#ask neil - hes the troublemaker

[otdiaftg]

The Raven King - Chapter Twelve

Day: Sunday, November 12th Time: 7:20 PM EST

Guilt was a relatively new emotion for Neil, something the Foxes were teaching him through prolonged exposure to them. Up until this point he'd felt it in uncomfortable, fleeting bursts. Now it was a fierce, all-consuming heat that made him want to cut his own stomach out. He didn't know if he was going to puke or scream. Neither one was acceptable, so he clenched his teeth as hard as he could. Meeting Andrew's eyes was almost impossible. Looking away would be unforgivable. He reached through the acid in his chest and found the only words he could: "Where is yours?" Andrew tipped his head to one side, feigning confusion. Maybe it wasn't an act. Maybe he didn't understand. Neil barely recognized his own voice through the gravel in it. Neil swallowed hard against his weakening gag reflex. Every breath he took cut him open on its way down but his voice sounded steady when he spoke again. "Why didn't you tell Higgins?" "Wouldn't have worked," Andrew said blithely. "Pig wasn't ready to hear it back then. He and Drake were friends, you see. They met when Drake went through the PAL program and hit it off somehow or other. I knew he wouldn't believe me, so I didn't waste my time trying." "So you did nothing," Neil said. "You almost put a knife between Nicky's ribs when he flirted with me, but you didn't lift a finger to protect Cass's other children. You knew what Drake would do to them, but you didn't protect them." "There weren't supposed to be other children," Andrew said. "But there were," Neil reminded him, cold and fierce and awful. Andrew laughed and pulled a hand free of his pocket. He wrapped his fingers around Neil's throat, not tight enough to cut off Neil's air but snug enough to be a warning. "I hope she was worth it." Andrew tilted forward and said, "Oh, Neil. You are far too heavy to tread ice this thin." "Is this how you stayed quiet?" Neil reached up and took hold of Andrew's wrist. He couldn't feel the scars through the cotton sleeve but he didn't need to. He knew they were there. Andrew knew what he was talking about, judging by how still he went. His smile didn't even flicker but Neil wasn't fooled. "Did you do this so you wouldn't tell her the truth about her son?" "Maybe I did." "What were you trying to do, outlast him?" Neil asked. "He was a graduating senior intent on enlisting, right? All you had to do was hold out until graduation and then she would adopt you. So what went wrong?" Andrew's fingers slowly tightened until Neil couldn't breathe anymore. He refused to shake Andrew off. The tightness in his chest started as simple discomfort but spread until it felt like every bone in his chest would break beneath the pressure. Neil's control started to crumble, no matter how fiercely he clung to it, and he'd just shifted to throw Andrew back when Andrew finally loosened his grip.

Art used with permission by i-am-weis. Thank you @i-am-weis

[crazy-fangirl2524]

What I think Andrew and Neil’s personality/life/relationship will be like without ALL the trauma and so the “real” them without all the baggage

(Obviously just my opinion and interpretation)

Andrew:

He would still be a super protective person especially as those he views as family (nicky, Aaron, his parents (??), friends he knows he can trust)

Would still have gone through a goth/grunge phrase

His sweet tooth is still atrocious

The type of guy to stop people from physically bullying others (verbally he does not care if the person can’t take it its a them problem)

Tons of piercings everywhere

Doesn’t try in school because he doesn’t have to with his eidetic memory yet he is only second right behind Aaron

No one is shocked that he is gay

I can see him studying things like philosophy literature classics history or just any of the intellectual degrees (he will do double major)

Definitely got scholarships for any universities he applied to (same as Aaron)

Chooses to go to the university that Aaron chooses (“Andrew ucla’s criminology is the best in the whole world why are you choosing John Hopkins” “John Hopkins’s literature and classics is the best in the world” “Andrew-“)

Doesn’t have a lot of people he considers as friends but he does have a select fews and he is not really in a friend group more like some scattered friends but he hoard like gold

Most likely to become a university professor ? Or a baker or whatever he wants and he will be so successful in it because he will put his heart and soul into it

Had a few flings here and there (maybe one or two relationships but no one can ever be on par with him) until he meets Neil (because in every universe they are still meant to be)

Neil:

Still skeptical and doesn’t trust easily

Those he considers as friends he holds on so tight he will literally die and kill for them

Still got a smart mouth that gets him in trouble

Troublemaker in school and people either love or hate him theres no in between

Math nerd

Would have been valedictorian but he doesn’t pay attention in class and skip classes if his friends ask him to

He will be in a friend group that everyone will ride and die for each other and is the friend group that everyone is envious of because they know it is for life even if they all separate in university

Obviously he will get a maths degree

Becomes mathematician or whatever it is smart people becomes in the future

Obviously he will be successful as well

Even in university he will somehow find a friend group and once again its the best people in the world for him and now he got THREE families (or however many because everywhere he goes this attractive troublemaker just attracts and makes his own found family without meaning to)

Throughout highschool or university or work (until he meets Andrew) he would have never dated because he genuinely does not get the point and no one ever interests him that way (until he meets Andrew)

Andreil:

No matter how they meet whether its highschool or in university or meet cute or meet ugly or whatever its always Andrew that falls first and finds the troublemaker attractive and neil is just the oblivious guy

But Neil is always the one that falls harder

Its always slowburn and kills their families and friends and makes everyone wants to just kill them

Their communication skills are what every couple wishes they have

Andrew still gives neil so much nicknames

Their personality will always complement each other and Neil’s fire will always spark’s Andrew’s interest and Andrew’s steady presence will always hold up whatever Neil has

The soul deep understanding will always be there

In any universe they will still inevitably end up together because their souls are made for each other

[pjunicornart]

Lazy Days busts!

Consider this a sneak peek, ha ha. These are the six "core" family members of my Meet the Robinsons Lazy Days AU! It includes: Neil and Franny, plus their four kids: Wilbur, Freddie, Mazie, and Leo.

And now, five fun facts about each character!

Cornelius - He got his ears pierced just so he could wear those ear rings for Franny. - Wherever he spends a lot of time, sticky notes are sure to be there. - He can't function without his morning, afternoon, and evening cup of coffee. - He always has some sort of plug in his ears. Not because his family is annoying, but because noise can overwhelm him. - Neil hasn't brushed his hair in... uh... how long has it been? Well, if he can't remember, it's been too long.

Franny - Her frogs have a special little section of the garden all for them. - She's not much of a coffee person. She prefers hot chocolate. - Franny almost never wears pants. It's dresses and sleep shorts for her! - There's a whole drawer in their dresser just dedicated to her sock collection. - She was taught karate when she was really young, and she plans on teaching all of her kids karate, too.

Wilbur - Only three years ago he was the troublemaker type. Now, he's the bookworm type. - He goes through books like they're candy. He's read every book on his shelf at least four times. - Three years ago Wilbur would've gelled his hair back, but now he doesn't really mind it the way it is. - He still sleeps with a night light. - Recently, he's picked up playing acoustic guitar.

Freddie - Yes, those are real flowers in her hair. - She's currently trying to figure out what types of hairstyles she likes best. She isn't completely sold on the pigtail puffs. - She's closest to her Grandma, Lucille. She's the one who taught her how to sew and upcycle. - Her interest in gardening was sparked by her best friend, who had a little succulent farm in her room. - She prefers (and is most comfortable) to be barefoot while gardening.

Mazie - Her favorite cryptids are the Fresno Night Crawlers. - She plays pretend a lot... usually she's a monster or cryptid. Surprise, surprise. - When she's not playing pretend or doing anything related to monsters, she's online, playing in a kid's virtual world. - All it took was one special about aliens on the history channel to spark her obsession with cryptids. - She's the closest to her uncles Gaston and Art, as well as their butler, Lefty. Lefty because she's an actual alien, and Gaston and Art because vibes.

Leo - Whenever Neil isn't home, he hangs around Carl. Because he's the closest to Neil in his eyes. - He only wants to be carried by his daddy. He won't let anybody else carry him; not even Franny. - Leo is only comfortable in onesies. - He really likes it when daddy makes cheesy scrambled eggs for breakfast. - His most favorite toy in the world is his stuffed elephant.

Wanna know more about Lazy Days? Refer to this post here -> Lazy Days info dump. Still wanna know more? Ask box is always open!

[askthemysterkids]

If they ever found their way to Halloween town (TNBC), what would their thoughts about it be?

(Oh my gosh I am so sorry about this one being so late! I had this in my drafts and my computer gave me a notification!) I really need to rewatch this movie! I love it so much!

Dipper would probably really like this place seeing as how it’s filled with oddities. Like Gravity Falls. He’d react very positively to it and ask lots of questions.

Mabel’s enjoyment fully stems on if this is actually stop motion or not. I want her to make a sweater for Sally.

Norman would love this place! It’s like his horror movies!

Neil would react like a fanboy because this place is so cool!

Raz would find this place freaky but it’s not the freakiest thing. He’s been in how many brains now?

Lili would probably really enjoy this place though would probably get irritated by those three troublemaker kids.

Coraline, while I think she might enjoy it, I can also see her getting unsettled by some of it's similarities to the Other World.

Wybie I think would be unsettled by it, but he might get along with Jack. I just get the vibe that they would get along and maybe come up with some extravagant plans.

Wirt would probably get unsettled by this place. "What if we just went to Christmas town instead?"

Greg would very much enjoy this place. This kid ain't scared of anything!

Luz would fangirl so much! This seems right up her alley! All that is missing is magic!

Anne would actually probably be offput by this place. While she probably would eventually adjust I can just see it unsettling her.

Marcy would probably end up asking everyone questions about themselves and get D&D inspiration from this place. "So how do you work Jack? I know you're alive but you're also a skeleton!"

Sasha would probably enjoy the concept of scaring everyone.

[theasoliva]

"THE TROUBLEMAKER"

Neil Miller is a star basketball player of Elite University but he always finds

himself to be in trouble. Ella Yap is the head cheerleader of Elite University. She

is the sort of punisher when it comes to people who cannot keep themselves out of

troubles. Different personalities but will manage to find one another in each other's

arms in the future.

The door of council office swung open. "What are you doing here for the

third time?" She asked the person in front of her. "Third time? This is just my first

time," He replied "Third time of the week, given that it's just Wednesday," She told

him as she busied herself with her homework. "I came late," He said and ignored

the girl. That is Neil Miller. The boy she always see because the dean always sends

him to her. Her patience for Neil is not unlimited but they still send him to her.

"You've used that cover up too many times, Miller. I know when it's a lie," she told

him as she looked at him. He is sitting in front of the girl while his arm rests on the

girl's table. Sometimes, she really think he just gets himself into trouble because he

wants to skip his class. "Our teacher couldn't take a joke. I just put a farting bag on

his seat and everyone laughed then he sent me here!" Neil complained like it was

he who was the victim. The girl mentally facepalmed herself. He gets himself into

trouble in the most childish ways. "You're not even supposed to do that in the first

place. You're 19 years old, Miller!" The girl replied."Tss. Just give me my penalty,"

He told her while he pops his bubblegum. The girl wrote something in a piece of

paper. Neil should come at school at 6:30 tomorrow to help the janitors with the

cleaning. Neil grabbed it from the hand of the girl and he looked at it."Thanks," he

said and he left the room of the girl. The girl just let out a sigh. "That Miller is the

definition of hard-headed." Said the girl to herself.

When the free time of the girl cut ended, she went to her class and she saw

her friends, Hazel and Mariel. They're also in the school's cheerleading team.

"What's up, Ella?" Hazel said. Hazel, Mariel and Ella are the most known

cheerleaders of the school. In Elite University, they have different groups: jocks,

popular kids, nerds, and average kids. "Fine. Only had one student," Ella told them.

"Let me guess," Mariel said. "Yeah, it's Miller," Ella told Mariel before she can even

guess. "Why did you answer? I was gonna get it right!" Mariel pouted "I swear! That

Neil can't survive a day without any problem," Hazel said. "You know what. I know

someone who's actually close to him but he never tells me stuff about Neil,"

Mariel said. "Who?" I asked. "You know Daniel?" Mariel asked. Hazel and Ella threw

her a knowing grin. "Daniel? The one you want to hit on?" Hazel teased. "Shut up,

Hazel! He is nice alright?" Mariel pouted. "How can he tell you stuff about Neil

when you don't talk to him in the first place?" Ella asked her. "Ah! That's where

you're wrong! I talk to him just so you know," Mariel said. "He lives just a few

blocks away from me." Mariel explained and they nodded. The class started and

they turned their attention to the teacher.

The class ended early and they went to cafeteria and went to their usual

place. Neil and his friends Daniel, Carlo, Joshua and Steven and they are also part

of the basketball team. They are going to their usual place but the football team are

there sitting in their place. "I'm sorry, but I know for a fact that this isn't your table,"

Carlo tried to kick out the people in our usual spot. And Neil smirked. "I can't see

your name anywhere," Their captain, Marco said and they still stayed. "Don't you

know your place?" Daniel asked. She was about to come close to Marco but

someone stop him. "What is this commotion about?" The uptight cheerleader asked.

The one and only Ella Yap. "Nothing you should know about," Neil told her. "I do,

because you're clearly disturbing the football team from eating their lunch," Ella

said. "If there's someone disturbing us, it's them! Out of all the 15 tables here, what

are the odds that they pick ours, right?" Neil answered. "This football team just

wants to annoy the fuck out of us, "Steven said and the football team chuckled.

"If they're really not annoying us, they wouldn't chuckle like that. Don't be biased,

Yap," Neil told her. "They're already settled in, Miller," Ella replied. "Yeah. That's

why you should go," Marco said with a grin. "Oh, we'll go alright. I can't believe we

just wasted our precious time in front of these jerks," Joshua stated. "Bye, losers,"

One of Marco's teammates said. And they just ignored it and leave.

Neil came earlier than usual because of the penalty. He saw Mister Wilson

and greet him. "Good morning, Mister Wilson," Neil greeted the usual cleaner. "Neil,

it's you again!" Mister Wilson replied.

"At least act like you're happy to see me," Neil pouted as he grabbed the foldable

hand helper. "Neil, I know that you're here because you did something childish

again," Mister Wilson said. Mister Wilson is a father figure to Neil. He always see

him working so hard for his family. Neil first saw him when it was his first penalty.

"Don't you want that, sir? You get to be blessed by me!" Neil told him as he picked

up some of the trash. "You're getting closer and closer to losing the championship

with what you're doing, Neil." He scolded Neil. "They need me more than I need

them, sir," Neil replied as he continued cleaning the park. "Don't be so cocky, Neil.

You might jinx it," Mister Wilson said. "I will not jinx it sir, promise." Neil said. "I told

you to stop calling me sir. It makes me feel superior even though I'm not," Mister

Wilson ignored his remarks."And I want you to obtain the championship trophy

you've told me about when we first met each other. That's your dream, Neil!" He

added. And Neil smiled at him."Thank you, Mister Wilson." Neil said.

The big day is finally come. Neil and his friends are now starting warming up

in the court. And Neil looked at Elite University's side of the arena, and a certain girl

caught his attention."She looks cute with the red uniform."Neil said to himself. He

shook his head to remove the thought."There is no way Ella Yap would look cute to

me! That girl is a walking devil."He said again to himself.

The commentator started introducing the team. The team of Neil they put

their hands together and they shout "THUNDER ELITE FOR THE WIN!" to get

themselves worked up. And the commentator start calling the name and they

entered the court and they went to their position. The referee blowed the whistle

and the game began.

The time run fast and the game end and of course the winner is the Elite

University. Neil and his friends go out in the court to meet their girlfriends, only Neil

is single. When they are out, they approach fast their partners. "Tss, couples."Neil

said. Ella looked at him and she saw a towel wrapped around in the neck of Neil,

and she was smiling from the sight, so all with her courage she talked to

Neil."Congrats on the win." She said. "Thank you." Neil replied and smiled at her.

And for the first time Ella stuck in her position, it is the first time that she saw the

smile of Neil and her heart is beating so fast. And she can't help also to smile.

It's been a while after that incident happen, when the basketball team won.

And Ella feel uncomfortable because of Neil, he started calling other name of Ella.

And Neil stop annoying Ella, and he is now nice to her. And he never been in trouble

anymore. As Neil drive away from the university, he saw a familiar figure walking in

the dark, he slowed down and lowered his car window. "Ella!" He called and Ella

stopped."What are you still doing here?"She asked."We had training. What are you

doing walking alone in the dark? Do you know how dangerous it can be?" Neil

replied."I had to finish some schoolwork," She said."Then hop in, I'll drop you in

your dorm," Neil offered and she went in his car. The ride was silent and when they

reach the dorm, Ella went down in the car. Neil lowered his window and he called

Ella. "Ella!"he called and Ella faced him."I-I have something to t-tell you."He

said nervously."Hm?" She replied."I like you. Scratch that, I think I'm falling for you,"

he nonchalantly said. Ella was frozen, she never thought that they have the same

feeling that they love each other. Neil is waiting of reply from Ella so he went down

also from the car."Ella, do you like me?" Neil asked when he is now infront of Ella,

and Ella is back to her senses."Yes, I love you too Neil. I thought you still hate me."

Ella said."Really? Yes! And no I don't hate you anymore, because I love you." Neil

said and he was so happy and he hug Ella. And Ella hug back and she was happy

also."I love you Neil" Said Ella. "I love you more Ella" Neil replied and he kissed Ella

in the forehead. And now they find one another each others arms.

[willowbird]

For the prompt thing: Andrew/Neil, trope: sickness/injury, location: violently orange yacht. Have fun! Thanks =)

Ooh definitely!

Since no AU was specified I made it kinda intentionally ambiguous.

Also, so you know, I 100% sat down to write this as a cutesy seasick/comfort w/teasing sorta fic. Then, idk, i got a lil bloodthirsty. Just a little bit, though.

Warning for mentions of blood.

---

"Are you really going to hide down here for the whole time?" Kevin's voice was both tired and annoyed, and just for that Andrew didn't even bother to acknowledge his presence, let alone his words.

Instead, he pointedly turned the page in his book as if there was no one about to bother him at all. They had been out on the water for a whole six hours. Andrew had watched the shoreline get smaller and smaller as they pulled away and when it was just a fine sketch of a line along the horizon he'd gone investigating. Which was how he'd found this hidden little nook in the storage hull or whatever the big room of supplies was in the belly of the boat.

The monstrosity was technically a yacht. Which, by definition, is a pleasure liner - a boat intended for entertainment. This "yacht" was big enough to not only carry but fully house and supply a contingent of college athletes. It was suspiciously fortified and had enough supplies stockpiled away that Andrew was beginning to wonder if he hadn't been kidnapped because it seemed just a little bit excessive for a "weekend away".

Personally, he didn't think his problems were going to go away or even be at all eased by an attempted escape via ugly boat. But he wasn't the only one with those problems. He wasn't the only one hurting. And after almost a year... well, he would grudgingly tag along, but he didn't have to participate.

The damn thing was also the most grotesque shade of claw-your-eyes-out dayglow orange that Andrew had ever seen. Which honestly was one of the reasons he'd already gone inside, as of by hiding in the deepest, darkest corner of the vessel he'd save himself a migraine.

"And Andrew? The Lady Fox has luxury suites for each of us. You can't even hide in your room? You choose to come... here?" Out of the corner of his eye, Andrew saw Kevin give his choice of hideaways a disparaging look.

Without taking his eyes from the page, Andrew lifted one hand and offered Kevin his one-fingered opinion.

The next thing he heard was Kevin's annoyed scoff, followed by his retreating footsteps. Satisfied, Andrew snuggled down a little bit deeper into the conveniently-placed hammock he'd found already strung up when he initially explored the place. The book he was reading had a bit of a slow start, but at least three of the side-characters were interesting enough to carry him through until the plot picked up.

Except, he only got two more pages along when he heard a sudden and quite ominous thump that was accompanied by a muffled groan. The book in his hand was instantly replaced with one of the knives he kept tucked in the armbands he was never without. Some people might call Andrew paranoid for bringing weapons onto a boat where he was surrounded only by close friends and family, with a literal ocean between them and harm. Those people would probably be dead right now, gutted in their sleep by a murderous stowaway. Or maybe that thump was one of his family, being murdered by the murderous stowaway.

Maybe it was Kevin.

That thought put a spike of fear in his heart, but right in its wake came a surge of deep rage.

No. He would not allow it. He had already lost... Enough had happened. He refused to let Kevin be hurt as well.

Andrew got out of the hammock as soundlessly and gracefully as possible, searching the shadows of the only half-lit cavernous space as he inched toward the source of the sound. He kept the blade poised to attack with one hand and pulled out his cell phone with the other. Two thumb-swipes later the had the flashlight enabled.

It wasn't Kevin. Nope. Definitely not Kevin.

Not-Kevin was crumpled in a heap in front of a stack of supply crates that it looked like he'd rolled off of, thus causing the thump Andrew had heard. The groan of pain, however, was clearly not from the fall. Or, well, not just from the fall.

"Who are you?" Andrew demanded, shining the light right on the person's face. They looked like a guy, probably. Short-ish hair and made up of more angles than curves - though it was really hard to tell more than that because the blood-soaked clothes were a little bit distracting.

The injured man(?) on the floor let out a choked, broken sound that Andrew belatedly realized was a laugh. It was so rasped and mangled, he'd almost thought the stowaway was about to launch into their death-throes. Judging by the bloodstains and way the person shook and swayed precariously while trying to push up to their hands and knees, that actually might not have been that far off a guess.

Then the stowaway, the person, the man, said, "Nothing."

Andrew froze. "What did you say?"

"You asked who I was," the man said, and Andrew was sure it was a man now. Moreover, the rough edges around his voice may have been tight with pain and possibly disuse, but even without Andrew's near-perfect memory he would have knows the sharp slashes of that voice anywhere.

The man looked up and in the white glow of Andrew's phone light there was no mistaking how immeasurably blue his eyes were. Like the sky painted from an artist's favorite memory. Like the hint of eternity in a crystal sphere.

Neil smiled. His face was dotted with dried blood and marked with new scars, but the expression still somehow turned the whole world on its head to make it a softer, warmer, safer place.

Andrew wasn't sure what hit the ground first, his phone, his knife, or his knees as he skidded to the floor beside Neil, reaching for him. "Neil... Neil. Fuck. The blood. It's yours? FUCK!" He was babbling, but his own voice was distant to his ears as he touched Neil for the first time in almost a year, as he gathered him close and searched for the source of all that blood.

Shaky hands reached for him and Andrew didn't even think about batting them away. He leaned into their touch even as he turned his face toward the stairs and raised his voice to a shout: "KEVIN! AARON! SOMEONE! NOW!"

"H-hey now, Andrew. Andrew, shh, it's okay. I'm okay, it's okay. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I never meant to be away this long."

"Shut up with your fucking 'sorry's Neil, I don't want your fucking 'sorry' - I want you here and alive and not dying in my goddamn arms I am NOT doing this with you, do you hear me junkie?"

Andrew felt like his entire system was in overdrive, his mind moving too fast and his nerve ending firing off in matching cylinders. They looked for Neil for months. And when they finally got a breakthrough via that fucking miserable twat Jean Moreau, it was only to find out that Neil was likely dead.

Those hands cupped his face, and even though they trembled against his cheeks he still touched Andrew like he was holding something incredibly precious. Something that needed care and protection lest it drop or be crushed.

"I promise, Drew. I did not drag myself halfway back around the world just to die in your arms."

"Do not even attempt to give me that, Neil. That is exactly the kind of dramatic shit you would do."

"Nah," Neil protested with a rough laugh. "Definitely more Aaron's thing. He's such a petty bitch."

"Fuck you," Andrew spat out, but a bubble of what might have bene a laugh caught in his chest. There were running footsteps coming their way, thundering down the steps and into the room.

"Andrew?! Andrew what-- oh my God. Oh my God. AARON GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!" Kevin was still shouting as he came to land beside the two of them, and Andrew almost pulled another knife and stabbed him in the fucking eye as he reached for Neil.

In fact, he didn't even realize he had drawn a knife until Kevin jerked back so suddenly he fell on his ass.

"Jesus! Andrew it's just me. He is covered in blood he needs a hospital!"

"It's mostly not mine," Neil chimed in as Andrew struggled to rein in the half-crazed beast that had taken over the arm not holding Neil. The monster inside him was in fits, and its growl was rumbling in Andrew's throat - kept in check only by the slow stroking of Neil's fingers down his jaw.

"Mostly not yours," Kevin echoed, and even through the haze of Andrew's protective rage, he could hear how dumbfounded the other man was.

"Mhm. And I stitched myself up already."

"Stitched yourself up," said Kevin. Then he looked toward the stairs and bellowed: "AARON!"

Neil sighed and the exasperation in that sound was so fucking familiar that it knocked the beast far enough off its temper for Andrew to take control again. He took a slow breath, then another. When Neil looked up at him again, Andrew asked, "Why? How?"

Neil grimaced. The expression must have been painful, Andrew realized as he watched him - because now that he was really looking he could tell that those new scars on his face were less 'scars' and more 'barely healed torture wounds'.

All Neil said was, "It's a long story."

As Aaron finally came half-falling down the steps on wobbly sea-legs, Andrew decided he would leave it be - for now.

The important thing was that Neil was here, Neil was alive, and nothing - fucking nothing - was going to take him away again.

[sad-brunnettee]

Strange Helper

Billy Hargrove x f! reader

Masterlist | Rules (requests currently closed)

—

The first few times Billy saw you talking to Max he was confused. Yet didn’t say anything as he knew Max wouldn’t share what happened. Which is the reason why he kept an eye close to the two of you, whenever you would speak to one another. He knew of the peer pressure that happens in middle school as well as in high school. Since you seem to be his grade level, he could no longer bite his tongue and had to ask Max.

“You talk to her almost all of the time.” Billy said as soon as Max’s foot was in the car.

“Yeah, so?” She asked annoyed by Billy’s statement.

“So, what does she tell you?” He was almost afraid of what she’d say.

“Nothing.” Max said while staring ahead but she could still feel Billy’s gaze on her. It was enough to get her to speak again, “Jesus could you look at the road while driving? She’s just my tutor.” Even though it was nothing bad, Max wanted to keep you away from Billy. Afraid he will talk to the school and make you stop tutoring her.

If Billy was being honest he believed Max and after much thought. He realized that she has been doing a lot of homework lately which has then gotten her praises from her mom. Without saying anything else he continued the drive home.

He knew he had to keep an eye out on Max whether he liked it or not. As he laid on his bed he tried to remember if he has seen you around school. When his mind came back empty, he started to worry again. He knew asking Max again wouldn’t get him anywhere. He’d have to wait until tomorrow to ask around.

In the meantime, he was stuck listening to Susan’s praising and words of affection towards Max. All while Neil would go to Billy’s room and start throwing insults. As well as saying he wants to see the same grades on his report card.

—

Morning couldn’t had come any sooner but Billy was ready to go to school and figure out who you were. For all he knew, you could possible not even be a student. He’s not sure if he wants to help Max because he cares for her or because otherwise his dad would kill him.

As they drove to school neither of them said anything but Max could practically hear his thoughts. Once they arrived, Max gave him no time to open his mouth. She grabbed her stuff and walked over to the middle school.

Throughout the rest of the day, Billy looked around in all of his classes. Seeing if he caught a glimpse of you. But nothing, not even during lunchtime or during gym class when some girls would skip their classes to watch the boys play. He was debating on asking Tommy or Carol but was afraid of what rumor they’d start if he said anything.

When he waited for Max after school he didn’t see her talking to you. He didn’t question it but that didn’t mean that he would let it go. If anything, he would have to try harder.

When they got home, Neil and Susan were putting food and clothes in boxes. Max and Billy shared a look of confusion, Neil looked between the two of them and it was enough to get Billy to walk over and help them out. With a roll of her eyes, Max stood near her mom and began helping her.

For Neil, coming to a new town meant being a new person. Ever since their arrival he took it upon himself to be seen as a saint. Always helping out in the church and being a volunteer. If anything ever happened to Billy, he knows his fake image would have many people be on his side. Without meaning to, Billy walked right in to that trap. Everyone knows him as the troublemaker as well as a heartbreaker.

Today they would all go to the church and help hand out food and clothes to those in need. What Billy didn’t expect was to see Tommy and Carol there. Unlike Neil, they showed their true colors no matter who was watching. It seemed as if a lot of families, along with their troublesome kids, were here to help the community.

“This blows.” Said Carol as she carelessly let a spoon drop on the bowl of hot soup.

“Cheer up Carol, we’re helping the community.” Said Tommy in order to get her more mad. Which only earned him a push that caused him to laugh.

To make matters worse for Billy, an older lady came and asked him if he could help Carol and Tommy to serve food. As much as he wanted to deny, he knew he had no other choice. With a mere nod of his head he followed her to the small kitchen area.

“Now, you will each be responsible of serving one thing. I’ll leave you guys to choose.” The lady said and was about to walk away when Billy said. “Wait, there’s four containers of food but three of us.” He said

Before she could answer, Carol spoke. “Y/n, is actually coming, she’s just running a little late.” Just as he was about to ask who that was, you came rushing in with a box of gloves.

“So, what are we serving?” You asked getting ready to start working. Knowing Tommy and Carol, they would sneak out and end up leaving you with everything.

“Same as last year.” Tommy said with a tight smile while he put his gloves on.

You weren’t exactly friends with Tommy and Carol but due to your small reputation of always getting into trouble by always speaking up. It has brought you a small acquaintance with the two.

Billy was about to open his mouth and ask you questions, when Max came from around the corner with a frown on her face. When she suddenly saw you and her face light up. “Y/n?” She asked surprised, “what are you doing here?” She said as she got closer to you.

“Hey Red, part of my punishment. You?” It was true, after your dad found out you back talked to a teacher who clearly didn’t know what he was teaching. He thought that brining you down here would be a good form of discipline.

“Mmm, pretty much the same reason.” She said with a small smile but it vanished as soon as she looked at Billy’s face.

“So…” Billy said, as he looked between the two of you. “You’re her tutor.”

“Mhm.” Was all you said while you moved to stand next to him as you would be serving the rice.

“And what exactly do you tutor her in?” He asked you which caused Max to roll her eyes and step in front of him. “Billy just leave her alone.”

Yet he ignored her as he kept on looking at you who seem to not care about what he was saying. “It’s just that I’ve never seen you around school, and…”

“Jesus…” you cut him off while letting out an exasperated laugh. “You know, for someone who always has his dick wet. I thought your flirting would be better.”

The look that he gave you it seemed as if he was half amused half frustrated. Meanwhile Tommy and Carol were trying to stifle their laughs behind his back.

You turned to face Max who had her eyebrows raised in amazement. She knew that you were capable of handling yourself against Billy but your response (aside from grossing her out), amazed her since you didn’t seem interested in him. “Come on Red, I need your helping with something.” Was all you said as you walked with her to grab some plates.

“You know Billy, you may not trust y/n but…” Tommy said as Billy did nothing but pretend to be interested in the gloves. “She is the smartest girl in our grade, I even heard she got accepted to a college across the state.” Tommy said rather excited which got him a glare from Carol.

Even if what Tommy said was true, Billy couldn’t help but feel weird about you being Max’s tutor. He’s not sure if it’s because of your reputation or because you have been able to form a decent relationship with Max. Something he’s been wishing to earn for the longest yet he always pushes her away.

🏷️: @kawaiibear0704 @mama-miya @hellomyweirdos @lubsana @n39ro-chann @kenzi-woycehoski @yookayur @wittleespur @jadesbrain

[thefanficmonster]

hello love, can i request headcanons for if dewey was dating sidney’s older sister who’s his age and is also his childhood best friend?

Hi darling! Of course, I love your idea so much! I hope you enjoy the headcanons 💕 (I apologize for how long it is, I got too involved in this timeline 😌)

Pairing: Dewey Riley x Reader (Female)

Warnings: Swearing, MINOR SPOILERS for the first Scream (nothing major, just the relationship between the characters), AU (in this timeline Maureen’s alive and the there are no killings - If Anon would like for me to change that I will 😊)

Genre: FLUFF, Romance, Humor

- You and Dewey have known each other for as long as you can remember

- Your mothers were friends in high school therefore you were automatically best friends before you were even born

- Little did the two women know you two would become a lot more than just that

- Dewey was the shy, quite kid while you were the troublemaker, always dragging him into your shenanigans as well

- You were, however, forced into seriousness when two new babies entered the equation, your younger sisters

- Being Sidney’s older sister led to you becoming more responsible, doing well in school and becoming the best babysitter your parents could ever ask for, all at the age of just eight years old

- Dewey was in the same boat with you

- Tatum was born soon after Sidney and he too had to strut his stuff and put on his big-brother pants, swearing to always watch out for his sister and always have her back

- You two frequently had to babysit the little girls due to how busy your parents were so that meant the four of you would gather at one of your houses and watch cartoons, play with the toddlers’ toys, draw and paint etc.

- The difficult part was feeding them and putting them to sleep but it was a war you and Dewey won every time

- It was when you two entered high school that you were finally coming to terms with the feelings that were probably sparked up back in seventh grade but you two just didn’t notice 

- How could you have noticed in between all the running around and keeping two four-year-olds safe 

- When you went off to college, that’s when the other shoe dropped and it was unbearable for you both

- He’d see you date guys and immediately do his best to distance himself, ignorant to the fact that you were doing it in an attempt to get him out of your head and hopefully fall for someone else

- On one of your trips back home you spilled the beans to Sid who, oddly enough, already knew

- “Sis, I’ll admit, I thought you were brighter than this.” The at the time twelve year old girl said, making you roll your eyes, “I mean seriously, everyone knew before you and Dewey realized it.”

- Your eyebrows furrowed, “Wait, what do you mean me and Dewey?”

- That’s when Sid knew she fucked up

- With that slip she threw herself and Tatum into some hot water 

- You were definitely not supposed to know that Dewey opened up to his younger sister about his feelings much like you did, but Tate had gone straight to Sidney to drop the 411 to her best friend

- It’s safe to say Neil and Maureen were quite concerned to see their oldest chasing their youngest around the house with a toy sword

- “Sid, you’re so fucking dead!”

- “Y/N, language!” Your mom had shouted, but all your dad could do was laugh

- “The language is what you’re worried about? Not the murderous tendencies?” He asked, earning him a smack to the shoulder from his wife

- As pissed off as you were at both Sidney and Tatum in that moment - and you were seeing red, that’s how pissed off we’re talking here - you certainly had more confidence about your feelings when you returned to college after your break was over

- You broke things off with the deadbeat boyfriend you had at the time and, obviously, the first person you told was Dewey

- “You seemed head over heels for the guy, what happened?” He asked you as you were chilling in your dorm, your roommate out with her boyfriend for the night

- “Did I really? I’m a great actress then, aren’t I?” You chuckled, blushing furiously but you luckily had your back turned to Dewey as you said that so he didn’t initially see it

- “What’s that supposed to mean? You weren’t into him?” You hummed negatively, “Why’s that?”

- You continued unpacking your stuff, “Cause I’m into someone else. Have been for a while now.” You said, mocking his terminology.

- The man’s heart was shattered once again, “Do I know them?” He asked and and you gave him an affirmative hum, “Why didn’t you say anything? I would’ve helped you out.”

- “You can’t help me, Dewey.“ You chuckled almost bitterly

- “Why would you think that?” He sounded genuinely hurt which made you quite mad cause he had no idea how hurt you’ve been all this time by his ignorance, but then again, you were hurting him with yours too

- This time you whirl around to face him and find him standing in the middle of your bedroom whereas he was previously leaning against the doorframe

- “Because you’re so fucking oblivious, Dwight!” You complained, tears pooling in your eyes much to your dismay

- A moment of silence fell in the room, leaving you to regret all you just said and make an attempt at circling around him to leave the room and the dorm

- And the campus and the city, you just wanted to run away from everything

- But that’s when he grabbed your arm and prevented you from making even a step further 

- The man had decided to be brave finally after all this time

- That’s why, before you knew it, his lips were on yours

- He took a risk that made his whole body freeze up and it’s only after you reciprocated the kiss - which didn’t take you long to do - that he finally relaxed

- HIs free hand came up to cup your cheek while the other loosened its hold on your arm but still had a grip on you as if he was afraid you could take off running any moment

- That never happened though, and you confirmed that it won’t happen by interlocking your hands around his neck, bringing you both closer which seemed practically impossible at that point

- Eventually the lack of oxygen caught up to you and forced you to pull away, leaning your foreheads against one another

- “I’m not as oblivious as you think, Prescott.” You chuckled at his words

- “Shut up, Riley.” You didn’t leave it up to him whether he’d shut up or not, you made sure he did by pressing your lips against his 

- You both were happy, no doubt about it, but no happiness can compare to the one your relationship announcement was met with by your sisters

- When I say they were jumping for joy and squealing your eardrums out, I mean it

- After graduation you two returned to Woodsboro and were soon employed in the police department

- Yes, both of you (Think Brooklyn Nine-Nine type shenanigans)

- And that’s when your sisters started dating their first boyfriends and you know what that means....

- You and Dewey got decked out in your uniforms and went to town on the two hooligans

- “If you hurt Tatum”

- “If you hurt Sidney”

- “They’ll never find your body”

- “They’ll be scooping your brains off the floor”

- “Understood?”

- “Got it?”

- “Yes, sir!” Stu was practically in tears by the time Dewey was done with his ‘vaguely’ threatening but mostly warning speech

- “Yes, ma’am!” Billy took it better, nodding in understanding you had a feeling was genuine despite your initial distaste for the kid, he didn’t seem all that bad

- They obviously ratted you out to their girlfriends who both gave you shit about scaring the crap out of their boyfriends, but you knew they secretly appreciated it

- If only you knew that those very boys you scared so badly would be a part of the crowd to witness one of the most important moments of your life...

- Your sister and Tatum were at Tatum’s boyfriend’s house for a party one night and you had just gotten home from work, perfectly on time to lay the ground rules

- “No drinking, no drugs, no funny business with Loomis. Got it?”

- “Jeez, Y/N, it wouldn’t hurt to leave your cop attitude at the door when you get home.” She teased but still confirmed that she’d follow the rules, kissed your cheek and was out the door

- An hour or so later, you get a call from Dewey who was still on duty at this time 

- “Can I get assistance at Stu Macher’s house? I think someone brought some illegal substances into the party.” He asked you and you were up and out the door within seconds, not bothering to change out of your pajamas and just threw a jacket over top of them instead

- You’re not a reckless driver, but when your sister’s in the question, you’re prepared to grow a pair of wings and fly to where she is

- Unfortunately that’s not an option so you just sped the life out of your car all the way to Stu’s house, barging in without knocking

- “Sid?! Dewey?!” You called out, looking around the foyer and the living room before peeking in the kitchen where Dewey had the five teenagers lined up as if to question them

- “Oh hey sis!” Sidney sees you first due to Dewey having his back turned to the door but he whirled around the second your sister addressed you

- “Nice PJs, Y/N.” Billy teased from his spot in the line-up next to Sidney

- “Zip it, Loomis.” You narrowed your eyes at him before turning to Dewey, “Who’s the druggie?”

- “It’s not me, I swear to God, it’s not me!” Randy pleaded just to get an elbow to the ribs, curtesy of Tatum

- Poor guy clearly had no clue what scheme he had fallen into

- “None of them, partner. They’re all clean.” He motioned to the counter where random belonging such as jewelry and wallets were on display, “They handed me all they had on them.”

- You only see the small velvet box when Dewey reaches for it, that’s also the very second your heart attempts to do a somersault straight out of your chest but luckily your ribs prevent it from escaping

- “But um...I needed an excuse to get you here, without scaring you too much, of course...it’s not a question you can answer over the phone after all...”

- He got down on one knee before you, opening the box to reveal the beautiful engagement ring it contained

- “Now that you’re here, might as well make your trip worth it....so, will you Y/N M/N Prescott, do me the honor of making me the happiest man on the planet and agree to spending the rest of your life with me, as miserable as that may sound?” You barely registered the snicker from your sister and her friends as he continued, “Y/N, will you marry me?”

- “And you do not have the right to remain silent right now.” Stu tells you, cracking up his peers and Dewey as well

- “Why would I?” You asked lookin from him to the man in front of you, “I already have my answer....” You gulped back the tears of joy before speaking up again, “Of course I’ll marry you, you dummy. Is that even a question?!”

- The cheering that echoed throughout the house would’ve never been thought to come from only five teenagers and not an entire mob of them

- But you barely noticed it as you embraced and kissed your fiancée, the sparkle of the ring now dawning your finger

- You first exchanged hugs with Sidney and Tatum who, unlike you, were in tears

- “I owe you big time.” You whispered in their ear as you embraced them

- Little did you know, Dewey said the same thing

- Rightfully so, without their interference you would still be at square one

- And man, did you hate that square

[knox-knocks]

Andreil as uncles? With Aaron’s kids? As in, a situation where this is completely normal for Andrew, Neil, Aaron and Katelyn, but the rest of the Foxes are just dumbfounded. Like, is this the same Andrew and Neil we’ve known for so long? Are you sure I’m not seeing things? Just, really fluffy.

this isn't exactly what you asked for, but I couldn't get this scene out of my head so I hope this is okay :]

~

The lights were on in the kitchen when Neil wandered down the hall. Voices drifted toward him, flitting over top the sound of drawers opening and the hum of the refrigerator.

"Don't tell you dad," Andrew said. "He'll think I'm teaching you bad habits."

"Never." Another giggle.

"Shh."

Neil popped his head around the corner. From his vantage point, he could see perfectly in the kitchen without being spotted in return. Andrew had his back to him, all soft black t-shirt and armbands, gray sweatpants and blonde, sleep-rumpled hair. One of Aaron and Katelyn's twins stood in front of him, a cloud of ginger curls like a halo around her tiny, freckled face. Neil thought it might have been Maddie.

Neil stepped out of the shaded hallway. "What are you two troublemakers up to?" he said.

Andrew turned, spoon in one hand and double chocolate chunk ice cream in the other. "Uh-oh, Mads," he said. "We've been caught red-handed."

Maddie hid behind Andrew's legs. She peeked one green eye at Neil. "It was Uncle Andrew's idea."

Andrew pressed his hand against his chest in mock pain. "I feel so betrayed. This is me, betrayed and broken," he deadpanned.

"Are you going to tell my dad?" Maddie asked, hands clasped behind her back and chin dipped toward her chest.

Neil tapped his finger to his chin as he pretended to consider his answer. "Sneaking out of bed to eat ice cream at midnight?" he said. "You secret is safe with me. If you give me a bite of ice cream."

Maddie scurried over with a spoon full of ice cream. Neil accepted it and took a little bite. He grimaced, nose wrinkling when he was hit with the full force of the chocolatey sweetness. Andrew's eyes glistened with amusement.

"There," Neil said. "Mutually assured destruction."

"Go on to bed, Mads," Andrew said. "Uncle Neil and I will get rid of the evidence."

When Maddie's footsteps disappeared down the hall and Neil heard her door close, Neil raised his eyebrows at Andrew. Andrew stared back at him and stuck another spoonful of ice cream in his mouth.

"Maddie had a nightmare and couldn't sleep," Andrew said. "I thought ice cream would cheer her up."

"Aw, uncle Andrew," Neil teased.

"Shush, you're just as soft as me."

Neil didn't argue. He stepped in front of Andrew and leaned against his chest when Andrew wrapped his arms around his waist. There was a bit of chocolate on his lip so Neil kissed it off.

"I'm finishing the ice cream," Andrew whispered against his lips.

Neil breathed a quiet laugh. He would expect nothing less.

[fandomfiish]

I’m a mess, but I’m the mess that you wanted

The five times Charlie noticed Knox, and the one time Knox did.

1.

Charlie Dalton never forgot how he and Knox Overstreet met, back in grade school when he and Neil were practically glued together (bond brothers, he remembered Neil call them that once). The two already have their dynamics honed in; Neil the studious and golden child, and Charlie the excitable troublemaker.

And frankly, Charlie didn’t care about it that much, he was having fun after all!

But on their first day in 3rd grade, their adviser introduced this new kid.

He was slightly taller than Charlie, and at that time that’s all Charlie knew since he didn’t pay attention to him that much.

That is until Neil started to talk to Knox, and in addition Charlie.

“Hi! I’m Neil Perry, it’s nice to meet you!” Neil greets in a soft tone, something that Charlie knows all too well.

Knox, on the other hand, was shy, well other than being the new kid in the class it seems like he doesn’t talk that much before Neil approached them.

“O-Oh! I’m Knox Overstreet, N-Nice to meet you too!” That was the first time he saw Knox smile.

“You look good when you smile.” He spoke without thinking, and the way he saw Knox's smile widen and a soft thank you, that little word vomit might’ve been worth it.

From that day on Knox was slowly integrated to their duo, making them a triple threat (Charlie’s idea, which Neil and Knox actually liked).

2.

Came high school and their trio has sufficiently evolved into a friend group as Meeks, Pitts, and Cameron joined in.

He liked them all, and he really did enjoy their company.

After all, Neil has always been good at judging characters.

But Charlie was of course closer to Neil and Knox, the latter which he teasingly calls Knoxious.

And well he’ll take these boys as his family rather than his real ones.

This year, Neil and Charlie are roommates. Which makes their daily hangouts with the other boys easier than having an extra member who they don’t know.

Happened once with Sticks but everyone got along with him that they call him an honorary member of their group.

Today he was hanging out with Knox since the others are busy with their clubs and Knox got himself sick after an accident involving the lake which Knox doesn’t seem privy to telling any of them.

So now here he was, sitting on Knox's desk chair while Knox is resting on his own bed, beads of sweat falling on his forehead as Charlie stood up to wipe it.

“So Knoxious, even I can’t know why you got sick?” Charlie asked with the now-signature grin that he gives to his friends when he’s up to no good.

“No.” Knox's reply was weak and if it wasn’t for the silent room, he might’ve not heard it. “It’s embarrassing.” A groan came out of Knox's mouth when he hears Charlie laugh.

“Oh come on, you of all people should know that I’m a man with many embarrassing moments, so no need to hide something like that to me.” Charlie grins, yet his tone is filled with concern, which Knox noticed.

“I tripped while biking back to Welton. It's because I almost ran over to squirrel so I went right but … yeah you know what happened.” Knox sounded so small Charlie thought it was cute.

Cute.

Cute???

Before he can even wrap his mind about calling Knox Overstreet cute, the man in question coughs which Charlie immediately went by his side.

“That’s nothing to be embarrassed about Knoxious! You saved a squirrel and saved yourself from animal cruelty!” A smile appears in Knox’s face when he said that, something that now with the recent confession has a lot more meaning now.

“Way to make things better Charlie.” His smile subsided, but it was still there. “Thanks.”

A smile appears on Charlie's own face, a warm genuine one.

“Oh, no need to thank me Knoxious.” His smile turns into a smirk. “You just only need to be my study buddy for the whole year.”

This has always been them, Charlie joking around and surprisingly Knox joking back. It’s normal for them, but why does it feel different?

Was it because of the offhand comment of him calling Knox cute?

No, it’s something else, something more than that.

And he found himself the answer.

When Knox laughs, he felt a swarm of butterflies inside his stomach, his face growing warm not because of how lovely Knox's laugh sounds. But at his own realization of what was going on.

He’s not dumb, he knew that a guy can like on another guy. His parents although shitty as they may be, weren’t homophobic but just tolerating it.

And well he’s not exactly what you can call straight either.

And he likes Knox.

He likes Knox, more than just a friend.

“Hey, Charlie.” Knox removed him from his own machinations as he stared at the man in his mind in a daze.

“Thanks for staying with me today man, I know you have places you want to be more than this but I appreciate you staying.” Knox yawns and smiles at Charlie sending another swarm of butterflies attacking him.

“O-Of course Knox.” His tone was affectionate and so was his smile as he saw Knox’s eyes slowly shut. “Anything for you.”

And he means it.

3.

Todd Anderson is an interesting fellow, Charlie notes.

He was really shy which is probably why he and Knox got this whole kinship with being introverted. Which was an adorable sight to see them talking.

He himself got close to Anderson, that’s how he found out that beneath that shy exterior is a little shit who’s really fun to joke around with. Although he does have a warm side, who takes care of the poets or somehow knows what to say when they needed it.

Suffice to say, Charlie understood why Neil has fallen head over heels for their new friend.

And hell, he can’t really speak for anything. After all, he’s still in love with the other Introvert, Knox.

With the new revelation, he found himself getting better at hiding his newfound feelings for the other as well as their other friends.

Except for Neil and Todd.

The Former was exactly the night after he found out about his newfound feelings for Knox.

The Latter? Hell, Todd seems to know everything they're feeling except for Neil’s crush on him, and to be honest, Charlie thinks that’s funny and sad at the same time.

“Thinking of a certain tall brunette?” Todd cut him off from his thoughts as he found himself back at the present.

“I for one, certainly know I’m not the only one who’s thinking of a tall brunette.” Charlie found himself smirking when Todd's face reddened due to his words.

Oh yeah, Todd also has feelings for Neil. Apparently, he trusts Charlie to tell him that, even though Charlie explains that the two of them were so obvious he knew the others probably have an idea, to Todd’s dismay.

“Yeah, you’re right. Fucker.” And the two of them share a laugh. And after that subsided Charlie sighs.

“At least yours is gay, unlike mine who’s as straight as a rod.”

“Oh, you don’t know it until you ask him, Charlie, you know him better than all of us.”

“That’s why I know he’s straight, I know him.”

“But … you can’t just keep pinning on him.”

“Rich words coming from you, Toddy.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

“No worries.” Charlie lit up a cigarette and put it in his mouth, inhaling before exhaling a puff of smoke. “Plus, I don’t think he likes me that way, if ever he’s not straight.”

“How do you know?” Todd asks.

“Chris Noel.”

Todd recognized the name and his face fell, looking at Charlie with sympathy. Charlie remembered Knox coming home from visiting the Danbury’s for the night with this love-struck look that Charlie saw him have before.

He tried his best to not break his smile, to put on a face even as if his heart was slowly breaking inside. He’s never seen Knox like this before, talking in awe like the person he’s talking about is god.

He remembers making a joke of asking if he’s seen her naked only to get an unamused answer from Knox himself.

He remembers waiting for Todd to leave the study room so they could talk.

He remembers how much his heart ached at the person he loves finding love in someone else. But he’s also happy that Knox finally found someone, he deserved someone who would love him unconditionally, and not a fuck up like him.

So, despite Todd looking at him with sympathy, he decided to help Knox out by courting Chris.

Which usually is full of Charlie reprimanding him from the outlandish ideas that Knox comes up with.

“No Knoxious you will not go to her school to go look for her, that’s like stalking.”

“But-“

“No.”

Knox sighs. “Fine.”

You may call Charlie an idiot for helping his own crush to get together with his crush but what can Charlie do? He’s his friend first and foremost, and the last thing he wants to lose is his friendship with Knox.

And if him just gazing at Knox the way Chris never does when he does anything in the distance is all he can do to see Knox happy, then he’ll take that unrequited love.

There was a sudden knock on the door, to which Charlie opens revealing Knox, who was smiling at both of them, but mostly at Charlie.

“Hey, Charlie and Todd!” He greets them cheerfully, to which Todd just smiles and waves back, and Charlie got back into this character, wearing his signature grin.

“What seems to be the occasion to see you so happy Knoxious?” He asks, his smirk melting into a smile.

“I … Remember the play Neil is going to play in Henley Hall? The Midsummer Nights Dream?” He asks, Todd smiling at the mention of his crush and the play he’s gotten himself to play as the role he wanted.

Charlie is so proud of Neil that he’s finally been doing what he wanted. Proud to hear about him getting the role and everything. He could say it’s all thanks to Mr. Keating and Todd.

“Yeah? We’re going to go there with Mr. Keating.” Todd supplies, and giving a knowing look to Charlie sends him a grateful look.

“Chris agreed to go watch the play with me.” He seemed breathless when he said that, the smile he was wearing transformed into a grin as he basically bounced up and down in place with how happy he was. “She said that if the night was unsatisfactory, I’ll leave her be, but I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen.”

He felt his smile fix on his face, and judging by the slight flicker of Knox’s features, he’d noticed.

Oh, he’d fucking noticed, alright, and Charlie scrambled to cover it up, to force himself to lean somewhat casually against the back of the chair as he slid his hands into his pockets. Fuck, fuck, fuck, his heart was tearing in two in his chest and he had to pretend that he was happy for Knox.

Which, in a way that made him want to laugh bitterly up at the ceiling, he was. He was delighted for Knox, genuinely. He wanted Knox to be happy, wanted him to full of love with a partner that could always be around for him, could always be on here.

Charlie just wished that it was him. “That’s so great Knox, I’m so happy for you!” He means it, that despite the fact that Knox is going on a date with Chris on the night of Neil’s performance, he’s glad that Knox’s persistence is now producing results (Although he reprimanded Knox so many times at moments where he thinks Knox was being too much. Which saved Knox from being beaten up by Chet Danbury, Chris’s current boyfriend.

“Thanks, Charlie!” Knox looks at him with a curious glance, before it went away instantly. “This wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t there by my side.” And suddenly he felt warm, and arms were wrapped behind his back as Knox hugs him, it was warm, comforting, and everything Charlie wanted. But it was gone as Knox withdraws.

He hears Todd saying his congratulations but he knows without looking at Todd that he’s looking at him.

“Anyway, I have to tell the others about it! I’ve already told Neil but the others haven’t yet so I’ll see you guys later?” Knox smiles as he looks at Charlie who nods. “Sure! See you later you lover boy!” That got Knox to laugh before he smiled and waved before leaving the room.

The room was silent for a few minutes, with Charlie just staring at the door where Knox just left, and Todd looking at Charlie.

That’s when Charlie felt something warm falling from his cheeks, and after wiping some, it was torn.

His tears.

He’s crying, and he didn’t even realize it.

And maybe it was the revelation that he was crying when everything crashed down.

He felt his knees give out as he fell to the floor, he can hear Todd yelping before rushing towards his side, he can feel his hands rubbing his back in a soothing motion. Yet all he can hone in is how much his heart is aching, how much all of the butterflies that were once in his stomach transformed into moths, slowly eating him inside like he was made of clothing.

Love hurts.

He found out that day.

And he finally let out a sob as he and Todd stayed there as he let it all out.

4.

“I now announce the beginning of tonight’s meeting.” Neil’s voice is loud inside the cave, yet the poets are all used to it by now. Knox was missing because he’s visiting the Danbury’s again and in addition Chris.

So, Charlie thought this was a perfect time to recite his poem, with the help of Todd. About Knox.

And it’s not now he chose because he’s afraid of Knox finding out, well he is. But this piece was more of him letting out his feelings and he doesn’t want Knox finding out.

“Hey, guys.”

Speak of the devil and he shall come.

Knox stood at the entrance of the cave, disheveled but with a smile on his face. “I hope I’m not late?’

Neil smiles. “No, we’ve just begun! How about your meeting with the Danbury’s how did it go?”

Knox shrugs. “Chris wasn’t there because she got sick, and I can’t go there because Chet was there, so I thought why not just join the poets meeting for tonight.”

“Good to know we’re your last option Knoxious.” Charlie teased, trying to ignore the look Todd is giving him since Knox showed up.

And Knox pouts, and Charlie stopped himself from cooing as his smile grew wider. “Of course not, you will always be my first choice.”

And maybe he was reading things wrong but the way Knox said it felt intimate, and you can’t blame Charlie for believing that it was for him. After all, dreaming is all he can do.

“So now that we are complete for tonight, and the play is tomorrow night. Let’s start the meeting, shall we?” Neil proposes, and everyone agreed.

Knox found himself sitting beside Charlie and Todd, which wasn’t unusual since that has always been his place whenever they have meetings.

And now Charlie starts to contemplate whether to read his poem now that Knox is here.

He won’t know it’s about him though, and it’s a good way to know if he’s into guys. His mind supplied, although it didn’t help the nerves he’s feeling as Neil starts the meeting with a piece Todd wrote.

-

The meeting was about to end before Charlie stood up, catching everyone’s attention.

“Gentlemen, I’d like to end this meeting with my own creation.” He starts, back in character. “With the help of my lovely good friend Toddy here.” He points to where Todd was, who despite the smile on his face, his eyes held concern.

An obvious question of “Are you sure?” Written all over it.

Charlie replied with a smile.

“This piece is titled Who the Heart Beats For.”

This seemingly got everyone’s attention, even Knox.

And with a shaky inhale he starts.

“He runs his fingertips over my walls like they’re the most exquisite thing he’s ever seen. It’s ironic, is it not? Who the heart beats for?

I hide my vulnerabilities from him, not for fear of falling but because I know I already did.

And I know what that feels like; to watch the one you ache for fall like rain and not feel a single drop, to finally see all the love inside them and realize it was never meant for you.”

The applause was all he heard after that, but his eyes honed on Knox. Who was not clapping, instead of staring at him, an unreadable expression on his face and this is the first time Charlie couldn’t read Knox, and it scared him?

Does he know? Is he going to treat him differently now? Will he lose Knox? So many questions and the only thing that kept him in the anchor was when Knox’s mouth moved.

“Who was that for?” A simple question, yet it silenced the room in an instant. Some were curious about who it was for, but for those who knew they were silent because they absolutely know what Charlie was going to say, and it’s not going to be Knox’s name.

“Just a person that I love, I see him as the light of my life.” Charlie smiles, a pained one. “Sadly, he doesn’t see me at all.”

A beat passes before Charlie acted a yawn. “Anyway, since the meeting is done I’ll head on first, you better not have fun without me.” He forces a grin, meeting Knox’s eye once more before he left the cave.

Slowly the other poets followed suit after Neil left to go Charlie but only Todd knew that at that time.

Charlie slept that night tired, heartbroken but somewhat glad he managed to confess (well not exactly) to Knox.

He’ll just have to survive tomorrow, and maybe… just maybe he can start moving on from Knox.

But even he knew that was impossible.

He’ll always love Knox.

5.

Todd was about to leave the cave when it was just him and Knox inside, the others have left for the night and Todd waited for Knox to leave before he left, but the other was just silent. Deep in thought, Todd could’ve sworn this is the first time he saw Knox this focused on thinking.

Understanding that Knox isn’t going anytime soon he stood up, ready to leave when Knox suddenly spoke.

“Hey, Todd.” He starts, he was talking slow as if he doesn’t know how to approach whatever this talk would be.

Todd has an idea, but hopefully, if it’s about that it’s a good kind of talk.

“Uh … Have Charlie told you about anyone he’s seeing recently?” He sounded so small.

“No? He hasn’t really talked about the person when he asked for my help.” He explained, ignoring the part of his head that’s screaming to tell it's he who’s that poem was written for.

“Oh.” Knox looks surprised at that. “It’s just, I thought if he’s seeing someone, I’ll be the first to know.” Knox is pouting now, and Todd is trying his best to think of a way to get out of this situation without telling Charlie’s feelings for Knox.

“Well.” Todd starts. “You’ve been always talking about Chris this past few months so maybe Charlie thought that he’d rather not share it.”

“I just-“ Knox started to speak, and that’s when Todd realized something. And if he is right, and god hopes he is, then that'll be good for Charlie and Knox.

“Why do you seem so intrigued about it?” Todd asked, voice slow as he saw Knox staring at him like a deer in a headlight.

“I’m just glad that he’s found someone, but It was just sudden and I got curious?” He sounded unsure. “I think I’ll just ask him.” And Knox was already standing but Todd stopped him.

“Listen here, Knox.” Todd starts, might as well go all-in on them, right? “Before you ask him, can you ask yourself first why you want to know so bad? Why do you want to find out who managed to make Charlie feel this way? Who managed to make him feel like he’s not seen by him? Answer those first on your own before you go ask Charlie.” And even before Knox could stop him, he left the cave.

And as Todd walks back to his and Neil’s room, he thought that tomorrow a lot of things will change. Not only with his and Neil’s relationship but maybe … and hopefully Charlie and Knox’s too.

And when he heard “Shit, I’m an oblivious idiot.”

Maybe it will be for the better.

+1

Ever since Knox met Charlie, he felt a magnetic pull to him. So, it was inevitable that they became so close.

As the year grows, so did they. And sure, at that time he realized that Charlie treats him differently than Neil or the others but he didn’t pay it no mind. Thought it was just some kinship between the two of them.

And then came high school and Todd Anderson and Chris Noel arrived.

The former was a welcome addition to their group and seems to be already good friends with Neil with how close they were.

The latter though, he met her on the Danbury’s home. Apparently, she and Chet were dating due to their parents arranging it. Well, that’s what she said when she suddenly pulled him outside of the Danbury’s house.

“I know this is too much to ask Knox, I know we’ve only been met but I really need your help.” Chris looked at Knox, pleading at him.

“I uh…” Now this is a problem, Knox thought this will be just a normal dinner if he’s honest and he would’ve liked to get Charlie’s point of view here, but alas he’s alone and he already knew what he was going to say. “Sure… what do I need to do though?”

“We need a reason to break up since we both like other people, me and Chet.” She then looks at the window behind them, Knox saw that it was Ginny Danbury herself reading what it seems to be a theatre playbook which he would’ve only known if it weren’t for Neil.

‘You like Ginny?” Knox asks in a whisper, and Chris smiles before nodding. “Oh, you two would make a great couple.”

That made Chris smile brighter. “You think? Oh, I’m glad you’re not a homophobe”

“Everyone should love whoever they want to.”

“Aww, Thank you, Knox.”

“But enough about that, for now, let’s talk about this plan you have before you start fawning about Ginny.” Knox smiles, and Chris pouts before she starts speaking.

“We just need a reason to break up, and I thought that maybe a third party would help?” Knox then looked at her. “But that’ll paint me as the bad guy though?”

“Almost all of the students know about our situation, only the adults though,” Chris explains.

“My parents will kill me if they ever find out.” Chris seems to contemplate for a second. “Chet and I will have that covered. Plus, I know your parents don’t care as much about your relationships as your future.”

“I guess your right.” Knox thought of how many times this can go wrong, but he can’t say no to helping people. “Fine, I’ll help.” Knox smiles at her, which she returns.

“Since almost everyone other than the adults know, you can tell your friends,” Chris said once they stood up, about to go back inside when they heard Ginny calling for them.

“Oh, you’re right.” Knox thought of it, he should tell them, especially Charlie maybe he can help him in being convincing. “So that there won’t be any misunderstanding, don’t forget to tell them, Knox.”

“I will.” He smiled before they went back inside.

He’ll tell them.

-

He didn’t.

Well, he didn’t get a chance to.

It’s been two months, and Knox just couldn’t get a chance to tell the poets about his situation with Chris. What they know is that he has a crush on her and that he goes out with her.

And while he couldn’t tell the situation to Charlie, he helped him a lot in making it more convincing, even reprimanding Knox when he says something borderline problematic. Well, he knew that, but Chris said they need it to be convincing, and well even before they execute the said plan, he and Chris (along with Chet sometimes) would talk about it to be on the same page.

And now he was walking Neil and Todd’s room, knowing that Charlie and Todd would be hanging out today. He’s glad that Todd and Charlie get along so well.

So, when he saw both Todd and Charlie, the latter who opened the door he smiled. He was glad to see them.

If Knox was honest, he’s glad that Charlie came into his life, and seeing him every day does make him feel better.

So, when he told them about his plans of going to the play with Chris, he noticed the way Charlie's smile froze.

Knox couldn’t figure out why, though, and it was killing him. Even as he starts walking to find the others and break the news he couldn’t stop thinking about Charlie.

But he realized, he never really stopped thinking about Charlie.

-

Knox bid goodbye to the poets as he went to the Danbury’s to talk to Chris, sacrificing his time with the poets because he knew this is important.

“Chris I need to talk to you.”

“Oh, I need to talk to you about something as well” Chris smiles as they meet up at Ginny’s room. And from Knox’s perspective, the two seem to be closer than he remembers.

“Oh, you go first then.” Knox smiles back as he situated himself in the desk chair.

“Ok, This is good news I promise you,” Chris promised before holding Ginny’s hands with a grin. And from the way Ginny was looking at Chris, Knox knew what happens as his face changed from confusion, to surprise to happiness.

“It finally happened! Congrats you two!”

“Thanks, Knox, you helped a lot.” Knox knew Chris meant it, and he felt happy that she got what she wanted.

“So does that mean?” Knox held his hope up. Hoping that what he wanted to be done happen and that'll be a win-win situation for both him and Chris.

“Yeah, we and Chet made a show of breaking up hours ago before I confessed to Ginny.” Her smile grew wider. “So that means we don’t have to pretend we’re dating but we can just hang out as friends!”

“That’s Great!” Knox's voice went higher than usual which caused the two to look at him curiously. “I mean, because what I was gonna ask you that we end the pretending?” And his mind darted to Charlie and he felt his chest constrict for a bit.

Chris noticed. “Did something happen?” Her eyes filled with concern as Knox probably looked like he was what would Mr. Keating call it? Bemused.

“So, remember when I told you that I’ll tell my friends?” Knox found it funny that Chris seems to understand quickly where this was going when she looks at him with pure disappointment.

“You didn’t tell them.”

“I didn’t.” He hung his head low as Chris groaned.

“Please tell me you at least told Charlie?” And when Knox couldn’t meet her eyes Chris sat straight, seemingly understanding his thought process. “This is about Charlie huh?”

Knox sighs because he himself doesn’t know how to approach this, which is weird, this is Charlie he’s talking about, probably the closest he’s been with the other poets.

“I … remember when you told me to tell them about you and me going to watch Ginny and Neil’s play tomorrow?” When Chris nods he continues. “Well, when I told him and Todd his smile froze for a single second, but I saw it. And it’s been bothering me since that day.”

Chris and Ginny looked at each other with a look of understanding. And Ginny was the one who spoke.

“Do you like Charlie, Knox?” Knox looks at them like they asked a ridiculous question.

“Of course, I like Charlie”

“No Knox.” Chris was the one who spoke this time, her voice is soft. “What we mean is that, do you like him more than just a friend?”

Well, it’s pretty obvious that Charlie Dalton is quite a looker, with a well-built body and a wonderful personality to boot, it’s obvious that Charlie’s a catch, but his mind hones on the fact that Charlie gives him more attention than the other poets, and that he liked that attention Charlie is giving to him because he doesn’t ask for it. And that Charlie’s smile and laugh have always been a sense of comfort to him. How Charlie was always there for him especially on his lowest.

Or that in retrospect, they probably acted like a couple.

And if it weren’t the fact that his face is heating and a swarm of butterflies appeared on his stomach, that made him realize…

It was the fact that he wanted to spend the rest of his days by Charlie’s side.

Oh.

“Oh.” And after a beat. “I like him.”

And after a few seconds Ginny and Chris smile. “Then why are you still here?”

Knox looked at them confused. “What?”

“Why are you still here.” Chris then helps Knox get up from the chair and ushers him to the door which Ginny opens. “When you should be there with Charlie?”

“I-“

“Go on and get your man Knox.” Ginny then took Chris's hands as they waved at him. “We’ll take care of here, so we better hear good news tomorrow!” Chris added before they smiled at him one last time before closing the door.

And Knox will thank them later, but for now.

He has to say something to Charlie.

And with the bicycle he had, he went back to Welton, to the Cave, and to Charlie.

--

Charlie looked surprised when he arrived, well in all of them were but Knox’s eyes were only on those green orbs. So, he smiled at Charlie, and when he smiled back, he feels elation.

What he planned was talking to Charlie after the meeting, He’ll confess and hopefully, Charlie feels the same way, and sure if he says yes they’ll have to hide their relationship because Welton isn’t exactly welcoming to people like them. But he’ll gladly take that chance if it’s Charlie.

But when Charlie spoke of his poetry, Knox felt his entire world crumble down.

Charlie likes someone?

And from the way he wrote it, it seems like the other person doesn’t know. He thought as his and Charlie’s eyes met. And before he knew it he spoke before he could even think about it.

“Who was that for?” And the way Charlie’s gaze at him froze, as well as the world around them caused Knox’s chest to ache. And it only worsened when Charlie didn’t answer him, excused himself, and left the cave.

And Knox stayed there, even if the others start to leave as well.

He felt at a loss, did he lose his chance with Charlie?

Why did he look so fearful for a second when Knox asked him?

He needed answers and the only one who could probably give them is about to leave the cave.

“Hey, Todd.” He starts, he purposely slowed his talking because even if he knows what he needs to ask Todd, he’s found himself tongue-tied. Is the fear of finding out the answer? Or something else entirely.

He looked at Todd with a desperate look, and when Todd nods after a beat he continues.

“Uh … Have Charlie told you about anyone he’s seeing recently?” In hindsight, a part of him knew that even if Todd did know who this mystery person is, he won’t tell Knox. That’s just the kind of person Todd is.

But Knox can’t lie he didn’t want to at least try.

When Todd answers him, he saw the way he hesitates, and although Knox wanted to pry he would probably be better off asking Charlie himself. If the other would actually want to talk to him.

“Oh,” Knox replies. “It’s just, I thought if he’s seeing someone, I’ll be the first to know.” Knox pouts, he meant what he said. He’s probably the closest to Charlie and it did sting for a little, and not because of his newfound feelings for Charlie.

“Well.” Todd starts. “You’ve been always talking about Chris this past few months so maybe Charlie thought that he’d rather not share it.”

Fuck.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Him not being able to tell them to bit him back, he thought that maybe he could them once it was over, but because Charlie thought they were going out, he thought that Knox wouldn’t want to listen to him talk about his own crush, and the odd pain his chest only grew stronger.

“I just-“ Knox starts to speak, hoping to find anything to ask him, to say anything before Todd leaves him here to his thoughts.

“Why do you seem so intrigued about it?”

It was a simple question in hindsight. But it shook Knox to the core, why is he so intrigued about it? Is it because of these newfound feelings he has for his best friend? Maybe.

“I’m just glad that he’s found someone, but It was just sudden and I got curious?” He was honest when he said that, genuinely happy that Charlie found someone although from the way he spoke in the poem, it looks like for now it’s unrequited.

“I think I’ll just ask him.” And Knox was already standing thinking that he can’t sleep tonight if he doesn’t get the answers from Charlie but before He could take a step forward Todd stopped him.

“Listen here, Knox.” Todd starts “Before you ask him, can you ask yourself first why you want to know so bad? Why do you want to find out who managed to make Charlie feel this way? Who managed to make him feel like he’s not seen by him? Answer those first on your own before you go ask Charlie.” Surprised at what Todd said that he wasn’t able to stop Todd from leaving, he felt himself sit down again.

The very question he needed to answer is simple. Why?

Why is finding out who made Charlie feel this way so important to him?

Who was the guy who Charlie sees but can’t see Charlie?

His mind then wanders back to his memories with Charlie, of how often they would hang out just the two of them.

How Charlie was there whenever he’s sick.

How Charlie always has this look of affection to him.

Like he’s important to him.

Like … Love.

Love. Love. Love.

Oh my god, Charlie loves me?

Knox at first thought it was a very ridiculous idea that formed on his head because he was already figuring out his feelings for Charlie but also the fact that he really can’t see anyone else that would fit the bill except for him.

And that’s why it hurts more.

Because he’s the one Charlie described in the poem.

He should have known. Now looking at things from this perspective, all of their interactions, the way Charlie looked at him, how he took care of him. Everything was done with love.

And Knox, like Charlie’s poem, told didn’t see him.

And now he does. But maybe it’s too late.

Everything makes sense now, how Charlie’s smile froze when he talked about Chris and him going to watch together tomorrow. Or how there’s a flash of fear in Charlie’s face when he asked to whom it was written for.

He hates himself that of all things he could’ve been oblivious to, it was the feelings of his best friend, Charlie.

“Shit, I’m an oblivious idiot,” Knox said out loud, speaking to no one except for himself.

Looking back into it Charlie was like a second home, somewhere comfortable when the expectations to him were just too much. It was familiar and cozy, much more relaxed than the whirlwind that was his family back home, and that was just one of the many things that he loved about Charlie-

Oh, shit. He loved Charlie.

Knox damn near choked on the air. Good thing there wasn’t any other person inside the cave at the time, which was perfectly fine with Knox, because he’d really like to die in peace right about now.

This one little fact made everything else make entirely too much sense. The way Charlie’s smile froze had nothing to do with why he couldn’t keep Charlie off of his mind; no, it was actually something much simpler than that, something that Knox realized now had been true all along. He just hadn’t seen it before. He’d been too wrapped up in their friendship, in the fun they had together to notice that he’d fallen so hard for Charlie.

His walk back to his dorm seemed to progress in fits and starts from then, with time speeding up and then halting beyond Knox’s control. One minute he was just exciting the cave, and the next he was walking towards Welton with the snow falling providing him with some company. Until he found himself lying down on his own bed.

Knox found the Welton sweater that Charlie borrowed a day ago. It smelled like Charlie.

He didn’t sleep a wink.

--

Neil’s performance was extraordinary, but if you’ll ask Knox or any of the poets, they’ll say they already knew that. Knox found himself clapping along noticing that theirs were the loudest, who can blame them? Their best friend finally was able to do what he loves, and he did it splendidly.

He’s currently sitting beside Chris, who was clapping for Ginny. He remembers her consoling him once they talked about what happened last night, said that this wouldn’t have happened if you told Charlie about their fake dating thing, and she was right. But she told him that if he really wants this to work, he should apologize to Charlie and if given the chance, well go for it and confess.

And that’s what’s happening now, after going outside to buy some freshly picked roses from the conveniently placed flower shop besides Henley Hall, Knox found himself running back inside when a swarm of people were leaving the hall, causing him to slow down.

After a few excuses and making it through waves of people, Knox bumped into none other than Todd Anderson who eyes the bouquet of roses and gave him a questioning glance.

“Whos’ that for?” Todd asks, but somehow Knox knew he already knows.

“Charlie.” He spoke it in a way that only Todd can hear, cause after all they’re still in public. But when he saw the way Todd’s smile appear, it may have seemed that his earlier guess was true.

“Don’t fuck it up, Knox.” Todd’s tone was affectionate but he also knew the other meaning of it, and he knew Todd doesn’t need to say it.

He won’t hurt Charlie, never again.

And with a nod, Todd points him to where he last saw Charlie, which was still inside the hall.

“Now go, Mr. Keating already told that other that you two will be walking home,” Todd said before they part ways.

“Wait does he know?” Knox asks Todd who just shrugs. “Probably, but don’t worry about it.”

And Knox won’t, cause Mr. Keating is unlike the other adults. He was actually a good parental figure. He thought as he walked to find Charlie.

And there he was, Charlie Dalton who was wearing a suit and tie that looked good on him. Knox felt his heartbeat quicken as he hastens his walk.

“Charlie!” Knox ran as fast as he can, despite the waves of people trying to leave the Henley Hall he pushed through, hoping to catch up to the smaller yet somewhat faster Charlie.

Once he caught up, he looked at Charlie who was wearing a surprised yet worried expression.

He always has that expression whenever he looks at me, I’m an idiot for not noticing it.

There was a beat before someone spoke, Charlie, Knox noted as he saw him smirk.

“I thought you were with Chris?” Charlie’s voice that’s should’ve been teasing faltered, and Knox thought what left was somewhat questioning and a little bit hopeful?

“I-“ Knox wasn’t good with words, he’s the silent of their trio for Pete sakes, and now he’s talking to Charlie himself, the one who has a lot to say.

Charlie’s eyebrows raise, his smile faltered and his expression turned into concern, and Knox couldn’t help but feel like an asshole for not noticing these things in the past and only noticing it now because he loves Charlie Dalton.

With the revelation, something that should’ve been too obvious but he knew it was his fault for being oblivious to the obvious different treatment he gets from Charlie. He found himself a boost of confidence, finally finding the words he wanted to say.

“D-Do you remember the poem you wrote to us yesterday? Where you said that the person you like would never see you as you see them?”

Charlie looked surprised at the question, seemingly not what he expected to be asked of him, and he lets out a nervous chuckle. There it was again, the flash of fear on Charlie’s eyes.

“Yeah? What of it?”

This is it. Knox thought, now or never.

“I see you.” He takes a step forward with the smile Charlie saw him do when he finally managed to make Knox laugh for the first time. “I see you, Charlie Dalton.”

And Charlie looked at him bewildered at what he just said.

“Y-You see me?” Charlie for the first time seems out of words. “H-How did you know it was about you? Did Todd-“

“Todd didn’t tell me, though he did help me realize how oblivious I have been about your feelings, and about my own feelings about you.” Knox's tone was low and genuine, there weren’t a lot of people inside the theatre but they still needed to lay low.

There was a flicker of hope on Charlie’s face, and he smiles. “Is that so?”

“Yes.” Knox was breathless, who wouldn’t when you see Charlie’s smile?

“But.” Charlie looked around, before grabbing Knox’s hand and starts pulling him off the theatre. “Explain yourself how this-“ His other hand points to Knox and then himself. “- this happened.”

“Todd told me that Mr. Keating and the others will go on ahead, so I can explain while we walk?” Knox tries his hardest, but he can’t ignore how he’s holding hands with Charlie now, something that once felt so normal to them now fills his heart with endless warmth.

Charlie noticed it too, the only indication that he did was when Charlie squeezed his hand.

And then they walk out of the Henley Hall, and back to Welton.

--

While they were walking Charlie waited for Knox to start, cause first of all he can’t believe this is happening, like he was waiting for the punchline of this, that it’s all just a prank and that he’s dating Chris now.

He just can’t wrap his head with things working to his side.

And then he remembers Knox’s hand holding his as tightly as Charlie did and some of the nerves ebbed away.

He still needed an explanation though.

“Where do you want me to start?” Knox finally spoke.

Charlie thought about it, he was curious about the whole Knox situation. “Maybe start with Chris?”

Knox must’ve realized something because what happened next genuinely surprised Charlie.

“Sure, but before that…” The bouquet of roses he was once holding behind his back, which Charlie did notice but at first thought, it was for Chris is now presented to him, and despite the lighting, he can see a blush on his face. “This flowers for you.”

“Oh.” Charlie sound genuinely surprised, and from the way, Knox’s smile warms up he guesses that he knows that too. “Oh please Knox, what if I’m not a flower type of guy?” He teases Knox who looked absolutely mortified.

“Are you not?”

“I am,” Charlie smirks and Knox did the same.

“Good, guess I have to learn more about flowers from today on then.”

“Hold on hot stuff.” Charlie laughs taking the flowers and holding on to it tight. “I still need an explanation before we go to” He points to him and Knox. “This.’

They found themselves near Welton, beside the now frozen lake, and Charlie decides they take a break and sit in one of the trees that’s covering the falling snow.

“First,” Knox finally begins “I want to apologize, because I wanted to tell you and the others about it but I just didn’t have the time, and I know that’s not an excuse because we always hang out but-“Charlie gave him a look that means to get to the point and Knox sees this and smiles apologetically.

“But the whole me and Chris thing was fake.” Charlie’s eyes widen. “She and Chet needed help to find a way to break up from their parent's arranged dating they had on them. And also, because they love someone else.”

“W-Wait hold on.” Charlie looked incredulous. “You should’ve said something Knoxious! To think that I was jealous for nothing.”

“You were jealous of Chris?” And Charlie didn’t even need to look at the shit-eating grin that Knox’s has on the face right now.

“Oh shut up.”

“Chris is like a sister to me.” Knox held a soft smile. “Plus she’s already taken.”

Charlie nods, well that’s one thing down. “You still have to make it up to me.” He then looks at Knox again. “Were you even planning on telling us this tonight?”

“I was going to tell everyone else because I have my priorities right now.” Knox smiles. “And what, pray tell could this priority be?”

“You.”

“That was so lame Knox.” He laughs and blames Charlie for warming up due to those words. “But it’s sweet.”

But despite that Knox didn’t give him a verbal confirmation of his feelings, which he thinks Knox has but a part of his brain wanted to hear it from Knox himself.

“Knox.” He starts. “When did this start?”

Knox looked at him, and then looked at the falling snow. “I honestly don’t know. Everything felt natural with you, and I was too oblivious to the fact that I’ve fallen for you.”

He looks back at Charlie, and he felt his breath stop at the sheer adoration in his eyes. And if you’ll say that it’ll be directed to Charlie, he would laugh at you. But it’s happening now, and he can’t believe it.

“Honestly though.” Knox looks sheepish. “I don’t know how to do this. But I am willing to try with you.”

Charlie ignores the multiplying butterflies on his stomach and smirks. “Do you love me that much Knox?”

Knox sighs, feigning annoyance. “Unfortunately.”

“Oh, shut up I’m a catch!”

“Sadly, you are.”

“Still.” Knox looks at Charlie. “You should’ve said something earlier.”

“You looked so happy when you talk about Chris, and I just wanted you to be happy.”

‘You did help me a lot and well … reprimanded me a lot.”

“You did a lot of stupid shit; may it be fake or not.”

“Uh don’t remind me.”

“Will forever will.””

Knox groans which causes Charlie to laugh to which Knox followed suit. Charlie noticed that the two of them slowly got closer while they were talking, that their shoulders are touching.

Knox’s eyes are on him.

“I really want to kiss you right now, Charlie.”

“Well, Knox.” Despite his teasing tone his mind is still trying to process that this is actually happening. “I’ll tell you that you’re a mess.”

Knox looks at the falling snow, and then at Charlie once again. “Then I’m a mess.” He smiles. “But I’m the mess you wanted”

Charlie smiles and grabs the back of Knox’s neck, the other lowering his height to meet Charlie as their lips met.

And it wasn’t the usual moviesque kisses that you watch. But to Charlie it felt perfect, with Knox’s soft lips on his, the hand on his neck that pulls him closer to kiss him better. The way this is what Charlie expects to feel when kissing Knox.

It was everything he can ask for.

When they separate later, he felt Knox’s pinky finger interlace with his.

“We should go back to Welton.”

Charlie wasn’t able to stand up though when the interlaced finger fully holds Charlie’s hand, unwilling to let go.

“Few more minutes?”

“Fine.” Charlie rests his head on Knox’s shoulder, who lay a kiss on top of it. “A few more minutes.”

“I love you, Knox Overstreet.”

“I love you too, Charlie Dalton.”

[propaganda-for-poets]

Hi! I’m back with another hc question! What inside/running jokes do the poets have with one another, and who started them? And a separate question, what do the rest of the student body think of the poets? Like are they famous or just another friend group and also are specific poets more famous than the others? I’ve always thought that Neil and Cameron would be famous as fairy godmothers who help poor first years with their homework and finding classes and stuff. Also Meeks is the library cryptid and you can’t tell me otherwise.

oooooo ok let's see!!!! this is going to be kind of a long post by the way, so buckle up

inside jokes

meeks and pitts def have like a shit ton of really confusing inside jokes and no one has no idea what they're talking about, they also pretty much communicate exclusively in vines, it's fascinating to see these two interact, really. meeks and pitts also have a foam box hanging from the ceiling of their dorm. there's a story behind that, probably.

then neil and charlie also have a bunch since they're close, probably about stupid stuff they did in the past that may or may not have gotten them in trouble. they always share them with the group and let them in the joke so they can all laugh about it, it's fun to have their own things and they do have some of their own things but y'know they love their friends and they wanna share all the stupid stuff they did with them.

now i'm sure neil and todd have their inside jokes being hopelessly in love and everything but todd actually has a bunch of them with cameron, they hang out a lot cause they love their friends, they really do, but they could really use some peace and quiet sometimes. so they actually have a bunch of inside jokes, but they mostly keep them to themselves because they've seen each other do some ridiculous stuff they don't want the others to know they're capable of, they don't really need to know why whenever they see a chihuahua todd asks cameron if he's gonna hunt it down, nothing good could come out of it.

charlie and cameron have an ongoing joke about how many pairs of shoes can fit in their dorm's closet and they keep taking guesses. everyone thinks they're joking and it's just something stupid they came up with because they didn't know what to disagree over, it's all fun and games until one day neil walks in and sees them trying to push the door of a suspiciously full closet. they wanted to see who was right. no one knows where they found all those shoes.

the group has a lot of inside jokes in general because they keep doing weird shit, they definitely reference the poems they read in the cave all the time, whenever they call each other and one of them asks who is it the one on the other line answers "it's god", they make innuendos with weird latin words meeks teaches them and then laugh whenever they're said in class, stuff like that.

social status thing!

okay, i'm actually really excited about this one because i kinda wanted to talk about how welton views the poets seperately, outside of the friend group. cause like they obviously know them as a group, there are some rumors of a secret society here and there in welton and let's be honest, they're an odd bunch, neil and the new kid and whatever the hell pitts and meeks are and Charlie Dalton (tm) and knox who probably has a bit of a reputation as a romantic and then cameron????? like what do these people have to do with each other??? so there's a lot of rumors about them, as a group. but seperately!!!!! let's look into that shall we!!!!!!!!

okay, so neil is definitely popular. he's friendly, he's extroverted, involved in pretty much everything, overall really chill, people like him. they all kinda know there's something going on with him because everyone knows neil's gonna be a doctor but he's never showed any interest in it and he definitely strikes everyone as a creative kind, so they know there's something going on there but no one ever addresses it cause that's how high school students are. neil is kind of welton's golden boy, everybody loves him, and if someone doesn't they're probably a dick who wants to start fights.

todd doesn't have much of a reputation aside from "jeffrey anderson's brother" since he's new and also so quiet, everyone just thinks he's a little shy and some people think he's weird but no one ever dares touch a hair on his head because they know he's with neil, and neil will go berserk if anyone tries to hurt him. not that most of them would want to, todd never did anything to anyone but y'know how some people are. it's like in mean girls where no one dared fuck with anyone who was regina's friend? that's what it's like being friends with neil.

okay, we all know charlie has a bit of a reputation. he's a troublemaker, likes to joke around, probably has a few enemies around welton because he tends to,, punch people a lot. everyone thinks he's kinda cool, some people think he's just annoying, which he kind of is sometimes let's be honest. also a considerable amount of people thought he was in love with neil. he was not. how everyone figured that out i'll leave up to you but i have a,,, few ideas for my beloved little group of chameron shippers, hi guys what's up we're living off of crumbs :)

okay, meeks and pitts go together, we all know that, they actually have kind of a history with,,,,, starting shit, basically, it really started as an accident, they blew something up in the science lab, but then they just said fuck it and kept going over the years, causing a lot of stupid shit, and now all the teachers kinda have their eye on them (hence the demerits, yay). but even the conjoined twins have their own reputations. meeks,,,,,, is kinda shady ngl. people go to him for help with weird stuff. like random people. none of the poets know what this is about, the only thing they know is that he rents banned books to students, but that doesn't explain much. also yes he definitely is the library cryptid. pitts on the other hand is perceived as much more,,, legal that meeks. he's kinda the guy you can always go to for anything, pitts has approximately zero enemies in welton. a lot of people think he's a little stupid, for some reason. he's not. he's smart as shit and it takes ten minutes of hanging out with him to figure that out.

cameron's kinda obvious, people think he's boring and a stick in the mud, but he's still respected because he's clearly impressively smart and will help anyone with homework even if he has his own shit to deal with, which means he can pull the "you owe me one" card at anyone any time he wants to, also he's under the neil perry umbrella and welton doesn't fuck with people under the neil perry umbrella, we've been over this. cameron's kinda intriguing though. no one knows anything about him and everyone thinks "there must be more to this guy than just being a huge dick", so there's a lot of conversation around welton about cameron and he never confirms nor denies anything purely because he thinks it's funny.

knox just kinda comes across as a romantic to everyone, he's always the ones with the love poems in class, getting super hyped for valentine's day, all that stuff. he's very bold so there have been a lot of misunderstandings with people, but he usually works things out, most people like him. knox is probably remembered for doing something really impulsive and really stupid once a few years back, but i can't decide what it is. like, not something impulsive and stupid in the way charlie does to fuck with people, just a,,,,,, really big fuck up, that made the whole school laugh and gave him kind of a positive reputation.

[1-800-hellraiser]

Devil Town

Requested by: Candis Kid

Words: 1,281

Aged up?: Nope, cus this oneshot is a platonic one :)

Genre: Kinda misc.

Pairing: David x Camper!Reader

Song: Devil Town - Cavetown 

!TWS!: None :)

(A/n: I'm sorry this is more late than I intended it to be, some stuff went down and I became very unmotivated.)

*************************************************

"I still get a little scared of something new, but I feel a little safer when I'm with you."

     It's been about a month since the campers arrived at Camp Campbell for the summer. All of the same campers from last summer showed up along with three new campers, Nikki, Neil, and you. Nikki Is wild and rambunctious, Neil is nerdy and anxious, and you are antisocial and stay out of the camp's wacky adventures for the most part. 

     David finds you to be interesting in a way. Usually the rest of the campers would participate, but you always stay on the sidelines. The only person you would sometimes interact with was Max. This made a lot of sense, considering you both just rather not get involved with the camp. You'd sometimes ask David and Gwen for something, but that was it. To be honest, David worries for your mental well being.

     He usually see's most of the campers showing some sort of emotion throughout the day, but you seem so stoic and kind of emotionless. He's only seen you show genuine emotion was around Max. He told you a joke and you chuckled a bit, but that was it. David isn't the best with confrontation, but he want's to make sure you're okay and having the best time at camp. He'll be sure to talk to you tomorrow, if nothing goes awry.

      David awakes at six am sharp with a smile already on his pale, freckled face. Walking over to the medium sized dresser on his side of the councilor's cabin, he opens it and picks out one of many of the same pair of shirts and shorts he owns. After getting dressed, he combs his hair into its usual style and leaves the cabin. His whistle bounces around his neck as he makes his way over to the camper's tents. One blow of the whistle and every camper is groaning as they wake up. 

       "Goooooooood morning campers! Time to get up and at 'em!" David exclaims encouragingly. Some campers are tiredly staggering out of their tents to the mess hall, where they will greeted with breakfast. David waits until all the campers have piled out of their tents and into the mess hall. Then, he double checks to make sure all of them are in the mess hall. After checking all the tents, David is sure the campers are all in the mess hall. 

      Entering the mess hall, he grabs his breakfast and sits down with Gwen. Gwen occasionally takes bites of her pancakes as she reads something on her phone. "What are you reading Gwen?" David asks, a curious smile spread across his face. Gwen jumps and almost drops her phone and chokes on her pancakes. "N-nothing David! Just an article on...global warming?" Gwen says sheepishly, David gives her a look of suspicion. "Awwww Gwen, I never knew you cared so much about our beautiful planet!" David says, suspicion gone from his features. 

      "Yeah, totally..." Gwen says in a relieved tone. David and Gwen both continue to eat their breakfast. But, throughout their meal, David keeps an eye on you particularly. You sit at the bench in the upper right corner of the mess hall, alone. You do this everyday, but nobody really seems to care. You yourself don't even seem bothered by sitting alone. In fact, its like you actually prefer sitting alone during meals. "Uh, David?" Gwen says, snapping David out of his thoughts. "Yeah, Gwen?" "You've been staring at Y/n for like ten minutes, is everything okay?" She asks, taking another bite of her pancakes. "Yeah, it's just, I don't understand them."

       "What do you mean?" Gwen asks, giving David a questioning look. "I mean they're very quiet, they never get involved with camp activities or adventures, and the only person I've seen them talk to was Max. And even then, they didn't say much to him at all! They just, worry me a little bit. Am I doing something wrong?" David finishes, looking at Gwen for answers. "David, you're doing the best you can for the kids, maybe they have something going on personally that's hindering them from participating. You should talk to them later today about it." Gwen answers, getting up with her plate. "Are you done with that?" Gwen questions, pointing at David's bowl of now soggy cereal. "Yes, thank you so much CBFL!" David says, returning to his natural chipper attitude. 

      After breakfast, him, Gwen, and the campers make their way to the activities field. Today him and Gwen had nothing planned, so they let the kids have a free day. Gwen goes back to the cabin as David walks around the activity field, making sure the kiddos are doing fine. Every camper is accounted for, except for you. David scans the activity field and he notices you walking over to the dock, holding something in your arms. David quietly walks closer to you and sees that you are holding a bunch of flat-ish rocks in your shirt, like a kangaroo pouch.

     You get onto the dock and drop your shirt, the rocks fall into a messy pile on the wooden surface. Plopping down next to them, you pick up a rock. You examine it for a bit then skip it across the lake. David smiles at you as he makes his way over to you. "Hey kiddo," David says, sitting next to you on the dock. You say nothing as usual, you grab another rock and skip it. "I noticed you aren't really enraging in camp activities and don't really talk to anyone except for Max." David explains, you say nothing and keep skipping rocks.

     "I just wanted to see if you're okay, you don't have to talk to me. But just know that I'm here for you if you need to talk." David says, giving you a comforting smile. You stop skipping rocks and look at David. "I appreciate you caring about me David, I'm just getting used to being here. It takes me a minute to get used to being around so many people. I'm only used to me and my mom, and sometimes my friends. I have to kind of get over missing my mom I guess? That sounds really harsh, but you know what I mean, right?" You finish, looking up at the redheaded man.

     David looks stunned, maybe it's the initial shock of you talking to him after ignoring him for almost a month. "Yeah, I know what you mean Y/n. I know it's hard getting over homesickness. When I was a camper, I missed my mom a lot too. I used to be a troublemaker because I didn't know how to feel about being away from my mom for the first time. So I acted out." David explains, shifting his gaze back to the lake before standing up.

      "So if you ever feel homesick, come talk to me about it. I'm always here for you." David says, bending down a bit to ruffle your hair. A giggle escapes your mouth as you hug David's legs. You think you're ready to start engaging and talking more. You thank David and run off to the activity field. David chuckles, he'd never thought he'd see himself in a camper as much as he does with you. 

[tobymilo]

oh for the dps one! welton academy, what do you mean no, and yawp!!!!! <3

thankyou so so much for the ask gorgeous!! <33

welton academy: what/where is your favorite place in the world?

theres this lovely spot about 40 minutes east of where i live (i live on the australian coastline!), its got wonderful rolling hills and these ginormous towering trees and just driving through while blasting music and staring at the beautiful scenery is the most beautiful thing in the world. i hope to buy a house there soon when i save enough! :D

what do you mean no?: what’s your love language?

most definitely a mix of touch and words of affirmation. i find it most helpful to just hold and care for someone when they need comfort and thats why im best at having touch as my love language !

yawp: what is something you want to scream about? (use this question as an opportunity to rant about something)

im not going to yell too much but i definitely would love to rant a little bit. i think that charlie as a character is so important and people tend to see him as “ohoho hot troublemaker one” but he’s so so so much more, especially after neil’s death. the character development you see from charlie and seeing how he changes after neil’s death is so important and i feel as if you get a complete look into the characters personality through gale hansen’s amazing acting. anyways that is my rant about mr nuwanda for today :p

[sxgarxhxney]

Ok so someone on Instagram (cough cough tfp_memes_ cough cough go follow them cough cough) made a post on what type of music they think the TFP Autobots would listen to and I got inspired so imma put down what I think the TFP Autobots would listen to

Optimus:

Ok so I feel like a lot of people think that Optimus would listen to old 1940s music such as the Andrew sisters but I think he would be more into 1960s-1980s things, like the Beatles and Billy Joel I could total see Miko trying to him into get Jimi Hendrix (it worked). He would like songs that wouldn’t remind of the aesthetic of Cybertron but the memories he had on Cybertron. Songs that I think he’ll like would be Harvest Moon, Piano man, Uptown Girl, Power of love, and Out of touch.

Ratchet:

Let’s be honest, Ratchet wouldn’t even care about human music in general cause he’s to busy working, BUT he would totally listen to Lofi music. Like something to play in the background while he’s working or something to listen to while trying to fall into recharge. Some artist would be BØJET, Mounkia, Peachy! and lofi and og versions of old 40s songs. In all honesty though Ratchet will just hops on a youtube lofi stream and just vibes

Also if you’re lucky and you look REALLY closely you could see ratchet bobbin his head to the music 👀👀

Arcee:

Arcee would definitely ABSOLUTELY listen to empowering music. Like you know the music that makes you feel like after one listen to it you’re ready to take down a whole dragon? Yea that type of music. Artist and bands she would like would be Little mix, Ariana Grande, Janis Joplin, and maybe just a smudged of girl in red butyoudidnthearthatfromme-. Hey, in this house, queens only listen to queen music 😌✨. Songs she would be would be: beg for it, in my head, piece of my heart, somebody to love, and midnight love (she’s soft let her be-)

Bumblebee:

Bee’s young, he’s bby, and he gives me MAJOR summer vibes. Bee likes some that are soft but also have a nice beat to dance to and he would totally be sucker for any song that had a ukelele in it. Some artist would be Khai dreams, Jack Stauber, Post Malone, Twenty One Pilots, and maybe when he’s alone Joji. I know Bee is young and would probably listen to something more...loud but honestly he just seems like someone who wants to go the beach and hang out with his friends and family. Songs he would like are: Sunflower, Lost in you, Ripetide, Would you be so kind, and you’re my world.

Bulkhead:

We already know bulkhead likes some hard rock so this gave me a good set of ideas. Some artist I think he would like would be KISS, Guns and roses, AC/DC, and Black Sabberh. He basically listens to what your parents listen to. He just likes to listen to whatever Miko likes and it’s not unusually to hear the both of them (and sometimes Jackie as well) singing Welcome to the jungle. Some songs I think he would like would be: Thunderstruck, N.I.B, Rock and roll all nite, and Sweet child of mine

Wheeljack:

This was kinda hard because Wheeljack and Bulkhead would have similar, if not the exact same taste and so it was hard for not to put down the same thing for him. While he would like some of the same artist as Bulkhead he would also like Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Neil Diamond, and Johnny Cash. Of course Jackie would absolutely love to vibe out to AC/DC I believe he would also like somethin more cowboy ish (Hey he gives me major Cowboy Bebop vibes) songs i think he would like would be: Solitary man, Ring of fire, killer queen, tank!, and you’re gonna go far, kid.

Smokescreen:

Smokescreen has to be one of the easiest ones for me since I feel like he would share the same music taste as yours truly (me ✨). Smokey screams rambunctious teen to me so of course some of his taste in music is rubbed off of Miko, but he only gets the rock part of it. Artist he would like would be Neon Trees, Panic! At the Disco, Hot Chelle Rae, and Fall out boy. Smokey likes the teen spirt of the early 2010s. Some songs he would like would be Troublemaker, This love, Tongue tide, American Idiot, and Since you been gone. (Yes I am not joking)

Ultra Magnus:

This is the hardest one periodt. Not only is Magnus not interested in Human culture in general but all he’s focused on is his work and status as second in command. But just because it was hard doesn’t mean it was impossible. That being said, I believe Magnus just picks up the scraps of whatever the other Autobots listen to. An example would be that one day he heard let’s say...Wheeljack talking about Johnny Cash and so Ultra Magnus on his nonexistent free time looks up and listens to Johnny Cash, and he goes hey that’s pretty legit and the next day same happens with Optimus, ya see what I mean? So I think some artist Magnus would be more familiar would be Johnny cash as I stated, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles. Songs be would be familiar with would be: Am I Blue, Heart of gold, hear comes the sun, Yellow Submarine, and Darlin’.

———————————

Hear are some bonus headcanons I had while making this!:

Bumblebee and Smokescreen both absolutely love dayglow and vibe and cry to hot rod and can I call you tonight

Sweet child of mine reminds Bulkhead and Wheeljack of Miko

Arcee got some of her taste in music from June

Since Ultra Magnus doesn’t really go out himself to find new types of music or human entertainment Optimus takes it apon himself to tell and show Magnus some

Wheeljack sometimes does the same but more subtle

Smokescreen also gets some of his taste from Jack

Bumblebee and Raf have times where they just sit somewhere out in Nevada far from human eyes and just listen to music while vibing, just talking about their days, showing eachother memes, and sometimes venting

Raf also showed Ratchet lofi music

Ratchet once hopped on to a lofi streams (ya know the ones for studying with the girl in it) and was doing his work when he saw the live stream chat and just saw all the comments about these humans were staying up with no sleep studying exams as if it was a normal thing and were asking for help on questions on reviews and homework and Ratchet, being the mom he doesn’t know he is, answered them and so other people started asking him questions about their homework and so he continued to help them understand their question. It then led to him completely forgetting his work to helping these high school and college aged humans with their homework and reviews. It also led to him remind them to eat and “GET SOME FRAGGIN SLEEP” which led everyone in the stream calling him dad and long story short he might’ve adopted 100 or so humans-

[ineffably-human]

Crowley and Aziraphale are queer-coded on purpose. That’s what their story is ABOUT.

In this essay, I will - no, seriously, bear with me here.

So Good Omens is about religion and faith, right? And the ways those things (and the stories we’re told ABOUT those things) impact our choices. So we get storylines about free will, church misogyny, use of power, loss of innocence. And along with their individual character arcs and conflicts, Crowley and Aziraphale are queer people’s relationship with the church.

Aziraphale’s human form is coded as a gay man. It is text that he lives in a traditionally gay district, he ‘reads’ as gay. Book!Aziraphale collects Oscar Wilde first editions. He doesn’t have a biological sex, fine. In his day to day life among human beings, though, that’s how we understand him.

Aziraphale is also very clearly pining for a relationship with another male-coded person. It’s a relationship he feels he can’t have because it’s sinful and bad. It doesn’t matter if that’s kissing or a picnic; it’s a relationship, it’s intimate and special, and it’s forbidden. 

Because he’s repressed, he’s built up little compromises over the years and compartmentalized these different facets of himself. And all of that leads to him locking down out of fear when he has to make a big decision and ask some hard questions. 

Crowley has been literally burned by religion. His Dad/Mom kicked him out of the house for being sinful and bad (aka questioning the rules), for hanging out with troublemakers. He sees the everyday hypocrisy and he’s angry; he hides it under an aesthetic of cool, but it clearly still hurts. He still wants answers to his questions. He’s also taken on the rejection as his own identity, even if he’s different from his peers. He isn’t a demon who is, deep down, as ‘nice’ as an angel. He’s “unforgivable.” 

And even though his relationship with Aziraphale is still a direct risk, he’s lonely, he cares for him, and he doesn’t have a lot to lose. So he’s reckless with his own safety, at times, which Aziraphale finds frightening. And when he thinks about being found out, and facing the consequences of that, he’d rather take extreme measures. (Crowley never denies that the holy water could be used for suicide. It’s also very telling that Aziraphale’s mind goes straight to that, instead of self-defense.)

Notice I didn’t say a thing about all the flirty things we like to gif and fic and gush about. Yeah, it absolutely helps that it’s framed as a love story, with epiphanies and breakups and rescues and ‘run away with me’. And all of those are taken from the love story toolkit for a reason, it’s not a coincidence. I don’t think we need to hear ‘I love you’ or get a kiss for a love story to be text (especially when all the publicity material has the people involved saying ‘this is a romance’ or ‘I am playing someone falling in love’).

But in the context of Good Omens, a comedy/satire about how people use and interpret religion? These are queer stories, except Heaven and Hell are the issue instead of orientation and gender. They’re the stories of how people who are different deal with a world that rejects them, tells them they’re not “normal” and they have to fit themselves to the mold or die. When Gabriel tells Adam “you can’t just refuse to be who you are,” I thought of the experience of trans and nb friends as well. Of course you can refuse if that’s never who you were to start with.

And metaphors can suck, I know, when they don’t actually represent the people involved. If Crowley and Aziraphale were a male-female pair, this would not work at all. But they’re played by two men, one of them very gay-coded, in a story told as a romance. So as far as I’m concerned, at least, it works very well. I’m 100% on board with Neil Gaiman’s take on “the show is the show, and anything else is your personal truth.” The more I think about it, though, this is what I’m seeing is there.

[vouxie-studio]

Hi!! How would ROs deal with a troublemaker MC? Like, hiding stuffs or untied shoelaces. Hang them in the closet and lock it, tease them back or just buy another MC online?

BUY ANOTHER MC ONLINE BAHBCHJ THAT’S HILLARIOUS 

I think if you choose to have a playful MC then the LIs will almost always tease right back njnjdc they’ll definitely tease differently though...

Fleur- Expect to hear a lot of “respect your elders, kid” and also making prank treats. She has also been known to embroider embarrassing things on other people’s clothes (ask Milo about it sometime)

Sohl- Will say that MC is childish but he also retaliates by hiding stuff and occasionally using magic to give himself unfair advantages. He’s not usually competitive in settings other than his work, but he’d make an exception for MC

Atlas- Thinks it’s hilarious and will play along to a certain extent. He’ll hide stuff and frequently hold things out of reach but it’s easy to get him to relent. All MC has to do is, say, kiss him, and he’ll be distracted enough that they can steal anything from (or back from) him

Inna- Surprisingly enough, she’s the most chill out of all the LIs when it comes to pranks and things. Like, she’ll have a laugh if it’s funny but she moves on quick and doesn’t feel the need to retaliate. She might just keep a closer eye on MC to figure out if they’re going to play a joke on her though

Milo- Prank master. They’re absolutely delighted to engage in silly prank wars and play all kinds of practical jokes on a mischievous MC. Hidden belongings, weird ringtones, suddenly there’s like 100 photos of that one meme of  Neil deGrasse Tyson hung up in MC’s living room, the works