to come and ask if Y/N wanted to come join us in the nice shade.” Ms. Barco says confidently to Melissa then looks at you with a flirty smile. Melissa immediately moves you to go stand behind her.

“I’d rather eat with my friends in the sun.” You tell her, half behind Melissa, who is giving a death stare to the teacher.

“You know what, why don’t we just not interact for the rest of the afternoon?” Barb suggests.

“What if I want to interact with Y/N?” Ms. Barco asks while looking at you and winks.

“Like hell you will!” Melissa says, almost with a growl to her voice.

“And why can I not interact with her?” Ms. Barco says and crosses her arms.

“She’s an Abbott teacher not a Liberty one, and most importantly she’s MY girlfriend!” Melissa says with a lot of anger.

Ms. Barco chuckles. “You’re together?” She asks in disbelief and you nod. “Must be slim pickings at Abbott, how about I take you out on a date instead?” She says with a flirty look in her eyes. You and Barb had to hold Melissa back when she began to charge forward, wanting to punch the teacher that just asked you out.

“Melissa, no punching anyone.” You tell her in a whisper. She glares at the teacher while still seething inside but you keep a firm grip on her arm.

“Look, we are about to take our students to the slide, so you all have a nice day.” Barb tells Ms. Barco. Ms. Barco looks at you and Melissa then back to Barb.

“Actually we’re going to the slide right now. So…”

Just as she says that, Melissa scoffs and Barb says “say what?” At the same time.

“Although I’ll make an exception for Y/N and her class.” Ms. Barco says, she just keeps digging a bigger hole for herself.

“She ain’t going anywhere with youse.” Melissa says while pointing her finger at her.

“Oh my god, let it go. This is stupid playground beef. Y’all are being more childish than the kids.” Ava says annoyed.

Then Crystal, Ava’s arch enemy shows up and Ava declares a relay race.

“Winner takes all! The slide and the pride!” Barb shouts in excitement.

“Yeah, so just those two things!” Melissa says and you can’t help but giggle at her comment.

“Today! These two crews: Abbott Elementary…” Ava says loudly so everyone can hear.

“And Liberty rings!” Crystal says and all the Liberty teachers and students cheer. Ms. Barco makes eye contact with you and winks at you. You get nervous that she’s not backing down since she was told that you’re in a relationship, if anything, she’s flirting with you more. Melissa saw the wink and she slips an arm around your waist while glaring at the teacher. You lean into her touch and Melissa sends a smirk to the teacher.

“Will battle it out, will battle it out, park style!” Ava adds. “A relay race through the playground. You all know the risks. It’s what you signed up for.” She finishes.

“And winner gets dibs on the big wooden slide!” Crystal adds and then everyone cheers.

You’re all in a huddle before you have to do the relay race. “Clear eyes, full hearts, elbows out, hip checks, whatever it takes. Let’s be aggressive out there.” Ava says and Melissa nods in agreement.

“Yeah, especially with Ms. Barco.” Melissa says.

“Wait. Where’s Janine and Gregory?” Jacob says as he looks around.

“Oh, who cares? Janine would just slow us down. She’s got little limbs.” Melissa says and you send her a look.

“Melissa!” You scold her and she gives you a confused look.

“Do you want to beat them or not?” Melissa asks you.

“And let’s be real, Gregory’s never really been one of us.” Ava adds.

“Look, we need everybody. I can’t carry this team all by myself.” Barb says

“Mmm. All right.” Melissa says and then Ava goes looking for them.

“Y/N! Why don’t you join the winning team!” Ms. Barco says and motions for you to go over and join their team and you look at her and blush a bit. You weren’t attracted to her but she keeps singling you out, and in front of Melissa.

“That’s why she’s with us! We’re gonna beat your asses!” Melissa tells her and Ms. Barco rolls her eyes.

Ava returns a few minutes later with Janine and Gregory and you go over what everyone is doing.

“Alright, everyone know what they’re doing?” Ava asks.

“Yeah.” Barb says.

“Wait. I want the monkey bars.” Janine suddenly says.

“What? You got a bet on the other team or something?” Melissa says and you have to agree with Melissa.

Janine ends up getting the monkey bars and you all go to take your places around the playground. You know Melissa is going to be standing next to Ms. Barco for a few minutes so you lean into her before you part.

“Don’t punch or kill her.” You tell her and she sighs.

“I’ll try, but only because you’re asking me too.” She tells you and you go over to the hopscotch place that one of the kids drew. As you see the relay race start, you look over to Melissa and she keeps glaring at Ms. Barco and then she looks your way and then watches the relay race. You see Gregory on the tricycle, pedalling towards you and he claps his hand with yours and you do the hopscotch perfectly and quickly before Liberty and then you run towards Melissa and tag her.

“Go Melissa!” You cheer her on and then she tags Janine and you run towards her. Ms. Barco is near you guys and she puts an arm around your waist as soon as you’re next to her.

“Hey baby.” Melissa says and then smirks at Ms. Barco. You both watch Janine do the monkey bars. “Go Janine! Come on Janine!” Melissa yells.

“Go Janine!” You yell as well. “You got this!”

You both watch Janine finish the monkey bars before the Liberty teacher does and then she starts dancing and you look taken back.

“Stop dancing, Janine. Stop!” Melissa yells and then Janine tags Barb. You and Melissa run to the finish line to cheer Barb on and to see who will win. “Go Barb go!” Melissa yells as she exits the small tunnel.

“Wooo-ohh, let’s go Barb!” You shout as she’s ahead of the other teacher. She then starts slowing down, thinking she’s got this.

“Satan right behind you, girl!” Ava yells.

Barb looks back and immediately starts running full speed again and makes it to the finishing line before the Liberty teacher and all of the Abbott teachers cheer, hug and high five each other. You and Melissa hug each other and then you give her a kiss.

“You’re welcome kids!” Melissa says and then you all look around and notice all of your kids are missing, even the Liberty ones.

“Kids?” Jacob says and you all go off looking for them.

“Let’s check out the slide, maybe they’re there.” You suggest and you all walk to the slide. Sure enough they were all there and both the schools were getting along just fine.

“Looks like the children can get along quite well without us.” Barb says with a smile.

“Okay, but her kid shoved my kid.” Melissa says, almost sounding like a 5 year old.

“No, your kid shoved my kid.” Ms. Barco replies back with.

“We’re done.” Barb says, not bothering to turn around.

“I guess the adults are to blame here.” Crystal says. “I’m sorry, soror.” She says to Ava.

“And I’m sorry.” Ava says. “That we had to beat your ass!” She says after a second and all the Abbott teachers begin to cheer again.

“Boom!” Melissa says as she gives Jacob a chest bump, causing him to stumble into another teacher. You and Melissa then kiss again and then Melissa looks over at Ms. Barco who was looking at you two and she crosses her arms and huffs before turning to face the kids. Melissa smirks at her actions, knowing that she got the message. Melissa puts her arm around your shoulders and rubs her hand up and down your arm and smiles at you.

When you and Melissa get home, Melissa begins kissing you roughly and you know exactly what she wants right now. She then picks you up bridal style and carries you to the bedroom.

The next day, Gregory comes walking in, with Jacob limping behind him. Gregory looks at Ava with a cast around her neck.

“Shut up, Gregory.” Ava says while pouring a bunch of sugar in her coffee.

“I said nothing.” He says as he takes in all your injuries. “But I did tell you all to stretch.” He says with a smile on his face.

Just then Mr. Johnson comes in with his pants way up to his chest.

“You all look ridiculous.” He says with a smile.

“Us? What about you?” Melissa says as you all take in his outfit, you try to hold in a laughter. “Where does your waist end and your neck begin?” She says with a small chuckle.

“If that’s supposed to be a pick up line, it’s working.” He says while looking at Melissa and then walks out.

Melissa gives a weird and confused look to the camera and you burst out laughing.

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