#but his eyeliner would run and he’d bury his face in the pillows to hide every broken desperate noise coming out of his mouth

[toastedbarleytea]

Bottom Zenin Naoya if you can hear us, please Bottom Zenin Naoya, please save me. Please save me Bottom Zenin Naoya, please. I’m asking you …

[blue-fidelity]

~ “Smile in the face of Tragedy”

Chapter 2: New King

Pairings: Billy Hargrove x Henderson!reader, Steve Harrington x best friend! reader

Chapter Summary:

A wild night reveals secrets and broken hearts. At least Billy & (Y/N) have each other.

Warnings: Fluff, angst, drunk!Billy, sad!Steve (that is a warning 🥺)

“(Y/N)! It’s Halloween!”- Halloween? (Y/N) woke up to the sound of her brother yelling excitingly. If she wasn’t mistaken, she could hear the Ghostbusters theme playing loudly from Dustin’s room. She groaned, burying her head in her pillows while running her hands through her hair.

This is not how she planned to wake up this morning.

Before closing her eyes to regain a little more sleep, her alarm clock looked her right in the face. 7:15. Another groan came from her. Perk up (Y/N), it’s your favourite holiday! She pushed herself up, swinging her legs on the side of the bed. (Y/N) definitely knew the high school students weren’t going to be wearing costumes to school. So before Billy picked her up, she’d head home to get changed.

Billy- (Y/N) didn’t think she’d be able to forget yesterday. The way he held her, the way he kissed her forehead. His embrace was so comforting- she nearly melted into him. The smell of dry cigarette smoke and cheap cologne haven’t been able to leave her senses. It was like everything that came with him, it was intoxicating, and she couldn’t get enough of it.

As she stepped out of bed, she moved her hips slightly to the music coming from her brother’s stereo. When she made it to her drawers, she contemplated what she should wear today. Just because she wasn’t going to wear a costume, didn’t mean she couldn’t look spooky, right? She grabbed her “Chistine” t-shirt, it was one of her favorite horror movies. Pairing it with a black acid wash skirt, some fishnets, and her usual chuck taylors, she strutted confidently out her bedroom door.

She walked into the bathroom to find Dustin clad in his Stantz costume, brushing his teeth. He looked so cute! “Hey Doctor Stantz, ‘lookin pretty badass”, she grinned, patting him on the back. “Thanks (Y/N)! I can’t wait to see the guys in their costumes, Halloween’s gonna be so great!”, he cheered, spitting out his tooth paste. He quickly ran out of the room to fetch breakfast, leaving (Y/N) time for her hair & makeup.

Bright red lipstick and heavy black eyeliner, hair slightly curled.

-

When she stepped into the living room, she saw her mom enthusiastically taking polaroids of Dustin. She couldn’t help but smile, hoping her mom would save her some for her picture board. (Y/N) sat on the couch beside her cat Mews, scratching the back of his ears as he purred in contentment. She giggled at the various poses her brother made in front of the camera.

Her mom had finally stopped taking photos, noticing her on the couch. “(Y/N) darling! I didn’t see you come in, can I get a photo of my two children?”, she questioned, looking at her with pleading eyes. (Y/N) couldn’t say no! “Of course!”, she said, standing up from the couch.

She placed an arm around Dustin’s shoulders, teasingly taking him in a headlock, rubbing her nuckles on his hair. To this he laughed, playfully pointing his fake proton blaster at her. It was the perfect picture. Perfectly trapped in the moment of two great siblings, simply having a good time.

(Y/N) gathered her things, making sure to take one of her mom’s homemade muffins for breakfast. She had made them a couple days before, but they still were delicious. Even though (Y/N) desperately needed coffee, she decided against it. She was already running a bit late, and as much as she hated the stale stuff from the cafeteria, it’d have to do. Dustin had already slipped out the door to head off on his bike, he really must’ve been eager to see his friends.

Before making her way to her motorcycle, she slipped her jean jacket on and hugged her mom goodbye. Claudia looked at her intently, ruffling her curled hair. (Y/N) rolled her eyes playfully, “Alright mom, I gotta go! ‘I’m gonna stop here after school though, k?”, she opened the front door. “Okay have a good day sweetie! ‘I’ll see you before your party!”. (Y/N)’s mom knew about the party, whether she knew there was going to be alcohol involved, it was better off not knowing.

Sliding the keys into the ignition, she sped off to the school. She could never get enough of the mysterious backroads of Hawkins. It scared her, obviously. With all the things that happened the previous year, she couldn't help but wonder if things still lurked in the depths of the forest, hiding till they could strike. Waiting and waiting till they can catch someone else and drag them to that horrible place. Her body trembled at the thought of it. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind of the memories. Eyes turning back to the road, she removed one of her hands from the handles, trying to reach for the button of her stereo. It had turned onto some random radio station that was playing Halloween tunes.

“Happy Halloween ‘Morning Ghouls and Goblins of Hawkins! Here’s a spooky throwback from ‘1982 for y’all on this fine dreary morning, ‘Blood Bitch’, by Cocteau Twins!” - the radio host introduced, was he really supposed to swear on radio? Well, no one really had a filter these days.

The song added to the eerie atmosphere of the cold morning, making her uneasy. She pushed through her thoughts, trying to just focus on getting to school. It was Halloween! No need for being pent up on past trauma. The station had eventually turned to a happier song, putting her in a better mood. What better to put a smile on your face then the ‘Time Warp” from The Rocky Horror Picture Show? She bobbed her head happily to the familiar tune, singing along to the lyrics.

-

School today had been an absolute drag! Last period (math) was nearly done and (Y/N) was desperate to get out. She could see some of her mutuals were anxious as well, probably too excited to wait for the party tonight. She was excited as well, maybe a little bit of the fact that she’d be spending more time with Billy?

(Y/N) would hate for him to think she’d be using him as a rebound. Even though it seemed that way, she really should’ve forgotten about her feelings for Steve awhile ago. (Y/N) really loved Steve, but he’d always been so oblivious, but- that was just Steve. He would’ve never known of her feelings if she didn’t tell him. Which she never did, in fear of obvious rejection. Then here was Billy Hargrove, whether it be his flirtatious nature, she could see herself really falling for him. The one thing she knew she wouldn’t do was dive in too quickly. She wouldn’t make the same mistakes, for her and for Billy’s sake.

She was finally released from the rechedouness that was her math class-running straight out the door right as the bell rang, nearly having winded Mr. Henry. After taking a quick stop at her locker, she walked outside to find her motorcycle. (Y/N) was nearly there till a skateboard hit her feet, stopping her in her tracks.

“I’m so sorry! It slipped right out from under me-” a voice of a young girl called, her breath shaky. (Y/N) looked down at the girl shuffling to grab her skateboard, she had never seen her before. The mysterious teen with the red hair looked around her brother’s age, so why was she so unrecognizable? Wait- could it be?

Billy’s step sister.

“Hey, hey it’s all good!”, (Y/N) gave her a reassuring smile. “Hey- not to sound weird or anything-”, she chuckled nervously, “But, are you new here? ‘You see I got a younger brother ‘about your age, and you got an unfamiliar face”. The girl stared at her skeptically, but still replied. “Yeah, just moved here from ‘California, what are you ‘looking to set him up or something?” she questioned sarcastically. ‘Damn she was quite the firecracker. “Nah frankly I think you're a little out of his league”, (Y/N) winked. To this she got a laugh out of her. “Well, it was nice weirdly meeting you, ‘I’m Max!”, she introduced herself. “Well Max, ‘I’m (Y/N), if you're interested in someone helping you out with that kickflip, ‘I used to do some skateboarding myself”, she offered. Max beamed at her offer, “Really? That’d be so great!”, “Alrighty then, if you see me around, don’t be shy to ask!”.

Little did (Y/N) and Max know, Billy was watching them. Billy knew (Y/N) was genuinely kind, but not that kind. It wasn’t necessarily cool to be seen with a middle schooler. He figured he wouldn’t look too much into it, but something about seeing (Y/N) with her, didn’t sit well with him. Billy gave Max a dirty look as she skated up to the camaro. “You're late again”, Billy started. “I had to get catchup homework”, Max stated. “Jesus! I don’t care- who was that girl you were talking to?”, Billy asked, even though he already knew who she was. “Just some high schooler- she offered to help me learn some skateboarding tricks' '. So she skateboarded too, huh? “That’s rich. Just, get in the car, will yah?”.

-

(Y/N) entered the door with a ‘skip in her step. She really needed a reason to lose herself, forget about the world around her. Tonight was going to be perfect for that. Expecting to be greeted by her mom, she noticed no one was there. She knew Dustin was heading to Mike’s right after school, ‘but her mom was nowhere to be seen. She probably had to work later hours again. ‘This meant she had the place to herself! (Y/N) still had a few hours before Billy picked her up. So she figured she’d get into her costume, and then fix herself something to eat.

The Sarah Connor costume was simple. Gray tank top, black jeans, sunglasses, a chunky belt and combat boots. (Y/N) already had all of this in her regular wardrobe, so it’d be a pretty easy costume. Of course she didn’t have a rifle to complete it, even though she could’ve asked Nance. She wasn’t about to show up to a house party with a gun. It would have been pretty cool though.

She stood in front of the bathroom mirror, clad in costume. Now it was time to remove her makeup and untame her curled hair. “Mr. Crowley” by Ozzy Osbourne was currently spinning on her “Blizzard of Ozz” vinyl. She mouthed her lips to the lyrics as she straightened her hair, her (Y/H/C) locks falling in straight whisps on her head. Replacing her once extravagant makeup with a more nude look, she looked at herself pleased.

A total badass look, you might say.

It was only 4:30, and Billy was coming over at 6 o’clock. She had way too much time to kill. Making her way to the kitchen, she scoped the fridge. Enough ground beef for two burgers, and she knew they had leftover buns. Maybe Billy would be hungry when he got there, and if she was making dinner for two- she didn’t want to start too early. So she’d head back to it in about a half an hour. Meanwhile a coca-cola would hold her down, she was pretty firsty.

(Y/N) now laid in her bed, bored. ‘Blizzard of Ozz was still playing, it just switched onto “Steal Away (The Night)”, her ears perked up to the upbeat tune. She couldn’t help but dance around, hopping happily on her bed as she belted the lyrics along with Ozzy. Pointing at the poster of him that was plastered on her wall, she shouted the chorus. It’d be pretty funny if Billy were to walk in on her singing her heart out, what would he think of that? She rolled her eyes at the thought, he’d probably think she was crazy. The song ended, turning to the next one. (Y/N) took this as her cue to start on dinner.

Flipping the patties in the pan, she sighed at the smell. She did cook a pretty ‘mean burger. Dustin loved when she made them, he always said the added rosemary was the perfect touch. (Y/N) grew up with her mother teaching her how to cook. Claudia Henderson had worked in a number of restaurants, usually in the kitchen or as a waitress. She now helped run a popular Inn a little outside of town, and it was her favourite place she’s ever worked in. (Y/N) probably figured it was a busy night, considering she didn’t come home at her usual hour.

5:45 and the burgers were ready and plated, the aroma running through the room. Billy was ‘going to be here soon, and she was giddy with excitement. Before she knew it, the bell rang. Fuck he was early. “Coming!” she called, slowly making her way to the door. ‘There he stood; a cocky grin on his face with his arm propped up on the door ledge. She took time to take in his minimal outfit, tight jeans & a leather jacket, no shirt. His abbs were on full display- (Y/N)’s mouth watered just at the sight of him. “See something you like, sweetheart?” he smirked. “Maybe-”, (Y/N) stammered. “It’s aight, I see something I like to,'' he whispered the last part into her ear, letting himself in.

“She cooks too? ‘I guess looks can be deceiving”, he motioned to the burgers. (Y/N) blushed, “I figured we could eat before we fill ourselves with alcohol”. They delved into the burgers, she couldn’t help but laugh when Billy moaned at the taste. “Darlin- I haven’t had a burger like this in awhile, ‘the ones down at Benny’s don’t hold anything on these”, he praised. “That must be a high compliment, because ‘Benny’s are pretty good”, she smiled at him. (Y/N) put the dishes into the dishwasher, quickly running to her room to grab her polaroid camera. “Where are you ‘heading princess?”, she’d never get tired of his little pet names. “I’m just grabbing my camera- I want to get some good shots tonight!”.

(Y/N) came back with her camera bag, a big grin on her face. “You ready to head out?”, he questioned. “Yeah, just let me get my jacket”, she took her jacket from the hook. “Ready”. He guided her to the camaro, opening the passenger door. Billy never opened the passenger door for girls! ‘(Y/N) really did something to him, huh? “Such the gentlemen”, she smirked. “Anything for you dollface”. He slid into the drivers side, placing his keys into the ignition. “Music?” she questioned, “Sure thing, feel free to look through the cassettes in the glove box”. She searched through the assortment of tapes, varying from Metallica, Def Leppard, RATT, Mötley Crüe, Hanoi Rocks, AC/DC and more. She settled on Hanoi Rocks’s, “Two Steps From The Move” album. It had just come out that summer, and it was one of her favourites. Not to mention she had a HUGE crush on Michael Monroe.

“Hanoi Rocks huh? I like your style”, he nodded in approval, till turning his eyes back on the road. “Got any specific fave tracks?”, (Y/N) questioned. “Track 8”. She was surprised he chose this one, considering it was one of the more “cheesy” songs. ‘It did have a pretty ‘rockin guitar riff in it though, she’ll give him that. Billy contentedly thumped his hands on the steering wheel, speeding up a bit. Rolling both of their windows down, (Y/N) was surprised to see him singing along to the lyrics. It was a bad attempt at a Finnish accent, sure, but it was still really cute. (Y/N) joined him, jumping in at the chorus. They banged their heads to the tune, continuously singing the lines. (Y/N) really felt alive in that moment. ‘She couldn’t remember the last time she had this much fun, and they haven’t even gotten to the party yet.

-

They pulled up to Tina’s, teens were already rallying in. ‘It was going to be a wild night. Before Billy could open up his trunk to get the kegs, (Y/N) stopped him. She pulled out her camera, “Hargrove! Smile!”, she grinned, pointing the camera at him. ‘He rolled his eyes, posing for the picture. The photo was of Billy playfully doing the devil’s horns symbol, with his tongue stuck out. She giggled, “This is one for the board!”. “Well Hey Sarrah Conner- let me take a pic of you!”, he said, trying to grab the camera from her. She handed the camera to him, smiling that he remembered her costume name. Letting her sunglasses shade her eyes, ‘she smirked brightly at the camera, ‘Billy quickly snapping the shot. He handed the polaroid to her, she shaked it and placed it in her bag with the one she took.

Billy held one of the kegs while (Y/N) grabbed the other, walking into the crowded house. It was overwhelmingly loud. They could feel the heat coming off the numerous teenagers that littered the home, their bodies moving to the heavy beats of the stereo. Tina was in the kitchen, and had noticed the pair walk in. “Billy & (Y/N) are here with more kegs!”, she shouted, ‘causing the crowd to go wild. Someone had taken the one from her hands and motioned Billy to follow them into the backyard, leaving her alone. She grazed over the sea of teens, trying to spot anyone she knew. She noticed Steve and Nancy dancing freely in the living room, Nancy nursing a drink while Steve had a big smile on his face. She figured she’d grab some punch and then see what Billy was doing in the backyard, most likely a keg stand. He was the new ‘king after all, Tommy was probably expecting him to beat Steve’s record.

‘As luck would have it, she was right. She stood on the back porch with a cup of “pure fuel” in her hands, watching the teens crowd around him as he bent over the keg. They shouted various numbers, counting the seconds as he chugged down the beer. (Y/N) cheered with them, looking at him with bright eyes. His torso was glistening, beads of sweat running down his toned chest. Her cheeks flushed red just at the sight of him. The enthusiasm got louder as he finished the stand, spitting spews of beer out of his mouth. “That’s how you do it Hawkins! That’s how you do it!”, more cheers. Tommy passed him a cigarette and escorted him into the house, the gang shouting his name as Mötley Crüe’s, “Shout At The Devil” played on the speakers. Billy spotted her on the porch, grinning wildly at her. He shoved her into his side with his arm, hugging her tight. Tommy glared at the interaction. Never in her time with being friends with Steve has ‘Tommy liked her that much, and it seems things haven’t changed.

Typical Tommy.

(Y/N) was enjoying the feel of Billy's embrace a little too much. She knew he was already partially drunk, and she was feeling a nice buzz that she wasn’t planning on getting rid of anytime soon. Someone had to drive them home. ‘Tommy paraded them up to Nancy and Steve, (Y/N) wasn’t sure if it was to torchure her or show off Billy, probably both. ‘Billy and Steve stared each other down as if they were going to kill each other, it was really intense. Too intense for her liking. Still hooded under Billy’s arm, she shot Steve a sympathetic look. ‘As if to say ‘I’m sorry’ with her eyes. “We got ourselves a new keg king Harrington!”, Tommy declared. “Yeah eat it Harrington!”, another guy shouted. Somehow in ‘Billy and Steve’s stare down, Nancy had slipped away.

“You see Harrington- not only that, but I stole your girl away too”, Billy retorted. Oh shit- this wasn’t good. Steve glanced over at her, a nervous look in his eyes. “I don’t know what you're talking about man-”. How did Billy know about (Y/N)’s past feelings for Steve? “Well you see, this lovely lady under my arms thought the world of you, and frankly I- I just don’t see why! Point being, she has me now, you can go fetch that slut you settled for.” This interaction was making neither Steve nor (Y/N) happy, it left them feeling both angry and confused. Steve scoffed, chasing after Nancy. He was going to want to talk to (Y/N) about this later.

Steve really didn’t know what to make of what Billy had said to him. Mainly, it sounded like a warning; but he didn’t think Billy intended for it to be that. (Y/N) and him had been best friends forever, and even if he didn’t necessarily like Billy, there was no harm in her being friends with him, right? Though, something about what Billy said hinted that he meant more than just friends. Had (Y/N) liked him, loved him even? Was Steve really oblivious all these years- no, it couldn’t be. If he was being honest, he harboured a small crush on her in the beginning of middle school, but then Nancy came into his life. Nancy Wheeler hit him like a freight train right in the heart, and he then became a lovesick puppy. He couldn’t get enough of her. That’s when Steve began to realize, the jealous glances over the years, the slight distaste of Nancy that came off her.

But, why did it matter if (Y/N) loved him? He still had Nancy, or so he thought.

-

Tommy had left, leaving Billy and (Y/N) in the corner of the living room, an uncomfortable silence stirring between them. “Billy-how did you-“, she wondered in a whisper, but Billy cut her off. “You really don’t think Tommy would’ve told me? Besides, everybody knows”. She didn’t need to hear the last part. Besides, why did it matter if everyone knew- it didn’t matter to her anymore. “Does that bother you?”, she asked worriedly. Billy chuckled darkly.

“Darlin- you got nothing to worry about, I’m your new king now”.

Next thing she knew, they were on the dance floor. Billy had pulled her into the crowd of sweaty bodies, grinding on each other. Some people were making out, others chugging alcohol till they fell limp to the floor. She stared nervously at the rowdy teens, her body shaking. He noticed her agitation, placing a hand on her cheek, turning her to face him. He smelt of cheap beer and stale cigarette smoke, and a hint of cologne. She was caught with that intoxicating sensation again, making her hazy. His icy blue eyes peered into her (Y/E/C) ones, “Just feel the music princess- everything will be just fine”.

‘Their bodies moved comfortably against each other to ‘Billy Idol’s, “Flesh For Fantasy”. A perfect song choice in the moment. ‘(Y/N) was very much sober and very much aware of what was happening. Aware of Billy’s strong grip on her waist, aware of his hips moving against hers. Normally this would’ve been cutting close corners for her, but she was looking for an opportunity to lose herself. What better way than this? She ran her fingers through his thick blonde curls, her hips swaying a bit more. He sighed in contentment, making her shiver. His face was currently buried into her neck, placing soft kisses on her collarbone.

They continued their heavy sway for a while, Billy had started to form a hickey below her ear. She was definitely not going to be able to cover it up tomorrow, but she really didn’t care if people saw it- she wanted people to know that she wasn’t desperate. That she didn’t need Steve anymore. She wasn’t exactly sure what she meant to ‘Hargrove, but she knew that she wasn’t planning on leaving him anytime soon. (Y/N) felt him remove his lips from her neck, his hot breath waving over her. “Mhmm- left a pretty big mark sweetheart-“ he mumbled. She hummed in return, removing her hands from his hair.

The rest of the night consisted of more dancing, and Billy getting more intoxicated than he was before. Really drunk Billy- let’s just say it was quite the sight to see. He was a giggling mess, slurring his words and stumbling on his feet. “(Y/N)- has anyone ever told you-“ he hiccuped, “That you were gorgeous?”, another hiccup. She giggled at his comment, “Tons of people- but I bet no one sees me like you do huh?”, she supported him up against the kitchen counter. “Absolutely no one!” He cheered in a high pitch voice, damn he really was a mess. She tried to wrap his arm around her shoulders snatching his keys.”Hey- what are you doing?”, he gestured to the keys, “Getting you home-“, “Wait! Can we go to your house please?? I can’t wake up my dad letting him see me like this- he’ll kill me”, he pleaded. “Fine- just, try to be as quiet as possible, I got a sleeping family too”.

(Y/N) took him out of the house, nearly carrying him. She waved goodbye to a few mutual friends who were still conscious, muttering a soft “See y’all tomorrow, hope we aren’t all hungover”. This earned a few laughs from her classmates, bidding her and Billy a goodnight. Unlocking the passenger side to the camaro, she set Billy down lightly on the seat. “Being so ginger with me sweetheart- I’m not made of glass ‘you know”, he joked. “Whatever tough guy- let’s just get you to a bed, mhm?”. Placing her hands on the steering wheel, she realized she hasn’t driven a car since the summer, and a camaro is definitely nothing close to a station wagon. She took a deep breath- she could do this, no sweat. Besides, there was no way she could bring herself to ruin a car as beautiful as this one.

Billy must’ve passed out while they were driving, because when she pulled into her driveway, his eyes were sewn shut. She had to admit- he did look pretty adorable when he was sleeping. She tried to resist the urge to take a photo of him, but she couldn’t help herself. Pulling out her camera bag that was littered with pictures from tonight, she snapped a quick photo of him. The flash startled him, waking him up. “Sweetheart- were you taking photos of me in my sleep? That’s just creepy”, his voice was groggy. “How could I not when you were laying there looking like an angel?”, “Pfft- ‘darlin, I am a demon, Satan himself! ‘Ain’t no way I’m an angel!”, he scoffed.

“Hate to break it to you sweetheart, but Lucifer was once an angel”.

Fumbling with the keys to her front door while trying to help Billy regain his footing was hard. He was just about to lose consciousness again when she finally got the door open, it shouldn't have been as much of a challenge as it was- but Billy had a lot of weight to him. She didn’t notice the lights were still on till she saw her mom sitting in her reading chair, Mews on her lap and clad in a cat costume. Shit- what was she gonna say about this? “Oh! Mrs. Henderson- I see where (Y/N) gets all her good looks from!”, Billy squealed, “Ugh can it Billy! Mom I can explain-“ she shushed Billy, staring wide eyed at her mother. “Sweetie- you clearly had a wild night, just take this pound of muscle to your room, and we can talk about it while he crashes, okay?”- (Y/N) nodded quickly, dragging Billy to her room.

Billy flopped down on the bed, giggling wildly. “Honey! We’ve known each other for two days, don’t you think we ‘oughta know one another better before I sleep in your bed?”, (Y/N) rolled her eyes at the blubbering idiot. “This was your idea dumby! Just get under the covers and keep it shut, will you?”, she glared at him, closing the door and heading back to the living room.

“So no Steve, huh? He’s the one who usually spends the night”, her mom said softly. “Different reasons mom- I’m just trying to figure out who’s a bigger piece of work”, she huffed. “Well he’s quite the looker, ‘makes me wonder how you keep up with him”, Claudia smirked. “Mom! He’s new here- he just happened to notice me first”, (Y/N) blushed, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “Besides- what are you doing up so late?”, (Y/N) stared at the clock, “It’s nearly 1 o’clock”. “Busy night down at the Inn, just needed a little time to myself after Dusty went to bed”, she sighed, but (Y/N) knew she wasn’t finished. “Also wanted to see what mess you brung home, it’s always a new thing with you”, her mom laughed. “Billy’s- interesting, but I’m not sure, doesn’t seem like the most faithful type”, she sighed. “He may surprise you, and besides- if he hurts you he’ll have to suffer the wrath of your brother!”, Claudia giggled, smiling at her daughter. “Anyways- I’m gonna head to bed, early day at work tomorrow, you gonna go join the guy?”, she pointed down the hall. “Yeah yeah I’ll join the idiot in a second- just gonna get some water”, (Y/N) said tiredly.

Snuggling up on the couch, she sipped her water. The quietness was calming, the fact that everyone was at rest and she was the only one around southend her in a way. The fact that Billy was sleeping soundly in her bed, gave her a different feeling. Things with him- had gone by so quickly, and it was only just beginning. It was nice being with someone where the relationship had lasted longer than more than a few hours. Her past flames- had simply been one night stands, meaningless things to shy her away from Steve, but Billy was different. She actually liked him, and even though he came off as a jerk- he seemed really sweet on the inside. Though, she couldn’t help but wonder how Steve was feeling right now, the bomb had been dropped on him nearly two hours ago- it must be overwhelming to know your best friend was holding back feelings for so many years.

(Y/N) was just about to head to bed, till she heard a knock on the door. Who was here at this time of night? She opened the door slightly, and who she saw she didn’t expect. There Steve stood, his face red and puffy with tears in his eyes. His body was shaking, his shoulders were slumped over. He looked awful. “She- doesn’t love me- it’s bullshit! It was all bullshit!” He stuttered as his body continued to quiver. (Y/N)’s heart ached at his words, what had Nancy done this time? She didn’t know what to say, it’s not like she could’ve let him in. So, she just pulled him into a hug, “Steve-you can’t keep coming here like this- it’s not my job to fix you”, she tried to explain. “I know! I just don’t have anywhere else to go”, he cried. “I can’t tonight- it just isn’t the right time.” (Y/N) was attempting to tell him in the best way possible that Billy wasn’t there, but Steve caught on. “He’s here, isn’t he, Billy?”, Steve muttered angrily. “Out of all the guys in Hawkins- you chose him to get over me, that’s just flattering!” . Steve was making her feel sick, “Steve- I know you're hurting but you can’t take it out on me like that- it isn’t fair”, she pushed away from him. “I’ll talk about this with you tomorrow- when you're in the right state of mind, okay? Just please leave”, she pleaded. “Fine- I’ll see you tomorrow”, he breathed out harshly, walking back to his car.

She was on the edge of a breakdown, heart racing and choked up tears running down her face. This is not how she expected her evening to end- seeing Steve like that, broken and beaten again. (Y/N) thought she’d never live to see Steve crumble in her arms one more time- and with that she could’ve rested easy. At least she wouldn’t have to be alone tonight, she had someone waiting for her. Trying to stay quiet, she tiptoed down the hall. Opening the door, she walked in to see Billy sleeping soundly, the pink hue of her bedside lamp illuminating his features. She took notice of his leather jacket, jeans and boots scattered on the ground. That meant he was only in his boxers. Before joining him she slipped into an oversized AC/DC t-shirt and looked in the mirror, her hands grazing over the purple mark that had formed on her neck- the little bastard.

When (Y/N) laid in bed, even in his sleepy state Billy could notice the slight dip in the mattress. He groaned, “What took you so long…?”. (Y/N) chuckled softly at his tiredness. “Just an unexpected visitor, nothing to worry about”, she smiled reassuringly. “Well as long as you're okay, that’s all that matters”, he kissed her temple, pulling her into his chest. She snuggled into his side, sighing contentedly. She needed this. “Thank you”, she mumbled mindlessly. “For what sweetheart?”.

“For helping me start fresh”.

The couple held each other comfortably, sleep taking over them. (Y/N) rested her head on Billy’s torso, as he lazily made circles on the small of her back. Everything was blissful in that moment. Perfect. She’d deal with Steve tomorrow, for now, she had Billy Hargrove. Billy Hargrove with his strong hold and warm comforting body, Billy Hargrove who made her feel safe.

Author’s note:

Hope you all love the second chapter! Feedback is always appreciated & as always if you want to be added to the taglist comment down below ❤️!

Tag-list: @theblueslytherin @oopsiedoopsie23 @lulu-yuming @merc12-us @soullesstaco @unded-bride @holychocopie @nikkixostan @ellesimagines

[elvendara]

MM Fluff Week 2020 Day 7

Day 7: Free day

For @mmfluffweek

Letting him know

“I look like a nerd.” Saeran complained. He faced the mirror in his bedroom and took himself in from head to toe. His hair was slicked back, barely holding its shape. It was his natural red now and matched Saeyoung’s perfectly. He wore a button-down shirt, a blue that complimented his eyes, and a pink bow tie. The shirt was tucked into a pair of khakis that MC had ironed for him.

“This just isn’t me.” Saeran ruffled his hair and fell on his bed.

“Then I think you should do you. Like we suggested in the first place.” Saeyoung was beyond frustrated with his brother.

There was a mumble from Saeran, his head in the pillow.

“What?”

“You were right! I need to feel comfortable in what I’m wearing OK? You happy?”

“As long as you’re happy, yes. Come on. Get dressed and do your thing!” Saeyoung slapped his brother on the butt and left the room. With a sigh Saeran did as he was told. He slid off his bed and opened his closet, grabbing a black T-shirt and a pair of ripped black skinny jeans. From under his bed he pulled out his biker boots and slipped them on with a grunt. Having done that, he opened the top drawer of his dresser and pulled out his choker and earrings. Looping the choker around his neck twice he buckled it and craned his neck back and forth to make sure it wasn’t too tight. Now for the final touch, his eyeliner. It had been a while since he’d used it but it wasn’t too hard to do, it was all muscle memory. Finishing up he backed up and looked at himself in the mirror again. Perfect. He smiled and nodded to his reflection. This was who he was, like it or not.

“I’m ready.” He walked out of his room and Saeyoung tossed him keys to one of his babies.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” he patted Saeran on the back. “MC loaded up the car.”

“You look great!” MC hugged him and handed him a bouquet of flowers. “Here you go.”

Saeran took the flowers. “Sorry I didn’t wear the pants you ironed for me MC.”

“Oh don’t worry about that! I knew you would choose this type of outfit anyway. It’s very you.”

He nodded in appreciation.

“Are you sure this isn’t going over the top?” he arched his eyebrow, nodding towards the flowers, but also talking about the ‘loaded car’.

“Follow your heart.” Saeryoung shrugged.

Saeran agreed, over the top was the right way to go. He shook his anxiety away and nodded towards his brother.

“Now go get your man!” Saeyoung pushed Saeran towards the garage.

“OK OK, I’m going.” Saeran grinned and practically ran into the garage.

The drive wasn’t long and the car handled like a dream, but his thoughts were on his destination and his nerves started to get the better of him. He shook his head and pushed the feeling away. He had to do this! He eyed the items in the front seat and his stomach clenched once more, but he clenched his jaw with determination. Nothing else mattered. As he reached his goal he began to slow down. His chest hurt and he realized he was holding his breath. Letting it out and clearing his mind allowed him to focus on what he was about to do. Step by step, that’s how he could continue, one step at a time.

He looked around the campus and chose a good spot under a tree. Grabbing the items, he got out of the car and headed there. He took a tablecloth out of the basket he carried and lay it down, placing the basket atop along with the karaoke machine. His palms were sweaty, but he wiped them on his jeans and kept moving. Going back to the car he pulled out the balloons in the back and the bouquet of roses. Pushing the worry that this was all too much to the back of his mind he continued. Setting everything up the way he wanted, ignoring all the looks he was getting from the University students, he checked his watch for the time. His heart began to race, if things went as planned, he only had seconds left. He checked the machine, turned it on and set it to the song he wanted. The microphone was clutched in his hands, mint green eyes scanning the sidewalk for a certain blonde.

Finally seeing the man walk towards him made him want to run and hide, instead, he leaned over and hit the play button on the machine. There was a startling sharp sound before the music began to play. Everyone within earshot turned towards him, including Yoosung, who had been having a conversation with the dark-haired girl next to him. His amethyst eyes widened as he realized who was making the commotion. This was it, Saeran swallowed, hoping his voice wouldn’t crack. He’d practiced enough and both MC and Saeyoung had agreed it was perfect. Yoosung looked confused, but he made his way towards him. There were others making a circle around him but he only had eyes for Yoosung.

He began to sing, looking deeply into Yoosung’s eyes, focusing on him and only him, he poured his heart out:

I gotta take a little time, a little time to think things over I better read between the lines, in case I need it when I'm older

Now this mountain I must climb, feels like the world upon my shoulders Through the clouds I see love shine, it keeps me warm as life grows colder

He stepped closer to Yoosung, the blonde’s jaw dropped as he realized what was happening.

In my life there's been heartache and pain I don't know if I can face it again Can't stop now, I've traveled so far to change this lonely life

I wanna know what love is, I want you to show me I wanna feel what love is, I know you can show me,

Tears glittered in Yoosung’s eyes as Saeran reached to clasp his hand. Yoosung clutched just as strongly. Saeran poured his heart out in that song, every word etching his love into Yoosung’s heart. When he finished, he waited for Yoosung to respond. He didn’t wait long, Yoosung threw his arms around him, his tears flowing freely, sobbing against his shoulder. Saeran breathed a sigh of relief as he wrapped his arms around Yoosung’s waist and buried his face in the nape of his neck. There was a loud cheer that rose around them, people clapping and whistling with excitement.

Yoosung laughed and pulled away from him.

“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” the shout rose from one voice but was picked up by several more until it was a loud chant. Saeran cupped Yoosung’s face, green eyes meeting purple, both glittering, eager, and a little hesitant. He leaned towards the blonde and Yoosung met him in the middle, lips touching gently. The touch broke the hesitancy, and both pressed against the other, the kiss anything but soft. Yoosung sighed and moaned as Saeran’s tongue explored his mouth, hands clutching at each other. The roar of the crowd faded away…

[livralph]

Self control i

~ Wolfstar fake dating au ~

“This will end in disaster.”

“It won’t end in disaster!”

“Well it cant end well.”

“It could end well!”

Lily sighed. “It was still a bad idea.”

“What part of this was a bad idea?” Remus’ voice had steadily been becoming louder since they’d started talking, and it had finally reached a point where students around them seemed to be listening in rather than reading whichever books they were studying from.

Lily grabbed Remus’ sleeve and pulled him to a corner of the library near the very back that was practically always empty. Not many people had even stepped into the entire section dedicated to flobber worms.

“Remus, do you really think this can end in any other way that him finding out?” Lily’s eyes were wide and pitying.

He winced and pulled a face as if he was trying to convince himself that it would all be okay, that he could hide the way he felt about Sirius in their new arrangement, but he gave up and buried his face in his hands. He’d spent all day thinking of ways this would end well and all of them had major downfalls. “I know your right, Lils. I know. It’s just that... I can’t say no to him. You know I can’t. He asked for a favour...” Remus was searching her face for some sort of understanding, which he did find, accompanied by, yes, that would be pity.

She breathed in deeply then shrugged. “It is what it is, right? And it is utterly stupid for you to have agreed to pretend to date the guy you actually are in love with.”

“I know.” He groaned, then took his hands from his face to look at Lily again, a teasing smile in place on his face. “Anyway, I don’t know if you can talk. Aren’t you still pretending that James is your least favourite person in the world?”

Lily went bright red then hit Remus lightly on the arm. “Stop changing the subject.”

“No. Please change the subject we have a potions essay due tomorrow and I’ve helped Peter and Sirius finish theirs pretending I’d done mine.”

~~~

Remus wasn’t quite sure why it had happened. It was after the moon. He was out of the hospital wing late at night, preferring to sleep in his own dorm, surrounded by his best friends. He’d gotten back to the fat lady’s portrait, said the password. Walked past a few people still finishing homework, then up to the boys dorm. Walked to his trunk, changed into pyjamas. Brushed his teeth, gotten into bed. The usual routine. He’d expected to take the usual two hours more to get to sleep in peace.

Then Sirius was pulling back the hangings around his bed just enough to climb in beside Remus. For a moment Remus had thought it was a dream so he turned onto his side to face Sirius, who was facing him. When he felt a twinge on his side from last nights injury he realised that, yes, this was real and, yes, Sirius was currently so close to Remus face that he could feel his breath fanning over his lips.

Sirius pulled his wand from under the duvet and cast a wordless charm which, Remus assumes, would drown out any sound that came from within. “Hi.” Sirius said with a shit-eating grin on his face either meaning he was completely aware of how little his friend was breathing, or that he was completely oblivious and has a plan. Remus had severely wanted it to be the latter.

“Hi.” He replied, realising Sirius had said something and he certainly would realise that Remus felt completely incapable of anything in that moment if he didn’t reply

“I need a favour.”

Remus felt his breathing stop entirely for a moment.

Sirius swallowed, smile faltering a little as if he had decided that this was not a good idea.

“What?” Remus said when there had been a minute of silence. “Whatever it is I’ll help.” He winced internally. Probably not the best thing to say, however true it was.

“Okay.” Sirius nodded, rolling onto his back. “Shit. Right. Okay. First thing is, I’m gay.” He stopped there for a second and before he had any time to even process it he was continuing. “I told my parents this summer, which was why I left, they got about ten times worse than they had been. James and his mum and dad- my mum and dad now- know too. That’s what had happened when we sent owls to you and Peter at three in the morning telling you to come over. I wasn’t really ready to tell you both yet but... y’know.” Sirius looked over at Remus, who nodded, understanding not being ready to tell friends- however close and accepting. He’d told Lily months before he’d even thought of telling anyone else.

“Second thing.” He continued, looking back up at the ceiling. “You came out near the end of last year. Everyone knows your bi. That’s...” Remus could see something in Sirius’ expression that he couldn’t quite understand. “It’s amazing, Re. Really. No one in our school was openly anything and then you just came out and then there was that group of girls a few weeks after you and a few other guys. It’s just incredible.” Sirius hand found Remus’ under the duvet but he didn’t say anything about it, so neither did Remus. “Incredible.”

Remus smiled sheepishly, feeling heat rise up his neck. He tried to pretend his heart wasn’t beating higher in his chest than it ever had before. “You, um.” He cleared his throat, which suddenly felt constricted. “You had a favour to ask me?”

Sirius tightened his grip on Remus hand slightly. “Yeah. You don’t have to do it, you don’t have to say you will if it’ll make you uncomfortable. Will you pretend to go out with me? Just for a few weeks. Just so I can come out. Because I don’t want it to be this thing that float around as a rumour that’ll get warped and retold until it’s completely untrue. Nothing big. Just fake dates, small couple things. Nothing that makes either of us uncomfortable. You don’t have to do it.”

Remus wasn’t speaking. His mind was running over everything Sirius had said in the past few minutes. He was gay. He thought Remus was amazing for coming out. He was asking Remus to fake date him. As if that was an easy decision to make. As if Remus wasn’t currently holding Sirius’ hand and feeling as if he was walking through a dream so, so close to one he’d had so many times. As if Remus could ever say no to him, especially under such circumstances.

Maybe he’d waited to long to reply, he probably had. His thoughts may have felt like they were going at a million miles an hour but in reality they were not and minutes had definitely passed since either of them had spoken. Sirius was pulling his hand from Remus’ taking silence as his way of saying no. “It’s fine. You don’t have to. It’s kinda stupid anyway- I’ll find another way to do it. Something like that Hufflepuff girl did the first day back after summer. Y’know, sending a howler to the great hall saying she was gay then walking through the door with her robes dyed rainbow. Sort of disappointed I didn’t do that now. But I’ll-“

“No- Sirius.” Remus said, reaching out for Sirius hand again. “I’ll do it. Start tomorrow?” He said it as if it were business or some homework assignment rather than what it was. He had to. If he hadn’t he’d probably have cried instead, and that would have been worse.

Sirius grinned, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Of course.”

~~~

Remus woke up wondering if last night had even happened. Maybe it was some weird dream he’d had while drugged up on Madam Pomfrey’s healing potions. An ominous sinking feeling in his stomach made him think otherwise. As did the curtains being thrown aside by a very, very buzzed Sirius black who was holding liquid eyeliner in his hand and grinning wildly. “merlin, Pads. How many coffees have you had this morning? Actually, no. Tell me what time it is and then answer.”

“Seven.” Sirius beamed. “And two. Or three. Or four.” He furrowed his eyebrows. “One of the three.” He shrugged. “Anyway, Lily said your literally the best person at eyeliner in the whole of Hogwarts. So please help me I’ve stabbed myself in the eye six times and it looked awful.”

Remus sighed, rubbing his eyes, then sitting up in his bed. He waved a hand, motioning for Sirius to sit down in front of him. He did so, legs crossed with his knees touching Remus’. Sirius passed over the eyeliner bottle.

Remus took the lid of then traced Sirius eye with the brush, telling him to keep his eyes closed once he was done on one eye before moving onto the next. When he finished, Remus didn’t move away, using the excuse of making sure the makeup was perfect to be close to Sirius in private. It only lasted a second because James was pulling open the bed hangings, words half way out of his mouth when he saw the boys, inches apart from each other in a seemingly very intimate way.

“Oh.” James said, not moving. He looked to Remus, who had one hand cupping Sirius face and the other resting on it, eyeliner brush a few centimetres off his face. Then he turned to Sirius, who hadn’t opened his eyes, but did slowly turn his head to be facing in James’ general direction. “Wait, Remus how the hell did you do that?” Remus shrugged, closing the eyeliner -now now touching sirius’ face- and taking his wand and waving it at Sirius face in a short complicated hand movement.

Sirius shuddered a little then muttered, “can I open my eyes now, Re?” His hand had slipped to be resting on Remus lower thigh. Somehow, he hadn’t noticed this until Sirius squeezed it once, making Remus jump.

Remus briefly wondered whether they were playing up the couple thing for James too, or if this was just their normal now. If it had always been their normal, but he’d only just noticed because he was hoping beyond everything that Sirius could possibly like him back. Before he wouldn’t even allow himself to think about it, well, not consciously. His dreams were sadly ruins his control. “Go for it. And you’ll have to ask me to take it off because I found this charm for Lily a year or two ago that makes it so it is waterproof, and so it doesn’t smudge.”

Sirius smirked, “not the only thing I’ll ask you to take off, babe.” He followed this up with a wink.

Remus was going to die. He put his head back on his pillow and buried his face into it, groaning loudly. To James this probably seemed to be because he was embarrassed by his boyfriend, but it was actually because he now had the memory of Sirius Black actually saying those words to him. The two of them were howling with laughter. After a few seconds of hearing this Remus sat up, intertwined his fingers with Sirius’, smiled unsettlingly sweetly at him then said in a low voice, “if you say things like that around our friends, babe, then maybe I won’t take anything off you.”

Yes. Remus was going to die- and by the way James was laughing so hard that he was just wheezing, he already was. At that moment Peter chose to walk in the room, robes on and toothbrush in his moth. He froze at the sight in front of him. First he looked at James, then Remus, and lastly Sirius, who had swallowed thickly at his fake boyfriends words and then nodded solemnly. However sincere this seemed, he doubted it would actually happen, seeing as Sirius was the biggest drama queen in the world. The previous year Dumbledore had rewarded points to him on five separate occasions for making such a show of pretending to be disappointed by recieving yet another detention. (McGonagall had removed the points immediately, but the thought was there.)

So, based on this, yes. Remus was going to emotionally die.

~~~

He’d told Lily that afternoon it was fake. She’d barely opened her mouth to say how good it was for him when he told her. He couldn’t deal with all of his close friends telling him how amazing it was that they’d ‘finally gotten together’. Sitting in the common room with her at three in the morning while sharing a blanket and a pot of tea a house Elf had offered to bring was much more therapeutic than lying awake in his bed listening to James try and weasel details about how they’d started going out from Sirius. Lily and Remus hadn’t spoken about it since the library earlier, instead discussing class and a muggle book they’d both read.

They were both ignoring it- the elephant in the room. And eventually Remus was going to talk about everything Sirius said and did the previous night. He knew it. All he’d told lily was that he’d asked for a favour and that favour was fake dating. He hadn’t told her about the hand holding. Or the faces inches apart. Or the strange atmosphere in his bed before James threw open the curtains, and for a few seconds after.

He knew Lily wanted to talk about it, she just wasn’t bringing it up. She wanted to ask why he’d said yes again, why he’d agreed to put himself through something that would so obviously hurt him. It was obvious in the way she was only talking about spells and potions and magical creatures, rather than students and friends.

“Ask what you want to, Lils.” He finally said, as she was halfway through the symptoms of doxie poisoning.

Lily let out a heavy breath. “You know me too well. I can’t hide anything from you.” She huffed again.

“Same goes for me.”

Lily didn’t respond, instead staring at the fire. “How did he ask, Re? You can say no to Sirius. You’ve said no about so many pranks, plans, ideas, everything. Why not this?”

Remus told her what happened, how they’d been so close that he could feel the heat radiating from Sirius body, how they’d been holding hands, how everything made him feel more in love that he constantly did. How if he’d moved himself less than two inches closer together they could have kissed. “He was lying their waiting for me to say something. Holding my hand. I can say no to pranks, Lily, things that aren’t plausible or could hurt people. I can’t say no when he’s vulnerable and needs nothing more than some help. I always have to help him.”

Remus had silent tears travelling down his cheeks and he pressed his face into her shoulder. “I needed to do this. For- for him.” He swallowed, trying to keep his voice steady. “He’s helped me so much. So much. He deserves the same.”

“I know.” Lily muttered, putting her arms around his shoulders and hugging him tightly. “I know, Remus... but you shouldn’t help him when the only collateral damage is going to be you.”

[eddie-boii]

Never Let You Go (part 9/14)

Fic info: Both Eddie and Stan live because I do what I want. Multichapter.

Rating: Teen and up (may change). Language.

Pairings: Reddie, Benverly.

Ao3 link: here

Summary: The Losers prepare for a wedding. Here’s some fluff before the wedding happens. In this house, we love and appreciate Audra and Patty.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14

*

Richie awoke to a pillow slapping his head and a pleasant greeting of “Wake up, fuck-face!”

“Good morning to you too, sunshine,” Richie groaned, rolling over in bed and burying his face deeper into his warm pillow so as to ignore the tiny hypochondriac man currently trying to force him out of bed. A brief glance at the window told him it had snowed overnight, and he’d much rather stay in his cosy bed than venture out there.

“Come on, asshole, today’s the big day!” Eddie said, pulling the sheets off of Richie magician-style before immediately releasing a sound not-unlike one of those rubber chicken dogs toys and clapping his hands over his eyes. “Where the fuck are your clothes?!”

“Why the fuck would I wear clothes when I was supposed to be sleeping alone?!” Richie said, finally dragging himself out of bed to slip on a dressing gown and smirking slightly at Eddie’s red face. 

“Are you decent yet?”

“Morally?” said Richie. “Hard to say.”

“Do you have clothes on, dipshit?”

Richie rolled his eyes. “Yes, Eduardo, you can look again without gagging.”

“Why would I gag?” said Eddie, finally lowering his hands, and Richie swallowed the urge to make a blowjob joke.

“So what brings you here this morning, my dear spaghetti?”

Eddie scowled at the nickname. “Maybe because this is my fucking assigned room, jerk-off.” When Richie raised an eyebrow at him, he rolled his eyes. “Bev kicked me out and your presence is requested to help the bride prepare for her special day,” he explained, fluttering his fingers about sarcastically as though disgusted by the romantic notion of it all.

“Well why didn’t you just say, spaghetti-bear?” said Richie. “You mind giving me some privacy while I shower and get dressed first? Unless you wanna get all steamy with me?” he added with a wink, grinning when Eddie’s face flushed red once more even while he wore that adorable scowl.

“Whatever, asshole, I’m going to help Ben get ready.” He retrieved one of his many suitcases - the one containing his suit - and made his exit, leaving Richie to get ready for the day.

Nobody could say Richie didn’t make an effort to look nice; he’d had a haircut a few days ago, and now he actually shaved and put on deodorant after his shower before putting on his fanciest outfit: jeans and a tuxedo t-shirt.

“Don’t all fawn over me at once, ladies,” he declared as he flung open the door to Bev’s room to find Stan, Patty and Audra all fussing over Beverly’s hair and makeup.

“Nope,” said Stan, taking one look at him. “You are not wearing that, no fucking way.”

“Bev said I could wear whatever I wanted!” Richie protested as Beverly tried valiantly to hide her grimace.

Stan gave him a deadpan look. He walked over to a suitcase and pulled a suit bag from it, shoving into Richie’s arms. “Go change.”

“Why do you have this?” said Richie, frowning down at the bag. It was black and opaque so he couldn’t see what the garment it held looked like.

“Because I knew you’d try to pull some shit,” said Stanley. “Go. Change.”

“No offence, Staniel,” said Richie, eying Stan’s bird-patterned tie, “but I don’t trust your fashion taste.”

“I picked it especially for you,” said Stan, and shook his head when Richie looked even more apprehensive. “You’ll like it, trust me.”

Richie wasn’t convinced but went into the en suite to change anyway. As soon as he unzipped the bag, he grinned. He’d never doubt Stan again.

“Now you’ll really have to try not to fawn over me, ladies!” said Richie, grinning widely as he stepped back out of the bathroom all decked out in a suit, except this one wasn’t boring and black like all the ones he had to wear to red carpet events that he hated so much; this one was colourful and patterned with bright flowers all over, not unlike his favourite Hawaiian shirts. The shirt underneath was black, but Richie didn’t care as it made sure the whole look wasn’t too over-the-top. He looked pretty hot if he did say so himself. “You really outdid yourself, Stan-the-man!” he said, pulling Stan into a tight hug.

“You’re welcome, Trashmouth,” Stan laughed. “Patty helped me pick it out,” he added, and Richie gave Patty a big hug too, momentarily distracting her from doing up Bev’s hair.

“You actually look really handsome,” said Bev, looking him up and down.

“You sound surprised,” said Richie, feigning offence.

“More handsome than usual,” Bev rectified. “That nightmare outfit actually suits you.”

“It does scream Richie, doesn’t it?” said Stan.

“Alright, I think we’re done here, hon,” said Audra as she made a final sweep of blusher across Bev’s cheekbone. “You want any makeup doing, Richie?”

Richie blinked at her, momentarily caught off guard. He joked about that sort of thing a lot - a way to detract attention from the fact that he really was a huge ‘fairy’ like his school bullies always said - but Audra seemed completely serious. Richie hadn’t really considered actually indulging in feminine things now that he was out and proud without making it a joke.

“Uh,” he said, “what kind of makeup?”

Audra tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I reckon you’d look really hot with some eyeliner and painted nails.”

“Careful you don’t make Eddie have a fit,” Stan murmured, and Bev snorted as Richie shot them both a glare.

Audra didn’t seem to hear as she was too busy retrieving a bag containing about a hundred little bottles of nail varnish. “Wanna pick a colour?” she said, passing Richie the bag.

Richie perched on the edge of the bed and shuffled through all the bottles, marvelling at just how many colours there were. He contemplated picking a pink that matched some of the flowers on his suit, but decided to play it safe and pulled out a plain black instead.

Audra took the bottle off him and sat beside him on the bed, pulling his hand into her lap. She filed down the jagged edges first - courtesy of a nail-biting habit Richie had never managed to get rid of despite his mother’s wishes - then opened the bottle carefully. Richie stayed perfectly still, watching the little brush sweep over his nails one by one.

“Wow, you actually got Richie to shut up and stay still,” said Stan. “We should’ve made you an honorary Loser sooner.”

Richie flipped him off with his free hand but was careful not to move the one Audra was working on.

“It’s part of my charm,” Audra said simply, not looking up from what she was doing.

“All done, Bev!” said Patty from across the room, and Richie looked up to see the finished result of Bev’s makeover. 

Her makeup was done to perfection thanks to Audra and her movie-star expertise; her eyeshadow blended expertly across her lids and the colour bringing out the green in her eyes, her eyeliner perfectly neat and even on each side, her cheekbones highlighted expertly and her lips painted a pretty pink. And her hair was flawless, pulled back in a loose bun bordered by a braid that had been woven around little silver flowers, wavy strands of amber locks falling free to frame her face.

“You look gorgeous, Bev,” said Richie.

“Thanks, sweetie,” said Bev, smiling at her reflection in the mirror. “And thank you, girls, you did amazing.”

“You’re welcome, honey,” said Patty, smiling softly. “You make such a beautiful bride.”

“Yeah, I’m only, like, ninety per cent jealous right now,” said Audra and Bev laughed. “Alright, handsome, don’t touch anything while that dries,” she said to Richie as she finished painting the last nail. “Now, let me see what I can do about eyeliner.”

“Ooh, I think your hair might be long enough to braid,” said Patty, coming over. “Can I?”

“Suddenly I’m eight again and acting like a doll for my sister and her stupid friends,” said Richie, but he didn’t protest as Patty grabbed a brush and some hair ties.

“You love it,” said Bev and Richie just stuck his tongue out at her.

Stan had to run off to take a phone call before Richie’s makeover was complete. He stood in front of the mirror admiring Patty and Audra’s handy work. Thankfully, Patty hadn’t gone too overboard with the braiding, and Richie didn’t match a certain photo his mom had on her fridge depicting him with about twenty bunches and bows in his hair and glittery eyeshadow all over his face. This look was far more subtle.

“You look like a Viking-emo-hippy,” said Bev. “It shouldn’t work but it does.”

“I look hot as fuck,” said Richie humbly.

“Twenty-bucks says Eddie pops a boner,” Bev whispered not-so-subtly to Audra.

“You’re on.”

“Will you please stop with the fucking bets,” said Richie. “Or at least let me in on them, I bet I could make big money.”

“You wish, sunshine,” said Bev.

Stan reentered the room a moment later, a frown creasing his face. It must have been serious because he didn’t even look twice at Richie’s makeover.

“Uh, Beverly, don’t freak out, but we have a problem.”

“Oh no,” said Bev, paling instantly. “What is it?”

“There’s been a lot of snow overnight and the minister can’t make it,” said Stan.

Beverly stared at him. “What?” she cried, her voice cracking with panic as she grasped Richie’s arm for support and Patty rubbed her back comfortingly. “We can’t have a wedding without a minister!”

“Bev, it’s going to be fine,” said Stan, holding out his hands giving her a calming look. “I can perform the wedding, my father made sure I was ordained.”

“But we’re not Jewish,” said Bev, still far from calm. “Can you still do it? Is that going to be a problem?”

“I’m not a Rabbi, it’ll be fine,” said Stan and Beverly gave a great sigh of relief before rushing into his arms and giving him a tight hug.

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said emphatically before pulling away so as not to smudge her makeup. “Oh no, but who will walk down the aisle with Mike?”

“Don’t worry, babe,” said Richie. “Your man has two hands.”

“God, this wedding is just getting further and further away from traditional,” sighed Bev.

“Did you expect anything less?” said Stan.

“Good point.”

“You better get going, babe,” said Audra after checking her watch. “You don’t wanna be late.”

“We’ll see you at the second ceremony,” said Patty. She hugged Bev then gave Stan a quick peck on the lips. “Good luck.”

“You’ll be fine,” said Audra, giving Bev’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “That is one good-looking hunk you’ve snagged yourself.”

“And so respectful,” sighed Patty dreamily.

“I’m standing right here,” said Stan.

Patty soft smile turned into a grin, her eyes glinting mischievously. “No one can beat my man’s sweet little behind,” she replied, reaching her arms around her husband. He yelped suddenly, his face turning red, and Richie realised she’d pinched his ass. He couldn’t blame her.

He gasped dramatically. “You married a girl with a wild side, Stanley!”

Stan shot him a glare but Patty winked at him.

“Oh, he’s got wild side too.”

“Patty!” Stan squawked, and Patty giggled, reaching up to kiss his nose.

”See you later,” she said, then she linked her arm with Audra’s and the two made their way out of the room.

Stanley was still blushing and Richie nudged him playfully. “Man, I really wish I’d been at your wedding.”

Stan rolled his eyes at him but then looked at the ground, his smile falling slightly. “Me too,” he said softly.

Beverly moved forward and took his hand, squeezing it gently. “We’re all together for this wedding at least.”

“Yeah,” said Stan, looking up at her and smiling. “You ready?”

Bev returned his smile a little shakily, wringing her hands together. “As I’ll ever be,” she replied.

They all bundled into thick winter coats, obscuring most of their outfits for the time being.

“We’re really doing this outside?” said Richie, eying the garden through the frost-flecked window which had become a winter wonderland overnight.

“For the aesthetic,” said Bev, giving him puppy-dog eyes. “And for me.”

“Ugh, fine,” said Richie.

“Shouldn’t take long,” said Stan. “Then we’ve got the second ceremony inside where its warm.

“Can’t wait,” said Richie. “This better be fucking spectacular in the meantime.”

“I hope so,” said Bev. She stepped between them and took their hands. Richie squeezed her hand and she squeezed back, smiling up at him, nervous but… Excited. Really excited.

“You’re about to marry Ben,” Richie whispered, and Beverly nodded, unable to speak, but her eyes were bright and glistening.

The words still didn’t feel quite real. Everything that had happened, everything they’d been through, and here they were. Alive. Two of his best friends in the world getting married. Only a year ago, weddings to him were just boring events he attended for the benefit of the press. Just turn up, smile, eat the free cake and leave. But he hadn’t had real friends back then, or at least, he hadn’t remembered them. He’d spent twenty-seven years with a pit in his chest he couldn’t seem to fill and no idea how it had gotten there. But now, standing here holding Beverly’s hand with Stan, preparing to go meet the others, he felt whole again. Finally. He may not have remembered the Losers for those twenty-seven years, but he’d missed them so much more than they could ever know. They were more than just friends to him; they were soulmates, all of them. Their absence had left a huge gap in his life, but now they were back, and he was never letting them go.

Beverly sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She squeezed the hands of both the men either side of her tightly, drew her shoulder’s back, and they all turned as one to face the door. 

“Ok,” she said. “I’m ready.” 

Richie smiled down at her. “Alright,” he said. “Let’s go get you married.”

*

Previous Next

[themagnusbane]

For @maiabaneway because I promised her something fluffy after all the angst of the past week. 

He came home to silence. It wasn’t a silence that was necessarily bad. It wasn't the quiet before a storm, with dark corners filled with dangers that lurked at every turn, waiting to unleash hell on them all.

No. This silence was calm. Unusual, but calm all the same.

Alec turned the knob and stepped into the loft. The door closed behind him with a light click, doing little to stir the silence that was the loft.

He eased out of his jacket, hung it on the coatrack and rolled up his sleeves as he walked further into the apartment, half searching for Magnus, half wondering if maybe Magnus' meeting with the High Warlock of Barcelona had lasted longer than he'd planned and he wasn't home yet.

He shrugged and made to head to the bedroom when he stopped at the sight of Magnus, stretched out on the sofa, fast asleep. His right left arm was folded behind his head, serving as an unexpected cushion, his right arm hung down, almost touching the ground; the rings on them glittered. He had a book spread open on his chest: Handbook of experimental immunology, Alec saw when he stepped closer. Magnus’ boots were still on, although he'd lost the jacket at one point and it was now lying on the adjacent couch.

Alec smiled.

He walked to the bathroom, and headed straight for the cabinets, swiped a packet of makeup removal wipes and came back out.

Magnus was still sleeping, although somewhere in the toss and turn, he'd dislodged the actual pillow that had been on the couch.

Alec chuckled, dropped the wipes on the coffee table and reached for the book, closed it and set it aside. Next he went to the end of the couch, worked the buckles on the boots, and took off first one boot, and then the other, careful to place them side by side a couple of meters away from the couch.

He looked up to find Magnus blinking sleepily up at him. He smiled. "Hey." "Alexander," Magnus murmured back in reply. "You're home."

Alec hummed in reply and walked around till he was right beside Magnus. He bent to one knee, thankful for the pillow that cushioned the moved and reached for Magnus' hands. He slipped off Magnus' rings one at a time, taking the time to run circles around Magnus’ fingers with each ring he slipped off. "Yeah. The emissaries from the Clave were called back in. Some trouble in Idris it would seem. Is this new?" Alec asked, as he stared down at a ring he hadn't seen before: a silver band with etchings on the side and an onyx stone.

"Yes," Magnus replied and handed over his left hand so Alec could slip off the rings on that hand as well. "Dot picked it up for me at a market in Istanbul."

"It's beautiful," Alec said as he worked off the rest of the rings. He rose to his feet, picked up the wipes from the coffee table and returned to the sofa. He took out a wipe, knelt and reached for Magnus' face, gently cleaning off the makeup, paying special attention to Magnus' eyes to get rid of the eye shadow and eyeliner. He reached for a second wipe to repeat the process. When the third wipe came back clean, he nodded.

Magnus slowly opened his eyes. He smiled: a tired, sleepy smile.

"Long day," Alec asked as he ran his fingers over Magnus' face, smiling when that got him a contented sigh.

"Unbelievably long."

"How was brunch with the High Warlock of Barcelona," Alec asked as his fingers sank into Magnus' hair, massaging his scalp with sure movements, rubbing in his fingers, just the way Magnus liked it. Magnus angled his head just right so Alec's fingers could slide further in and Alec chuckled.

"Productive."

"But…?" Alec asked, well aware that there a 'but' in that statement. It was in the furrowed brow, the slight tick in Magnus' cheek.

"He's hiding something from me," Magnus admitted. "Grouchy old goat."

Alec spluttered, and looked down into Magnus' twinkling eyes. He snorted. "Well I'm sure the grouchy old goat will play his hand soon enough."

Magnus grinned. "Don't they always?"

Alec chuckled and pulled his fingers away from Magnus' hair. The chuckle turned into a laugh when Magnus made a sound of protest and glared balefully at him. He rose to his feet and held out his hand. "Come to bed?"

Magnus gave a half sneer and rolled his eyes. But he took Alec's hand, allowed him to pull him up and walked with him into the bedroom.

They slipped out of their clothes, the actions accompanied by conversations about their day and their plans for the next day.

When they were both left only in their underwear—silk briefs for Magnus and boxer shorts for Alec—they slid into bed, long legs tangled up together with Alec's arms curved around Magnus, and his face buried in Magnus' hair.

He fell asleep to the steady rise and fall of Magnus’ breathing, and the scent of his lover followed him into his dreams.

[userlando]

Blooming Love (Grayson x Reader)

Summary: Based off of this tweet. IT’S SO CUTE OKAY. Word Count: 2,335 Warnings: None. A/N: I saw the tweet and just had to write something involving the boys. And since Grayson is the most requested cutie to write about, I decided on him. Enjoy! xx

The night had gone horribly wrong. It had started off with you thinking that a dinner was on the schedule, and that you would have all the time in the world to spend time with your boyfriend. You had gotten there, dressed up in a nice dress that you had bought because it was on sale, and just because of this occasion.

Both of you had ordered your food and he had been unusually quiet, his answers short. You were feeling kind of confused and lost, not really sure why he refused to even look you in the eye. And quite frankly, you were upset because you had made an effort to actually look nicer than usual, and he had failed to compliment you.

The drive back to your apartment complex was quiet, just like the dinner had been. Usually you would both be bickering, singing out loudly to whatever song was playing on the radio, but right now it was like two strangers were sitting in the car. It was suffocating.

He pulled over by the sidewalk and you watched as he killed the engine, leaning back stiffly in his seat while looking straight ahead.

“You coming up?” You asked tentatively, not really sure what his answer was gonna be.

He looked at you then, for the first time that night and you felt your heart sink to your stomach. This was it, then. You tried not to let your heartbreak show on your face as you both stared at each other.

“We need to talk.” He began, voice quiet.

This wasn’t happening. Oh no, oh no.

“You’re breaking up with me,” you said, voice cracking painfully.

His eyes widened slightly as your words registered, and you knew for sure then that he really was breaking it off; 2 years of your life going down the drain for reasons you didn’t know.

“Is there someone else?” You asked when the silence stretched on for so long that it was beginning to make you physically ache. You almost laughed at how painfully cliché that sentence was, but you needed to know why.

“No…” he breathed out, like he was scared of your reaction. His eyes told you a different answer though.

The pain you had felt inside you vanished, anger replacing it. You felt betrayed and hurt that he actually had the audacity to lie straight to your face, throwing away your two years together and not have the decency to tell you the truth.

“You know what? Fuck you. You’re such a coward!” You spat out right at his face, too upset to revel at the hurt that was showing on his face. You unbuckled yourself and stepped out of the car, slamming it shut without a care in the world. You just wished that his head was the one getting slammed in between.

You wobbled on your heels to the entrance, willing yourself not to cry, not until you were alone and no one there to witness it. But of course, your douche bag boyfriend - well, ex-boyfriend just had to make it worse by stepping out of the car, running after you, yelling your name.

“Babe, wait, let me explain.” He pleaded and you felt your eyes prick with angry tears at his voice that you once used to love hearing. Now you just felt sick to your stomach.

You whirled around, pointing an accusing finger at him, giving him the best glare you had.

“No! Don’t babe me! You don’t get to explain! We’ve been together for two years, you asshole. Two years! And you don’t even have the balls to actually tell me the real reason behind this stupid break-up.” You were full on yelling now, and you were pretty sure you had woken up the whole neighborhood, but you were way past caring.

You didn’t even realize that you were crying until you felt the one tear rolling down your cheek. Your hand wiped it away angrily.

“You’re a coward and you just wasted two years of my life. I hope you find someone who makes you so fucking happy and leaves you the way you just left me,” You sobbed out, wiping at your cheeks while staring straight at the one who had inflicted the anger and pain that you were feeling. “Have a nice life. Don’t call me, don’t even reach out to me. We’re done for good.”

You turned around without getting a second glance at him, determined to get into the building, into your apartment and just cry in your bed. As soon as you had stepped into your elevator, the realization came crashing down, the tears following soon after.

You sobbed out loudly, feeling betrayed and heartbroken. Everything had been good between you two for the longest time, and you had to admit that it had been rocky those last two weeks. Deep down you knew this was coming, but it still hurt so bad. And to think that he’d had a girl on the side while he was still with you was just the last straw.

The elevator dinged out loud, the doors separating soon after. You sniffled, wiping at your eyes and cheeks, your hand getting smudged with black eyeliner and eyeshadow that you had spent two hours putting on. Now it was gone, just like your relationship.

The sobbing didn’t stop, you continued sniffling as you approached your apartment door, reaching into your purse to look for your keys that were hiding somewhere. But the tears were blurring your vision and your hands were shaking like crazy.

Your purse slipped from your arm, landing on the carpeted floor with a thud and you looked down at it, feeling utterly hopeless. A sob escaped your lips and you hunched down to get your bag, slipping in the process and falling on your butt. With a huff, you pulled your heels off, grabbing your purse to get those darn keys.

Apparently the universe wasn’t done with messing up your life and you glanced up as you heard footsteps coming up. Your door was close to the stairs and you knew that if the person was passing your floor then he’d definitely spot you looking like a hot mess on the floor.

You found your keys just as the person showed up, which turned out to be one of the twins that lived next to you. He halted his steps and you both had an awkward moment of looking at each other. You didn’t know what to do because you two were friendly, you talked now and then, but you weren’t close. It was embarrassing because he looked like he’d just walked straight out of a modeling magazine and your makeup probably made you look like a raccoon. You tried to stop your sniffling, but it was like your body couldn’t stop.

You turned around, feeling more embarrassed than you’d ever felt in your entire life. Some quick work with the keys and you successfully unlocked your door and stepped in, leaving your neighbor standing outside, closing the door.

You were too ashamed to admit it, even to yourself, but you had spent the rest of the night crying. Falling asleep only when the sun had started to peek through the closed curtains.

Your head felt like it weighed a ton as you sat snuggled up on your couch in a blanket, the cereal you had poured yourself already soggy in your bowl that laid on the sofa table, untouched. The television was showing a rerun of Jimmy Fallon on low volume but you weren’t paying attention, falling in and out of restless sleep every once in a while.

A knock echoed through the apartment and it startled you. You sat up, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes as you wrapped the blanket tighter around yourself, shivering when your bare feet made contact with the cold floor.

“Hi. Delivery for a Y/N?” A guy you didn’t recognize asked and it took you a while to realize that he was a delivery man, holding a clipboard and a cute bouquet of pink and yellow tulips.

“Yeah,” I murmured, still feeling sleepy and disoriented.

“Sign here, please.” The man smiled kindly, handing you the clipboard and a pen. You signed it quickly, and accepted the bouquet that he was holding, thanking him with a small smile.

You shut the door and locked it after he had left, going back to your little cocoon on the couch. There was a small note in the bouquet and a post-it note with your name on it stuck, and for a second you considered burning the flowers. But something told you to read the note, so you reached for the note, unfolding it carefully.

“Tears in general are horrid, but tears inflicted by boys are the worst! Hope these make you smile & that everything gets better! :) - Grayson”

You were confused for a second before it all clicked. Grayson. Your neighbor. He had seen you last night. You blushed in shame as you realized that he’d seen you at probably your worst. And it made you feel guilty that you hadn’t said anything to him, you’d only shut the door in his face.

Before you could think about it, you picked up your phone that was buried between the pillows and blankets, searching for the florist’s number before dialing it.

You were in your kitchen later that night, staring wistfully at your microwave, listening to the popping sounds from the popcorn, when there was a knock on your door. The person on the other side of the door smiled brightly at you when you opened it, and you couldn’t help but smile back, feeling bashful. Grayson brought his hand up, showing off a bouquet of white roses.

“These are really nice,” he said, eyes gentle as he gazed at you. “You didn’t have to do it.”

You shrugged, “I felt like it, especially after your little charade with sending me those tulips. Which are beautiful by the way, I love them.”

“I’m glad.” He grinned and you both stood there, staring at each other.

You cleared your throat to break the silence and stepped to the side gingerly.

“Want to come in? I have popcorn ready and was gonna choose a movie.”

This was the longest conversation you had ever had with him. Mainly because you had only moved to the building a few months ago, and apparently Grayson and his brother had been on tour so they hadn’t been around for long. The most you’d get said between you was the occasionally ‘hi’ and ‘how are you’. Your ex never liked the idea of having “good looking guys” as your next door neighbors, which was quite ridiculous because he was the one who ended up cheating in the end. Not you.

You refrained from rolling your eyes at the thought and focused back on Grayson who had apparently accepted your invite, stepping inside. You expected him to take off his shoes but when you glanced down, you found him in only his socks.

You laughed, “Nice shoes.”

Grayson looked down at his feet and back up at you with a proud smirk.

“Thank you, they were very expensive.”

You couldn’t help but giggle, feeling like you hadn’t smiled in years when it was only yesterday. Grayson traipsed in, making himself comfortable on your couch and you refrained from snorting as you walked into the kitchen.

The popcorn was poured into a bowl and you brought out glasses to fill them with chocolate milk. You popped in some swirly straws and carried it all to the living room.

“First flowers and now this?” Grayson gasped in mock bashfulness. “You spoil me too much.”

You rolled your eyes this time, smile making your jaw ache.

“Wait, chocolate milk with popcorn?” he wrinkled his nose in disgust.

“You haven’t tried it before? It’s delicious.” You handed him his glass, prompting him to try it out.

Grayson did just that, nose wrinkled as he popped in a few popcorns, taking a sip of his drink. The wrinkle of his nose dissolved, eyebrows arching even further up as he hummed, delighted.

“See?” You said smugly, tucking your feet under yourself and grabbing the remote.

The night was spent watching different crappy rom-coms. You didn’t really watch the movies though, instead opting to point out all the clichés and unrealistic scenes. It was nice and you loved every minute of it. He made you laugh like you hadn’t in months, your cheeks and sides aching. But you did some deep talk too, talking about yesterdays incident, to which he had glared and rolled his eyes, uttering “he doesn’t deserve you at all.”

That night wasn’t the last night you spent with Grayson. As the time went, he became one of the most important persons in your life, spending almost every day together. He’d crash on your couch whenever it got too late and he was too lazy to walk back to his apartment, and your couch eventually turned to your bed. You got to meet Ethan officially, becoming close with him too. Every now and then you’d help them with filming videos, appearing in a few of them too.

Grayson kept bringing you flowers too, at first it was as a joke. But then it became a habit. He’d show up at your doorstep, holding different kinds of flowers and eventually you fell for him. You fell for him so hard and you were so scared of messing it all up.

Turns out that he felt the same, when he one day showed up unannounced (like any other day), bouquet of flowers in his hand and confessing his feelings for you. You had kissed then, your kitchen counter digging against your back as he held you tenderly, lips moving against yours softly. And you let yourself fall deeper into the hole. This time with Grayson at the end, ready to catch you.

THANK YOU FOR 100 FOLLOWERS! Hope you loved this one. My ask box is open for everyone, I have cookies and love ♡