#at the very least the class sees since I overheard a guy laughing ''yeah man she's totally gonna message u lol''

[rdlain]

oh my fucking GOD I have a stalker in my psychology class, I literally told him point blank "not interested" and he's still trying to pin me in the hallway, sit next to me in class (I got out of my seat and immediately moved lol), constantly asking for my FUCKING EMAIL KILL YOURSELF ("did u get my message in the class email? I'm interested in chatting maybe instagram or gmail?" "No." "Okay see u monday~.")

omg he doesn't know I carry a knife and will stab him to death if he so touches me shhhhhh don't tell him

[satans-my-spirit-animal]

Twisted Wings Chapter 8

Chapter 7

It was the last day of exams, and Celeste and Grim hurried to class. It had been a few weeks since the Spelldrive tournament, the days since then being relatively uneventful.

The exam today was alchemy, and while Celeste wasn't especially good at it, she felt she'd read enough material on the subject to obtain a good grade. She had been paying attention in class and, unlike Grim, had been keen to learn about the potions and ingredients used in the human world.

Professor Crewel announced the end of the exam and ordered everyone to turn in their tests. Cheers went up around the classroom, celebrating the end of exams.

“Down! SIT! Don't begin celebrating just yet. Any bad dogs who fare poorly in their exams… Will be given mandatory remedial lessons over the winter holiday. Consider yourselves warned. Class dismissed. ” Crewel chastised them before permitting the class to leave.

“Whew! It's FINALLY over! ” Ace exclaimed as he and Deuce strolled over to Celeste and Grim.

“I gave it my absolute best. All that's left now is to wait for our scores to come back. ” Deuce said, and Grim scoffed.

“No lousy test is a match for my brilliant intellect!” Grim boasted, puffing out his chest.

Ace let out a snort. “Really? You're always scramblin' to pass. Celeste is the only reason your grade isn't failing.”

“Today's the dawn of an improved me!” Grim declared confidently. He had actually studied for this exam, although it had been only one last-minute cramming session.

“Oh? I look forward to it. Perhaps you'll improve your table manners as well?” Celeste lifted an eyebrow at him, putting on a teasing smirk.

“Woah now Celeste. One step at a time.” Grim held up his paws in the air to prevent her from saying anything outrageous.

Ace let out a laugh. “I can't believe you're still on that, Celeste. Talk about an impossible task.”

Harry made his way over to them, having overheard their conversation from across the classroom. “Grim sittin' proper sippin' tea? I'd pay to see that." He chuckled before letting out a sigh. "Anyway, that test man… Crewel really put us through the wringer, huh.” His brown rabbit ears drooped with exhaustion as he recalled the exam.

"Yeah, but I'm pretty confident of my performance this time.” Deuce seemed unconcerned as he smoothed back his black hair.

“Says the guy who's barely staying above a failing grade. Of course, this test was a piece of cake for me. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna come out on top.” Ace gloated confidently, puffing out his chest.

“Seriously? I wouldn't put my money on any of you guys.” Harry eyed them skeptically, before turning to Celeste. “Speaking of cake, I've come up with a new carrot cake recipe for you to try, Celeste. I'll bring it over to you tomorrow.”

“O-oh, you really don't have to, Harry. I mean, you must be exhausted from exams.” Celeste tried her best to hide the dread she felt at his words. Harry had become accustomed to sharing his recipes with her, all of them carrot based.

She had thought it was sweet of him at first. However, she quickly became overwhelmed with carrots. His latest dish had been a carrot jello that even Grim had refused to eat. Ace and Deuce always concocted some sort of excuse, explaining why they couldn't eat Harry's food, leaving Celeste at his mercy. She simply hadn't the heart to tell him she wasn't that fond of carrots.

“Nah, it's fine! I already baked it and for some reason half the dorms allergic to carrots… So, I figured you'd like some!” Harry insisted, and she sighed in defeat.

“Thank you, Harry, that's very kind… I can't wait.” She forced a smile, shooting a glare at Ace and Deuce, who refrained from laughing.

“You two must have taken your studies seriously to be this confident. I know Grim did at least one cram session…” Celeste raised an eyebrow at them. Their confidence was a bit unusual, but perhaps they had turned a new leaf.

“Yeah, it was a breeze,” Ace smirked at her, shrugging off her suspicious gaze.

“Anyway, exams are over, so I'm gonna hit up the track club.” Deuce changed the subject and Ace nodded.

“Y'know, I could stand to get some exercise at the basketball club. You coming, Harry?” Ace glanced back at Harry as he and Deuce made for the door.

“Sure. I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Celeste.” Harry waved goodbye as he left with Ace and Deuce.

“Let's head back to the dorm, Celeste. I'm really feelin' that all-nighter. And before you ask, no, I won't eat that cake for you.” Grim shot her a knowing look before padding out of the classroom. Celeste's shoulders slumped as she resigned to her fate.

Azul watched as Floyd squeezed an Octavinelle student for skipping out on his shift at the Lounge, and let out a sigh. “I can only hope this year provides me with better clients than the last…”

Jade chuckled beside him. “I look forward to seeing those final exam scores come in.”

“Indeed,” Azul answered with a sly grin. Nonetheless, he felt a slight twinge of frustration. He'd still been unsuccessful in persuading Celeste to sign a contract. Sure, she wasn't the first student to slip through his fingers but… Her secretive nature intrigued him. Unfortunately, he hadn't had the time to dig into her background due to his busy schedule.

She'd been uninterested in his study guide, but he had hoped she would change her mind. However, she hadn't so much as graced the Lounge with her presence. Even if she didn't have access to her wealth anymore, as she had disclosed to him, he could still benefit from having her at his disposal. He had also been hoping to expand the Mostro Lounge and Ramshackle would be an ideal location. Not to mention, her feminine charms would undoubtedly bring business to the Lounge.

Nonetheless, he had a trump card on her, which, oddly enough, he'd acquired from a tip dropped by the Headmaster. His mind wandered to what had transpired in the library just the other day.

Azul had been returning some study materials after the first exam. Rounding a bookshelf, he was surprised to see the Headmaster rummaging through the shelf.

“Good afternoon Headmage. Are you looking for something in particular?” He asked as the Headmaster spun around.

“Mr. Ashengrotto! I was hoping the book I've been searching for had found its way back here, but alas…!” Crowley froze when his eyes fell on a book he had in his hands.

“AH! By the Seven, there it is!” He exclaimed, suddenly, causing Azul to jump slightly. “The book on the Age of Legend! I've been searching for weeks!”

Azul adjusted his glasses. “Yes, I was just returning it. I borrowed it quite some time ago and haven't had the time to bring it back. My apologies.” He handed the Headmaster the book.

Just then, there was a commotion as Celeste and Grim entered the library. Celeste was toting a large stack of books, which she dropped on a table with a loud thud.

“Can we get this over with? I wanna go home. That exam really took it outta me.” Grim whined, slumping over the table.

“It'll only be a few minutes, Grim. Though it wouldn't hurt you to read a few books yourself.” Celeste said, gathering some books and moving to the other side of the library to return them to their proper place.

“UGH. That'd take forever.” He grumbled, plopping himself down on a chair.

“It's truly a shame that he doesn't share her passion for learning. Especially since they're technically one student. He's bringing her grade down, I'm afraid.” Crowley whispered woefully, shaking his head, and shooting him a sidelong glance.

Sensing that the Headmaster was alluding to something, Azul decided to take the bait. “Yes, but it seems Celeste isn't worried about her grades, since she intends to leave the school soon.”

“Yes, I'm afraid her mind is set on leaving… If only there was some way to convince her to stay… since she and Grim are only one student, he won't be able to attend without her. Perhaps someone could persuade her.” The Headmage's gaze burned into him from beneath his mask.

Of course! Azul thought as he turned to look at Grim pouting by the table. If they were technically one student, then all he had to do was get Grim to sign a contract! By making a deal with Grim, she'd be forced into a deal with him.

Checking that Celeste was still on the other side of the library, he put on his best smile and strode over to Grim.

“Hello, I don't believe we've met, but I'm Azul Ashengrotto, Housewarden of Octavinelle. It appears you could use some assistance with studying.” He introduced himself to the small cat creature with a polite smile.

“Yeah? What's my studyin' got to do with you?” Grim scowled up at him.

“Why Octavinelle is the dorm of benevolence! I wished to offer you a study guide for your exam… But if you don't want an easy A…” Azul trailed off, looking disappointed.

“Wait! A study guide from a Housewarden? I want it!” Grim jumped up, his flaming ears perking.

Azul's mouth stretched into a wide grin. “Splendid! Come to the Mostro Lounge at 7:00 pm tonight… alone. I'll be waiting for you.”

A week after the exams, Professor Crewel called for everyone to settle down as he prepared to pass out the test scores. Everyone was eager to see their scores, including Grim, who was jumping up and down in his seat.

“Settle down Grim! Stay. STAY!” Crewel barked as Celeste reached over and forced him to sit properly.

“Grim, How many times have I told you not to stand in your chair?” She scolded him as Crewel began calling students up.

“Check it out, Celeste! I got an 85!” Grim cried, waving his test in her face proudly.

“Congratulations everyone! I'm delighted your hard work paid off!” She beamed at them as she received her test results.

“Yeah! And what did you get, Princess?” Ace smirked as he used his new nickname for her. He'd been teasing her with it since he'd learned of her previous social status.

“I got a 96. But it'll be averaged with Grim's grade, so… A 90 overall.” Celeste replied as Deuce blinked at her.

“I'll never understand how you can do math in your head like that, Celeste.” He admitted, flabbergasted.

“It appears you studied a great deal for this exam. Yes… A great deal, indeed, compared to your quiz scores.” Professor Crewel came up to them. His gray eyes glinted skeptically. “In fact, the class average has gone up to an extent one might find… Unusual.”

“Really? The entire class?” Celeste blinked before glancing down at Grim as doubt crept into her mind. Could he have… Cheated?

“The average test score in potionology is over 90. Professor Trein noted similarly positive trends in magic history.” Crewel swept his icy gaze over them before turning to address the entire class. “The school's fifty highest achievers will be posted in the hall. You can look forward to seeing that shortly. Now let's begin today's lesson. Open your textbooks.”

As Celeste opened the heavy textbook she shared with Grim, she couldn't help shooting him a doubtful glance. Surely, she would have known if he had cheated, but on the other hand… Had his last-minute cramming session genuinely been that beneficial?

As soon as the bell rang, Ace, Deuce, and Grim shot out of their seats and rushed into the hall. They weren't the only ones. A large crowd had assembled in front of the posting.

“Okay, where am I in the top fifty?” Grim hopped up and down, trying to view his scores.

“With an average score over 90, we've got to be in there right?” Ace appeared to be growing uneasy as he and Deuce pushed their way through the throng of students.

Celeste didn't have the heart to tell them it was extremely unlikely that they'd made the list if the average score was as high as Crewel claimed. She hung back as all the students clambered to see if they made the top fifty.

Grim's tail drooped as his gaze skimmed over the list. “I ain't in here at all!” He exclaimed with a shocked look.

“Neither am I…” Deuce groaned, dread washing over his face.

“Hoooold up,” Ace narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the list. “There's a list of total scores each top achiever got. The top thirty scored perfect marks!”

“Now that is rather odd. I certainly see why Crewel had his suspicions.” Celeste placed her hand on her chin as she stepped forward to inspect the list as well.

“B-but if I don't make it into the top fifty, that counts as a breach of contract!” Grim stammered as panic flashed across his face.

Celeste frowned as she looked down at him. “Contract? What are you talking about?”

Ace and Deuce's eyes widened as they turned to Grim. “Oh no, Grim, did you…?” Ace asked, the color draining from his face.

Deuce went pale as he exchanged a glance with Ace. “Judging by the look on your face, Ace, don't tell me you also-”

There was a small poof as something strange sprouted from all three of their heads. Celeste let out a shocked cry at the strange flower-like appendage that had appeared on their foreheads.

“What IS that?!” Celeste shouted in surprise as they exchanged horrified looks.

“MYAH! What in the world?! It's a sea anemone!” Grim wailed, pawing at the growth on his head.

“G-Grim, you made a contract too?! You little cheat!” Deuce scowled at Grim, pointing at him accusingly.

“You're just as guilty, Deuce!” Ace yelled as Grim frantically tugged at the anemone, to no avail.

“What is happening?! Did the three of you actually cheat?! WHAT IS THAT THING ON EVERYONE'S HEAD?!” Celeste raised her voice as she noticed the trio weren't the only ones afflicted. Many freshmen around them were sprouting anemones as well.

“Celeste? What's with all the commotion?” Celeste turned to see Jack walking towards them. Unlike the rest of her friends, he was sea anemone free.

“Oh, Jack! You don't have an anemone!” Celeste remarked as he stopped to stare at all the freshmen fretting over their new appendage.

“Anemone? Is that what's sproutin' outta everybody's heads?” Jack seemed just as baffled as she was.

Grim opened his mouth to explain, only to let out a yelp as the anemone started tugging on his head. Ace and Deuce cried out as their anemones began pulling on them as well, forcing them to walk down the hall along with the other afflicted freshman.

“I suppose we should follow them.” Celeste sighed, watching as they shuffled as one large group down the hall.

“Huh? What do you mean we? This is none of my business.” Jack snorted, looking away.

“Fine. I shall go alone while you stand here and wonder.” She waved at him dismissively as she started walking away.

“Wait, hold on!” Jack scrambled after her, and she hid her smirk as he fell in step beside her.

"I'll keep you company for a little while. But let's get one thing straight—this is purely out of curiosity. I couldn't care less about those guys.” He grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Of course. I appreciate you accompanying me, Jack.” She chuckled as they made their way across campus to the mirror hall.

The students were filing into a single mirror, all lamenting how they hadn't made the top fifty in exam scores.

“There are some sophomores and juniors in here as well. And they're all going into the mirror that leads to Octavinelle.” Jack noted, watching the miserable parade of students.

“It seems like this has to do with the exam scores and… did I hear cheating cephalo-punk?” Celeste tilted her head at the strange phrase.

“Come on, let's head over and find out.” Jack led the way and slipped into the Octavinelle mirror, with Celeste following closely behind.

Inside, they were greeted with an incredible sight. They were standing in a glass tunnel that lead to the main building. The entire dorm was underwater. Her eyes widened with awe as she watched a school of fish swim by on the other side of the glass.

Celeste gasped, gazing at her surroundings in amazement, and placed a hand on the cool glass. “I've… Never seen anything like this… Not even our largest lakes back at home are this deep…”

“Wow! Night Raven College is so cool!” Jack exclaimed, just as excited by the whimsical scenery as her, a smile spreading across his face as he looked around.

Jack stopped and cleared his throat, embarrassed by his outburst. “Remember, we're treading on another dorm's turf, so keep your wits about you.” He warned, regaining his composure as he glanced over at Celeste.

Celeste tore her eyes away from the aquatic sights and proceeded down the tunnel the students had gone down. Following the sound of distressed voices, they entered what appeared to be a café. Fancy lighting and dining tables were arranged like a restaurant, complete with a bar that lined the back wall. The area was crammed with students, all of them sporting anemones on their heads.

“This must be the lounge that they mentioned…” Celeste murmured, recalling the business card Floyd and Jade had given her.

“There's gotta be a hundred—no closer to two hundred people here. What is this place, anyway?” Jack squinted at the sign that read Mostro Lounge above the entrance.

Everyone fell silent as Azul strode out in front of everyone, snapping his fingers as a light shone on him, making him the center of attention.

“Well, well. What do we have here? A band of unfortunate souls who failed to break the top fifty.” Azul smirked at the crowd of students before him.

“Welcome to Mostro Lounge. I'm sure you're WELL aware of who I am, but let's go over it again, anyway. My name is Azul Ashengrotto. I am the Housewarden of Octavinelle Dorm, the manager of Mostro Lounge café aaand… As of today, you have to listen to everything I say.” At his last sentence, his face stretched into a sinister grin.

“Say what?” Jack whispered as Celeste frowned at Azul's words. She realized she had indeed dodged a bullet when she'd rejected his offer that night.

“You made a bet with me and subsequently lost. As per the terms of our contract, you are to devote yourselves to my service until you graduate.” Azul continued, leaning on his cane nonchalantly.

“Hey hold on. This is all a huge scam!” An outraged cry came from the crowd. Celeste recognized Ace's fiery red hair as he glared at Azul.

Azul narrowed his eyes at him. “You're… Ace Trappola, a freshman, if memory serves. Your accusations are insulting, frankly. I upheld my end of the bargain and provided you with an impeccably flawless study guide for your exams. If you used it properly, you should have scored at least a 90.”

“Yeah, and I did. I got a 92!” Ace admitted, still scowling at Azul.

Azul grinned at him. “Why, that's wonderful news! I'm delighted to have been of service.”

“But you never told me you'd given the same study guide to this many people!” Ace snapped back at him, and Deuce nodded next to him.

“Yeah, no study guide could help us break into the top fifty with the decks this stacked!” Deuce squared his shoulders as he joined Ace in confronting Azul.

“Have you boys never heard of client confidentiality? Details such as who made a contract with me, what kind of contract it was, and why it was made… That's all privileged data. Who I'm I to divulge someone's personal information to a third party? I am a man of integrity, thank you very much. You will find this exact topic covered extensively in the non-disclosure agreement on page 127 of your contract. I simply abided by its terms.”

“O-okay, then what happens to the fire magic I put up as collateral?” Grim's voice sounded from the crowd as he padded forward. A torrent of frantic questions was unleashed as the students grew concerned about the abilities they'd put up for collateral.

Azul quickly silenced them, raising a gloved hand and quirking an eyebrow at them. “What's this? Have you all forgotten the terms of your contract? I will provide you with a study guide. In exchange, you will leave one personal specialty in my possession. Should you earn a spot with the school's fifty highest achievers, your power will be returned to you… And I will continue to provide you with study guides for all exams until you graduate. However, if you do not earn a spot in the top fifty… You will act with absolute obedience to me until you graduate. In other words, your powers are mine to return or not, as I please.”

Outrage and fear rippled through the crowd. “Those fools… Bargaining with something like that…” Celeste sighed, shaking her head. How would Grim get by in class without his fire magic?

“Y'know, I've been listening to this whole spectacle… And you ALL disgust me!” Jack snarled, pushing his way through the crowd. Everyone spun around at his outburst, startled. Celeste followed behind him, using his enormous form to cut through the throng of students.

Azul frowned as the large beastman plowed his way through the students. “I'm afraid we're having a staff meeting right now. If you don't have a stake in this matter, I must ask for you to leave, so we can sort out this matter.”

Jack growled at his dismissive response. “… You think I don't have a stake in this? I was planning on studying on my own and outscoring these guys in a fair competition. And now you've ruined that. I think I DO have a stake here!” Jack halted in front of Azul, towering over him.

Celeste stepped out from behind Jack. “As for me, it seems you've somehow come into possession of my cat-weasel. So, I'm afraid that means I must get involved here.” She cast a stern look at Grim.

“Celeste? Jack? Are you here to save us?!” Grim's eyes lit up with hope, but when he caught sight of her expression, he drew back, flattening his ears. “… Y-you're not mad, are ya?” He stammered nervously.

Celeste glared at him. "I'm beyond words… How could you go behind my back and make such an important decision? Why didn't you consult me first? Honestly, Grim! Must I watch you every waking moment?!… As for you, Ace… Frankly, you could be a little less predictable. And Deuce… I'm rather disappointed in you. I thought you knew better. Perhaps some hard work will teach you a lesson…” she admonished them, and shame flashed across Deuce's face, while Ace rolled his eyes.

“Doesn't sound like she's beyond words to me,” Ace grumbled, and Deuce hissed at him to shut up.

“B-but Celeste!” Grim blubbered, his eyes tearing up. Ignoring him, she turned back to Azul.

Azul's eyes glimmered with amusement and something else she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Jack let out a huff. “Celeste is right. You shouldn't get a free pass just because some slimeball gave you a shady deal. This is what you get for letting others do your work for you.”

Celeste let out a sigh. “You mentioned a contract? May I see it? You must understand that since Grim and I are considered one student, what kind of position this puts me in?”

Azul gave her a broad smile as he snapped his fingers, producing a golden scroll that unfurled at his fingertips. “Of course. I understand perfectly. An official contract is completely unbreakable. No magic can harm this document in any way. As long as the sea anemone remains on his head, I'm afraid Grim is under my control. As you can see, Celeste, everything outlined in the contract is entirely legitimate.”

Celeste felt her heart sink as she read over the scroll. He was correct, the contract was airtight. She cast a concerned glance over at Grim.

“It may be legitimate, but that doesn't make it any less deceptive. What an incredibly reprehensible thing to do to a bunch of naïve freshmen.” Celeste glared at Azul, who chuckled at her retort. Jade and Floyd, who had been watching with amusement from the sidelines, shifted forward with sinister smiles.

“You've wounded me, Celeste.” Azul feigned a pained expression. “… But as you well know, these 'naïve freshmen' came to me. They wanted an easy out, so I provided it to them. I've done nothing that's against the rules.”

Celeste scowled as he waved Jade and Floyd over. “Jade, Floyd, show the new employees the ropes. They can start by cleaning the lounge. You can do ingredient prep afterward. Go on now! Get to work!” He ordered, and the students were forced to obey.

“Jack, I believe we should leave for now,” Celeste whispered, and Jack grunted in agreement.

Azul glanced back at her with a bright smile. “Feel free to drop by as customers next time. You're welcome anytime.” Jack let out a growl as he strode away.

She returned to Ramshackle with Jack, telling him to make himself comfortable on the couch and asking if he'd care for a cup of tea. He shook his head, cringing slightly as the couch groaned underneath him.

“I guess it's safe to say that they all gambled on Azul's contract and lost. With that many people signin' up, there's no way they'd all make it into the top 50.” Jack said, scratching the back of his head as she sat down on the opposite side of the couch.

“Yes, I recall he offered me a contract as well, but I refused, though I was unaware of his reputation at the time. I never expected he'd target Grim. I should have supervised him more closely.” Celeste sighed, placing a hand on her head.

“Grim should take a page out of your book, Celeste. I mean, C'mon! What's the point of gettin' good grades off somebody else's work?!” Jack huffed, angered by the actions of his classmates.

“If the rest of the student body were as principled and serious as you two…” Crowley appeared touched as he stepped into the room, causing Celeste and Jack to spin around.

“WHOA! Headmage? You startled me!” Jack shouted, leaping from his seat.

“Crowley?! What are you doing here?” She was just as startled to see him appear. It wasn't unusual that he'd stop by uninvited, usually with a proposal of some sort. But he typically knocked before entering.

“Ah, well, you see Celeste… I could have sworn that I spotted someone through the window upstairs. I knocked, but there wasn't an answer… so I let myself in—out of concern for you, of course! But then you and Jack arrived behind me…” He explained awkwardly as he cleared his throat.

“Oh, it must have been one of the ghosts,” Celeste said, before narrowing her eyes at him. “However, I'm guessing you came here to discuss something or ask me a favor, yes?” The Headmaster had become accustomed to asking her all sorts of questions when he could get her alone. Usually about things in the Celestial Realm, such as jewels and potions that she could potentially gain access to. She had remained evasive with her replies, much to his frustration.

The Headmage let out an exaggerated sigh as he seated himself in a plush armchair. “Yes… I'm afraid I was unsuccessful in clamping down Ashengrotto's little side business again this year.”

“So you are aware of the situation at hand. Why were you unable to prevent such deceptive practices in your school?” Celeste crossed her arms as she questioned the Headmage sternly.

The Headmage shook his head. “He's quite a capable student, already running a dorm as a sophomore, but he's also quite troublesome. Due to my teaching position, I cannot prohibit his actions. The thing about his study guides is that there was no illegitimate activity involved in their production. They were crafted exhaustively by hand, after researching the past centuries' worth of exam questions and their patterns.”

“The amount of time and dedication that must have gone into that… I must confess… I'm rather impressed.” Celeste was taken aback by the Headmaster's admission. It appeared that Azul was extraordinarily tenacious and clever when it came to obtaining what he wanted.

“Huh, well, I'll be. I'll admit the guys got chops.” Even Jack was impressed by Azul's feat. However, a frown crossed his face. “Wait… So, the problem is that there IS no problem with it?”

Crowley nodded. “As a teacher, I can hardly prohibit a student from crafting an exam guide via honest work. Nor can I prohibit a student from kindly sharing their notes with friends.”

“Oh dear, this IS quite troublesome… and of course, Grim is in the middle of it. And you say this happened last year as well?” Celeste sighed, running her hand through her hair as she stressed over the circumstances.

Crowley nodded solemnly. “Indeed, it did. Though last year his study guides didn't have quite the reputation they carry this year, so the situation was much more contained, relatively speaking. This year, on the other hand, rumors abounded throughout campus about his study guides. Even reaching the ears of your little dorm mate Celeste…” He added woefully, giving her a sidelong glance.

“Does that mean that there are guys from last year who never got their powers back?” Jack asked, tilting his head.

“Actually, he returned the powers he took last year as part of an arrangement he made with me. In return, I permitted him to run the Mostro Lounge on school property. With so many students unable to use their strongest magic, he proposed a deal to me to save the reputation of Night Raven. And when he offered to contribute 10% of the proceeds to the school… Why, how could I say no to such a mutually beneficial arrangement?” Crowley confessed with a shrug.

“Wait, so you're gettin' something from it?!” Jack exclaimed, but Crowley ignored him, throwing his hands into the air dramatically.

“Dear oh dear. I can only wonder what demands he'll make of me this year. Whatever he wants, I'll undoubtedly be forced to acquiesce. And Grim will be unable to perform in class… I'm afraid that this puts you in a tough position, Celeste. “

Celeste narrowed her eyes, suspecting he was hinting at a favor that he wanted. “I'm fully aware of my position and I intend to find a way to help G-”

“You truly are the guardian angel of Night Raven Celeste! You surely will be able to persuade Ashengrotto to cease his little side business!” The Headmaster beamed at her before she could finish her sentence.

“Well, I'm not certain about that… But I'll see what I can do.” Celeste responded, feeling uneasy. Azul would not be swayed easily and would undoubtedly ask for something in return, and she was limited with what she could bargain with.

“Wonderful Celeste! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll leave you to it!” Crowley looked relieved as he departed the dorm. Celeste sighed, feeling as if he had once again taken advantage of her caring nature.

“He certainly was eager to dump his problems on you.” Jack huffed after the Headmage had gone. “So, what's the plan?” He asked, as she thought for a moment.

“Well, I'm certain that he'll want to make some sort of deal with me. The problem is that I have little to offer with my magic sealed. Perhaps if we observe him, we can discover something that we can use to our advantage, or at least figure out what to expect.” Celeste spoke after a moment, and Jack nodded.

“True. A successful hunt starts with learnin' about your target. You actually know your stuff.” Jack gave her an impressed look.

As she was about to respond, a loud creak sounded from overhead. They both paused and listened for a moment. The sound of footsteps could be heard above them, right where her room was.

“The ghosts?” Jack shot her a questioning look, but she shook her head.

“They don't have feet.” She answered, moving quietly towards the stairs.

“Didn't Crowley say he thought he saw someone upstairs earlier?” Jack whispered as he followed her to the bedroom door.

She nodded, watching a shadow move under the door. She grabbed the doorknob and abruptly flung open the door. A man with wavy black hair and blue eyes whirled around, shocked, as Jack charged through the door, blocking his exit.

“WHOA! Hey! I was just looking for Celeste!” Uriel held up his hands as Jack bristled in front of him.

“What do you want with Celeste?” Jack growled suspiciously, crossing his arms.

“It's alright Jack! I know him.” Celeste quickly darted between the two of them.

“Friend of yours? He's built like a brick house.” Uriel remarked, peering over her at Jack.

“You know this guy, Celeste? What dorm is he from?” Jack relaxed slightly, but still seemed guarded as he narrowed his eyes. Thanks to Uriel's camouflage pin, it looked like he was wearing a Night Raven uniform, although it was missing the armband.

“Dorm?… Um, same as Celeste, of course!” Uriel gave what he assumed would be the logical answer, unaware that he'd just given himself away.

Jack stiffened and glanced at her. “… Except, only Celeste and Grim are in Ramshackle. Who is this guy, Celeste?”

Celeste exchanged nervous looks with Uriel, unsure how to talk her way out of this situation. She let out a sigh and decided to come clean. “Jack, this is Uriel… my twin brother.”

“WHAT?!” Jack's eyes went wide as he wildly looked back and forth between them, noticing the similarities in their appearance. “I thought you were from a different world, so how…?”

“I can get here relatively easily with magic. Though I have to sneak over when no one's looking.” Uriel threw himself onto her bed, making it creak under his weight. “What are you doing in this dump, Celeste? I literally searched the entire campus before I came here.”

“Welcome to Ramshackle dorm.” Celeste sighed, gesturing to the surrounding room.

Uriel sat up, flabbergasted. “You're joking?! They put you here? Zap would flip if he found out you were living in this hovel.”

“Wait, so if he's your brother… Then that means he's a prince.” Jack said, still reeling from all the information.

“Well, it's a bit more complicated than that, but basically yeah.” Uriel shrugged before looking around. “Didn't you have a pet cat?”

“You mean Grim? Yes, well, you see, we've run into a bit of a problem…” Celeste explained to Uriel their current predicament.

“So you're still the one everyone goes to when there's trouble. Nothing has changed there.” Uriel let out a light laugh and shook his head.

“How long are you planning to stay this time?” Celeste asked, and Uriel grinned.

“Dad thinks I'm locked in my room working on a new project. It'll be a couple of days, at least, before he realizes I'm gone.”

"That's splendid, I could certainly use your help with this.” Celeste smiled in relief.

“Yeah. I missed you too, Celeste.” Uriel huffed, but a small smile played on his lips as he dusted himself off.

“The most surprising thing about this is that Zaphiel is covering for you.” Celeste sipped her tea as Uriel poured himself another cup. It was the early morning hours, and she and Uriel had been conversing all night, catching up on recent events.

“He feels guilty about your fall since he was the one who had to report you to the elders,” Uriel murmured, gazing into his steaming teacup.

“I don't blame him, though. He had no choice. The entire squadron was with him.” Celeste shook her head as she recalled the look on Zaphiel's face when he'd witnessed her revive the child.

" He wouldn't have reported you if it had only been him. He's always looked out for us, even though we used to give him a hard time as kids.” A flash of guilt flickered across his face as he took another sip of tea.

There was a sudden clatter from her bedroom as Grim got out of bed. He had gone straight to bed when he had arrived home the night before, too exhausted to even register Uriel talking to her on the couch. He groaned as he staggered down the stairs, the sea anemone pulling him towards the door.

“They're calling you in already?!” Celeste gasped, setting aside her tea.

“Yes! It feels like I just got home too! ” He wailed tearfully as he staggered out the door.

“They sure are running him ragged. He never even noticed me. ” Uriel said, watching Grim tumble out the door.

“They certainly are. Perhaps we will gain some Intel from observing Azul. ” Celeste said before she went to get dressed for the day.

About an hour later, they met Jack in the hall of the main building. Celeste gave him a surprised look as he walked up to them. “Jack? I thought you were going to let Uriel and I handle this?”

“Yeah, well, I figured you could use some help, anyway. Especially since neither of you is from here an all. Plus, if there's a chance to uncover the secret to Azul's power, I wanna be there when we learn it. ” Jack huffed, looking away.

“Oh, so you're curious.” Uriel chuckled at Jack's feigned indifference.

“That's not what-!” Jack started to protest, but Celeste shushed him as she spotted Azul. He was heading for the lecture hall. They followed him, stopping once outside the room, and peered in through the window.

His first class was music, and he was quite a talented singer. His beautiful voice carried through the room with confidence during the warm-ups. She smiled and as she listened to him sing his solo piece.

The next class was animal linguistics, a class she actually shared with him. Grimacing as Professor Trein marked her absent, she watched as Azul glanced around searching for her, finding only Grim siting in her seat. Trein called him to the front of the class, where he conversed with Lucius perfectly.

“It doesn't seem like he has many weaknesses…” Jack frowned, seeing that Azul excelled in all his classes.

“Except for flying. He's in my flight class, with a few other sophomores who are poor fliers. He can barely get a foot off the ground.” Celeste said, remembering the morning when she'd given him flying advice.

“Seriously? Huh, I guess everyone's got a weakness. Though I doubt that'll help us much.” Jack sighed as they walked into the cafeteria. They took their seats at their usual table, and Ace, Deuce, and Grim trudged up to them, dropping their trays onto the table with a thud. All of them seemed exhausted.

“Hello, you three. How was your morning?” Celeste greeted them as they sat down.

“Mroow… Azul didn't waste any time workin' us to the bone. I'm dead on my feet.” Grim groaned as he slumped over his tray.

“Cleaning Octavinelle dorm, waiting tables at the lounge, going on grocery runs…” Ace looked over at her and stopped when he registered Uriel sitting next to her. “Wait… Who's he?!”

“I'm Uriel. You must be Ace and Deuce.” Uriel smiled back at them as they gave him distrustful looks.

“Uriel is a friend, he's helping me at the moment,” Celeste explained to them and Jack gave her a questioning glance.

Ace narrowed his eyes at her. “… Kinda seems like your replacin' us.” His eyes flashed back and forth between Uriel and Jack.

“Don't be ridiculous, Ace. I'll have you know we're TRYING to determine how to get you out of this mess.” Celeste scowled at him for thinking she could be so shallow.

Deuce smiled in relief. “O-oh, of course you are! See Ace, I told you Celeste wouldn't just abandon us.”

“Yeah, we still haven't found a small talking animal to replace Grim just yet,” Uriel smirked at them teasingly, causing Grim to hiss at him.

“Uriel! Don't antagonize them!” She shot him a scathing look before turning back to Ace and Deuce. “While I'm disappointed by your actions… I will help you. Even the Headmaster has expressed his concerns.”

“Hey… Aren't you the medic from the Spelldrive tournament?” Deuce squinted, taking a closer look at Uriel.

“Oh, hey! You do remember me!” Uriel grinned at him.

“Heeey! Angelfish!” A voice called out to her from across the lunchroom, and they all turned to see the leech twins making their way toward them.

“What did that guy just call you?” Uriel frowned as his expression grew serious.

“It's alright Uriel. Just a harmless nickname.” She reassured him as Floyd sauntered over to her with Jade close behind.

“Why… What's with all the suspicious looks? We only wish to lend you a helping hand.” Jade smiled at them.

“Oh? Do you really?” Celeste eyed them skeptically as she crossed her arms.

“Aww, don't be like that Angelfish! We just wanna help ya out!” Floyd flashed her a toothy grin, and she narrowed her eyes.

“We couldn't help but notice that you seemed troubled. Perhaps your anxiety stems from the three anemone stooges?” Jade cast a glance over at Ace and Deuce.

“Perhaps? What do you think?” Jack huffed at Jade.

“What's your problem? You're as prickly as a sea urchin.” Floyd cocked his head as he gave Jack a nickname.

“Wh- I'm a WOLF!” Jack protested, glaring at him.

“Well, if the cause for your troubles are the sea anemones… I believe you would be well-served discussing the matter with Azul in person, Celeste. You will find Azul to be as benevolent as the sea witch. I'm certain he will treat your misgivings with due gravity.” Jade said, ignoring Jack's outburst.

“In other words, he wishes to strike a deal with me.” Celeste narrowed her eyes at them and they exchanged glances.

“C'mon angelfish, just one little deal, and your friends are free!” Floyd smiled, and the boys gasped behind her, their eyes filled with hope.

She glanced up at Uriel, who leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Celeste, if all he wants is money, I can get it, no problem. I mean, what else could he ask for?”

“Hey, you look kinda familiar…” Floyd squinted at Uriel. “… Have I squeezed you before?”

Uriel frowned, confused at his words, while Celeste quickly stepped between them. “When could I speak with Azul?”

Wide grins stretched across Jade's and Floyd's faces. “Arrive at the Mostro Lounge after nine tonight. We will be waiting for you.” Jade declared, his different-colored eyes glittering.

“Don't keep us waiting too long, angelfish!” Floyd grinned as he and his brother turned and left.

“Are you gonna do it?! I mean, you're like a princess, right? You can buy him off!” Ace turned to her as soon as they'd gone.

“I know you can beat Azul at his own game, Celeste!” Deuce declared, his eyes shining with hope.

“You are all shameless. Tryin' to mooch off Celeste over YOUR mistake!” Jack growled at them.

“Look, we've learned our lesson, alright?! This is miserable!” Grim wailed, throwing himself at her feet. “Please, Celeste!”

“Alright! Enough!” She shook him off and sighed. “I'll go with Uriel tonight and speak with him. If it's money he wants, I suppose we can work that out.” She said with a glance over at Uriel, and the boys cheered.

“I'll go with you guys. I've got a bad feelin' about this.” Jack seemed apprehensive as he looked at her and Uriel.

“You sure you want to get more involved, Jack? Those guys seem pretty sketchy.” Uriel asked with a slight frown.

Jack let out a huff. “That's exactly why I want to go. I can't stand the thought of losin' to some guys who profited off someone else's hard work.”

Ace, Deuce, and Grim suddenly let out groans as their anemones started dragging them away. “Ugh! We're being called again!” Ace groaned as they shuffled away.

“We'll see you later, guys. Hang in there!” Celeste called out after them as they left the lunchroom.

They met Jack about ten minutes till nine outside the mirror hall. She was wearing her usual night attire, the long blue coat with her sword strapped to her waist. She wore it so frequently that Ace and Deuce had started calling it the Ramshackle dorm uniform. They stepped into the Octavinelle mirror, once again finding themselves under the sea.

“Whoa! This is amazing! I've never seen anything like it!” Uriel exclaimed, running up to the glass and peering into the dark water around them.

“Isn't it? You should see it during the day. There are fish inside!” Celeste said enthusiastically as she stood next to him.

Jack cleared his throat. “… We're on a mission here, remember?” He was waiting for them at the entrance to the tunnel that led to Mostro Lounge with his arms crossed.

“Oh, yes… Of course.” She stepped away from the glass, embarrassed that something had sidetracked her so easily.

They entered the Lounge, finding it to be rather busy. Ace and Deuce were darting from table to table, frantically taking orders.

“Wow, this place is hopping,” Uriel remarked as he took in the scenery.

“You should lay low Uriel. Since you're not a student here.” Jack hissed to him quietly as Floyd and Jade made their way over to them.

“Angelfish! You made it! And I see you brought sea urchin and a friend.” Floyd narrowed his eyes at Uriel as if he were still trying to remember who he was.

“I told you not to call me that!” Jack growled at him, flattening his ears.

“Thank you for coming so promptly, Celeste. Welcome to the Mostro Lounge.” Jade greeted her cordially. “Since this is your first time here, allow me to give you a rundown of our establishment… The Mostro Lounge is a meeting place for gentlemen. Any quarrels with other dorms are verboten here. Students from all dorms are expected to abide by Octavinelle rules on the premises. With that out of the way… Azul is ready to see you, so please follow me.”

Jade and Floyd led them to a door on the other side of the Lounge. Azul's voice sounded from the behind the door, telling them to come in.

Inside was a large office. The walls were lined with books and a large vault was set into the back wall. Two black sofas faced each other in front of a large desk. Behind it sat Azul, who smiled as they entered the room.

“Please have a seat.” Azul gestured to the two sofas, and they all sat down. “Now Celeste, I hear there is something you wish to discuss with me?”

“Indeed there is. As you know, Grim and I are attending as a single student, and since he is unable to perform magic in his current state… This puts us in a bit of a bind. So, I wish to discuss the terms for his release… As well as all the other students you've indentured.” Celeste gave him a firm look, and he let out a laugh.

“Goodness me. That's quite the demand to make right out of the gate. You would ask me to release all 225 students from their contracts?” Azul smirked at her, his eyes glittering with amusement.

“You bamboozled that many people?!” Jack exclaimed, drawing back in his seat.

“Yes, well, Jade and Floyd did a bit of proactive market outreach this year,” Azul answered, glancing at the twins standing by the door.

He turned back to her with a serious expression. “Now, Celeste, as for your request… I want to assure you that I'm not forcing them to labor under any undue duress. They made a contract with me and willingly consented to the terms.”

“I can't help but notice that you call on Ace, Deuce, and Grim frequently. How many students did you say you had under contract? 225? Why call on those three so often?” Celeste narrowed her eyes at him. There wasn't much Grim could do without his magic. With his size, she'd thought he wouldn't have been much use to them at all.

“Why, your friends are rather useful in the lounge. I assigned them tasks that they're skilled at, is all. It just so happens that those tasks need to be done frequently.” Azul answered with a smile, and she heard the twins chuckle behind her.

She let out a sigh. “All right. Let's stop beating around the bush. You wish to make a deal with me, yes?”

Jack shot her an uneasy glance as Azul leaned forward. “Now there's an interesting proposal. However, there is a bit of a snag… Your magic has been sealed, therefore inaccessible, and while you come from a wealthy background, you've been cut off. Considering the big ask you're making of me, I would need considerable collateral.”

“If it's money you want, I could-” she started to say, but Jack cut her off.

“Celeste! Don't!” He hissed at her, flattening his ears.

“You can relax. I have no intention of asking Celeste to buy her friend's freedom.” Azul smirked at her as he placated Jack.

“Oh? So, what exactly were you planning on asking for then?” Uriel broke his silence as he eyed Azul coldly, growing tense.

“I don't believe we've met…?” Azul quirked an eyebrow at him when he spoke up.

“Uriel.” He responded curtly, crossing his arms.

“Well, hmm… How about usage rights for Ramshackle dorm, which is presently under Celeste's supervision?” Azul's gaze flickered over to her as she blinked in surprise.

“You want… Ramshackle?” She was a bit confused why he wanted her dump of a dorm. Sure, Crowley had kept his word and did some repairs, but… Fixer-upper was an understatement.

Jack flattened his ears and let out a growl. “Hey… Was that your angle from the-” He was interrupted as the door burst open and a ball of soap suds rushed into the room.

“WHAT ARE YOU WAITIN' FOR, SAY YES!” Grim yowled, throwing himself at her feet.

She recoiled from his wet, grabbing paws. “Grim?! You're all wet!”

“I can't take it anymore! My fur ain't made for washing dishes!” Grim wailed.

“Hang in there little kitty.” Uriel cast a wind spell, blowing off the suds and drying his fur, causing it to fluff up.

“Thanks. You ain't so bad.” He sniffled as he smoothed his fur back down.

“Celeste, the lone student at your dorm, has weighed in on the matter. What do you say?” Azul took advantage of Grim's sudden appearance.

“Celeste, don't do it! You know he's gonna name some unreasonable terms you can't possibly complete.” Jack bristled as he glared at Azul.

“What are your terms, exactly?” Celeste asked, narrowing her eyes at Azul.

Azul smiled back at her. “The deal is that you pilfer a certain photograph from the Atlantica Memorial Museum in the Coral Sea before the sun sets on the third day from now.” He said, as he pulled out a golden contract with the terms already written out.

“Whoa now…” Uriel stood up, shooting Celeste a worried glance.

“You want us to steal a piece of art?!” Jack exclaimed, jumping to his feet as well.

Azul shook his head. “No, not a piece of art. A photo. One commemorating a visit to the museum from Prince Riele, taken ten years ago. It's a photo panel placed right near the museum entrance. It has no historic value whatsoever. Borrowing it would not cause any particular fuss.”

“I'm sorry… I think I must have misheard. It sounded like you said it was IN the Coral Sea.”. Celeste said, growing more nervous.

“You heard correctly, Celeste. The Atlantica Memorial Museum is at the bottom of the sea. I will provide you with magic potions that help you breathe underwater.” Azul pulled out several shell-shaped bottles filled with a glowing green liquid.

She felt her stomach drop as she eyed the bottles. The Celestial realm didn't have an ocean, or any considerably deep bodies of water for that matter. So swimming wasn't exactly something that came naturally to angels.

She turned her gaze to the contract on the desk, and something caught her eye. It was a glass case, and inside was a single white feather with an iridescent sheen. She let out a small gasp as she recognized her own feather.

“That feather… Where did you get it?” Her head snapped over to look at Azul, her eyes wide.

Azul seemed to be caught off guard by this. “What? The feather?... I found it on a night stroll.” He glanced over at the feather on his desk and back at her with a frown.

“Did you see where it came from?” Her voice had a slight tremor to it as she eyed him wearily. Had he seen her? Was this his reason for wanting a contract?

“… No. Why do you ask? Have you seen one like it before?” Azul peered over his glasses at her. Curiosity danced across his light blue eyes as he tilted his head slightly.

“… Ah, no. It's just… Such an unusual feather…” She looked away from his burning gaze.

“I see… Well, then what do you say? Do we have a deal?” Azul tapped the contract impatiently.

Celeste skimmed over the contents of the scroll and frowned. “… Azul, this says that if I'm unable to obtain the photograph… I'll have to stay at Night Raven College and work under you until graduation.”

“Yes, well, I can't have you walking out on me, Angelfish.” Azul gave her a toothy grin as he tapped his cane on the floor.

Uriel grabbed her arm and hissed into her ear. “Celeste, you're not seriously considering this, are you?! If he gets you under his control, he might abuse your powers!”

Celeste glanced down at Grim, who was staring up at her with pleading eyes. She didn't have many options. She could leave now and abandon her friends to their fate. However, Grim would surely fail, being unable to use his magic. If she signed the contract, at least, there was a chance she could get everyone their powers back. She still had the trump card of being an angel, after all.

She let out a sigh and brushed Uriel off. Grabbing a pen, she signed her name on the contract as Azul smiled ear to ear.

“Celeste! Are you out of your mind?!” Uriel exclaimed, running his hand through his hair.

“Excellent! The contract is now in effect. Should you successfully steal the photo from the Museum and bring it to me on the third day from now… I give you my word that I will release the 225 sea anemones currently doing my bidding. Should you fail, however… Ramshackle dorm will belong to me and you with it!” He smirked at her triumphantly.

“… We shall see.” Celeste narrowed her eyes at him as he smiled at her.

“Jade. Floyd. Could you kindly walk our guest home? I'll see you soon, Celeste.” Azul waved over Jade and Floyd, who led them out of the room.

“Jack, will you go tell Ace and Deuce what's happening?” Celeste asked, seeing Ace and Deuce watching them from across the lounge. Jack nodded and left her, Uriel, and Grim with the Leech brothers.

They passed through the mirror exiting the dorm and walked out into the brisk November air.

“Celeste, why did he have one of your feathers?” Uriel hissed to her as the Leech twins led the way across campus.

“I have no idea. He must've found it like he said? He didn't seem to be aware of my true nature. Otherwise, he would have asked for a lot more.” She whispered back, and Floyd twisted around to peer at them.

“What are you whispering about back there? Angelfish, the party's up here with us!” Floyd tried to coax her to walk with him and Jade.

“Yes, don't be shy, Angelfish. We simply want to get to know you better.” Jade added with a smile.

“I bet you do.” She huffed, crossing her arms as they held open the iron gate to Ramshackle.

A white dove suddenly swooped down out of the sky, cooing as it flew in front of Uriel. He reached up and snatched it out of the air, earning startled looks from the Leech twins.

“Whoa, did you just squish that bird?!” Grim gawked at him, looking somewhere between unsettled and impressed.

“It's not a bird, it's a message.” Uriel opened his hand, revealing an origami crane in the dove's place. He quickly unfolded it and began to read the contents, his face growing more concerned.

“It's from Zaphiel isn't it? Is it urgent?” Celeste asked, seeing his face darken. Enchanted paper was a common way to send messages in the Celestial realm. Disguising them as birds helped prevent messages from falling into the wrong hands.

“I've never seen anything like that before.” Jade tilted his head curiously as he eyed the paper in Uriel's hands.

“Celeste… I've got to go. Dad's asking for me.” He whispered to her, making sure they were far enough anyway from the Leech twins and Grim.

“So soon?” Celeste felt a wave of dread, realizing that she'd have to figure out the situation she'd gotten herself into without him.

“Don't worry, Celeste, I'll be back soon! Before the three days are over, I promise!” Uriel assured her before darting off down the path back the way they had come.

“Something the matter?” Celeste jumped when Jade's voice sounded next to her ear. She spun around and saw that he and Floyd were now standing directly behind her.

“Oh! Um… He was called back to his dorm, is all. Everything's fine.” She said, taking a step back.

“What dorm is he from, anyway? He wasn't wearing an armband.” Floyd narrowed his eyes as he looked down the road where Uriel had disappeared.

She thought wildly for a moment, trying to think of a dorm he would fit into. “He's in Heartslabyul. Like Ace and Deuce.”

“Is that so? Well, we best be getting inside, it's getting late.” Jade glanced over at Ramshackle, and she nodded, walking up the steps and opening the door.

“Oho. So, this is Ramshackle dorm. This is my first time inside, and I'm already smitten with its charm.” To her surprise, Jade and Floyd followed her inside and began looking around. “It's close to the school as well. It would be a perfect site for a Mostro Lounge branch café.”

“There's ghosts living here, right? That sounds rad.” Floyd peered up the stairwell.

“Um… Do you two need something?” Celeste frowned as they made themselves at home.

“I'm afraid we need you to vacate the premises.” Jade smiled at her almost apologetically.

“Excuse me?” Celeste and Grim gasped.

“We're confiscating the dorm as collateral, remember?” Floyd smirked at her as she stood there, flabbergasted.

“You mean you're throwing us out before the third day?!” she exclaimed outraged.

“I'm afraid the dorm belongs to Azul until you hold up your end of the bargain.”

“Do you want us to help you pack your stuff?” Floyd asked, and she let out an angry huff.

“Like I need you going through my things!” She shouted at him over her shoulder as she stormed up the stairs. Grim scurried past her, frantically, searching for his tuna cans.

After throwing what little she had into her bag, she marched back downstairs to where Floyd and Jade were waiting.

“Don't be mad, Angelfish. We're just doing our jobs. Besides, Azul says you can stay in Octavinelle with us!” Floyd waved his hands in the air enthusiastically.

“He was quite grateful for that flight advice you gave him, so he's offering to let you stay in Octavinelle free of charge.” Jade smiled at her as she reached the bottom of the stairs. “… Of course, you will still be expected to help out at the lounge…”

“Well, tell Azul that I'm declining his offer.” She hissed as she brushed past them with Grim at her heels.

“Wait Angelfish! Where are ya gonna st-” She slammed the front door before Floyd could finish his sentence.

“Hey, uh, Celeste? Where ARE we going to stay?” Grim asked her as she pulled open the gate.

“We'll go to Heartslabyul and see if Riddle will allow us to-” Celeste stopped when she saw Jack, Ace, and Deuce coming up the path towards her.

“Hey, Celeste! Grim!” Ace waved at them and trotted over to her.

“I can't believe they actually threw you out. What total scumbags.” Jack growled, flattening his ears.

“They offered to let us stay at Octavinelle, but Celeste told them off.” Grim glanced up at her with a slight frown.

“Grim, they only offered that, so it'd be easier for them to track our movements. As if I'd fall for that.” She huffed, crossing her arms.

“That's ok Celeste, we've talked to Housewarden Rosehearts. You can stay at Heartslabyul, but…” Deuce trailed off, looking a little uncertain. “Unfortunately, all our beds are taken. But! You can have my bed, I'll sleep on the floor.”

“I appreciate that Deuce, but it's unnecessary. I don't need to sleep tonight. However… Grim does need a place to sleep. Not to mention I need a place to change and shower and a boy's room is…” She frowned, not sure what to do.

“Then… Why don't you come to Savanaclaw?” Jack rubbed the back of his neck as if he were a bit embarrassed. Everyone turned and gave him a surprised look.

“I acted like I was doin' you a favor by sticking around for those negotiations with Azul, but I didn't actually contribute at all.” Jack glanced away, looking guilty. “And considering how much we owe you for what happened at the Spelldrive tournament, Leona, and the others won't say anything.”

While Celeste had her doubts about welcomed in Savanaclaw, it was still preferable to a crammed boys dorm room. “Thank you, Jack… I'll take you up on that.” She nodded to him.

“Hey, what happened to Uriel?” Ace finally noticed her brother's absence.

“Oh, he went back to his dorm. “She glanced away guilty at the lie, but Ace seemed to accept her answer, waving goodbye as she left with Jack.

It was almost 1am before the eels returned to Octavinelle. Azul was waiting for them in the dorm lounge. He sat up in surprise when he saw Celeste wasn't with them.

“Where's Celeste? Didn't you tell her to come back here?” Azul stood up, frowning at the twins.

“Yeah about that…” Floyd trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck.

“She declined your offer, I'm afraid.” Jade shook his head and gave him a look of mock sympathy.

“What? Then where did she go?” Azul gave them a disapproving glare.

“I dunno, but she left with the big wolf guy.” Floyd shrugged as he threw himself down in a chair.

Azul hissed in frustration. “Perhaps I should have made that part of the contract. I didn't think she'd have anywhere else to go.” He let out a sigh. “But, nonetheless, we still have the high ground.”

“What of the other man she was with? Did you find anything else about him?” Azul adjusted his glasses as he addressed Jade.

A slow grin spread across the eel's face. “Yes, as a matter of fact…” Jade explained to him about the sudden message Uriel had received and the odd manner in which he'd received it.

“And she said he's from Heartslabyul? Do some digging on him and find out if that's true. Use the anemones if you have to.” Azul instructed as he crossed his arms.

“There is one other thing that I thought would be of interest to you…” Jade's eyes glinted as he reached for his blazer pocket. “I wouldn't have noticed it if it hadn't been glowing. I thought it looked remarkably similar to the one on your desk.”

Azul's eyes went wide as Jade pulled out a white feather. It looked identical to the angel feather he already had, emitting a soft glow as iridescent colors shone down its length. “Where did you find that?!” He gasped, plucking it out of Jade's hands.

“It was under her bed.” Jade answered simply as Azul ran his hand over the silky feather. It gave him the same soothing feeling as the other one. He was certain it was from the same angel he'd seen that night.

He looked up sharply at Jade's words. “It was INSIDE Ramshackle?” Jade nodded, and his mind began to race. Had Celeste seen the angel as well? She had acted strangely when she'd noticed the feather on his desk. She must have recognized it.

“I see… I want you to find out everything you can about Celeste. Don't leave a single stone unturned.”

Floyd groaned. “Can't it wait until tomorrow, boss? It's like 1 in the morning and the ghosts at Ramshackle were throwin' books at us! We're gonna have to do some ghost bustin' on that place.”

Azul sighed. “Fine, it is rather late. But make sure you beat them to the museum tomorrow. Don't let her get that picture until her time is almost up. Then hold her off until after sunset.”

[heliads]

Oh my god congrats on 5k my icon! U deserve it 100% 🥰 I’m so happy for you

Could I get a personalised drabble (w Tom’s Peter Parker) and ship (Harry Potter, Star Wars and Percy Jackson) & playlist ? 🥹

Here’s stuff about me:

Im blonde with blue eyes. My hair is like super long like down to my butt and I have bangs. I have ADHD (I’m very much adhd LMAO - like it shows) and I’m an INFJ-T - I’m usually the quirky, funny, nerd friend who always makes references to marvel or Star Wars or lord of the rings and plays video games. Everyone says I have a really really unique personality. Im a Gryffindor an child of Apollo. Im also a theatre kid and currently studying musical theatre. I’m a huge film nerd - I know too much about cinema and movies for my own good lmao. Music nerd as well. Im very into hard rock although I don’t look like it (like I don’t look like ur typical tattooed and dressed in all black metal head, but I’m very much one)

I hope this helps :)

thank you!! you're my icon tbh

personalized drabble:

“Dude, she’s, like, totally your soulmate.”

Peter scoffs, trying not to let the words obviously shake him. Ned has been wheedling Peter for what must be half an hour, trying to convince him to just ask out Y/N L/N, already. No matter how many times Peter says that it’s not going to work, that Y/N may be his absolute dream girl but that doesn’t mean she likes him even half as strongly as he likes her, Ned refuses to abandon the cause.

Peter still can’t stop himself from inserting at least an ounce of realism into the conversation. “She’s not my soulmate, Ned. Soulmates aren’t real.”

Ned snorts. “Yeah, that’s what I thought until I met the two of you. You guys are practically the same person. She likes Star Wars, you like Star Wars. You’ve watched Lord of the Rings about a hundred times with me, I heard her weighing the benefits of Narsil or Sting in a battle just last week. Admit it, Peter, the two of you are just meant to be.”

Peter sighs. “I wish it could be, but you’re missing one massive point. She doesn’t like me, Ned, and no amount of shared interests are going to fix that.”

Ned groans, but before the other boy can try and persuade Peter that this isn’t a problem, he’s cut off by a new voice. This one comes from somebody standing just behind them, somebody who’s been listening into their conversation.

“Who said I didn’t like you?”

Peter’s eyes widen at the same time as Ned’s, and he turns around slowly to see none other than Y/N L/N grinning at him. There’s no way this could ever be happening, but as Peter stands there and gapes at her, Y/N’s smile just broadens.

“Well?” she asks, “Don’t you have something to ask me?”

Peter nods hurriedly before he can convince himself that he’s dreaming. “Yeah, absolutely. Would you, uh, like to go out with me?”

No question in the history of the universe has ever been wrought with so much peril. At the same time, though, Peter thinks he’s got a pretty good chance of getting the answer he wants. The delighted look on Y/N’s face tells him that much.

ships:

I ship you with Draco Malfoy!

The last thing Draco Malfoy planned on was falling in love with a Gryffindor, but he couldn't help it when it came to you. He was minding his business in class (as well as Draco can, let's be real the man has an unhealthy interest in keeping up with gossip lmao) when he overheard you making a sarcastic comment to your friend. He had to literally cover his mouth to stop from laughing, and ever since then, Draco was hooked. It's love, babey.

I ship you with Lando Calrissian!

Ok, I am SUCH a Lando stan, and I just think the two of you would get along so well. Lando would watch your favorite movies with you as many times as you want, and gladly listen to you talk about the hidden details for hours. He's a simp, and especially a simp for you. It just makes sense.

I ship you with Leo Valdez!

Leo, my beloved, is absolutely thrilled to find someone as awesome as he is. Never one to shy away from a music rec, Leo listens to your favorite hard rock albums with you while he's working on his latest project. It's worth it for the Tony Stark energy, alright? He's also tried to make high tech instruments for you as well.

playlist:

Capital Letters - Hailee Steinfeld

My Alcoholic Friends - The Dresden Dolls

Midnight City - M83

Cruel Summer - Taylor Swift

Someone New - Hozier

i hope you enjoy! thank you for taking part in my celebration!!

[babygirlgalitzine]

i’d love you to love me (ao3)

it starts out with a pact. neither of them will date, until they can both find people to date. except, they don't expect to be honouring that years later, and when jay starts to fall in love with lola, he realises that it's time for ben to date someone too. in the most chaotic way possible.

or, a vague 10 things i hate about you au.

-

It’s a miserable day. The sky is an unrelentingly dark grey shade, cascading for miles and miles with no end in sight. The rain has been pouring down all day, and the wind mixes with it, causing the rain to hit against windows, creating a rattling sound all over. It’s that horrible misty spray that means Ben can’t even see that far in front of him, though he knows his way around Walford that well now that he really doesn’t have to look to see where he’s going. Jay’s walking out in front of him, a breaking leather ball at his feet, scraping along the wet pavement with an awful sounding scratch.

“It’s freezing!” Ben shouts over the rain, and he watches in awe somewhat, as raindrops fall onto his eyelashes, tiny little droplets clinging on for dear life. It’s true, it is freezing. The torrential rain bounces up off of the pavement and clings to his socks, climbing up onto his grey school trousers and staining them darker and darker as time goes by. There’s not a single part of him that isn’t shivering and wet, but he and Jay have a routine now, one that happens regardless of the weather.

The school’s over bell will ring out just after three, a shrieking tinny noise, one that’s surely going to be imprinted on everyone’s brain for years to come. Ben will stand next to the doors at the side of school, and then Jay will follow moments later, catching up with him. It goes unspoken, because this routine has been going on for so long without ever changing, that they’ll walk home together, strolling into a corner shop and getting as many sweets as possible, before going to their local park and staying there until they have to go home for whatever reason.

“Oh come on!” Jay turns his entire body and starts to walk backwards, the wind blowing his hood down within seconds and he scrambles to put it back up, though it’s in vain. “Are you telling me you want to go back home already? Because I know for certain you have science homework to do, and so does your mum.”

Ben looks to the ground, watching the raindrops splashing into the puddles and breaking into even tinier pieces before falling back down again. It’s almost relaxing to watch it, or it would be, if his hands weren’t currently frozen completely numb. “My mum’s got science work to do, has she?” He asks cheekily, but he knows Jay’s right. Jay’s always right. He knows that the second he walks through his door, he’s going to have to spend the rest of the evening doing his work for tomorrow, and he couldn’t think of anything worse than that, so staying at the park in the pouring rain wins yet again.

He manages to look up in time to see Jay roll his eyes, and he kicks his ball back towards Ben as they walk in the direction of the park. “You need a new ball, mate.” Ben comments, picking it up and throwing it back at Jay. He regrets picking it up, because the ball’s been collecting that much water as Jay kicked at it all the way home that it’s sopping wet and heavy.

“I know.” Jay replies, and they turn into the park. Ben’s got nowhere to sit, his usual place on the swing is collecting a puddle of muddy water underneath so the idea of sitting there doesn’t even cross his mind. Instead, he sits on the small brick wall, resting on the very edges of his coat to try and minimise how sopping wet his trousers are going to be when he eventually stands up. He realises that it probably won’t do anything sufficiently, and he’s going to be cold and wet regardless. There’s a silence that grows between them for a moment or two, but that’s normal. Jay kicks the ball against the wall that Ben’s sitting on and they both watch as chips of the bricks start to crumble away and swirl away in a stream of a puddle that runs downhill. “What happened in science today?” Jay asks, breaking the comfortable silence.

Ben huffs out a laugh, more sarcastic than anything else, because he’s been waiting all day for Jay to ask him, or at least, since the class directly before lunch. “Nothing.” He says, and then he looks down the road and sees cars driving slowly, headlights on full beam.

Jay nods slowly. “Right. So you’ve spent all day in a mood, for nothing? Makes a whole lot of sense that does, Ben.” He pauses. “I’m your brother. You’re supposed to tell me everything.”

Brother. It’s such a simple word. Of course, biologically, they aren’t brothers, but in every other sense of the word they are. They’ve been inseparable from the day they first met.

“I overheard Connor and Sarah talking.” Ben says, and he already he knows he sounds stupid for even being remotely bothered about this. “Saying that nobody would ever want to be with you, because I’m here scaring them off.”

“And you’re bothered about that?” Jay lets out a soft chuckle, resting his foot on the top of the ball. “Mate, I couldn’t care less about getting with anyone right now. Tell you what though, I wouldn’t be interested in anyone unless they wanted to be around you too. We’re a package deal, you and me.”

Ben looks up and rolls his eyes. “That supposed to be making me feel better, is it?” He laughs.

“If you were anyone else I’d be hurt by that.” Jay comments and kicks the ball a final time against the wall, so hard that Ben feels the wall shake slightly underneath him, and even more of the brick crumbles to the ground.

The rain doesn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon, and they’re both starting to get far too cold and hungry and wet. The grey sky does seem to be getting darker though, and that’s probably a sign for it both getting later, and the weather getting worse.

“How about we make a pact?” Jay asks, though it’s clear that he doesn’t think of the implication of his words before he speaks, if the shock on his own face is anything to go by. The wind blows down his hood once again as it whistles and swirls around them, causing ripples in the puddles.

“What pact?” Ben asks, getting to his feet and swinging his bag across his body.

Jay shrugs as he tries to think. “How about, we don’t date anyone, until we’ve both found people to date.”

It’s completely and utterly ridiculous, and they’re both well aware of that fact. But they’re also both just a few weeks away from turning sixteen years old and if they’re being completely honest, neither of them have anything better to do with their time.

There’s a silence between them for a moment as Ben tries to take in Jay’s words and then slowly but surely, he nods. “Yeah.” Ben whispers out, and he can barely hear his own voice above the deluge of rain, with heavy and harsh droplets falling around them. “Go on then.”

So that’s it. Ben agrees to the pact, and from that day on, it becomes Ben and Jay’s rule.

Neither of them would date anyone, until they both found someone to date.

It’s just that, the pact was never supposed to last as long as it has.

It’s over two years later, and Ben and Jay are still in Walford. They’re probably always going to be stuck in Walford really - they know far too many people who have tried to get out into the world, only to come back not long after. They’re both still just as inseparable, and again, that’s something that is probably never going to change. The pact is still there, it’s still something that they talk about occasionally, laughing at how ridiculous it is, and yet, it still stands, though not through a lack of trying.

Nobody has really shown Ben much interest over the last two years, besides the occasional man at a party or a club, but nothing long standing. Perhaps it’s because he still lives in Walford, around so many of the people he’s known his entire life. In such a small place, everyone knows everyone and knows everything about everyone. It’s not exactly the best place in the world to be finding a partner, even less to find a gay man.

Or it could be because of the fact that Ben's got this wall surrounding him, built up so high, guarding him and protecting him from any hurt that could possibly come his way. Probably both, really. But still, nobody has ever met Ben and shown an interest in wanting to break down his wall. Ever. The story was the same for Jay as well. Nobody ever showed an interest in him, but because everyone already knew about the pact. That was, until Lola came into his life.

They’re sitting in the Queen Vic, at a circular table right in the far corner of the room. They can see almost everyone else in the building, all at their own tables or standing against the bar, chatting away and laughing. There’s even people playing darts, walking to and from the board, doing the maths in their head. In their own little space, they’re sitting at a wobbly table of three: Ben, Jay and Lola.

It’s not unusual for the three of them to be sitting together, though it probably looks unconventional from the outside looking in, especially given the fact that Jay’s got one hand outstretched, holding onto the back of Lola’s chair protectively. Ben’s definitely more than aware that he looks like a spare part, a third wheel. He knows it too. But Lola was the one to invite him along for a few drinks, though they all know she’s got an ulterior motive. She knows about the pact now. It didn’t take long for her to find out, really. From the moment her and Jay started to get close, he told her about it, and although she laughed at first because really, it is a ridiculous pact to have, she’s now taking it upon herself to make sure the pact ends, once and for all.

Lola’s got her phone in her hand, scrolling through it with a smile on her face. She keeps looking up at Jay and nodding her head silently, looking at him expectantly and then, when he shakes his head, she continues scrolling.

“Really good conversation guys, thanks for this.” Ben jokingly states, rolling his eyes to the back of his head.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go to The Albert after this?” Lola asks, sipping on her vodka and orange.

Ben glares at Jay, knowing that Jay’s told Lola about how he’s refusing to go in there after last time. “More than sure.” He says, draining the last of his beer. “Another?” He tries to stand up, but Lola’s too quick for him, dropping her phone onto the table harshly and reaching out and grabbing his hand.

“It was one idiot, Ben.” She says warmly. “Don’t let that ruin your experience.”

He smiles tightly, but he doesn’t want to hear it. He mutters something about going to the toilet, because he doesn’t want to hear about how his first time in a gay bar was ruined by some idiot starting a fight outside, throwing about homophobic slurs and punching anyone he could get his hands onto, including Ben. He takes his time in the bathroom, throwing some water on his face in an attempt to calm himself down, and when he feels better, he rejoins Jay and Lola.

“Sorry.” He says sincerely, sitting back down at the table.

Jay shrugs his shoulders. “It’s fine mate. But Lo’s right, you know? You’re young and you’re single. You should be doing what everyone our age does and go out. Don’t let one prick stop you from wanting to do that. You deserve to be able to go to whatever bar you want to go to.”

“I know.” Ben says, smiling. “Just give me time, yeah? And then we can all go out together.”

Lola perks up at that, because she’s been begging and pleading to go to a gay bar for months now, ever since The Albert first opened it’s doors. “I could easily set you up with someone you know?” Lola says absentmindedly. “You just give me your word, and I’ll find someone.”

Ben huffs out a laugh at that, and his eyes flicker up to Jay, just in time to catch him rolling his eyes at Ben’s reaction. “Know every gay man in the area, do ya?” He chuckles, but at least it’s a genuinely happy laugh. He likes Lola, he really does. Jay really went and found someone that fit perfectly within their dynamic, and he loves him for that, because nothing would be more awkward than Ben not liking Jay’s girlfriend, or her not liking Ben. But Ben can see that Jay really likes Lola - really likes her - and they’re so good for each other. It’s obvious to see.

“That’d be impossible.” She berates, rolling her eyes. “But I definitely know a few!”

She’s looking at Ben with those puppy dog eyes and Jay’s chuckling under his breath because he knows that Ben’s going to break any second now. “Oh my God!” She practically squeals. “We could go on double dates too!”

Ben’s eyes go wide at that, and Jay just about covers up the splutter of his pint behind a cough, but Ben sees right through him.

Lola looks at Jay, practically begging him for his help to get Ben onside. “Look Ben mate, I love you, yeah? We’re not asking you to marry the next person who walks through the door, but at least try. Just go on a few dates, find out what you like. You never know.”

Ben knows he’s being stupid. He knows that now’s the time he should probably try and go on a few dates here and there, and make an attempt at letting his wall come down and try to be happy. He knows that. It’s still scary though. Terrifying, in fact. He looks between Jay and Lola, and gives in, sighing. “Fine.” He exhales, and he barely has a chance to breathe before Lola’s practically leaping over the table to hug him half to death, squealing right in his ear.

When Lola finally peels herself off of Ben, and he rubs his face in hands, Lola speaks giddily. “I’ve got the perfect person, his name is Callum.”

This is happening.

[nishisun]

suna rintaro is NOT a genius.

summary: you loved the idea of soulmates. suna rintaro didn’t. it isn’t that hard to put two and two together to realize that maybe people with different opinions on things don’t belong together.

part 2

a/n: this was literally supposed to be a series, i gave up on it because i just didn’t like the way it turned out. it used to be called “out of my league” and this was the intro. i also renamed it. just emptying drafts!! please don’t get confused with the random timeskip, once again, this was a part of a series i never ended up posting😭

WARNING!!: suggestive themes, mentions of death, idk kinda angsty but tell me if i missed anything

Soulmates. Whatever the hell that means. The idea of soulmates is something I truly don’t understand. It’s bullshit, honestly. It’s all-pervasive.

My mother always told me I'd eventually find "the one.” I used to believe that when I was younger of course. But in my opinion? It’s all cliches. It's unhelpful, and it's certainly not true. Destiny is an excuse for the weak. Why do you think most marriages end in divorce? It's 'cause people who believe they are “destined to be" assume everything will fall into place without any effort. I don't appreciate people pontificating bullshit like that just to make me feel better, especially if they haven't found their "soulmate" themselves. My sister once told me, “People who believe in soulmates are more likely to break up and encounter more difficulty in their relationship, which will lead them to give up on one another eventually.”

I sure do believe that.

My mother is a prime example. Fumeiko Suna, my dear mother. Well, she clearly hasn’t found hers. I found out when I came home after a tedious day of school in 5th grade and found my dear mother on the floor crying, with bruises all over her face and a busted lip.

Initially, I thought a burglar had broken into our home once again, but if that were the case then there would’ve been missing furniture. But there wasn’t.

In fact, the place seemed cleaner than usual. When I ran up to her and asked her what had happened, there he was. The devil himself. My father. He reeked of alcohol, and I could detect his shadow towering over me. It’s funny how that I think of it. I used to fear that son of a bitch. Now, I’m way taller than him, and hate his guts. I turned around to see a faux-sympathetic smile plastered on his face.

He explained how my mother was being “clumsy” and had fell and busted her lip on one of the corners of the kitchen table and when I turned back around to face my mother, she smiled gently and nodded in agreement. She didn’t say anything after that.

It was then I realized my father had beat my mother to a pulp.

Long story short, when I found it was my father, sure, I was frightened. In fact, I remember going into my siblings’ rooms to inform them, they shrugged it off and told me that dad had been doing it for a while now.

Over time, when my dad had found out that I was aware, he didn't mind beating the absolute shit out of my mother in front of all three of us. This was when my burning hatred for that man started. Nobody in the house even attempted to stop him. I did a few times, though. He took all his anger out on me. At least my mom had a break for the day.

I almost pitied my mother. Almost. Maybe if she was strong enough to leave him, then yeah, I’d feel bad. But she still decides to stay with his sorry ass. It’s pathetic. It’s unrequited love or whatever you call it. How could she still love that asshole?

I mean, I’m not even going to lie, I’m an asshole too, but I’m definitely not my dad. I would never want to be him. He’s not someone I looked up to, he doesn’t do anything inspirational. He’s a businessman. He travels the majority of the time, and I’m pretty sure my mom invites men over when he’s gone. I don’t care enough to find out. But if I ever hear some guy rearranging my mom’s guts, I’ll kill him. I don’t even blame my mother. What she’s doing is wrong, she knows it and so do both of my older siblings. But they don't seem to care so why should I?

Who knows why she just won’t leave him. Maybe it’s cause they don’t want to ruin how people view our “picture perfect” family. I wonder what they’d say. “I thought the Suna’s were the ideal family? I guess not.”

My dad would probably lose it if he heard that.

Both my mother and my father are the cause of this broken family of mine. They never fed me or any of my siblings the love we always desired when we were younger. They never came to any of my volleyball games when I was younger. They never applauded me for the little recitals we’d have in class in primary school. They were never even here for most of my childhood. They always put money first and left us with the housekeepers. Hell, the housekeepers probably know me better than my own parents.They failed as parents. I despise them for it. They’re most likely the reason I am the way I am, but to be honest?

I don’t give a fuck.

In fact, I should thank them! Because of how they “raised” me, i’m extremely blunt, which is why people respect me. I use the hatred I have for my family and take it out on people and no, I’m not proud of that. I may be a heartless asshole, but I like that people fear me. The hell? Does that make me a sadist? Either way, people know to never fuck with me cause I’d fuck their shit up. I’ve overheard many people say it’s ‘cause of my privilege. It probably is. Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure can buy you many other things.

If my parents were broke, I’d probably be expelled from school by now. Abuse of alcohol and drugs are forbidden on school property. I don’t even take them at school, I somewhat care about my education and health, but sometimes I just need to blow some steam. Even if I did, nobody’s gonna say shit since my dad is the head of Japan’s board of education. How did his ass even get there?

Call me lonely or cynical. Maybe I am. But how is that a bad thing? Why do people need a significant other to rely on? What, a soulmate is just going to turn my life upside down then suddenly bring me happiness? Pfft, I’m gonna need actual proof that shit like that still happens. I’ve only seen shit like that in fairy tale movies. It’s whatever, though. I can live with being alone. I’ve basically been alone my whole life and it isn’t as bad as people make it.

You loved the idea of having a soulmate. The thought of meeting someone who just understood you, accepted you for who you were, and most importantly, loved you excited you. You couldn’t wait to meet your soulmate.

But recently, you weren’t sure soulmates existed.

When your older sister, Akira, came into your room and burst into tears, it frightened you. Your older sister, the one who��d always provide you advice on relationships and how to keep one was in your room sobbing hysterically because hers hadn’t worked out.

“I just can't believe it,” she sobbed.

You couldn’t believe it either. Your sister had recently gotten engaged to her boyfriend of 9 years. They started dating at the age of 15 and managed to make things work out even after high school, and out of all those years of dating, they never broke up. Not even once.

They’d go on romantic dates on Saturdays and they’d always write love letters to one another every day, just to remind one another of how grateful they were to have each other in their lives. On Halloween, they’d dress up as fictional characters from TV shows and books and take cute selfies and bake a bunch of sweets. They’d invite you to come bake with them, but you would politely deny. You knew they were only offering so you wouldn’t feel left out, which you appreciated.

Of course, they’d argue every now and then, but at the end of the day, they always managed to talk things out. Oh to have a relationship like theirs. They were everything you wanted to have in a relationship and more.

“I really thought he was the one for me, y’know?” No, you don’t know. But that doesn't matter. What mattered was cheering your sister up.

“Maybe he wasn’t ‘the one’ Akira, and that’s okay! People come and go all the time, soulmates come and go all the time as well-”

“You still believe soulmates are real, huh?” she let out a humorless laugh and sniffed her nose, “What If I missed my one shot at love, Y/N? What if I lost my soulmate?”

That’s some deep shit.

Now that you think about it, were soulmates real? Soulmates come and go, yes, you’re aware of that, but even though they leave, it’s always temporary. Soulmates always find a way back to their other half, the piece that completes them.

Your dad never made it back to your mother.

He died in a car crash 5 years ago. Your mother and father had been arguing because she claimed your father was cheating on her since he wouldn’t let her check his phone.

You were 13 at the time. Your sister Akira was accompanying you in your room, listening to them arguing back and forth with one another. There was furniture flying across the room, glass breaking, and both of them throwing curses at each other. You were scared. They never argued in front of you and your sister. They'd bicker sometimes, but it was never anything too deep.

Eventually, your father had enough of your mother’s false accusations, and out of anger, he packed his things and left home. For weeks. It wasn’t until one of your uncles called your mother and broke the news. She didn’t take it very well.

Late 2012-early 2013.

Not many people came to your father’s funeral, his family didn’t like the fact that he and your mother were together, they said your mother was trouble, but your dad still stayed with her, even if that meant it would completely destroy the bond he had with his family. Now that’s true love, you had thought. Only your mother, Akira, the Sunas, your uncle, and you, of course, attended the funeral.

It hurt a lot. It hurt when your mother informed both your grandparents on your mother and father’s side and all they could do is put the blame on her. It hurt how they had claimed you, Akira and your mother were a hindrance to your dear father’s well-being. How could they be so cruel at a time like this?

That was the first time you ever questioned if soulmates were real. Maybe they fell in love at the wrong time? Who knows.

After your father’s passing, Fumiko Suna, your mother’s best friend, was there to help your family out financially. Your mother couldn’t even find the motivating to go to work. Your mother and Fumiko have been best friends since junior high, they’ve literally been inseparable ever since. In fact, after they both got married, they decided to live right next to each other.

Your mom didn’t cope with your father’s death very well; none of you did. But your mom had it the worst.

She would cope with alcohol and clubbing which would always result in her bringing different men home almost every night. You didn’t say much about it, you thought it would be selfish to since that’s what seemed to make your mother feel better about herself, but your sister hated it. She was already 19 and in college at the time, but when she visited and found out that your mother had basically been neglecting you, she was furious.

“Seriously, mom? This is what you’re gonna do while your 13-year-old daughter is in her room having a literal mental breakdown because of your childish behavior?” Your sister had barged into your mother’s room when she thought you were asleep, she was screaming loud.

“You’re interrupting something important, Akira. You know better than to-”

“Oh, shut the hell up mom. You’re the last person on earth to be saying shit like that.”

“Well, if you’re done, you can leave my room now. You’re being disrespectful, and this behavior is not tolerated!” Your mother was screaming now. The man in the bed covering his body under the covers and looking back and forth between Akira and your mother.

“Sakiya, maybe you should hear your daughter out-”

“Not now.” your mother scarcely interrupted the man, eye contact never leaving Akira. “Y/N has never complained about this when you were in college. She knows this is my way of coping, why can’t you understand that too!”

Akira scoffed. “So what, getting fucked by random strangers you find on the filthy streets is your way of coping? Getting wasted every damn night to the point where Y/N has to drag you up to bed is okay with you? Do you even know how much this is affecting Y/N? Did you even bother asking her how she felt? I hate breaking it to you mom, but you need serious help.”

“You selfish child!” Your mother screamed, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her body, getting up from the bed. “How dare you say that to your own mother?”

“I’m only telling the truth! If you’re the mother, then it’s your job to be taking care of Y/N, not neglecting her. When’s the last time you’ve engross in an actual conversation with her when you were fully sober?”

Your mother was silent. She quickly walked up to Akira and grabbed her by the hair and slammed her headfirst against the wall.

“You’ve got a big mouth! Maybe I should wash it with soap like I did back in the day, hm?” Akira was attempting to push her mother away, but she wouldn’t let go of her grip. The man that was still on your mother’s bed was in panic, yelling her name, which didn’t have any effect. He might as well stop.

"Look," Akira mumbled, struggling to get away from your mother's grip, "I know it's been hard ever since dad left-"

“Mom! Let go of her!” You cried from the door of her room.

All 3 adults froze and looked at your glassy eyes, mouths wide open.

“Hey, kiddo, I thought you were asleep?” Akira playfully said, your mother let go of Akira and crossed her arms then looked away from you.

“Well, I can't really go to sleep when there’s a bunch of adults yelling about my well-being,” you muttered incoherently. You quickly wiped the uncontrollable tears off your face and sighed.

“Honey,” your mom started, she walked slowly to you, carefully examined your face, and attempted to hug you, but you didn’t accept the offer which made your mother frown. She stopped walking until she was almost face to face with you and placed a hand on your shoulder gently. “Baby, your sister told me that you weren’t happy. Is this true?”

You looked away from her and stared dully at the floor, subtly shifting your feet, then you softly shook your head “no.”

“See Akira, Y/N is happy. So please stop stressing her out.” Your mother said through gritted teeth, then faced you once again. “Y/N honey, how about I go tuck you into bed, hm? I’m so sorry for the excessive noise that was caused.”

“Mom, how clueless can you be? Y/N looks miserable! It’s unhealthy for Y/N to be living-“

Slap.

Your mother just slapped Akira on the face.

“I know what’s best for my daughter! I am her mother! You are not the one who should be telling me how to take care of my own kid!”

“That’s enough, Sakiya.” a familiar voice said from the door.

“Fumeiko-“

“It’s fine. Sakiya, we need to talk.” It was Fumeiko Suna, your mother’s best friend, also known as your next door neighbor. She had been standing in the hallways the whole time, you didn’t even know she was there. Akira was the one who called her over.

That night your mother agreed to get help for her drinking problem. She was gone for 6 months. During those 6 months, the Suna’s took you in since Akira would be in college and you couldn’t have been more grateful.

You and Rintaro were the only kids in the house, being that you both were the same age and the others were in college. It was okay, they were all very polite, dinners were awkward, you could feel some sort of tension between the family but you didn’t pay any attention to it.

When your mom finally came back, it was awkward at first. She still seemed the same, loving and caring, just sober and free of alcohol. It was nice. You two spent the weekends bonding at the mall, watching a movie, or even getting your nails done. Eventually, she gained your trust back, and you couldn’t have been happier.

January 2017.

“Akira, don’t say that. You may not believe me now, but you are such an amazing person, don’t ever think you’ll never find love again. It’s all about having a positive mindset!” you said, thoughtfully stroking her hair as her head laid on your chest.

“I told you that.”

“You did,” you chuckled, “you should take your own advice.

“Oh, shut up!” you both laughed, and Akira let out a shaky sigh. “Thank you, Y/N.”

“Of course, you don't need to thank me. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

— so this is one of the writings that i wrote in January 😭 it’s been in my drafts and i re-read it once and instantly hated it right after. if there’s any typos please tell me!!

— also i wanna apologize again for putting gmds on hiatus,, i feel so bad 😭 i wanna make it up to you guys but idk how so if you have suggestions pls tell me

[hanniiesuckle17]

Stray Kids Desc.: First Meeting

A/n: Not officially requested but I was checking comments and stuff on my works and you guys seem to want more of these! REQUESTS ARE OPEN!

Bangchan (Son of Cinderella):

Chan was very hesitant when the VK's came to Auradon prep. They were very different from what he was used to. Chan was the class president and linebacker on the Tourney team. What could the VK's possibly have to offer? However, his mother always taught him to treat everyone with kindness. One night, Prince Chan got a noise complaint from a student about loud yelling and music and colored lights coming from the woods behind the school. The woods were perfectly safe and students often hung out there, but it was way past curfew. Chan, as the class president, was responsible for stopping it so he threw on a sweatshirt and trudged towards the noise.

He was shocked to see a bunch of VKs hanging out, blasting music and playing with colored smoke and sparklers. There was one girl dressed in dark purples and greens, eclectic jewelry piece dangling on almost all her limbs. An old and tattered top hat was angled over her messy and purple streaked hair. She had bags under her eyes but a mischievous smile brightened her face. Their eyes met and a smirk slid onto her painted lips. She slinked over to Chan through the blue smoke. He couldn't tell if he was nervous or intrigued. "What are you doing here, preppie?"

His words got stuck in his throat. "My name is Chan. I'm the class president and you are all out past curfew. You should go back before I report you all." She scoffed and the other kids laughed going back to their party. "Relax, Cinderboy." "Excuse me? Who do you think you are?" She smirked and pulled something from her pocket. Throwing it to the ground the two of them were enveloped in green thick smoke. He felt her fingers slowly come to grip his shoulder and heard her smooth voice in his other ear. "I'm the voodoo mistress of the night. I'm Y/n, Y/n Falicier." He turned his head to find her only inches away. She slipped a sparkler into his hand and lit it, never breaking eye contact.

"Nice to finally meet you, Prince Charming."

Minho (Son of Ezma):

Minho strolled through the woods, hands shoved in the pockets of his jacket. He basked in the solitude of finally ridding himself of Dowoon. Though the son of Kronk was easily three years older than him, he still followed Minho around just as his father did Minho’s mother. He was absolutely hopeless without his dim-witted father around. 

“Oh come on!” Minho turned sharply looking for the source of the sound. Moving through the trees he came upon the Enchanted Lake. Kneeling by the pool was a girl with her back turned to him. She held scissors against her H/c hair and was trying to saw through the long tresses that lay in piles around her.

“Never thought I’d see Rapunzel without her long hair,” Minho said with a smirk. She turned, shock painted on her face. Half of her hair was already sawn off on one side and hung just under her chin. “Well, that’s attractive.” The cold glare she threw his way sent a chill down his spine. Someone had yet to look at him with such malice since coming to Auradon. It thrilled him.

“Minho, right?” He nodded and came closer. “Listen, unless you have some sort of evil potion to fix this train wreck, buzz off.” He chuckled and plopped down next to you. “I can turn you into a flea?” “Ha. Ha. Ha.”

She tossed the scissors into the water and sighed. They sat in silence, staring out at the crystal clear water. “Here.” Minho pulled a jagged knife out of his shoe, a gift from his mother before his left. The only gift he ever got from his mother. She flinched away from him a little when he brought the blade to the side of her neck. She relaxed when his hand came under her hair and he sliced the rest off. The heavy locks fell into his hands and the girl smiled, a weight lifted off her shoulders. “Thanks.”

“I’m Y/n.”

Changbin (Son of Hercules):

Tourney practice just ended. Exhausted, Changbin headed back towards the school. A little pink and green bird flitted past him and flew onto one of the stone rails near the steps of the school. He had never seen that type of bird before. The bird chirped happily as Changbin continued his path. Up ahead he saw his little sister and Jeongin walking towards the stairs.

Just as he was about to call out to them, "BOO!" The couple screamed as the little bird magically transformed into a girl scaring the living daylights out them. She cackled and laughed at their faces. "Your faces! I didn't know Hercules had such a scaredy cat for a daughter." As she said cat, the girl morphed into a slinky pink and green feline.

"Awww did I scare your beau?" The cat's silky voice said as it jumped onto Jeongin's shoulder, making him flinch. "Hey, cut it out!" Changbin said making his way over to them. Grabbing the cat by the excess fur on the neck, he pried it off of Jeongin. "What the hell! Come on, I was just kidding around! Let me go you big bafoon!" The cat swung its claws at Changbin trying to scratch any open skin.

"Changbin, put her down. We are supposed to be welcoming the villain kids, remember?" His sister said putting a hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, Changbin. Put me down." The cat said in a mocking tone. With a reluctant and frustrated sigh Changbin dropped the fuschia cat and with a puff of pink smoke it morphed back into the girl. Her features were sharp and angled and her clothes hugged ever curve of her body like a glove. "Later losers." The wild girl said with a smirk. Her hair swayed behind her as Changbin watched her with a glare. "Who was that?"

"Oh her? That's Madam Mim's daughter, Y/n."

Hyunjin (Son of Mother Gothel):

Irene the Evil Queen's daughter hung off of Hyunjin's shoulder as he walked down the hall. Sure the girl was young and pretty, but she was boring. He put on a fake smile as she kissed his cheek before walking into an open classroom. The second her back was turned it dropped and Hyunjin walked stone faced through the corridor.

"Woah! Hey! Sorry! Coming through! Move out of the way, pretty boy!" Hyunjin pressed against the wall out of shock, but not before he was shoulder checked by the fast moving object. "Sorry!" A girl zoomed past on him bright red and blue roller skates. No one else found this weird and greeted the girl as if she was just passing bye. "Who the hell was that?" Felix said coming up by Hyunjin, who up until he spoke, hadn't realized he was staring at the back of the girl skating down the hall.

"You don't know Y/n?" A chirpy voice said behind the two boys. Beatrice, Snow White's daughter stopped having overheard Felix's comment. He scoffed and shrugged his shoulders. "No. Why would I?" A crash could be heard from down the hallway. A laugh bounced off the walls and carried all the way back to where they were standing. Not a moment later Y/n rounded the corner this time on a pogo stick. "She's the Genie's daughter. Never a dull moment when she's around." With a bright smile Beatrice left the two boys in tha hall. "Can you believe these people? God, Auradon is so weird." Felix exclaimed before going in the complete opposite direction of his next class.

"Well, at least she's not boring." Hyunjin said with a smirk, following his friend.

Jisung (Son of Prince John):

The Isle was a great place to grow up. If you had the right parents that is. Alliances were a crucial part of life on the Isle, and Jisung's father was about to make a new one. While Prince John went below the decks of the Jolly Roger he ordered his ten year old son to wait and find some way to entertain himself. The boy fiddled with a knife he found lying about and started carving into one of the railings.

"What are you doing to my ship?" A strong, but young voice said from above. He looked up to see a very pissed off girl hanging upside down from the rigging. She looked about his age. Gracefully she jumped down and landed in front of the boy. "It's not your ship." Jisung said sticking out his tongue. "It's my daddy's ship and what's his is mine and whatever else I want." She said holding up a leather bound journal.

Jisung frantically looked inside his jacket and pockets finding his notebook gone. "Hey give that back!" "No." The girl with wild hair and tattered clothing started playing keep away with the book. Eventually it morphed into a game of tag across the huge space the Jolly Roger had to offer. "Catch me if you can!" Jisung called out, climbing up one of the masts. The girl gleefully followed.

"Jisung! Get down from there!" An angry voice called. Immediately Jisung ran to his father's side, hoping to escape further punishment. The girl followed suit to stand next to the man with a hook and dressed in solid red. "Hook, control your daughter." The pirate sneered and looked down at his child. "Y/n, what have I told you about playing those little games!?" He scolded and a flash of silver flew across her face. A thin trail of blood dripped down her cheek, but the girl stood completely still. Jisung moved to defend his new friend but his father pulled him back, threatening a similar punishment. Reluctantly the two left and Jisung waved goodbye to the little girl who had a small but guarded smile on her lips.

Felix (Son of Queen of Hearts):

Felix had an impish grin as the several girls around hin laughed at something he had said. "And so I was like, 'No, off with your head.'" The girls giggled and a couple brushed their hands across his arm. Felix was used to this. He was over it. Sure he enjoyed the attention and he found it funny how quick the girls from Auradon started flinging themselves all over him, but they were all so boring compared to the girls on the Isle. At least at home there was always some small chance he might get stabbed on a date or his curtains set on fire. Some sort of excitement.

Felix was laying in bed, waiting for Han to get back from Tourney tryouts. The dorms were absolutely boring. It took all of Felix's will power not to toss himself out the three story window. Before he could, the window burst open blowing the white curtains into the air. In shock he fell off the bed and hit his head on the nightstand. Peeking over the bed with a glare he saw a girl crouched on his windowsill, hair blowing slightly in the breeze. She wore varying tones of green and brown and had bright eyes that shared and impish smile with her lips.

"Umm who do you think you are?" Felix snapped. Her head turned at the sound and she laughed which shocked the boy. "Nobody you should bother with." Felix stood and leaned against the bed post. "Well you are the one intruding in my domain." "Oooo domain. You sound like quite the villain." She laughed once more and hopped down from the sill walking around the room. "Maybe because I am one." "Oh. Cool." The girl continued to look around the room and examine random objects that seemed to pique her interest. "I'm sorry who are you again?" "Oh I'm Y/n."

Seungmin (Son of Mulan):

Seungmin was very against the introduction of Villain Kids into Auradon Prep. Coming from a strict household he found their lack of discipline and wild characteristics unbearable. He laughed with Woojin, one of the other boys in his History of Auradon class before the professor came in. Merlin entered the classroom and all the students' conversations stopped to focus their attention on their teacher. "We have a new addition to our class. Please welcome Y/n as you would any student. She is the daughter of the Chesire Cat." A girl with pastel streaks in her H/c hair slinked in the room. Seungmin noticed that everything about her was feline like. The glint in her eyes and the way she moved around the space.

She was calculating and scanned the room with a mischievous grin. Merlin pointed her to a free seat which so happened to be next to Seungmin. He scowled as she made her way to the other seat in the front row in the shared desk. "What's got you upset, kitty?" She asked with a smirk. She said in a soft smooth voice as Merlin started the lesson. Seungmin glared over at her, not dignifying her with a response. "Cat got your tongue?" She said dragging her fingers across his wrist. His glare shot back over to her. She smirked when he yanked his hand away from her touch. "What? You want me to disappear?" The girl faded from her seat and Seungmin tried to keep his eyes from going wide at the girl's disappearance. He shivered when he heard her smooth voice in his ear.

"I can see it all over the little warrior's face. Mommy and Daddy wouldn't like me sitting next to you either would they?" Seungmin turned to face forward and he couldn't help the little smirk on his face when Y/n reappeared obviously disappointed she didn't get a reaction. The smug expression fell as he looked over to see Y/n picking up a paper that Jeongin had dropped rushing to his seat. With a kind smile she handed it to the shy boy and sat back down. Seungmin was shocked to see a VK do any kind of good deed even as small as that. Was everything black and white like his parents said?

Jeongin (Son of Milo and Kida):

Jeongin sat alone at lunch once again. He surrounded himself in maps and artifacts sent my his father from his parents latest expedition. Every now and then he would look up across the courtyard to watch the group of kids playing a game instead of eating. His eyes fell onto a girl tossing back the ball to one of the boys he was tutoring, Chan. She smiled and pushed around a boy maybe a year older than her. They had somewhat similar features so Jeongin assumed they were siblings.

She was very pretty Jeongin thought. He watched her get excited throughout the game and get so passionate when someone failed to call out a foul. Jeongin smiled down at the map in his hands and returned to analyzing the parchment. His train of thought was interrupted by a ball slamming into the side of his head. He groaned in lain and clutched the area were the leather ball hit. "Oh my god! I am so sorry! Are you okay?" He looked up to see the girl from earlier. He was at a loss for words as she looked down at him with concern.

She reached out her hand to inspect his head and Jeongin froze. "Y/n? Is he okay?" Chan said coming over with the the girl's brother. "Oh, Jeongin!" Chan clapped the shy boy on the back as a greeting. "He should be fine. Jeongin has a big brain." The girl, Y/n, smiled and pulled her hand away. "Are you alone?" She asked looking at the empty table and books spread around him. He nodded hesistantly. "Well we need a referee if you want to join! My brother, Changbin, keeps cheating." She said shoving the boy with brown hair. They quickly got into a playful sibling fight and Chan pulled Jeongin up to join the game. Jeongin couldn't help but stare at the daughter of Hercules the rest of the game.

Requests are open!

Just send me an ask💗

Masterlist

[cootiebakugou]

Confessions (Bakugou x Reader)

Words ; 1.3k

Warnings ; Cursing because well Bakugou (literally only once), Fluff

pls enjoy !! P.S. This is also my first time writing a fic in a while so bear with me.

_______________________________________________

For everyone in Class 1-A, it was easy to see the connection between the loud hot headed blond and you. Well, everyone in Class 1-A except you and Bakugou.

From the staring when the other doesn’t notice, to making the tiniest bits of smiles (at least on Bakugou’s part). If you needed a sparring partner, the hot head would glare at anyone who tried especially the pervy grape head Mineta. He didn’t treat you any differently than the other “extras”, okay well maybe a little differently.

Whenever you needed help with some homework, Bakugou is there. If you wanted some food, Bakugou would make it. Of course he enjoyed the fact that when you first tried one of his dishes, your eyes lit up and you continued to devour the food claiming, “This is so amazing, Bakugou!”.

After months of pining after each other, Class 1-A decided to take action.

___

“Come on Bakubro! I know you would rather be sleeping but (y/n) will be there!” Kirishima said outside of the door. It was silent on the other side until he heard the sound of rusting and a grunt before the door opened and was greeted with a scowl upon his best friends face. Sometimes Bakugou regrets telling Kirishima that he may have had feelings for (y/n).

To be honest, Bakugou didn’t understand why he couldn’t stop his face from heating up whenever he heard your laugh, why his heart would race whenever he saw your smile, but he knew that no matter what, he wouldn’t want it to stop.

With a grunt and the shutting more like slamming of a dorm room door, both Kirishima and Bakugou were on their way to the common room for a nice calm movie night and afterwards some games. As they neared it they overheard many types of genre for movies that they would want to watch.

"Horror!"

"Romance..!"

"Okay what about comedy? Huh? Come on guys!" Kaminari exclaimed. "Nobody wants to watch fucking comedy, Dunce Face." Bakugou retorted when he sat down on one side of the couch. His eyes couldn't help but wander around the room, careful not to get caught and called out on for looking for you.

You, and Mina were in the kitchen and pantry to find snacks for the movie. "Come on (y/n)! Tonight's your chance to express your undying love for Bakugou!" Mina said to the girl. "Mina, what if he doesn't feel the same? I'm too scared to." Mina gave (y/n) a soft look before calling her name and going back to the common room.

"Have you guys chosen a movie yet?" Mina asked with a quirked brow. "Yeah we found one! I heard it got really good reviews." Ochako responded with stars in her eyes. "It's a romantic comedy! I just couldn't wait!" (y/n) smiled at the brown haired girl before making her way towards Bakugou.

"U-Um can I sit here?" (y/n) asked her hands fidgeting with one other. Bakugou let out a, "Tch" and that was all (y/n) needed to know she could sit next to him. Kirishima and Mina both shared a knowing look before the movie started.

Bakugou wasn't really paying attention to the movie or his other classmates. All he could do was drown out the movie and listen to your laughs, your nice small laughs. He would look at you out of the corner of his eye and maybe a smile graced his face, not that he would admit this and would kill anyone who said anything.

Eventually some time throughout the movie you drifted a bit closer to the blond man. He could see your eyes dropping slightly. "Listen, this is a one time offer. If you want you can lean your head on my shoulder, just don't put too much weight on it alright? We got training and I don't want my arm to be sore." Your (color) eyes lit up and you snuggled against Bakugou, wrapping both your arms around his left and laying your head on his shoulder, careful not to put any more pressure than what was needed.

With the laughs and the cries from Class 1-A, you all continued on watching the movie and eating the snacks.

Finally when the movie was over Mina came up with the idea of playing truth or dare.

"Guys! It'll be so~ much fun! I promise!" She exclaimed happily. With a chorus of "okay" and "why not", she began seating everyone in the circle and explaining the rules.

She called on everyone except a handful before choosing her next victim. "So~ (y/n), truth or dare?" She grinned with a small glint in her eyes, and that's when (y/n) knew, it was over Mina was going to have her expose her crush!

(y/n) felt nervous, if she chose truth, Mina would ask her who her crush was, and if it was dare, (y/n) shivered slightly at the thought. With a slight huff she chose her answer.

“Dare...!”

To this Mina smirked and the glint in her eye became bigger causing (y/n) to think that she chose the wrong decision.

“Alright missy, I dare you to sit on your crushes lap and kiss for five seconds!” She exclaimed.

“Wait Mina-!” The pink skinned girl simply shook her head, “You have to do it (y/n).”

With an intake of breathe (y/n) got up from her spot on the floor and walked towards the person who stole her heart. Her head was clouded with thoughts but she persevered and finally made it to the blond boy whose eyes looked like they could burst at any minute before regaining his composure.

(y/n) could feel her heart beating in her ears as she sat down on the blond’s lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. The look in both (y/n)‘s and Bakugou’s eyes told their emotional and raw feelings towards one another. (y/n) could barely think, here she was sat on his lap and the next part of the dare was even harder!

Even though it was maybe a minute since she had sat down on his lap, she was still too busy with the thoughts in her head. With the whispers and the girls silently squealing, Bakugou took the initiative and kissed the (color) haired girl, causing her eyes to widen then shut as she fell in deeper in the kiss.

Even though the kiss was supposed to be 5 seconds, it wound up being close to thirty. Not that anyone was counting, except Kirishima and Mina. Everyone else’s eyes were widened and they tried to look anywhere but where the two were.

Finally they pulled away and all (y/n) could do was smile as she panted.

“I like you, Shitty Woman.”

“I-I like you too, Bakagou..” She said smiling, her heart never slowing down. “Then be my girlfriend, I’m also not taking no for an answer.”

She make a small laugh, “I would like that very much.”

The girls proceeded to squeal and the guys congratulated Bakugou. (y/n) got up and so did Bakugou, who took her hand and led her towards his room to cuddle. Not like he would tell anyone that, but he was tired and would very much like to sleep to the sound of (y/n)‘s heartbeat.

___

Feel free to request anything! I’ll try my best! :)

[ghostly-cabbage]

Frigid (Chapter 2)

Genre: Horror, Angst

Chapter Rating: M (Language, gore)

Word count: 4,391

AO3  FFN 

<<Previous | Next>>

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Today is really stressful, but hopefully this makes someone out there feel better. Enjoy and tell me what you think!

*

Danny flew through every room in the school, even the basement, but the unidentified ghost was gone. He pushed a gloved hand through his hair and swore under his breath. Just his damn luck. At least he’d caught the mountain lion ghost in the thermos. At first glance he’d thought it was Bertrand and Spectra, but that theory had been dashed. The big cat had got him good but it didn’t seem to have any intelligence beyond a wild animal. 

He’d looked long enough that the ghost alarm had been turned off and people started heading back into the building. It was also long enough that his wound had melded together, and the stains on his gloves were the only evidence he’d sustained an injury in the first place. That too would be gone the next time we went ghost. 

He slipped through the wall of the bathroom and dropped down into a stall to transform back. He poked his head out through the door of the bathroom to make sure no one was paying attention. Everyone was too busy trying to figure who’d seen the ghost to care. It was normal for people to hide in the bathrooms during an attack anyway. Right. First things first, he had to put the thermos back in his locker. Classes would resume in a few minutes. 

Sam and Tucker were waiting at his locker when he got there. They perked up when they saw him. 

“Who was it this time?” Sam asked. 

“I don’t know, it was a new ghost,” he said, trying to seem less troubled than he was.

“Ghost Gage readings put it at a level six,” Tucker reported, turning his phone around to show Danny the readout graph that did in fact place its power level around a six.

“What was the reading on the other one?” 

“Let’s see…” Tuck fiddled with his phone for a second before finding it. “Four and a half? A five at first.” 

“A new ghost, huh? That hasn’t happened in awhile,” Sam pointed out. 

“Tell me about it,” Danny unlocked his locker and set the thermos on the top shelf, safe until after school when he could flush the ghost back into the Ghost Zone. “She didn’t seem to know who I was, which is a good thing I guess.” 

“Well, hopefully they won’t come back after you send ‘em back into the Ghost Zone.”

“Yeah…” He rubbed at the back of his neck as he closed his locker. “About that. I sorta only caught one. The level six hightailed it before I could get her pinned down.” Danny started to walk towards his next class. 

“So what’s her deal?” Sam fell into step on his left, and Tucker on his right. 

“I don’t know, I didn’t get much from her. She had one of those stick things that sheep farmers have though.” 

“A shepherd's crook?” Sam supplied.

“Yeah, that. She didn’t say anything to me either, just... screamed.” It wasn’t that odd that a ghost wasn’t very talkative, but something about her was rubbing Danny the wrong way. 

“Creepy,” Tucker said. “I’ll start a file on the ‘Shepherd’ then.” He tapped on his phone as they walked, not even bothering to watch where he was going. Danny reached out and grabbed Tucker’s elbow to phase him through a trash can just before he toppled into it. “Wait, was the scream anything like your wail?”

Danny shook his head. “No, that’s the thing guys, she didn’t directly attack me. Just her lackee mountain lion.”  

“Huh. Well, with any luck, the next encounter will get us some more solid data. Cause right now we’re lookin’ pretty sorry. She wasn’t around long enough to get a read on her core type either.” Tucker's face was wrinkled in concentration. 

“We’ll take what we can get, thanks Tuck.”

“I should really start charging you for my services. You know how much work all this is?” He waved his phone at them.

Danny laughed. “You wanna do my job instead?” Tucker was quiet for a second. 

“Yeah, not a chance.” 

“You sure? I could go find Desiree for old times sake,” Danny suggested with a shit eating grin. Tucker narrowed his eyes at him. 

“Dude. Low blow.” His tone was good humored and easy. One of the perks of being friends so long. They shared a smile and Tucker punched his shoulder. “Alright, I got History, see you guys,” he gave them a two finger salute and peeled off. 

“Did you do the algebra homework for today?” Sam asked as Tucker left. Danny felt his breath seize in his throat.

“There was algebra homework already?” He squawked. 

“Relax, I’m kidding,” she laughed. 

He put a hand over his heart and let out a huge breath. “Sam, don’t do that! Gave me a heart attack, are you trying to kill me again?” 

________________________________________________________________

After algebra Danny had chemistry. He said goodbye to Sam in the hall and headed to the science lab. When Danny got to class Wesley was already there. He was sitting at their table staring a hole into the white board at the front of the room. 

Danny thought back to the last time he’d seen him, cornered against a locker and eyes filled with terror. He dropped his textbook on the table and Wes jumped so violently Danny was surprised he stayed on his stool. His expression morphed from fear to annoyance as he looked at Danny. 

“What’s wrong, man? You look like you saw a ghost,” Danny said. A part of him almost felt bad for going for such an obvious jab, but Wes had made it clear on day one that he didn’t like him. So why be nice? Danny used his foot to drag his stool out and he slumped onto his seat. 

“Ha ha,” Wes replied, voice brittle. He resumed his staring contest with the whiteboard. Danny shrugged, unbothered. Kids came in and took their seats in small groups. Valerie was in this class too, and came in two minutes to the bell. The two still had an unspoken truce that translated into mutual respect. It was pretty close to a friendship. At least when he was Fenton. She came up to stand next to his desk, books tucked in the crook of her arm.

“Hey, Danny. Did you see the ghost today?” From the corner of his eye he saw Wes glance towards them. Val seemed to notice the attention too. “Just curious, from what I can tell not many saw this one. Which is weird for us.” In his last class all the students had been buzzing about the ghost attack, it was the first one of the new school year after all. Everyone had been speculating on which ghost it was and whether Phantom had shown up. 

Danny shook his head. “Sorry, Val. I was on the other end of the building and evacuated with everyone.” 

“Hmm. Okay, thanks.” Danny could see the gears turning in her head, probably frustrated she didn’t get her hands on it /or/ him, but she didn’t say anything else, and went to sit down at her table. Danny could feel Wesley’s eyes on him, and he sighed, turning on his stool to look at him. He was probably going to regret this.

“Lemme guess, you have questions.” Wesley looked reluctant but no less pissed. 

“Everyone just… Accepts that ghosts are a thing here?” He said it in a low voice, like he was afraid of being overheard by someone. 

“Uh. Yeah? Pretty much. Most people anyway. It’s been like this for like two years so… Yeah, people are kinda used to it by now.” 

Wes looked confused and conflicted. He was silent for a beat, before he asked his next question. “What can you tell me about this Phantom guy?” If Danny had been drinking something he probably would have choked on it. 

“Uh. I don’t know, what do you want to know?” 

“Who is he? Why is he here? What’s so special about him?” 

Danny blinked at the barrage of questions and struggled to find words. “Well, he’s—” the last bell rang and Mrs. Merriweather stood up from her desk. Danny almost sighed with relief. She pushed her rounded glasses up, and soothed down her pencil skirt.

“Alright kids, find your seats and settle down. We’re going to review lab safety today, and tomorrow we’ll be starting our first lab. Also the scheduled ghost drill will still be taking place, and because I detest the regulations I’m going to go ahead and tell you it'll be around 2:15 during this class.” She walked across the classroom and flicked off the lights. The projector hummed from its place hanging from the ceiling and Mrs. Merriweather wasted no time hopping to her powerpoint presentation on proper lab etiquette. Danny took the opportunity to shoot a text to Sam and Tucker about the ghost drill. At least this way they didn’t need to be on high alert. Besides, Danny had practically grown up in a lab, he knew this stuff backwards and forwards.

Wes glanced sideways at him, but said nothing. Danny shoved his phone back in his pocket and slouched forward onto the table. He stifled a yawn and struggled to keep his eyes open. A nap sounded fantastic at the moment, he’d been up half the night trying to talk Kitty through her recent fight with Johnny. Jazz said he should try and be helpful and build trust so they were less likely to take out their lovers' quarrels on him. Not having to get smacked around was all well and good but he wasn’t a ghost therapist. That was way more Jazz’s wheelhouse. He’d never say it out loud, because he’d never hear the end of it, but he missed her.

“Mr. Fenton.” Mrs. Merriweather had her hands on her hips. Crap.

“Yeah?” 

“What did I just go over?” 

“Uh… eye protection?” 

She sighed. “Danny, what part of this seems unimportant?” 

“None of it! Er, I mean, all of it? It is important, but I mean it’s not like I can even use any of this stuff anyways so…”

Mrs. Merriweather pinched the bridge of her nose. “And why do you think that is?” Annoyance squirmed in his stomach. “Not because I don’t know anything about lab safety. I know how to be safe in a lab, it’s not rocket science.” 

“Well, since you know everything there is to know, then you’ll be happy to hear that I’ve just decided to give the class a quiz tomorrow on this powerpoint.” There was a satisfied twinkle in her eyes, and Danny swore she loved to torture kids, and being a teacher was the only legal way she could do it. The class broke out into groans. 

“Nice going, Fenton!” Someone spat from behind him. He wanted to phase through the floor and just go home. 

“Pay attention or get detention everyone!” Mrs. Merriweather warned them. It was her favorite thing to say. She turned back to the slide show and continued her spiel. 

The ghost drill was nothing unusual. Despite knowing it was coming, most of the class still jumped when the alarm started, Danny and Wes included. They all evacuated the building and stood outside in the school yard the exact same way they would a fire drill. It was a waste of time, especially since they’d already had a ghost attack today. 

Thankfully, Wes had slipped off to stand with a guy that looked like his older brother, if the resemblance meant anything. Wes probably didn’t want to be seen talking to him if there was any other option. Danny had to hand it to him, he caught on fast. What that also meant was he didn’t have to try and fumble his way through an entire conversation answering questions about Phantom. Danny just hoped Wes ended up asking someone who had a more progressive opinion on him, someone like Paulina, or hell, even Dash. 

Danny spent the last of the drill hanging with Sam and Tucker. The obnoxious sirens had shut off at least. Danny hated those things, his parents had recommended and got approval for the installation at the start of school last year, along with a state of the art ghost detection gadget. After the third “false alarm”, courtesy of him, they got rid of the ghost detection in favor of the manual alarm buttons. That had been a rough week. Danny hadn’t known a peaceful ghost fight at Casper since. 

Eventually the drill was over, and the teachers started ushering kids back into school for the last period.    

“So, what’s going on after school?” Sam asked as they were funneled into the entrance.  

“I’ll probably swing by my house to drop my stuff off, then I’m gonna look around town, see if I can’t find that new ghost hanging around anywhere.”

“Pizza at my place after?” 

“Aw hell yeah, Sam! Wings too?” 

Sam rolled her eyes. “Yeah sure, Tucker, you can order wings. Just keep them away from me, will ya?” 

Danny snorted. “Sounds like a plan, I’ll text when I’m on my way.”

“Or if you need help with that ghost?” she added sternly. 

“Yeah yeah, fine. That too.” He waved a hand dismissively at her. 

_______________________________________________________________

Tucker and Sam walked home with him like they normally did, exchanging goodbyes and “see you later”’s at his front steps. They continued down the street as Danny pushed into his house. He took a deep breath, relaxing into the familiar smells of home. It was weird, not seeing Jazz on the couch with twelve open textbooks taking up all the space on the coffee table. He headed for the kitchen, his empty stomach not willing to wait for pizza later. He dropped his bag by the banister so he could pick it back up on his way to his room later. 

When he walked into the kitchen, his mom looked up and brightened. She had a bunch of papers all laying out on the dining table, some in piles and some splayed out in an order that probably made sense to her at least. She didn’t have her goggles on, instead she had them pushed back like a headband.

“Hi, sweetie! I didn’t even hear you come in. How was your day at school?” 

 “Fine,” he said with a noncommittal shrug. Danny walked past the table to the fridge. As he passed he noticed that the papers were readouts and raw data sheets. Some looked like her own notes which featured the words “ghosts”, “core”, “ecto-signature” and the like about a dozen times. It wasn’t exactly abnormal for his parents, but it did peak his interest.  

He opened the refrigerator and grabbed a can of strawberry soda and an apple, enjoying the feeling of the cool air on his face. He nudged the fridge door closed with his foot and turned towards his mom. 

“So,” he took a bite of his apple, “what’re you workin’ on?” Normally his parents kept all the research down in the lab, unless of course they were close to figuring something out, and were running out of counter space down there. He walked back over and pulled out a chair to sit.

Over the years he’d gotten somewhat closer to his parents. Well, he was more confident in his secret keeping ability now, which was what it boiled down to. Plus, it was advantageous to try and keep track of whatever ghost obliterating tech his parents had come up with this time, which was easier to do if he acted interested in their work. Especially now that Jazz was gone.

His mom’s grin got even wider at his question and he could tell she was bursting at the seams to talk about it. She put her pencil down, and swept up her mug to take a quick sip. It was white with Fenton Works plastered across the side.

“Ghost cores!” She set her mug back down, and pulled her goggles off her head. It let loose a few locks of her red hair that she quickly tucked behind her ear. “So, as you know all ghosts have power cores,” she shuffled around in her research, looking for something in particular. “Except, all ghosts have different power core ‘types’.” 

“Uh-huh,” he nodded along as if it was all new information. He took another bite of his apple. 

“So! Your father and I are working on not only a better method of categorizing ghosts that takes into account their power level but also the type of elemental core they possess. We think if we can find more commonalities and differences it will help find more exploitable weaknesses.” She found the page she was looking for and offered it to him, standing to lean over the table. Danny set his snack down and took the page to skim over it. It looked like a bunch of data on ghost’s with their power measurement, core type, temperature, ectoplasmic density, each a value that was plugged into an algorithm that spat out a number for a final threat level. 

“See, before, we would base an ecto-entities power level solely on the output of the ectoplasmic energy, but with this algorithm, we can have a more in depth understanding of the possible damage a ghost could do and how to counter it.” 

“Hence the ‘threat level’ rather than just ‘power level’?” he said glancing up at her.

“Exactly sweetie!” Her eyes softened as she looked at him. “Oh, you and your sister, you’re both so smart.” She came around the table to brush his bangs out of his face, and squish him in a one armed hug. “I couldn’t have asked for more perfect kids,” she said and kissed the top of his head before releasing him. He forced a smile. She said that now, but she didn’t know what he was. Who he was.

“Now, the issue is trying to find all the core types.” She leaned a hand on the table to look over his shoulder at the paper he was holding. “So far we know about fire, electricity, ice…” She held her chin thoughtfully. “And despite what the core may be, that doesn’t always mean their powers are a direct derivative, the applications of a core type can be extremely varied with only a thin connecting thread,” she muttered. Danny almost didn’t know if she was still talking to him, or just thinking out loud. “I’m doing research on what determines a ghost's core type. So far the leading theory is based on how they died. We think it’s the main contributing factor but I need more subjects to find anything conclusive.” 

If that were true, he’d have an electricity core. The thought made his breath stick in his throat and a cold sweat break on his forehead. Danny went to open his soda— or he would have, had it still been liquid. Instead there was a thick layer of frost on the outside of the aluminum where he’d been holding it, and the contents were frozen solid, bulging the top and bottom of the can. Yikes. He shot his Mom a panicked look, but she was thankfully too absorbed in her thoughts to notice. He handed her back the paper before he froze that too. 

“Sounds pretty cool, Mom. Welp, I gotta go do some reading for class so—” 

“Danny-boy!” Boomed his dad’s voice. He winced and turned to see his Dad coming up from the lab. 

“Hey, Dad.” 

“Helpin’ your Mom with some good ol’ fashioned ghost research are we?” 

“Actually I was—” 

“Maddie, I did what you asked! I tore the whole lab apart, but I still didn’t find the Fenton Ghost Gage anywhere.” Uh-oh. Danny slowly got up from the table and went to make for the door. 

“That’s odd, I swear I left it by the control panel a few weeks ago...” It was quiet for a moment. “Danny—” he turned back around, feigning ignorance with every ghostly molecule of himself. “—have you seen the Ghost Gage sitting around anywhere?” 

The New and Improved Fenton Ghost Gage was a relatively new invention, which actually worked pretty well. Except of course for the glitch that registered a level ten plus ghost in the house. His Mom had theorized that it was because of the proximity to the Ghost Zone that it was giving the off the charts false reads, and left it sitting in a tub of inventions to be tweaked. It was now safely placed between the drywall and plumbing of Casper High, sending it’s readings directly to Tucker's phone. Of course they’d already made the modifications for it to read core types, thanks to Tucker.  

“Nope, sorry. Have you checked the couch cushions? Or the fridge?” he suggested. 

“Of course! The couch! Good thinking, Dannio!” His Dad clapped him on the back with so much force the soda can flew from his grasp, and promptly exploded on contact with the tile floor. Right. Frozen soda explodes. Idiot. 

The outside had been completely frozen, but apparently on the inside it was slush, which was now all over the floor, the walls, the ceiling, and the three of them. It looked like a sugary crime scene. He quirked a nervous smile.

“Oops?” 

________________________________________________________________

Thankfully the soda caused only minimal damage to his parents research papers, but by the time he was done helping clean, the soda on his clothes had dried and gone sticky. Looked like there was no easy phase clean for him. He excused himself upstairs under the false pretense of doing homework and was gone the next minute. 

Time to find that ghost. 

The wind whipped through his hair and whistled past his ears. It was getting colder by the day and he loved it. The leaves on the trees would start turning soon, turning Amity into a collage of colors. If it weren’t for school, he’d love fall. 

He made it to Casper in a minute flat, and started his search there. The weight of the thermos was a constant reassuring weight on his hip as he circled outward. If she was lurking anywhere, his ghost sense would let him know. He flew up and down streets, block after block, but he was getting nothing. Well, unless he counted the people on the street that whooped and pointed at him as he flew past. 

He’d just gone by the Nasty Burger when a crackling bolt of energy zipped past him and punched a hole through a billboard. He recoiled and adrenaline flared through him; or whatever the ectoplasmic equivalent was. He flipped around to see a familiar ghost hunter. 

“You never learn your lesson, do you, ghost?” Valerie growled. 

“I’ve never been the best in school, so I’m gonna say no,” he said with a grin. Another blast shot past him, but he didn’t give her the satisfaction of flinching. 

“Shut up, I know you were at Casper today. What can you tell me about the new ghost?” Danny huffed. He and his friends weren’t the only ones that had the school bugged. 

“You probably know about as much as I do, Red. She was gone almost as soon as I got there.” 

“Like, I’d buy that!” Despite her helmet he could tell she was just as pissed as ever. He splayed his hands in a placating manner. 

“Honest, why else would I be out here combing the city?” 

“How should I know what you’re planning? You’re probably out here waiting for the opportunity to ruin someone else’s life.” 

Danny groaned. “Seriously Red, I said I was sorry like two years ago, you need to learn to let stuff go.” Danny liked to think that deep down she knew he wasn’t there to hurt anyone. She certainly didn’t like him, but she had at least started giving him an opportunity to explain himself before trying to waste him. Baby steps he supposed. 

“Back at’cha, ghost.” She lifted her blaster and it whined as it charged. Welp, decorum was over for the day. He went intangible and rocketed through the billboard. Once on the other side he went invisible and tore off in a different direction. He knew she could track him, but it was worth the few seconds it bought him. The sound of her jet sled roared as she gave chase. 

Pink charges of ecto-blasts peppered his flight path, near misses and wildly inaccurate alike. He zig-zagged, holding onto his invisibility and intangibility as he slipped through buildings. This was the easiest way to lose her, she had to take the time to skirt around huge objects, or waste the time to go straight up allowing him to widen the gap. Not to mention, while intangible the lack of wind resistance put his speed at around 130 Mph. Last time they’d checked at least. 

Once he was sure he was far enough away from Val to have dropped off her radar, he turned and headed for home. He phased through his window and transformed back, flopping onto his bed. He’d been all over town and hadn’t got a single whiff of the new ghost. At least Valerie was on it too. Still, it didn’t make it any less frustrating. 

He glanced at the clock on his nightstand which read 5:10. He’d check for the ghost again after dinner with Sam and Tuck, maybe then he’d at least be able to avoid Valerie. For now, he could really use a break.      

[i-need-entertainment]

Join Me: Shigaraki

You woke up chained to a chair, you groggily opened your eyes and looked around, seeing a dim, old bar filled with villains which you recognized to be from the League Of Villains. You looked to the left to be met with your feisty student, Katsuki Bakugo. “Bakugo, are you okay!?” You tried to call out to your student, but were quickly cut off by a deep gravely voice. 

“Quiet, don’t speak unless spoken to hero.” You looked in front of you to see none other than Dabi glaring at you, his face nonetheless seeming bored. “Now now Dabi, is that how we treat new members?” The raspy amused voice of their leader, Tomura Shigaraki announced his presence in the room, him being seated at the bar, facing the two chained up in chairs. “That’s how you treated me-“ Shigaraki shut Dabi up with a ‘shut up’. Shigaraki waved off the burnt man and walked over to the two who were chained up. “Excuse the rudeness of my colleague.” You did your best to regain your composure in front of the fearsome villain. You had never been this close to him before. Whereas the students and your co-worker Aizawa were introduced to him earlier on in the year, you were only brought in to assist the class after the USJ incident, so you had never been so close to the young villain before. You did your best to remain stoic and confident, but that face was quickly dropping. Not only were you young and inexperienced, but you also oddly enough found the young villain…attractive…? Not just in physical appearances either. But, him. How he could walk into a room and instantly take control, How he was so mysterious and strong, and having a ‘villainous’ quirk yourself, you could understand being outcasted by society. All of your life since you had gotten your quirk you had been told ‘Are you sure you want to be a hero? Wouldn’t you make a better villain instead?’ you normally laughed it off and told people you really did want to be a hero, but now you weren’t so sure. You’re sure they didn’t mean it, but even your own co-workers kept their distance from you, and a couple of weeks ago you overheard some of them gossiping about you…You even had to fight unbelievably hard to even GET the internship you had at UA, all because of a ‘bad guy’ quirk you used for good! You were a good hero! You saved people! Yet, here you were being gossiped about and outcasted all because you ‘could’ have been a villain. You wanted to do good! At least, you thought you did. But now? Being in a room full of them? You honestly weren’t sure. Looking around, you didn’t see the evil that people were always talking about, you just saw broken people who had no where else to go. People like you…Maybe you were better off here after all. “Moving on from that, I have a... proposition to make.” You listened while your student scoffed, clearly annoyed of being in the situation. “Join me. Join the League Of Villains.” You felt your heart stop at his offer…they…wanted you? To join…them? “Tch as if! I’m gonna be a hero dang it AND NONE OF YOU CAN STOP ME! WE’LL NEV-“ “I’ll join you.” Bakugo looked over at you, surprise gracing his features. “Just, please let him go, he’s not made for this life, I am.” Shigaraki thought this over. He really wanted BOTH of you to join, especially the hassle it took to get you both here. But he couldn’t deny his excitement at having you willingly join, not like he was gonna let you leave anyways. You see, over the past few months ever since you joined the UA staff, Shigaraki had developed a *little* crush on you. When he first saw you, he at first just thought you were beautiful, but after seeing how you were outcasted just because of your quirk when you had done nothing wrong, he couldn’t help but feel…sorry for you. Yes, he was a villain. And yes, he had killed a *few* people, but he had feelings. And having been in a similar situation his whole life, all he wanted was to give you the life you deserved, the life he knew he could give you. The freedom and power that came with being a villain. He thought it over, it would suck losing Bakugo, but if it meant having you, and having you go willingly, he might just make an exception. “Okay then (Hero name), welcome to the League Of Villains. You do understand, there is no turning back, right?” You nodded, giving him one of your signature smiles, making him thank the fact he had father on his face to hide his blush. “I do, and I have no intention of turning back. But, please let him go.” She motioned with her head over to Bakugo, “I know he’s…spirited…but he really doesn’t belong here. And I don’t think you’d want him anyways.” Bakugo couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His teacher, his sweet, compassionate teacher was willingly becoming a villain!? “Wait a da-“ “Bakugo.” You said in a warning tone, letting him know this was no time to argue. “Let me do this. This is my choice, not yours. We both know I’m better off here. Please tell the other students I’m sorry and good bye. I hopefully won’t be seeing them again.” You gave the boy a soft smile, and he was fighting back tears. You didn’t deserve this. Even though he had been a spoiled brat to you (and he knew it) you had never been anything short of kind to him, you even taught him a few things. “Sir? Is this acceptable to you?” Kurogiri asked his boss, looking at Shigaraki wondering what his answer would be. He really wanted Shigaraki to take the deal. 1. He knew about his crush, and being the mother of the League wanted him to het his happy ending, 2. He never wanted Bakugo to join, for starters he’s way too loud and would be yet another child that would be his responsibility, and him and Compress could only raise so many of them. *I do not ship them, but in my HC’s I said I feel like these two are the ‘moms’ of the league, so yeah. I don’t ship them WHATSOEVER but I had to include this* “Okay then, I accept. Kurogiri” He looked over to the mist covered man, “Drop him off with the heroes I guess, and be quick. We don’t want them finding us.” Kurogiri replied with a ‘Very well’ and unchained the young student, warping him to the conference room where the heroes were planning to rescue him, speedily warping away of course.

*At the conference room and prepare for some sadness*

Bakugo stood up after being dropped on the floor dang mist couldn’t even drop me right. He looked to his left to see his teacher, Mr. Aizawa, and he immediately remembered the events that had just happened. He remembered the sad look in his teachers eyes (by teacher I mean Y/n) when she had just been told she should have been a villain, the tears she held back when she was scolded for making a mistake. Why was she treated like that…treated so poorly? She never did anything. All she ever wanted to be was a hero. That’s all she ever wanted…His teacher reached over to him, shaking his shoulder a bit, Bakugo shook his head, clearing his thoughts as he glared at his homeroom teacher. “Bakugo, what happened to Y/n? Wasn’t she taken with you?” Bakugo scoffed and looked him in the eyes, dark crimson eyes ever so slightly brimmed with tears. “You should know. You’re part of the reason she’s not here any more.” The whole room looked in shock at Bakugo. “Bakugo, what do you mean” “I mean she’s a villain now! They offered it to both of us, and she accepted, SHE’S THE REASON I WAS SET FREE.” The whole room went silent. They had all known they might not have been as friendly to Y/n as they could have been, but surely she wouldn’t actually go and become a villain. Would she..? “Oh don’t act all surprised! You should have seen it coming with the way you all treated her. Pushed her to the side like she was nothing!” Beyond his own control, tears began to fall down his face making the unstable teenager’s emotions run even more wild. “Where is she? We have to go get her, -“ Bakugo cut his teacher off with a dark chuckle, “Don’t you get it? She’s not coming back. She’s joined them for good,   she’s not coming back. And you all have yourselves to thank for that.” The room remained silent, no one daring to speak a word. (So you know, the fight with all for one and all might still happened because *cough cough* my convenience *cough cough*)

*Back to base*

Shigaraki let Y/n out of the restraints and introduced her to the other members. “You already know me and Kurogiri, so now, you need to know the others. The burnt looking one is Dabi,” He pointed towards Dabi who nodded once in your direction, “But he’s a jerk so I’d recommend staying away from him” Dabi only nodded in agreement and went to the bar, getting a drink from Kurogiri. “The crazy looking one over there is Toga, try not to be alone in a room with her though, she’s prone to stabbing people who let their guard down.” Said girl giggled and bounced over to the two, “Hi! I’m Himiko Toga! But you can call me Toga. We’re going to be best friends I just know it!~” You smiled at her and giggled, nodding your head at the younger girl, who really wasn’t much younger than you. “That fellow over there is twice, don’t take much of what he says to heart.” You looked at him questionably until the man himself walked over and introduced himself, “Hey there pretty lady! It’s super nice to meet you!” You smiled at him, not understanding what Tomura had sai- “No it isn’t.” Ohhh okay. “And the magician and lizard looking guys are Mr. Compress and Spinner. And Magne is over there too.” You got a wave from Magne, a bow from Mr. Compress and a curt nod from Spinner. You smiled and waved to all of them. “Sorry to interrupt sir, but I’m sure Ms. L/n is tired, perhaps you would like to show her to her room?” Kurogiri looked at the young leader, smirking, and even though he couldn’t see it, Shigaraki knew it was there. Shigaraki sent a glare to the warp man before nodding and turning to Y/n, “Follow me, I’ll show you around, and then I’ll take you to your room.” You nodded and followed him. He showed you the base, before you two made your way to your room. “Here we are, Toga should have left you some clothes to sleep in, tomorrow we’ll get you some new ones.” Y/n looked at the young leader and smiled. “Thank you.” Tomura raised an eyebrow and looked at her. “For what?” “For taking me in…I’ve never really…belonged anywhere, but I already feel like I belong here, so thank you.” She smiled at him again, and he looked away, hand coming up to rub his neck. “Its nothing…um, I’ll see you tomorrow.” She nodded, “I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight.” “Night.” She smiled once again and went into her room, closing the door behind her. Shigaraki was lost in his own thoughts as he walked back to the bar. ‘night’? What an idiot…she probably thinks we’re stupid now…dang it..why do I have to be so bad at anything social?!He walked into the bar, sitting in the stool next to Dabi and asked Kurogiri for a drink. “So Handyman, how was your little date?” Dabi teased him. “Shut up ashtray, and it wasn’t a date. I was just doing what any decent leader would do. Not like you’d know anything about that.” Dabi feigned hurt and let out an ‘ouch’ and before Shigaraki could stop it, Toga came running over. “Date!?! You never told me anything about a date!!” Shigaraki shook the teenager off and glared at the smirking Dabi. “Now, now Toga. Shigaraki and Y/n are not dating, lets not jump to conclusions.” Toga whined. “Thank you Kurogiri.” Shigaraki said, sighing at someone who understood- “At least not yet.” Shigaraki could feel his cheeks heat up as he sent a glare to him. “Buuuut you totally should!! *GASP* You two will be my new favorite ship!! Behind Ryushot of course, and me and Dabi.” Dabi flicked her forehead with a ‘don’t even think about it’ and she whined even more. Shigaraki let his forehead fall to the bar, ordering another drink from Kurogiri. “Won’t all of you shut up? She and I aren’t dating, and I’m pretty sure she doesn’t like me like that anyways.” All three of them just rolled their eyes. Dabi went off to his room to sleep, and Kurogiri sent Toga to her room since it was past her bedtime. Leaving the young boss and his closest friend/caretaker. “Give it time Shigaraki. I think you’ll find she feels differently then what you may have originally believed.” Shigaraki only made a ‘Hm’ noise before getting up, finishing his drink and heading off to his room. “Thanks…for the advice and stuff.” Shigaraki said, making Kurogiri happily smile and nod his head. Shigaraki then went to his own room and flopped onto his bed, falling asleep fairly quickly. He woke up the next morning, stretched and got dressed, walking over to your room to wake you up so the two of you could go shopping. He knocked on your door and he heard a quiet ‘coming’ before he heard footsteps and the door opening. You yawned before rubbing your eyes and finally waking up enough to see you was at your door. After you saw it was Shigaraki you shot awake. “Good morning! Can I help you?” You had noticed his cheeks seemed a little red, and he was looking away. You were really confused for a second. “Just get dressed. We’re going to the mall to get you some new clothes remember?” You made a ‘Ohhh’ sound before nodding. “Okay, just give me five minutes.” He nodded and turned around, walking towards the bar area. You stood there confused for a second before you shut you door, grabbed the outfit Toga had left for you before walking into the bathroom. As soon as you went to get dressed you realized why he might have gone red in the face…

*Flashback to last night*

‘Goodnight’? How dumb are you! He probably thinks we’re really weird now…good going Y/n...Y/n walked over to her bed to change into the outfit Toga had left her…only to realize it wasn’t an ‘outfit’ at all. All that was there was a black oversized t-shirt that definitely didn’t belong to her. She shrugged and put it on, and since she had been in her hero costume, she didn’t have any shorts or anything to wear with it, but it didn’t matter. It’s not like anyone would be seeing her anyways.

*End of Flashback*

So that’s why his face was red…oops. Taking another look at the t-shirt you realized who’s t-shirt it might have been. Making your own face become hot at the thought of it. You did your best to ignore your heated face and the obvious butterflies in her stomach and put on the outfit Toga had gotten for her. A cropped black hoodie with white decals and mid rise black ripped skinny jeans, along with black and white vans and a white baseball cap to hide her hair. You exited the bathroom and room and met Shigaraki in the hallway, who was just wearing the usual black jeans with a black hoodie, and red shoes. But, no father. Which you were thankful for since you got to see his face. You two quickly ate breakfast, and left the hideout, making your way to the mall. The walk was fairly silent, until he broke the tense atmosphere. “Why did you say yes?” He had been wondering this since yesterday. Y/n sighed, looking up to the blue sky in thought, before directing her attention back to the young man. “I guess…I just needed a place to fit in…a place to be myself. I’ve never really ever…fit in anywhere. And because of my quirk, people always assumed I was a villain, even though I tried so hard to be a hero.” She looked away and sadly looked at the ground. “So when you made the offer, I realized being a villain was what I was meant to be all along.  It was where I was meant to be.” She looked up to him and offered a small smile, to which he returned a small one of his own. “I honestly didn’t think you would accept it. I thought you’d say no, ‘I’ll never join’ and all that crap.” It was his turn to look away, “But, I’m glad you joined…” Y/n felt the familiar heat in her cheeks return as she sheepishly looked away. The rest of the walk was filled with nice chit-chat as the two got to know each other better. Soon after they got to the mall and started getting all of the essentials. After they were done, they returned to the base, shopping bags in hand and it being extremely late. Over the course of the 9 hours or so they had spent together, the two had naturally been drawn to the other, being able to have smooth conversations and exchanging stories between the two. “Why would you do that?!” Y/n asked as she broke out into yet another fit of laughter. “He broke my game, so I put bleach in his shampoo, and pink hair dye in his conditioner. I really don’t see what’s so bad about his punishment. I had to go a week without playing my game.” “Wait- wait. He broke your game.” Shigaraki nodded. “On accident.” “Yet to be proven, but its unlikely” “So you tricked him into P E R M A M E N T L Y dying his hair pink!?” He pretended to be offended, but that was to hide the smile that was making its way to the surface, having heard her laugh for the first time today and learning more about the girl, he couldn’t help but fall more and more in love with her, and she was falling just as fast. “I really don’t see what you find so wrong with it, Y/n. Besides, he just dyed his hair back. He dyes his hair black anyways.” Y/n made a hum noise in agreement. “I thought he might have.” Shigaraki shrugged, “Not like I can judge, I wear a hand on my face.” Y/n giggled, making him smile. “Yeah, but I think you look cool.” Y/n gave him a cheeky smile. “The only not-cool part is that I can’t see your face.” He scoffed, “Yeah right. You do see me. Right?” Y/n stopped walking and looked him in the eye. “Yup.” She started walking, but paused to turn her head and look him in the eye once again. “Besides, I happen to think you’re really cute. Hand, or no hand.” She turned her head once again and started walking, leaving an utterly baffled Shigaraki. He quickly shook his head and speed walked to catch up to her. “Thank you��no one’s ever…said that to me before…” Y/n looked at him concerned. “Really?” He just nodded before shrugging his shoulders. “Usually they say I’m the opposite of what you called me.” Y/n only shook her head. “Well, don’t listen to them. Anyone who would say that to another human being is just insecure and stupid. Not to mention they’re very wrong.” They only walked another block or so before they were back at the base. Shigaraki and Y/n entered the bar, ignoring the expecting gazes of their comrades before making their way to Y/n’s room, where he set the bags down and walked out of her door, he was about to exit when he suddenly got a hit by a huge wave of courage. “Hey Y/n?” She turned from what she was doing and looked at him, slightly tilting her head to the side. “What is it?” “Would you like to…go on a date with me…sometime?” Y/n’s face lit up and she smiled widely before happily nodding her head. “Yes! I-I mean, I’d love to, Tomura.” He smiled, also breathing out a sigh of relief. “Great, does this Friday work? At like, I don’t know, 5 or something?” “Sounds good to me~” “Alright, uh, night, I’ll see you tomorrow I guess.” Y/n quickly made her way over to Tomura, gave him a small kiss on the cheek and, “I’ll see you tomorrow Tomura, goodnight.” His face went red before smiling, nodding his head and leaving Y/n’s room, walking to the bar to be met with an expecting Kurogiri, Toga and Dabi. He sat down, ordered his usual and took a sip, ignoring the questioning gazes of his comrades. “So…?” Asked Toga. “So..? What?” She groaned “So what with you and Y/n!?!” His fac went ever so slightly red. “We talked, got stuff and left. Not much else happened.” He finished off his drink, handing the drink to Kurogiri, who was also hoping SOMETHING good had come out of it. He walked to the door, “So you’re tellin me, you spent all day with the girl and absolutely NOTHING happened between you two?” Dabi asked. Shigaraki got to the door, opened it and stopped. Turning around to face the three. “Well, I have a date on Friday. Goodnight.” Before he could endure Toga’s squealing, he shut the door and made his way to his bedroom, crashing on his bed, undoubtedly excited for his first date with the woman of his dreams.

[stories-sometimes]

I’ve Made A Huge Mistake {2/?}

Peter Parker x Reader, Quentin Beck x Reader

Summary: Peter just wanted to enjoy his trip to Europe, maybe even confess his feelings to his best friends.But along came a mysterious new hero to ruin those plans. Peter and his class are aged up and in college.

Warnings: Violence in later chapters, manipulation, age gap

Word Count: 1819

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

She was sat on the rickety stairs of the hotel, closely watching the news coverage of the earlier events along with the rest of her class. She’d since dried off, changed clothes but still held on tightly to the cape. She felt conflicted, to say the least. For as long as she could remember she felt an enthralling connection to Peter and thought this trip could be the perfect time to make her move. Yet ever since that mysterious man saved her from the river, he was all she could think about. Every thought was consumed by him. Who he was? Where did he come from? Would she ever see him again?

“What is it with you and Spider-Man?” MJ asked Flash, snapping her out of her trance.

“What? He’s just awesome, okay? He protects the neighbourhood, and you know, he’s inspiring. He inspires me to be a better man.” Flash explained, she smirked to herself as she watched Peter walk into the conversation. “Sup dickward. Thought you drown with her.”

“Not funny Flash.” She glared at him.

“I’m kidding sweetheart, my heart would be broken if your pretty little ass drowned.” Peter went to step towards Flash, she put her up to stop him.

“Don’t, he’s not worth it.” Flash smirked at Peter’s angry expression, knowing he’d won in pissing Peter off.

“Sounds like the guy’s called Mysterio.” Brad said, drawing the attention back to the news broadcast.

“L’uomo del Misterio is Italian for man of mystery. They don’t actually know who he is.” MJ explained. Brad stared admiringly at her, once again impressed by her brain.

“Mysterio.”

“Cool name,” Ned and Betty said at the same time, “babe.” They glanced at each other, the puppy love clear in their eyes. MJ rolled her eyes at the two of them. 

As soon as the show was over Peter and Ned retired to their room. Peter had to listen to a minute of Ned’s lovesick ramblings about Betty before he was suddenly cut off. He collapsed onto the bed in front of him. Peter looked around, shocked to see Nick Fury sat in the corner of his hotel room.

“You’re a very difficult man to contact, Spiderman.” Fury said, the same deadpan voice as always. Peter finally saw in person just how intimidating the man truly was.

“Your Nick Fury.” Peter said, staring wide-eyed at him. “You, you shot Ned.” He pointed exasperatedly to his unconscious friend.

“It’s a mild tranquilliser, he’ll be fine.” Fury replied, clearly unfazed by knocking an innocent bystander out. “I used to know everything. Then, I come back five years later and now, I know nothing. No intel, no team, and a high school kid is dodging my calls.” He carried on, growing increasingly more frustrated.

“I’m sorry.”

“Here’s what I do know... a week ago, a village in Mexico was wiped out by a cyclone.” He pulled up a hologram of the scene. “Witnesses say that cyclone had a face. A village was destroyed by what may well be another world-threatening. Today a whirlpool knocked out half a city. We need you to step up and help.”

“I can’t, I'm here for …”

“Get your suit, meet me outside in 10.” Fury stood up, leaving Peter no room for arguing. “Oh, and bring your friend.”

“You knocked him out.”

“The girl.” Fury said before promptly leaving the room. Peter stood in place, eyes fixed on the seat Fury was sat in. Why the hell did they want her there? On one hand, he wanted to keep her as far away from superhero duties as possible, but on the other, he thought it would be an even worse idea to face Fury without her. He went down to her room, knocking on the door.

“Peter, what are you doing here.” She asked.

“Can anyone else hear?” Peter glanced hastily into the room.

“No, Betty passed out a few minutes after Ned stopped responding to her texts. Why what’s happened?”

“Nick Fury just talked to me.”

“No way, I thought you were avoiding his calls.”

“I was, until he showed up in my room, knocked out Ned and demanded I go with him.”

“Then why are you still here?”

“He said you need to come as well.”

“What?” She looked shocked.

“I don’t know, maybe it’s cause you came in contact with one of those monsters.”

“Maybe, give me a couple of minutes and I’ll meet you in your room.” Peter nodded before running back, rummaging through his suitcase to find the suit May packed for him. He’d just put it on when he heard her come into his room.

“You ready?” Peter asked as he opened the window.

“Is Ned gonna be alright?”

“Yeah, it’s just a mild tranquilliser.” He responded. He climbed out the window, sitting on the windowsill, holding out his arm for her. She quickly climbed out to sit beside him, wrapping herself around his waist and bracing herself for the drop. Peter shot out a web and swung down to where Fury was waiting for them.

“I’m never gonna get used to that.”

The three of them sat on a gondola, floating down the river to an unknown location.

“Stark left you these.” Fury said, passing Peter a case containing Tony’s signature glasses. “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.  Stark said you wouldn't get that because it's not a Star Wars reference.” Fury scoffed. Peter looked longingly at the glasses, after noticing his discomfort she reached out to wrap an arm around his shoulder. He instantly leaned into her touch. They finally reached an underground base. “You breathe a word of this to anyone and no one will find your body.” Fury warned her. “This is Mr Beck.” Fury said. A man wearing the same suit as earlier, only without the fishbowl helmet on. He’s older than her or Peter, a good ten years on the both of them. He had a handsome, rugged face with worn-out eyes.

“Mysterio.” The two college students said in unison.

“What?”

“It’s just what my friends have been calling you.” Peter explained.

“Well, you can call me Beck,” he said, holding out his hand for Peter to shake. Quentin then turned to her, shaking her hand but holding on for a few seconds too long, before Fury cleared his throat. “You handled yourself well out there today.” He turned his attention back to Peter. “I saw what you did with the tower. We could use someone like you on my world.”

“Thanks, wait, your world?”

“Mr Beck is from earth, just not our one.” Fury revealed.

“Multiple realities, I’m from Earth 833, this is Earth 616.”

“I'm sorry, you're saying there's a multiverse? Cause I thought that was just theoretical. That completely changes how we understand the initial singularity. We're talking about an internal inflation system and how does that even work with all the quantum? It's insane …” He trailed off as he noticed Fury’s stare. While she was in no way stupid, she had always admired how much more intelligent Peter was than her, then everyone. “I’m sorry, it’s just really cool.”

“Don’t ever apologise for being the smartest person in the room,” Beck reassured Peter. “But my earth’s gone now, they destroyed it, took my family.”

“I’m sorry,” Peter said, Beck shrugged it off, trying not to look downcast for too long.

“Anyway,” Fury said, pulling out another hologram, explaining to Peter about the next monster attack, elementals as he called them. He filled Peter in on their plan. As he did that, Beck pulled her to the side.

“You’re probably wondering why you’re here.” Beck said to her, holding onto her arms lightly. She nodded quickly. “Well, you probably won’t believe me, but,” he paused, “you look exactly like my wife from my dimension.”

“What?” She said confused.

“I’m sorry for springing that on to you, and I don’t want to make you feel obligated to do anything, or even to deal with me. But I just had to see your face again.” Tears began to form in his eyes. His grip grew tighter, as though he was scared she’d vanish if he let go.

“No, it’s fine,” she reached up, cupped his cheeks and wiped away the tears that threatened to fall. She smiled as he leaned into her touch, placing his hand above her.

“Thank you,” He whispered softly.

“Tell me about her.”

“She was the most perfect person I’ve ever met. She was older than you, closer to my age. But we met in college, so she was around your age then. She looked exactly like you, so beautiful,” she blushed deeply and looked down, Beck quickly placed his hand under her chin, making her look back up at him, “she was kind, the most selfless person I ever had the pleasure of knowing. You sound like her, you’ve been acting like her, hell, you even dress like her.” He laughed. She felt an odd sense of pride being compared to this woman, being admired by a man like Beck.

“She sounds wonderful.”

“She was. This might be a bit of a long shot, but, meeting you has set something alight in me. Something I haven’t since she died. But is there any chance I could get your number, or something so I can talk to you again.” She nodded, smiling as she pulled out her phone to give him her details.

Peter overheard everything, a green-eyed monster erupting inside him. He was already against the idea of joining this mission and hearing her and Beck talk only made him want to distance himself (and in turn her) from this.

“Sir, look, I really wanna help. But if my aunt finds out that I left my class trip, she's gonna kill me. And if I'm seen like this in Europe, after the Washington Monument, my whole class will figure out who I am and then, and then the whole world will figure out who I am, then I'm done.” Peter rambled as soon as Fury was done explaining.

“Okay.”

“Wait, really.”

“Why don't you get back before your teachers miss you and become suspicious.” Peter tried to read Fury’s expression, but once again it was impossible to know what the man was thinking.

“Thank you, Mr Fury, and good luck.” He looked over to her, watching as she reluctantly pulled away from Beck.

“See you kid.” Beck waved to Peter. He knew Beck meant no harm by the nickname, but he couldn’t help but feel lesser to him. What if he was still that kid from Queens in her eyes? Suddenly he had this man, this hero, openly showing his interest. Competing with his classmates for her attention was hard enough, let alone introducing this new superhero.

“I hope to see you again soon.” Beck said affectionately before she could fully leave his grip.

“Me too.”

@cool-ontherun-world 

@eleventhdoctorsangel 

@chubby-tink 

[forasecondtherewedwon]

21st Century Friction

Pairing: Peter Parker x Michelle Jones (Spideychelle) Rating: T Word count: 10,817 @spideychelleweek​

Spideychelle Week Day 6: Enemies to Lovers

Summary: Peter needs an arts credit to graduate, but he didn't mean to pick the course that even the English majors avoid! Luckily, he has the help of Michelle Jones, the tutor Tony hired for him. Unluckily, she just overheard him insulting her entire academic discipline. They're not breaking off the arrangement―Peter's determined to do well in this stupid English course to keep his average up and Michelle won't let his bad attitude stand in the way of a cheque from Tony Stark.

With one tempestuous meeting down, they only have two semesters and twenty-five books to go.

Peter’s in big trouble―huge―and Mr. Stark did tell him that if he’s ever in trouble he should ask for help, so he calls, looking for help, and gets nobody, so he calls again and gets Happy, who hangs up once Peter makes him understand that, no, this isn’t about somebody trying to kick his Spidey-suit ass but about him trying to pick a new class (Happy’s next to some freaky machine at the time and it makes the cell reception wonky), but who finally listens all the way to the end on the seventeenth time Peter manages to get through to him without having his call dropped, and then Mr. Stark is told about it and though Peter isn’t immediately apprised of the solution to his own problem for some reason, he’s informed that cash has been flashed and that the solution will, inevitably, be attained.

Until then, Peter begins the first week of his third year of college and shows up to the labs and lectures of every class on his schedule, including English 1034: 21st Century Literature from A to Z.

AGUALUSA, José Eduardo ― A General Theory of Oblivion

“A tutor?” Peter hisses into his phone, pacing the tight corridor of the library’s fourth-floor stacks. “How is his solution to get me a tutor? I don’t need a tutor! I’m smart, Happy, remember? What did I want instead? Well, I don’t know! I have to keep all my core classes for my major, but maybe he could’ve made them give me credit for taking something online from another college? I’m not screwing up my schedule for English lit. I don’t even know why I gotta take this! I know how to read, you know? I’m just―”

Oh sure, he heard the other person enter the aisle, but he assumed it was to grab a book, so the noise of annoyance that leaves his mouth when his phone is snatched from his hand and his call ended is absolutely genuine.

“’Sup,” says the person, who’s a woman his age, who’s handing his phone back with a lazy gesture, who’s apparently entirely cool, casual, and unapologetic about unceremoniously hanging up on Happy for him. “You gotta take English lit because it sounds as though your vocabulary needs it and, hi, I’m Michelle. Your tutor.”

She mumbles an indelicate string of words after that as she turns and walks away from him out of the stacks and Peter picks up ‘entitled asshole’ even though he isn’t trying to listen, just follow her and set this thing straight.

“Uh, no, you’re not,” he assures her, alarmed when the place he’s trailing her to turns out to be a table where her stuff is waiting―open notebook, two different coloured pens, a copy of the syllabus for English 1034. No, no, no!

“Well, I can’t guarantee you’ll actually learn anything since you seem to have a combination of a pretty thick skull and an overinflated ego, but I’ll hold up my end of the deal. Let me guess, Business major?”

“Bio,” Peter grits out, grasping the back of the chair intended for him as this Michelle person slides neatly into hers, like the library’s her living room because she lives here. Fine. He’s happy for it to stay that way. He has access to all the books he needs in the sciences library on the other side of campus.

“Well, my condolences to the parts of your brain which, in most people, would produce non-literal comprehension and creative thought. But I’m sure you know the names for those, don’t you, Science Guy? Ok, quit making that face and let’s go over your syllabus.”

She doesn’t look up the entire time she speaks and Peter has never heard a person sound so pretentious in real life.

“Are you kidding me? No. Even if I wanted or needed to be tutored, it wouldn’t be by you. You grabbed my phone out of my hand!”

“Yeah,” Michelle agrees, meeting his eye with something firm in her own, “and you were talking on it in one of the library’s Quiet Zones. I’m not here to give you a lesson on Comparative Ignorance.”

“What makes you think you can just do that?” Peter demands. He feels sort of ridiculous and like he’s simultaneously taking the argument a step too far and a step not-far-enough; he’s not usually like this, but then, other people aren’t usually like that.

“The fact that I was paid in advance.”

She nods towards the chair and Peter doesn’t know why he does it, but he sits, still mad.

���Stark paid you to tutor me,” he states.

“Boy, are you struggling with the concept of exchanging currency for services too? Maybe there’s a basic Econ class you could still get into.”

“Why you?”

“Why you?” Michelle counters. “Why can’t smarty-pants, Stark-patroned Peter Parker just suck it up and get through a single English credit? Seriously, why not, since you seem to think it’s just reading and therefore easy. Why not just bribe the college to hand you the credit? You want me to tell you where the Financial Office is? I could show you because, ok, about me now, I’m here on scholarship because I couldn’t find a benevolent billionaire to smooth my path for me.” She straightens up in her chair, eyes practically volcanic with heat. “And here’s another why me for you: because I love what I study, I think literature has worth and beauty, and, oh right, I have the highest grade point average in the entire School of Arts and Humanities.”

Peter’s so floored for a minute that he forgets why he’s angry.

“It wouldn’t be right,” he finally says, trying to at least regain the moral high ground after her offhand suggestion of bribery. “Buying a credit. It wouldn’t be right.”

“So… instead you demean the entire discipline, like that’s going to help you.”

He scoffs.

“It’d help me more than you would.”

“Helping you is why I’m here.”

“You sound thrilled about it.”

“Hard not to be when I have the honour of tutoring the Spider-Man,” she says, matching his sarcasm.

Ugh, he hates that she brought that up. By his third year, he’s become less of a novelty in the halls―these days, people get more excited about a sighting of the local gopher who lives in a hole near the Astronomy building―and having it thrown in his face like this is even more uncomfortable than requests for selfies. Or the few mortifying pleas for his autograph. They’re locked in a mutually-irritated glare, which Peter breaks with a groan and a roll of his eyes.

“I didn’t want to be in this class,” he admits.

“And yet the online course selection process is so very hard to fuck up. Thus, you did in fact choose this class. Unless… does Tony Stark pick your classes for you?”

Peter ignores that. He can’t both fume and be cooperative enough to get her help, which he’s starting to think he might need. Maybe she can give him some kind of insider English department knowledge that will rid him of English 1034.

“It is an interesting choice,” Michelle continues carefully. Is she smirking at him? He can’t quite tell.

“I didn’t read the description.”

“What did you expect ‘20th Century Literature from A to Z’ to be?”

She’s mocking him, but Peter feels like his mistake in taking this particular class is an easy one to make. He has plenty of reasons to back him up.

“It’s a first-year level English course, it’s non-essay, and ‘A to Z’ made it sound like an overview,” he lists confidently.

“In case you don’t already know or suspect this, nobody who’s actually in the English program takes it.”

Michelle’s tone is extraordinarily smug.

“I thought you guys loved to read,” Peter says accusingly, leaning back and crossing his arms.

“Not a novel every week for two semesters! Dude, you picked a course with twenty-six required texts. ‘A to Z’ is for the alphabetical order of the authors’ last names.”

“I know that now,” he grumbles, eyeing the booklist Michelle has neatly aligned next to the syllabus on their study table. “And now all the other full-year non-essay English classes are full, so I can’t drop this one because there’s nothing to pick up in its place.”

“That’s an insanely stupid mistake.”

“Noted.”

“Ok, if you’re ready to move on, what were your thoughts on Agualusa?”

“You still want to tutor me?”

She looks at him like he’s truly the uncomprehending, unimaginative Bio-dunce she described.

“There are few things I want less than I want this. The only possible enjoyment here is getting to meet one of the unsuspecting idiots who signed up for that class, and even that doesn’t cancel out the way you belittled my area of study and those who study it. So.” Michelle extends a hand and, when Peter realizes what she wants, accepts his panic-purchased copy of A General Theory of Oblivion. “Time to prove you can read.”

BEATTY, Paul ― The Sellout

“I see you found the place,” Michelle greets without looking up from what she’s reading (which is the book for his course).

Peter attempts to glance around without being obvious about it.

“It’s the same table we sat at last time,” he says, mostly certain.

“I know.” She looks up. “I just thought you might get lost in unfamiliar territory. Had you ever been in here before last week?”

He laughs bitterly as he slings his backpack off and lets it slam into the leg of the table, making Michelle frown.

“Yeah, I had.” Once. When he toured the college with May before applying to undergrad. “Don’t be so gatekeeper-y. These books aren’t just for English majors.”

“Oh, so you avail yourself of them often for pleasure reading? Sorry, sorry,” she adds quickly and something inside Peter eases at the hope of an apology, “I forgot I was talking to the guy who signed up for the most reading-heavy class the English department offers. Of course you must love to read.”

“I just want to get my mandatory arts credit to graduate.”

The motive should be obvious, Peter thinks, but maybe she’ll take pity on him because he’s offering an explanation.

“You’ve already successfully postponed it your first two years. Why not push it to next year when you can take a lighter class?”

“There are a lot of required fourth-year courses for my major. I don’t have room for anything that isn’t impor―”

He cuts himself off, but Michelle looks pissed. What? It’s the truth! If he thought English was more important than Biology, he would’ve studied English!

“You’re trying to get me to wait for an easier class and you told me I shouldn’t assume English was easy,” he accuses.

“It’s not! I didn’t say an easier class, I said a lighter one. You know, with fewer books to read. English ten-thirty-four is an easy class.”

“Yeah right!”

“Really, Peter?” He’s startled to hear his name leave her mouth. “Exactly how deep were you expecting the analysis to go when you only spend a week on each book? That’s a Monday and Wednesday course, right? So you’re only actually discussing the book for three hours. A bunch of your assigned texts are over four hundred pages, which means covering around one hundred and thirty-three pages every hour of discussion, or a little over two pages every minute. And that’s just content. If you were actually digging into any of these books, you’d discuss themes, historical context of the subject matter, intertextual influence…”

“You’re pretty good at math,” he says wryly. “I bet you could have majored in that instead.”

“I could’ve majored in anything, but I chose a subject that actually has a soul.”

“It’s cute that you’re so noble about it,” Peter says, feeling like an honest-to-Thor asshole because he’s never disparaged anyone or anything by calling them or it ‘cute’ before, “considering the current arrangement.”

She gives him a harsh look before finally asking, “What do you mean?”

“You’re studying something so intellectual and culturally important or whatever and looking down at people in Business and the sciences. Lots of us love what we’re majoring in and some of us are in it for a career with a good salary. I’m just worried you’re being a bit of a hypocrite. How superior can you feel when you’re peddling your English-major wisdom for a paycheque from Tony Stark?”

Michelle can’t really murder him―his reflexes are too fast, his body too durable, and the most dangerous thing she appears to have at her disposal is a blue ballpoint pen―but she kinda looks like she might give it a try. Ok, so undercutting her integrity in a vengeful rant was probably beneath him. She was being such a snob though!

Finally, her expression relaxes and she uncaps her pen (Peter flinches), poising it over the page where, last week, she composed him a strong set of notes as they attempted a rocky discussion of the book.

“How much did you get read?”

CHOI, Mary H.K. ― Permanent Record

Peter sits and nods at Michelle when she looks up.

“We’re past the add/drop date,” he announces. “Guess I’m officially in English ten-thirty-four for the rest of the year.”

“And when you graduate, it’ll be right there on your transcript, smuggled through in between the important courses. Even if you can’t hack it and fail the class,” she concludes with a small, scornful smile.

“As far as I know, you’re being paid too much to let me fail.”

It feels like a gross powerplay the second he’s said it. If they’re really going to do this, he needs to start taking the meanspirited way that she roots against him in stride. Does he think about finding a different tutor every time she makes a sly comment like that? Sure, but he’s stubborn enough about maintaining a strong average to recognize the value of learning from the best student in the program.

“So…” he says after a minute, watching Michelle flip through his book to find where he’s marked the passages examined in class. “We never really agreed to it out loud, but I guess this is our standing place and time to do this?”

“Yeah, there’s a clipboard where you sign up to reserve a specific table. I put our names down for every Thursday for the rest of the year.”

“Really?”

“No, numbskull,” Michelle informs him lightly. “You can’t reserve a table, only the study rooms. I knew you didn’t know how the library worked.”

“How ‘bout, instead of that, we talk about the demands of fame.”

“Oh? Are you trying to open up to me?” She taps the end of her pen hard and fast against the table as though to emphasize this is something she doesn’t have time for.

“No. I did my assigned reading.”

He reaches out and grabs his book, dragging it back across the table.

DAY, Kate Hope ― If, Then

“I kept waiting for it to get good. Why didn’t it get good?” he asks, spinning the book on their table, then trapping it under his palm.

“Patience, spider-brain,” Michelle instructs. “It is good. It’s suspenseful and subtle and atmospheric and it’s no wonder those things went right over your head. Weren’t you at least interested in Ginny? She’s a surgeon.”

“So?”

“So, you’re in Biology. Don’t you want to be a doctor or something?”

“I don’t know yet,” Peter says with a shrug. Man, is she going to start bugging him about figuring out his career path? He has May for that. “Do you know what you want to be?”

“A tutor,” she responds flatly.

He’d smile if they were friends because she’s apparently hilarious.

“It takes some time to build if the part you’re most interested in is the sci-fi stuff,” Michelle concedes. “Did you read it to the end?”

“I didn’t have time. I had to start the next book early because I have a big lab assignment next week.” He sighs and lets his head fall into his hand just thinking about it.

She frowns and looks down, so he can only assume she disapproves of his priorities or his poor time management or something.

But then she mumbles, “You should try audiobooks.”

“Thanks,” Peter says, because that’s actually a great idea. He can listen on his way to campus in the mornings and he won’t have to carry the book on the days he doesn’t have that class. It’ll mean buying an audio copy of everything he already purchased, but he’ll still use the hard copies most of the time, and it’s not like Mr. Stark’s going to begrudge him another hundred bucks. Plus, almost all of the books for this course are novels, so it won’t even feel like doing homework!

In the midst of excitedly thinking over how much time he’ll have if he takes her advice, he glances at Michelle. She’s ignoring him.

ENDICOTT, Marina ― Good to a Fault

It’s the first week of October and Peter thinks he has the hang of this being-an-English-student thing. He read-slash-listened-to the whole book this week and even though the next two weeks’ novels are a couple of the longest in the entire course, he’s undaunted. When he gets to the library and finds Michelle―the classes they have right before this tutoring session end at the same time, but she always beats him here―he brags about being totally on top of his reading. She’s possibly starting to smile at him when he says, “I’m getting good at this. You want any tips?”

“God, Peter!” she blurts. “This is the third year of my major! Try to have some fucking respect!”

He holds up his hands placatingly. Once his books are out, Peter starts watching her and notices a syllabus at her elbow that isn’t for English 1034. Aggressively highlighted in green is tomorrow’s date and ‘MIDTERM.’ His don’t start for another week. He never consciously realized that Humanities students had midterm stress too. Michelle must be taking more than one English class right now, plus whatever else fills up her schedule. Jeeze, that’s a lot of reading, and she’s reading enough of his books to help him on top of doing her own shit. Peter winces and keeps his mouth shut until she’s ready to begin.

FLYNN, Gillian ― Gone Girl

They’re in the thick of midterms and having a particularly grouchy (on both sides) tutoring session.

“Quit writing a bunch of nothing,” Michelle criticizes, like that’s somehow useful feedback.

“I’m getting to my point!” Peter complains.

“They’re long answer questions, not essays. You won’t get any pity marks for filler like you do in a Bio exam.”

“They don’t give marks for filler in Bio exams!”

“Well then where did you learn to answer questions like this?” she snaps. “Do you want to start this one over or try another one?”

They glare at each other for several sluggish moments.

“I’ll start over,” Peter decides, meeting her challenging look with his own.

“Fine.”

This time, Michelle not only passes him the question she came up with but also rips a piece of paper out of her notebook, tears it into thirds, and hands him one of those as well.

“One-sided,” she instructs.

“Yeah, I get it.”

“Be concise.”

“If you took your own advice, I’d be able to write in silence right now instead of being distracted by the sound of you talking!”

In what seems like a blink as Peter looks up from his paper and tightly-gripped pencil in confusion, Michelle has her bag packed and shoves back from the table.

“Help me study!” he yells after her in desperation.

“Earn it with something more than money,” she calls back, flipping him off over her shoulder.

GO, Justin ― The Steady Running of the Hour

Groveling wouldn’t be well-received, Peter thinks. Instead, he brings Michelle an iced coffee as an apology for being a dick last week when he was freaking out over midterms. They’re experiencing a final flare of summer weather and it seems like a practical offering as well as a symbolic gesture. Unfortunately, the man at the front desk makes Peter toss the coffee before he’s allowed in because of a No Food and Drink policy. He feels really awkward about it and distinctly emptyhanded when he approaches Michelle at their usual table.

When it’s clear that she’s not focused on anything else, Peter spills the story and does end up saying, “I’m sorry” out loud. She likes one of those things enough to smile at him―not a big one, but not a sarcastic one either―and he exhales in relief.

“I really appreciate that you’re doing this,” he adds during a lull when they’re looking over the notes he made in class, trying to decipher his professor’s analysis of a certain passage.

He studies Michelle’s downturned face until she looks up and meets his eye.

“When do you get your midterm results?”

“Not for a couple of weeks. The prof doesn’t seem like he’s in any rush.”

“Are you worried about how you did?” she asks, propping her chin up with her fist. It makes her mouth slope into a playful pout and he follows the line of it with his eye for a second.

“Kinda.”

Michelle shakes her head.

“You shouldn’t be. You’re working hard. I know you passed.”

It’s the first session that they don’t fight. Feels good.

HAM, Rosalie ― The Dressmaker

“Holy shit,” he breathes when Michelle enters. “What is that?”

The day has finally come that he beats her to the library, which is the first shock, but this is an entirely separate and far less expected thing.

“It’s Halloween,” she states. As though it’s no big deal that she just walked in here wearing a silky-looking, floor-length, emerald green gown. Well, he assumes it’s a gown and not a skirt that sits really high on her waist, but he can’t see the entire thing; she’s wearing a cropped hoodie over top. The juxtaposition makes him grin.

“Where did you get that?”

“I made it.” Just as Peter’s mouth is dropping open, she huffs a laugh and says, “Of course I didn’t. It was my grandma’s. The style’s not totally right, but I thought the colour was a pretty good match.”

“Right,” he agrees as she swishes over and sits, cautiously smoothing the dress as she does so. “Because you’re obviously supposed to be…”

Michelle rolls her eyes as she takes the opportunity for illuminating him.

“Cecilia Tallis. From Atonement,” she prompts. “Keira Knightley played her.”

“Oh, ok, yeah. I think I saw part of that one time when my aunt May was watching it.”

“It was a book first,” Michelle teasingly informs him.

“I know you’ll be amazed to hear that I haven’t read it.”

“So amazed.”

“You look good in green,” Peter throws out there while she’s still looking at him.

“Don’t be weird about it, Parker.”

He totally sees her smiling to herself when they turn to their books and wonders if they’re friends yet.

ISRAEL, Lee ― Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Nope, nope, nope, they’re definitely not friends yet! After their revision session last week, Peter thought more about his and Michelle’s potential friendship, then started to feel weird about the fact that he’s paying her―or that Mr. Stark is, on his behalf. It’s been rare lately that both he and Mr. Stark aren’t busy at the same time, but with Peter’s midterms over and a new month beginning, Tony worked out a time for them to speak in person. Peter might have got rambling a little under the heady influence of his mentor’s full attention and maybe some things came across incorrectly. It wasn’t a meeting though, and he definitely didn’t know that decisions were being made!

“I thought you were finding this helpful!” Michelle says.

“I am,” he insists. “I left Mr. Stark a message. I’m gonna set it straight!”

“Oh, like you set it straight over the weekend? He fired me as your tutor!”

“I didn’t know he was doing that!”

“What did you say to him?” she demands.

Fuck, this is going to be embarrassing to say face-to-face. Peter glances at their table―where they didn’t sit down, due to this accidental termination―and feels himself get all overheated and shifty.

“That I felt weird about paying you.”

“Because English is so worthless you should be able to learn about it for free? Yeah, I guess you could’ve made the internet your tutor, but it’s a full two months too late for that!”

“Dammit!” Peter says, frustrated. “No! Because I thought maybe you and I were friends now because it seemed like maybe we were and I’d definitely like us to be friends, but I didn’t want you to feel obligated to be nice to me as a friend or anything more than a tutor just because you’re being paid. Do you want to be friends with me?” he summarizes bluntly.

“Yes.”

He frowns in confusion.

“Really?”

Michelle’s eyes dart to the side, then zip back to his face.

“…Isn’t that what you want? I think that’s literally what you just told me you want.”

“And the money thing?”

“Yeah, you’re definitely going to fix that as soon as we’re done today. My time and expertise are valuable as hell and I’m super willing to take Tony Stark’s money.” She gives him a weird look. “My friendship is not for sale.”

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to assume―”

“I mean, I don’t know how people make friends over there in Biology, but―”

“Ok, that’s far enough,” he says, laughing when she smirks to admit she was kidding.

“I guess you better start calling me MJ too,” she says, taking her usual seat.

“If I had any extra names you didn’t know, I’d totally let you use one in exchange.”

She shrugs easily and picks up this week’s novel when he places it on the table within her reach.

“Speaking of people using other names…” MJ says as she taps the cover. “Ready to talk about a famous forger?”

“Smooth transition.”

“Thanks… pal?”

“No,” Peter says to ‘pal,’ making a face.

“No,” she agrees. “I’ll just have to remember that we’re friends now without a new name to remind me.”

“You’re officially my meanest friend,” he jokes.

MJ snorts.

“Peter, with all the time we’re spending together this year, I’m gonna be your best friend.”

JOHNSON, Adam ― Fortune Smiles

“Seventy-three!” Peter cries out when he strides into the library that Thursday. Desk Man shoots him a look and Peter mouths, “Sorry.” But if that guy’s annoyance with Peter is on the rise, so is the strength of his friendship with MJ.

“Seventy-three?” she repeats excitedly, then pauses, seemingly waiting for him to say more.

He understands. For her, getting a 73 on an English exam would probably be a blow to her average and something she’d struggle to course correct from on the final. He’d feel the same about receiving that grade in one of the classes that make up his major. But for his first college English exam? A discipline that’s forcing him to learn a completely different type of material and regurgitate that knowledge on an exam that’s neither practical nor multiple choice? It’s huge. He beams to let MJ know he hasn’t come to complain about her ineffective tutoring. Totally the opposite.

“That’s great,” MJ says. She rises from her chair because Peter’s too hyper―even a full day after getting his mark―to sit down yet.

“Yeah?”

“I told you you’d do fine,” she reminds him.

Then she goes to shove his arm and Peter misinterprets it, pulling her in to finish what he thought was the beginning of a hug. Just as he’s realizing and loosening his arms from around her, MJ’s hands come up and squeeze his back once, ending in a few reassuring pats. They break out of it, holding each other at arm’s length and she gives him a firm nod in conclusion. Peter laughs awkwardly. After that, they re-establish their usual rhythm.

“So, the first short story collection on your booklist,” she says as she sits. Rather than taking his regular spot across from her, he drags the chair around the circular table so they’re side by side. MJ watches him without protest.

“These are the first short stories I’ve read,” he tells her.

“What did you think?”

“I like it. It’s nice how it breaks the book into chunks. Makes it seem shorter maybe?”

“Definitely.”

Weirdly, their opinions about the book and what his prof wants him to learn from it continue to closely align. Of course, they don’t get through everything because, after about 15 minutes, MJ asks if he brought his midterm with him. He yanks it free of his backpack and they spend the rest of their time going over it. With a 73, Peter expects a lot of the review to be criticism (of the constructive variety) and notes on what he should’ve done better or different. Instead, it’s MJ gasping (quietly but happily) every time she finds a place where he mentioned something they went over together. He watches her eyes scan over where he described If, Then as ‘suspenseful, subtle, and atmospheric’ before going further into his comparison between that novel and Gone Girl. She catches his eye, her expressions changing like a shuffling card deck. Peter sees impressed come up, then pleased, then a third, unfamiliar thing that’s gone when MJ flips his exam to the next page.

KOCH, Herman ― The Dinner

“How is this book so horrific and so good?” Peter asks wonderingly.

They were going over his class notes until the notes referred to a page number of the novel. When he couldn’t remember what happened there, they looked it up. It was just supposed to be a refresher, but it turned into them reading nine pages―waiting for each other before flipping when their reading speeds raced, constantly slipping out of and regaining first place.

“It’s giving me rage-hunger,” MJ said.

“Rage-hunger?”

“Yeah, you know, when you’re incensed about something to the point that you start getting really hungry? Happens to me at protests.”

“Listen,” Peter says, dropping his voice to a compelling whisper. “I have pretzels.”

“Here?”

He nods.

“Do we risk it?”

“Yes,” she insists.

While she keeps watch, glancing around, Peter grasps the edge of the pretzel bag in his backpack. His expression feels pretty constipated as he struggles to open the bag soundlessly, but it’s worth the effort when he feels it give. Furtively, they sneak pretzels from his bag―balanced between their legs under the table―up to their mouths, attempting to chew as silently as possible and speaking in a soft slur with pretzels distending their cheeks.

LINK, Kelly ― Get in Trouble

Yeah, so, after being caught with mouths full of pretzels, they’re slightly afraid to immediately return to the library. Instead of meeting there on Thursday to go over all of Peter’s notes at once, he and MJ snatch time all week long. It’s another collection of short stories this week, so they go over the first one before he even attends his Monday English 1034 lecture, meaning he’s super prepared to participate for once, after running his thoughts by his tutor in advance. The next time, they do story number two, plus his class notes, then continue meeting when they can.

Peter hesitates before asking if she still wants to get together at their regular hour on Thursday. What if she feels like she’s given him enough of her time this week? What if she made other plans? But when he does ask, she’s surprised that he ever considered them not having their scheduled session. He’s not entirely sure why he was so scared she’d say no. That was silly. Although they both acknowledged that they’re friends, he thinks they’re finally starting to act like it.

So they meet on Thursday. And then they meet on Friday too. They say it’s for tutoring and keep Peter’s copy of Get in Trouble between them on the table of the student community centre, but they don’t open it. MJ trades him a bite of her pizza slice for some of his fries. He laughs hard when she gets ketchup on her lip, then swallows the sound down as she licks it off.

“Did I get it?”

“Um, yeah,” Peter replies, stupefied.

MOYES, Jojo ― Me Before You

“Well,” he says, retyping his notes to add MJ’s insights, “here’s another one where I can count watching a movie as part of studying.” Peter keeps typing for a minute, but she doesn’t respond, so while his eyes remain on the screen he asks, “Are you judging me? I promise I’m still going to read the rest of the book.”

Finished, he looks over to see MJ staring intently at the open novel. Peter concentrates on the book first―she’s right near the end―then on his friend’s face. Is she…?

“Are you crying?” he asks softly, leaning towards her.

He thought she might hide her reaction, but she raises her head and sniffs as tears pour down her cheeks. She’s so naked with emotion that Peter shudders.

“Maybe,” she says, making them both laugh, hers a bubbling noise from the wetness in her throat. “But ignore this. I said I wouldn’t spoil the ending for you.”

“Obviously, nothing dramatic happens,” Peter sarcastically infers. “You cry all the time. I have zero reason to think it has anything to do with Me Before You.”

Smiling, she finally wipes the last of her tears away with the sleeve of her cardigan.

“I still have a little bit left to read.”

“Borrow it,” he says.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I can listen to the audiobook for a while, or you can just keep it overnight and we’ll hang out tomorrow and I’ll get it back from you. Unless you think you’d need longer.”

MJ rolls her eyes at him.

“Please. I eat Jojo Moyeses for breakfast. I’ll probably finish it during the break in my next class.”

“So, you wouldn’t even need it overnight then,” he says, trying to be sly. She lets out a laugh.

“You want to read it so badly, don’t you?”

“Maybe I just don’t like lending out my books.”

“Liar. I bet you’re going to read the rest all in one sitting.” MJ smirks and stands the book on the table like both she and it are taunting him. “Don’t you need to prioritize your other courses, Peter? What about Biology?”

“Offer revoked,” he tells her, making to take the book back. She doesn’t let him, holding it up and away from him.

“Are you going to spend all night reading for pleasure instead of doing your science homework? Shame on you, Peter. What about your future?”

He stands too quickly in his attempt to grab the book, startling MJ, who rocks back in her chair a little too far. But it can’t tip faster than his reflexes can react; Peter instinctively grabs her around the waist and pulls her against him as the chair topples and the paperback hits the ground with a soft thump. They haven’t been this close since they hugged after his midterm results. He opens and closes his mouth without saying anything, fingers shifting against MJ’s back as she gets her balance. Seems to take her longer than it should, but he won’t let go before she’s ready. Which’ll be any second now, he’s sure. She’s flushed, eyes roaming his face. Probably about to tell him she can stand all on her fucking own.

Any second now.

NG, Celeste ― Everything I Never Told You

It’s the second week in December and their final tutoring session of the semester. Exams start tomorrow, though the one for English 1034 isn’t until the 21st. Peter should be psyched―after this exam, he’s halfway done the course―and yet his shoulders carry some heaviness into the library, along with big, wet snowflakes. He perks up at the sight of MJ, then grows subdued just as fast. They’ve become the kind of friends who meet during the week, always at school, usually with at least the pretense of studying. She’s never been to the apartment he shares with three roommates; he has no idea where she lives. Their most secure connection is a list of 26 books and after today’s session, 14 of those will already be behind them. Theoretically, they’re committed to spending another semester together (unless the world ends via hostile alien takeover, or Mr. Stark fires MJ again and she agrees to it for some reason). What happens after that?

Peter doesn’t like the way winter break looks like a preview for the end of the school year in April. He’s sure that’ll come up quick after the new year because second semester always feels shorter than first. Will they be close enough by then to make plans for hanging out over the summer? He knows MJ’s from here, but not if she’ll be around. And what about next year? He won’t be studying English. Are they gonna see each other on campus or both be too busy with their final year of undergrad―keeping up grades and searching for their first job opportunities right out of college? And then? Will one or both of them move away for work or grad school, or just to find a cheaper place to live while they’re starting out? Seriously, they could be faint memories to each other in under five years.

He's weighed down with all of this as he flops into his seat at their table.

“Do you think you’re ready?” MJ asks just before she glances up.

“What?” Peter replies, devastated.

“For your exam.” She meets his eye and her expression collapses inward a little as she assesses his mood. “What’s wrong?”

He looks at her face. It’s easy to admit to himself that her eyes are more trusting than they used to be when they stared back into his, and he has to allow that she’s more trusting too. Same with him. They’ve smoothed each other out, rounded off each other’s bluntest angles. Peter has no desire for them to ever have another shouting match like they did during the early weeks of this arrangement. In fact, his ideal dynamic for them would be the complete opposite.

“I guess I’m… worried.”

“We should get together next week.”

“That would be great,” he tells her with eager relief.

Wow, what would they do? Grab lunch? Dinner? Hot chocolates and ice skating at Rockefeller Center? A movie at his place? All of his roommates have early or no exams (lucky bastards) and plans to head home for the holidays right after, leaving him alone in the apartment.

“This is a late exam,” MJ says, doublechecking the date in her planner, which includes all of his deadlines (in red ink) alongside hers (in blue), “but the library’s open practically every day but Christmas.”

Oh. She means get together here. Of course. He didn’t really make it clear that the exam isn’t what he’s worried about, or at least it’s not the main thing.

“Well,” Peter says, “consistency.”

“What’s up with you?” she asks, narrowing her eyes are him, apparently not satisfied since he does still sound kinda bereft.

Retrieving his novel and his laptop, he says, “Nothing,” and thinks, I was just wishing we were more than friends.

OZEKI, Ruth ― A Tale for the Time Being

They hang out once before his exam, when MJ helps Peter with prep, and once after, when he’s getting a jump on his reading for semester two. The second time, totally by accident, she meets May.

MJ’s at his apartment for the first time and the two out of three of his roommates who’ve already returned are being loud enough that Peter can’t forget their existence the way he wants to (just for right now) and ignore everything in the world that isn’t his tutor/friend/person he’s been pining for every spare second since they’ve been apart. Two weeks is too long. They’re finally taking an honest crack at the novel he’s been assigned for next week, the first week back at school, when there’s a knock at the door, followed by cheerful hollering from his roommates. Peter knows who it is even before he rises and sheepishly lets his aunt hand him everything he forgot at home when he packed; his roommates love May.

Though he told MJ she didn’t have to get up, she’s suddenly next to him at the door―he’s startled to feel her briefly lean against him―then being pulled into a hug by his aunt. When she leaves for a minute to go to the washroom, May drags Peter away from his roommates.

“Who was that?” she wonders, face lighting up with curiosity and premature excitement.

He feels himself turn red and itches at his cheek like he can scratch the flush out.

“Just a friend.”

His aunt raises her eyebrows doubtfully.

PALAHNIUK, Chuck ― Choke

After spending last Thursday giving A Tale for the Time Being the attention they should’ve the week before, they’re back on schedule with a new book. Sort of back on schedule. They start off discussing the novel, but when Peter runs one of his prof’s assertions about it past Google, he finds out Choke has a movie version. He and MJ glance at each other. Yeah, why not? It’s only their second week back on campus and they don’t have their full studying stamina back yet. They trek down to the film library in the basement to see if they have a copy.

Soon, they’re wearing bulky borrowed headphones, hunkered down at the corner computer in the viewing lab that’s kept in the dark, watching a film about a sex addict. They’re awkward at first, or maybe it’s just Peter, but eventually he relaxes, folding his arms over his chest and leaning back in his chair. MJ shifts around next to him. She kicks her shoes off and brings her feet up off the floor. They’re tightly side by side to watch the same computer screen, so when she crosses her legs, her knee lands on his thigh. Peter stares at it for a minute in the screen’s glow, missing the movie. He lays his palm on top of the rough, cool denim, and MJ turns her head to see what’s up. Immediately, he moves to withdraw his hand from her knee, but she pats the back of it, giving him permission.

Heart thumping, Peter eases the headphones off one ear. The room’s completely quiet, apart from the way MJ exhales heavily through her nose as she settles into position for the rest of the film. He swallows. He should tell her, right now.

“Hey, MJ…” he starts.

But she doesn’t look, doesn’t turn. Can’t hear anything outside those fucking headphones. Weirdly, she does glance at him a few minutes later, unprompted. She reaches out and pauses the movie. He lifts his headphones off when she does, eyes drawn to how they mess up her hair.

“Did you say something?” MJ asks.

Now, now, now, Peter tells himself.

“Uh, no.” He gives her a tight smile and unpauses Choke.

QUICK, Matthew ― The Good Luck of Right Now

“You have other friends, right?” Peter wonders aloud as MJ reads over the short responses he’s composed for an online participation thing that his prof made worth a truly stupid 4% of his grade.

“A couple.”

She says it straight, unembarrassed. He understands her well enough to know she has no interest in tricking people into believing she’s more social or at all inclined towards networking. Those people, whoever they are, were lucky to have her let them in. Abruptly, Peter realizes he’s probably being counted among them. He grins to himself.

“Plus, like, class friends.”

“Sure,” he agrees.

He does the same thing―always attempts to figure out who seems nice so he can try to be paired with them for group projects or have someone to sit with if they have another class together in the future.

“Any other kind of friends?” Peter asks tentatively. MJ quits reading his laptop screen and side-eyes him. “Like a… like maybe a boyfriend?”

It’s probably a no. It has to be a no. Even with the length of time it took for them to talk about their personal lives, she would’ve mentioned a boyfriend by now. Wouldn’t she?

“I… a boyfriend? No, I… Why would I have…? Do you?”

Well, this is a surprise. He expected her to either answer straightforwardly or question if he ever listens to what she says. But she’s oddly flustered and inarticulate. And blushing, Peter notices, though she won’t let him hold her gaze.

“No,” he says, settling for the single syllable that’ll do the job.

MJ sort of nods, then directs his attention to the screen.

“Just a question, but has anyone ever taught you how to use basic punctuation? Jesus, Parker.”

As much as that comment’s much more in character, every one of his senses screams, ‘MISDIRECTION!’

ROWELL, Rainbow ― Fangirl

“Say nothing,” MJ instructs when they run into each other in front of the library, coming from opposite directions.

About what? Peter wants to ask, but he doesn’t say even that much because the look on her face is intense and because the wind is icy, slicing their faces with snow that’s more like sharp daggers. He bounds up the stairs next to her and straight inside when she jerks the door open with her mittened hand. All the way upstairs and to their table, he keeps wary eyes on her. He only looks away for a minute to set his backpack down and shrug out of his outer layers; the library’s kept almost stiflingly warm and dry. They pile their wet outerwear on one of the extra chairs, then MJ glares at him before he can sit. He stares back, baffled.

“Nothing,” she reminds him, and unzips her hoodie.

Does he look silly with the way his jaw drops? He can’t even care. She’s wearing a Spider-Man t-shirt.

“I―”

“No words. No sounds of any kind.”

So Peter grins in silence and retrieves the usual studying accessories from his backpack. Eventually, MJ groans out her admission.

“I forgot to do laundry.”

He continues to say nothing about the shirt, even when he is permitted to speak so they can discuss his reading. What he wants to say isn’t something she’d like―that he’s deduced from the laundry comment that this is an old shirt, not a recent buy. Meaning she’s had it since who knows how long before she ever met him. Meaning she’s a fan.

SENNA, Danzy ― New People

“How are you liking the course?” MJ asks him out of the blue. She’s tracing the curving shapes and purple letters on the cover of this week’s book with her fingertip.

Peter laughs.

“My prof’s never even asked us that.”

“That’s because profs don’t want honest answers. Only in essays, and even then, you have to pad them with all the shit the prof said in class in order to stroke their ego into giving you a good mark.”

“Cynical.”

She smiles dryly.

“Thank you. But really, how are you finding it?” She looks nervous about how he might answer.

“A lot of work,” he says honestly, “but it also feels like less work than my other courses.”

“Because it’s a fluff discipline compared to Biology?”

“Stop it, no, because you’re helping me. It feels like something I’m doing for fun.”

“Who are you?” MJ shakes her head, wearing a smug smile. “If the you from September could see you now. Oh, actually, that reminds me. Put your number in.”

She hands him the new phone she mentioned she’d be getting last weekend.

“What did you have me saved as in your old one?” he asks, adding his number to a new contact page. MJ takes the phone back before he can input his name.

“Oh, you don’t want to know.” He’s fairly certain she’s joking.

“Did it contain the word ‘dickhead’?”

She shrugs and slouches in her chair, phone held low and close. She finishes entering his information out of his line of sight.

“You’ll never know.”

Maybe not, Peter thinks, when MJ gets up a while later to refill her water bottle, but he can at least check what she has him under now. She left her phone out on the table, screen up, so he texts her an innocuous ‘testing, testing’ and watches for the new message to pop up.

Evidently, he’s in her phone as his normal name. His name, plus a heart. His real one’s suddenly beating very fast.

THIEN, Madeleine ― Do Not Say We Have Nothing

It’s almost Valentine’s Day and their college’s week-long study week, two compelling reasons for Peter to tell Michelle Jones―tutor, friend, precariously deepening crush―how he feels about her.

Before their tutoring session, he psyches himself up in the bathroom mirror, until other people walk in and he has to pretend to be coughing. He doesn’t really feel ready and their time together ends up being sort of a flurry anyway because part of the library’s being painted and there are fewer tables. With a ton of people on the cusp of more exams and big assignments due before the break, it takes Peter and MJ a while to find a table. Even after that, the paint smell gradually fills the air, forcing them to stop early.

God, and he didn’t say anything!

“We should meet up later,” he asserts firmly, at the same moment MJ says, “Try again tonight?”

“Yeah,” they say together.

Peter grins and she smiles back before quickly ducking her head. He bites his lip, restraining himself from catching her chin with his fingers and tilting it up.

“Ok then,” he says. “Ok. The library’ll probably still stink, so… my apartment?”

“Or my place,” MJ offers, slightly wide-eyed.

“Oh, yeah. That would be, that’d be good.”

“You can walk back with me, if you don’t mind waiting for my class.”

He doesn’t, and they do that, and as MJ’s unlocking the door to her apartment, he finds out two things: that she has a roommate and that her roommate’s staying the night at her boyfriend’s. Whatever, that doesn’t mean it’s going to be romantic or anything. They’re discussing art and politics during China’s calamitous Cultural Revolution. There’s no way MJ would even be thinking about… but then she leads him to the couch instead of the kitchen table. And she sits down next to him, letting their thighs touch. And his breathing just isn’t steady for the hangout that goes two hours before they even think to check the time. So many times, he has the feeling they’re one brush of their legs, one bump of their shoulders, one tuck of her hair with his fingers away from something more, but every chance seems to come and go while the tension stays.

Eventually, Peter gathers his stuff and lingers with her in the open doorway of her apartment. She’s leaning into the frame, smiling at him as he says a bunch of nothing, just to make the night last longer. He takes a breath. Ok, he’s gonna do it. He’ll tell her.

The next second, MJ’s pressing her mouth to his. Then, while he’s still dazed from the kiss, she pushes him out the door and says, “Um, see you after study week, Peter.”

URQUHART, Jane ― The Night Stages

What’s this mean? Peter wants to ask her, right after the kiss and for the whole study break. Except he’s in the city, doing Spidey-patrol and finishing the nearly-500 pages of Do Not Say We Have Nothing, and she’s in New Orleans, building affordable housing with a charity. When he texts her because he can’t resist asking how she is and what she’s working on that day, she always gets back to him, but there’s nothing flirtatious in her words, nothing to assure him she shares his preoccupation over the kiss. So startling, so make-the-hair-stand-up-on-the-back-of-his-neck. And it was supposed to make everything clear, when one of them made a move (in his head over the weeks before it happened, it was him), not confuse the hell out of him.

It's awkward when they meet on campus on Monday. Neither of them goes in for a hug and they carry on a stilted conversation about how each of their breaks went, Peter twisting his fingers around in his sleeves. At least they didn’t postpone this until Thursday. He senses that they’re both thankful for the length of this week’s novel and how many times it guarantees they’ll meet (their productivity per session definitely took a nosedive when they became friends). He assumes the relief comes from wanting to push past this awkward stage by getting used to each other again. Then, when they meet in the library the next day, MJ picks a different table. Actually, a completely different floor. It’s basically dead, no other students or staff in sight, and, with his face flushed with desire and anticipation, she braces a hand on his thigh, leans in, and kisses him for the second time.

On Wednesday, it’s the same spot (but later because Peter has an evening lab) and he initiates, hand on the back of her neck as they kiss slow and deep, never even unpacking their bags.

Thursday, they meet at their old table, like normal, and do some actual work. But that night, he walks MJ home and tries to give her a goodbye kiss that turns into them making out with her pressed up against the closed door of her apartment.

They agree, on Friday morning, that Peter really needs to devote some concentration to this novel, so they study at his place that evening. Because all of his roommates are home, they’re camped out in his room, on his bed, but with his door wide open. The most they attempt is holding hands, anxiously separating when one of his buddies pokes a head in to ask if Peter’s seen his phone charger.

By Saturday, at her apartment, they abandon pretenses, though they haven’t exactly said in words what it is they’re doing without those pretenses. Are they friends who kiss? Are they dating? Is MJ his girlfriend? None of that is as pressing as pulling her onto his lap and kissing her until they’re tired and she checks her phone to see that it’s almost two in the morning. Reluctantly, MJ climbs off his lap and Peter watches her disappear into her bedroom. He strips off his jeans and falls asleep on her couch wrapped in a blanket and his school hoodie.

The next morning, they look over his notes because he’s here and they might as well. Their socked feet overlap beneath her kitchen table. She refills his glass of orange juice before he notices it’s almost empty.

VÁSQUEZ, Juan Gabriel ― The Sound of Things Falling

He’s in love with her. It’s the beginning of March, the air has quit biting, MJ’s blushing when he uses his high school Spanish to correctly pronounce the characters’ names, and he’s in love with her.

WALKER, Karen Thompson ― The Dreamers

Peter falls asleep at her place again. This time, MJ’s tucked into him when he wakes up. Gradually, he drags up a fuzzy memory of her padding into the living room during the night, putting him on alert until she nudged him over to make room on the couch. Her roommate’s home. They don’t care, don’t flinch apart when she walks into the room. He hangs around most of Saturday, only leaving because he really needs to do some work on his other courses. MJ kisses him when he goes, gently stroking his earlobe with her thumb.

X ― N/A

“No X?” she checks. “Are you sure?”

“It’s on the syllabus,” Peter points out, pulling MJ’s feet across his thighs as he eats an apple. They found an alternate study spot that allows food.

“Yeah, I know, I have the copy from the beginning of the year, but I figured your prof would update it to add something.”

“I think he told us one time that he was going to,” he says, trying to remember exactly. “Now, he says he was always planning on leaving this week free for us to ask questions in class before the exam.”

“But there are still two full weeks of classes before exams,” MJ says skeptically. “If this break was intentional, he’d do it the last week of classes instead.”

“I don’t know. I mean, I know there are two weeks left, but I don’t know what else to say. No X.”

“Semi-related,” she prefaces, giving him a serious look that makes Peter pay attention, “is it ok with you if I consider you my boyfriend?”

He laughs until he realizes she looks genuinely unsure of what his answer will be.

“Please.”

Peter holds his apple out of the way when MJ wiggles forward to hug him.

YAZDANIAN, Showey ― Loopholes

“You wanna go somewhere with me?” MJ asks.

Peter knows she’s been watching him rearrange the digital copy of his notes―simplifying and streamlining so they’ll be easy to study from between now and the date of his final exam. It’s very comforting, her undemanding gaze, and he feels himself emotionally stretching into it, like a cat. He loves to be near her. His girlfriend.

“Yes,” he says. “I mean, where?”

She laughs gently at him and props her elbow on the table, right next to his.

“The English Department scheduled a year-end trip to see a play.”

“That sounds very… high schoolish,” he decides, grinning.

“Hey, some of us aren’t too up our own asses to understand the thrill of a field trip. Maybe in Biology―”

“Ugh,” Peter groans jokingly at her relentless, unserious digs at his chosen discipline.

“―you’ve lost your sense of childlike wonder.”

“But I might be able to get it back if I go to this play? What’s the play?”

“Romeo and Juliet,” she mumbles.

“You want to see that? It’s depressing and, and overdramatic,” he states, though he’s never seen it performed, and definitely never read the play.

“I don’t really care about seeing the play,” MJ says as she gives him a meaningful look.

“Oh. Aw.” He smiles at the thought that she just wants to spend time with him. “Do I have to sign up or something?”

“I… might have already signed you up.” Peter raises his eyebrows at her and it’s enough to push her to continue. “It’s supposed to be an internal thing, just English majors, but the turnout for anything with any significant cultural value’s always really low―” MJ rolls her eyes. “―especially right at the end of the year, when people are starting to focus on exams, even though it’s a great opportunity to see a high-quality production with cheap student-group-discount tickets. Anyway, I talked to the prof because he knows me from teaching me last year and asked if you could come because you are taking an English class even if you’re not majoring.”

“He agreed?”

She nods.

“As I suspected, there were a bunch of tickets left over because they always reserve too many. They’re great seats.”

“Why are you trying to convince me to come?” Peter teases. “Apparently, I already signed up.”

Despite the dozens of times they’ve met this year, comprising probably a hundred hours, and the affectionate admissions, and the kissing that’s been driving him insane for more, this is their first date date. He’s excited to be at the theatre because he’s never gone before, and he purposely didn’t tell Mr. Stark about this so he wouldn’t try to pay for it; Peter bought his own ticket. They’re deep into the second part of the play, intermission behind them, and before things can get gruesome on stage with the stars meeting their violent ends, he leans in so close to MJ that his nose brushes her ear.

“You’re my best friend,” he whispers.

She turns her head, smile clamped together by the way she’s biting her bottom lip. There’s joy in her eyes that makes his heart drop and flip and soar back up, too high, into his throat. He’s still looking at her when she turns her face back to the performance.

“Also, I love you,” Peter says, almost choking on his heart.

Swiftly, he kisses her cheek and settles back into his seat, but MJ tugs the hand that’s been entwined with hers since they sat down. She leans across the armrest between their seats and he’s happy to move the rest of the way. Something hot courses through him when she not only kisses him more roughly than he anticipated but grabs the tie he wore with his button-up, blazer, and good jeans. When she releases him with a smirk and a pat on his chest, Peter practically collapses back into place, stunned.

“Oh,” MJ adds, glancing at him again in a quick flick, “I love you too.”

ZOBOI, Ibi ― Pride

There are three stacks of books on the surprisingly nice hardwood floor of MJ’s bedroom. It’s small compared to the size of his sense of accomplishment for seeing this demanding course through to the end. Although this is the first time Peter’s assembled all 25 books at once, they aren’t organized alphabetically; there’s a pile each for books he remembers well, those he wants to reread sections of, and ones where, logically, he knows he read them, and yet he can barely recall the plot. He feels pretty goddamn good about the fact that, out of 25, only 2 made the third pile. Actually, one’s unaccounted for, because it’s the last book on his syllabus and it’s currently dangling from his hand while he takes a break from reading it.

“Hey,” he hisses at MJ.

Lying on her back on her soft, thick rug while she studies for one of her exams, his girlfriend angles her head to look at Peter, hanging over the side of her bed.

“What?”

He grins.

“Nothing. Just wanted to say, ‘hey.’” He’s so used to her rolling her eyes. “How’s the floor?”

“Not bad.”

“You wanna come up here?”

MJ eyes him suspiciously.

“I need to study,” she reminds him. “Everything I know about your books got mixed up with everything I’m supposed to know about my books and I’m still mentally untangling.”

Peter keeps staring down at her, trying to make his eyes wide and pleading. It takes her seconds to give in. She groans as she starts to sit up, appearing to lead with her knees and elbows as she rearranges her limbs, collapsing and unfolding like a portable lawn chair. MJ steps gingerly over his book stacks, then he’s grabbing her waist and pulling her to the bed, where she flops down beside him. Her head’s facing the wrong way though, so Peter shuffles around, getting her socks out of his face. They take turns sighing tiredly―the extreme burdens of another year of lectures over and another round of exams about to begin―then Peter tilts his forehead to touch hers.

“Happy you’re almost at the end?” MJ asks softly.

“Yeah, but I also kinda wish I could take another English class next year. I think I actually did better in Bio this year because I got to take a break from it with something that was totally different. Does that sound possible?”

“Mhmm.”

She lets her eyes close―probably resting them after concentrating for so long.

“I’ll miss reading this much.”

“And?”

With her eyes shut, only her eyebrows prompt him to go on.

“And I’ll miss talking about what I read with you,” he says.

“Maybe you don’t need to worry about that,” she suggests.

“Why not?”

MJ smiles.

“Because I’ve been working on a new list of books I think you’ll like since October. We can meet in the library and talk about them.”

“Every week?” Peter checks. “What about Biology?”

“If you have time,” she clarifies.

“No, I mean I’ve spent a year studying English lit, learning about your discipline.” With a grin, he trails his fingers down MJ’s throat, stopping at the neck of her long-sleeved shirt. “So, I was just wondering, if you’d be interested in studying Biology.”

He kisses her neck where he stroked, then up beneath her jaw, making MJ laugh until she gasps instead, gripping his hair.

“I don’t think we should wait for September.”

“Well, you’re still the tutor for another week,” Peter reminds her. “I’ll follow your lead.”

[aquariusrunes]

The Superfriends AU (part 2.5)

It had been a long day. 

That was Nino’s only thought as he laid along one of the benches in the boys locker room. His arms dangling off the side as he stared at the ceiling tiles. 

The day started out with him waking up to a text from his best friend informing him that he would not be in school for the next week and a half. Apparently Adrien’s old man had been in deep talks with some sort of fashion god from America, and now Adrien was going to be one of her star models in her next collection. 

The deal closed last night and the Agreste crew was on a jet at five in the morning to get to Steel City USA as quickly as possible. Gabriel had apparently decided it was fine to not even tell his son about it. Adrien’s text had explained that he learned he would be going to America roughly twenty minutes before they left for the airfield. 

Nino, of course, told Adrien to have a good time, keep him updated, and that he would email Adrien every assignment and all the notes he missed. And because he was a good friend like that, Adrien promised him lots of photos and a cool souvenir. 

But Nino hadn’t been prepared for class without Adrien. 

Going to class in general he rarely felt prepared for anymore. It was a full on warzone the minute the seats were filled. With Marinette and her crew taking up the back of the far side of the classroom and Lila and her girls sitting towards the front on Nino’s side. Adiren and he still have their original seats though, as did Chloé. But today, Nino was the only one in the front row. 

No one really commented on Chloé’s absence, the girl’s appearances were getting fewer and farther between as the year went on. He suspected she might be working on a transfer of some kind, seeing as how she and Lila didn’t get on well and the blonde would rather die before joining Marinette’s side. Of course everyone asked were Adrien was, and Nino happily informed any who asked. 

But then he made a mistake. 

Nino had mentioned how Adrian was going to be doing this new collection with Damian Wayne. And as expected, Lila went off. 

Apparently, Lila and Damian were childhood best friends. Her parents had known Bruce forever and the two couldn’t wait to set up their children on playdates whenever they could. In fact, Lila was practically an honorary Wayne. Bruce called her his future daughter-in-law because she and Damian were practically engaged. Though Lila wasn’t sure if she had romantic feelings for the notoriously stoic boy, he was very much in love with her. Damian had been chasing after her for years, apparently. 

Nino was so done. 

He then mentioned the campaign was for one Edna Mode. Now, Nino knew very little about fashion, he would admit this to anyone who asked. He would never pretend to know about fashion. But he did know that Edna Mode was the biggest name their was. Not only did she design the highest end clothing, she also designed superhero costumes! And she was well known as some kind of god to all in the fashion world. 

Cue Lila mentioning how she, of course, new Edna. They’d met during Milan Fashion Week several years ago. Apparently Edna drew immediate inspiration from the Italian girl. Lila had been Edna’s personal muse ever since. Edna would fly her to fashion shows all over the world. Lila would be Edna’s star model, the face of Mode, if her mother hadn’t thought Lila too young when they first met. Also, Edna liked to send her cloths, you know, Mode exclusives that literally coast more than all of Paris!

Apparently, Edna was like a grandmother to the girl.

The worst part of Nino’s day so far had to be the fact that, while Marinette’s crew tried to immediately disprove Lila’s statements, Marinette herself wasn’t in class. Nino still wasn’t sure where the girl was. He hadn’t seen her all day, and he was honestly a little worried. He texted her a few times but his messages didn’t go through. His mind was racing with possibilities of what Lila could have done. 

And now, he was sitting in the boys locker room. Alya, Rose, Mylène, Juleka and Sabrina were out in the cafeteria, hanging on every word of Lila’s story. It was about how she saved Ace, Bruce Wayne’s personal therapy dog, from oncoming traffic in Gotham City two summers ago. Nino had needed a break. And the boys locker room was perfect, seeing as all the boys Nino knew, and thus would interact with him, didn’t believe a word that came out of Lila’s mouth.  

“You look rough bud.” Nino’s head lifted slightly, seeing Kim leaning against the set of lockers to his right.

“Feel rough dude.” 

Kim laughed before sitting down next to his friend. “Needed a little break from the rat queen and her pack?” He asked. 

“Yeah…” Nino closed his eyes. “Please do not call my girlfriend a rat.” 

“Sorry.” 

The two sat in silence for a few moments. Kim was the first person, after Marinette, to find out that Nino was working undercover for the girl. He’d even changed Nino’s contact name in his phone to The MoleTM. And the two had rekindled their childhood friendship rather quickly. Kim was the person Nino had known second longest out of everyone in Bustier’s class, the first being Marinette. 

Kim also took the liberty of informing the rest of Mari’s crew where Nino’s true loyalty lied. It was nice having his old friends back, especially because he missed hanging out with the boys. Still sucked that they had to keep up an act anywhere Lila could possibly be though.

“DC texted me last night.” Kim said. “Asked me to spread the word. She’s gonna be out of town for a little while.” 

Nino slowly sat up, removing his hat as it began to fall and placing it in his lap. “Out of town?” He asked. “Where’d she go?”

“America.” 

“Dang.” 

“Yeah,” Kim scratched the back of his head. “She said that she had totally spaced about letting anyone know. Apparently she’s got a Great Aunt who lives overseas and she’s gonna go spend some time with her. She’s also gonna get to see one of her cousins. She sounded really pumped.” 

“Why didn’t she just text everyone?” Nino asked. 

“Mari said that when she hit my contact, she thought she was texting in the groupchat. She only realized after she sent it, so she quickly asked me to spread the news. Apparently she was texting from the plane before they took off. She left real late last night.” He shrugged. “Anyway, she doesn’t have international coverage, so it’s gonna be radio silence for the next ten or so days.” 

“Ten days?” Nino questioned. 

“Hey, she got permission from her parents, and all the work she’ll miss from teachers.” Kim twisted to be facing Nino directly. “More importantly, I overheard that sunshine’s gone too.” 

Nino nodded slowly, unsure of where this was now heading. 

“Adrien, despite taking a stance as Switzerland, is one of Lila’s biggest buffers. Still not sure what the kid’s got on her, but whatever it is, it keeps her a least a little in check. And with DC gone, who knows what she’ll do.” 

Nino nodded, suddenly aware of just how serious this could get. Of course if Lila said anything Mari’s crew would come to her defense, but rumors involving Marinette always seemed more potent and to have a harsher affect when the girl wasn’t around to directly defend herself. This would be a very dangerous week. 

“I’m on guard.” Nino said sternly. “Everything I hear, no matter who it’s from, is going straight to you guys.” 

Kim gave a sad half smile. “Remember when school didn’t feel like some sort of secret war?” He asked. “When all we had to worry about was if Chloé would accidently akumatize someone and if whatever they were serving in the caf was edible that day.” 

Nino responded with his own half hearted smile. “Ah the good ol days, may they return to us at some point.” 

Kim stood, patting Nino’s shoulder. “Keep us posted my dude, you’re our only life line in these trying times.” He watched his friend walk out of the locker room. He’d give it a few more minutes before he left and returned to that most cursed lunch table. 

This week was going to be hell. And something absolutely awful would happen before it was up, he could feel it in his gut. And despite what most people thought of him upon first glance, his gut was never wrong. 

He pondered briefly about what would have happened had he listened to it when the Liar first showed up. Oh how different things could have been. 

… 

His knee bounced rapidly, foot tapping against the carpeted floor of the Wayne Enterprise Jet. His fingers rhythmically pounding against the small table set between his seat and the two across from him. His green eyes glaring back at him in the reflection of the window. It wasn’t that he hated flying, or that it really even bothered him, he just enjoyed it more when he was the one in control of the plane.

He had asked, of course, but his father had said no. Even though he knew how, and his father was perfectly aware of how good of a pilot Damian was.

Yes, he didn’t like this pilot. The flight to Smallville had been fine, he supposed, they only hit a minor patch of turbulence that he was sure they would have avoided if he had been piloting, but it was fine. They had gone to Smallville to pick up Jon who was helping his grandmother with some big event happening at the Kent Farm. All the supers were there though, so when Bruce had called and asked Clark if Jon could tag along this week, his father agreed. He was already out of school anyway. 

Now they were flying to Steel City so he could be forced to model with some famous Parisian and his lovely cousin and some other girl who’s name he’d already forgotten. Damian never really modeled before, but Edna seemed confident in him. It was also an excuse to see his cousin. He hadn’t seen her in person for a long time. 

The knot in his stomach tightened and the rhythm of his fingers increased. 

Finally his ears popped, just as a hand softly rested over his own. His fingers flattened out against the table as Damian slowly glanced to his side. Sitting next to him was a sixteen year old boy who was rarely pegged for his age.

Colin Wilkes looked almost nothing like his ten-year-old self that Damian had met six years ago. The venom coursing through him had long since began to alter the boy’s body, making him function as a better host. He was very muscular, with a physique that rivaled that of a professional football player. He had also gotten taller, coming just an inch or so above Damian’s new height. Colin’s face was the one thing that never seemed to change, still round and doughy with stubborn baby fat persistently clinging to his cheeks. His tan skin coated in freckles, the number of which would very depending on the season. His scraggly bright orange hair still hung in his eyes, the bright hazel irises were currently searching Damian for something, some sort of chink in his armor. 

Colin’s eyes were very good at finding chinks in his armor. That is, after all, how they got into this whole mess.

“Everything okay Damian?” His voice was soft, it didn’t sound like it belonged in his body, but Damian knew just how low and threatening it could become. 

“Course.” Damian tried to break eye contact but found himself failing. Colin’s own eyes squinted as he pushed his bangs out of his face. He knew Damian was lying, he was good at that, he just hoped the boy wouldn’t push it. 

With a sigh the red head removed his hand. “Okay,” He breathed, standing from his seat next to the darker skinned teen. “We can talk about it later.” Damian’s eyes remained trained on him as he raised his hands above his head and stretched before saying “I’m going to run to the restroom.” 

Damian watched as Colin walked back to the jet’s small bathroom. Once the door was closed, he turned back around, immediately locking with a set of wide crystal blue eyes. “You alright Damian?” 

Why was everyone asking him that today?

“‘m fine, Jon.” He looked away from the half Kryptonian, back out the window. After many years of knowing the boy he’d discovered that Jon’s lie detector only worked when he was making eye contact with his target.

“Colin sure didn’t seem to think so.” The boy murmured. “Are you upset that I tagged along?” He asked, eyes downcast.

“Jon I invited you,” Damian scoffed out. “Why would I be upset that you are here when it was my idea?” He crossed his arms instead of going back to tapping his fingers.

“I don’t know, maybe you wanted to be alone with Colin…” 

Damian and Jon had a very unique relationship. While Colin had been the first friend Damian ever made, Jon was his second, and more importantly he was the son of Superman. Damian and Jon shared a legacy, a duty to their neighboring cities. They were both very much like their fathers, and very much stuck in the mens’ shadows. Ever since they met though, Damian found that they only ever help to pull one another out of those dark casts. 

Clark and Bruce were friends, of course, but not like Damian and Jon were. Jon, like Marinette, felt very much like the other side of Damian’s internal coin. They balanced one another so nicely. He was also one of the few people Damian actually cared for, let alone trusted. Jon was the third person he ever came out to, the first being Tim and the second being Marinette. 

Jon was also the one who encouraged Damian to pursue his feelings for Colin. That had been almost three years ago. Now the two boys were rapidly approaching their three year anniversary, and Jon was still their biggest supporter. 

The knot in Damian’s stomach tightened again.  

“I just,” He sighed leaning his head back. ���You’ll be meeting my cousin.” Damian began, pausing to check and see if the boy was listening. Jon’s eyes were wide and attentive, as they typically were when Damian spoke. “She’s, very, how do I put this?” 

“Is she mean?”

“No.” 

“Hard to get along with?” 

“Hardly,” he laughed. “I’d say she’s the easiest person in our family to get along with. Easier than Grayson, and that’s really saying something.” Damian undid his arms. “She’s just got this sixth sense, she can read people. It’s eerie sometimes.”

“What do you mean?” Jon’s head tilted slightly. No matter how old they got, the half Kryptonian always had this look, it was that of a lost puppy. Tim often mentioned that it was the reason Damian decided to be Jon’s friend, because he reminded him of his animals. Jon had also filled out the older they got, taking on the more traditional physique of the super family. His face was chiseled and square, like his father’s with a softer nose resembling his mother’s. He adopted the traditional Kent glasses and was even currently wearing a red flannel, but the one thing that helped him stand out from the rest of the family was how he gelled his hair up into spikes Damian found the hair choice a tad ridiculous but often opted not to comment on it. 

“The last time I saw Marinette in person she happened to meet one of Grayson’s girlfriends. Her name was Kattie something, I don’t really remember. But I do remember how much Grayson liked her, even thought he loved her.” Damian recalled the day in his mind. “She met her for ten seconds, tops. Shook her hand, they introduced themselves, Grayson and Kattie left.” Damian’s eyes moved downwards, focusing on the table between him and his friend. “After they were gone, Marinette turned to me and told me that Kattie was cruel and would break his heart before the month was up.” 

“And?” 

“Two weeks later Grayson woke up and she was gone, along with all the money in his wallet and his credit cards. All of the watches Bruce had bought him over the years were gone too. She also took his car.” Damian shrugged. “Course, it didn’t take us long to track the bitch down, but still. Grayson was heart broken.” 

Jon nodded slowly. “You’re afraid Marinette isn’t going to like Colin.” It wasn’t a question. Another reason why Damian thought their friendship was so strong, Jon had learned how to read him. 

“It’s not that I think she won’t like him, I mean it’s Colin.” Damian’s hands pulled at the bottom of his jacket. “But, I don’t know, she’s predicted at least four breakups in my family and she didn’t even meet those people! It was just based off my brothers describing them. Hell, she even predicted Stephanie and Tim’s break up.” 

“What has she said when you’ve talked to her about Colin in the past?” Jon asked leaning heavily on the table. 

“I, well, I have talked to her about him before but, briefly. It’s not like I’ve gone into long exaggerating details about him. I’m not exactly a gusher, Jon.” 

“Well I know that.” Jon’s head tilted again. “She knows you have a boyfriend though, right?” 

“Yes.” 

“And that it’s Colin?” 

“Yes.” 

“What else?” Jon sat back in his seat, Damian could see Lois Lane in his eyes. 

“She knows how we met, that he’s a meta, and that he’s a redhead.” Damian tried thinking back to whenever he had mentioned the boy. “She knows that he doesn’t have any family ties, that I like him, and that we do vigilante stuff together.” Damian’s eyes raised to see an unimpressed look on Jon’s face. 

“You got to get better at expressing yourself Dami.” He said flatly. 

“Something I’ve been telling him for years.” They both looked up as Colin retook his seat, quickly taking Damian’s right hand in his left. “What are we talking about?”

“Noth-”

“Damian’s worried that his cousin isn’t going to like you.” Jon said, voice mostly flat but slightly amused. 

“Kent, are you aware of what my family does to snitches?” Damian asked, eyes narrowing as he felt Colin squeeze his hand.

Both of the other boys laughed. “I only ever snitch to Colin though! And that’s Colin! Usually it’s fine! And only the important stuff, I know when not to repeat you to him.” Jon’s laugh grew, catching the attention of Bruce who was sitting on the opposite side of the jet. 

“I appreciate it Jon. Your information is always good.” Collin mused. “And Dames, you don’t need to worry. If your cousin doesn’t like me, then she doesn’t like me, not a big deal.” He shrugged. “But, since it is obviously important to you, I will be on my best behavior.” Colin leaned over and kissed his boyfriend’s cheek. “Everything will be fine, you’ll see.” 

“Famous last words.” Damian grumbled out, face quickly returning to the window. While his friends laughed and began a new conversation Damian’s grip on his boyfriend’s hand tightened. The knot in his stomach felt like it was going to explode.

_______________________________________________________________________

(part 1)  (part 2)  (part 2.5) - Here (part 3)

If you have any questions about the story / AU feel free to ask! And if you want to be tagged, let me know! I have no set posting schedule I just upload whenever I get something done, I doubt updates will come this fast in the future, but it helps when I see everyone’s interest in it! Makes me really excited to write and keeps my mind flowing with ideas! Also, I know not everyone is a fan of Damian and Colin as a ship, and if that is not your thing that’s totally fine, but please do not be rude or send hate about it just because it isn’t your personal preference. 

Also this is part 2.5 because it still involves the key players for this au getting to where the story is actually taking place and I wanted to wait for Part 3 to be when they all start actually interacting with one another.

@graduatedmelon @northernbluetongue @violatiger8 @bamagirl513​ @vixen-uchiha @beaversuenightly @tumbling-down-hills-and-stuff @todaylillypads @laurakinneylance @vgirl-10123

[doodle--writes]

Temptations- Adult Eddie Kaspbrak X Reader

Word Count: 2968

Warnings: Cursing, smut, alcohol

Request: Hello! I was wondering if I could request a smut for adult Eddie Kaspbrak please? Maybe where the reader is a member of the losers club and her and Eddie had crushes on each other when they were younger and those feelings came back when they met up again at the restaurant. Maybe have it be set towards the end of the film and Eddie survives and figures what the hell and just gives into his feelings. Thank you so much in advance! ☺️

___

When Mike had called, you were in the middle of teaching a lesson to your fourth period class. At first, you had let the phone buzz in your purse. The second time, you let it buzz again. The third time, you sighed, just throwing the answer key to the previous night's assignment under the ELMO to let the kids check their own work.

You pulled out your phone and answered. "Hello Ms. L/N speaking- if you'd please call at a later time- I'm in the middle of a lesson."

"Y/N, it's Mike."

The class had gone quiet so they could try and hear your conversation. You gave them all a slightly scolding yet somewhat amused look as you stepped out of the classroom. Outside, you spotted a teacher with her plan period across the hall.

You hurried over, phone still near your face but not quite pushed against it.

"Hey Diana," you smiled nervously, "can you take my class for a few minutes? They're juniors, it shouldn't be much trouble."

Seeing you had your phone, she nodded with a small smile and wordlessly stepped into the classroom.

You started walking towards the teacher work room and put the phone back to your ear. "Hello, yes, I'm sorry about that. I had to leave my classroom," you sighed. You lightly shook your head and forced a smile although the mystery man on the other side of the line wouldn't be able to see it. "So, I don't believe I know a Mike. Are you sure this isn't the wrong Y/N?"

"I'm positive. It's Mike Hanlon, from Derry. We used to be friends."

"I-" you paused, something starting to poke at your memory. You began to walk a bit faster, heels clicking viciously against the tile floor. "You were homeschooled weren't you? Had a little farm?"

"There we go. You remember."

"Yeah I do," you hummed softly, now wondering why on earth he was calling you after... how long? ... 27 years?

"It's back."

When you woke up, you were laying on a sickbed in the school infirmary, your legs just barely fitting on it. You moved your legs to the floor and sat up. The room spun a bit but it slowed down after a few moments.

You didn't remember much after that other than the pain as you collapsed in the middle of the hallway and hushed but panicked voices nearing.

_____

A few footsteps shuffled in and began to bombard you with questions over whether or not you were alright. Truthfully, you weren't and you'd say you weren't, but with a totally different explanation.

"Oh you see, I had a family emergency. My mom... she..." You struggled to come up with an excuse since your mother had passed away about a decade prior.

Luckily, one of the staff members, Diana from earlier, changed the subject. "How many days do you need off?"

The flight and arrival in Derry was all blurred to you. You were shocked you had managed to function like an actual human being. Or at least you thought you did; you couldn't say for certain.

"Maybe a week," you smiled small, but you hoped, you prayed it was less.

_____

Although as you entered the Jade Orient, part of your sanity seemed to return. You were clearheaded as you talked to the hostess, mentioning that you were there for a party of eight.

She gestured back towards a seating area that was blocked off by a wooden screen. You were hesitant to enter, there was no doubt about that, but you stepped in and gave a sigh of relief. There was no jump scare or moment of shock; just faces you knew that had aged over the years.

Mike and Bill were engrossed in a conversation that made both of their eyes light up. You overheard something about Bill's writing- oh yeah Bill was a famous writer now- and Mike's library.

Now, the other two were antithetical in comparison; Richie and Eddie were sitting across from each other, making fun of each other, bantering.

You smiled to yourself. Just like old times.

Richie was in the middle of a 'your mom' joke before he looked up and whistled. "Oh damn who is that thiccums over there?"

Working with high school students, you knew exactly what that meant and you turned red, shaking your head, but unable to stop smiling. "Keep it in your pants Richard." You held your arms out to hug him. "But get your ass over here and give me a hug."

Richie nearly leaped from his seat, tripping over his gangly legs, and wrapped his equally long arms around you.

It felt weird having Richie, who used to be shorter than you, stand above six foot and hug you so tightly, but it felt nice.

After he pulled away, he laughed. "Shit, you're showing me up. I got the dad bod and here you are with childbearing hips and an itty bitty waist."

You laughed embarrassedly. "Oh Richie you're flattering me."

You turned back towards the table, ready to speak but you stopped yourself. Staring at you was a slender but sharp face with inquisitive eyes as big as a Disney princess. His nose had sharpened in angles over the years but very faintly you could see familiar freckles from sunshine trailing over both cheeks and his nose.

He smiled at you and you smiled back, feeling the heat of a childhood crush fill your cheeks. "Hi Eddie."

He was up on his feet in an instant, pulling you close and into a hug that was almost too tight. Just almost. Yet you found your embarrassment fading and your cockiness growinf. "Miss me that much?"

He pulled away almost immediately, rambling over how it was "so amazing to see you" and how you "grew up to look exactly like your mother".

You rolled your eyes but your smile stayed as you went to squish his cheeks. "And you haven't changed at all," you cooed.

And you drank. Richie drank. Bill drank. Mike drank. Even Eddie, who had scolded you once or twice for underage drinking, drank to the point of delight.

He lightly pushed your hand away before you turned to the rest of the group, laughing. "I don't know about you guys, but I need a drink!"

______

When Ben and Bev arrived, they joined the festivities.

You didn't quite remember how, but you ended up in Eddie's lap, giggling, feeling like a teenager again. He felt the same as he had an arm lazily wrapped around your waist.

He kept his arm there as he walked you back to the townhouse; neither of you felt like it was suitable to drive back with how drunk you were.

The walk upstairs was jovial as you swung your hands together and laughed even though no jokes were told.

But the air changed once you had reached the top. Eddie's bedroom was closest and you weren't sure if he dragged you in or if you had pulled him in, but that didn't matter at all.

As soon as the door was closed, arms were wrapped snug around your waist, a chest surprisingly tough pressed against yours.

Eddie was staring at you, mouth barely agape, breathless. Inside he was panicking some but God he knew he wanted this.

"Tell me to stop," he warned.

You returned his look, but yours carried a smugness to it; like you were confident in the first place that things would go accordingly.

"Don't you dare stop."

With that, Eddie's mouth slammed against yours in a way that threw you off guard entirely. Eddie, as long as you had known him, had been somewhat pristine. Sure, he could be as loud as Richie and much angrier, and he was no Stan, but Eddie always had a neatness to him.

So to see him do something so intense, so sloppy took your breath away.

You kissed him back with a similar if not equal force that made your lips tingle and burn.

Your arms planted themselves around his neck; your hands grasped onto fistfuls of hair just as soft and thick as it had been before Eddie even hit puberty.

Eddie pulled away slightly, your lips maybe a centimeter apart, foreheads pressed together. "Maybe we should move this to the bed?" He phrased it more so as a question than a statement.

You nearly agreed, but you remembered something. "Eddie, we can't. You're married." You pulled your arms away from him and stepped back. "I don't care if your marriage isn't going well. I don't want to be the one to make you cheat." You looked to the ground, feeling as if you had sobered up.

Eddie stepped back a foot and tried to look anywhere that wasn't you. "Y-yeah, right. Sorry, I think I drank too much."

"I did too." You slowly made your way closer to the door before you told him, "have a good night, Eddie."

The following hours and days, you weren't exactly sure how long the process of killing a demon clown was, were grueling. Yet, all of you made it.

He mumbled something in return, but you didn't hear it because you were already down the hall.

_____

Yes, there were extremely terrifying moments that made you feel like you pissed yourself. Like when: Bill nearly drowned in water, Richie got put in the deadlights, Mike tried to get you all to do a ritual that killed the original casters, Ben had more shit carved into his stomach, Bev nearly drowned in blood, Eddie was stabbed in the fucking face, and you nearly suffocated at one point.

You took joy in watching the house on Neibolt Street collapse into itself. That house that had haunted you for nearly three decades was finally gone.

You looked around at your friends. Everyone was dirty and covered in blood of their own or even someone else's. "Hey guys," you began, "how about we go swimming?"

A small chorus of delayed and tired 'yeah's followed. All of you walked through town, ignoring those who looked at you like you were insane.

About halfway there, Eddie squirmed his way next to you and reached out for your hand.

After the quarry, you all went back to the townhouse, deciding to rest up before you'd all inevitably leave Derry once again. Only this time, you wouldn't forget. You'd remember your friends and go on in life with them as your friends.

You let him.

___

Quietly, you walked to your room and as soon as you could, you took a long shower. You took great care in getting all of the blood and dirt off of your skin. You washed beneath your nails. You spent time carefully working the knots out of your hair.

Once you were out, you walked to your luggage, going through it for anything comfortable. You wondered if you had left some things from a previous trip inside because you did not remember packing lingerie.

You thought about it for a moment before saying fuck it and you put on the lingerie with a small satin robe over it.

Just as you tied the robe, a knock came on the door. "Y/N, may I come in?" It was Eddie's voice.

"Yeah come on in, Eddie," you called, going to sit on the end of your bed.

Eddie carefully opened the door, and peeked his head inside before he completely appeared. You noted that he was wearing gray sweatpants and a white t-shirt. You had never seen Eddie in sweats before and you weren't complaining at the change.

Eddie's cheeks went red at the sight of you but he sat next to you nonetheless.

"So I called it off with Myra."

Those were not at all the words you expected.

"Woah Eddie, I'm sorry." You reached out to put your hand on his shoulder.

He sighed and turned toward you. "This week made me realize something. Well, more accurately, it made me remember something." He takes one of your hands between his own. "I care for you more than anyone else. You make me laugh, you make smile, you make me brave. You do all these things to me and I know what that means. I think I've known since we were kids." He looks into your eyes. "I love you."

You practically tackled Eddie, knocked him back onto the mattress and kissed him. It was a soft kiss, but it lingered as you cupped his non injured cheek with your hand. "I love you too Eddie. So much."

You kissed him again, slightly harder this time and planted yourself to where you were straddling him.

It didn't take long for you to feel something underneath you. Just the thought of it was enough to drive you crazy.

Just like Eddie had said once before, you looked down at him and said, "tell me to stop."

He quickly shook his head. He wanted this even though he wasn't exactly sure what all of this entailed.

You leaned down to kiss him once again before dragging your lips down to his jaw. You found a spot that made his breath hitch in his throat and decided to mark it, gently biting and sucking until you left a deep purple mark there.

Eddie groaned before switching gears. You were the one laying on your back as Eddie kneeled between your legs. "Can we get this robe off?"

You leaned up a little before untying the robe and tossed it to the floor.

Eddie took a moment to stare at you. You wore baby doll lingerie; essentially a type of intimate nightgown that's usually see through.

That's exactly how yours was. He could see your nipple starting to poke at the fabric, stretching it.

He reached down and gently squeezed your chest, earning a shaky breath. He moved to cup your breast, his thumb tracing your nipple. You whined a bit at the feeling of lace scratching over it and the feeling of Eddie's hand.

It had admittedly been quite a while since you had the touch of someone other than your own hand or a Hitachi so you felt extremely sensitive.

In a swift movement, Eddie pulled the fabric away from your chest entirely and replaced his thumb with his tongue. You moaned quietly as he began to work on your chest. His hand found its way to your other breast.

Your legs tried to clench but Eddie sat between them and once he felt that, he moved his attention downwards.

He moved back and grabbed the waistband of your panties. He looked at you. "May these come off?"

You nodded. "Yes take them off. Please."

He gingerly slid them down your legs before tossing them onto your robe.

He leaned down between your legs but didn't use his mouth yet. Instead, he tested the waters with one finger, first rubbing your clit, which earned a whine. Then he stuck a finger in to see exactly how needy you were. The answer? Very.

Eddie began to methodically finger you while his tongue flicked against your clit repeatedly. Just knowing that Eddie was the one doing it made your heart beat fast and your head dizzy.

"Eddie," you moaned, "more."

With that, Eddie added a second finger and began to curl them inside of you, earning a somewhat loud gasp. You put your hand over your mouth, fully aware that Richie's room was the next one over and man you did not want that conversation tomorrow morning.

It didn't take long for you to tangle your fingers in Eddie's hair and chant his name. He ate you out more viciously, his fingers pumping in and out at a rate that made you dripping wet.

When your orgasm came, you bucked your hips up, moaned into your hand, and squirted. Luckily Eddie was out of the way by that point. You knew how he was about bodily fluids but he didn't seem to mind right then.

He leaned down and kissed you. You were much more eager in the kiss as you tried to get over the high of your orgasm. He whispered praises into your ear and after a moment, you switched it over again.

Now Eddie was beneath you as you slid his sweats and boxers down in one swoop.

You looked at Eddie. "Do you care whether or not we use a condom?"

He shook his head, surprising himself. "Not at all."

You whispered a small "thank god" before lining yourself up with him. You slid down onto him with a lewd mew.

Eddie's hands found themselves on your hips, lightly squeezing. A nearly lightheaded feeling washed over you, but you admittedly wanted more.

You brought your hips back up before sliding down onto his cock again, making both of you groan.

You rested your hands on his chest as both of you whimpered and groans at each slap of your thighs against his torso.

It felt like an embarrassingly short time before your thighs tried to clench around him.

It felt embarrassing for him as well once he began to feel the coil in his stomach tighten.

You came with a rather pornographic moan and your walls tightened around Eddie. The sensation was enough to finish him off, making him cum.

Breathlessly, sex drives and overall shape not as great as it used to be, the both of you lay down.

You find yourself cuddling into Eddie's chest as one of his legs lazily lays over your own.

Eddie sighs happily. "Well that's like a wet dream come true."

You giggle. "And one hell of a way to start a relationship."

Eddie smiles softly. "I love you."

"I love you too."

[iamvegorott]

A Lifetime Chapter 1

Started off as an idea of a one-shot story about how Yancy ended up in jail and it became a full love story with Illinois and Yancy. Some warnings will be added to the beginning of some chapters where needed Enjoy!

Summary: ‘All he has is a lifetime of being trapped, he never’s known what it’s like to be free and if you think you can get him to escape. I won’t stop you.’

warning: mentions of child abuse and overheard domestic abuse towards the end of the chapter. Nothing too graphic in this chapter. 

Like Me

“Are you still waiting for your parents?” 

“Nah.” Yancy scuffed his foot against the cement stairs he has been sitting on. He turned his head towards the janitor and gave a small smile. “Friend went in, forgot his trumpet.” 

“Alright, don’t be scared to come in and use the phone.” The old man said with his own smile and went back into the high school building. 

“What a way to start high school.” Yancy sighed and stood up. “Should have known better.” He added as he threw his backpack over his shoulder, preparing himself for the long walk home. 

Yancy chewed on the inside of his cheek as he tried to stick with familiar-looking streets, hoping he’d find one he knew soon. He tried to memorize the drive to the school that morning, but there’s a difference when it’s dark out and it being the middle of the day. He was telling himself that he should be thankful that his mother bothered to drive him to school this morning on her way to, what she called ‘work’ since he had no idea how to get there yet. 

He perked up when he saw a chunk of tress in a forest-like area that he knew very well. Yancy crossed the street and went straight into the woods. It only took another minute before he found a chunk of street sign stabbed into the trunk of a tree. He finally knew where he was and could get home easily now.

“Look out!” A voice shouted from above and Yancy jumped to the side, seeing a boy his age land on his back where he had just been. 

“Hey, Howard.“ Yancy chuckled. 

“Hey, Yanc.” Howard greeted with an out of breath laugh. “Are you just now heading home? Class ended like hours ago.” 

“Parents didn’t bother showin’.” Yancy scoffed as he bent down and picked up Howard’s fallen hat. “It’s whatever, not really shocked.” 

“I can call my mom if you want.” Howard offered, sitting up. 

“I like walking.” Yancy shrugged and picked some leaves out of the hat’s brim. He always got a warm feeling whenever he saw that Howard still wore the hat he had 'bought’ him when they were eight. Howard thought the hat was cool and Yancy wanted to prove he was cool too.

“I can join you.” Howard had an obvious hope in his voice.

“Yeah, it’ll make the walk funner.” Yancy placed the hat on Howard’s head and helped him to his feet. The two walked for a good moment, talking about their classes and Howard suddenly got soft.

“Can I ask you something?” Howard picked at his fingers. 

“Fire away, Howdy.” Yancy chuckled. 

“So there’s…there’s this…uh…” Howard’s face was flushing pink. “There’s this really cool person and I think they’re…cool.” 

“Is the Howdy crushin’?” Yancy teased, wrapping his arm around Howard’s shoulder and pulling him closer, not realizing that it made Howard’s cheeks turn red. “Listen, yous wanna be that big ol’ adventuring type, right?” 

“Y-Yes.” 

“Then act like one.” Yancy patted Howard’s cheek with a hand before letting him go. “I know yous are brave. You climb up literally everythin’.” 

“The best adventurers are strong,” Howard said, using his hands to hide his blush. 

“And you are! Now you gotta get that confidence.” Yancy skipped ahead so he was walking backward and in front of Howard. “Find that inner smooth guy and use it.” 

“Inner smooth guy?” 

“Yeah! Like me.” 

“Like you?” Howard raised a brow and laughed when Yancy leaped ahead once more and was standing on top of a fallen tree. 

“Like me,” Yancy repeated. “Smooth, confident, brave, and strong.” Yancy posed by placing his hands behind his head. “You’re already halfway there.” 

“I can be smooth and suave.” Howard posed himself, tucking a thumb into his belt and popping his hip out. 

“Yous gonna be the best adventurer the world’s ever seen.” Yancy hopped back down. “We’re here.” He added, his mood dropping for a second when he saw his house past the trees. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Howard asked. 

“Of course! And yous gonna ask that cool person out, alright?” 

“I’ll do it!” Howard had a large smile on his face and watched as Yancy walked away. “You’re really cool, Yancy.” 

Yancy walked up to his house and instead of going to the front door, he went around to the back. Yancy climbed up a few wooden boxes that were stacked along the side of the house. He took out a screwdriver out of the gutter and grunted as he used it to pry open a window. 

“You’re a stupid fucking bitch!” 

“You’re a fucking asshole!”

Yancy heard his parents screaming and it wasn’t anything new, at least they haven’t been looking for him. He’d be in for a world of hurt if they wanted him and he wasn’t there. No excuses, no reasons, it was his fault if he wasn’t there.

Yancy crawled into his bedroom, landing on his bed with a squeak. He paused to a second and when he didn’t hear his name being shouted, he started putting his school stuff away. Hiding them in small nooks and under floorboards so his parents couldn’t destroy them if they found them. 

“Just shut up!” Yancy’s father’s voice cracked. 

“You should grow up! You sound like you’re still going through-” A sharp slap cut off Yancy’s mother comment. “Fuck you!” There was another slap and soon things were clattering and shattering, two sounds Yancy knew very well and told him that he had a long night of cleaning ahead of him.

Yancy changed his clothes to a pair of sweat pants and a white shirt, pocketing the screwdriver before gently folding his school’s uniform and hiding it in a bag under his dresser. His parents didn’t know he had to wear a uniform and they never will. The only reason he was in a decent school was that his mother had known the principal when they were younger and he owed her some favors. It was also the closest one. That’s really what his parents cared about. 

“One of those nights,” Yancy said with a grimace when he heard moaning. “Hopefully they make it to a room this time.” He added to himself and slipped on a pair of headphones, cranking up the music so he could drown out his parent’s sounds. He’ll wait till they’re asleep before going down to make food, it was the safest way. 

——————–

Tag List (Let me know if you want to be added):  @devon-rever-860 @m0th-dude @thesinginggal @rainymae523 @disneyamoo @salmonisforthebagel @antibeaneverybody @adverseflyer909 @madallice329 @rebastone @ninazappy @thedarkeningdusk @aoimatsurika @windymischeif 

[ti-bae-rius]

Rafael and Max QSA fic

Lightwood-Bane kids fic (mundane AU) – based loosely off @khaleesiofalicante‘malec parent-teacher meeting headcanons’. It’s also very queer-positive and I hope you enjoy. Also yes some ages are weird and yes I did totally manip some canon to make this work but eyyy all in the spirit of the AU. 

“Who was that guy with Max at the parent-teacher conference?”

Rafael looked up from his lunch quizzically. Frickin’ Capri Suns. Who designed those flimsy little straws?

“Huh?” he asked.

He and his friends had claimed a table in the cafeteria and, as ninth graders, none of the younger middle schoolers ever encroached on their territory. Beside him was his childhood best friend, Alex, but the other guys – Ethan and Zabi – he’d only met recently through soccer try-outs.

“My brother is in class with Max,” Zabi told him. “You know, Hakim? He said your dad was there with Max and a tall guy wearing loads of rings.”

“Oh,” Rafael said, understanding, and took a bite of his stir fry. Magnus made the best stir-fry, with broccoli and baby corn. He was pretty sure Max had spent the morning waiting for the lunch bell just like him. “That’s my papa.”

“What?” Zabi asked, looking jealously at Rafe’s lunch.

“So, like, you know my dad – he picks me up from soccer practise – and then there’s my papa and he works late but he’ll be at the game next weekend. You’ll meet him at our parent-teacher conference on Friday anyway.”

“He has two dads,” Alex clarified, not looking up from his comic book. He was on the last issue of The Vision and refused to be disturbed by trivialities like food, especially since he – like Zabi – had cafeteria lunch and today’s mac and cheese resembled neither of the titular ingredients.

“But your dad doesn’t look gay,” Ethan said and Rafe’s brows furrowed.

“How do you ‘look gay’?” he asked, making sarcastic air quotes with his fingers. “You can’t tell if someone’s gay by looking at them, dude.” While he was pre-occupied, Zabi’s hand shot out and Rafael batted it away. “Don’t even think about it. This stir fry is my life, Zee.”

“But, like, you play soccer,” Ethan said and Rafe stared at him in confusion.

“Yeah?”

“But your dads are gay.”

“Yeah?”

“So…they let you play sports? Like, you don’t have to do theatre or whatever.”

Rafael rolled his eyes. “I don’t even know where to start with that. That was like you were trying to win a game of homophobia bingo.”

“It’s not homophobic,” Zabi protested. “You just don’t seem like the type to like guys.”

“I’m not gay,” Rafael explained, painstakingly slowly. “My parents are.”

“But they’ll probably make you gay too,” Zabi said, with a conviction Rafe almost admired in its boldness.

“Oh my God, is Alex the lucky guy?” Ethan laughed and Rafael stood up, packing up his food and pushing his chair back. “Hey,” Ethan called. “Where are you doing, man? We’re just kidding. Don’t be all dramatic.”

“I don’t want to talk to you guys right now,” Rafe said, sounding frustrated. “You’re being idiots. I’m gonna eat lunch someplace else. Alex?”

From behind his comic, Alex was flushed red and his eyes were wide and imploring behind their glasses. “Come on, Rafe,” he said quietly. “Sit back down.”

“Are you serious?” Rafael half-laughed, but Alex looked away sheepishly. “Whatever. And I have a lot of homework, so you can’t come over tonight after soccer.”

Shoving his juice in the garbage, Rafael began the task of scanning the cafeteria for his brother. Luckily, it wasn’t difficult.

Max was, Rafael believed, something of a disco ball; attention-grabbing, a hallmark of a good party, and sure to be a talking point wherever he went. This might have been at least in part due to his blue-dyed hair, that or his tendency to pull people along with him to partake in some kind of adventure. To Max, everything was an adventure and as much as Rafael pretended he was too cool to play games with his little brother, climbing fire escapes to snoop on college film classes to see movies for free was kind of badass. It was fun to be part of Max’s adventures, especially when they involved scaring themselves stupid watching slasher flicks through windows with the wind whistling behind them all the way home like the breath of the crazed killers in the movies.

Now, at lunch, Max was currently attempting to charm a girl from his class called Mina by clumsily juggling three apples. One fell and rolled under the table, disrupting his rhythm, and he surrendered with a grin of defeat. He ducked under the table to get the lost apple, laughing at himself along with Mina and his friends. He didn’t even see his older brother approach.

“Max, come over here.”

Max turned and glared at Rafael.

“I’m busy,” he said, before darting his gaze pointedly to Mina.

“Too bad, this is important,” Rafael responded. Max sighed and got to his feet, reaching his hands out to his friends dramatically as if grasping for help. Rafe rolled his eyes and beckoned Max over to a quiet corner of the lunch hall to talk. When he was satisfied they weren’t going to be overheard, Rafael started speaking.

“Did your friends say anything about Dad and Papa after your parent-teacher night?”

Max gave a puzzled look. “I…don’t think so? We haven’t talked about it really. Everyone has been talking about the fact Anjali’s parents bought her a macbook for passing the finals.”

“Jesus, maybe we should try and get adopted by them,” Rafael said, shaking his head. “What twelve year old needs a macbook?”

“Um, me hopefully?” Max said, and Rafe shushed him.

“That’s not the point. The point is that people are talking in my grade. Ethan is being a real jerk about it.”

Max wrinkled his nose in distaste. “Why?”

“I don’t know, but I want to find out if I just have bad taste in friends or if our school sucks generally. Try and find out whether your group has any issues.”

“What then?” Max asked, wide-eyed. “Are we gonna, like, beat them up?”

“What? No,” Rafe said, confused.

“Oh good, because I’m obviously very here for sticking up for Dad and Papa but I’m really more of a pacifist than…”

“Yeah, I got it,” Rafael interrupted. “I gotta go. I’ll meet you later to walk home.”

“Don’t you have soccer? You always walk with Alex after soccer.”

“Not today,” Rafael said grimly. He glanced over at the table where Max’s friends were sat. “That Mina?” he asked and Max nodded. “Good luck. Tell her she has cool shoes. They have Adventure Time characters on. Dredge up anything you remember from those clips I showed you.”

“I knew your YouTube spams would be good for something,” Max grinned.

“By the way, you have broccoli in your teeth.”

“What?” Max asked, sounding frantic. Rafael cracked up. “Are you messing with me? Gimme your phone!” Rafael held it up out of reach and Max snatched up a spoon from the table, inspecting his smile in the reflective surface. When he found nothing, he hit Rafe with it lightly. “You’re the worst.”

“Four o’clock, bike racks!” Rafe shouted and Max disappeared back to his table with a glare, making Rafe smile. That was, until he glanced back at his usual table and saw Alex looking at him over the top of his comic. Rafael’s smile faded and he walked out, ready to find a back corner of the library to start researching his ideas where no one would see him – especially not his asshole friends.

 “I think some of my friends suck too.”

Rafael looked across at Max. The two of them had come home early and let themselves into the apartment, but neither had spoken much on the way home. Max read a book on the subway home and Rafe had his earbuds in, both distracted. Now, sat on the floor of the apartment doing their homework, Max had finally decided to talk. It wasn’t quite what Rafael had wanted to hear though.

“Really?”

Max nodded, looking disappointed. “Some of them are cool. Mina thinks her brother might be bi. The guys were cool. A couple of the girls were weird about it though.”

“Weird how? Like…homophobic?”

Max shrugged uneasily. “I don’t know. They weren’t like, hating. If anything it was the other way. They were being all weird and squealy about it, saying how much they love gay people. They’ve never even met Dad and Papa. I guess that’s better? But it still feels…kind of bad. Plus, they were all ‘we could totally tell because your dad dresses so well’.” Max scowled.

“I assume they meant Papa,” Rafe grinned. “Dad’s sweaters look like he found them in a hedge and then let a rabid dog maul at them for good measure.”

Max laughed before falling serious again, closing his book, a ruler in the page to mark his place. “What should we do?”

“I have some ideas. Have you heard of a QSA?” When Max shook his head, Rafael continued. “So, it stands for Queer-Straight Alliance and it’s like a club where queer students and allies can meet and make friends. It’s about teaching people what queerness means and making people understand better. I think it’s a good idea. I’ve been researching it.”

Max was smiling, nodding. “I like it. Do you think the school would allow it?”

Rafe’s own grin was mischievous. “Who said we have to tell them? This would be underground, strictly invite-only. The teachers would never have to know. That’s the beauty of social media.”

Max gasped excitedly, punching Rafael on the arm in a gesture of respect. “Like Dumbledore’s Army? Oh my God, where’s our Room of Requirement going to be?”

“God, you’re such a little nerd,” Rafael sighed. “But…how about the old music room in the basement?”

Max grinned. “Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good. Oh, this is so cool!”

Rafael nodded. “I think it could be.”

When the door opened, admitting both their parents, who were laughing at the coincidence of them both coming home at the same time, the boys exchanged a look and fell silent. Rafael packed his stuff into his bag, and disappeared to his room, pulling his laptop out ready to do more research and send out mass-texts to relevant people.

 “Hey, get some sleep, blueberry.”

Max looked up to see Alec in the doorway, a hand hovering over the light switch.

“Max? Can I turn this off? Wanna switch your lamp on if you’re still reading?”

“What’s it like being gay?”

Alec made a surprised noise and then came into the room, sitting down on the end of Max’s bed.

“What do you mean?”

“Like, what would you want people to know? If you could talk to the people who didn’t get it, like those people with the signs at that parade we went to, what would you tell them?”

Alec pressed his lips together and crossed his legs on the bed, leaning on his elbows.

“That’s a good question,” he said, and hummed in thought. “I guess I’d ask them how they’d feel, if it was them, or if it was someone they loved. I just wonder if they’d think the same way if it was something about them that so many people were opposed to. Like if they’d spent years not being able to get married because they were blonde or whatever. You know?”

Max nodded and turned on his bedside lamp. “It isn’t fair.”

Alec shook his head, smiling wryly. “No, you’re right. It isn’t fair. But people can learn, if you’re kind enough to educate them. You just need to be patient, and honest, and open. Sometimes, it takes people being vulnerable for the people who disagree with them to see they’re human too.” Max smiled sadly and Alec put a hand on his son’s knee over the duvet. “Why do you ask? Is there anything you want to talk about?”

Max shook his head. “No, nothing. I just wanted to know.”

“Okay,” Alec said, standing up. “It’s a very thoughtful question. Thank you for asking me.”

“Thanks for telling me,” Max said, and flicked his bedside lamp off. “Actually, can you turn the light out? I’m kind of tired.”

“Sure thing. Papa will come and say goodnight in a second. Sleep well, blueberry.”

As the room plunged into darkness, Max pulled out his phone from where it was charging by his bedside. He pulled up Rafael’s text tab and started typing:

‘I have intel’

Rafael’s reply came quickly.

‘12. Music room. Tell your friends. I’ve snapped some others.’

Max liked the message and turned his phone over so any notifications wouldn’t wake him up. By the time Magnus came in to say goodnight, he was already fast asleep, huddled under the duvet as always, a small ball in the middle of the bed. Magnus folded the curtains so the morning light wouldn’t wake his son and closed the door softly behind him.

 “Well this isn’t quite the revolution I expected.”

Max kicked his friend Raja in the ankle and sighed. The two of them, Rafael, and a small group of trusted confidants were gathered outside Music Room 1 in the mostly-abandoned basement of the school, staring at the locked door in defeat. The lights weren’t even on down here anymore, all the lightbulbs long since dead and never replaced. The underlit chins of texting friends was almost eerie in the gloom. All that survived down here, like the aftermath of a nuclear war, was brooms and Windex, and the occasional scuttling cockroach. Internally, Max was a little disappointed. Mina had promised to be here, and she was nowhere to be seen. He sagged a little on his feet. However, on cue, footsteps ran down the stairs. The gathered group scattered behind alcoves and stacks of chairs. The footsteps stopped abruptly and there was the sound of breath catching.

“Um…hello?”

Max wriggled out of his hiding place at the voice. Mina.

“Hey!” he said, and cringed a little when his voice cracked. Ugh seventh grade fricking sucked. Mina didn’t seem to notice. She beamed when Max emerged. “We, um, we can’t get in. It’s locked,” Max admitted, and she waved a dismissive hand.

“Kit taught me how to pick locks. I can get us in.”

“Cool,” Max breathed. Behind him, Rafael snorted and Max blushed, pulling out his phone. “I’ll give you some light. Here.”

With the torch beam on, Max bent down by Mina, who was twisting one paper clip and holding the other in her free hand. Her tongue poked out of the side of her mouth as she worked and, bent so close, Max could smell her shampoo. When the door made a clicking noise, and she pushed it open, the whole group cheered and she flicked the light on inside, grinning proudly.

“Thanks for the torch,” she said and Max smiled, red-faced.

“It’s cool.”

“Right, so I kind of explained over text but I’ll tell you all properly what this is,” Rafael said. Everyone was finding seats where they could – atop amps and on the stools behind the drumkits or at the piano benches – but Rafael stood. Max had claimed a spot beside Mina on a table, her legs crossed and his pulled up to his chest. Before everyone, Rafael felt a little nervous. Max was the one who was good at talking to crowds, performing in front of people, not him. Nevertheless, this was important, so he continued. “Okay, so this is the New York Educational Institute Queer-Straight Alliance, or the NYEIQSA for short – well, not that short.” A smattering of laughter made him relax a little. “QSAs are really important. Max and I have two awesome dads but not everyone gets it. Some people feel bad for us because we don’t have a mom or assume stuff that isn’t true about our family. Sometimes…” He thought back to lunch the other day and sighed. “Sometimes people can be mean. A lot of the time, though, people say stuff that sounds bad because they don’t understand and that’s what we’re doing here. We want to educate each other. Maybe some of you have family who aren’t straight or cis, or maybe there are people in here who aren’t. We aren’t asking you to come out, and we don’t want you to out anyone else, but we do want to talk about it and make people understand. That way, we can tell other people about stuff and people maybe won’t be freaked out by stuff that’s different.”

“I was talking to my dad last night and I asked him what he would want people who didn’t like gay people to understand about being gay, and he said he wanted them to think about what it would be like if it was something they couldn’t choose that everyone got mad at,” Max put in, and stood up from his spot on the table. “Like, what if people hated you just because you had brown hair or green eyes or something. You’d think it was really stupid and unfair, but that’s just like being gay. Like, it isn’t fair to bully people for something they can’t control, and you can’t control whether or not you’re gay.”

“And if you have questions, we can answer them. Or someone else in the group can. And if none of us can answer we can ask our dads or someone we know. That way, we can all understand. What do you think?”

“That’s badass,” Mina grinned and some others nodded along.

“Show of hands who’s in?” Rafael asked and he and Max exchanged ecstatic looks when every arm went into the air.

 “So…when do you decide to be gay?”

“You don’t decide. You’re born gay, you just eventually come out – which is what it’s called when you tell people you’re gay or whatever. It can be any time. My Papa has been out forever but my Dad only came out when he met Papa and they started dating.”

Everyone was lounging around on random surfaces – the floor was covered with coats and sweaters being used as pillows – and asking questions. To their surprise, Max and Rafe weren’t the only ones answering. After the initial few questions, others started pitching in with their own answers.

“What’s the difference between polysexual and polyamorous?”

“Polysexual is being into many, but not all, genders,” someone said, who was googling terms at the back when a lapse of silence fell.

“My brother is polyamorous.”

A boy a little older than Rafael named Tavvy was sat with his legs out in front of him. When the room turned to him curiously, he sat forward.

“So, my brother Mark has a boyfriend called Kieran and a girlfriend called Cristina.”

“Do they know about each other?” someone asked and Tavvy laughed.

“Yeah, he’s not cheating on them. They’re all dating each other. It’s like…hang on.” He walked over to the whiteboard, where composition lines for music were written, and uncapped one of the pens on the windowsill nearby. He sketched a triangle with double-ended arrows for sides and marked them: M, K, C. “So, they’re all dating each other, see?”

Somewhere above them all, a bell rang and Rafael sighed. “That’s the final bell. We have to get to homeroom. This was really fun though. Ask your friends if they wanna come and keep this a secret from teachers and stuff.”

“When are we meeting again?” Tavvy asked and Rafael faltered.

“Um…”

“Thursday?” someone suggested, and a group mutter of assent went around the room. Two days. Rafael and Max exchanged looks. They hadn’t expected this to be such a hit, but they nodded.

“Thursday sounds good,” Rafael said, at the same time Max said, “I’ll make a group chat.”

The group dispersed and Rafael gave Max a grin. Maybe this whole group thing wouldn’t be so hard after all.

 By a couple of weeks in, a problem became obvious: the room just wasn’t big enough. The small music suite felt cramped and claustrophobic, and they’d slowly migrated into the neighbouring room; it was a bigger room that must’ve once been a classroom. Who knew how long it had been abandoned? It still had a chalkboard, so the chances of someone coming down here to find them was slim. Rafael, Max, and Mina had shown up early on their first session in the new room, rearranging furniture and covering the glass-front window with construction paper to mask any light. Eventually, into the amicable silence, Mina spoke.

“My brother came out.”

Rafael turned, smiling. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. He’s bi and dating this guy. They’re really gross together. His boyfriend came over for dinner.”

“What’s he like?” Max asked.

“Kit’s boyfriend? Kind of weird, but in a good way. He’s a forensic psychologist so he uses really big words, but he’s also beat my mom at Trivial Pursuit, so I think he’s pretty cool.”

A knock at the door made them all turn. When Rafael saw who it was, he startled. He’d hardly seen his friends since their fight at lunch, had made only polite conversation. Now, here was Alex, looking shy and nervous, but hopeful.

“Um, hey. I…I wondered if I could join?”

“Sure, ah…” Rafael turned to Max. “You two go make sure the others know where we’re going. They’ll be here in five minutes.”

Max and Mina left, closing the door behind Alex, leaving the two boys staring at the floor instead of each other.

“I’m really sorry,” Alex said finally, pushing his round glasses up his nose.

“Why didn’t you come with me? Why did you stay with them when they said all that stuff?”

Alex shrugged. “I don’t know. I…I didn’t want us to fight and I thought if I just stayed quiet maybe it would be okay.” He sat down on a table and looked at his hands. “I don’t know. I just…I didn’t know what to do.”

Rafael nodded, sitting down beside him on the table. “My dads have missed you coming over for dinner after practise.” Alex huffed a laugh and smiled tightly. “Papa said your goal last Saturday was ‘better than a well-shaken cocktail’.” This time, Alex did laugh, but it sounded shaky. Rafe put an arm around him worriedly. “Hey, dude. It’s okay. I’m not mad anymore.”

“I’m just scared, Rafe.”

Rafael glanced across, saw Alex rub a hand under his glasses, and decided not to ask questions. He put his head against Alex’s shoulder and texted Max to keep the others in the hall until he said to let them in.

“You wanna come over for dinner tonight? Papa is making nasi uduk. It’ll taste amazing.”

Alex nodded, sniffing. “We’re still best friends, right?”

“Obviously.”

“What’s nasi uduk like?”

“Oh my God, it’s so good,” Rafael began, launching into an explanation. By the time he was done, Alex was feeling better, smiling. He gave Rafael a grateful nod, which Rafe returned. “Our adoring public awaits. You wanna stay for the meeting?”

Alex sighed, nodding. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

[syntaxeme]

Sugar is Sweet (and So Are You) ch. 2

[First Chapter] [Next Chapter] [Read on AO3] [Support me on Ko-fi] Rating: T Summary: Plagued by jealousy toward the men Angel sleeps with, Alastor comes up with a plan to keep Angel from having to work the streets. He wasn't planning on becoming an actual client, but having Angel all to himself might prove too sweet to give up--for as long as he can afford it, that is.

— — —

Alastor wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself after his conversation with Angel, but he felt he should be doing something. After some time of pacing around his own room, running his mind in circles trying to figure out what was expected of him here, he was forced to concede that he simply didn’t have the information necessary to make that determination. So he would have to seek someone who did. He went down to the lobby to sit at the bar with a visibly-hungover Husk and asked for his usual—gin and tonic, hold the gin.

“Husker,” he ventured carefully, swirling the tonic water in his glass. His friend (though he used the term loosely) grunted in response. “Would I be right to assume you’ve had some experience with. Er. Filles de joie?”

“First of all, dial down the volume,” Husk grumbled flatly, squeezing his head between his hands as if that might alleviate his headache. “And second, speak English.”

“You know. Working girls. Ladies of the night. Cocettes? Streetwalkers?” How many ways could he say it gently?

“Hookers.”

“…yes.”

“Sure,” Husk agreed with a shrug, resting heavily against the bar. “But what’s it to you? Since when d’you care about that kinda shit?”

“Oh, I don’t. In so many words. But I’ve always been a curious sort, and since I don’t have any personal experience of my own, I figure a secondhand account is better than none,” Alastor explained. The two had known each other long enough that inquiries like this weren’t entirely out of the ordinary, as there were plenty of things about society—mortal or demon—that Alastor had only seen at a distance. Husk, on the other hand, had seen and done quite a lot in his years and could be very helpful when he chose to be.

“Don’t know what you’re gonna do with it, but I guess it doesn’t really matter. Whaddaya wanna know?” He groped absently along the bar for the tumbler of gin he’d withheld from Alastor’s drink and tossed it back all at once, then immediately got dizzy and regretted the sudden motion. “Just. Keep it down.”

“It’s my understanding that escorts, like many other professionals, have regular clients,” Alastor answered, lowering his voice slightly, more because he didn’t want to be overheard having this particular discussion than for the sake of his friend’s comfort. “But I’m not sure what sort of relationship that constitutes.”

“Like you said, a professional one,” Husk told him. “It’s a job, and a client’s a client. No matter how many times ya see ‘em, that doesn’t change.”

“I see. So…that dynamic isn’t likely to develop into something else?”

He let out a dry laugh. “Somethin’ else like what? A gal doesn’t date a john if that’s what you’re askin’.” He was answering almost automatically, not bothering to question where this curiosity had come from. “I hear when a guy starts gettin’ ideas like that, most ‘workin’ girls’ are pretty quick to cut him off.”

Which was exactly what Alastor was afraid of, considering what he knew of Angel Dust. But then, maybe there was a difference if the escort in question had only one patron. Maybe whatever he was getting into with Angel didn’t have exactly the same rules. “In a slightly different vein, then, what about…” Even saying the word felt like an admission, like an embarrassment. But he truly needed some sort of reference point before he got into this, so he had no choice. “Sugaring. The sort of arrangement where—”

“Yeah, I know how it works,” Husk said, waving him off. “Not my thing, though. Too much commitment.”

Well. That was a positive thing, wasn’t it? In terms of what Alastor actually wanted from his interactions with Angel? Commitment, as far as he was concerned, meant exclusivity, which his jealous tendencies certainly appreciated. “Commitment. On the part of the client, you mean?”

“Sure. Once you tell ‘em they can rely on you, they’re gonna. And that means you hafta be able to deliver. Money. Presents. Dates. Whatever she wants, you hand it over.”

None of that sounded bad to Alastor, not if it was Angel he was spoiling; if his previously-idle money could provide enjoyment or satisfaction for the object of his affections, why not let it do so? ‘Dates’ would even mean they were enjoying time together. How could that be negative? “And in return…?”

Husk shrugged again. “She sleeps with you and pretends she likes you. Ain’t worth it if ya ask me.”

Alastor’s eager smile faded slightly. ‘Pretends’? That could be an issue. Even if he hadn’t yet expressed it, the attention and affection he wanted from Angel was the genuine sort, not something motivated purely by money. Maybe he was being greedy in hoping for something like that, when the point of this plan had simply been to stop Angel sleeping with other men. But after the spider’s welcoming attitude and that kiss earlier, he was now starting to hope (a four-letter word if ever there was one) that more might come of it.

As he was trying to decide how to word his next question, the lobby elevator dinged, and Charlie marched out of it, dragging a fully-clothed but obviously reluctant Angel Dust by his wrist. “Don’tcha have night classes or somethin’ I could take? You two givin’ out drinks at this thing?” he grumbled, trudging along behind Charlie without otherwise protesting. When he caught sight of Alastor, his expression shifted from annoyance to a sweet smile. “Hey, boys. Room for one more?”

“Come on, Angel, it’s bad enough that we’re late already,” Charlie scolded.

“What she said,” Husk muttered, his ears turning back and downward at the voices ringing through the lobby. “Get to your fuckin’ meeting already.”

As they walked past on their way to the conference room, where Vaggie and several of their other patrons were already gathered, Angel paused to steal another kiss to Alastor’s cheek, causing Charlie’s eyes to open wide even as he casually strolled past her. The Radio Demon refused to look anywhere near their proprietor, grasping his glass tighter and trying to pretend he didn’t notice her eyes boring into him. She must have taken the hint eventually, as she disappeared into the conference room and shut the doors to begin their meeting, allowing the tension in Alastor’s body to dissipate, at least somewhat.

“Y’know, no one could blame you if ya smacked him when he does that shit,” Husk pointed out, still dispassionate, illustrating with a swipe of his own dangerous claws. “After a couple times, he’ll get the picture, trust me.”

Now this was unusual. Alastor couldn’t recall ever having felt so violently vengeful on the behalf of another person before. He’d never borne Husk any ill will in the past. That said, the thought that he had at some point struck Angel instilled in Alastor a powerful urge to tear out his feathers one by one and then stab them all back in.

“I’m sure violence isn’t necessary,” he said instead, forcibly shoving those images to the back of his mind and reminding himself that Angel had proven more than once already that he could take care of himself. “Maybe he just needs a proper focus for his energy…”

“Hey, if you wanna volunteer, be my guest,” Husk snickered without smiling.

Their conversation was interrupted by an unfamiliar demon nervously slinking into the lobby, looking to check himself in. Alastor quickly shifted into salesman mode to secure another patron and get him set up in his own room. After a whirlwind tour of the establishment, which put him back in his element and did wonders to take his mind off any other concerns he might have at the moment, they made their way back down to the lobby.

“And if I’m not much mistaken, Charlie and the others should be finishing up another session just now,” he crowed, still leading the new arrival with an arm around his shoulders and gesturing to the conference room doors. “She’ll want to welcome you personally, of course, and discuss your goals and expectations for your stay.”

His prediction didn’t come a moment too soon, as the double doors swung open to release the handful of lesser demons who had been gathered for Charlie’s group counseling session. Alastor led the newest member of their merry band of misfits to the princess to call her attention. “Charlie, this fine fellow is—remind us of your name, my good man.”

“Knix,” the burly gent answered, apparently having some trouble with looking anyone in the eye.

“A new arrival!” Alastor concluded, and Charlie beamed at the thought, as always.

“Welcome to the Hazbin! I’m Charlie, and that’s Vaggie”—she indicated her partner, who was straightening up the conference room on her own—“and we run the group meetings. How did you hear about us? What inspired you to come in? Tell me everything there is to know about you.” While she was haranguing the poor fellow to within an inch of his life, Alastor conceded that his work was done and took a step back to watch Charlie’s protégés disperse to their own rooms.

He recognized one self-involved feline named Davronius, a rabbitlike misanthrope simply called Io, an elegant and aloof owlish demon who went by Donatella—but no spiders. Odd, considering how often Charlie held Angel Dust up as her ‘star pupil,’ the exemplar of the hotel’s efficacy. And he typically basked in the attention it got him. Maybe he was still talking with one of his fellow recovering sinners? What a ridiculous thing for Alastor to be jealous of. And yet…

A flash of color darted between the guests and into the conference room, then back out only a moment later. Niffty stood to one side of the doors, her face screwed up into a pout, her eye darting around the room to seek out imperfections. She must have been in a mood, further evidenced by her scurrying over to the stairs to fuss at a guest who was leaning against the banister. Once he had backed off, intimidated despite her tiny stature, she whipped a handkerchief from her pocket and started to polish his fingerprints off the otherwise-pristine wood.

“You know,” Alastor said, strolling in her direction, “the banister can’t serve its purpose if you won’t let anyone touch it.”

“Well maybe if they washed their hands once in a while, it wouldn’t bother me,” she answered testily. “Besides, Vaggie already cleaned up after the meeting, so I don’t have anything else to do. I have to do something.” That was a fair point; there was too much energy in her little form to stand still for long. If she tried, she might spontaneously combust.

“And the entire hotel is already spick-and-span from top to bottom?”

She shot him what he had come to recognize as her version of a glare. “What d’you think I was doing during the meeting? We only have sixteen occupied rooms, and all the empty ones don’t get messy. You don’t even let me go in your room, so it might as well be fifteen. The new guy just got here, so it’s basically fourteen! And now Angel’s not here leaving dirty dishes in the lobby or doing target practice in the common area—”

“N҉o҉t҉ ҉h҉e҉r҉e҉?” There was a scratch of static in Alastor’s voice that he tried to will away as he asked casually, “A҉ng҉el ҉isn’t here? Where is he?” There were only so many reasons he would leave, and considering his recent track record, Alastor was quick to assume the worst.

“He left with some lady while you were upstairs with the new guy,” Niffty explained, flicking her handkerchief briefly in the direction of Knix, who was still in mostly one-sided conversation with Charlie. “His manager, I think.”

That statement was confusing for a few reasons. First, the only person Alastor knew of who could be called Angel’s ‘manager’ was a fellow Overlord named Valentino—a man. Furthermore, Angel had mentioned some time ago that he and Valentino were no longer working together, and Alastor had noted the improvement in his mood since.

But most importantly, the manager issue shouldn’t have applied at all, considering what they had agreed upon earlier in the day. His time shouldn’t need to be managed. Or if anyone is managing it, it should be me. He realized immediately how possessive and controlling that idea was and chastised himself for it. Yet it didn’t change how he felt. This day had come to involve entirely too many feelings, the way he saw it, and he was beginning to get exhausted. Since Angel wasn’t there to explain himself at the moment, Alastor was sure to drive himself up a wall fixating on the problem—unless he had something else to do.

“Do you know what always lifts my spirits when I’m distraught, dear?” he mused, glancing in Niffty’s direction again.

A delighted smile lit up her face and banished any lingering frustration. “A good meal?”

“That’s exactly right. In fact—Charlie!” he called, striding across the room to meet his co-manager with Niffty on his heels. “I hate to interrupt your onboarding discussion, but would you be so kind as to let all our guests know that I’ll be serving dinner this evening?”

“You’re cooking? That’s great! I’ll make sure everyone’s there,” she assured him. With a sly smile, she pointed out, “You sure seem like you’re in a good mood today. Any particular reason for that?”

“When am I ever not in a good mood? Especially when we have a new guest to welcome.” He gave a brief pat to her head, refusing to acknowledge what she was implying, and swept off to the kitchen with Niffty to occupy himself with something he knew how to control.