#at this point the date is to go back home take a shower and crash into bed

[pikinanouart]

[toournextadventure]

oblivious

Summary: You've been Vada's roommate for a while now and she still has yet to notice that you have feelings for her. You hoped accepting a date with someone else would force her hand. In a way, it did

Word Count: 4.2k Warnings: swearing, smut 18+, weed and alcohol mention Pairing: Vada Cavell x Fem!Reader (no pronouns used) A/N: I'm still getting the hang of Vada's personality so y'all bear with me, but I'm workin on it, I'll get there

“Honey, I’m home,” Vada called out, stopping you in your tracks on the way to the bathroom.

You couldn’t help smiling at Vada’s ridiculous phrase that she had started using whenever she got back to the shared apartment. If you were being honest, you couldn’t remember when she had started it; it hadn’t been too long after you had first agreed to rent an apartment together with her friends Mia and Nick. All you knew was one day she practically crashed into the apartment, said her now-famous tagline, and it stuck.

The best part of it all? She only ever said it to you. Never to Mia, never to Nick, only to you. It made your crush on her grow each time, even though you certainly didn’t need the help. Just the words alone had your stomach twisting into knots in the most delicious way.

And that little dumbass didn’t even know what she was doing.

“Don’t you have another class?” You asked with a tilt of your head. It was a bit too early for her to be home, especially on a Tuesday.

“Skipped it,” she said with her cheesy grin that never failed to make your heart race. “Why take Lit when I can have you teach me?”

“That’s not how it works, V,” you chuckled. “I can’t give you credit.”

“But you can- are you getting in the shower?”

There it was; the attention change. It happened a bit sooner than usual, but you weren’t entirely surprised. At first you had been confused at Vada’s change of topic and attention at such a fast pace, but now it was expected. At least she looked cute.

“Yes I am,” you said with a nod. “Did the towel give it away?”

“It’s Tuesday,” Vada said, completely ignoring your attempt at teasing her. “You don’t shower on Tuesdays.”

Ah. So she did pay attention to a few things.

“I got asked on a date,” you shrugged.

“A date?” She asked incredulously. Rude. “With who?”

You sighed and leaned against the doorframe. “Know that guy from my Fluid Flow class? Jacob?”

“The one with the stupid lip piercing?”

“It’s not stupid,” you said with a huff. “But yes.”

“You agreed to go on a date with him?” Vada asked incredulously. “What happened to your standards?”

“It’s not like I’m getting asked on many dates,” you argued.

“But him?” She continued.

“Well who else should I go with?” You asked. “You?”

Vada froze, her mouth still flopping open at the revelation of your plans for the evening. You wanted her to tell you not to go. To say that yes, you should go on a date with her. Maybe you were being a bit cruel to just not tell her, but you wanted her to say something. Although in hindsight maybe you shouldn’t have expected Vada Cavell to pick up on all the signs you had given her.

Which were numerous.

She shifted her weight and looked down at her feet. You could see her scuffing the toe of her shoe into the floor, a nervous habit of hers. Part of you got hopeful; she was nervous, maybe she would finally say something. Hell, you would be happy if she simply said she didn’t want you to go.

“You should go shower,” she finally said, and you felt your heart drop. “I’ll help you pick out what to wear once you’re out.”

“Right,” you said with a sigh.

The entire time you were in the shower you were seething. No, not quite seething, you were disappointed. You knew it was a bit unrealistic of you to expect Vada to know how you were feeling, especially about her, but you couldn’t help it. How could she not see that you wanted her to ask you on a date? Yes you should just do it yourself, especially at this point, but you weren’t going to risk anything.

Your father would’ve just told you to task her on your own. You were the one with the feelings, you should ask. And he would have been right, you knew that, but you didn’t want to ask. What if Vada didn’t actually like you that way? She acted goofy with Mia and Nick too, so you couldn’t use that as justification for your hopes.

By the time you got out of the shower and finished getting ready, Vada was already waiting in your room. She was hanging her head upside down on the bed while scrolling through her phone. Her brows were scrunched in an adorable frown from whatever she was looking at. The minute she noticed you standing in the doorway, she smiled wide and sat up.

“About time,” she said as she stood up and went to your closet, “I’ve got the perfect thing for tonight.”

“Perfect as in “I’ll look great” or as in “it’ll get me laid?” Because there’s a difference,” you said as you sat down on the bed and waited for Vada to come out of the closet.

Ha. You might be disappointed, but at least you were still funny. See? That was what Vada was missing out on and she didn’t even know it!

“Perfect as in “he’d be stupid not to ask you out again”,” she said with a grin as she turned around to show you what she had picked.

“Vada that’s,” you exhaled slowly, “that’s the most mundane outfit I’ve got.”

“Which is why he’d be stupid not to ask you out again,” she said, tossing everything your way. “I won’t look, promise.”

“Gee, thanks,” you mumbled to yourself as you nonetheless stood up and got dressed.

Part of you was thankful Vada had picked out a regular outfit; at least it was comfortable, and that was always a plus. Did you think Jacob would ask you out again? Absolutely not, he was a frat boy, you knew he wouldn’t ask you out again the moment you decided you weren’t going to put out. At least you would be comfortable when you were rejected.

“How do I look?” You asked, and Vada turned around so quickly she nearly fell.

The moment she actually managed to focus on you, she fell into what looked like a daze. Her jaw dropped and her eyes were looking you up and down. And for a moment, she looked like she wanted to say something. Say it, you mentally urged her, tell me to stay. You played with your fingers and watched her with hopeful eyes.

“You’re so getting laid tonight,” she whispered.

“Yippee,” you said with another huff. She was getting a lot of those out of you tonight.

“You’d better get going,” she said as she practically pushed you out of your room toward the front door. “You don’t want to be late.”

“Thought you didn’t like Jacob?” You asked.

“I don’t, but I wanna watch a movie,” she said, now opening the front door. “And you’re not invited.”

“Well that’s just rude,” you said.

“Have fun!” Vada called out as she shut the front door in your face.

You just stood there in complete shock. Had you really just gotten kicked out of your own apartment by the girl you were quite possibly in love with? Simply because she wanted to watch a movie? It was so on par for Vada that you honestly weren’t even surprised.

The door opened again and you looked in, hopeful that Vada had changed her mind. She stood in the doorway and looked at you again. Please ask me to stay, you silently begged her. But then she pushed something into your arms, which you scrambled to hold onto.

“Forgot your phone and wallet,” she said before slamming the door shut again. “Have fun!”

“Oh fuck me,” you grumbled, but nonetheless put your phone and wallet in your back pocket and left the apartment.

—---

Life sucked. It sucked and it was out to get you personally. You could get over the fact that it had started raining on the walk over to the restaurant. Then there was the fact that you had gotten lost at least three times, but that could also be forgiven. And your phone dying? Well, that was also shitty even though you had forgotten to charge it at home, so it happened.

But then you got to the restaurant and sat at the bar, like you were supposed to, and waited. And then you ordered a drink and waited some more. And some more. And wouldn’t you know it, an hour and a half and three drinks later, you were closing your tab and heading back to the apartment. The apartment that you had been kicked out of by someone who was supposed to pick up on your cues.

There was just enough alcohol in your system to have you thoroughly pissed off by the time you got back to the apartment. You could smell the weed from out in the hallway and knew Vada was either high as a kite or well on her way to it. Normally you wouldn’t care; she was respectful with it and was, honestly, pretty adorable under the influence.

Unfortunately for Vada, it just wasn’t your night.

You unintentionally slammed the door shut behind you when you entered, leaning back against it to get yourself back under control. The music was loud and obnoxious and the smell of weed was giving you a headache. Or maybe it was the alcohol. Or maybe it was the fact you got stood up. Actually, maybe it was just everything.

“Nick?” Vada’s voice came from her room. At least she wasn’t smoking out in the living room like you had initially thought.

“Just me,” you called back before exhaling slowly and walking further into the apartment. The sloshing sound of your wet shoes on the floor was horrible.

“Y/N?” Something fell to the floor with a hard thud. You looked down the hallway until you saw Vada practically falling out of her room, hitting the opposite wall fairly hard. “You’re back early.”

“Yup,” you said, popping the “p” for emphasis.

“So… did he like your outfit?” She asked as she stood up, her hands instantly going to play with the hem of her shirt. Wait… was that your shirt?

“I don’t know,” you said before finally tossing your soaking wet wallet and hopefully-dry phone onto the couch. “He never showed.”

“What?” Vada asked incredulously, her sleepy eyes suddenly widening.

You huffed. “He stood me up, V.”

“But… but he asked you,” she said in a soft voice.

“It’s whatever,” you said with a sigh as you made your way into your room with Vada hot on your heels. “He wasn’t exactly the one I wanted anyway.”

“He wasn’t?” She asked. You didn’t bother turning around to look at her as you started digging in your closet for something dry to put on. “Then why did you say yes?”

“Because I was hoping a certain someone would get the hint,” you grumbled. Truthfully you didn’t care if she even heard you or not. She was high, it was not the proper time for this revelation to come out.

“If they didn’t get the hint then they’re a complete dumbass,” she said after a moment of silence. You closed your eyes and exhaled slowly once again. “Because they’d be stupid not to ask you out.”

“Yeah they would,” you agreed quickly before grabbing a t-shirt from your closet. “Don’t look.”

You checked over your shoulder to see Vada on your bed, dutifully covering her eyes with both hands. Why did she have to actually listen? You were standing in the middle of your room, soaking wet, about to take your shirt off, and she wasn’t going to look? Dammit, Vada, lose your morals!

“Anyone would be lucky to date you,” she said while you peeled your wet clothes off. “And if they don’t realise that then they’re an idiot.”

“Keep talking, Cavell,” you mumbled to yourself; you knew she couldn’t hear you.

“If I ever had the chance to date you, I certainly wouldn’t screw it up,” she continued talking.

Now that had you slowing your movements, taking your time to finish kicking your pants off. It left you in your shirt and underwear, but that wasn’t on your mind. You slowly turned to look at Vada, who still had her hands over her eyes, as you went over her words.

Did she really think that? Was that the sign you had needed to know that she actually liked you back? Yes you had been playing this game for around three years at that point. And yes, you should have said something ages ago, even your dad had said so. But was she admitting that she liked you?

“Who said you didn’t have a chance?” You asked slowly, your eyes still glued to where Vada was playfully swinging her legs over the side of your bed.

“Who said I did have a chance?” She asked in reply. “I’m not stupid, I’m not your type.” You stepped closer to the bed. “Your type is a bunch of nerds who are way below your league.” You sat down on the bed beside her. “Which you should change, by the way, you can do so much better than all those other-”

-you leaned forward to capture Vada’s lips with yours, silencing her rant. It wasn’t a long kiss, you didn’t want to give off the wrong idea. Or maybe you did, you weren’t sure yet. All you knew was she was going to keep talking until she either fell asleep or you silenced her, and honestly, a kiss was the best way. It killed two birds with one stone.

When you pulled away, you watched as her hands pulled down her face and she looked up at you. Her eyes were still bloodshot and you could still smell the weed on her clothes, but she was looking at you clearly. There was a slight flush to her freckled cheeks, and you would have kissed her again if it meant she would stay looking just like that.

“You kissed me,” she said softly.

“Yeah,” you said with a nod and a poor attempt at hiding your smile. “I did.”

“I thought you liked someone though?”

“Oh my god,” you groaned. “Are you serious?”

“What?” She asked as she sat up. “Are you serious? What about that person you like-”

“-I like you, Vada,” you practically shouted. She fell silent, something she didn’t do often. “You’re the other person that I like.”

“You- you like me?” She asked with wide eyes. “Me?”

“For fuck’s sake,” you groaned, “yes you.”

Vada nodded slowly as her eyes fell to a spot on the bed, close to where your hand was resting. You could practically see the gears turning in her head, going over this new revelation. Part of you was upset at yourself for telling her such a thing now, when you were grumpy and a little tipsy and she was high and unexpecting. Terrible timing, really.

“I thought I was the only one with those feelings,” she finally said, slowly so as to get her thoughts out properly. Something you adored about her. “That you weren’t interested.”

“Vada, I’ve been dropping hints for the past year,” you said with a soft sight. Not a frustrated one, simply to break the tension. “Even Nick and Mia knew.”

“I didn’t want to assume,” she said without looking at you. “I didn’t want to risk not having you around just because I caught feelings.”

“You don’t just catch feelings, you know,” you said as you leaned forward a little more so you could force her to look at you.

“And you really do like me?” She asked, looking up into your eyes; suddenly, she seemed a hell of a lot more sober. “Like, for real?”

“What is this, high school?” You asked with a snort. “Yes, Vada, I like you for real.”

“So does that mean I can kiss you again?” She asked, perking up at the mere thought. “Because your lips are really soft and I think I could kiss them forever if you would let me-”

-you leaned forward and kissed her again, immediately cutting her off. But this time you didn’t pull back; you leaned even further into her, your hand moving to rest on the back of her neck. She grabbed you by the front of your shirt and pulled until she was laying down and you were leaning over her.

“Wait,” she mumbled against your lips, “you like me enough to have sex with me, right?”

“Just shut up, V,” you groaned as you kissed her again.

She didn’t argue.

You weren’t sure if you should blame it on the alcohol, or the weed, or the revelation of it all, but you weren’t in the mood to be patient. Night after night you had dreamed of having Vada in your bed, teasing her until she was a mess underneath you. But now that you had her, you just wanted to hear her fall apart.

Clearly she was in the same mood as you because her hands quickly found their way under your shirt until they brushed against your ribs. It tickled and sent a shiver down your spine, which you felt her smile about. You knew it wasn’t a competition. That didn’t stop you from placing your knee between her thighs and pressing up against her.

“Oh shit,” she groaned against your lips as her nails scratched against your skin.

You kept your knee stationary as she grinding against it hesitantly. Even through her boxers you could feel how wet she was; it wouldn’t take long before she left your thigh wet too. You started kissing your way across her jaw, leaving small kisses below her ear before moving down her neck.

Her hands left a fire in their wake as she moved them up, quickly sliding them up to your breasts that were no longer confined by the wet bra you had been wearing earlier. You both inhaled sharply when she brushed her knuckles against your nipples; her hips stuttered for only a moment before resuming.

“Hang on,” Vada whispered into your ear, and you stiffened before sitting up.

Had you done something wrong? There hadn’t been much, but what if she had decided she wasn’t okay with it anymore? It was fine, you would respect it and wouldn’t do anything else, but fuck. Fuck, maybe you had just pushed it a little too fast. You knew you should have kept your cool.

“Take it off,” she said as she pulled on your shirt lightly before struggling to get her own shirt off.

Oh. Oh right.

“Never hesitate to free the titties,” she said with a cheesy smile.

“Never say that again,” you groaned, only smiling when your shirt was hiding your face.

“I just know how to appreciate a- holy shit.”

You watched Vada’s jaw drop - again - once your shirt was finally off. Her eyes were zeroed in on one thing. Well, two things, and even though you felt a little self-conscious, you knew it was just Vada. No, not just Vada, it was your Vada. Who was still halfway in her shirt and clearly too distracted to continue.

“You’re such a horndog,” you mumbled as you leaned forward to help her pull her shirt the rest of the way over her head.

“I hit the jackpot,” she whispered.

“Just lay back down,” you said as you pushed her shoulder lightly and watched her fall back onto the bed, her eyes still glued to your breasts.

“I can still touch?” She asked.

“Yes, V,” you chuckled, “you can still touch.”

“Oh fuck yes,” she whispered before pulling you back in for a kiss.

Just as you figured, her hands instantly found your breasts again. Each touch sent a tingling sensation down to your core. Maybe you shouldn’t have mentally teased Vada earlier for being so wet. Even though you had no proof yet, you just knew you were going to be soaked if this went on much longer.

While Vada continued focusing on her newest obsession, you just let yourself feel her. Her skin was so incredibly soft and warm. It was exactly what you had expected from her. The muscles in her stomach tensed underneath your fingers before relaxing again. When you brushed your knuckles against her hip, she giggled into your mouth.

“I’m ticklish,” she said.

“I can tell,” you answered with your own smile and another kiss.

“You’re just being too soft,” she continued. Oh Vada. You kept moving your hand. “Soft touches tickle.” Your hand effortlessly slipped past the waistband of her boxers that were far too big. “Especially on my hips-”

-she stopped herself with a moan when you finally managed to rub your fingers over her clit. Oh god she was wet, you almost struggled to stay in the right spot. But when you heard her moan again, her head thrown back against your mattress, well it was worth the struggle.

“Fuck you’re good at this,” Vada managed to gasp out when you circled her clit again.

“Baby?”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up,” you mumbled before leaving kisses on Vada’s neck. Her hands tangled in your hair as she pulled you up into a real kiss.

“Did you have a martini tonight?” Vada asked.

“Seriously?”

“You taste like a martini,” she said, her breath coming out in huffs as you continued to slowly circle her clit. Not enough to get her off, but fast enough to keep building her up.

And then it hit you. Oh. Oh, Vada was nervous. You had both talked of your personal exploits and experiences so you knew she wasn’t a virgin. Yet she had always seemed a bit bashful about the whole thing. It all made sense now; she was simply nervous.

You removed your hand and tried not to smile at Vada’s whine at the loss of sensation. But she quickly shut up when you grabbed one of her hands and slid it under your own underwear, doing your best not to moan at the feel of her fingers on you. And just as you had expected, and much like Vada, you were soaked. Embarrassingly so.

“Holy fuck,” Vada groaned against your lips before leaning up and capturing your lips.

She bit your bottom lip when you replaced your hand and continued circling her clit. Usually you would tease, but with Vada? Right then and there, when you were so humiliatingly sensitive and probably wouldn’t last very long? No, you wanted to make her cum until she was seeing stars.

And as you moved your fingers faster, you knew it wouldn’t take long. It was in the little pants and moans she let out, the squirming of her hips, the spastic movements of her fingers. Not that you could judge, you were losing your rhythm as well, doing your best to keep your composure even as she continued to turn you to putty under her fingers.

“I’m close,” she panted. 

Thank god, you thought as you rubbed your finger in faster, tighter circles. Unlike Vada, you couldn’t bring yourself to talk, knowing the second you opened your mouth you would let out a moan that would haunt you for the rest of your life. It was only a few more seconds before Vada pulled back, her eyes squeezed shut as she stilled beneath you. Her fingers continued moving, and you felt your own orgasm wash over you. You let out a groan as you rutted against her fingers to chase the high, only letting yourself fall beside her when the feeling had dissipated.

“Holy shit,” Vada whispered. “We can do that again, right?”

“Oh my god,” you chuckled as you lifted your hands to cover your eyes. “We just finished.”

“But we can do it again, right?” She asked.

You rolled over onto your side and looked at her. At the sheen of sweat covering her half-naked body and left her practically glowing under the singular ceiling light in your room. The rise and fall of her chest that was slowly but steadily returning back to normal. The absolutely stunning smile on her face that had your chest feeling warm and your stomach swarming with butterflies.

“How about we shower and then sleep,” you suggested. “And maybe we can do it again tomorrow.”

Vada turned her head to look at you, her smile still present although looking a little more mischievous.

“Can we do it in the shower?”

“Never mind, I’m going without you.”

“Wait, hang on!”

You smiled to yourself as you quickly shut the bathroom door behind you, effectively locking Vada out. She stomped her foot - which you could imagine perfectly - before walking off. You half expected her to stay gone until you heard more shuffling on the other side and something slid under the door. With a half-cocked head, you picked up the piece of paper.

No boobs? :(

“Not anymore,” you called out through the door, to which Vada replied with a groan as she finally walked away, presumably to your room.

As you got in the shower, you couldn’t help but smile. Maybe you should thank Jacob for standing you up. He had accidentally made a fantastic wingman.

[slytherinshua]

⌇　WASHED AWAY　( 古賀祐大 )

genre lil angst , fluff , k x fem!reader   cw overworked k i'd say?? and over thinking k , not proofread   wc 720   request @hursheys for yudai + rain running down a cold cheek for the 3k event   note someone tell me how to write straight fluff for k i'm sick of writing angst for him (yet i keep doing it)   net @lune-net @kstrucknet

Yudai hated the rain. He hated the dark sky and the erasure the water brought to the Earth. Whenever it rained, it seemed like a sign that things weren’t working out. Whenever it rained, Yudai’s mind was muddled with those storm clouds. Whenever it rained, he wished for the sun to return so he could shine like he always did.

It was drizzling, and the forecast showed it would only get heavier in the coming hours. Yudai sat by the window, thinking carefully. Truthfully, he was scared. All the opportunities he could have ever wished for years ago were coming true. But he was scared of messing up, of not taking advantage of the time he had. 

And you just had to come to him during all of it, too. Yudai felt guilty some days. Today was one of those days. Because he was busy chasing his dreams, working as hard as he could to take risks and see the payoff, he felt like he was neglecting you.

He rarely had time to take you on dates, or even spend quality time together. He always came home tired from work, crashing next to you after quick showers and lazily applied skincare. You always said you didn’t mind, that you understood how hard he was working, that you would always be there to support him in everything. But Yudai felt like you deserved more. He wanted to give you more of his time, devote more of his energy to you, and less to fragile dreams that could fall apart at any moment. 

Photoshoots, choreography lessons, live stages, TV show appearances, and interviews— Yudai’s days were filled to the brim with work. He was exhausted by the end of it, stretched so thin that he had no more rope to give to you. He questioned if it was worth it, if he wouldn’t regret even more later for how little time he was able to spend with you. If, maybe, he should give up on the opportunities he was pursuing and dedicate more time to the one person keeping him sane in all the madness. 

You wouldn’t have this, though. You watched Yudai looking out at the rain. You knew his mind was just as clouded and dark as the sky. You could see right through him.

“Yudai.”

He turned to you at the sound of your voice, eyes brightening, smile lifting.

“Let’s go out in the rain,” he said.

“What? But you hate the rain—“

“I need to see if it’s really as bad as I think it is. Or if it might be better as long as I’m not alone.” He smiled at you. Although you were still confused about what he was talking about, you let your boyfriend drag you outside into the rain, now pouring a little heavier than the drizzle before.

The air was fresh and there was a gentle breeze accompanying the water drops that fell. Yudai held onto your hand with one of his, and caught the water in his palm with the other.

“I like the rain. It’s refreshing. And look! There’s a puddle,” you said, pointing to a divet in the road. You approached it, stomping down with your rain boot-clad feet, letting the water splash up from the impact. Yudai laughed, starting to see the charm of the unsavoury weather. 

He tried splashing next, and soon you were chasing him around, not caring how wet either of you got. Yudai eventually caught you in his arms, rainwater dripping from his hair and down his cheeks. You smiled up at him, eyes shining brightly.

“I think… maybe the rain isn’t so bad after all,” he whispered, a breathless smile on his face. You nodded, cupping his cheeks, brushing the water off of them. He bent down and captured your lips, letting the rain envelope you two together, holding you close. 

When he pulled apart, the rain was pouring down harder than before. You lead the way back inside, intent on warming up with a bath. Yudai followed, finding his mind more at peace after the moment than ever before. Instead of clouding his brain with overwhelming thoughts, the rain seemed to have washed them all away, creating a clean slate. Perhaps it wasn’t so bad after all.

&team taglist (bolded could not be tagged): @eternalgyu,, @kpoprhia,, @weird-bookworm,, @candewlsy,, @blossominghunnie,,

@seunghancore,, @sobun1est,, @bananabubble,, @talkingsaxy,, @talking-saxy,,

@nicholasluvbot,, @hursheys,, @loserlvrss,, @voikiraz

[lynzishell]

The Past 💛 Atlas

After my conversation with Dawn, I decide I need to talk to Ash as soon as possible. Mostly to take advantage of the clarity and confidence boost while it lasts, but also because I really don’t want to deal with yet another awkward Monday morning. I rush into the apartment to shower and change, and am back out again within twenty minutes.

During the walk to his apartment, I rehearse what I want to say, mumbling to myself as I navigate the quiet streets of the Spice District, trying to figure out the words now so I don’t get stuck and stumble when I see him. Finding the balance between being honest without having to dive into the entirety of my fucked-up past is more difficult that I expected. Almost as though, once I open that door, everything wants to come crashing out like a cartoon closet where a mountain of junk has been stashed in order to make a room appear clean and organized.

When I arrive at his building, step off the elevator and stand in front of his door, I stop, realizing I’ve shown up completely unannounced. “What am I doing?” I mutter, “Why didn’t I call first?” I start pacing anxiously around the hallway, trying to decide whether to knock or whether to leave and text him and then come back. I don’t know if he’s home, or if he even wants to see me. Does anyone even answer the door if they’re not expecting anyone? I don’t.

It takes me at least ten minutes before I finally decide to just knock. If he doesn’t answer, then I’ll text him, but I can’t leave now that I’m here. I walk back to the door, whispering to myself, “Ready… 1… 2… 3.” And then I knock.

It’s Lex who opens the door. She understandably looks surprised to see me, “Hey. Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine, I just need to talk to Ash. Is he here?”

She gives me a concerned look before nodding, “Yeah, he’s in here.”

She escorts me down the hall to the living room where Ash is laying back on the couch looking tired and despondent.

“Hey,” I greet him anxiously, trying to gauge how he feels about my showing up.

“Hi,” he doesn’t give me much, but he does seem curious at least.

“Can we talk?”

“Sure.”

Lex takes the cue to leave us, pointing back toward the hallway, “I’ll just go hang out in my room.”

Ash nods a thank you to her as I walk over and sit next to him on the familiar yellow sofa. His feet are up, and he lets them come to rest against the side of my leg. I don’t know if the gesture is intentional or not because his eyes stay down, watching his fingers as they pick at the polish on his nails, but regardless, the contact gives me the courage to start speaking.

“I’m really sorry, Ash. It’s not fair, the way I’ve been treating you.”

“No, it’s not,” he says pointedly, “but go on.” He sits up and crosses his arms defensively, but his eyes are soft when he looks over, encouraging me to continue.

Taking a deep breath, I turn to face him, “Okay look, aside from Dawn, I’ve lost everyone who’s ever been important to me. And I've developed a bad habit of shutting people out, keeping them at a distance. I guess I thought that by not dating you, I could keep from getting too close. As if it would prevent me from losing you too, or maybe I thought it would hurt less if I did. I’m not sure. But refusing to date you because we worked together just felt like an easy way to keep a distance that felt safe. It all backfired though. I fell for you anyway. And it hurt like hell when you walked out on me. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’ve been stupid, and I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted,” he says softly, giving me a small half-smile but still looking apprehensive, “So, where does that leave us?”

And here it is, the moment I usually freak out and tell him we should just be friends. Even now I have to fight back the part of me that wants to shut down and push him away, that is convinced it’s better to be alone. Perhaps that part of me did keep me safe once, when I was young, but Dawn’s right, it doesn’t anymore. We left that place a long time ago, and for good reason, but I’ve continued to carry it around with me. I need to figure out how to let it go because I’ll never have a future if I keep myself stuck in the past. So, for the first time, I tell him the truth about how I feel, “I really care about you, Ash, and the connection we have, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t scare the hell out of me, but I don’t want to run from it anymore. To be honest, I don’t know the first thing about being a good boyfriend, but I’d like to try. With you. If you’ll still have me.”

To my surprise, I feel lighter. I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t this. A weight lifts from my shoulders, and I feel almost giddy as he looks up at me, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips.

“You really want me to be your boyfriend?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Do I still have to quit my job?” he asks.

“No,” I laugh, “please don’t. I really like working with you every day.”

“Good, me too,” he says with a smile, his body finally relaxing as he leans over to kiss me.

We both laugh as he tries to keep his lips on mine while he turns and climbs onto my lap. Once he’s settled, he wraps his arms around me in a tight hug, burying his face in my neck, his soft kisses sending a chill down my back and causing goosebumps to raise on my arms.

“Is that a yes?” I ask.

He pulls back, draping his arms across my shoulders and resting his forehead against mine, “Oh, it’s a hell yes. Will you promise me something, though?”

“What?”

“Always be honest with me. If you get overwhelmed or scared, if I get too intense or piss you off, if you’re struggling for any reason, whatever it is, you can talk to me.”

“I know. I will, I promise. Can I ask you for something too?”

“Of course.”

“When I inevitably screw things up, if I disappoint you or upset you, will you stay and talk to me? Don’t storm off and leave me.”

“I do love a dramatic exit when I’m angry, but for you, I can definitely do that.”

“Thank you.”

“See, I don’t think you give yourself enough credit. You’re a great boyfriend already.”

I laugh a little, tempted to make a self-deprecating joke, to assure him I will indeed let him down eventually, but then decide I’d rather kiss him instead.

Even if I am destined to lose him in the end, I at least want to enjoy every minute we have together in the meantime. And who knows, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe there’s a chance he could love me the way that I love him.

He stops then, and for a split second I worry he heard what I was thinking. The way he looks down at me makes me wonder if he was thinking it too, but instead he asks, “Do you want to stay here tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. Um, I have to let Lex come out of her room.”

“Oh shit, Lex.”

“Yeah. So, I don’t know, maybe we can all watch a movie or something.”

“What if I want you to myself tonight?”

“Then, you’ve got me,” he smiles, “We can just hang out in my room.”

“Sounds good.”

“Okay. You go ahead, I’ll be there in a minute.”

He enters the room quietly, closing the door softly and leaning against it, watching as I look over the artwork on his dresser and on his wall. “I just realized I’ve never been in your room.”

“What do you think?"

"I like it, it's very you."

He smiles, pushing himself away from the door, "Can I ask you something?"

“Sure.”

“When you say you lost everyone, what do you mean? What happened?”

“Uhh,” I sigh, unsure if I’m prepared to dive into all that tonight. “If I promise to tell you, can we save that conversation for another day?”

“Yeah. We can do that.”

“Thanks.”

“So, what do you want to do then?”

“I’m sure we can think of something.”

Prev // Deja vu // 18+ // Next

[countryclubkook]

Don’t Look At Me Like That

Pairing: JJ Maybank x fem Pogue! Reader

Warnings: ANGST, mentions of blood, guns, death, spoilers of course, language, Rafe being absolutely insane, underage drinking (drink responsibly), not proofread so potential grammatical errors

Summary: JJ tries to keep Y/N safe and out of trouble by not letting her tag along with them as they reunite with their friends and continue their hunt for gold. But what happens when a party between friends goes wrong and Y/N finds herself in a compromised position?

A/N: I did cry while writing this so I apologize in advance <3

“Don't look at me like that! I don't want your hungry eyes all over me” you teased JJ as he raked his eyes up and down your body. You were only wearing his T-shirt and your underwear due to the events of the night before.

A late night swim (that was very rudely forced upon you when JJ threw you into the water) to celebrate John B and Sarah being alive despite still being in the Bahamas meant that your clothes were soaked and you didn't have any backups. JJ being the gentleman that he is offered you his shirt insisting that ‘it would look so much hotter on you’ and you graciously accepted. The two of you weren't dating, but you were much more than just friends. The group could see how in love you both were just from the way you looked at each other but you'd never act upon it because no pogue on pogue macking. So the both of you settled for shameless flirting and lingering thoughts of what if.

“Sorry princess, I just can't help it when you look that good” that stupid smirk that you loved so much on his face. you shook your head laughing before picking up a pillow from the couch and throwing it at him.

You watched as he dramatically threw himself back, rolling off the couch and clutching his heart. This was the JJ that you fell in love with, the one that could manage to make you laugh even at your lowest point. JJ had his eyes closed but opened one to glance in your direction. You had that beautiful smile he loved so much on full display, your head was thrown back as you laughed.

You were the most beautiful girl in the world in his eyes. He had come to you about the shit his dad was doing before anyone else, you became extremely protective over him from that moment forward. John B had offered him a place to crash if he ever needed it when he found out, but you? You basically forced him to come stay with you. So he did, he packed all his stuff and came to live with you in your little trailer a few months ago and the two of you made it your home. He was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice you had said something to him.

“Sorry what?” his voice confused as he shook his head

“I said, you're such an idiot” you said with a small laugh and tilt of your head.

“Yeah but I'm your idiot and you love me for it” he winked. There wasn't anything unusual with what he said but for some reason it caused your heart to skip a beat hearing the words ‘your’ and ‘love’ in the same sentence.

“Oh shut up” you said with a forced smile on your face as you turned your back towards him and walked towards the kitchen.

JJ furrowed his brows at the sudden switch in mood but didn't want to push you to talk. If it was important you'd come to him about it. Instead, he decided to go take a shower while you cooked breakfast to try and give you some space. On the way to the bathroom he stopped to give you a kiss on your cheek earning a small genuine smile for you. He took this as a win and walked with some pep in his step to the bathroom.

Once you heard the shower running you let out a deep breath, moving over to the sink to splash some cold water on your face. “Get it together Y/N, you know the rules” you said to yourself.

As much as you loved JJ and you knew the others would be supportive of you two, something inside you was preventing you from telling him how you truly felt. You were sure he had some idea because he gave you the same look. The fear of ruining the friendship with both each other and the rest of your group held you both back from admitting it. The ‘no pogue on pogue’ rule being your scapegoat for why you weren't together.

You let out a loud sigh before walking to the fridge to start breakfast. This would be the least of your worries for what was to come.

All he told you was that he, along with Kie and Pope, was trying to find evidence to implicate Rafe and Ward in Peterkin's death to clear John B’s name. After what happened to John B and Sarah, he wanted to keep you out of it as much as he could. If you went missing or got hurt because of what they were doing he couldn't live with himself. So you sat at home just hoping they were staying safe and not doing anything stupid.

A few days passed and you were getting worried, he'd been gone with no contact after Pope received some sketchy letter from a lady wanting to meet with him in Charleston. Obviously JJ and Kie weren't going to let him go alone and you were told to stay home. That they would go meet her and then come back. But that didn't happen.

Instead, they were running from Limbrey and her attack dog with no way home. Turns out you can't trust letters from rich families swearing they can prove your teenage best friend's innocence but only if you agree to meet in person. But some good came out of it when they were finally reunited with John B and Sarah. Thankfully they had a boat and we were able to make it back to the obx in one piece. JJ asked to get dropped off first while the others went to go get beer so he could charge his phone and let you know he was safe.

When it finally had enough charge, he checked his phone. Oh shit.

20 missed calls.

55 texts.

10 voicemails.

All from you freaking out about where he was and why he wasn't answering. He instantly clicked your name and called you, mentally preparing for the lecture he'd get. When you didn't pick up he got worried. You never ignored his calls, even if you were mad at him you'd send him a text telling him you didn't want to talk.

A loud knock at the front door made him jump. He grabbed his knife before slowly going to check it out. As he approached and could see clearly, he noticed it was just you and let out a sigh of relief. That was until he saw the look on your face of course.

“JJ! I see you in there. Let me in” you were so annoyed. You understood has was trying to keep you safe and help your friends, but he had you worried sick.

You heard the door unlock and watched the door slowly swing open revealing the blonde-haired boy. He brought his hand up to the back of his neck and stared at you nervously.

“Oh uh, hey Y/N/N” a nervous chuckle escaping his lips. If looks could kill, he'd be six feet under right now.

“Hey Y/N/N” you mocked him. Was that really all he had to say to you right now?

“How about ‘hey Y/N, I know I've been MIA lately but here's everything that happened. I'm sorry for worrying you” you lightly pushed his chest as you walked inside. You stood there with your arms crossed waiting for him to respond.

“Okay…I deserved that. Look that lady that wanted to meet Pope turned out to be fucking crazy and then we were running from her little attack dog because he was trying to kill us, the truck broke down in Charleston and my phone died or else I swear I would have called you immediately. Then we run into John B and Sarah and they have a boat and end up getting us back here and now they're all out getting beer and we're going to celebrate! Isn't that amazing? They're back baby!” he looked at you with a smile expecting you to throw your arms around him and celebrate.

Instead, you just shook your head and stormed outside. He followed you out confused as to why you were so upset. Sure he had failed to stay in contact with you but it wasn't done on purpose.

“I thought you died JJ. All I could do was think about you coming home to me in a fucking body bag. I was so sick and I didn't sleep the whole time because I was so worried. Then you come home and expect me to just be okay. To just get drunk and pretend like I didn't think I lost you before I could even tell you that I-” but you cut yourself off. Tears were streaming down your face by this point and you could barely see from your blurred vision.

“Tell me what?” he knew what you were going to say. He knew but he desperately wanted to hear you tell him what he's wanted to hear for months now.

“Nothing. It's nothing, forget it” you shook your head as your voice cracked, staring at the ground unable to look JJ in the eyes right now.

“Please. I need to hear you say it” he begged. He was standing in front of you now, bringing his hands to both sides of your face and forcing you to look at him.

“I love you JJ. Scratch that, I'm in love with you. I have been for ages and I tried to just push it away and let the feeling fast as time went on but I can't do it anymore. I am hopelessly in love with you” you sobbed out. His eyes filled with tears and mirrored yours.

“It's about damn time you said it baby. I love you so much, I think I've been in love with you since I first saw you” his voice was soft, much softer than it ever was.

“What about the rule?” you were still so scared of ruining the friendship with the others.

“Fuck the rule. When have I ever followed rules?” he let out a small laugh, his eyes glancing at your lips.

“You're right, fuck the rule. Now kiss me idiot” you smiled before his lips came crashing into yours. It was like fireworks had gone off inside you, it was such an intense feeling for the both of you. You'd longed for this moment for so long and now it was finally happening.

When you both pulled away you could hear cheering and clapping from behind you. The rest of the gang was there and had seen your whole confession. You hid your face in his chest out of embarrassment.

“You owe me $20 Pope” you heard Kie say. JJ looked at you in confusion and you did the same. They could see you both look at each other and explained they had made a bet.

“Oh yeah you see we didn't know which of you would break first so we made a bet on who confessed first. My bet was on JJ and Kies was Y/N” Pope said with a shrug of his shoulders before walking to the backyard, beer in hand, to set up for your mini reunion.

You ran to John B and Sarah and gave them a big hug, making sure to be careful with Sarah due to her injury. You were all crying tears of joy as you caught up with each other. Sarah told you what happened with Rafe and you were shocked. Sure he had issues but for him to shoot his own sister?

That just meant he was becoming more unhinged and you would all have to be very careful with what you did next. Night had finally fallen upon you all and everyone was having a good time.

JJ had brought the weed for you all and that combined with the beers had you forgetting all your troubles for a brief moment. There was no Rafe or Ward, there was no police chasing after you, it was just all of you hanging out together as friends celebrating Sarah and John B’s return.

John B had noticed the memorial on the tree you'd all made for him when you thought he was dead and JJ walked over to presumably have a mini talk with him. They were like brothers and he really thought he'd lost him. Kie had gone over to Pope to talk about whatever was going on with them, you didn't want to pry because it seemed like whatever they had going on was fairly awkward right now and Kie had only briefly mentioned it to you. So that left you and Sarah to talk.

You had a soft spot for her when she very first came on board your crazy adventures. She was your typical kook at first glance, but deep down there was more to Sarah Cameron than money and status. You'd grown quite close to her before she and John B had gone missing. She had become a sister to you and you loved her.

“So…you and JJ hm?” she giggled, raising her eyebrows in a playful manner.

“Yeah yeah, I was just so worried you know? With everything that has happened with us it's made me realize life is too short to leave things unsaid. You never know what's going to happen.” you said with sincerity. If you had never said anything and JJ did get killed or seriously injured, you don't think you could live with yourself knowing you didn't get to tell him how you felt.

“No I get it, I mean if something happened to John B and I had things to tell him that I never got the chance to I would regret it for the rest of my life. That's why we got married, we can say we lived life to the fullest and made each other the happiest people alive. It's rare to find someone that loves you that much” her high was still very much there, but she still meant every word. The topic of conversation sobered her up slightly.

“Woah woah woah, you two got married?!” you exclaimed a little too loud causing the others to look in your direction before returning to what they were doing.

“We did, I mean it wasn't like official but…yeah” a wide smile on her face. You reached over to give her a hug, you were so happy for her. They may not have known each other long, but the love they had for each other was real and it was genuine. You wanted them to be happy and they were.

JJ and John B came back to join the two of you as Pope and Kie headed off somewhere alone together in the boat. The four of you shouting goodbyes at them.

“Have a good time!” Sarah hollered at them with a large wave.

“Use protection kids!” you hollered listening as they shouted an ‘oh my god gross, shut up!’ in return.

“There he goes. He jacked your boat dude” JJ said to John B with a small smirk on his face.

“Pogues poking the pogue” John B had a look of either confusion, disgust, shock, or a mix of all three as he watched the can't disappear from your view.

The alcohol had kicked in and you excused yourself to go inside the chateau and use the bathroom. JJ pulled you in for a kiss before slapping your ass and letting you walk inside. You heard Sarah yelp out for you both and rolled your eyes on the way inside. Typical JJ behavior, except now he didn't have to be shy about it.

You had just finished using the bathroom and were about to wash your hands when you heard a loud crash. Assuming it was just one of the others stumbling inside you ignored it. What you weren't counting on, however, was walking out of the bathroom and having a gun placed against the back of your skull.

“Any sudden moves princess and I'll blow your damn head off. Outside now.” you recognized his voice. It was Barry, the same guy that held you all at gunpoint when you first went on this crazy treasure hunt.

And it wasn't Barry that scared you, you'd seen how easy it was to overpower him and you knew that the four of you against him would easily be enough to take him down. It was that where he went, Rafe went. And Rafe had proved to be increasingly crazier as time went on. Deep down you hoped that if you just followed orders you could be let free.

That hope quickly changed when you saw Rafe also had a gun and your other friends were all hiding in a tree. JJ felt like his heart was about to explode and his eyes about to pop out of his head. He wanted nothing more than to jump down and rescue you, but he knew that would put you in more danger so he stayed out silently hoping you were safe.

“Well well, look what we have here. You're JJ’s little girlfriend, right? Another good for nothing pogue” Rafe's words were slightly slurred and he looked out of it. He took a few steps closer to you and lifted your chin with his gun as Barry took his off. You looked at him with pure disgust and hatred.

“Go to hell asshole” you spit at him. He didn't seem to like that very much. His jaw clenched and then there was a sharp pain across your face, warm red liquid rolling down your cheek from the cut he'd left.

“Listen here you little bitch. I'm the one with the gun, don't test me right now okay? Just tell me where my sister and John B are and you can go” he had a much more aggressive tone now. You weren't stupid, you knew what he was going to do.

“I'm not telling you anything.” you snarled. He took a few steps back, shaking his head and laughing maniacally. He then noticed the tree, oh no.

“So your sisters a pogue for life, huh, Rafe? Now who would've thought” Barry taunted him. Your breathing started getting uneven as the fear finally settled in.

His jaw tensed and his weight began shifting before he finally screamed “Shit!” which caused even Barry to tell him to chill.

It all happened in slow motion, one minute he was shooting at the tree and the next you felt a sharp pain in your abdomen as he aimed the gun at you. You looked down slowly to see blood oozing out onto your shorts and with shaky hands, placed them on top of the wound to try and stop the bleeding. JJ felt like his world stopped and he just hoped Rafe and Barry would leave soon so he could get to you.

“Rafe what the fuck?!” Barry exclaimed as he pushed Rafe backwards. He gave you a quick glance before he told them they had to get out of there.

“Are you trying to get us caught bro? We gotta bounce, now Rafe come on!” the two boys finally getting into their car and leaving you all alone.

You dropped to the ground and laid on your back as the blood loss began kicking in causing you to feel dizzy. JJ came running over to you with tears in his eyes as he frantically called John B and Sarah over to help. He took off his shirt and applied it to your wound with pressure hoping to stop more blood from coming out but it soaked through it almost instantly. They all stared in shock and despair watching the scene unfold.

You brought your bloody hands up to JJ’s face causing him to look at you and stop what he was doing to help the bleeding. His eyes were full of pain, this whole time he had kept you safe and now you were fucking shot because he left you alone.

“JJ…” no, he didn't like the tone of your voice one bit. You were not saying goodbye to him right now. You were going to get help and make it out alive and Rafe would go to prison.

“No Y/N stay with me baby, I need you to stay with me” he cradled you in his arms while Sarah went to try and call Kie and Pope. None of them knew what to do, if they called for help John B would be caught. If they didn't call for help there was a chance you'd die.

“H-hey, I love you oka-y” if this was it, you needed him to hear you say it one last time.

“No no no, baby you're okay. It's going to be okay, just keep those pretty eyes open okay? Keep looking at me” his voice cracking as reality set in. You'd lost too much blood, you knew you were dying.

“D-don't look at me like t-that” you stopped midway through, coughing up blood “I don't want your last m-memory of me to be like t-this” you wanted him, no you needed him, to remember you the way you always were before this. You needed him to remember your smile, the way your face would heat up at any of his flirtatious comments, the twinkle in your eyes you always seemed to have. Only the good parts about you.

“Sorry princess” he paused to take a deep breath, “you're just too good looking to not look at”. You let out a pained laugh as your breathing slowed. You wanted him to be the last thing you saw, you wanted to die looking at the love of your life.

His tears freely flowed down his face as he gave you one final kiss. The twinkle in your eyes was replaced by dullness and the slow rise of your chest stopped completely. He had lost you.

Sobs wracked through his body as he cradled your lifeless body in his arms. Sarah and John B placed their hands on his back and shoulders as they cried with him.

“Don't worry baby, I'll make sure to get you justice. I love you

[novelsbynia]

GEMINI:

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Warnings: semi-smut,language

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CHAPTER FIVE: Shower Thoughts

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October 29th

"We can't take too long they should be back soon. Tara's class ends in ten and it takes fifteen minutes to get-" Scar fixes the water "Baby. It's okay." Ethan wrapped his arm around Scarlett's waist and pulled her forwards. Ethan leaned down and crashed his lips onto Scarlett's. His reached up and grabbed Scarlett's dark claw clip and placed it on the counter. Scarlett felt her long lochs touch the middle of her back before grabbing the ends of her navy long sleeve.

Ethan backed away for a second and lifted his light blue polo over his head and started working on his jeans. After the two finally undressed Scarlett was the first one to enter the shower with Ethan not far behind. "Can you hand me the soap please?" Scarlett pointed at the tan bottle behind Ethan on the shelf. "Which one?" Ethan scanned the row of body soaps.

"The vanilla scented one." Scar told. Scarlett grabbed her purple wash cloth and the soap from Ethan. "You wanna smell like a girl tonight?" Scarlett asked as she squeezed the soap out onto her washcloth. "I don't mind smelling like you." Ethan leaned down and kissed the wet raven haired girl. "Mmm." Scarlett moaned as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Scar?"

The two froze. "Quinn?" Scar asked. "Yeah it's me. I'm back, I just need to wash my face. Girl, let me tell you about this fucking weasel I just went out with." Quinn sighed. Scarlett looked over at Ethan and put her finger over her mouth for him to keep quiet. "Fist of all, he looks like he just rolled out of bed. Isn't that like gross ? Especially if I'm meeting you for the first time for a date?" Quinn expressed. "Yeah totally." Scar agreed trying to focus on her roommate not seeing or hearing them both. "Then when I try to talk to him, all he can talk about is what his ex was wearing on her instagram that he stalked right before our date. Like what the fuck dude. Why are you here then. Where is my face stuff?" Quinn looked around the counter tops and cabinets.

Scarlett's eyes wondered until she saw something. Quinn's face wash, in the shower, on the ledge. "Fuck." Scarlett mouthed. "Oh I think it's in there." Quinn said as she started heading towards the shower. "Sorry I see it." Quinn looked to see the soap resting on the shelf peaking out the shower curtain. Quinn reached her hand in and grabbed her face wash but stopped. Quinn looked down to see feet that definitely didn't belong to Scarlett. Quinn paused and looked down at the bathroom floor. She saw a mix of clothes. From Scarlett's shirt and black jeans and a blue polo she recognized. Quinn opened the shower curtain to see a naked Scarlett standing in front of a naked Ethan. "OH. MY. GOD." Quinn shrieked before quickly closing the curtain. "Quinn, it's not what it looks like!" Scarlett quickly tried to come to their defense. "You guys aren't fucking?" Quinn asked. "Okay it's exactly what it looks like." Scarlett sighed. "We aren't together though." Ethan added. Why did it hurt her when Ethan told Quinn they weren't together. Why did she care it's not like they didn't agree to just be friends and do this. "Yeah we're just "together"right now..." Scar trailed off.

"So you guys are just hooking up?" Quinn asked. "Yeah." Ethan was quick again to answer. Scarlett looked at him curious on why he answered so quick. "And does anyone else know about this whole shebang you two got going on?" Quinn gestured towards the shower. "No and we aren't telling anyone." Scar peaked her head out of the shower curtain. "Okay message received. Well I'm gonna go and let you two..." Quinn trailed off. Scarlett rolled her eyes. "...finish before Tara and Sam get home."

"Thank you." Scar smiled at her as Quinn closed the door behind her. "Fuck." Ethan whispered. "You still wanna?" Scar looked up at him. Ethan gave her a smirk before leaning down and connecting his lips with her. The kiss was wet and sloppy as Ethan wrapped his hand around Scarletts thigh. Lifting her up off the bathtubs floor, Ethan rested her against the wall. His lips travels to Scarletts neck as he lined himself up with her entrench. "Ethan." Scar moaned out as he slowly entered her.

XXXX

"No, Dad I'm not fucking doing that! I'm-" Ethan words were cut off when he heard the front door open. "Hey..." Scarlett trailed off, she knew she probably opened the door at the wrong time. "Hey, sorry for interrupting. We are ordering chinese I was just wondering if you wanted your usual?" Scarlett asked. "Oh yeah, um, thank you." Ethan stuttered taking his phone away from his ear and pressing the hang up button. "Are you okay?" Scarlett asked cracking the door behind her. "Yeah , just my dad." Ethan slid his phone in his jeans. "You know I can tell when you lie to me too." Ethan scoffed at her statement. "Not all the time." He muttered. "Well most of the time. You sounded pretty angry." Scarlett whispered. Scarlett never really saw Ethan raise his voice yet alone get angry. It was a new sight. "He just wants me to come home."

"Maybe he's right." Scarlett sighed. "Not about this. I'm not going anywhere." Ethans voice dropped a decibel. "Just come back in and let's just relax. We are about to start a movie." Scarlett reached over and grabbed Ethan's hand. Ethan cupped Scarlett's cheek with his free hand. He leaned down and placed a gently kiss on her lips. Scarlett sunk into the kiss till she heard the voiced of her friends. "They are probably wondering what we're doing." Scarlett pulled away. "Yeah." Ethan whispered. Scarlett looked up at his brown eyes then back at his lips. She leaned in one more time and gave him a gentle kiss. Ethan wrapped his arms around Scarlett's waist and brought her in close to him. "Scarlett?" Anika's voice brought Scarlett and Ethan out of their haze. Scarlett and Ethan quickly backed away from each other as Anika opened the door more. "You guys ready?" She asked. "Yeah, Yeah, we're ready." Scar smiled.

Ethan and Scarlett made their way inside as their friends were starting to get comfortable on the couch. Thats when it hit her, another wave of nausea. "I'll be right back." Scar told her friends as she headed towards the bathroom. She closed the door behind her as she leaned against the counter. She felt like she had to throw up but something in her just wasn't letting her. Then another wave hit her. This one stronger than the last. Scarlett put her hand over her mouth as she headed over to the toilet. After about two minute Scarlett finally finished up after throwing up everything in her system. She sighed as she lifted herself off the floor and headed towards her sink. Grabbing her tooth brush from the side and the tooth paste , Scarlett squeezed some toothpaste on the brush. After brushing her teeth she took a deep breath making sure she wasn't still feeling any more nausea.

"You okay? You look pale." Mindy asked as she tossed a piece of popcorn in her mouth as soon as Scarlett opened the door. "Huh?" Scarlett didn't hear Mindy she was focused on the taste of peppermint in her mouth now. "Yeah you do. You good?" Sam asked as she made her way over to the couches. Placing herself next to Quinn and Chad. "What? Yeah, yeah I'm okay. I'm just tired is all." Scarlett cleared her throat. "Come relax." Anika patted the couched next to her. "Yeah." Scarlett sighed as she walked over to the couch. She placed herself between Anika and Tara. Scarlett rested her head on Anika shoulder as Anika rubbed her head. Scar looked over at Ethan who's eyes were already other. "You okay ?" Ethan mouthed. Scarlett gave him a half smile and returned her attention to the movie playing. Even though her eyes were on the tv she could feel Ethan's on hers.

XXXX

October 30th

"So Scarlett, tell me. You from the city or you just here for school?" Asher sat back against his desk chair. "Just here for school." Scar answered as she drew her water bottle to her lips. "Where you from originally?" Scarlett looked at him and paused. "Michigan. How about you? Where you from?" Scar asked relaxing back in her seat. "Born in raised here." Asher sitting up from his chair for a second. "This seems like a busy place to grow up in." The two sat at Asher's desk eating the Chinese he ordered. Even though she had it for dinner last night she wasn't going to be rude and oppose.

"Ehh. It's not so bad. I was pretty much either at school or home til I started teaching." Asher slid off his brown sports coat and laid it on the desk. "Asher if you don't mind me asking. How old are you? You just look so young to be a professor yet alone have a doctorate." Scarlett watched as the brunette started to roll up his white dress shirt sleeves. "I don't mind. I'm twenty two."

"Damn." Scar said shocked. She knew he had to be young but twenty two? She wasn't expecting that. "Yeah. I graduated high school at sixteen and college at nineteen. Got jobs teaching at twenty and just have kind of gone from there." Asher explained. "Are you like a prodigy or something?" Scar asked. "Yeah. Yeah I guess you could say that. I just can pick up information a little bit faster and it helps to have a photographic memory." Asher finished rolling up the last sleeve. "Yeah that would help. I'm nineteen and don't even really know what I want one hundred percent. Can't imagine already knowing and doing everything you need to get there." Scar sighed.

"I just knew I liked teaching from when I use to tutor kids. It was always a great feeling knowing you helped someone learn something new. Something that could help them. Make an impact." Asher smiled sitting back down in his chair. "Thats very noble of you."

"Thank you. So what about family? Friends? Anything really driving you here besides school? Boyfriend?" Asher asked. "Family is kinda tough. However friends, I have a few of those and I love them. They're also studying here." Scar informed. "Mindy? It's Mindy right."

Mindy had a very interesting first class with Asher. Her witty comments about slashers in class today, Scarlett swore she was going to drive him away. Mindy wasn't exactly ecstatic with Scarlett staying behind with him for an hour. He just happened to arrive right after three people were killed, including the woman you had his current job. Ethan however told Mindy he wouldn't be far behind to walk her home. Mindy rolled her eyes telling him he's not that much better.

"Yeah..." Scarlett trailed off. "I like her, she's a firecracker. She could give me a run for my money in the slasher section." Asher chuckled. "Yeah it's her specialty." Scar was glad Asher wasn't put off to Mindy's comments. "What about your boyfriend? What interests him in this class?"

Asher's words caught Scarlett off guard. Did she hear that right? "Boyfriend?" Scarlett asked for more clarification. "Yeah. Eric? Evan? No, no, Ethan. Yeah Ethan." Yep she heard him right. "Oh he's not-" Scar started. "Oh I'm sorry. I guess that's what I get for assuming." Asher interrupted. "Why did you assume that?" Was she that transparent Scarlett asked herself. Were they both? "He's just always with you I just figured but that's my bad."

After a moment of silence Asher finally spoke up. "Scarlett can I be honest?" Scarlett took put her water bottle down on the desk after taking another sip. "Well I would hope you wouldn't lie to me." Scar joked earning a chuckle from Asher. "I really like talking to you." Asher voice turned more serious. "Yeah, you're pretty cool too." Scar smiled. "No Scarlett, I mean I really like talking to you and I-"

" You ready to go Scarlett?" Ethan's voice rang from behind Scar. She turned around to see Ethan in a change of clothes and no bag. He had on a dark green long sleeve much like the blue one he had on the other night. Scarlett thought back to that shirt and how you could see his muscles flex when he moved. He slid his hands into his dark grey jeans. "Oh um yeah. Thank you for dinner Asher. I'll see you Monday." Scar smiled as she got up and grabbed her bag. "You're welcome and yeah I'll see you Monday." Asher got up from his chair and shot her a smile as he watched her head over to Ethan. His eyes moved from Scarlett over to Ethan who was shooting him a glare. Asher swallowed hard as his eyes connected with Ethan.

[therhythmafterthesummer]

Is there any wr Chris Drabble that you can and want to share maybe perhaps

🙏🙏🙏🙏😭 * not in a pressuring way but in a I love this installment and can’t get enough way* feel free to ignore if not!

you know what??? sure! this is a fluffy one that i haven't had a reason to post, so i'll use this ask for that skdjfhskjdf

just fyi i've got a couple horny ones in the works, but they're still not complete 😭 so this is all i can offer for now. hope you enjoy~

Pairing: Werewolf!Chan x Human!F.Reader (one of the main pairings of my WereRoomies series. you don’t really need to read any other instalment to understand/enjoy this piece). | Word Count: ~1k | Themes & Warnings: fantasy/supernatural AU · fluff | established relationship | descriptors of the reader such as: being chubby · pet names · a bit suggestive, but it’s fairly tame · this is barely proof-read, so please bear with me

minors do not interact.

> Chris💕🐺: hey pretty > i know we said we were gonna go on a date tonight > but i dont think ill make it baby im sorry :(

< You: aw 🥺 < it’s ok darling < we can go out some other time

> Chris💕🐺: ill make it up to u > i promise

It wasn’t uncommon for your boyfriend to come home late at night. He’d always come through the door complaining about how they were behind on their sprint, or how one of his co-workers deleted hours worth of coding in a single click, or how the entire platform he worked on crashed and they needed to spend overtime fixing it… It worried you sometimes, but it’d become such a natural occurrence at this point it didn’t faze you anymore.

You felt like Chris didn’t even need to promise to make it up to you, you knew he would anyway, but you figured he always felt the need to set his words in stone. Sometimes he’d make it up to you the very next day, sometimes it took him weeks, but he always did, which you appreciated immensely.

By ten in the evening you just knew Chris wouldn’t be home before midnight. He always told you to not wait up for him, that you needed to rest, too. But you found it incredibly hard to fall asleep comfortably when he wasn’t there, so you’d either toss and turn for hours, or you’d drift in and out of sleep until he made it to your bed.

You vaguely registered the front door of your flat opening and closing, just like you vaguely registered the muffled sounds of your boyfriend’s steps around your home until you started to hear the shower. Stretching your limbs a bit, a tiny squeak left your mouth, and you reached for your phone to check the time.

One thirty in the morning.

With a sigh, you locked your phone again and turned to lay on your other side, bringing one of the extra pillows between your thighs for comfort.

You laid there for a while, waiting, until you heard the shower stop completely. You honestly expected your boyfriend to open the door to your bedroom right then, but instead, all you heard was silence. In normal circumstances, you would’ve let it go and gone back to sleep, but as it was, you really wanted to see him, so you got out of your shared bed, rubbing sleep from your eye with your fist as you opened the door and left the room.

Only the small lights on the kitchen were on, but they provided enough illumination to see Chris. He was sitting on the sofa, with his elbows on his thighs and his hands buried in his hair.

As soon as you walked closer, he looked up. With a small smile on his lips he gave you a “Why are you up?”

You yawned, shrugging.

“Sorry I woke you up, pretty”, Chris mumbled, taking a hold of your hand as soon as you were in front of him.

Shaking your head, you placed your free hand on Chris’ shoulder, pushing him just enough to lay back on the sofa so you could straddle him and comfortably settle on his lap. With his arms around your waist, he pulled you flush against him, just as you buried your face in the crook of his neck, mumbling a very sleepy ‘S’okay’ against his skin.

Burying one of your hands in his damp hair, you gently massaged his scalp while bringing an arm to rest on his shoulders so you could pull him close to you as well. Chris hummed, and you felt him relax under the soothing motions of your hand.

Over the years, you’d come to read your boyfriend’s body language quite well–or at least you liked to think so. When he was quiet like this, you could tell something was weighing heavy on his mind, so you’d made it a habit to ask. “Wanna talk about your day?”

Chris remained quiet for a moment, but he still moved his arms from around your waist to bring a hand under your shirt and rest it on the small of your back, while the other cradled the back of your head. After a few moments, he just shook his head, and you hummed in understanding.

You both stayed there like that, quietly enjoying your warmth for a while. Until you finally pulled away from his neck and cradled his face in your hands. Chris just leaned into your touch, closing his eyes and heaving a sigh.

He was clearly refreshed from his shower, but you could still see the bags under his eyes, and the small frown on his face. You knew it wasn’t directed at you–or at least you hoped so–it surely had to do with whatever happened at work, so your first instinct was to lean in and press a kiss right where his eyebrows furrowed.

A small smile spread on his face, and his frown seemed to have disappeared when you finally pulled back. With a smile of your own, you leaned in again to press a kiss on his forehead. Then his nose, each cheek, and finally, his lips. 

Chris’ lips moulded to yours, kissing you slowly, holding you even closer to him. He was so warm, and the feeling of his fingers caressing your lower back and the ones burying in your hair to angle your head to the side the tiniest bit was quickly igniting the flame of need deep within yourself.

After a few moments of kissing, you rolled your hips. You couldn’t help it, he was right there, touching you, existing, and your body just naturally reacted to him.

Chris tensed with the movement, and he immediately brought his hands to your hips to still your movement.

“Baby…” Chris pulled away from your lips with a sigh, an incredibly tired sigh. “I’m–I’m not…”

It was rare for Chris to not be in the mood for sex, but it did happen every once in a while, usually when he was not only incredibly exhausted, but also worried about something. So you simply smiled at him, dragging your thumbs over his cheeks as if to soothe him. “It’s okay, baby”. 

Chris sighed again, looking you in the eyes. His eyebrows were drawn together once again. “I’m sorry, pretty. I’ll make it up to–”

“Baby”, you interrupted him and squished his cheeks, forcing his lip into a pout. “It’s fine. You don’t have to make anything up to me”. 

“But–” 

“I’m serious”, you pecked his lips, and offered him a smile after. “Don’t go all toxic alpha on me now, hm? It’s literally fine, babe”. 

Chris chuckled, and he pulled you down for a brief kiss. “I love you”. 

“Love you, too”, you replied simply, relishing the way Chris’ body relaxed under you again. “Now… Sleep?”

Chris looked at you for a moment, mulling your words, until he eventually spoke. “I’d like to… kiss some more…” 

You leaned in, not quite pressing your lips to his yet, but close enough so every word made your lips brush against his. “How much more?” 

Chris held you tighter. “A lot more”. 

So you hummed, right as you finally connected your mouths in a deep kiss.

This was one of Chris’ moods sometimes. He’d just want to hold you, kiss you, rile you up with no real prospect of sex. And you’d lie if you said you didn’t enjoy it.

His plush lips against yours, his teeth tugging your flesh, his tongue brushing yours… Chris was an amazing kisser, and you could honestly spend hours just doing this. Hours of his hands roaming your back, of the satisfied hums and moans spilling from his mouth, of the wet sounds your motions produced. 

Of course it made you horny, of course it made him horny… You could feel his hardness under you, enticing you, but being honest, kissing felt just as satisfying regardless. You liked that you could have these moments with your boyfriend, where you could somewhat keep things intimate, but rather chaste–as much as french kissing a werewolf could be considered chaste…

“God, I missed you so much”, Chris mumbled, digging his fingers on the soft flesh of your waist, under your tee. 

“Me too, baby”, you mumbled back, barely even disconnecting your lips from his.

You couldn’t really tell how long you spent there, sitting on his lap and ravishing his mouth, but eventually, he pulled back, looking you in the eyes as he tucked a strand of hair behind your ears. 

His pupils were so deliciously blown, his lips all pink and plump, slick with your spit, and you were sure there was wetness making contact with your core, even with the thin fabric of his sleeping shorts separating your bodies.

“You’re so pretty”, Chris wrapped an arm around your waist, and he cupped your cheek with his free hand. “So pretty and mine. My pretty girlfriend…”

You chuckled, looking at his droopy eyes. “So are you, darling”. 

“Mmm…” Chris leaned in again, kissing you briefly. 

When he pulled back, you placed your hands on his bare shoulders. “Sleep?” 

Chris nodded. “Sleep. Hold on tight, baby”. 

As soon as you looped your arms around his neck, and with a firm hold on your thighs, Chris stood up from the sofa, taking you with him and walking languid steps to your bedroom, switching the kitchen lights off on the way. 

As soon as he stepped into your room, Chris gently placed you on your feet so you could take the few steps left to the bed.

He placed a quick kiss on your cheek once you were both tucked under the covers. He pulled you close to his body and laid his head on your chest, letting out a sigh of relief once you buried your fingers in his hair and started massaging his scalp.

It was silent for a while, until you started to hear–and feel–the barely audible rumble coming from your boyfriend’s chest. It brought a smile to your face, and, soon enough, you fell asleep as well.

© therhythmafterthesummer 2023. all rights reserved. do not repost or translate my stories.

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[gabessquishytum]

Hob's current lover is a rival of Dream's. They've been together for a while, but Hob has never met or even seen a picture of this endless/Endless?? rival. All Hob knows is that Morpheus is a bitch and a dick and always works to take from Hob's man. Hob "loves" his guy and thinks he's smart (enough), so this Morpheus must be the worst and super dangerous.

Listen, Hob is a "professional" (gun) moll. He has "dated" a succession of criminal and criminal adjacent men and women, trying never to get caught in the cross fire, but being the best whore for his current meal ticket - he goes to the parties, he looks hot, he keeps his mouth shut.

It's at one of these parties that Hob has a fun flirty conversation with a fascinatingly hot man who had been staring at him with intent all night. Hob's guy was off doing a "deal" somewhere in the back, so didn't see Hob talking/flirting with Dream, who kept his hand (his shiver inducing hand) on Hob's bare lower back. Dream didn't even seem to care when Hob told him who his lover was, he just had eyes for Hob. It was a close thing that they didn't wind up making out in a supply closet.

Dream knew exactly who he was putting the moves on. At least initially, it was another attempt at getting one over on that idiot rival, but Hob,,,,Hob is fantastic. Dream is going to keep him when he obliterates that rival.

Dream stealing Hob from his rival and then accidentally falling in love with him is VERY in character, shsjbamssnsk

Hob has spent years at this point being passed from one boss or gang leader to the next. And it's not a bad life but all these guys? They have wives at home. And although Hob is the one getting fucked and showered in diamonds and cocaine, he's starting to crave stability. It would be nice to have a man he could trust...

But hey, at least this world is still full of beautiful people. Hob has a fun night with Dream, just flirting and teasing. Knowing that he's not expected to get on his knees for the guy unless he genuinely desires that is also kind of nice.

Barely a week later, Hob’s life is significantly disrupted. A mini war breaks out and Hob’s lover loses badly enough that he ends up dead. Hob is honestly worried for his own life, as he holes himself up in his suite and waits for the aftermath. He's half expecting to have a gun pressed against the back of his head.

But when the door comes crashing in, it's Dream and his men. Come to rescue Hob, or so they say. Dream doesn't mention that he's responsible for Hob’s patron's death, only that he wants to make sure that Hob is safe.

Dream doesn't have a wife, and he doesn't drop Hob off in some penthouse to be used later. He brings Hob right back home. They have dinner. Dream shows Hob to the guest room. There are beautiful clothes for Hob, all in his size. Not just lingerie, but nice dresses and coats and suits. A proper wardrobe.

Hob doesn't last one night before hes crawling out of his own bed and into Dream’s. Of course, this could be a total disaster. But at least Hob is finally feeling something like the very first tinglings of love...

[gumnut-logic]

Lego Volcano (Part 1)

This fic was the result of several Thunderfam members in this post.

Those responsible include @sailing-on-a-puddle @idontknowreallywhy @womble1 and @alexthefly amongst others as they bantered while I was working my Thursday night late.

This was a thank you fic for the entertainment, written sometime before midnight Thursday night after work. I posted it originally in that thread, but thought I would repost it to its own post so it is easier to find because I have now written a Sweetapple sequel, which I will post shortly.

This one has been tidied up just a little as I didn't even reread it before posting on Thursday. Many thanks to all of you for being so kind and fun and supporting me through a three hour desk shift after an eight hour day.

Also hugs to @onereyofstarlight for the read through and sanity check :D

Warnings for sickfic and sick!Virgil.

I hope you enjoy :D

-o-o-o-

Virgil yawned and did his best not to choke on his own lungs.

His throat was as clogged up as his face and his head was throbbing, both from lack of sleep and the stupid flu he had picked up from probably London, in the sewers, no less.

Stupid uniform had stupid torn and diluted excrement had soaked his stupid undershirt. The smell had him dry heaving and as soon as they located the children who had caused the callout and made sure they were all safe and getting the attention they needed, Virgil had drowned himself in the heavy duty shower on Two…which he also had to clean when he finally made it home.

But the damage had been done and three days later, the first signs of the lurgy from hell had made itself known.

It turned out to be a bad flu, which wasn’t fun in the slightest, but considering what else he could have caught from raw sewage, the flu was on the preferred list.

But it was still a flu with all the horrid symptoms. At this point all the mucus in his body was residing in his head and he was in the process of developing a sinus infection that throbbed horribly with every single hacking cough.

Sleep was something he desperately needed, but couldn’t attain, and consequently his brain was not functioning anywhere near a conscious capacity.

Right now, all he knew was that he needed a drink, so he was staggering down to the kitchen to get one.

The house was dark and he was happy about that. He felt no need to stab his already aching eyeballs with light. He knew the house; the dark was calming and safe.

He made it down the kitchen stairs, to the sink, and the water hitting the back of his throat was the best thing that had ever happened to him. He took another and splashed his face with the cool liquid.

God, that felt good.

Of course, his lungs couldn’t have that, so he was again coughing. He staggered against the breakfast bar, trying to draw in breath.

Eventually he was able to gasp enough to keep himself alive. It felt overly dramatic, but considering the pounding in his head, he felt he deserved a little self pity.

Okay, drink taken, most of it had managed to stay down…now back to his bedroom.

He groaned internally. He did not want to go back to his room. He had been staring at the ceiling for hours. Being exhausted and not able to sleep was a unique kind of torture.

But honestly, wandering around the house was not recommended. Grandma would roast him - he was supposed to be in bed.

It was an image of his grandmother that drove him to climb back up the kitchen stairs to the comms room.

Apparently, there was no moon tonight. Virgil tried to recall what the date was but his brain refused to oblige.

In any case, it was dark with starlight interrupted by cloud the only light making it through the rafters. Just enough to vaguely outline the shadows in the room.

A vague idea of maybe crashing on the couch and staring up at those stars had Virgil taking a few steps into the room rather than towards the elevator. Perhaps he could open the balcony doors and breathe some fresh air.

His bare feet padded softly towards the door mechanism.

A press of a button and the massive glass panes smoothly separated, both retracting into the floor as the doors quietly opened.

The breeze that blew in was pure and fresh Tracy Island. Not that he could smell it, his nose was a snotty mess clogged all the way up to his hairline, but the breeze touched his too warm skin and, oh, that was so nice.

He moved closer to the centre of the doorway, listening to the sounds of his home, the rumble of distant surf, the rustle of leaves…his shoulders relaxed, ill muscles slowly unwinding.

Yes, he would curl up on the couch, stare at the stars, and relax into the breeze.

He took a step towards the sunken lounge and his foot came down on something sharp.

He gasped and stumbled, desperate to remove the source of the pain under his foot, only to catch something stabbing his other foot.

Ow!

The floor was suddenly covered in sharp and painful objects he could not see. No matter where he tried to put his feet, there was something, something that hurt and slid on the wooden floor.

He stumbled and his feet slipped out from under him, throwing him to the pain-filled floor with a yelp. He crashed into something that shattered beneath his shoulder in a cascade of hard pieces and he finally came to a stop on his back with a multitude of sharp shapes stabbing him.

He groaned.

Everything hurt.

Breath struggled in through his teeth.

He lay there, ignoring the stabbing in his back and limbs, not entirely confident he would be able to get up.

Then bright white completed the injuries as someone turned on the lights.

“Virgil!”

Eyes clenched shut, his sinuses and brain dancing the tarantella somewhere behind his eyes, Virgil didn’t answer his big brother.

The clatter of objects being kicked out of the way and Scott was beside him, his hand landing gently on his chest. “Virgil? Are you okay?”

Virgil kept his eyes closed, dumping an arm across his face to keep all the light out.

“Talk to me, Virgil.” A touch of Commander added steel to the big brother worry.

“Kill me now.”

A soft snort was his answer.

“Why are you bathing in Lego?”

“Wha-?” He opened his eyes blinking tears away and forcing himself to focus.

A literal mountain of Lego sat beside him. Its shape was an eerily familiar Tracy Island…minus the villa and some of the rocks around the caldera…which had apparently joined the Virgil stabbing party when he fell on it.

“C’mon, let’s get you up.”

Virgil was still staring at the Lego version of the Island. Wha-?

Scott wrapped an arm around his shoulders and levered Virgil into a sitting position.

Ow, now he was being stabbed even more in the butt.

He scrambled awkwardly onto his feet, everything complaining as he stared down at the mass of scattered Lego.

Scott didn’t let go of him.

“Who made this?”

“Gordon and Alan. It was meant to be a surprise.”

“Oh.”

“Yes, oh.”

“I’ve broken it.”

“You have.” Scott sighed. “But it is Lego, it can be rebuilt. You, on the other hand, need to go back to bed.”

Virgil grunted, but was betrayed by his body as it swayed in Scott’s grip.

“Or better yet, the infirmary.”

“God, no. I’m f-“ He gasped and then sneezed, his head screaming.

“Ow.”

Scott sighed again. “Let me check you over and…” He frowned down at Virgil. “…attend to your Lego injuries.” There was enough smirk in the concern to be brotherly evil.

Virgil managed to mumble a protest, but he was more than tired and leant into his brother’s half hug, resting his head on Scott’s shoulder.

“C’mon, little brother.”

Virgil groaned. Scott only called him ‘little brother’ when he was worried and wanted to get his way. Mostly because it worked every time.

A soft snort and Scott was leading him out of Lego hell and walking him to the infirmary.

Virgil may have fallen asleep on Scott’s shoulder at some point.

But he was beyond caring.

And Scott was, as always, doing enough for the both of them.

-o-o-o-

Next

[krirebr]

A Cornucopia for You!

Curtis Everett; Secret dating, hurt/comfort; omegaverse; angst

If it were a normal day at the country club, you would’ve been sitting by the pool, a drink in hand, just soaking up the sun. The image of bliss, pleasure, with an air around you that sat somewhere around carefree, but those feelings were long gone.

Instead, you sat against the cold tile wall in one of the private showers, your knees tucked up to your chest, as you tried your best to let the running water mask your sniffles.

Three months ago, you had met Curtis, one of the new valets working at the club to make a little extra money as he finished up trade school. He was kind, intelligent, but also so much more. An alpha, but one with low status that your parents would never stand for.

Over time, polite smiles and thank yous became small conversations, lingering touches, long walks back to your car. You were slowly falling in love with him- no. More than falling. It had already happened, but it came crashing down with the return of your parents from their long vacation.

They had met you at the club for lunch, your mother already on her third mimosa and your father likely beyond that from their private jet ride home from whatever Mediterranean country they had visited this time. For the last few months you’d been free and you had been hoping that’s the way it would stay. Between her first and second salad course, though, your mother spoke up after sniffing the air.

“Honey, is that a new perfume on you? You know you don’t need that. The right, powerful alpha will be drawn to your natural omega scent. Like your father was to me.”

She smiled at him as he looked off elsewhere, hardly in the conversation besides a one-off slur of, “Yes, an alpha with standing. Very good.”

Your heart was racing because you knew exactly what they were referencing in your scent, and it wasn’t perfume by any means, the low notes of leather still lingering in your nose.

From that point on, you had made sure to shower several times before visits with your parents, hoping the entire situation would leave their minds, until one day, Curtis was called to fill in as one of the servers. You had no idea.

As you were sitting on a chair reading, remaining cordial as you could with your mother, Curtis arrived with a daiquiri for her on his tray. Her nose went off again and she sat up in her chair, lowering her sunglasses. There was nothing scarier when it came to her than silence. Her cutting gaze shifted between the two of you.

“Your father will not be pleased.”

It all happened so quickly. You were chewed out by your parents, the manager was involved, Curtis was fired, and you ran away all in a blur. As you continued to sob into your arms, there was a knock on the shower door, likely one of the waitresses you were friendly with.

“Go away, Monica.”

There was no response except the door opening with a light creak. You could sense him, Curtis. As you finally tore your eyes from their hiding place, you looked up at him and he could see how bloodshot they were. All you could do was profusely apologize.

“Curtis, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to do. I knew they’d be upset, but I didn’t think they’d freak out like that. I tried so hard. To keep you away from them, I’ve been showering three times everyday just so that they weren’t suspicious of you, but-but…”

Curtis didn’t bother turning off the shower. He figured the two of you needed all the privacy you could afford after that uncomfortably public blow-up.

Joining you under the water, his hand gently found your cheek and he pressed his forehead against yours.

“Hey, hey. It’s alright. We’ll figure it out. I’m almost done with school. We can go wherever you want, if that’s what you want. I promise to take care of you forever, okay?”

You sniffled again as you scooted in closer to him, letting his warmth and scent calm you. “Okay.”

Oh my god, Essie!! This is just. It's so much! It's so good!!

Poor Curtis! Poor Omega! Run away together and be happy together forever. Never see the parents again! Please!

Seriously, this is exactly what I wanted! It ripped my heart right out in the very best way. 💔😭 I loved it. Thank you!!

[flowingivy]

Cut by Thorns

CW- domestic violence, swearing, slight graphic description.

Chapter 1

"GET THE FUCK OUT NOW." You screamed at the tall man, who was previously hitting and yelling at you. "ITS ALL YOUR FAULT Y/N" the loud crash of plates being thrown against wall echoed threw the apartment. You were finally able to shove the big man out of the apartment and locked the door. "IF YOU DONT LEAVE ILL CALL THE FUCKING COPS." Silence for the first time in multiple hours. Silence.

Noise dripping with blood caused by the man you called for boyfriend for almost a year. Things started off really good. He was sweet, took you out of dates. Made sure you were always happy. On a normal day, he was in the shower and his phone buzzed on the bed. That day everything fell apart. Cheater. Lier. Fake.

After finding out that he had been cheating on you for a large portion of your relationship, he got violent, but it wasn't ever physical until now. Sitting on the floor, crying your heart out. The man you once knew was gone. Stomping to the bedroom you shared just earlier that day. You grabbed a trash bag and threw all his shit into it. Rushing to the balcony and throwing it all off the third story of the building.

You called your closest friend. The girl you've been close with for years. The only one who has never done you wrong. Your ride or die. Kate. She has always been protective over you. Never wanted to leave your side. When you met the girl she was drunk at the bar. Complaining about work and the large amount of men she lived with. You took her home and made sure she was safe. Sometimes friends come when you least expect it.

After that night, Kate would come over every single Friday and have what you both liked to call a girls night. A glass of wine and talking about how shitty work has been. Along with her frequently bring up the men she worked with. Which Kate also lived with. Not knowing what she did for work. You tried to be as supportive as possible. Kate always hated your now ex boyfriend. In her words he was a free loader so once she heard about the series of events of just minutes ago.

She was livid and angry. You're the one person she genuinely cared for as a person. Well on the phone with the furious women. You heard her talk to someone. Probably her roommates. "hey y/n? Is it okay if I go for about half an hour?. I'll be over as soon as I can. Just text me if he comes back okay?" You whip the tears from your eyes "yeah that's okay. I'm gonna go take a shower. Just come in when you get here." The phone hangs up.

You go back to the room and grab a pair of men's stripped boxers and a large black shirt. Turning the water on to the hottest setting and wait for it to heat up. You turn on your favorite music and start to wash up. Getting all the crimson blood off your face and hands.

Knock knock.

You hop out of the shower, throw on your large clothes, and walk to the door of your very spacious apartment. Opening the door, you were met with four faces. Three you have never seen before. Kate immediately hugged you and grabbed your shoulders tight. "Oh my god. Y/n your face is so bruises." You flinch at the sudden touch. "Kate, who are these guys?" You say in a soft tone, always sounding scared.

"Oh yeah! This is Brian" pointing to a tall blonde man with slight stubble and a bright yellow hoodie and ripped jeans. "This is Tim" Kate pointed to a built man with side burns and a red flannel. "Last but not least, toby." Lastly pointing to a shorter boy but still taller then you. He had a black face mask on and a black turtle neck. "These are my roommate I've always told you about. They offered to give me a ride" You wave at the boys and smiled a bit. "The place it fucking trashed." You say with a bit of embarrassment.

"These pigs are probably worse." Kate jokingly rolls her eyes."fuck you." Toby thought he was quiet but kate had elbowed him in the side. Which he couldnt feel but got the hint. "Can we come in? I'll help you clean up y/n. " You move out of the way. Unveiling the trashed apartment. Glass all over the floor. The coffee table in the living room flipped over. "Oh god." Tim said under his breath, trying not to make y/n feel bad. "One person did this? Jesus." Brian said, looking towards you with concern written all over his face. What she went threw. None of them wished upon anyone. Ever.

Kate went under the sink and grabbed a trash bag. Picking up large pieces of glass and trash that was thrown around. "Kate, please, you don't have to.." You say with guilt in your voice. "Hey, hey, it's okay. You should just relax for right now. I'll make sure this place looks untouched when I'm done. After we can even go get food." Kate smiled slightly at you, trying to cheer you up.

"Fine.. but I'm paying for food. For all of us." You smiled back at the girl. Tim helping get trash off the floor. Toby whipped down the counter that had spilled pop on it. Kate now with a broom getting the rest of the glass. "Go get dressed so you don't look homeless!" Kate said in a joking tone. "Ok, mom," you giggled back. Walking to your room. Flipping on the light switch. You heard talking in the kitchen/ living room (they are connected). Not being able to understand what was being said, you got dressed into a pair of oversized ripped jeans. Along with a large black hoodie that had a large picture of Medusa on the back.

Walking out of the bedroom, you saw a fully clean apartment. It looked like your ex-boyfriend wasn't even there. It felt great. Being with Kate and the boys you just met. Felt comfortable, like as along as you had Kate. Nothing bad was going to happen to you. The men made you feel like they would have your back as long as Kate cared for you. As you walked to get your shoes. You felt three pairs of eyes on you. Watching your every move. You could get comfortable with not getting treated like shit by a man all the time. You could get used to having a man genuinely care about you as a person. Not an object.

"Are you ready to go y/n?"

A/N- this is my first book ever. I would love to hear suggestions🙏 next chapter will be out soon.

[sunnyvelvet]

Bad Nights Turn Into Special Mornings (Hayley Williams x fem!reader) (gxg)

A/N: Here is another old imagine of mine. Requests are open. Enjoy!

W.C. 802

Wattpad

Hayley's Journal Enter

(Y/N) has been going out a lot lately. I'm kinda worried about it because she's hanging out with Sam again. I've always tried to support (Y/N) and the choices she makes but I just can't this time. I worried that Sam will take (Y/N) away for me again. I love (Y/N) with all my heart but I can't bear the thought that she's hanging out with that girl. Sam's so nasty. Every time (Y/N) invites me to come out with her (because everyone else is bringing a date) she's always being real touchy-feely with (Y/N). I got to a point that I don't go when I'm invited. I just stay home with Alf. I'm going to tell (Y/N) about this when she comes home.

(Y/N)'s POV I was at this new club that Sam dragged me to. I honestly wasn't enjoying myself what so ever. Sam was hounding me to drink the shot she bought me. I was not having it though, "I'm not downing that shot!" I yelled over the music. I honestly just wanted to go home. It was fun the first few times but after going out every weekend for a month your girl was tired. "I'm going home," I said to Sam, "Why? Aren't you having fun?" "Honestly, no. " I said walking past her to the door.

At Home

I walked in the door expecting Alf to run up to me. He always waits for me to get home. He didn't this time. "He must have fallen asleep," I thought. I walked to the kitchen, desperate for some kind of drink. I grabbed a bottle of water and headed up the stairs to change. As I walked into Hayley and I's bedroom I saw that she wasn't in bed. "Probably with some friends", I thought. I changed and sat on the bed. I texted Hayley as I took a drink of my water. Simply texting "When did you become a social butterfly? Get home safe." I decided to go to bed. I couldn't wait to see my love in the morning.

The Morning

I heard a big crash downstairs, it woke me up suddenly. I frantically ran downstairs to make sure Hayley hadn't tripped over her feet again. We don't need to go to the Emergency Room today! As I got downstairs I see Hayley picking up a pan from the floor. "She's making breakfast?" I thought. "Is everything okay?" I asked. I was scared of her answer. "Yeah, everything is fine. Go back to bed." Hayley said sternly. "Okay?" That's all I said before I walked upstairs. I wonder what's wrong with her? She probably had a bad night. I walked to the bathroom to take a shower, I'm up might as well stay up.

Hayley's POV I can't believe her! She thinks she can just waltz her way into this kitchen like last night didn't happen. She knows how much I dislike Sam. I can't do this anymore, I'm going to finish breakfast and I have to talk to (Y/N).

30 minutes later

(Y/N) had just gotten out of the shower and dried her hair. She's walking down the stairs, this is your chance. "(Y/N), we need to talk," I said confidently. I knew this wasn't going to go well but I had to do it. "Hayley, what is it? Are you okay?" (Y/N) sounded so concerned in that moment. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just really need to ask you something." I said, my voice starting to shack a little. "Go own Hayley." (Y/N) encouraged. She knew I was getting nervous. I walked in front of her, getting on one knee. "(Y/N) I know you hate sappy shit so this is going to be straightforward." I could see (Y/N) eyes start to tear up a bit. "(Y/N) will you marry me?" It was probably the worst and best question I could ask her at this moment, in this time of our life. I had no idea how she would respond if she would even say yes. All I knew was that it was right for me, that's all that mattered. "Yes." (Y/N) whispered. She whispered it like it was our little secret. We were each other secrets for a long time. Small dates at are homes. Never really going out. No PDA, nothing. It was just something we knew, and are friends. That's how we liked it. I felt like it was time to take that little secret a little farther. She repeated "yes" over and over till she on her knees with me. We hugged and laid on our kitchen floor. Knowing that this was the end of one thing and the beginning of another. I will forever love (Y/N). She will forever be mine. And she will forever be my muse.

[ibijau]

Fake dating to real Marriage pt6 / On AO3

in which lxc is not at all struggling with feelings for the guy who only fake dated him as revenge against their ex :)

Nie Mingjue arrived while Nie Huaisang was still in the shower, and immediately shoved a little velvet box into Lan Xichen's hand. 

"Hide it well," he said with a wide grin. "If he sees it, it's over."

Lan Xichen nodded and put away the small box, tucked away somewhere he was confident Nie Huaisang wouldn’t have reason to snoop.

“How are things, now that he’s back?” Nie Mingjue asked.

“I’m not sure,” Lan Xichen confessed, glancing toward the bathroom. “It’s almost like normal, but… not quite. It just feels off.”

Things had certainly felt tense when Nie Huaisang had arrived home the previous night, but they had hardly spoken then. After travelling and working so much, Huaisang had barely managed to eat a few biscuits before crashing on the sofa and passing out for twelve hours. In the morning they’d had breakfast together, as they had been doing every day since they'd started living together, but Huaisang had been less chatty, and Xichen less attentive to what little was shared about that week-long adventure with Wei Wuxian, too preoccupied with his plans for the afternoon. Nie Huaisang must have felt something was wrong and he’d started asking who was coming and whether Lan Xichen would really not give him any hints about Nie Mingjue’s big announcement.

It had taken all of Lan Xichen’s self control not to point out that Nie Huaisang was supposed to always guess these things. He hadn’t wanted to risk an argument.

“Can you at least tell me who’s coming?” Nie Huaisang had insisted, trying to sound playful as he spread too much jam on a toast.

“Just the usual. Wangji, Wuxian, Jiang Cheng... not Yanli though. Something came up last minute, but she’s sending Zixuan.”

Nie Huaisang had nodded wisely, and bitten half his toast.

“She’s probably pregnant and getting it checked formally,” he had said. “She’ll want to surprise Zixuan about it, da-ge offered the perfect distraction. That explains why she’s refused to go dress shopping with ChengCheng… she’ll be so pregnant at the wedding if they keep the current date, she’ll need a special dress. And she’ll…” He had paused then and looked at Lan Xichen who had been staring while he explained his theory. “Well, at least it’s one possibility,” Huaisang had quickly muttered, before shoving the rest of his toast in his mouth.

He’d excused himself from the kitchen after that, and found ways to avoid Lan Xichen until the need to get ready gave him a good excuse to lock himself in the bathroom.

“Maybe this is a bad idea after all,” Lan Xichen told Nie Mingjue. “I should just end things and let him get his life back.”

“And let him win?” Nie Mingjue protested. “You can’t let him win!”

Lan Xichen’s lips contorted into a half smile. Huaisang had said pretty much the same thing to convince him to give in to his fake dating plans, some months before. He’d given in then, and he gave in again that day. Mostly out of amusement that the two half brothers really were more alike than people realised, but also because he just wasn't ready to lose Nie Huaisang yet, and everything that could prolong their time together was welcome.

“If this goes wrong, you’ll have to take responsibility,” he warned Mingjue.

“It’s fine, as long as I get his shocked face on camera. I’m going to film it all and replay it to myself next time he tries to predict everything going on in my life.”

Nie Mingjue beamed at the thought, enough so that Lan Xichen found himself laughing, his scruples assuaged once more.

To avoid being overheard by Nie Huaisang if he finished getting ready faster than usual, they dropped the topic of their little joke to instead chat about safer things. They were busy speculating about whether Lan Wangji might soon try again to communicate to Wei Wuxian that he was romantically interested in him, when at last Nie Huaisang left the bathroom.

“Da-ge, you’re here early!” he exclaimed, running to force a hug on his brother who didn’t protest. “And why are you here anyway? Hm? Won’t you tell me? Doesn’t the world's best didi deserve to hear it before everyone else?”

“I’m sure he does,” Nie Mingjue replied, “but I’m also sure Wangji won’t mind waiting to hear it at the same time as everyone else.”

Nie Huaisang stuck out his tong at his brother, and dramatically ended the hug before taking a step back to show off his outfit.

“Can you at least tell me if I’m dressed appropriately?” he asked. “It’s so hard to pick something when I have no idea at all that you’ve been promised a promotion this year, you know?”

Nie Mingjue grinned and after a cursory glance assured him that he looked fine for the occasion, while Lan Xichen…

Lan Xichen stared.

Nie Huaisang was handsome, he knew it well. Even just after waking up he was handsome. Even after pulling an all-nighter, when his eyes were bloodshot and his hands trembled from exhaustion. Nie Huaisang always looked good. But when he put in the effort, when he tied his hair and put on his best clothes, Nie Huaisang was breathtaking. 

He had definitely made an effort that afternoon.

His hair was done in a half ponytail, and he'd put on a hint of make up, some dark eyeliner and a touch of gold at the corner of his eyes. He had put on tight jeans and a dark green tank top under a transparent tulle shirt decorated with colourful birds and flowers. 

Lan Xichen couldn't stop staring. 

If any of this had been real, if Nie Huaisang and him had been in love, Lan Xichen would have cancelled their plans just so he could drag Nie Huaisang in bed and see what he'd look like wearing only that transparent shirt, find out how warm his skin was under, what sort of noise he’d make when…

"Yeah, I'd say Xichen likes it," Nie Mingjue remarked, with the same grin on his face as when he'd given Lan Xichen the ring.

Lan Xichen's face heated up, embarrassed to have been caught staring. It was made worse by the oddly smug grin on Nie Mingjue's face, by the spot of red that had appeared on Nie Huaisang’s cheek. He must have been pleased with having such an effect, nothing more.

Because the universe was not without mercy, the intercom chose that moment to ring, offering Lan Xichen a chance to retreat with some dignity so he could pretend none of that had happened. Jiang Cheng was the first to arrive, because he always was, but Zixuan joined them soon after. Lan Xichen offered them drinks and all five of them chatted for a while, knowing that Wei Wuxian would be late if Lan Wangji dropped by his place to pick him up, and later still if Lan Wangji didn’t. At least that gave Jiang Cheng and Jin Zixuan a chance to be in each other’s presence without Wei Wuxian, and to Lan Xichen’s surprise they were perfectly civil, though not warm by any means. Planning for a wedding together must have given them the common ground they'd always desperately needed.

It took half an hour for Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji to finally arrive, and naturally they showed up together, with an improbable story to explain why Wei Wuxian had been delayed this time. The story was heard and commented on for a while, as always. Then, when that had lost its novelty, everyone started looking expectantly at Nie Mingjue, waiting for him to make his announcement so they could have something to celebrate.

“I’ll go grab some ice cubes,” Lan Xichen announced, and quickly got up.

He went to the kitchen for the sake of keeping the illusion and even opened the freezer, but took nothing from it. Instead he retrieved the little velvet box Nie Mingjue had given him, walked back to the living room and without warning, dropped on one knee in front of Nie Huaisang. 

“Huaisang, I have a question for you,” Lan Xichen said, ignoring the gasps both shocked and excited of their friends. “I know it might seem fast, but… I know this is the right choice. Since the moment we've started dating my life has been changed, all for the better. Our time together is the happiest I’ve ever been, and I don’t want it to end. Will you marry me?”

For a split second, Nie Huaisang's expression turned into something hopeful, his eyes wide and shiny, his cheeks flushed. It looked sincere, for lack of a better word. Lan Xichen couldn't remember when he'd seen such an earnest expression on the other man, but he liked it. To see a crack in Nie Huaisang’s careful mask made him wish once again that this was all real, that they were in love and thinking of marriage, that happiness was something achievable for both of them. 

But Lan Xichen opened the box, and Nie Huaisang saw the ring inside it. He recognised it, of course, and must have understood that it meant none of this was real. Any trace of vulnerability vanished, replaced by an elated smile that would look perfect on the video Nie Mingjue was filming.

“Xichen… of course I will!” Nie Huaisang cried out as he let himself fall into Lan Xichen’s arms with a genuineness so perfectly imitated that it was sure to fool anyone who hadn’t been his accomplice in a con. Even Lan Xichen himself was almost fooled when Nie Huaisang kissed him with more passion than he usually did, but he must have wanted to convince the others that his emotions were genuine.

Once the initial surprise had faded, everyone rushed to congratulate them, and to assure them that they made a great couple, that they were so happy for them. It quickly got awkward for Lan Xichen, though Nie Huaisang soaked up the attention the same way he always did, and looked the perfect picture of happiness.

Nie Huaisang laughed it up when Wei Wuxian remarked he’d never have expected him to be capable of settling down, and he laughed when Nie Mingjue asked if that meant he could start turning his old room into an office now. For someone who was meant to be the butt of the joke, he was holding on better than Lan Xichen, who didn’t quite know what to say when Jiang Cheng asked if they had a date in mind, or when Jin Zixuan suggested they could trade tips and addresses.

"And if you throw a bouquet, aim at Wei Wuxian’s face," Jin Zixuan requested. "If he catches it, maybe your brother will finally have the guts to make a move."

"Some people like to wait for the right moment to confess their feelings," Lan Xichen replied, though he grinned when he saw his brother closely watching Wei Wuxian, as always. "There's nothing wrong with taking your time." 

"Of course you'd say that, in your situation," Jin Zixuan grumbled. “Huaisang and you were just as bad.”

That remark surprised Lan Xichen, but before he what was meant by that, Jin Zixuan's phone buzzed. He urgently isolated himself to take the call. When he returned he was grinning from ear to ear, and announced that he had to leave to go deal with something. 

Maybe Nie Huaisang was right about Jiang Yanli being pregnant. 

Almost right after Jin Zixuan left, Nie Mingjue too had to go when he was asked to go to work to cover someone else’s shift in a pinch. With him gone, the others too started talking of heading home. Lan Xichen half wished he could have convinced at least one of them to stay, just so he wouldn’t find himself alone with Nie Huaisang. But Lan Wangji had apparently just agreed to follow Wei Wuxian on one of his impromptu adventures, and Jiang Cheng explicitly stated he had no interest in being anyone’s third wheel.

When the door closed on the last of their guests, Lan Xichen returned to the living room where Nie Huaisang was waiting. He was lazily picking up everything that needed to be cleaned, but stopped and burst out laughing when Lan Xichen came in.

“Well, you did it!” he said. “You managed to surprise me, congratulations! And I guess you got Da-ge to help, right? I can’t believe you two teamed up against me!”

“I wasn’t sure it’d work,” Lan Xichen replied, a little taken aback that Nie Huaisang was taking things so well. “After all, you always know what everyone is going to do, so I figured you must have expected I’d try something.”

Nie Huaisang laughed again. “I did. I thought you’d just announce we had broken up and let me adjust my acting to that,” he said with a shrug. “It would have made more sense. Something like this… well, that was a good prank, that’s certain! But you didn’t really think about what comes after, eh?”

In fact, Lan Xichen had thought a lot about what might come after. He’d thought, mostly, that Nie Huaisang would be upset about that little joke, angry enough to put an end to this comedy they’d been playing. He’d never agreed to something as involved as a fake engagement, and his behaviour in the past week seemed to indicate he wasn’t inclined to waste time with Lan Xichen anymore.

Lan Xichen had planned for an argument, and maybe the loss of a friendship he’d come to value dearly. It would have hurt, but it might also have helped him get over that ridiculous crush he'd developed lately.

Having prepared for anger, he wasn’t quite sure how to react to Nie Huaisang taking things in stride.

“It’s going to be so hard for you to break up with me now,” Nie Huaisang clarified with a grin. “You looked so emotional, I would totally have fallen for it, if I hadn’t known better! It’s going to be so hard, selling the idea that you just changed your mind!”

Lan Xichen hadn’t thought he’d been particularly emotional in his proposal. He’d kept things simple on purpose and tried to just keep things sincere regarding how he'd felt about their time together. The proposal would probably have felt a little dry without Nie Huaisang’s enthusiastic reaction.

Nie Huaisang, who had looked so hopeful until the moment he’d recognised the ring, and realised it was just a joke.

“Really, we’ll have to be super clever to convince everyone,” Nie Huaisang said. “Well, planning a wedding is stressful, or maybe I can take on more work and you decide you can’t handle my lifestyle after all, or… Xichen-ge, are you even listening?”

“Hm.”

“Then help me out!” Nie Huaisang demanded with a frustrated chuckle. “You’ve put us in this situation, help me figure out how you’ll break up with me!”

“No.”

Nie Huaisang blinked a few times.

“No? What do you mean, no?”

“I mean I don’t want to break up with you,” Lan Xichen said.

He hadn’t lied when he’d proposed. His time with Nie Huaisang had been… unbelievably happy. Not just in contrast to the misery that had been his relationship with Meng Yao toward the end, but even compared to his early days with Meng Yao, or to any other period of his life.

Nie Huaisang made him happy in so many ways and Lan Xichen could not, would not pretend that it wasn’t the case.

He wasn’t sure how to explain it, nor if it mattered that he felt that way. For Nie Huaisang it had never been more than a way to get revenge on Meng Yao, so why should he care that for Lan Xichen it had become so much more?

“Xichen, I’ve already told you why I can’t be the one breaking up,” Nie Huaisang protested, still smiling but without much joy. “It’s too unbelievable. Who would ever believe that I get to date you, and now be engaged to you, and I would choose to throw it away? Please, let’s be realistic here, you’ll have to be the bad guy in this, sorry.”

“Wei Wuxian has been joking since day one that you can’t last in something serious,” Lan Xichen retorted, feeling disappointed that Nie Huaisang only cared who’d be blamed for things ending between them, instead of being curious why Lan Xichen wasn't cooperating. “In fact, everyone keeps being surprised you changed your stance on dating, so they’d probably accept it if you decided relationships aren’t for you after all.”

Caught by surprise by that argument, Nie Huaisang glared, his cheeks quickly turning red. He looked so embarrassed that Lan Xichen almost felt guilty, though he wasn’t sure why. He’d said nothing that wasn’t true.

“It’s different,” Nie Huaisang grumbled, almost pouting as he pushed a strand of hair behind his ear. “You’re different. Nobody would believe I’d leave you, trust me. And what does Wei Wuxian know about dating, anyway?” he added, a little more confidently. “Your brother has tried asking him out three times already, and that idiot still thinks they’re just friends who hang out a lot! Wei Wuxian wouldn’t know someone’s in love with them even if they made a public proposal, so his opinion is irrelevant.”

“You may think that, but I think he has a point,” Lan Xichen countered, “and so I won’t break up with you. If you want to get rid of me, do it yourself.”

“Xichen-ge, you can’t start dating again while people think we’re engaged,” Nie Huaisang pointed out as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Have you considered that?”

“I’ve considered it. I still don't want to break up with you.”

Hearing this had a greater effect than Lan Xichen had expected. Nie Huaisang’s mouth went slack with surprise, giving him something of a pitiful air that made Lan Xichen’s heart hurt. If they had been truly dating, if Nie Huaisang had been his partner, Lan Xichen couldn’t have borne to see him like that. He’d have pulled him in his arms and kissed him until Nie Huaisang stopped looking so miserable.

Even with things being what they were, the temptation was there.

Without really thinking Lan Xichen took a step closer. If he dared to touch Nie Huaisang, if he could find the courage to tell him that none of this needed to be fake, that he wanted to give things between them the chance to be more than a mere comedy…

But before Lan Xichen could find the right words, Nie Huaisang had recovered from that moment of weakness and was laughing again.

"Xichen-ge, if you're going to be like that, let's at least have some fun with it,” Nie Huaisang suggested with a smile too sharp to look truly amused. “You think I should be the one breaking up. I think it should be you. So…let’s both be trying to push the other to take the plunge! And how's this: whoever breaks up with the other will have to treat the other to a spa day."

"You want to bet on this?"

"I've bet on worse," Nie Huaisang said with a grin that looked even more forced now. “And I always win.”

That was something Lan Xichen was somewhat aware of. Nie Mingjue had warned him a few times against ever betting with his brother. And Lan Wangji had more than once told stories of Wei Wuxian foolishly letting himself bet against Nie Huaisang, which never ended well because neither of them liked losing.  It always got them into improbably situations, until either Wei Wuxian lost or he found ways to render the bet void.

It was true that Nie Huaisang never bet unless victory was certain.

But not so long ago he’d been equally sure that nobody could ever surprise him, hadn’t he? And Lan Xichen, desperate to keep Nie Huaisang close a little longer, even when it was clear that Nie Huaisang was not interested in a romantic relationship, decided that he'd made enough stupid decision to allow himself one more.

“Fine, let’s do this,” Lan Xichen said, holding out his hand. "It'll be interesting, seeing you lose for once."

Nie Huaisang took his hand and shook it, laughing again. 

"You managed to get me this time, but don't get overconfident!" he teasingly scolded. "Wait until you see what I'm capable of. Oh you’ll be getting rid of me so quick!"

It was no small threat, considering what Nie Mingjue had said about what his brother could do when he wanted to get out of something he didn’t like.

But it would be good for Lan Xichen, too. Once he saw how much Nie Huaisang was fighting to get out of their fake relationship, he could stop clinging to a man who didn’t like him.

[tinymoonrider]

Out of Time

Summary: You are a barista at a local coffee shop just trying to get by. Hopefully things get better for you soon.   Warnings: Blood, graphic depictions of death, yandere, creepy, break in, weird notes/letters, obsession, toxic love, unrealistic love The main character is gender neutral. A/N: I recommend listening to Private Eyes by Daryl Hall and John Oates while reading this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aQKmbtp6Pc

--

I'm finally home. I toss my apron on the bed and get ready for a shower. A text notification alerts me just as I'm about to play some music to de-stress.

Lynn: "Hey! You off work yet? Have a fav. to ask of you!"

Me: "Yeah, I just got off. What's up?" As I wait for her reply, I go to the kitchen looking for something to eat for dinner.

"So you know that cute guy from my comp-sci class??"

I don't need to finish reading her message to know who she's talking about. In Lynn's Computer Science class, a guy named Jayce switched into her class. From what I heard, a couple of days after he switched in, they had to do a group project together. Lynn was pretty excited as she mentioned that they, in her eyes, had really hit it off.

"Of course, what's up?"

"Well, we're going out!" I smile.

"I'm very happy for you Lynn!" I head back to my room, plopping on my bed.

"Thanks! :) I'm so excited. Our first date is going to be tomorrow!" After a couple of back and forth messages, Lynn says goodnight, allowing me to go back to my original objective.

--

My speaker fights the hiss of the water against the tiled floors. I sigh, warm water massaged and dragged away the grime of the day. I stand under the water for a couple minutes longer, wanting to enjoy the stillness of the moment.

The song I'm listening to as I finish up my shower, cuts out just as it gets to my favorite part. At first I thought it was just my speaker dying on me. I turn off the water, the cool air nipping at my wet skin, I go to inspect my speaker. Tapping it against my palm, the music starts to play again. I smile and start to change into something more comfortable. Swaying my hips to the beat of the song, I mouth along the lyrics as I get changed. Just as the chorus was about to start, I prepared to belt it out, only for it to cut to static.

What the–

A loud crash comes from downstairs. I jump, grabbing my phone, I immediately dial the police. After ringing a couple of times, I'm only met with the harsh dial tone and the automated voice message telling me to try again. I tried a couple more times before I gave up and decided to head into my room. Quickly, locking the door, I look for my pepper spray in my bag and the knife beside my bed.

Preparing myself mentally, I head downstairs to make a run for the police station. I tip toe out of my room, navigating my way towards the living room and in the direction of the front door. In the kitchen I noticed that the lights were on, the curtains blowing gently against the wind. I thought I was more than sure that the window was closed. None the less, I opt for continuing with my original plan.

I head towards my front door and turn off the security alarm. Taking a deep breath I get ready for a sprint. Just as I open the door, taking a step outside, my speaker blares loudly from the bathroom. I scream.

Crap!

I whip out my weapons and brace for an impact. The pepper spray canister shields my face while my knife is held firmly between my fingers. The black blade, point side down, ready to stab and slash at my attacker. I hear another loud crash from the kitchen, I scream again, my knife waving frantically through the air. I press down on the button on the top of my pepper spray but nothing happens. After what feels like years, I calm down and open my eyes. I search the area around me. No signs of an intruder. Making sure to unlock the tab on my pepper spray, I ready myself to go into the kitchen.

Quietly, I charged into the kitchen, blood coursing through my veins. I felt like I was ready for anything. Upon walking in, I don't see anyone. I stand alone in my kitchen, frantic and clammy, feeling stupid. On the floor, however, two rocks sit in front of me, glass like confetti on the floor. I take a deep breath, desperate to compose myself before continuing on to search the rest of the house. Once safe, I take a picture of the mess and clean up the glass and rocks. It’s only then, that I notice the lyrics to the song, the song that looped on my speaker since it came back to life. Echoing throughout the house,

“‘Private eyes

They’re watching you

They see your every move’”

I ran upstairs to turn off the unsettling music.

“‘They’re watching you watching

You watching you watching you.’”

--

I do another round through the house and head back to my room. Locking my door, I look for my phone and try to take deep breaths. Once found, I text Lynn about what happened.

Inevitably, because of course, the messages don’t go through. An error notification in its place. I curse.

What do I do now?

Sitting on my bed I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. Leaning back, I hear a small crinkle of paper being crushed under my weight. Confused I got up and looked underneath where I had sat. There was a slightly crushed envelope with my name scrawled in black ink. A poor imitation of crude cursive, barely making it legible to read.

I take my knife and slide the blade under the top flap, carefully running it along the fold, I take the note inside and read it.

“Hello Doll,

I hope you’re having a great day. You looked especially ravishing today. I know customers can be particularly frustrating… to say the least. But, you made it and I am so, so very proud of you, Doll. Now, try to get some rest.

Love,J”

I crumple up the note and throw it out, unsure of what to make of it and how it got into the house in the first place. I lay down on the bed, my back facing my closet. I close my eyes, trying to get some rest for the challenging day ahead of me.

--

At work, I search my locker for a spare apron.

I can’t believe I lost another one!

After five minutes of searching in vain, I go into the back and grab one of the extras, as well as a new name tag. Grabbing a marker I neatly print my name and pin it to my chest.

At work, I fight to survive the lull and rush of the day until my hour break. While dealing with customers, I try not to yell, fight, or maim any of them from my side of the counter. I wait for my coworker, Elijah, to come back from his lunch break. Speaking of, he walks in, taking his time to get back behind the counter and to clock back in.

“Hey, sorry. You can go now.” The stench of smoke wafts to me, the smell of smoke clings to his clothes. I can’t stop myself from cringing. I mumble out a thanks and head over to a computer. “Say… I was wondering if you wanted to… I don’t know… Go out sometime? Grab some dinner… maybe catch a show?” He flashes me a grin as he leans against the counter. His crooked yellow teeth clash against… well… everything about him. Politely, I decline.

“Whatever, you’re ugly anyway.” Elijah turns away from me, messing around with some of the cups.

--

I peak at the time on my phone. About two more minutes until I have to go back inside.

Fucking kill me.

Groaning, I get my things together and ready myself to go back inside. Just as my alarm goes off I walk towards the back entrance. A man sprints out from the back doors, knocking me over on his way out. Shocked, I called out for him.

“Hey! What the

hell?”

He doesn’t stop. I watched as he crossed the street, effectively disappearing from my sight. Getting up, I brush myself off and look for Elijah.

“Hey Elijah? Who was that?” Upon walking in, I see him sprawled out on the floor. His legs bent backward and twisted. Feet forced into an unnatural position. His arms were twisted and cuffed behind him. His face was bloodied and bruised. Eyes leaking blood, lips covered in cuts and gagged, blood pooling around his body.

I scream and run out to the front. I scream for someone to call an ambulance while I grab a first aid kit only to find the place completely evacuated. I rush back to my coworker and I call the ambulance while I do my best to patch him up.

While the ambulance takes him to the hospital I talk to the police. They give me a report of his condition: Forty stab wounds, three minor cuts. There were no in person witnesses and the only one who could account for any suspects was me. The security footage was cut a couple of minutes after I had left and went back online as soon as the suspect had left the building. It only caught the backside of his all black outfit.

Elijah died on the way to the hospital.

--

I was allowed three days off, after a bit of negotiation, to collect myself. That day I got home from the police station, I curled up into a ball and didn’t move until I was forced to go back to work. I couldn’t stop thinking about that day. What had happened. Had I not gone on my break when I did, I would’ve been dead. Lying in my own blood, fighting for another breath. Fighting to stay away from the light.

Would I have been able to fight against it? Would I have been able to stop the inevitable?

After my break was over, I forced myself back to work. I was told by the police to try and act as though everything was normal and to not talk about what had happened.

--

At work, I was distracted. During my shift I was overworked and tired as others had to fill in his spot until we got another hire. I wasn’t allowed to disclose what had happened to anyone. Word still got out though. I would conduct interviews with different applicants, many of whom would ask about what happened that day. I could never bring myself to describe what I had seen, even if I really wanted to. After a moment of silence, they’d leave unsatisfied. Thinking about that day makes my heart race. I'd break out into a cold sweat and from what others had said, I'd apparently go pale, all color draining from my face.

My manager, Abigail or Abi for short, asks me to start hiring everyone who comes to the interview. Even if they aren’t all that qualified, the cafe needs more workers. “They can be trained. What’s important is that we get someone to cover the shift while we find someone better and

willing

.”

Interview after interview, it seemed as though we wouldn’t get anyone. Those who came in ended up not showing up ever again. A couple of times many of us had hope. The new hire would show up for work that day, only to disappear without a trace during their break sometimes, if they made it through their first day, they wouldn't come back the following one.

Luckily, Lynn’s boyfriend, Jayce, came in, our help wanted a sign one hand, he held it out for me to take. “I’ll take the job.” Before long, he was hired. It was weird having him around working with me. I had only seen him once from a sneaky picture Lynn had taken of him during her class. Sun-kissed skin, short black hair, with warm honey eyes. Even I had to admit, he looked good.

After showing him the basics, he was an official employee of the cafe. Working with him slowly made things easier for me. The different stressors of life were lifted slightly with him at work. He’d do his best to make me smile or laugh. Helping me whenever he could and generally making sure that I was okay throughout the day. He knew just how stressed I was just by looking at me. I really appreciated that about him.

Lynn, who was usually busy with her classes, would come to visit us at least once a week. She was ecstatic that we were working together. “My two favorite people in one place!” She said, the first time she came to visit. “My boyfriend,” she grabbed his arm from over the counter, “and my best friend! What more could I ask for?”

--

It had been a couple of months after Jayce was hired, things had been quite normal around the cafe. Lynn and Jayce’s relationship, however, was anything but.

About six months into their relationship, Lynn seemed off around him. She would soon visit us less and less. When she did visit us, she would be distant with Jayce sometimes out right ignoring him. It was like this until she didn’t talk to him at all.

I wasn’t really sure of what went wrong between the both of them. One day when she came in, she was very noticeably angry with Jayce. Making sure to only ask me questions, having me take her order and hand it to her. He would just glare from across the counter, ignoring her jabs at him. She sat down at the other side of the room on one of the singular sofa chairs. “Can you grab more milk from the back… We’re running low.” I nod and head into the back. Grabbing a couple of cartons of milk, I walked back to the front of the store, where they were having a full blown fight.

I should give them some privacy.

Leaving the milk on the counter near Jayce, I go to the employee locker area and go on my phone. Doing my best to tune out their conversation, I decided to look for my headphones.

--

After about ten minutes, their heated conversation was still going strong. I take a deep breath and look for something else to do. Going into my locker, I find a note taped to the inside of the door. Something that was somehow both sticky, crusty, and slimy smeared all over the page. Smearing some of the words on the note. The substance had even turned yellow in some parts.

“October 10th

Darling,

I find myself in a situation most unpleasant. From the last time we talked, I realized I made a mistake. I know I have lost my temper and I apologize greatly for it. I know seeing your coworker in pain, must've taken a lot out of you, but just know that I did it for you. Your love. Your devotion... But alas, I knew that because of what I did, I didn’t deserve you.

Although it may have seemed like I left you alone, I can assure you, that I’ve always stayed close by. I am your guardian angel after all!

I digress... I know you must be wondering,

‘what do you mean by ‘unpleasant situation?'' ‘How can I help my wonderful guardian?’

Well, my wonderful little angel, you can help me by getting me out of my predicament. You see, after trying to ward off a man, clearly worth no one’s time— especially not

yours

, I had to find myself a cover to blend into society more. To lessen the heat that had been put upon me due to what I had done.

Anyway, continue going to work as usual and I’ll see you

soon

, my Love.

Your’s truly,

Your Guardian Angel”

I crumpled the note into a little ball.

I need to find a new job.

Standing up, I see Jayce standing there in front of me. His eyes fixated on my hands. “Jayce? Everything alright?” His eyes snap to mine, his body uncomfortably still. An unnatural look adorning his features.

“Oh yeah… Yeah, I’m good— um… Lynn and I are going to take a break. Like an indefinite break. I-I guess we just…” He lets out a sigh, “We just weren’t meant to be.” His shoulder drops along with his head.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, Jayce. Is everything going to be okay?” He nods. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day-off to cool down from what happened. Abi, will be here soon anyway. It’s no problem.”

He shakes his head, “I can stick around for the rest of my shift. I might want to take a day off tomorrow though. If that’s alright?”

I nod, “I can talk to Abi.” He gives me a small smile and heads back to the front.

--

Today was my day off for the week. Jayce and Lynn haven’t talked since that day. A couple of months have gone by since then, since I’ve been able to see Lynn. She hasn’t been answering her calls or texts. I figured she needed some time for herself and that maybe her classes have been hitting her harder than usual lately. Possibly needing some time to just focus. I wonder how she’s doing…

As I put on my favorite show and relax, I get a text message from Lynn. She asks for me to come over as quickly as possible. I got ready, grabbed my things and rushed over to her apartment. Once there, I'm out of breath and weakly lifting my hand, I knock on her door only for her to swing it open and drag me inside. Slamming it shut, she locks us in and collapses in her small kitchen. Her eyes darted from left to right, body shivering despite her thick hoodie on. Putting an arm around her, she swatted me away in a panic.

“Hon, you need to calm down. What is going on?” Her eyes were outlined with thick dark circles, her skin a pale white. Her lips, chapped, cemented into a fearful frown. Stuttering to get a couple of words out, she eventually gives up, hobbling to her bedroom. I follow her and help her to sit on her bed. Lynn’s cheeks are sunken in slightly, her cheekbones seem more accentuated than usual. She handed me a couple of envelopes. Many of them were torn into, others, while not many, were still intact.

I read through the letters. Each one was progressively getting worse. It started off as mildly concerning. It described that the sender was more than done with her. That they were upset with the things that she had told the police and threatened to take action against her unless she were to retract her statements. They were upset at something she had done. But, as the letters continued, they went into more and more detail of what they’d do when they “got their hands on her”. I felt sick to my stomach the more I read. At some point I couldn't continue reading. The graphic details describe how this twisted person wanted to kill Lynn. How they wanted to torture her. Make her suffer just as much as Elijah did that day.

Trying my best to stay calm, I gather up the letters, “I’m going to call the police, don’t worry. Just stay put, I’ll check the doors too.” Lynn was too tired to answer. She groaned as she fell back into her bed, eyes closing with a sigh of relief.

I went into the living room and made sure to lock the door. On the call with police, I described what had been happening to Lynn. I described the letters she's been receiving as well as the possibility of needing medical attention. After giving them the address, I thank them and hang up.  "They’ll be here in ten minutes! I’ll cook you some soup while we wait.” Prepping the ingredients I got started on the soup.

As I let the ingredients cook, I went back to Lynn’s room to check up on her. My blood shot to my head. My mouth opened but no sound would come out.

“Such a shame really. She knew too much.” Jayce’s arms wrapped around me and pulled me closer, “Don’t worry, Baby.

I’ll take good care of you.”

[crowned-peony]

I have no idea what this is but like I wrote it cause @vampyrsm wanted angst and we both ended up crying hahah

Insert your own fave and gender neutral reader.

Things weren't supposed to be this way.

The rose China tea set he bought you last Christmas is on the ground shattered, photos of you both ripped up and scattered all over, the dried up flower petals you saved from date nights were in the garbage, your clothes thrown out of the closet and lay on the floor.

The place is a mess and will never be how it was. But what's more broken is the place you called home or your heart?

The argument still echoing in the house, you wished you could take back all the words you said, wish you bit your tongue instead of asking what happened to "Today I'll be home by early, we can go celebrate the anniversary. I'll get a reservation"

You had been so excited that morning. Cleaned the place and made sure everything was perfect. Had his nice clothes laid out so he just needed to shower. Pampered yourself all up and wore the outfit he said made him fall in love. You felt like so bright and happy that you rivaled the sun. The hours ticked by, no text no call, each Read and straight to voice-mail, makes you feel your world cave in.

How many times can you get your hope up and have it all come crashing?

The last months alone you have ate cold food alone waiting until you give up and go to bed and the bed is still made on his side. He either never came home or slept on the couch.

So hopeful this time was different because you found the box with a beautiful ring. The one you pointed out during one of your early dates that you love to have. He remembered!!

Maybe it's time to stop dreaming of what was and just accept that this is your life now. The person you loved is just a roommate, a ghost in your shared home.

He didn't need to be cruel, he didn't need to throw it in your face how everything you had was thanks to his hard work, how you didn't need to worry about money because of him, how his work would always be his top priority, how you don't have any friends because of your anxiety and need to be constantly reassured your liked pushes others away. Makes everyone just exhausted at a certain point that the need to be with you is just more draining and not worth it.

You yelled back how no matter how much effort and work he does he will never earn the respect and appreciation of those he works with, who is he kidding that everything he wants he ruins the opportunity to get it with his ego and brutish personality. He thinks he deserves the world but he really is like everyone else being for praise that he believes is his right.

Words just start pouring out of you both, all the venom you both have held finally leaking out of old wounds and cracks from your hearts. He was only still with you for convenience. Why start new when he could just stay with you that knew your own place already. You already molded to be what he could want in a partner so no need to go out and find someone when you were already there. So eager to please like a puppy. He was comfortable so why change.

You never find someone better than him or who would want you now?

You had nothing. Everything was in his name. You are on the streets. You had no family to stay with. No friends, no money. Nothing. You came with nothing and might as well leave with nothing right?

Breaking and tearing anything you could get your hands on. Your heart is breaking more and more and just your blood is getting colder. He would be your last love. You would clean things up in morning and just go back to living how you were except this time no longer wait for him. No longer expect anything. it's what you been use to so why not stay like it.

[rynnicol]

I went to college with one of the men in this picture. We were friends. We would go to dinner at 3:00 am. I helped with his school projects. He’d tease me about watching sci-fi shows like Babylon 5 and Star Trek. I set him up with my roommate. He had a crush on her, so I helped my friend. They ended up dating for years.

One night he and I were at school in the edit bays. I had been calling him for hours trying to tell him his computer had crashed and wasn’t rendering. He was stressed about completing his thesis and decided the computer crash was somehow my fault when he finally showed up. While I was preparing a machine to help him, he came up behind me and slammed my head into the desk and keyboard repeatedly. I collapsed on the floor, and he started kicking me. At one point he grabbed my hair to slam my head against the wall then bent down to yell in my face. I have a vague memory of staring up at the window of the door in the tiny room as a silhouette watched. A freshman finally opened the door distracting my attacker long enough for me to crawl away.

I crawled to the room where my best friend was editing a film at the other end of the hall. I told him what had happened and to this day I’ll never forget his response, “He’s stressed. You must have misunderstood.” I wiped away what I thought was sweat from my brow and told him, I don’t think I did. Not one time did my friend look away from the computer. He kept explaining how I had to consider the pressure this man was under. I sat there on the floor crying until I looked at my hands and saw that I’d been wiping away blood. I looked out the window for the edit bay door and saw the freshman who had saved me. He indicated it was safe to come out.

I dashed down the hall to the bathroom terrified I would be attacked again. I didn’t think I could take my head being smashed into a sink. I cleaned up the blood and held a stack of paper towels to my head. I didn’t feel safe, so I took the side entrance outside and walked home. I locked myself in my apartment bathroom and sat in the shower for I don’t know how long.

The next day, I told my roommate I didn’t want her boyfriend around. I didn’t want to be alone with him, and I didn’t want him in the apartment even when I wasn’t there. I told her this while I was sitting on a chair in our living room while holding a bag of frozen peas to my head, wondering when we had bought peas and why. She informed me she had already spoken to her boyfriend and knew we’d had a fight. She “didn’t care what had happened” but needed us to get along for her. I wanted to tell her. I felt guilty. I had set them up. Had I put her in danger? I told her I didn’t feel safe, but before I could explain she threw up her hands and repeated that she didn’t need details about the “fight.” We just needed to work it out. I was having trouble breathing so I told her she should care then threw the peas back in the freezer and took off for the campus clinic. I felt guilty for years for not telling her.

The campus clinic looked at the bruises on my chest and back and told me I should get x-rays at the hospital for any fractures. No one asked how I got the bruises. They put a band aid on my head and told me to keep ice on the lump that had formed on the back of my head. Then made an appointment for me at the hospital which I had to walk to days later. I had hairline fractures on three ribs.

As I stood outside the campus clinic, I remembered there were cameras in the school’s hallways that would have recorded me crawling away from the attack and walking to the bathroom with blood dripping down my forehead. I could show my roommate what had happened. Then she might care. I headed to the campus safety office to ask about the tapes. The officer I had known for two years. He liked to attend parties with the graduate students, he smiled at me while informing me that he was on duty the night before, but the tapes were gone now. I didn’t understand then what he was saying. I didn’t know at the time he had stolen the tapes to protect my attacker.

I walked to the school and visited the vice dean, to report the attack. He informed me that he felt supporting my attacker and burying this incident was a better financial investment for the school. My attacker was going to elevate their name. The vice dean asked if my scholarships went away then would I still be able to attend school? He then began a months long effort lasting well into the summer to have my scholarships rescinded. When other faculty asked why he was after me his excuse was that I brought a Dr. Pepper into a classroom where drinks were not allowed. Not even a joke. The cost of the broken keyboard was taken out of my paycheck from my work-study job. The message was clear. My attacker was of more value than I.

Last night my attacker got to take part in attending the Peabody awards for the Star Trek franchise. A franchise he first watched in my living room after mocking me for watching the show, but he tells everyone that he watched it as a child. He repeats a story I told him about my mother seeing Nichelle Nichols for the first time. My first memory in life is of my parents racing to watch a rerun of the original series. So not only did this man break my ribs, he’s taken a dump on my childhood. I’ve been quiet for nearly 25 years, actively disappearing, changing my name, and moving away, while this man has had opportunity after opportunity handed to him. I know he thinks he put in more effort than others not seeing how many people put him where he is today. Karma might keep receipts, but she certainly doesn’t perform audits.