#but i am talking about jackie down the line

[newwavesylviaplath]

u can always tell a song is gonna be a banger if it's from an irish band and has some type of allusion to their feelings toward the brits

[enviedear]

jackie and wilson — billy bonney

⤷ modern!billy au

tw— somehow this is 4.6k words. mentions of food and eating, talk of religion and bible verses, (i'm southern and was forced to go to church every sunday it reflects in the writing) smutty themes so, minors dni, 18+ only, kissing, fondling, skinny dipping, (they're in their undies) so horrifically fluffy

i can already tell this is going to become an ongoing series, so be sure to comment and lmk if you want more. also, this is influenced by my daily mantra

request

the summer heat feels like it's baking you as you traverse through the long grass of your farmland. birds call and screech in the trees lining the woods beside you. if you weren't so scared of walking the shortcut in the woods alone, your risk of sun poisoning may seem less apparent.

you grip the wicker basket in your hands tighter, eyes squinting to look for the lean farmhand-for-hire. in years past, you've been keen to take his place whenever your grandparents needed someone for an oddball job. working long hours with the older couple up until you graduated from the county high school. as the seasons changed, and you got older and busier, so did your grandparents. their work on their farm proved in dire need of help.

a simple fix—you. this summer, free from university and your internship, your parents elected you to spend the free time of your summer working on your loving grandparents' farm.

in the early days of the warm season, you managed pretty well on your own. you tended the vegetables and the fruits, took care of the chickens and sheep, and sowed the large fields with grain until sunset.

everything changed after an unfortunate incident with your grandpa's gargantuan baler. luckily, you were fine, but your pa's expensive baler was wrecked all to hell.

so here you were, now relegated to some pseudo farmer's daughter role, hand-delivering water and a full lunch to none other than billy bonney.

your grandparents say billy's nice enough, mannerly yet hushed. but you know there's more to it. at least if small town gossip is anything to believe, and here, it usually is.

everyone knows the crowd billy runs around with. he's also got a vile gang of friends. angry men with sly smirks who spend most of their free time loitering the town's local bar or gambling away their lives at lawrence murphy's corral. the type of men to carry a weapon at all times without any license, and quick to threaten to shoot with even the most minor infraction.

the knowledge was enough to have you hiding away from him every time your grandparents hired him for a job.

everytime that is, until now.

you knew with the way your pa sternly stared into your eyes that a complaint wouldn't be warranted. as your grandma instructed you to bring the farmhand some, "hearty lunch for his hard work," you came to terms with the fact that you had no right to argue.

not when you owe the old man a baler.

you finally reach the young man, covered in grime and leaning against his parked pickup, out of breath and sweltering. you try not to stare at the baler attached to the tractor, about twenty feet from his parked vehicle, your embarrassment over wrecking the last one still ever present.

his truck has its' doors wide open, blaring music through blown speakers. you try to avoid making direct eye contact with him, voice raised slightly to be heard over the folk song playing, "here. figure you're hungry."

lifting the tea towel from the top of the basket, you set it on his open truck bed. despite not looking up, you can see him hurry to turn his music down before sauntering over to you from the side of your gaze.

"thank you," his voice surprises you. it's gruff but gentle. "you kin to the old couple?"

you're not sure why, but you take offense to his question. sure you've ignored him, but you know that he knows who you are. you meet his stare, your tone dry in response, "i am."

he inclines his head toward the basket, ignoring your reply with a hum, "what'd ya' bring me, hon?"

your eyes roll unabashed at his endearment, "my grandma threw a bit of everything in there. i know there's some jambalaya— the last bit of our mud cake too."

"you're spoiling me, you tell her i said thank you," he pauses, peering down at you, "are you going to be bringin' me my lunch everyday?"

his question is innocuous but something in the way he says it makes your stomach drop. you shrug, "sure, i guess."

"i'd like that." he slips the words out before his hands dive into the basket, fishing out one of the water bottles.

you nod, confused by him, "yeah well, be careful. i guess i'll see you tomorrow."

at that you turn from him, walking your trail again to get back to the house. you fight the urge to look over your shoulder and catch a glimpse of him. some proof he's really there, that the interaction actually happened.

because despite the second-hand opinion you've held on him, billy bonney was unexpected. annoyingly so.

as you finish up your day, you can't help but think about the encounter with the dark-haired farmhand. you've known of him for years, sure, but you never expected much of him.

just another one of jesse evans’ rowdy boys.

shocking, that billy would be so different. or maybe, just better at hiding his depravity. you think back to his voice, rough around the edges, yet littered with tenderness. it’s not until you think back to his gentle smile that you realize, there’s a kindness that exudes from him, and it’s got you hook, line, and sinker.

you wonder if he's always been this way? you like to think he has. even if it is only a platitude for your undeniable crush.

in the following days, you continue to bring the farmhand his lunch, stopping to talk to him longer each noon. he's easy to talk to, apt to ask you about your day, or if you need anything. you can't exactly explain why, but you're drawn to him.

it's extra muggy as you pack up his lunch and make your way to him, breaking from his time on the baler to lay in the bed of his truck.

he doesn't take notice of you until your basket finds home right beside him, blasted speakers blaring yet another folk tune.

"hey there," he greets you with a grin, his white work shirt wrought with soil, the short sleeves haphazardly rolled, "you know i'm starting t'get used to this."

you smile back, feeling a warm sensation spreading through your body, "i'm sure you are."

billy takes a look in the lunch basket, grabbing out some water first to clear the dirt on his hands, "you wanna hang around for a bit?"

you hesitate for a moment, not sure if you should. not only do you have a long list of chores, you also still find a bit of nervousness around the young man.

but billy's been nice enough, and if he's anything like his friends you assume he would have shown it by now, "i guess i have some time."

billy nods, handing you a water and patting the free space beside him. you hop up, close enough that his side brushes yours.

the sensation sends shivers down your spine as you try to focus on conversation, pulling for anything you can say. for a moment, neither of you speaks, the only sound is coming from the music blasting from his speakers. an old rock song today, different. your eyes try to look anywhere but at him, taking in the vast expanse of farmland around you.

"must be nice to have all this land to yourself," billy says, breaking the silence.

you nod, grateful for his compliment, "it is. my grandparents have worked hard to keep it running."

"i can tell," billy says, taking a swig from his water bottle, "they got a good thing goin' here."

you agree, taking a sip from your own bottle. the sun beats down on your skin, making you feel sweaty and sticky. billy, on the other hand, seems used to it. he looks up at the sky, squinting against the sunlight.

"you know, i was thinking," billy says, steady voice breaking the silence again, "what would you say if i took you out sometime?"

your heart skips a beat, your mind going into overdrive. you never expected billy to ask you out, even more so that you’d be so willing to entertain the idea.

you hesitate for a moment before answering, "i don't know. i mean, i barely know you."

this is a half truth, you know him. only this version though, the sweet billy bonney who works on your family farm and takes his lunch breaks with you. you don't have any idea who he is outside of these moments.

at least not first hand. just second hand gossip. you wouldn’t even know which stories are real or fake. you’re not sure if he’s a convincing actor or genuine soul. there are rumors he shot a man back in his hometown. that he launders money with jesse evans’ gang. that he’s a cheat from a rodeo front, taking ignorant peoples’ bet money.

billy hums, breaking your anxious thoughts, "what'd you wanna know, hon? i'm an open book."

you chew on your lip, thinking about it. it could be a smart move, you're curious about him and need to know more. you need to know what about him is fact or fiction. but at the same time, you're afraid of what the truth may be, "i don't know," you say finally. "i mean, work, for example. is this all you do?"

billy cracks a smile, "no, hon’. this s’more of a side job.” he sighs, “i was a pickup for jesse evans' rodeo for a while, but that new fella' that just came to town—mr. tunstill, he's got me a better gig."

you furrow your brows, already on edge by the mention of his previous employer, "and what exactly is that?"

he chuckles a bit, "he's got me as a producer, but i do show on the weekends."

"so what? you're a full-fledged rodeo man? with bulls and all?" you'd always know of jesse's grimy ‘rodeo’, really just used as a gambling den and club, but you're intrigued by the idea of billy actually doing it. especially working with tunstill, a sincerely kind wealthy man from overseas. it must be a stark contrast to jesse’s.

"i guess. it's a good time and you can make honest money dependin' on the event," he pauses, "it's not like jesse's, if that's what you're wondering."

you look away from him, "my pa never let me go. when i turned twenty-one i tried to go with a bunch of my girlfriends. he about had a stroke keeping me out the door."

"he's smart, you shouldn't go. those guys are bad news." he's talking quieter now, less sugary and more solemn.

you fight your previous embarrassment, opting to stare straight into his pale blues, "you hang around those guys."

your sentiment is clear and billy goes hush for a long few seconds before speaking, eyes closed, "do not carouse with drunkards or feast with gluttons, for they are on their way to poverty, and too much sleep clothes them in rags."

you know those words, heard primarily while crammed in a pew, "you're a religious man?" you don't mean to, but your question comes out a bit unconvinced.

he opens his eyes back up, a spark of something you can't place within them, "no, not really. jus' something mr. tunstill keeps repeating to me. i didn't really pay it any mind till i met you."

you try to ignore the way his hand inches closer to your own, "why's that?"

"not sure. just seems easier to abide by now. i'd hate to end up like them. i know you don't like 'em." his voice is soft, but the hand that takes hold of yours isn't.

you look down at your feebly interlocked hands, hesitating, and then taking his hand with the same conviction, "no, i don't," a breath, "but i like you."

billy's face lights up at your words, and he leans in closer to you. you can feel his breath on your face, and your heart races with excitement and anticipation. you’ve never felt to entrapped in a man before, so ready to dive in head first.

without thinking, you reach out to touch his sun kissed cheek, and he leans into your hand. your fingers trace a path down his cheek, and then down to his lips. you have an overwhelming urge to kiss him, and you're surprised when he pulls back.

"i'm sorry, i shouldn't have done that." you say, feeling embarrassed.

"no, it's not that. it's just… i want to take you out on a real date. something proper." his cheeks have grown far more pink, only this time it's not the sun's doing.

you consider his words for a moment, before nodding, "that sounds real nice, billy."

he grins, and you feel a flutter in your chest. how he managed to make you feel this way so soon, you're not sure.

"you free this friday?" he asks, amusement in his tone.

you release his hand, grabbing for your phone, "should be, my boss loves me," a stupid joke, but you hand the touchscreen to him, "put your number in, so we can plan a time."

you climb down from the bed of the truck, peering up at the farmhand as he adds his number to your phone. when he's done he hands you back the phone, the sun casting an auburn glow to his hair.

you look up at him, and he smiles down at you, "don't be a stranger." he jokes.

you give him a laugh, "wouldn’t dream of it," you add, "i'll see you friday— i'm going into town with my grandma tomorrow. i'm sure it'll last all day."

billy hums, "till' friday, honey."

you turn and head back to the house, smiling to yourself, feeling happy and alive in a way that you haven't felt in a long time.

the next day, thursday, you wake up early to accompany your grandma into town. the older woman drags you up and down shopping centre's, moaning on and on about how cheaply things are made now.

you make it through the first ten stores without your smile cracking, you think it must be a finely tuned talent.

it's not until well after lunch the woman decides to slow down, stopping at a local diner to eat. she does most of the talking, gossiping about everyone she's run into today.

you love your grandma and you enjoy your time with her, but you're too focused on tomorrow to really be good company.

if she notices your change in behavior though, she doesn't comment. highly unlike her.

by the time the sky is more dark than light, you two head home. she plays old country music the whole ride, teeny-bopper songs that remind you how young she used to be.

and when you finally lay your head down to rest, you don't try to fight off the supercut in your mind of your sweet farmhand.

the next day, fateful friday, arrives with a mix of nerves and excitement. you find yourself checking the clock more often than usual, the anticipation building as the day progresses. your mind drifts to the possible plans for the evening, wondering where billy might take you on this 'proper date.'

a bit after the sun hits noon, you finish up your chores on the farm, your thoughts consumed by your impending evening. you decide to freshen up and put on something nice, an easy way to get your mind together.

your closet here is less thorough than the one at home, but the innocent tops and bottoms of your late teens still fit. you look less severe than you'd normally for a date. forgone are the dark, tight, and sultry clothes of your college town, leaving you looking ever so sweet.

the early afternoon arrives, and you hear the distant rumble of his pickup as it approaches. you feel alight with a muddled mess of nerves as you make your way out of the house to meet him.

you look over your shoulder when you crack the door open. making sure you haven't awoken your sleeping grandparents, who rarely miss their three o'clock naps.

the summer sun is high in the sky, casting a bright glow over the landscape. billy's leaned up against his truck, staring expectantly at your front porch— staring at you, you realize.

as you walk to him, you can't help but notice the effort he put into dressing up. his filthy work shirt is replaced with a clean, green linen button-down, and there's a hint of ambery cologne in the air. he offers you a genuine smile, eyes lighting up as he takes in your appearance.

"hey there, beautiful." he greets you, a hand coming to rest on your shoulder blade, comforting.

"hi," you reply, returning his saccharine smile. "you clean up nice."

he chuckles, a bit bashful, "well, i figured it's a special occasion."

you let him lead you to the passenger side, where he opens the rusty pickup's door for you, you fight back your grin when he follows in after.

as you drive into town, the atmosphere is a blend of excitement and a tinge of nervousness. billy takes you to a quaint little restaurant a bit outside of town. it's casual but with dim lights and a cozy ambiance. certainly it's the most romantic restaurant around without heading an hour out into the city. the two of you share stories and laughs, finding little to no lull in conversation.

"you want any dessert?" you ask, fiddling a loose thread at the hem of your blouse.

billy shrugs, "i've never said no to some banana puddin'. what'd you say?"

you giggle, nodding in agreement. you feel high off of his company. you're giddy and doing a horrible job at hiding it, but he doesn't seem to mind. instead, he relegates to matching your optimism, only validating every enamored thought of him that rings in your mind.

the warm evening air swirls around you as the two of you exit the restaurant. billy offers his hand, and you gladly intertwine your fingers as you stroll down the sidewalk. the town square is alive with the soft glow of streetlights.

as you walk, the conversation continues, easy and simple. billy talks animatedly about his past few weekends at the rodeo and shares some amusing anecdotes about the other rider’s on the circuit. you, in turn, finally divulge your baler incident, much to his chagrin.

the final hours of afternoon are slowly rolling in, and soon you find yourselves back at his pickup truck. you assume he'll drive you home, but to your surprise, he takes a different route, heading towards the backroads right beside your land. you raise an eyebrow, curious about this unexpected detour.

"where are we going?" you inquire, a playful smile dancing on your lips.

billy smirks but doesn't say anything, keeping the destination a secret. the road is winding and narrow— made of dirt and full of large potholes. you know your little front-wheel drive could never make it. eventually, he slows the car off the path, onto the side of the road.

there's an apparent trail just to the right of you, and when billy opens the door for you, he immediately ushers you toward it, "don't worry, we won't go too far in."

you'd be lying if you said the setting sun wasn't adding a level of unease to the idea of entering the woods, but when you look at billy, eyes bright and smile true, you throw aside your worries.

the young man is true to his word. the trek into the woods only lasts a few minutes before you see it. an azure expanse of water— a secluded lake surrounded by towering oak trees and a backdrop of rolling hills.

you turn back to look at him, shocked, "how did you find this?"

"jus’ by chance a few years ago. i figured you'd been out here before, living so close," he remarks, "but i like that i got to show it to you." billy admits, a devoted glint in his eyes.

as you stand there, gazing at the serene lake, you feel a sense of wonder and gratitude for this unexpected and beautiful surprise. you can't remember the last time the familiar landscape of home felt so awing. billy seems to be taking in your reaction, a quiet satisfaction evident on his face.

"it's breathtaking." you finally say, your voice hushed in appreciation.

billy grins, seemingly pleased with your reaction, "so are you."

you turn back to the water to hide your flustered expression.

you watch him find a comfortable spot by the water's edge, sitting on a large flat rock. you follow suit, letting your head nestle into his chest. the sounds of nature surround you—the rustling leaves, the gentle lapping of the water, and the distant calls of birds. it's a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of the town and the farm.

you look up at him as inconspicuously as possible, eager to commit his image to memory. his umber hair curls at the nape of his neck, slender nose burnt from the sun, his freckles apparent, and his ever-inspired blue eyes reflecting the water ahead.

you look away as your heartbeat quickens, afraid that if you peer up any longer he'll be able to hear the rhythm.

"can you swim?" you ask, toes dipping into the waters below.

billy's gaze softens, the radiant hues of his eyes flickering with warmth as he looks down at you. his calloused hand idly tracing circles on your back, comforting, "yeah, i can swim. why? you wanna go for a dip?" he replies, a playful glint dancing across his face.

enthusiastically, you nod, "i'd love to. it's been ages since i've been swimming in a place like this."

with a charismatic grin, billy stands up, extending a hand to help you rise. he doesn't hesitate to unbutton his shirt and free himself from his pants— clothed only in his black boxers.

you try to be as carefree as him, but you're slower to shed your attire. by the time you do, he's already shoulder deep in the water.

you make your way to the water's edge, stepping in. the cool embrace of the lake greets your skin as you wade in. the sun now casts a dim golden glow on the rippling surface.

as you move deeper into the water, you feel a sense of liberty wash over you. you let out a contented sigh, feeling weightless and unburdened. billy is a few feet away from you, beckoning you to come closer with a smile on his face. you oblige, splashing water playfully in your wake.

as you approach him, he wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you close. you can feel the heat emanating from his body, warming you up in the cool water. your bare skin presses against his, and you can feel a hint of longing course through your veins.

"you're s'beautiful," he whispers, his breath hot against your ear, sending shivers down your spine. "prettiest girl i've ever seen."

you chuckle slightly, looking beside him to the water, "you're just blowing smoke up my ass."

his hand finds your cheek, gently beckoning you to face him fully, "why would i ever do that?" he hums, "i only say things i mean, honey."

you blink at him, too far gone to stop your gaping, "you're a charmer, billy bonney. do you hear that a lot?"

he laughs, both hands now coming to rest at your hips, forcing you to wrap your legs around his, "i only need to hear it from you."

he says it so carelessly, without a thought. he's telling the truth, you surmise.

"why? you like me or something?" the words come out genuine, despite your teasing intent.

billy's eyes trail down to your lips, "i like you a whole lot, honey," you feel his grip grow steadier, holding you closer to him. he looks back up at you, gaze tempting, "i like you s'much i worked an extra four days on your farm jus’ to see you."

the revelation hangs in the air, and you find yourself caught in a suspended moment, the water lapping gently around you. billy's admission resonates, sinking deep into the newfound connection you've shared over these past days. his stare, earnest and reserved, locks with yours, and you can't help but feel a swirl of emotions.

a smile plays on your lips, a mixture of surprise and awe, "that's dedication." you reply, a playful sparkle in your eyes.

billy grins, his hands still securely holding you. "only for you, honey. i'm nothin' if not devoted."

you gleam at his words, intrinsically leaning closer to him. you're so close to letting your lips brush his before you stop, eager to see the weight of his affection once more, "you can kiss me now, if that's what you're waiting for."

with that, he presses his lips to yours, kissing you with a hunger that leaves you breathless. you wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him closer to you, savoring the taste of him on your tongue.

billy breaks the kiss, his lips trailing down your neck and collarbone, leaving a trail of kisses and nips along the way. you tilt your head back, giving him better access to your skin, letting out a soft sigh as he finds the sensitive spot on your neck.

"you're gonna be the death o'me." he whispers against your skin, his hot breath sending shivers down your spine.

your fingers tangle in his hair as he continues his assault on your neck, alternating between gentle kisses and nibbles. you can feel the heat building between your bodies, the water around you providing a cooling effect to your heated embrace.

billy's hands slip down to cup your ass, pulling you closer to him so that there's barely any space between you. he grinds his hips against yours, earning a moan from deep in your throat. you can feel his hardness pressing against you through the thin fabric of his boxers.

your eyes flutter open and you lock gazes with him, the intensity of his gaze mesmerizing. you tilt your head back down, allowing him to steal another kiss. his tongue teases yours. his hands roam up and down your body, exploring every inch of you he can with a passionate fervor.

you can feel yourself being taken into the depths of him until you can barely think or breathe. it's only when he finally pulls away, that you realize the afternoon has fully evolved into the beginnings of nighttime. the sky above you is almost entirely dark, littered with stars.

somehow, you still don’t think the kiss was long enough.

billy smiles at you, brushing his hair away from his eyes. you can't help but smile back, feeling content and happy.

"i think i like you too much." he murmurs, his warm breath caressing your skin. you laugh softly, feeling the same way.

a hum of agreement, "me too." you whisper back, pulling him into a tight hug. you stay like that for a while, enjoying the warmth and comfort of each other's embrace.

as the night deepens, you and billy finally decide to make your way back to the truck. billy helps you out of the water, his touch lingering as you both reluctantly part from the tranquil lake. the air is filled with the sounds of nocturnal creatures, their symphony accompanying your footsteps as you follow the narrow trail back to the pickup truck.

the woods, now cloaked in darkness, take longer to exit. the moonlight filters through the dense canopy of leaves, casting shadows on the forest floor.

once back at the truck, you find yourself wrapped in a cozy blanket billy had thoughtfully brought along. the drive home is filled with a comfortable silence, the events of the evening settling into a cherished memory. the road is dimly lit by the truck's headlights, and the night sky is a canvas of stars above.

as you approach the farmhouse, the thrill of the night lingers between you and billy. he parks the truck, and the engine falls silent. the two of you sit in the quiet for a moment, savoring the experience.

"thank you for tonight, you were real sweet." you say, breaking the silence.

billy turns to you, a peaceful smile playing on his lips. "i should be thanking you, for goin’ out with me. so thank you, darling. i think you're real sweet too."

"i'm real glad we met." you add.

he reaches over, his hand finding yours, fingers intertwining in a comfortable gesture. "me too," he replies, his gaze holding yours.

with a reluctant smile, you open the truck door, preparing to step out. billy, however, stops you with a gentle tug on your hand.

"before you go," he starts, a hint of uncertainty in his eyes, "i was wonderin' if you'd like to do this again sometime. maybe i could take you down to the rodeo?"

the question catches you off guard, but the sincerity in his expression is undeniable. you feel a warmth spread through your chest, and you nod, "i'd like that, billy."

he grins, the moonlight casting a soft glow on his features. "good. it's a date then." you agree, leaning up and placing a peck on his pink lips before stepping out of the truck.

it's not until you're safely inside that he drives away into the night, the sound of the engine fading into the distance.

even as you slip into bed, the memories of the night play in your mind like a vivid dream. you drift into sleep with thoughts of the lake, the evening kisses, and the now waivered apprehension of the farmhand.

you've found yourself ensnared with billy bonney.

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[theemporium]

Mai Tai with Frat NicoJack 🥹 promt 23 please xx

thank you for requesting!🫶🏽

23. carrying the other in their arms

.

You hadn’t planned to get this drunk.

There was always the risk that you were going to get shit-faced drunk because Trevor was nothing if not an enabler, and he was fucking dangerous when he had a few drinks in him. He could persuade anybody to do anything, he was just charming that way. But the important point was that it was not planned. 

However, both Nico and Jack had a pretty good idea where the night was going when you had mentioned that Trevor wanted you to join him at some line dancing club across town that nobody else wanted to join him at. 

So, honestly, it was no surprise when they had received a variety of incoherent messages from you throughout the night. Both of the boys had been quite amused, both tucked under the covers as they watched some random hockey game that was playing for a chill night in. 

They had not expected a call somewhere past midnight. And they had not expected it to be from Trevor.

“No, she’s—” There was a fit of giggles before the boy continued. “She’s sooooo drunk right now and she wants you two. Like, she’s literally refusing to get off the sidewalk right now.” 

And Trevor was right. By the time both boys had made it down to Nico’s car and driven across town, they found the two of you sitting on the side of the road outside the bar. Country music was playing from inside, laughs and cheers and singing could be heard too. But you were lost in your own world, your head resting on Trevor’s shoulder as he rambled away about god-knows-what.

“There’s our girl,” Jack teasingly called out once they got out of the car, making their way over. His smile widened a little when he watched you lift your head up, your face brightening at the sight of your boys. 

“Jacky baby,” you grinned widely, blinking slowly. “You came.” 

“We both did,” Nico smiled softly as he kneeled down in front of you, pushing some hair out of your face. “How are you feeling, baby?” 

“Soooo good,” you giggled. “Trev bought me a bunch of drinks.”

“I am a gentleman,” Trevor replied, puffing his chest out a little and sending you into another fit of giggles. 

Nico shook his head but his expression was fond. He turned to look at Trevor, his brows raised. “You coming home too?” 

“Pffft, as if!” You snorted before leaning in, attempting—and failing—to whisper to your boyfriend as you said, “he was talking to a cute guy in there. He is soooo going home with him.” 

Jack grinned. “Oh yeah?”

“Mhmm,” you nodded before placing your finger on your lips. “Shhh, don’t tell Trevor I told you.”

“You are so drunk,” Trevor laughed, shaking his head in amusement. “You got her?” 

“We can handle her,” Nico assured Trevor with a nod, patting his shoulder. “Go enjoy the rest of the night.”

Trevor smirked as he began making his way back into the bar. “Good luck with Mrs P!” 

“Hey,I’m fine!” You scoffed, rolling your eyes. “Look! I can even walk by myself!” 

However, it took less than a second for you to quickly disprove your own claim. You were wobbling even before you could stand up straight on both feet, but thankfully, both boys managed to reach for you. 

“My knights in shining armour,” you laughed as you sunk into their touch. “M’tired. Carry me?” 

Jack raised his brows, trying to hold back his laugh as you flashed them both your puppy dog eyes. “Which one?” 

“You’re both my boyfriends,” you huffed. “Why can you both not carry me?”

“That doesn’t feel effective, schatz,” Nico murmured with a smile, squeezing your arm a little. “How about a deal, hm? One of us will carry you to the car right now and the other will carry you into the house.”

A smile broke out on your face. “Deal!” You turned to face Jack, batting your eyelashes. “Carry me?”

“Course, babe,” Jack smiled, wasting no time as he hooked his arms under your legs and lifted you in his arms. “Had a fun night, pretty girl?”

“So much fun,” you grinned, nuzzling your head into the crook of his neck. “Need to go there with you two. Wanna dance with you both.”

“We’ll see how you feel in the morning first,” Nico mused, opening the door to the backseat so you and Jack could climb in. 

“I won’t even be hungover, just you wait and see,” you grumbled to your boyfriend, your eyes already starting to flutter shut. 

“We’ll see,” Jack snorted, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

.

[f4ggydog]

💌 - All of these puppy asks have me thinking of werewolf tmasc Nat,,

He’d push himself extra hard in the wilderness to hunt for you and the team because he says it’s his responsibility bc of his werewolf abilities :(( but it’s obvious it takes a toll on him because you’re all starving and struggling out there.

Acting tough when he rly is just the softest sweetest little misunderstood puppy. Kissing him and his tail swishes side to side cause he gets too excited 😭

(And um. Desperately needing to breed you even if he can’t)

NO THOUGHTS JUST WEREWOLF BF I NEED TO BE HIS PRETTY FEMME

I have written for werewolf nat before but anon asked for this a while ago and for specifically tmasc nat so I shall fulfill!!!

nat doesn’t let his walls down quite easily. he’s not the type of guy up for small talk and he’s never been a dude who dances along the lines of the norm. the dude couldn’t care less about being hated by society. it’s given him a cold exterior that’s frustrating to shatter through at times. but as seems to be the cliche with many supposedly ice cold people, nat’s got a sweet spot that rivals the taste of candy.

he’s relieved that he remembered to pack some of his binders for the trip the yellowjackets were going to attend. at least he doesn’t have to worry about how his boobs look while he’s in the wilderness. it’s a first world concern compared to the predicament the team’s trapped themselves in, but nat could do without feeling extra desolate. he did forget his packers though, so perhaps all hope IS lost.

his tail swishes as he watches you gather firewood. though nat’s already got a heavy bias for you, he’s also appreciative of the fact that you’re also doing your part. you helped him clear out the cabin and make some room for all the soccer teammates to sleep. you helped him practice using a rifle so that you guys could hunt for food and not develop an eating disorder while starved for comfort food. you participate a lot more than jackie, who’s supposed to be the team’s captain. you’d think that she’d allow herself to take on most of the responsibilities, but she seems to be the one complaining the most. complaining instead of pinching in, yapping instead of making herself useful.

nat sighs, sitting by the edge of the lake. he quickly squishes his boobs and immediately convinces himself that they’ve somehow gotten bigger, if that’s somehow possible. he sighs, wishing he could take that axe from the camp and cut them off. he wishes a bear would come and maul him and rip off just the part of his body that he detests.

nat hears footsteps approaching him and he growls, his tail static. then, when he looks behind and sees that it’s you, his tail starts wagging rapidly and his frown turns into a smile. oh, how he couldn’t resist a moment of your time.

“did you find any game yet?” you inquire, kneeling down next to your boy.

“no.” nat shakes his head. “thought we saw a fucking deer earlier. nope, was a false alarm. everything’s just been false alarm after false alarm. and everyone is bitching to me about how hungry they are but nobody wants to go out hunting with me aside from flex.”

“i could always help you out,” you coo, squeezing nat’s cheeks together. “why don’t you let me come with you, pretty boy?”

“because i don’t want you to hurt yourself,” nat replies. “things are already bad enough out here as is. if you got hurt…i don’t know what i’d do with myself. honestly.”

“i think you worry too much about me,” you say. “i think you’re always trying to be a big, strong, tough man all the time and you don’t want to let anyone else in because you think you should bear the burden. you think you have to be alone, nat.”

“well, who else cares besides you?”

“am i not enough?” you tease, kissing along nat’s sensitive neck. his tail wiggles rapidly.

“h-hey quit it,” he whines, playfully shoving you aside. but you pounce back on nat, smooching him all over his handsome face.

“what’s wrong with a guy getting a few kisses once in a while? just cause you’re a man doesn’t mean you’re not worth of affection too, perfect boy. especially with how much you do for us.”

“am i even a man?” nat exhales. “look at my tits. they’re so visible. and my thigh gap is so…feminine. and my hips-“

“it’s your chest,” you assert. “not your tits. not your breasts. your chest. you have a chest, not boobs.”

“i can’t even properly breed you,” nat whines. “if i was born a guy, i would have this cool dick and i’d be able to cum inside of you all the time i want. but i just have this clit that i can’t use for anything.”

“doesn’t make you less of a man baby boy,” you encourage, kissing your ways down to his thighs. nat’s knees get shaky and his tail is spinning from side to side. “just means i get to take care of you. come on, shorts off.”

“why do you even like me?” nat whimpers after each kiss you plant on his pale skin.

“because i know who you are under that facade you put up,” you insist. “you’re a special boy, my man. and i’ll show you that you don’t have to put a knot inside me to be a true man.”

“you sure?” nat’s eyes soften.

“yeah baby.” you nuzzle into him. “besides, once we’re back home, we can always stimulate it with a fake cock. dildos exist for a reason.”

you’ve got a point. shit now, nat’s pheromones are all over the place. he blushes and hides his face, embarrassed by how horny he became in matter of seconds. wow, you really are the only one to get him.

[illbisexual]

Yellowjackets at a party Warnings: Gender neutral reader, swearing, mention of drugs/alcohol & smoking Pairings: lottie, van, taissa, Laura lee, mari, akilah, shauna, jackie, Natalie, misty x gn!reader Proofread: nope ! Note: in all of these reader and the char are together! I am not american so some of the terms may be wrong and I've never been drunk or drank an excessive amount of alcohol so this is probably inaccurate

Lottie

Cigarette and solo cup in one hand, other hand intertwined with your own

She drags you along when she talks to people

Arm round your shoulder CONSTANTLY

She makes you reapply her lipstick for her when it smudges off on her cup

She was at your house before the party helping you decide on an outfit

"I think you should wear this" and she proceeds to pull a shirt out of your closet you haven't wore since middle school "okay fuck off go sit down and be quiet"

Laura Lee

She wears the cutest looking outfits ever like omg

She has her arm wrapped around yours the entire time

Frowns if you even so much as sniff any of the beer n shit

She manages to get your guys' song blaring out the speakers

Proceeds to force you to dance with her and if you don't she frowns and goes to get one of the yellowjackets

Natalie

Oh shes right by the keg

You attempt to share drinks with her (however she drinks at least 3 quarters and then shoves the cup in your hand while she goes to get more)

Gets you to light her cigarette for her

She repeatedly puts her arm around your shoulder and pulls you into her side

Usually takes whatever drugs her friends have got

Can't walk in a straight line when its time to go home

Rubs her eyeliner into a huge smudge and looks like a raccoon

Mari

Shes the life of the party no questions asked

Spills atleast half of her drink because shes jumping around the place

Screams the lyrics to whatever songs playing as she twirls you around

Drags you to the bathroom with her so she can check her makeup and you just watch

This girl is always tripping over her feet I swear

Whenever she loses you she starts screaming like a banshee

"BABE??? WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU??" "MARI TURN AROUND." "oh! Whered you go?"

Stands outside the bathroom like a dog waiting for you whenever you go in

Akilah

Gets separated from you so easily like oh my gosh 😭

Shes there holding your hand when youre walking through a group one second and the next shes gone

You then spend the next couple of minutes searching for her

And shes usually over with one of the yellowjackets she had managed to find

"Oh, there you are. Took you long enough" with a smile whenever you walk over

You guys hold hands and spin in a circle like its a middle school dance

Misty

She made you help her with makeup before the party (if she wore any)

spent a while trying to decide on her hairstyle

When you guys get there she clings onto you like a koala bear

Sings out of key with you

She drags you over to find somewhere quiet to sit (granted there's no where super quiet but just one where there isn't a lot of people)

She always needs to have her eyes on you like omg

Jackie

Spends her time doing stupid shit with you

She routinely goes missing from your side

When she eventually returns she sometimes has shauna in tow

However, she always leaves for a reason and its to get gossip

"Babe you'll never guess what me and shauna just found out about.."

At the end of the night shes either spilled her drink on herself, you, or someone else

She somehow ALWAYS ends up losing a piece of jewellery whether its an earring, a ring, or a bracelet

Makes you search for it as she coaches you on where to look

Shauna

Gripping your hand because she doesn't like the fact randy is near you guys (she cannot STAND his ass as we all know)

She trips over herself and drops her cup

Picks it up and walks back to the keg with her head down in embarrassment

Gets gossip with Jackie and then reports back to you

When she drinks enough she starts laughing at EVERYTHING

"Name" "what?" and her ass bursts out giggling

She is so stewpid..

Van

The minute you guys get there her hand is wrapped around your wrist and shes dragging you to get a drink with her

Spends the night making stupid ass jokes

"Hey. 2 goldfish are in a tank together, and one turns to the other one," "..uh huh." "And it asks 'hey, do you know how to drive this thing?'"

She routinely breaks away from you to go say hi/chat with other people

Forces you to dance with her and she spins you around (however she doesnt really need to force you)

Makes you spin her around too

You guys go into the bathroom together and start throwing water at eachother

When you wait outside the bathroom for her she comes out with wet hands from washing them and pretends to sneeze before she shakes the water onto you

Before you guys leave she re-fills her cup for the road 😭

taissa

Endless yapping

Only time she shuts up is to have a drink

When you guys walk she holds your hand and swings your guys' arms 😭

Everytime she finishes a drink she flips the cup around and tries to land it upside down

Which she fails almost every single time

She makes you come with her to say hi to everyone (even if you don't know the person)

You have to make her dance with you but it doesn't take a lot of convincing

By the time its time to go her hair is all messed up and she's lost atleast one accessory (whether its the bandana she was wearing, a necklace, an earring, etc.)

Usually finds it within like a couple minute of searching

[good-griief]

Hey! I was wondering if I could request for Van Palmer? Something along the lines of the reader coming to terms with their sexuality?

It’s totally cool if you don’t want to write this request lol also kinda might start sending in asks so im gonna claim am emoji -🍾

sorry this took so long but i'm back and able to write again so here u go! this was getting very long so if u guys like it i'll happily make a part two!!<3

You were never a “talkative kid.” You were never one that could spell words like gargantuan or manganimus. You were never helping with your classmates’ homework or told you were exemplary. Your grades were average; A’s and B’s, but nothing exemplary. 

Though there was one thing you were exemplary at. One thing that if given the chance to write about, you’d always be given the highest score. One single thing, completely apart from the rest that could get you an award for your writing. 

Funnily enough. It was Soccer. You’d gotten an award for writing about soccer. 

You always liked Soccer. Ever since you were little. You liked playing with your friends, hanging out with them. You liked the hugs that came after a big win, the friendships, the relationships. You liked the team bonding. You liked the sleepovers and parties. You liked getting close with the best of the girls because you were also one of the best. You liked the small, intimate group you had, and the small, intimate time you spent together. 

You liked the times where you would have a sleepover and cuddle with one another. Sleepovers where you would kiss to ‘practice’ for boys. Sleepovers that got you so close you were hugging and leaning on each other all the time, lying your head in each other’s laps. 

Sleepovers that somehow dwindled down to you and one other girl by eighth grade. A girl that you’d kiss to practice for boys that didn’t exist. A girl you held hands with at school and took to lunch on weekends with each other’s babysitting money. 

A girl that moved away before highschool. 

You started freshman year without friends, signing up for soccer tryouts and hoping that would get you somewhere. 

You ended up on JV and it seemed the rising sophomore class had already gotten so close that your effort to make friends in soccer proved less than fruitful. 

When you played scrimmages against varsity, the group hardly passed to you and kept it within their small circle. 

There were two girls, Mari and Akilah, who you got along fine with, but they weren’t close, so you had to talk to one or the other during practice which meant you weren’t close with them either. 

That left you in your own little bubble freshman year, floating around. No one really disliked you, but no one knew you either. Not even your own teammates. 

Luckily, though, around winter break, you were asked out. You didn’t really know the guy, but Jackie, one of the sophomores in his grade and on the Soccer team, said he was nice. 

So you said yes. 

And suddenly after a winter break of calling this guy and getting hot chocolate with him, you were in with Jackie… Which meant you were in with Shauna, which meant the ball was passed to you, which meant they started to see how good you were, which meant they started to like you. 

“Hey!” Jackie came up to you, Mari, and Akilah after practice. 

You’d slowly been getting them closer so the three of you could hang out. You figured you could then start passing to them and get them in with the other girls without a whistle-blow from Coach Scott for changing a play. 

“You three wanna come with us? Team bonding?”

“Sure!” You said first, all too enthusiastic and making her chuckle. 

“I have to study,” Akilah said.

“Yeah, same,” Mari said, giving you a sympathetic smile. “Have fun, though!”

“Oh, we will!” Jackie looped her arm through yours as you gave your new friends a look. “Come on. You can tell me all about Mark— he’s friends with Jeff, you know?”

“Jeff?”

“My boyfriend.”

“Oh…”

“Oh, good! You brought her!” Nat, another sophomore, said. 

“I told you the other two would say no.” Jackie shrugged. 

“Still nice to ask everyone,” Lottie, the only one that’d actually introduced herself to you, said. She also gave you everyone else’s name. Which was helpful since they definitely weren’t going to introduce themselves. 

“Hey,” except maybe one of them, She was shorter, redheaded, and the goalie. She gave you a sweet smile as she held out her hand. “Have you met everyone?”

You took her warm hand, shaking gently and earning even more of a smile. “Lottie,” you gestured to the brunette with your free hand, “told me about everyone.” She only nodded. “Vanessa? Right?”

“My friends call me Van.” You nodded, giving a small smile as you still mindlessly shook her hand. “You can call me Van,” she added with a smirking laugh, eyes darting to Lottie briefly. She had a feeling she told you her name was Vanessa on purpose. 

The brunette was grinning from ear to ear, hands slapping at Nat’s as they both laughed together.

“Van.” You dropped her hand. “I’ll remember that.”

“Oh, I hope so—”

“Leave her alone,” Taissa butted in, laughing. “You can ride with us if you want.” 

“Sure.” You agreed, walking next to Van as the group dispersed. “Where are we going?”

“I think Jackie’s,” she said. “She’s been dying to meet you and shit now that you're dating Mark.” You nodded. “Whole team has, really. You know, you’re pretty good?”

“Thanks, I think?” You frowned. “I’ve played since I was, like, eight.” She nodded along. “You guys are great. I mean, you’re the best high school team I've seen— Van, I’ve never seen a better goalie.” She smiled, shaking her head. “No, seriously,” you insisted when she went to object. “You must, like, study every player or something—“

“She does,” Taissa said. 

You were glad you were usually on her team during JV scrimmage, or it’d be a challenge to get a goal. 

“Insane.” You shook your head. “I can only ever tell if someone’s injured.”

“Oh, really?” Van asked, curious.

“Mhm. It’s pretty easy.” She frowned. “Just check the bench. Works every time.” Taissa stifled a laugh, Van laughing out loud. 

“I thought you were serious,” she laughed. 

“Yeah I could tell. You were all…” You imitated her face, making Taisa laugh. 

“Come on, Tai!” Van hit her shoulder. “You’re supposed to be on my side!”

The ride to Jackie’s was spent receiving questions from Tai as Van just listened in or responded to something Tai said. 

There was something about this girl. The way she spoke. The way she looked at you through the rearview mirror, checking to make sure you were comfortable. She was sweet, obviously, but there was something else. Maybe, it was just the fact that she was pretty and red-haired, but something about her was all too attractive. 

In the sense that you wanted to be her friend, of course. 

By the time you got to Jackie’s, the other girls were already there and inside while her parents ordered food for all of you. 

They greeted you from the kitchen at the opposite end of the giant house and told you the girls were “in the parlor”.

“You’ll get used to it,” Van said, walking with you to the living room, which was one of many but clearly the most casual of them. 

“Hi!” Jackie was quick to pull you by her. 

The night was spent getting interrogated, practically, about your boyfriend while you ate pizza and watched shitty movies until people started falling asleep. 

You were up late with Van, who, like you, seemed to enjoy the shitty movie on screen. She grabbed the two of you a board game to play while you watched. 

“So, do you wanna tell me about yourself at all?” She laughed. “I know more about Mark than my new teammate now.”

“Wasn’t really prepared for that one,” you joked, making her chuckle as you took your turn. “Well, all my old soccer friends are at different high schools now,” you said, shrugging. “So if you’re wondering—“

“Why you seem like such a loner?” She interrupted, making you laugh. “I was a little curious.” 

“Jeez,” you laughed. “My best friend moved, like, across the country, and the rest of my friends are on rival teams now… And I’ve beat them all—“

“Fuck yeah, you have!” She laughed. 

You spent most of the night talking with Van, who seemed to have been waiting to talk to you alone. She hardly spoke in the group conversation, but now she was lively and engaged. Maybe it was because the conversation had less to do with your boyfriend, and more to do with you. Maybe because she actually got to know you. You couldn’t tell. 

There was just something about her.

At the next practice, you were getting the ball passed to you regularly, but never close enough to score. 

Maybe because the one time you tried, Van blocked it like it was nothing, but that was weeks ago. 

Which meant you were determined to best her now. 

When Tai passed you the ball, you made a move to get it to Akilah. Just as quickly as you passed it, it was stolen by Nat, but Mari got a read on what you were trying to do and got it back. 

“Mari!” Tai waved, but she quickly passed it to Akilah now that no one was guarding her. 

She passed the ball to you, and as quickly as you got it you were kicking it at the goal without moving from your spot. 

“Ah, fuck,” Van muttered, having been counting on you coming toward her and already moving to the right of the goal. She jumped toward the left to block, but the ball barely brushed her fingers before getting caught in the net. 

“Yes!” Mari yelled, high fiving both you and Akilah when they made their way to you. “That was clean!”

“It was sloppy,” Tai said, coming up to the three of you as the rest of your mock team came as well. “Just unexpected.” 

You nodded in agreement. “A goal is a goal, though.” She narrowed her eyes, huffing a laugh. “That kinda unexpected sloppiness can win a game.”

“She’s not wrong.” Jackie patted your shoulder. “Nice shot.”

“Well, why don’t we add it to the playbook?” Tai said. “Test it out in a real game.”

“Oh, don’t be bitter, Taissa.” Jackie laughed. “She just wanted you to pass the ball to her.” Tai laughed at that. 

For the rest of the practice, you made sure to pass to Tai every so often, the two of you testing out new plays. 

Despite that, Van was determined to block every one of your shots.

More so than anyone else. 

It was to the point that after that one goal, you didn’t score another. 

“Good game today,” Van said in the locker room, hand on your hip as she moved behind you to get to her locker. “You were making me nervous.”

“Me?” You laughed. “You were pissing me off—“ Van cut you off with a loud laugh. “I only got one goal!”

“It was hard to make that happen!” She laughed, and once it died down, she spoke up again. “Do you think you’d want to come to the field early sometime? Practice with me?”

You smiled, nodding. “Of course!” It was the perfect opportunity to get closer with her. Maybe, know more about her. 

To become better friends, of course. 

The first time was that weekend. You came the Sunday after practice, practicing earlier in the morning and getting lunch afterward. 

It slowly became a habit; every once in a while, every other week, weekly…

“Here.” Van jogged over to you as you stood in front of the ball. “You obviously have to turn your hips, but you really give yourself away…” She held out her hands, brows raised. You nodded and her hands went to your hips to readjust. “This is what you’re doing.” She turned you to the right. “So, I always know you’re going left, but…” She turned you to a slight angle, facing the right corner of the goal. You looked back at her and she couldn’t bring herself to get the rest of her sentence out. “I’m not sure how to explain it,” she said, taking a step back. “Why don’t you try goalie for a minute?”

“I’m a shit goalie, Van.” She laughed at that, but you went anyway. 

“Just try and figure out which way I’m going,” she said. 

That day, you spent the entirety of it ogether. It was past lunch by the time you went to the locker room to change, talking the whole way there about your newfound knowledge. 

“Do you wanna get dinner?” You suddenly suggested, both of you in the midst of changing. “We could, like, go out or something?”

She paused, looking over at you as she got her shirt on. “Where do you wanna go?”

You shrugged. “Mark took me to this little diner a few blocks from my place last weekend,” you said and her mood seemed to dampen. “They have everything— it’s, well… Well, it’s not amazing, but it’s cute.”

“Um…” She took a moment, putting on her shoes and taking down her hair. “I’m kind of tired—“

“Oh—“

“Yeah—“

“That’s okay—! No, I mean, that makes sense. We’ve been here all day, so…” You nodded as you got your pants on and slipped on your shoes. “Maybe another time, then?”

“Totally.” She nodded, giving a smile despite the sudden awkwardness that came between you. 

“Okay.” You nodded. “Then, I’ll see you tomorrow—“

“Wait, let me drive you home. It’s late—“

“No, no, no. It’s totally fine!” You gave her a smile as you grabbed your bag. “Mark was going to pick me up, anyway—“

“Oh, did you want to get dinner with him? Like, us three?” You shook your head. “But he’s picking you up,” she said, smirking with a furled brow. 

“I would’ve just told him to go home, or hang out with Jeff and Randy, or something.” You shrugged. Her smile widened slightly, cheeks heating. “That’s kinda shitty, though, I guess.” She then laughed. “Next time we’ll, like, plan, or something.”

“Definitely.” She nodded. “And I’ll take you somewhere nicer than a hole-in-the-wall diner after practice, alright?”

Something about the way she said it made you smile, stomach fluttering. “Alright.”

She walked with you out of the dressing room and to your boyfriend's car. “See you tomorrow?” She said some ways away from the jeep he drove. 

You nodded and leaned in for a hug, arms going around her shoulders. She was stunned for a moment, having not realized what you were actually leaning in for. She gave you a quick hug back before pulling away to go to her car. 

The next day, she was talking to you in the halls, the next practice you were able to get more than one goal, and the next weekend your practice was spent laughing together in the field and dribbling the ball between one another rather than practicing. 

“Oh shit!” Van laughed when it started to rain. 

March had come quicker than you expected. You and Van had been hanging out for just over a month now, but it felt like you’d been friends all year. 

Within minutes of you grabbing your bags, it was pouring rain and you were running to Van’s car. 

“Jesus!” Van groaned as she slammed the door shut behind herself, you doing the same. You threw your bags in the backseat, wiping your faces. 

She started the car, already starting her drive back to your house from memory. 

“Just park in the garage,” you told her. “You can stay for a while.” You then added, “if you want.”

“Is that fine? Like, with your parents?”

“They’re out of town.” She nodded slowly, pulling into the garage. “I can, like, make us dinner or something,” you offered. “If you like pasta.”

“I love some good spaghetti.”

“Great!” You both laughed. “First, we need to shower, and get this shit in the wash.” You looked down at your damp shirt and shorts. 

She turned off the car, and you headed inside. You grabbed both your bags and set them in the laundry room as you went inside, getting off your cleats and socks as well. 

“Here.” You filled the silence and led her up the stairs. “My rooms there.” You pointed to the end of the hall. “I’ll use my parents shower… obviously.” Van chuckled at your awkward speech, nodding. “There’s towels and everything in there. You can just take my clothes.”

“You sure?” 

You nodded. “Just send your stuff down the shoot.”

You took a quick shower before heading to your room in your towel and getting into pajamas. 

You heard Van call your name some minutes later as you lay on your bed. “Close your eyes!” You laughed, covering your eyes. “Are they closed?”

“Yep.” She came in with just a towel. “I totally forgot to bring you clothes—“

“Fuck off.”

“Sorry!” You laughed. “Pajamas are in the bottom drawer.”

That night was spent making shitty pasta and laughing together as you ate in front of the TV you rolled out of your closet. You ended up sleeping in your room, falling asleep to an old movie with dishes on your night and arms around each other.

Since that day, Van had been so much more friendly. 

It was almost insinuating. 

She would touch you to get past you, tease you about a mistake on the field, sneak up and hug you from behind to scare you in the halls. And when she came over, she was touchy and clingy— not that you weren’t. You were often hugging her or lying your head on her shoulder. Hell, you even danced with her if either of you put on music. 

On the field, however, she was awful. During scrimmage, she would go out of her way to make you fuck up. Even if you were on her team. She’d call something, or say something to you during a break that made you fumble the ball.  

It was to the point that even her telling you good luck before a game had you flustered. 

To the point where you fucked up. 

“What the hell?!” Tai yelled at you as you shook your head at yourself. “Get it together—“

The ref blew a whistle for timeout after the other team's score. You groaned, walking over with a frown. 

“What’s going on with you?” Ben asked.

“Are you sick?” Misty asked. “Injured?”

There was a small pep talk you had before you were sent back out. Unfortunately, your boyfriend was sitting with your parents as they watched you fuck up one of your last state games. It only made your nerves skyrocket. 

“Get it together,” Nat told you, placing a hand on your shoulder as she walked past you. 

Van was the last to leave, giving your shoulder a squeeze. “Guess we should’ve kept up our practices, huh?” She joked, earning a glare. “Sorry— Look, you’re good. Really good. You’re just being predictable.” You frowned at her. “Think back on that play you, Mari, and Akilah pulled earlier this year.”

When you got back on the field, you did as Van said. You let Shauna, Tai, and Nat get their goals in, but after that you asked Tai to pass to Akilah, who was heavily guarded. 

“What?” She frowned at you. “You’re, like, out of your mind today.”

“Just try?”

As soon as the ball was stolen from Akilah, Mari got it to you, and you back to an unguarded Akilah. When she passed to you, you immediately kicked at the goal. 

“YES!” You heard before you even knew what happened. 

The buzzer sounded, signifying you’d won and leaving you shocked as your teammates huddled around you, chanting: “BUZZ. BUZZ, BUZZ, BUZZ!”

In the locker room, your excitement continued until you and Van were the last ones there. 

“So, I was thinking,” Van spoke up. “What do you think about dinner this Sunday after our usual?”

“Oh, now you’re nice?” You joked. 

Maybe it’d been left out that you were completely reciprocal in this teasing game. You would go up to her at her locker to scare her like she did you, and of course hug her and kiss her cheek afterward before you went to class, leaving her flustered and wanting to get back at you by the time practice rolled around. So, maybe, you brought it on yourself. 

“Come on,” she laughed. “It’s not my fault I make you nervous.”

“You’re so annoying.” You shook your head. “I almost blew the match because of you.” Her brows shot up. “You were fucking with me before the game with your…” You gentured to her when she looked at you with false confusion. “You know what you were doing.”

She laughed. “Yeah—“

“See!”

“I was just teasing—“

“Well, stop it.”

“But you’re so cute when you’re flustered.” She pouted at you, earning a glare. “Even cuter when you’re mad at me.” She smiled. “Besides, we still won.”

“If we didn’t, they would’ve killed me.” She scoffed. “It’s not funny.”

“You’re actually upset?” She couldn’t help but laugh. “We still have, like, five games—“

“You can’t talk to me before them.” She practically guffawed. “You, like, fuck with with my fucking head. I don’t fucking know.”

“I fuck with your fucking head? What the fuck are you talking about?” 

You groaned, turning to grab your bag. “Goodbye, Vanessa.”

“Hey.” She grabbed your hand, turning you around. 

When she did, you were closer than she expected. 

And that was when it started. 

Her eyes fell to your lips before flitting back up to your eyes. 

That was when you finally realized what that something about her was. 

In the seconds it took you to process when was about to happen, her lips were on yours. Her hand still held yours and as soon as your free one went to her cheek, she tilted her head for a better angle. 

You didn’t know how long you were there. You didn’t realize the time passing. You didn’t even know when it was that her hands found your waist and your other found her neck. 

But you did realize that the door was opening. 

You quickly pushed her back as someone stepped in, Van pretending to have been lacing up her shoes as she sat on the bench. 

“Everything okay, babe?” Mark called from the doorway. 

“Yeah, sorry. I was just helping Van with this turf burn.”

“Shit, is she okay?” He asked. “Should I get Misty?”

“I’m good!” Van called. “Just couldn’t wrap it myself.”

It took a few more exchanges to get him to leave, but eventually the door shut and you grabbed your things. You went to leave, but stopped yourself and turned around. You placed your hand on her shoulder as you leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Come over after practice tomorrow?”

She looked over at you, brow raised. “Does this mean you’re not mad at me anymore, or…?”

“I’ll think about it.”

When she came over, the two of you went straight to your room to “watch TV.” You locked the door behind you, rolled out your miniature TV and put in a tape, and sat down on the bed with Van. 

“Hurry up,” she laughed as she grabbed your hand and pulled you down on top of her. 

You never talked about it. You didn’t discuss what was going on. You didn’t even ask what it meant. 

You just changed your practices to time together. You’d still practice, but you’d also just sit and talk. You’d make out in the locker room before going to get lunch or dinner. You’d hang out with the team and sneak off to have time alone. You’d even just get together. One of you would call and ask the other to lunch, or to go to the mall, or just to come over. There wasn’t a need for the practice excuse anymore, it was just nice to do that, too. 

But you also had to decline at times. 

“Mark wanted to take me to the movies,” you told her one night and you could practically feel her mood shift. “Maybe… Maybe I can get him to—“

“No, it’s okay,” she told you quickly. “Spend time with your boyfriend.” The word left a sour tension in the air. 

“Van—“

“What time’ll you be home?”

“Hey,” you sighed when she spoke over you. “If you want me to, I’ll… I can tell him, but I don’t think—“

“You’re going to tell him you’re cheating on him with your best friend?” She asked, tone disbelieving. “No way.”

“Tell him I want to break up,” you clarified. She was quiet for a moment. “And… We’re not cheating.”

“We’re hooking up,” she deadpanned. 

“But…” You pursed your lips. “There’s no possibility of us… being an us, is there?” Your hopeful question, despite how poorly it came out, was met with another beat of quiet from her end, but she didn’t say anything that time. “I just mean… There isn't a way we could actually be together— at least, not in a real way—“

“In a real way?” She scoffed a laugh as she often did when you misused and fumbled over your words. “Have I been imagining all this, or—?”

“That’s not what I mean.” You pinched the bridge of your nose as you started to get frustrated; mostly with yourself and your horrible articulation. “Publicly. Like, I’d never cheat with Randy or Jeff.” She cursed your name, laughing in disbelief as she listened to you try to justify what you’d said instead of taking it back. “This… You and me, is it really going anywhere? Because, if it’s just ‘hooking up’, we could never really be anything, you know? And that sucks, but it’s also, I don’t know, it’s, like, better—?“

“So, let me get this right… You think it's better that you’re with me, because if you were cheating with a guy, it’d actually be real— or no, there’d be a possibility of an actual relationship.” You pursed your lips at the tone of her voice, knowing how awful it sounded. “Is that right?”

“Not exactly.” She hummed, waiting for you to explain. “It’s more like… I’m scared of what people might—“

“I don’t wanna be with someone that’s scared of what people think—“

“Just let me talk.” You sighed, feeling your eyes sting. You’d never been good at articulating your feelings, especially not in this kind of situation. “I’m scared of what people might do because of what they think. It’s just… It’s better if it doesn’t look like we’re anything more than friends—“

“Okay, I’m gonna get off the phone—“

“Van—“

“No— Look… I see where you’re coming from, just… I know that’s not the reason you said it in the first place.” You didn’t argue, nodding despite the fact that she couldn’t see it. “If you want to, I’ll come over when you get home—“

“Okay,” you said all too quickly. “I’ll be home in two hours.” There was a long pause. “If you want to come.”

“Alright.” Click. 

She came by that night, but when you tried to talk to her and smooth things over, she was short. 

“Look,” she said. “I like you. I’m comfortable saying that.” You immediately shut your mouth and listened to what she had to say. “If you’re not comfortable admitting you don’t like guys. Or that you’re using your ‘boyfriend’ as a fucking beard, because you want me, that’s fine. I don’t care. I probably already knew that.” You nodded along. “But I don’t want to talk about it with you, because hearing you say it? That fucking hurt.”

“I’m sorry.” Van shook her head, dismissing it. “I really am afraid of what someone might do…”

“It’s not like I’d let anyone do anything to you,” she said, eyes narrowed. 

“That’s not what I mean.” She sighed, waiting for you to explain. “I’m really not saying anything right in this conversation, I just… My point was that I’d leave him for you, and I was trying to ask you if, maybe, this could be more than this, because I don’t think you want me as more than a friend, so when I say ‘in a real way’ I mean, as more than…” You trailed off, narrowing your eyes at the bedsheets when you began to repeat yourself. “And… I wouldn’t cheat with a guy because—“

“Because you like girls?”

You looked up at her, lips pursed. “Why won't you answer my question?”

She tilted her head. “If we get together,” she started, “and I mean, actually get together. Not go to the mall and meet up at a store. Things are going to change. People will catch on, and they’ll treat you differently. I’m sure you know that, but I don’t think you’re ready for it. Especially not when you can’t even admit how you feel.” There was a long pause, her lips pursing. “Just stay where you’re safe,” she told you. “Stay with Mark. We can keep doing this— I like doing this— and you’re probably right. It’s probably better if people just think we’re friends, so…” She looked over at you, obviously still frustrated. “Why don’t we just move on?”

“Okay.”

[estrellami-1]

If I Should Stay

Part 1 | . . . | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44

They do eventually get their waffles. Steve had brought her to his favorite diner, even though it’s a little farther away, and the payoff is almost immediate. El gets a waffle the size of her face that’s absolutely smothered in whipped cream and chocolate chips. She digs in with a ferocity that almost scares Steve as he tucks into his own breakfast-for-dinner.

A sudden thought occurs to him, and he leans in to speak to El. “El?”

She looks up at him, eyebrows raised, cheeks puffed like a chipmunk. He chuckles. “Maybe try taking smaller bites. Your waffle’s not gonna run away.” He grins when she swallows and grins at him. “I’m gonna call the house real quick. D’you wanna stay here, or come with me?” He points to the phone tucked into the corner of the diner, in clear view of their booth.

She twists her napkin in her hands, then almost nervously looks at him. “With you?”

“Okay,” he agrees easily. “D’you wanna talk to anyone?”

She shakes her head. “I just wanna stay by you.”

“That’s okay,” Steve promises her. “Ready?”

She nods, and together they stand, moving towards the phone.

He dials the number and waits, widening his eyes comically at El until she giggles.

The phone goes to voicemail, which he expected, so he sing-songs into the receiver, “Hello, it’s me, Robbie, pick up please!”

“Steve!” She gasps after a click and a cacophony of noises that has him wincing and pulling the phone away from his ear a little. El giggles again at that. “Where the hell have you been?”

“Practicing with El at the junkyard. Now we’re getting waffles at Jackie’s.”

Robin groans, and he grins. “Steve! You traitor! That’s my favorite!”

“Robin.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re being dramatic.”

She gasps. Dramatically. “I am reacting appropriately to something of this magnitude, Steven!” She hisses, but she can’t hide the smile in her voice. God, Steve loves her so much.

“We’re okay, Robs,” he says quietly, like somehow it’ll say everything he wants to.

Based on the way she gets quiet, too, Steve thinks she knows exactly what he means. “I’m glad.”

“We’re gonna finish eating then go practice a little more. We’ll be home after that, before sundown. Promise.”

“I’m holding you to that. I will find your nailbat and bring it if I have to.”

“Jokes on you,” he says, “I already have it.”

“Fine, then I’ll bring Nancy and her guns,” Robin responds. “And probably Wayne. The guy’s really cool. And he can shoot.”

Steve chuckles. “How’s he holding up?”

Robin sighs. “About as well as can be expected. Better, actually, I think. I think maybe at this point he’s seen so much shit that nothing surprises him anymore.”

Steve snorts. “I know how that feels.”

She hums, distracted. “Sure,” she says, then addresses Steve. “Alli wants to talk to you.”

“Okay.”

“Hey, Bubba,” comes next, and he’s smiling before he realizes it.

“Hey, Al. How’re you feeling?”

“Fine. Terrified. Pissed off. Ready to tear him apart with my bare hands.”

“I think if we’d had you last time, we would’ve won.”

“Oh, definitely,” she says flippantly. “Listen, Bubba, can I offer you some advice?”

“Sure.”

“You and Eddie. Whatever you are, whatever you want to be. Don’t wait, okay? Say something. Tonight, preferably. Just- we’re all gonna make it, I know we are. But I don’t want you to regret not saying something when you could’ve.”

Steve’s heart clenches, and he tugs El in gently to envelop her in a one-armed hug. “Yeah,” he murmurs. “I will. Promise.”

“M’kay. Love you, Bubba. Be safe.”

“Love you. I will.”

The line goes dead, and he places the phone back on the hook.

“Steve?” He looks down at her. “Are you okay?”

He chuckles roughly. “Ask me again tomorrow, kiddo.”

They finish their food—El cleans her plate so thoroughly Steve is convinced she must’ve snuck away to wash it, and tells her so, resulting in another giggle—and head back out to the junkyard. “We don’t have much time,” he tells her as he parks again. “I told Robin we’d be home before dark. But this should be enough time to practice a little more. Whatever you felt earlier, whatever was in your chest keeping you company. Try to find it again, and draw from it, okay?”

“Okay,” she murmurs, looking out over the cars again.

He looks, too, and thinks he sees something, but by the time his eyes pan over the spot again, it just looks like a car. He plays it off as nerves and a trick of the setting sun and does his best to relax, so he’s not interrupting El at all.

He keeps his eyes peeled, and contemplates grabbing his bat from the trunk, but ultimately decides against it. He doesn’t think the demodogs would come out during the day.

Suddenly a demodog jumps on top of a car in front of them, and another appears to their left as two appear to their right, and Steve has time to think, famous last words, before it all goes to shit.

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[ultrone]

Is there any way you can write something for Jackie? Maybe something where she just gets comforted through everything she was dealing with out there and finds a safe space with the reader. I dont know if that’s enough to go off but i trust you’ll do amazing, as long as its Jackie content lol I am a Jackie Taylor apologist

𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗧 𖥔 𝖻𝖾𝗌𝗍 𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖾𝖽𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇

cw. S1E10 spoilers (this fic is based on that episode), mentions of fighting, just fluff

wc. 3.4k approx

n/a. tysm for your request, i really hope u like it <33 u didn’t specify if u wanted it to be platonic or romantic, so i did romantic by default, however, i added the romantic stuff kinda at the end of it so that u can skip it if u want to :)

Ever since the plane crash, the weather had been the same, with the sun always shining and the breeze feeling warm—until tonight. The air was calm, but it carried a biting cold that made you shiver. As you breathed out, a faint cloud of white vapour appeared, a sign of the freezing temperatures. It wasn't very noticeable, but it was there, reminding you of the intense chill that surrounded you on this night.

It had been around two hours since Shauna and Jackie had their big fight. All of you were aware that they had been having some issues for a couple of weeks now, but honestly, none of you paid much attention to it. Sure, there was some tension, but nothing too dramatic. You all just let it slide, thinking that maybe it had to do with Jackie struggling to adjust to the new home, unlike the rest of the team who adapted more quickly and lent a hand in every possible way. Shauna and Jackie had been your best friends for a few years now, ever since you met them during soccer practice. Since then, the three of you became inseparable, hanging out almost every day after practice and having sleepovers at Jackie's house every weekend. Deep down, you always sensed a hint of jealousy from Shauna towards Jackie, even though she never explicitly said it. But you never thought Shauna would go as far as sleeping with Jeff… and now everything made sense. You cared a lot about Shauna, she had been there for you in many ways, especially when you needed help getting over your crush on Jackie when she started dating Jeff—or at least she helped you stop thinking about her as much. But this time, Shauna had crossed a line, and you found yourself in a difficult situation because both of them held equal importance in your life.

You were lying in your cozy sleeping bag, pulling the blanket up to your nose in an attempt to ward off the cold. Only your eyes were visible, peering out from the warmth. Your gaze was fixed on Shauna, who was positioned near the window, her attention directed towards Jackie. She was situated outside, seated next to a small bonfire she had managed to ignite, casting a warm glow in the darkness.

"Just go talk to her," Tai urged, noticing the heartache etched on Shauna's face.

Shauna shook her head in silent refusal, her gaze lingering on Jackie through the window for a few more seconds before finally making her way back to her sleeping bag, preparing to settle down for the night.

She was incredibly stubborn, but you knew that beneath that facade, all she wanted to do was to rush outside, hug Jackie tightly, and say how sorry she was. But knowing her, you knew that it would take her a while to gather the courage to apologize. Tonight, at least, she had decided against it.

The night grew colder with each passing moment, and even from the comfort of your snug blankets indoors, you could feel the penetrating chill seeping into your bones. The thought of how freezing it must be for Jackie outside weighed on your mind, compelling you to go out and convince her to come inside. Initially, when the fight had just erupted, you refrained from going after her. You knew Jackie was the type of person who appreciated someone chasing after her and urging her to come inside, but you also knew that she was very upset—I mean, she practically called out everyone in the room for being lunatics (which, honestly, was completely true)—and you believed it was best to give her some space.

Before setting off, you locked eyes with Shauna. It had been a while since you last spoke to her, ever since the heated argument had unfolded earlier that afternoon. You conveyed a mixture of disappointment and understanding through your gaze. And with that unspoken communication, you began your descent down the stairs, taking each step slowly and cautiously, ensuring not to disturb any of the girls asleep downstairs.

You gingerly turned the creaky doorknob, easing the door open and stepping out into the frigid night. As you closed the door behind you, the stark difference in temperature hit you. It was considerably colder outside, and you couldn't fathom how Jackie had managed to endure the cold for so long. There she was, right in front of you, sitting huddled with her legs pulled close to her body. She wore her yellowjackets jacket and had wrapped herself in a blue blanket, shielding her from the biting chill. Facing the crackling bonfire, she trembled visibly, and you could even see the wisps of white vapour escaping her mouth, despite standing a few feet away behind her.

With each step you took, the dried leaves crackled under your shoes, breaking the silence of the night. The sound startled Jackie, jolting her out of her thoughts. She turned her gaze towards you, relief washing over her face as she recognized your familiar presence standing beside her. She then returned her gaze back to the crackling bonfire, silent and without uttering a single word to you.

"Jackie," you called out softly, your voice tinged with concern. "It's really freezing out here. You should come inside."

As you made the suggestion, Jackie continued to ignore you, her attention fixated unwaveringly on the flickering bonfire. Sensing her resistance, you added softly, "Please-" but before you could finish your plea, she interrupted you with a hurt tone.

"Did you know?" she questioned, her voice filled with pain and vulnerability.

You immediately shook your head, denying any knowledge of the situation. Determined to bridge the gap between you, you slowly approached her, taking a seat beside her.

Her eyes met yours, searching for understanding. "I love Shauna… but I love you too," you confessed softly. "And you know I would never hide something like that from you."

She let out a heavy sigh, her voice laden with sorrow. "I know you wouldn't. I'm sorry..." Her voice trailed off, tears welling up in her eyes. "I just can't believe she did that to me. She was my best friend."

You were at a loss for words, unsure of how to comfort her. The truth was, you were just as shaken as she was. Witnessing her in such anguish tore at your heart, and the knowledge that she was facing this pain all alone shattered you. Slowly, you reached out and gently caressed her back, observing tears streaming down her cheeks. As she gradually relaxed under your touch, you instinctively wrapped your arm around her, drawing her close. She found solace in your embrace, resting her head against your shoulder.

"Shit, Jackie, you're freezing," you exclaimed, surprise and concern evident in your voice. Holding her tighter within your arms, you tried to provide whatever warmth and comfort you could.

Racking your brain for something that might bring her comfort, a spark of inspiration lit up in your mind. Leaning in closer, you whispered gently, adjusting your position so she could meet your gaze. "Hey," you murmured, using your thumb to delicately wipe away some of her tears. "Remember that walkman you were trynna fix the other day?" you asked, a glimmer of hope in your voice. She nodded, sniffling and rubbing her runny nose in response.

Reaching into your pocket, you retrieved the carefully repaired walkman. "It was meant to be a surprise," you revealed, a touch of excitement in your voice. "I spent the entire morning fixing it. And guess what? It works now," you announced proudly, a wide smile spreading across your face. The sight of her teary eyes sparkling with happiness only made your smile grow even more.

With careful hands, she took hold of the walkman and pressed the power button. To her pleasant surprise, it sprang to life, functioning perfectly. "Oh my god, thank goodness," she uttered, a genuine smile gracing her lips. It was a smile that stirred something inside you, causing a gentle flutter in your stomach. Untangling the earphones from around the walkman, she placed one earphone in her ear and extended the other one toward you, offering you to take it.

"Thank goodness? You should be thanking me," you playfully teased as you inserted the earphone into your own ear, trying to bring a smile to her face. She chuckled, nudging you with her elbow and softly muttering 'shut up' as she pressed the play button.

📻 𝙽𝙾𝚆 𝙿𝙻𝙰𝚈𝙸𝙽𝙶 cry, cry by mazzy star

With the music enveloping both of you, a sense of solace settled in, the proximity of your bodies providing warmth amidst the surrounding coldness.

Breaking the silence, Jackie's voice carried a tinge of disappointment as she voiced her concern. "Do you think we're ever getting rescued?" she questioned, her hope waning. "I'm starting to lose hope. We've been here for months."

Pausing for a moment, you contemplated her words before responding honestly. "I'd like to believe that we will," you began, your voice tinged with a hint of melancholy. "But if I'm being completely honest, I'm losing hope too."

"I can't do this anymore, y/n," Jackie admitted, her voice cracking with raw emotion. She curled up, pulling her legs close to her body as if seeking comfort. "Back before we ended up here, everything felt good. I mean, I knew I wasn't the star player on the team, I'm not delusional. But being the captain and being able to uplift everyone, it made me feel special, you know? Like I could be relied upon, like I could be a leader," she confessed, her voice quivering with vulnerability. "But here... I just feel so... useless. I feel like I'm a burden," she cried, tears streaming down her face. "It seems like everyone else adapted so quickly. Nat and Travis go out hunting, Misty always knows what to do when someone gets hurt, and for god's sake, even Shauna became some sort of expert butcher. Everyone's doing something, and I just feel like I'm the only one who doesn't want to accept this reality." Her words hung in the air, the weight of her insecurities palpable.

As she continued to pour out her frustrations, you listened attentively, acknowledging the weight of her words. "And to make everything worse, now I've lost one of the most important people in my life," she lamented, her thoughts consumed by Shauna's betrayal. With a disbelieving chuckle, she added, "But you know what the worst part is? It's funny, I used to pretend I didn't know I loved Jeff, when the truth is, I didn't even like him that much," she confessed.

Her emotions intertwined with anger and resentment as she expressed her newfound realization, “and I’m so mad at Shauna, but now I realize, she’s right,” Jackie affirmed, her words laced with a certain conviction. “Our friendship doesn't matter. Love doesn't matter. They're just things that we use to pretend that we aren’t gonna end up like that dead cabin guy, like rotted-out husks in some bullshit attic,” she spat out with resentful anger. "Of course, that's how it ends. That's all we are the whole time. It doesn't matter. We're just empty shells with nothing inside."

She fell silent, her gaze locked with yours as if searching for a response, a reaction. “So, fuck it. Fuck everything and everyone,” she concluded, her voice filled with a mix of anger and resignation.

With her powerful declaration hanging in the air, Jackie returned her gaze to the crackling bonfire, her eyes reflecting a complex mix of emotions. The flames danced and flickered, casting an ethereal glow on her face. The silence enveloped both of you, punctuated only by the crackling of the fire and the distant sounds of nature.

You took a moment to absorb her raw emotions, looking at her with genuine concern. "Wow, um... Look, I get what you mean," you began, trying to gather your thoughts. "I know it's been tough for you to adjust here. We all see it, and I get why some of the others might have been tough on you. It's a messed-up situation we're in, you know? I mean, our fucking plane crashed, it's not something we can just brush off and move on from. And yeah, it may seem like everyone's moving on fast, but the truth is, we're all scared shitless."

As you held her hand, you felt a slight easing of tension in her furrowed brows. "I’ll help you find something to do, yeah? Maybe not skinning animals like Shauna does," you joked, coaxing a small smile from Jackie. "But seriously, I can show you how to wash clothes or chop wood, or we can find something else you enjoy. I promise we'll figure it out together." You assured her, your own smile conveying sincerity and reassurance.

She gazed at you with eyes filled with a mix of emotions, listening attentively to your heartfelt words. "And let me tell you something, Jackie. You're far from being an empty shell. Seriously. I mean it," you emphasized, your voice filled with sincerity. "You're genuinely one of the kindest people I've ever met, and I'm not just saying that because we're best friends. It's the truth." You continued, “Remember that time at a party when Tai, Shauna, and Nat were all at each other's throats after Tai accidentally broke Allie's leg? Literally, not even ten minutes later, everyone was laughing and happy again, and it was all thanks to you," you recalled, a soft smile playing on your lips.

Jackie's smile grew, her cheeks turning a subtle shade of pink as she remembered that moment. "You really think so?" she asked shyly.

"Absolutely," you replied earnestly, meeting her eyes with unwavering sincerity. "You're amazing, Jackie, truly. And I want you to know that. You bring light into people's lives, including mine."

Her smile widened, gratitude shining in her eyes. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice filled with genuine appreciation. "It means a lot to hear that from you, especially right now."

📻 𝙽𝙾𝚆 𝙿𝙻𝙰𝚈𝙸𝙽𝙶 Seventeen by Sharon Van Etten

The familiar melody filled the air, and Jackie's face lit up with happiness. "Oh my god, I love this song! It's been forever since I've heard it," she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Memories flooded back of those times when she would blast the song in Shauna's car, the two of you belting out the lyrics while going to school. As she unplugged the earphones from the walkman, the music swelled, reaching a volume that allowed both of you to enjoy it without disturbing the others.

Jackie rose to her feet and extended her hand towards you, a playful glimmer in her eyes. Without hesitation, you clasped her hand, and she tugged you closer to her, starting to dance around the crackling bonfire. At that moment, all your worries seemed to fade into the background, carried away by the whimsical gusts of wind.

As you danced and spun with Jackie, enjoying the carefree moment, something caught your eye. You looked up and couldn't believe what you saw.

"Holy fuck, it's snowing!" you blurted out, your excitement evident in your voice. Snowflakes were falling from the sky, landing gently on your clothes and the ground around you. It was unexpected but absolutely magical.

Jackie's face lit up with a big smile as she looked up at the snowflakes. She grabbed your hand, pulling you closer as you both continued to dance in the snowfall. The chilly air adding to the thrill of the moment.

After an hour of dancing, the energy began to fade, and both of you collapsed onto the now snowy ground, feeling the cold seep through your clothes. Looking up at the sky, you were captivated by the sight of countless twinkling stars, their beauty shining brightly.

As small snowflakes gently landed on your faces, you turned to glance at Jackie, finding her already gazing at you with a gentle smile. The cold air made your breath visible, but the warmth in her eyes made you feel cozy inside.

She shattered the serene silence, her voice piercing through the calm air. "Do you know when I realized I never actually liked Jeff?" she asked. The unexpected topic left you both curious and confused, and you furrowed your eyes, silently urging her to continue.

"It was the night before the crash, at the party," she began, her voice tinged with reminiscence. "I remember seeing you with him, dancing together, laughing uncontrollably. It was all platonic, obviously. I knew you would never have that kind of feelings for him. But still, I couldn't help feeling jealous. At first, I thought it was jealousy towards you, for dancing with him like that. But I was wrong," she assured, her tone filled with certainty. "I was angry because you looked so fucking beautiful and happy. Seeing you laugh like that with him instead of me, it shattered me," she confessed, her words heavy with emotion.

You were left speechless, unable to fathom that Jackie, of all people, would ever express such feelings to you. Before your thoughts could fully process what she just said, she continued speaking, her voice barely faltering.

"I tried to ignore it, blaming it on the alcohol. 'I was just jealous because of Jeff,' I kept telling myself," she explained, her words tinged with self-reflection. "But it hit me right after the plane crash. All I could think about was you, finding you and knowing you were safe. And when I saw you unconscious on the ground, drenched in blood, all I felt was regret. Regret for not telling you how much I love you, that I’m so fucking in love with you. And I-"

​​Before she could finish her sentence, you seized the moment, crashing your lips together. It was a tender yet desperate kiss, one that you had longed to share with her. You lied to Shauna, pretending that your feelings for Jackie had dissipated, but in truth, they had only grown stronger.

The kiss lingered for a moment, filled with unspoken words and years of pent-up emotions. As you finally pulled away, you gazed into Jackie's eyes, searching for confirmation that what just happened was real.

Jackie's expression mirrored your own. Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke, "I never thought... I never imagined this would happen."

You mustered the courage to express what you had suppressed for far too long. "Jackie, I've loved you for so long. I felt like absolute shit when you started dating Jeff, but my feelings never truly faded. I've tried to move on, to convince myself that we were just best friends, but I just couldn't do it."

"I love you, Y/n," Jackie whispered, a gentle smile gracing her lips as she delicately ran her fingers through your hair.

Feeling a surge of warmth in your heart, you couldn't help but respond, "I love you too, Jackie. So much." Leaning in, you planted a tender peck on her lips. "Let's head inside now, yeah? Before we catch a cold."

Jackie nodded in agreement, her eyes sparkling with affection. With your hands entwined, the two of you walked back to the cabin, leaving the chilly air behind you.

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Safe For Now

A JSE Fanfic

SepticHeroes AU: Part 36

First Part | Previous Part | Read on AO3 at CrystalNinjaPhoenix

This came out a bit longer than intended... it's 7k words. What can I say? For some reasons Septic Heroes just flows for me. Jameson has been rescued, and Jackie needs to pretend that he doesn't know that happened. He also decides to help out Chase, who's struggling with the knowledge of his past and what he should do with it. Meanwhile, JJ settles down into the safe house. You could count this chapter as the beginning of the next "arc" in the story... and boy am I excited for what's to come :3c Enjoy!

===============

Bring bring! Bring bring! Jackie woke up to the sound of the Red Line ringing. If he had a nickel for every time this happened... but this wasn’t the time to grumble about that. He suspected what this call was going to be about. The League had reported the breakout, processed it, and was now alerting him, since he was the main Hero who’d dealt with the Puppeteer.

Alright. He’d better stay calm. He’d better make sure he seems unaware. Taking a deep breath, Jackie sat up and grabbed the Red Line, answering the call. “Hello?”

“Windstorm! I—Jackie!” That wasn’t Magnify’s voice. He expected a call from his handler, but instead, it was from someone else. Lorelai. “Did you know—Do you—There was a—”

“Lorelai?! Hey, hey, c-calm down,” Jackie said. “Is there a problem? Do you need help?”

“I’m fine,” she said. “More importantly, did you get the memo?”

“The memo? No.”

“We’re not supposed to talk about it, but... there was a breakout.” Lorelai whispered that last part, as if afraid she would be overheard. “From Byrthon Vault, of all places.”

“What?” Jackie gasped—perhaps too quietly in proportion for how bad this news would be to any Hero.

Lorelai didn’t notice, though. “I-I know! And two villains escaped. The Puppeteer and Pathos. R-reports said that this Specter villain probably helped them break out, and maybe that Cat villain who almost assassinated me?”

Oh shit they knew everything. “That’s an... interesting combination,” Jackie said slowly.

“Yeah! I-I know that you’re probably going to get a call from Magnify any minute, but I wanted to check on you first. These villains... they’re all from Daindover, o-or the nearby area, in the Specter’s case. They might be coming for you.”

“I... Yeah, I-I realized that.” Jackie didn’t want to say too much. Maybe it was paranoid of him, but he looked at his phone lying on his dresser next to where the Red Line usually sat, and didn’t want to risk Anti-Virus hearing anything.

“Look, if you need any help with any of these guys, let me know, okay?” Lorelai said. “I’ve gone back to Evoritch, but it’s not too far from Daindover. I can get there really quickly, especially if I use the helicopter.”

Jackie laughed a little. “Do you just... have access to a helicopter casually?”

“For a bit longer. The League is just storing it nearby. They tend to let choppers and jets sit in different cities for a couple months.”

“Interesting... I do remember seeing small planes with the League of Heroes logo flying around when I was younger.” Jackie nodded to himself. “I thought that there might’ve been some special thing happening. Or that they were for Moonstone or something.”

“I mean, I guess they could’ve been? Maybe while she was still living there but still had national Hero status. She’d have needed them to get around to far away problems.” Lorelai hummed thoughtfully. “Anyway. The point is, if you need help, let me know, okay?”

“I will,” Jackie said. “I-I’m sure I can handle this... But thanks.”

“No problem. Call me whenever. Bye.”

“Bye.”

No sooner had Jackie hung up than the Red Line started ringing again. He sighed, and picked up the call. “Hey Magnify. I think I know what you’re going to tell me but you go first...”

One call later, Jackie was fully awake. He glanced at the time on the Red Line. It was noon. He’d slept pretty late—but then again, he’d been up pretty late last night, spending some time with Chase, and then unable to sleep afterwards from his nerves about what was going to happen next, now that JJ was out.

... and apparently Pathos, too, wait a minute! Chase hadn’t mentioned that last night! How and why did Schneep and Marvin decide to break out a crime lord?!

Jackie shook his head. Well, he couldn’t ask Chase now. He knew Chase’s schedule, and he should be at work right now. Maybe he could text him, but he wanted to get ready for the day first. He should probably go out on patrol today... he hadn’t gone out in a while, and people would start to get worried about where their Hero had disappeared to. Not to mention that would be expected, for a Hero to be more active after villains broke out from prison. He had to keep up the appearance that he wasn’t involved so the League wouldn’t get suspicious.

He thought about all this as he went about his morning routine: getting breakfast (cereal), taking a shower, and getting dressed. And then, as he left his room to go back to the living room, planning to check the local TV news before leaving, he heard a “Jackie?”

“Ohholyfuck!” Jackie jumped in surprise, launching himself up into the air, pressing his back against the ceiling. Then he got over his surprise and casually floated back down, pretending he hadn’t done that. “Chase?” He knocked on Chase’s bedroom door. “I didn’t realize you were home. I thought you had work.”

“Yeah, I called in sick,” Chase said. “I... didn’t want to go.”

“Oh.” Jackie was quiet for a minute. “Can I come in? Do you want to talk?”

“Yeah, you can come in. Dunno what I’d talk about but... I’d like to try.”

Jackie opened up the door and walked in. Chase was lying in bed, still in his pajamas. Frosty was laying next to (and partially on top of) him, a cloud of white fur with two big dark eyes. Jackie said nothing, just walked in and sat down in the desk chair. “So... you’re still thinking about the family thing, I’m guessing?” he said.

Chase laughed. “Do you expect me to just stop thinking about that after one night?”

“No. Of course not.” Jackie shook his head. “I just... Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine.” Chase rolled over, lying on his back instead of his side, lifting Frosty up so he could move before letting him go. Frosty was totally unbothered by this, gently lying his head on Chase’s chest. “I just... I-I... Thank you for what you said last night. Really. But... I still can’t help but wonder why they haven’t tried to contact me in any way. Maybe Anti-Virus was involved somehow, I-I don’t know. But... I think that if they really cared, they’d try.”

“You don’t know that,” Jackie said quietly. “Maybe they just... didn’t have the time or money or something.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Chase nodded. “Good point.”

“Do you... really think Anti-Virus is involved?” Jackie asked quietly. 

Chase glanced at the dresser where his phone was. “No... not really.” He gave Jackie a significant look. “Hey, uh... I left my charger in the living room. Can you plug in my phone? I kinda have a dog on me.”

“Yeah, sure.” Jackie got up and grabbed the phone, quickly going back into the living room. Chase had indeed left his charger in here, so he plugged in the phone before returning to Chase’s room, sitting down hard in the desk chair. “So...”

“It might not be specifically Anti-Virus,” Chase muttered. “But Gwen said that a technopath could delete most of my digital records, leaving only some of the boring stuff to divert suspicion.”

“I see...” Jackie said slowly. “Um... what... wh-what did Kanchana tell you? About your... past?”

Chase took a deep breath. “Not much... I don’t think we knew each other too well. But she mentioned Stacy, my wife, and Abby, my... daughter.” He paused for a moment, blinking back tears in his eyes. “I-I was part of her hench organization, HAUC. I could use a handgun, apparently, and worked there for six years, starting when I was twenty-one. I kept it a secret from Stacy, and when she found out, she left, and I tried to go legit for them. The last Kanchana heard from me, I’d gotten a job through SepTech’s Reform Program.”

“Yeah... the Reformation Program...” Jackie repeated. Then he laughed. “You remembered that pretty well for a guy who can’t remember what he had for dinner last night.”

“My memory isn’t that bad,” Chase mumbled.

“What did we eat last night?”

“Pizza. From Mara’s.”

“Hm. Touche.”

“Anyway, I-I don’t know why I can remember this so clearly when I don’t remember other facts easily,” Chase said. “It... must have made a strong impression on me.” He laughed. “Of fucking course it would, though.”

“How... h-how do you feel about having a family?” Jackie asked. “I-I know that’s probably a dumb question, but... I-I’m wondering if you... Would you want to go find them?”

Chase was quiet for a bit, idly scratching behind Frosty’s ear. “I don’t know... I-I want to learn about them, at least. And... if I really do have a kid, I want to... I think I should be there for her. To help. That’s what your parents are supposed to do, you know? I-I don’t know if they’d want my help, either of them, but... I should probably tell them about the accident, at least. So they know.” He bit his lip. “But... h-how would I find them? What if they didn’t keep my last name? We’d only have two first names to go off. I-I don’t think Kanchana knew them, so she wouldn’t have any information.”

“Hm... I don’t know.” Jackie shook his head. “I can do some detective work, if you want. Heroes do that sort of stuff a lot. We start with Stacy Brody or Abby Brody and work from there. Maybe they have some social media pages or accounts we can find.”

“Oh!” Chase gasped. “Jackie! My fucking YouTube channel!”

“Huh?” Jackie blinked. “Oh! Do—do you think you can reach them with that?”

“Maybe? I-I haven’t shared my full name in a video yet—and I probably shouldn’t, now that I think about it. Not if my best friend’s gonna be a hero with a secret identity.” Chase grinned. “But... maybe I could mention that I’d found out about my family. A-and maybe, somehow, the video would make their way to them?”

“Well... you’ll probably have to share some details for it to make sense to them,” Jackie said. “And I don’t think you should mention that you’re a former henchman. I know that you’re not some evil villain, but if you mention a detail like that online, other people are going to attack you thinking you are.”

“Oh, yeah, definitely.”Chase nodded. “But... if I mention Stacy and Abby’s first names, maybe they’ll realize... I don’t know. Do you think it’s dumb?”

“I think it’s worth a shot,” Jackie said. “As long as you’re careful about it. Though I’m sure if you asked Schneep he’d tell you not to do it.”

“I-I’ll think about it,” Chase says. “Maybe I’ll also search for them online... casually. Not in an... intense way.”

“Hey, like I said, I can do that for you,” Jackie said. “I know how to find stuff out.”

“Hah... yeah, I wouldn’t mind.” Chase smiled. “But uh... if you find someone that might be Stacy, don’t... don’t reach out to her. Just tell me a-and I’ll do it.”

Jackie nodded. “I will. I promise.” He paused. “You were part of the Reformation Program, huh? I wonder if I could talk to Dr. McLoughlin about you. Maybe they have information on your past.”

“I think Anti-Virus or whatever other technopath interfered with my shit would’ve deleted that,” Chase muttered.

“Maybe... but it’s pretty hard to get into SepTech servers... even though Anti-Virus clearly did it before...” Jackie trailed off. “If... I-if Anti-Virus really is the reason why all your stuff was deleted... that means he was active at least two and a half years ago. And that... worries me. Cause why would he delete your stuff, and then wait two years to start causing problems?”

“I have no idea. I’m not good at this hero stuff.” Chase gently pushed Frosty away and started to sit up, queuing Frosty to help push him upright. “Maybe he was always doing illegal shit but he got more ambitions. Or maybe I was just like... practice for his powers or something.” He sighed. “That second option would make him just cruel.”

“He seems like a cruel guy,” Jackie said. “After all, he made JJ do terrible things without any thought for what it was doing to him, or Dahlia, or any of the people who were being controlled.”

Chase nodded. “Um... you know, I wouldn’t mind if you talked to Dr. McLoughlin about me, just in case. I-I mean, I doubt the guy would know me. He’s like... important, you know?”

“And you’re not important?” Jackie interrogated, leaning forward.

“I mean like—relatively,” Chase said. “If you’re about to say I’m important to you... thanks. Th-that means a lot whenever I hear you say something like that.” He smiled. “But seriously. The guy partially owns and runs the biggest tech company in Europe. I think that no matter what I did in my life before this, there’s bound to be a bit of a difference in our statuses.”

“Hm. Good point.” Jackie leaned back. “But you never know. I think it’s worth a shot.”

“Yeah... I think so, too.” Chase nodded. “So... if you want, you can go talk to him, just in case.” He swung his legs out of bed. “Now, uh... do you mind? I gotta get ready.”

“Oh yeah sure.” Jackie stood up. “I’ll probably stop by SepTech today to see McLoughlin, if you’re okay with it.”

“Of course bro, do whatever. But is it really okay to just stop by?”

“He told me it was. I’m assuming that holds up.” Jackie shrugged. He started towards the door, then stopped. “Oh! By the way, do you know where JJ is staying?”

“No, you’ll have to talk to Marvin or Schneep about that,” Chase said.

“Cool, cool. I’ll see if I can meet up with them after my talk with McLoughlin.” Jackie left the room. “I’m going out on patrol soon, by the way.”

“Good luck!” Chase said.

“Thanks.” Jackie smiled, and closed the door.

===============

Beeeep! Beeeep! Beeeep!

JJ jolted awake to the sound of an alarm. He was instantly on alert, but as he looked around his surroundings, he calmed down again. This wasn’t the Vault. This was somewhere else. The walls were painted a neutral beige, the carpet a dark gray. There was a long wooden dresser and a small table and two chairs made out of the same type of wood. Clearly part of a set. He was lying in bed, the mattress much softer than the cot of his cell in the Vault, the heavy comforter luring him down into sleep again.

He was in a designated safe house. Kanchana had driven him here last night, along with Soren—wait where was Soren?! And actually—what was that alarm?!

JJ threw the blanket aside and ran out of the room, darting out into the connecting hallway. Smoke was pouring from an archway. He pulled his shirt over his mouth and leaned into the room, squinting through watery eyes. A wooshing sound, then some clouds of cold white smoke, and the black smoke started to die down. Soren coughed, waving the black smoke away with one hand while holding a fire extinguisher in his other hand. He cursed furiously—and then noticed JJ standing there and immediately stopped. “Uh... sorry. I was... trying to remember how to cook.”

It’s not going well, is it? JJ commented.

“No, no it’s not.” Soren smiled slightly. He was wearing some of the clothes that they’d found in the dressers of their room. It seemed Kanchana had thought they’d need them—which she was right about, given they couldn’t just wear the Vault jumpsuits the whole time. She said that she’d only guessed the sizes, leaning on the bigger side just in case, and relying on loose designs (which was not JJ’s style but he would take anything over the jumpsuit). The white T-shirt Soren was wearing was a bit big, falling off one shoulder, but the gray sweatpants were a bit short in comparison, ending just above his ankles. “Well... did you sleep well?”

JJ nodded. Very well. What about you? You’re clearly awake before me. Was the sofa that uncomfortable?

“It was actually pretty comfortable... at least compared to the cot I was sleeping on for the past two years,” Soren said.

Well the bed was much better, JJ said.

Soren laughed. “You don’t need to flex on me.”

Well YOU didn’t need to insist on taking the sofa. You could’ve taken the bed. In fact, you should have, I think.

“Really?” Soren raised his eyebrow, leaning back on the kitchen counter. “Why’s that?”

Because you were stuck in there longer, JJ said. Under the effects of the neutrinalin longer. You were... You still are sick. Don’t tell me you’re not. His eyes lingered on the dark circles under Soren’s eyes, on the thinness of his arms.

Soren’s amused smile softened to something more genuine. “...thanks, Jameson,” he said quietly. “That... Thanks.” He took a deep breath. “But, you know, I really just came along for the ride. The rescue was intended for you. I... I really, really appreciate you letting me come along. The least I can do for that is let you have the bed.” He glanced at the stove. “And... try to make some food for you.”

JJ looked at the stove as well. There was a pan full of charred... stuff... on one of the burners, indistinguishable under the foam from the fire extinguisher. What was that supposed to be?

“Scrambled eggs,” Soren said.

Well... if they actually came out right, I would have really liked that, JJ said. Eggs are a delicious breakfast. Even so, I appreciate the effort.

“Thanks.” Soren smiled slightly. “Here, I’ll get this cleaned up.”

No, I’ll get it cleaned up, JJ insisted. You go sit down.

“Hey, this was supposed to be something nice for you,” Soren said. “And besides, it was my mistake. Let me clean up my mess.” He folded his arms.

JJ stared at him, then nodded. Alright, if you insist. I’ll go sit down in that dining room.

“Got it.” Soren nodded, then started opening up drawers and cabinets, looking for cleaning supplies.

The dining room was connected to the kitchen via an archway, and the connecting wall had a window in it as well, through which people in each room could look through and look at the others. JJ sat down at the small dining table, leaning back in the chair and looking around the room. Kanchana had given him and Soren a quick tour of the house last night, but Jameson had been tired and overwhelmed by the events of the escape and hadn’t really taken in the details. He remembered this was a small house—only five rooms. The bedroom, the bathroom, the small dining room and kitchen, and the front living room. And he also remembered they weren’t supposed to open the windows or make much noise... so that fire alarm was a great first start to staying in here. This whole house was pretty plain and undecorated, with light walls and gray carpets. It was very clean, but very impersonal. Like a house full of show rooms.

“Alright.” Soren threw some paper towels into the trash can. The kitchen is more or less clean, though some streaks of white foam remain. “All done.”

JJ raised an eyebrow. What about those streaks?

Soren glanced at the counter again. “...they’ll dry, right?”

JJ chuckled. He stood up and walked back into the kitchen, checking the drawers until he found a towel. A whole drawer full, actually. He grabbed two of them, turned on the sink and ran one under the water, then wiped up the foam streaks. The wet towel went first, and then the water was wiped up in turn with the dry one.

Soren nodded. “Th-thanks, Jameson. I suppose I’m not... practiced. Or maybe I’ve forgotten. Just like how I’ve apparently forgotten how to cook.” His voice was tinged with sadness.

Jameson looked at him quietly for a moment, then put the towels in the sink to free his hands for signing. Do you like cooking?

“...you wouldn’t expect it, would you?” Soren smiled slightly. “But... yeah. It’s... calming. I can’t use my powers on myself to clear my own emotions, so... cooking it is. It’s a good distraction.”

Are you self-taught? JJ asked.

“My mom got me started when I was a kid,” Soren said. “Though when I got older she slowly stopped. Once, when I asked her if we could cook again, she said it wasn’t fitting for a grown man.” He paused. “I think I was thirteen or fourteen when that happened.”

JJ made a face.

“Don’t be like that. She was a lovely mother. Just... a bit old-fashioned.” Soren sighed. “Well, I taught myself to cook after that, so no harm done. What about you? Can you cook?”

I can make basic dishes... Like pasta and waffles.

“That’s a unique combination.”

That’s what first came to mind, I don’t eat them during the same meal. JJ laughed silently. But neither me or my sister were very good cooks. Our parents didn’t cook much either, honestly.

“Sounds like I’ll be the one making the food then,” Soren said. “Because Kanchana said we couldn’t order takeout. If I need anything specific, I can ask her when she checks on us.”

If you cook, I’ll clean after, JJ said. That sounds fair.

Soren nodded. “Sounds fair.” His eyes drifted to the cabinets. “But, uh... for now, let’s stick with cereal for breakfast.”

‘Breakfast’ was a bit of a stretch, because it turned out they’d both slept into the afternoon. Still they both prepared cereal, eating at the small table together. Soren, I have a question, actually, JJ said near the end of their ‘breakfast.’

“Yes, James?” Soren asked.

When... when do you think the neutrinalin effects will wear off? Jameson asked.

Soren went very quiet. He put his spoon in his bowl and folded his hands. “Hard to say. There’s not a lot of data for people who’ve been affected by neutrinalin for so long. Or at least, no data that’s publicly available. I... guess it’ll be a day, at least.”

JJ nodded slowly. He asked because even the plain Cheerios they had were causing some nausea to roll around his stomach. So clearly the side effects weren’t over... and he guessed that the main effect of the neutrinalin, the power-muffling, would last as least as long as that.

“Though, you have more to worry about than just the neutrinalin.” Soren pointed at JJ’s wrists. 

The powsup bracelets were still cuffed there. Last night, Kanchana had looked at them, frowned, and said, “Give me two days to figure out how to get rid of those. For now... I think the radio signal for them won’t reach far, at least.” So, JJ had been left to change into some of the provided pajamas with them still on. Honestly, I’m pretty used to them at this point, JJ said. Though I can feel them... especially when I bend my wrists. Hopefully they won’t be on for much longer, though.

“Yeah,” Soren muttered. “I’m sure the sickness will be gone soon, James. And then our powers will come back.”

JJ nodded slowly. I... wouldn’t mind not having my powers, though... He signed slowly.

Soren blinked. “Ah. Let me guess. You don’t like controlling people, do you?”

Do you?

“My powers don’t control people. The most they do is make it hard to think rationally through all the emotion. People can power through that. Timekeeper and Windstorm were both able to.”

WOULD you like controlling people? JJ asked.

“...no,” Soren said quietly. “It... would come in handy, but... that’s a line I won’t let myself cross.”

Exactly. JJ nodded. That’s what I told myself too... but then I crossed that line, anyway.

“So?”

Jameson looked up at him in shock.

“Look, they already put you in prison for it,” Soren said. “You’re currently on the run. You’re already being punished for your actions. Don’t punish yourself as well. You did a bad thing. So?”

So, people were hurt! Jameson said. I wouldn’t be surprised if I put people in therapy!

“Yeah...” Soren nodded sadly. “That’s true. But you can’t go back in time, can you?” He looked at JJ silently until he shook his head. “The most you can do is try to move on. Try to be a better man.”

Jameson looked down into his bowl of soggy cereal. He took a deep breath. If you weren’t a crime lord, you could be a therapist.

Soren chuckled. “You know, organized crime actually keeps crime levels down, over all. I’m not the sort of guy to cause chaos. I just... I-I was... doing what I...” He trailed off. “Well... maybe if I ever go clean, I could consider that. Though I don’t know anyone who’d allow me to get a license to practice.”

Do you think your powers could be helpful for such a thing?

“Hm. Yes.” Soren nodded. “If people could... explain their feelings without getting overwhelmed... or if people who were more repressed could have a little nudge to break through that dam... And my powers don’t work if I can’t see someone, so if the experience is bad, at least it won’t last that long.”

JJ tilted his head, looking thoughtful as Soren said that. Do you think... if... once your powers come back... you could... He hesitated. I sometimes get... I feel very... bad. Scared, and... sad. I would never force you to do something you wouldn’t want to do, of course, but...

“I’d do that for you, James,” Soren said quietly. “Not all the time. That wouldn’t be good for you. But I’d do it for you when you needed it.”

He felt some tears come to his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away. Thank you. He took a deep breath. Now... we should probably clean up.

Soren smiled a bit. “I’m not actually done with my cereal, let me finish first.”

JJ chuckled. Of course. How dare I.

The two of them finished quickly, then washed the bowls and put them away, trying to figure out what they could do for the day without leaving the house.

===============

“I don’t know, Windstorm, I don’t know everyone who goes through the Reformation Program. Basically none of them, actually. And even if I did, I don’t have the best memory. This would’ve been three years ago? Eugh.” McLoughlin leaned back in his desk chair, making a face. “I don’t know... Why do you need to find this guy, anyway?”

Jackie sighed. “It’s a long story. I... I think it might be related to Anti-Virus.”

“Ah shit.” McLoughlin went pale. “What, is this... is this Chase Brody his secret identity?”

“Possibly,” Jackie lied. “But he might just be another lead.”

The two of them were in McLoughlin’s lab, right next to a table with a bunch of disassembled technology. McLoughlin’s SAM hovered in the air, camera aimed down into a mess of circuit boards, while his right eye glowed green—apparently he was currently projecting the camera feed into his eye for a close-up view of the ‘guts’ as he called it. Jackie hovered nearby. Not literally, just... standing awkwardly.

McLoughlin bit his lip thoughtfully. He glanced at the mess of tech and took out his single-button remote. “Hey,  make a strex pattern on the board in the center of SAM’s vision.” In response, two delicate robotic arms reached down to one of the circuit boards. One held it in place, and the other started messing about with the surface, some flashes of white light flaring off from the point of contact. “And while you’re at it, pull up the Reformation Program files for three years ago. Put them on Monitor 5E.”

The nearby computer monitor lit up with lines of text, overlapping each other. “Oh!” Jackie said. “Do I... look at that?”

“Hang on,” McLoughlin said, pressing the button again. “Search files for information on Chase Brody.”

The text flipped over each other. “Searching,” said that robotic voice. “No results found.”

Jackie frowned.

“Well... if you’re right about Anti-Virus deleting files, then it wouldn’t show up anyway,” McLoughlin reassured him.

“Is there any way I can... look through that manually?” Jackie asked. “Just to be sure.”

“Yeah, go ahead. It’s a touchscreen but if you want a keyboard to use, press that button with the... keyboard image on it, haha. One will pop out of the bottom.”

“I’ll be fine, but thanks.” Jackie walked over to the monitor and scanned it. There was a search box, a scroll wheel... yeah this all seemed normal. 

“Need a chair?” McLoughlin asked.

“Nah, it’s fine.” Jackie hopped into the air, folding his legs beneath him as he sat on a pocket of air. He tapped an arrow to pull up one of the files, then scrolled back to the files dated to the beginning of the year. Time to look for Chase’s name.

About fifteen minutes passed in silence. McLoughlin continued to work on whatever he was working on while Jackie searched. Eventually, though, Jackie sighed and touched back down to the ground. “No luck?” McLoughlin asked.

“None.” Jackie shook his head. “Do you keep paper copies of this stuff?”

“Probably somewhere. I don’t know where, though.” McLoughlin grabbed his remote again. “Where do we keep the physical file copies?”

“Please be more specific,” said the computer’s voice.

“For the Reformation Program.”

There was a pause. “No location for physical files on record.”

McLoughlin blinked. He looked at the remote.

“So... did you get that fixed, by the way?” Jackie said, glancing at it.

“Huh?”

“Last time I was here it kept insisting that a door was unlocked when it wasn’t.”

“Oh fuck, right.” McLoughlin shook his head a little, as if to clear it. “I did some diagnostics. And also... physically took it apart. It seemed fine to my eyes, but the computer picked up on a dead mic. So this is actually my second remote. I’m getting a new mic in soon to fix the first one.”

Jackie frowned. “That doesn’t make sense... it could hear you fine, it was responding fine, it just... wasn’t unlocking the door.”

“...huh.” McLoughlin looked at the remote with wide eyes. “I-I don’t... have an explanation for that, then... I haven’t had any problems with it since.” He frowned. “I’m... I-I’ll do more diagnostics. Maybe the problem is with the assistant. Maybe Anti-Virus fucked with it while he was hacking all my shit.” He groaned. “I really hope there’s no problems, though. It took way too long to make.”

“...huh.” Jackie felt a shiver up his spine. “Uh... do you think it’s lying about where the paper copies are being kept? If your assistant has been hacked?”

“Maybe. I-I’ll ask some staff members if they know where we keep the paper files, then get back to you through the League.”

“How’s the League treating you, by the way?” Jackie asked. “With the whole... weaponized SAM situation.”

“They’re fine. The most problems they cause are that I feel like I’m being watched a lot. They have their own squad of technopaths, you know. Checking out all my stuff. I-I get it, but... still.” McLoughlin sighed. “I guess I brought that on myself for being lax in security. Still no leads on who could’ve put those SAMs in there?”

Jackie shook his head. “No leads. It... still looks like you did it. I-I want to be clear, though, I don’t think you did, despite all evidence.”

“Well that’s fucking dumb,” McLoughlin said.

Jackie burst into laughter.

“No, seriously, Windstorm.” McLoughlin looked him in the eyes. “If all evidence points to something, the people need their Hero to believe the evidence. A-as much as I appreciate it, you can’t afford to be blinded by emotion.”

The laughter died down. Jackie looked away. “I... I-I know that,” he said quietly. “I just... I-I want to hope that... I can keep an open mind. I think I’ve been a bit... biased in the past.”

“Well... don’t overcorrect,” McLoughlin said gently.

“Do you want me to arrest you?”

“God no. Especially since I have no idea how those SAMs got there. I’m just saying. I wouldn’t personally blame you. And I think you should, you know... You know, keeping an open mind doesn’t mean you’re ride or die for someone who might be a criminal.”

“Yeah.” Jackie smiled slightly. “But... innocent until proven guilty. The SAM thing is incriminating, but if you could be arrested for that, it would’ve happened by now.”

“Well... technically I am on house arrest,” McLoughlin said slowly. “I can’t go anywhere but work or one of the SepTech locations. Possessing weapons like that is still very fucking illegal. So... here’s this.” He stuck out his leg and rolled up his pants a bit, revealing a black band around his ankle.

“...ah.” Jackie wasn’t sure what to say to that. “Did the League just... do that?”

“Yeah.”

Jackie frowned. “That seems like something the police should’ve decided.”

“They ran it by them.” McLoughlin shrugged. “The equipment is theirs, though. It’s supposed to have a superpower suppression mechanism built in? Which I don’t get why they’d waste that on me. But there’s a League guy by the front desk, you saw him when you walked in, probably, he can turn that on if he wants. Dunno why he would. I don’t have superpowers. And these can’t be affected by that.” He flexed his prosthetic fingers.

“Better safe than sorry, I assume,” Jackie said. 

“It’s fine, I wasn’t going anywhere else anyway,” McLoughlin said, pulling his pants leg down. “I’ve always been a bit of a homebody.”

“Still... Sorry about that.”

McLoughlin laughed. “It’s fine, I totally get why it happened. Now... back to your guy. I’ll talk to the admin staff here and ask them where the paper copies are being held.”

“Yeah, you said that. Thanks, I’d appreciate it. Uh, let me know when you find that. And also let me know if you find any... signs of people breaking in.” Jackie knew that the last occurrence had been Schneep checking things out, but there was a chance other people were doing the same. “Or, you know, let me know if your employees do anything weird, too. It might be an inside job.”

“Of course.” McLoughlin nodded. “You’re heading out now, then?”

“Yep. But you know how to reach me. Thanks for letting me stop by.”

“No problem.” McLoughlin smiled. “Stop by anytime. Any time at all.”

===============

There was a knock at the door. JJ immediately stiffened, the book he was reading falling out of his hands. Soren looked up as well. “I got it,” he muttered, putting his own book to the side and standing up. The blinds were drawn, but he still ducked low as he got up out of the armchair he was sitting in and carefully, quietly walked over to the front door. He ducked down to the mailbox and carefully peered out, making sure not to draw attention. Then he looked back at JJ. I think it’s the Specter, he said, signing more slowly than JJ usually did.

Jameson let out a sigh of relief. Let him in.

Soren nodded and stood up straight, unlocking the door and pulling it open a crack. “Come in,” he said, then opened it wide enough for a person to come in.

Schneep hurried into the room as soon as the gap was big enough. “I-I am so sorry for coming in at no notice, but, well... There is no way to give you notice ahead of time without a phone.”

JJ stood up. Henrik, it’s so good to see you again. I feel like we didn’t really talk the last time I saw you.

“I-I don’t think we did, either,” Schneep said quietly. He stared at JJ, then rushed across the room and enveloped him in a tight hug.

“Whoa!” Soren blinked in surprise.

Jameson melted into the hug, squeezing him tightly back. Schneep smelled like hand sanitizer. Maybe he’d been at work, at the hospital where hand sanitizer was so often used. Then he pulled back. Thank you so much for the rescue, Henrik, he said.

“It was no problem,” Schneep said.

I’m sure the planning had many problems, actually.

Schneep chuckled. “Well, you are right, but I would go through them again. I only regret I waited so long. This would have been so much easier if you’d let me break you out of the holding cell instead of the Vault.”

I suppose I... wasn’t ready yet, Jameson said slowly. Still, thank you for coming after me anyway.

“What is family for?” Schneep laughed. There were tears lining his eyes. 

Soren closed the door. “Nice to see you again, Specter.”

“You as well, I suppose.” Schneep gave Soren a look-over. “I never thought I would meet Pathos in person. And I definitely never thought he would be friends with Jameson.”

“Well... there aren’t many options to meet people while in prison,” Soren said. “You’re limited pretty much to who’s in there. And when I heard the new Puppeteer villain was from Daindover, I got curious... and now here we are.” He shrugged. “In any case, you can just call me Soren.”

“Soren, then.” Schneep nodded.

Are you just stopping by? JJ asked. Or is this business?

“Just stopping by, I suppose. I wanted to check that you were settling in. I am glad I wrote down the address Kanchana shared.” Schneep looked around. “This is... nice.”

Rather boring, JJ said.

“Well I wasn’t going to say it.”

JJ chuckled. The whole house is like this, but I can give you a tour, if you would like?

“Sure, why not?” Schneep shrugged.

Soren sat back down in his chair. “Don’t mind me, I’ll stay here.”

JJ gave Schneep a brief tour through the house, ending in the bedroom. Schneep didn’t say much, only asking if JJ felt that this place was good enough to stay. Jameson assured him that it was. Anything is better than the Vault, really, he said.

Once the tour was over, they returned to the living room. JJ noticed his book was still on the sofa and went over to pick it up, refinding his place and marking it by folding over the corner of the page.

“Oh? What happened to wanting to keep the pages pristine?” Schneep said. “Or did you go on that rant about bookmarks for no reason?”

JJ smiled slightly. That was months ago... But if I could find a bookmark, I would use it. Trust me, we looked.

Schneep nodded. “Is the book... good?”

It’s fine so far. I think I’m not the target audience... I feel like it’s marketed towards young women. But it has an intriguing enough mystery.

“What is it about?”

A woman looking for her long lost sister. JJ paused. Maybe I... relate to the main character.

Schneep’s expression softened. “Ah... I-I will let Jackie know where the safe house is... so that he can update you on his search for Dahlia.”

JJ nodded. I would appreciate that.

Soren idly watched this conversation. “Um... it would probably be suspicious if you all kept stopping by. I know there’s a secret way in, I noticed the trapdoor in the hallway. But... still. There has to be a more convenient way to communicate.”

Schneep nodded slowly. “I-I thought about something, actually.” He reached into the pocket of the coat he was wearing. “I stopped by your shop and found this.” He pulled out a wooden doll, like something an artist would use as a reference for poses. Except its hands were rings instead of proper hands.

That’s by MoniqueCrafts, isn’t it? JJ asked.

“Oh, you recognize it?”

Of course, she’s a great local artist. I wish I could sell the last of the wares she sent me... Jameson trailed off, then shook his head. Why did you grab it, though?

“I-I was wondering...” Schneep said slowly. “Spitfire and Windstorm told me about this encounter they had with crash test dummies and the Puppeteer. So clearly your powers do not just work on humans, but also anything human-shaped.” He took a pencil out of his pocket and slid it into the hand (ring?) of the wooden doll. It fit perfectly. “There is also a wide range for your powers. So... I was thinking you could use this to write notes.”

It was a good idea. But Jameson still hesitated. He stared at the doll quietly.

“...i-if you are not comfortable, it is fine,” Schneep said quietly.

JJ shook his head. No, I can do that. I can.

“You do not have to.”

No... I will. JJ took a deep breath. It’s a good way to start getting used to this again.

Soren smiled slightly. “That’s a good start indeed, James.”

Jameson smiled back at him, then looked at Schneep. But I don’t know if my powers are working yet. He tried, but couldn’t feel his power rising to the surface at his command. So he shook his head. The neutrinalin must still be working.

“That is the sign for neutrinalin? Interesting.” Schneep set the wooden doll down on the table. “I will leave it here for you, then? And when you can make those strings, you can put them on it, and I will pick it up later.”

Sounds good, Henrik. JJ paused. Thank you. Really. So... so much.

Schneep smiled gently. “It is not a problem.”

“Do you want to stay for dinner?” Soren asked.

Schneep laughed. “No, it is fine. I do not want to oppose.”

“Impose, you mean?” Soren asked. Schneep nodded, and he continued. “You wouldn’t be imposing. Right, JJ?”

JJ hesitated. Yes... we’d love to have you stay.

“...well, if you say it is fine,” Schneep said softly. “What are we having, then?”

Probably something frozen, since we’re not having good luck with cooking so far.

“No need to share that,” Soren said quickly.

JJ and Schneep chuckled at the same time.

The frozen dinners were fine. But Jameson found it a lot easier to relax with Schneep here as well as Soren. Maybe soon... things could become normal again. Or, probably not soon. But maybe... one day. Maybe one day.

[slippinninque]

🚦Spinning The Block🚙

Jatemme Manning x BlackFemReader

You and Jatemme enjoy a little ride

warnings: MINORS, DNI, 18+, cursing, flirting, guns/shootout, short n'sweet, self-indulgent fic beware

"Be careful with my shit, girl!"

"Aww, pretty car can't go vroom?"

You veered to avoid a cyclist who really wasn't looking anyway--see, look at you being nice. You pressed down on the gas and squealed beneath the sound of the revving engine.

"Listen--

"Ooo, you get spicy when you're nervous--ain't this a rental anyway, pretty boy?

"Ain't no 'nervous' shit--yo' ass is just crazy as hell."

"Still no word on the rental part, though...interesting."

Jatemme held onto the upper handle of the front seat, the pretty gold ring on his left hand twinkled from where he was bracing against the dashboard.

"Honestly, my driving isn't all that ba--

"You keep looking over here to talk--

"It's a sign of respect--whoop!"

Yelping after running a yellow-red light, you heard Jatemme's lips smacking over the blaring horns. You cackled, veering and switching lanes every time you saw brake lights.

"Okay, you caught me! Secret Passenger Princess here. I hate driving so I make everyone else nervous until they make me stop."

"I believe you, too. All my shit just everywhere fucking with you--I hope someone does catch your rabbit ass..."

You laughed, slowing a touch as you pondered your surroundings. It was delightful to hear Jatemme so near frazzled. It may have influenced you to hug the side of a box truck for cover just to see those impressive shoulders of his ruck up to his neck.

"Hey--you wanted me to drive, remember?" You reminded him, "I gave you the keys and you gave 'em on back. You're just mad you have butterfingers."

Jatemme growled something and turned your face back towards the road, "On. The. Road, I said."

"You aren't even doing your job," You took a sharp and sudden left and this time you hear a thud and curse from the backseat, "That car's been shooting at us for, like, a while now. You need to do better, you too Asthma!"

"How the fuck am I suppose to fix my shit witcho ass swerving so much?"

"Oh, so you want me to drive in a straight line then?"

With a knee steadying the wheel, you flicked up your hoodie and then your piece. A sweet lil' Glock .26 that you let dance out your window.

Someone got hit. The sedan swerved and careened into a dilapidated bus shelter, another gaining to take it's place only a few beats later like something out of a Jackie Chan bit

What was only a failed negotiation was looking more like a set up. The sedan behind you was the third one within the few miles of your escape, Jatemme couldn't recognize any of the drivers.

You caught Asthma's shocked expression in the rearview mirror and remembered your manners, "I'm so sorry--have you met Merengue?"

"Excuse me?!"

-----------------

By the time the moon clocked in, you were pulling up to one of Jatemme's spots. The car was fucked up but she rode true, you hoped that Jatemme fixed it back up.

"I'm gonna head on out." Asthma sighed, knocked fists with Jatemme, and began a tired trek to his parked truck.

The car settled into park with a nasty cough and the three of you clambered out, stretching and popping spent bullet casings from your clothing.

"Bye, Asthma! I hope you have a good sleep!" You waved after the man and got a lazy wave back, "He's nice. 'Bout to sleep hard as hell, I can tell."

Silence met you and you turned in time to be ensared. Jatemme kissed you hard, somehow just how you liked it.

His hands went around your waist and the bite of teeth had you making a noise, pushing closer.

Jatemme pulled away, peck by peck until he was far back enough to look at your lips, "'Bout time you stopped running that mouth. There's a loft up-top this place. I'm about to have a drink and lay the fuck down."

You tilted your head, And?

Jatemme's white teeth flashed across his full bottom lip, his head falling into a tilt.

"Come on up and lay down with me, rabbit."

Somehow that request felt more intimate than all the flirty shit you said out loud to keep your focus as you peeled through the city.

Believe it or not but there was an art to being a getaway driver. Figuring out where your tails could be lurking, being mindful of what territory you were in, the whole are those cops or is it just a Charger debate...

"Hm...only if I can be the big spoon." You purred up at his bemused face, "I promise to do only a lil' bit of dipping, sweetness."

Jatemme snorted and crooked his arm, all gentlemanly, for you to take. You did so as you kept running your mouth, absolutely stoked for your nap.

"I'll dip your little ass out the window--you want it like that?

"Mhf, kinky. Will you call me the Riddler while you do it? Just think of it as a little deposit for my Bean Bank..."

--------

✨ending notes✨: i had to write something a bit chaotic to make room in this brain of mine and unfortunately for jatemme, he had to pay the price! thank you for reading and tell me what you think! 💖💜✨💕

💖taglist💖: @cocochannelmoi @hunnishive @last-lost-one @yasminsqueendom @flydotty

@kindofaintrovert @satoruya @harmshake @miyuhpapayuh @ms-angiealsina

@megamindsecretlair @blowmymbackout @thadelightfulone @mysecertdiaryofableedingheart @sageispunk

[vixthefantheorist]

Lore Clues! Or well... *clue* more like it

Wow, I have... not really opened up tumblr to do much of anything, let alone post any stuff in a good long while. So... uh... hi! How's it going fellow theorists? Missed making theories and posting them. I have read the comics of Altrverse but right now it's a jumbled mess in my head about it. We went from basically zero information on Marvin and Jackie to quite an overwhelming amount of it with, of course, questions still rearing from them. And I'm looking at all the strings and wondering where the hell to start with them. But today, tonight (whenever I post this thing), we're not talking about these two.

No, today for however long I can keep talking about this is our good lovable boi, JJ.

Because... THIS from @turquoisemagpie (lovely artwork as always!) has a clue in here~ (thanks to @septicuniverse for sharing this with me and the comics!)

There's probably other clues in other artwork before, I'm not sure, this was only brought to my attention like... an hour ago? So yeah. Good ol' JJ, we miss you buddy. BUT can you see the clue? If the answer is

These badges, then you are correct, friend!

These are in fact IRIS badges! On uniforms. That JJ is making, I guess? Is he really making these? Because I can see the little puppets at the bottom of the artwork, so making tiny matching uniforms for them? Or are they using his sewing skills with making clothes for the puppets of his shows to make the uniforms for IRIS? Which then begs the question... does JJ work for IRIS or is he creating it? Or at least helping in creating the company if he is making the IRIS uniforms? I mean IRIS got its start LONG ago. (Since how can we forget that IRIS's science is keeping chicken dinners so fresh it still clucks!)

There are other questions I have about the piece that I haven't... quite asked myself yet. Like, why is the door cracked open like that? For the lighting maybe? Can't exactly sew in the dark, but then what closet wouldn't have it's down light source? Because the room is pretty well lit, so why have the door there open like that? And the wall in the hallway (if it is a hallway) seems similar to the walls of the facility Chase was brought to in AF:CB but... having looked at the video for a quick assessment, those walls don't have tiles like that. So not the same building exactly... but then again we are talking about timelines so -shrug-. But there is one other thing that has bothered me about this art piece, not in a bad way but more of curious. I am well aware this could be absolutely nothing and I'm overthinking it from having just read the new issue of the comics today with a friend, that I'm just super excited for things.

But, does anyone else... notice these lines?

They're outlines of the tops of the tables.

Again, I'm aware that these could just be leftover sketch lines from the drawing process before outlining the piece to color and thus means absolutely nothing. I just... I just can't help but notice... how crisp they are. Like they were outlined but faded out to make them transparent, but still visible enough to see it clearly. Even zoomed out I can still seem them, so that's why I don't know if it was intentional to be that noticeable or it really is just leftovers. I just thought it was very interesting to see them so had to point them out. And no, this isn't a jab at Magpie's artwork, I have nothing but awe, love and respect for them. Because holy hell, just look at this skill! So for fun, even if the lines have no meaning whatsoever, kinda wanted to say that with the lines there, makes the room feel unstable temporally and with the table in the back behind JJ, makes feel like he's a ghost or fading in and out of Time. lol Dunno if it is him or just the closet being funky with Time. Either way its cool.

[belltrigger]

Submastober Day 14!

Inspiration: There's an older OC-tober prompt-list here that I am using.

Title: What Does That Remind You Of? Prompt: Legend Word count: 1170 Synopsis: There's a rumor that Ingo and Emmet are legendary dragons in human form.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Every once in a while, an odd idea floated through the air of Gear Station. Ingo and Emmet, the twin Subway Masters of Nimbasa City, were the legendary dragon pokemon Zekrom and Reshiram. The reasoning was fairly simple: Zekrom and Reshiram were black and white respectively, and Ingo and Emmet wore those same colors all the time.

“That's not just all,” Jackie said, waggling his finger to Cameron. “They're both so tall - obviously legendary dragons would need to be tall humans if they were trying to blend in. Where else would they fit all their power?”

“Lots of people are tall, Jackie.” Cameron elbowed his coworker playfully with a grin. “In fact, Ramses isn't that much shorter than the bosses. Are you saying he's some kind of pokemon too?”

“Well, we can't rule it out." That earned Jackie another elbow into the side, eliciting an ow! from him. Holding his side in mock betrayal, Cameron rolled his eyes at Jackie's dramatics. “Well, still, it would also explain their cool glowing eyes.”

Cameron sighed, tipping his cap towards White as she stood with him and Jackie. “Surely you don't agree with this silly rumor.” He'd thought this a standard visit from the teenager until this line of discussion had started. Jackie always had fanciful thoughts, and White was just encouraging it now.

White shifted, resting her weight on the other foot and jutting her hip. Crossing her arms, she shut her eyes in thought. “When Drayden told me the story about twin heroes wielding a dragon that split into a black one and a white one, they were the first thing that popped into my head.”

“There! See! It's not just me.” Jackie exclaimed. “I'm not saying this as a bad thing. Just think about how cool that would be. We could be working for legendary dragon pokemon, Cameron!”

Sighing again, Cameron's shoulders dropped. “I just think it's all so very mundane! The dragons were heroes who created an entire region. Sure our bosses are strong battlers and have their quirks, but they're just people like us.”

“A region might be a bit much, with our busy schedule. Perhaps you would be content with merely a small island?”

Both agents stiffened, shoulders hiking up to their ears as a very familiar voice piped up behind them.

“Hi Ingo! Hi Emmet!” White chirped, putting her hands behind her back and lacing her fingers together. She'd seen the Subway bosses coming up behind the agents -they were so tall, after all- but thought it might be funny to let them overhear. It was hard to tell what they thought as they approached, wearing their normal expressions.

Both of the Subway Masters tilted their caps in greeting, each giving their own version of a verbal greeting at the same time. Interestingly, although Ingo's was much longer, her name synced up in both of their greetings. Their attentions then turned to their gossiping agents.

“I am Emmet. I have human arms and hands. Reshiram does not.” Emmet stated matter-of-factly, hands down at his sides. As if to prove his point, lifted one hand and held it out palm up to the three that had been talking.

“That is quite true. There are may physical differences between us and the legendary dragons.” Ingo agreed, cupping his elbow as he held a finger to his chin. “Though, I imagine even legendary dragons would find trains and battling a most interesting combo.”

“You don't even focus on the same elements as the legendary dragons!” White said, pointing a finger up. “I feel like it would be so much easier to beat you if you couldn't switch up your types.” Thoughts of all the times she'd lost to them resurfacing, she looked momentarily put out.

“You will beat Emmet someday. But probably not today.” Emmet kept his normal expression as he said this, and White hung her head in fake defeat before popping it back up to express her disagreement! Surely today she was going to win! She'd practiced hard for this visit!

Cameron and Jackie exchanged looks while their bosses were distracted. Glancing to the side, they happened to see Cloud, who luckily was walking their way. “UH!” Jackie said, as he and Cameron straightened their backs, arms tightly against their sides in a mock-attention stance. When Ingo and Emmet turned their attentions to them, Jackie continued. “It seems that Cloud is looking for us!”

Cameron, just as eager to escape his bosses likely teasing about the dragon theory, continued. “It's about time for us to file some of our reports, so we better be going!” Without waiting for an answer, they both made a hasty retreat towards the safer option of Cloud possibly chastising them for slacking off.

After the agents all but scrambled off, the twins turned their attention back to White. Giving them a cheerful grin, she put her hands behind her head casually. “I really am serious about beating you guys today! You better watch out, Emmet!” she said, confidently. “I'm gonna go get Black, and we're gonna get prepared for the battle later!”

“I trust that you will, Ms. White!” Ingo said, clapping his hands in approval.

“I don't. I am Emmet.” Emmet said, hands on his hips.

White stuck her tongue out at Emmet, making a “blehhh!” sound. Emmet always teased her like this, his comments ranging from confident of her future success to insisting she wouldn't win in the now. Ingo had always considered positive encouragement to be the best method, but somehow Emmet's method kept White going. Then she nodded to Ingo before turning on her heel and jogging off to find her own twin.

“That rumor pops up rather often, don't you think, Emmet?” Ingo glanced at his brother. “It could prove troublesome down the line. Perhaps we should set people on the correct tracks again.”

Emmet nodded. “It is too much fun using electric attacks.”

“I quite agree. However, I am having very much fun using other moves, like Earthquake.” Ingo laughed into his fist, eyes shut.

A blue glint flashed over Emmet's silver eyes as he turned his frown on his older brother. “I do not like when you use Earthquake. I am Emmet.”

“No, I suspect you don't,” Ingo agreed, playfully, his partially open eyes showing red sclera. Emmet looked as though he wished to stomp a foot, though he never would do such a thing when they were in the subway. The important part, however, was that Ingo *knew* he wanted to.

Emmet did, however, puff his cheeks in disapproval. "I am Emmet. I will explain to you why it's mean to pick on your brother." Since their secret was still kept, Ingo didn't see any reason why he couldn't listen to Emmet's lecture until White and her brother showed up.

[sug01s3al]

I'm curious, you did say that you created puppet designs for the rest of the Spiritfarer cast correct? If so, 1) can we see them, and 2) will you ever revisit those designs one day to make them reality? Love the Gwen puppet by the way.

My sketchbook ended up being a total of 195 pages so I think I would explode my tumblr if I uploaded everything for every character plus the npc's 😅 But I can share a few of my favourites- granted the art is a year old at this point so don't judge too harshly I promise I can draw much better now ^u^

My design process basically went: pick a character -> make a moodboard -> sketch ideas & explanation -> puppet and puppeteer designs -> puppet schematics (this was only for a few of them that I had time to get to, I did get told off by my tutors for doing to much planning because I couldn't settle on who I wanted to actually build). Given the time and resources I'd love to revisit building one of them using what I learned but at the moment I am seeking theatre jobs (not too fabulous in my area sadly) so I only have my spare materials to work with at the moment and many sets of dice to make :'''). I still don't really know who I'd want to make though, even now they all seem so fun to make because not all of the puppets were in the style of Gwen's so each one poses a different challenge to tackle.

It goes without saying but spoilers for Spirit Farer below, ye have been warned~

I should also mention that with curriculum stuff I wasn't allowed to simply replicate the designs so you'll see quite a bit where I talk about changing and adapting the design for stage so if you wonder why its changed thats why :') (I'm aware Gwen doesn't really deviate much from her design but she was supposed to come with a fully sewn costume too which I sadly didn't have the time to make)

I was quite a big fan of the npc designs

Our boy Alex as imagined as a segmented puppet in the style of those wooden hand crank puppets. I think he'd be really easy to make in EVA I want to see if I can replicate the mechanism.

Hades was a particularly fun design to do too

I 100% am gonna reuse my design for Hades for an oc later down the line, that being said they already look a bit like a love child between my oc's Lazarus and Aster :''). I designed Hades to be a giant team puppet with the main actor (above design) pupeteering the head and voicing the character whilst the rest of the body was made up of actors who blended into the puppet whilst still having their own unique costumes. Hades is by far my biggest design, in scale and also with the amount of actors playing him because I really wanted to get that omnipotent, ethereal, imposing vibe down.

As for individual puppeteer designs :3 ->

I won't bore you with the character analysis pages for Jackie but he had a similar puppet design to Gwen.

(That is gold ink on the final page I promise you 😅)

Controversial opinion but I actually love Bruce and Mickey, I know they're the heels (well Bruce at least) but they're such a brilliantly layered character which is probably why his design got a lot more analysis then some. My thoughts are mostly there on my notes but I'll write it out so you don't have to squint at my awful handwriting. Bruce and Mickey are another really interesting character in that Mickey isn't really there at all (spoilers) as Mickey passed away in an accident before Bruce did so as Bruce takes focus in the game (speaking for both and doing the character interactions) I wanted him to be centre stage as the only puppeteer. Mickey's death was in a car accident that left him in a coma, if i remember correctly, Bruce blames himself for so I had this idea for the puppeteer (just like Bruce in game) to literally carry the Mickey puppet around the stage like a physical burden, a physical manifestation that the pain of carrying his brother's death weighs on him. And this idea of a struggle of grief, paired with Mickey being represented by a bull gave way to the idea for their puppeteers costume design being inspired by a bull fighter, a hybrid behind this teddy-boy greaser and bull fighter - of course the colours being big and bright and bold as their personalities.

Cw: Cancer. For Summer I wanted to use a lot of organic colours, shapes and textures within the puppet and costume design because of her love of nature and gardening (I still tear up everytime I play for my crops and she isn't there playing along). Summer, as mentioned in the game, was the girlfriend of Stella's Aunt Rose and inspired Stella's nursing career after witnessing her battle with cancer; in her minigame event you face off against a giant serpent that is 'infected' in a way, it has veins of ores running through it symbolic of the cancer running through her body. Which is why for her puppet design (a long with being able to conveniently hide how she moves) I wanted her puppet to be literally intertwined with her costume. The Klimpt inspiration for her scales I can't really tell you why I picked that other than Klimpt is one of my favourite artists and I thought the organic shapes and motifs in his work would suit her :').

Plans for Buck, my best friend.

Stanley I would say was the closest competition to Gwen and probably the one I would want to make the most if I was able to pick this back up. He was designed to be a smaller marionette style puppet so you could get those large, exaggerated, energetic movements from him that you do in game (for reference he does a lot of bouncing and jumping along with launching himself at Stella when he hugs her which is absolutely adorable). Like Buck, Stanley was planned to be a mixed material puppet, mostly cuddle fleece for body with different textures for the embellishments, like mushroom gills and his spot patterns. It was important to me to try and have an element of sympathetic movement in each design so the puppet was constantly moving in someway. Bonus picture of the costume design ideas for his puppeteer- if it wasn't feasible to have him as a separate puppet I liked the idea of Jacob (his pet beetle) being included in the design somehow which ended up being either as a hair pin or brooch :3.

I'll finish off with Stanley, I have designs for Daria, Astrid, Giovani, Alice and Atul but I'm not as happy with the old art so I'm not going to post it. The Beverly update hadn't been released at the time of this project so she never got a design :')

As for who I wouldn't make it would have to be Atul- for as much as I adore his character and love the design I drew for him having to have a giant Atul hanging around my house would make me sad, he makes me feel like this

That being said I do have the plush of him sat on my bed rn :')

I could keep yapping but this post is long enough lol

Also merry christmas everyone!!

[boyinafandom]

Hitting the curve

Part 2

"I don't think that we would rhyme.

I will wear you down in time.

I will hurt you,I'll desert you.

I am Jackie down the line."

-Jackie down the line- Fountains D.C.

____________________________

The team was on the jet, flying back from a case.

It was completely normal. Maybe about...2 in the morning.

"It's almost witching hour,"

You coo under your breath

"Did you know that it's not just at 3 am-"

Spencer starts, only to be cut short by Derek

"Reid. It's way to late for you're random fun facts."

He grumbles

"Oh shut up Derek. It wouldn't kill you to let him talk. J Christ."

You snap, a light growl tinging in the back of your throat by the end of your sentence.

"Keep talking honey."

You say, looking over to him. Like you're all ready to hear what he has to say.

"Uh-" he starts "well in most folklore it's actually between 3 am and 4am. And in some cases immediately after midnight."

He says, huffing a happy sigh,

Meanwhile, Derek's mouth is just hanging open, looking at you, like no one's ever told him to shut up before.

_____

When you're finally done with your paper work, you pack up and go home. Sliding into your car, starting it up and making your way home.

But all Reid could think about is the way you snapped on Derek. "Shut up Derek." He thinks.

Replaying it in his mind. Over and over again. On loop, before snapping back to reality when he over hears Derek talking to Rossi talking about how "weird" you had acted towards him:

"Well they definitely could have been nicer."

Rossi states, taking a sip of his (assumed to be) coffee.

"I mean yea- they don't usually act that hostile. Although, now that I really think back on it, one time I told them to get to the point. And they looked at me like they might become the unsub..."

He says with a shiver, like thinking about it makes his skin crawl all over again.

Spencer finally pulls his gaze back to his own work. Contemplating something.

Fuck it.

What's stopping him?

_______

Again this is on wattpad, the tag is “boyinafandomtumblr”

[thesunsethour]

my official ranking of (basically) every song by hozier

(ignoring some collabs/songs from soundtracks etc)

(this is just my opinion no one shout at me)

(he has no Bad songs, only Less Brilliant ones)

52) To Noise Making (Sing) (the sing chorus at the end goes on just *that* bit too long

51) Sunlight (slightly repetitive)

50) Nobody (maybe this is controversial? does however contain one of my favourite lyrics “it’s suicide Tuesday back in LA”)

49) Sedated (the lowest ranked song of his self titled album and it’s not because it’s not good it’s because his discography is fucking insane)

48) Someone New (only ranked this low because it was very overplayed in Ireland when it came out)

47) Almost (Sweet Music) (this was never my favourite song but who can resist “i laugh like me again she laughs like you”)

46) Son of Nyx (hozier made the best study music song of all time)

45) Wasteland, Baby! (sounds exactly like the album feels, if that makes sense?)

44) Swan Upon Leda (would be higher but i keep accidentally forgetting to add it to my playlist because it’s not on an album. also Free Palestine)

43) Better Love (hozier’s voice is so beautiful)

42) Dinner & Diatribes (ever since someone said he sounds like Count von Count in this song i can’t un-hear it)

41) It Will Come Back (so sexy. one of the sexiest songs in his oeuvre)

40) NFWMB (an under appreciated classic. i remember playing this in the car when my dad was dropping our friend’s kid to school and getting in trouble for the cursing)

39) The Parting Glass - Live from The Late Late Show (not only a beautiful rendition, but it was also performed during covid when everyone was feeling very hopeless and he just captivated ireland for a few short moments. gorgeous)

38) Anything But (we are reaching the territory of songs that are so goddamned good that it feels a crime they are so low down. he has dozens of such songs)

37) In the Woods Somewhere (eerie vibes which are beautiful and exacerbated when you find out he based this on a dream he had)

36) To Be Alone (again, CRIMINAL that this is so low down. blame hozier having so many good songs. don’t blame me)

35) Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene (a bop AND a banger AND a jam. triple threat)

34) Damage Gets Done (their voices are soooo beautiful together)

33) Be (“When Atlas acts the maggot” is one of Hozier’s best Irish culture lines)

32) The Jackboot Jump - Live (BUT THE JACKBOOT ONLY JUMPS DOWN ON PEOPLE STANDING UP!!!)

31) Shrike (this song made me cry when i first heard it and i am Not one to cry)

30) To Someone From a Warm Climate (Uiscefhuaraithe) (GAEILGE MENTION!!!!)

29) Jackie and Wilson (one of my first ever favourite hozier songs)

28) Talk (i love the myth of orpheus and eurydice and i ALSO imagine being loved by hozier)

27) Moment’s Silence (Common Tongue) (blowjobs)

26) Eat Your Young (hozier wrote this for all first year trinity students who had to read Swift for their intro to irish writing lectures)

25) All Things End (don’t be sad. we begin again :). hozier said so)

24) I, Carrion (Icarian) (soft, sad, beautiful. like hozier)

23) Nina Cried Power (feat. Mavis Staples) (also very overplayed in Ireland but this time it really deserved it!!)

22) Cherry Wine - Live (one of the most beautiful and recognisable guitar bits of all time. yes i said guitar bits i don’t know anything about guitars)

21) As It Was (the drug the dark the light the flame…)

20) First Time (“anyway”)

19) Who We Are (makes me feel like my chest is being lifted to god)

18) No Plan (“As Mack explained, there will be darkness again” is one of the all-time great Hozier lyrics actually)

17) Would That I (it’s illegal for anyone to dislike this song)

16) De Selby (Part 2) (he wants to run against the world that’s turning!! he moves so fast that he’d outpace the dawn!!)

15) De Selby (Part 1) (AN ENTIRE VERSE AS GAEILGE)

14) Like Real People Do (once again, how is this so low? hozier is too good. “we should just kiss like real people do” lyrics of all time)

13) Butchered Tongue (i wrote an entire essay post about this song. with citations)

12) From Eden (time has maybe made us forget just how fucking insanely good this song is. IDEALISM SITS IN PRISON CHIVALRY FELL ON HIS SWORD INNOCENCE DIED SCREAMING. also reminds me of verse 2 of Human by The Killers)

11) Work Song (WHEN MY TIME COMES AROUND LAY ME GENTLY IN THE COLD DARK EARTH. NO GRAVE CAN HOLD MY BODY DOWN. I’LL CRAWL HOME TO HER. also special mention for: “in the low lamp light i was free” aka the name of one of my criminal minds fanfics. moving on)

10) Run (SOOOOO underrated. literally rare is this love keep it covered! run to me run to me lover! run until you feel your lungs bleeding!)

9) Movement (i played this song every day on repeat for 2 months when i was 17)

8) Arsonist’s Lullabye (wario of better love. don’t ask me how or why)

7) In a Week (feat. Karen Cowley) (the most gorgeous beautiful song of all time their voices are perfect for each other - I’D BE HOME WITH YOU)

6) First Light (BUT AFTER THIS IM NEVER GONNA BE THE SAME!!! AND I AM NEVER GOING BACK AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!)

5) Francesca (AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. URGAAAHHHHHHHH. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I’D TELL THEM PUT ME BACK IN IT!!!!!! DARLING I WOULD DO IT AGAIN!!!!!! IF I COULD HOLD YOU FOR A MINUTE!!!!! DARLING I’D GO THROUGH IT AGAIN!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH)

4) Unknown / Nth (DO YOU KNOWWWWW I COULD BREAK BENEATH THE WEIGHT OF THE GOODNESS LOVE I STILL CARRY FOR YOU!!!! he had no right to sing this. and as beautifully as he does. makes me cry. sha-la-la)

3) Abstract (Psychopomp) (this wasn’t originally my favourite when i first listened to Unreal Unearth has grown on my heart and will not let go. did you know the memory hurts but does me no harm. and did you SEE HOW IT SHINESSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

2) Take Me To Church (this being his debut single. DEBUT. SINGLE. no one else was doing it like him. the vocals the lyrics god the beautiful lyrics the MUSIC VIDEO!!!! ireland’s best living artist.)

1) Foreigner’s God (my favourite song of all time. no notes. utterly perfect in every way.)

[lyon-amore]

Goodbye first and sweet love

JAKE POV

    I have been having a stressful few weeks. I try to do my final project to be able to raise my grade, I know I do not need it, but if I want them to give me the degree after having obtained the scholarship, I cannot let anyone down.

    Although saying that this work is a bit of a cover for what I am trying to find out. In my work I came to see something strange in security and now I try with the excuse of writing about banned books about serial killers, research in places where no one can get them legally.

     And not only was I am stress about that, knowing it was taking a risk, but there was also my relationship with Katherine. Lately I did not feel the same as I did at the beginning and she always tried to lead the way for both of us, as if my opinion did not matter.      I want to think that it is because she is still affected, she even refused to go to the psychologist when she should have gone. According to her, she is perfectly fine, but... ---------------------------------------------------------

Katherine Who were you with the other night? I was calling you I know I told you I'd be busy on this trip, but being here makes me nervous that you won't talk to me And even more so because I still remember how that girl gave you her number, I'm worried that she'll try to overwhelm you Please call me before you go to sleep Jake? Jacky? Love, come on, answer! I’m getting worried! ---------------------------------------------------------

     I look at her messages. A few minutes before sending them to me, I had told her that I was going out with some friends, the usual ones. But she always wants to know who was there. Right now she is in France, without having to worry about being on the list for ‘The Vigilant’ to hire her in the future. The contacts of her mother and her teacher have caused her to be involved without anyone knowing, is what she told me. And... I felt bad knowing it. She knows how hard I try to study and that her classmates try to win it over, but she told me that it was okay.      Since then, it is like she is become more selfish or maybe it is just that after two years, I see what the real Katherine is like.

    I lean back in my chair, tired. I spoke to her this morning and I had to explain that I was late and tired. Her response? Than having sent a message when I got home. When Al and I got home, I jumped right into my bed. I did not change my clothes until I got up and took a shower.

    My cell phone rings and I answer when I see that the secretary is calling.

   “Hello?” I ask, pinching the bridge of my nose, tired.

   “Good morning Jake, we have a problem with one of the computers,” says the secretary woman on the other end of the line. “and the computer science teacher told me to contact you because he has a teachers' meeting.”

   “Sure, I am going right now.”

     I say goodbye and put my cell phone away. At least this will clear my mind a little.      I turn off the library computer and get up, grabbing my backpack from the chair.

     When I get to the computer room, I see a blonde girl complaining and typing furiously. If she keeps this up she is going to break it.      I approach her and look over her head. Well... I do not have to stand on tiptoe either because she is shorter than me.

   “Problems with the computer?” I say finally.

     I watch her jump on the spot, like a frightened rabbit. Maybe I should have knocked on the door, but since it was open...      She turns around and looks at me. Is something wrong with her?      Although to tell the truth, her face is familiar to me, but I cannot figure out where, but if she studies here, it must have been in the hallways.      Yes, that has to be the reason, how else can I know her? It is not like I hang out with a lot of girls.

   "It can't be..." she mutters to herself.

   “It cannot be what?” Perhaps it refers to the computer.

    She shakes her head and looks back at me, sighing.

   “Sorry, I was... I just don't know what happened, it was fine a moment ago and now, poof!” I see her eyes, she looks like she is about to cry. She makes me a little sorry, honestly. “Goodbye, computer.”

    I frown, curious about her explanation.

   “Just like that?” I move her carefully. “Sorry,” I murmur now, hoping that she would not take it badly that I moved it away from her.

    I now start typing, trying to put in all the codes I can think of to save it. But they all make errors.

   “Just like that,” I hear her respond, annoyed.

    I then look at the tower. It has a flash drive connected. I recognize it right away. That is the cause of the problem.

   <<It is incredible that it still exists, there is not even one supposed to be left.>>

   “Alright, I know what happened,” I sit up, listening with curiosity to what happened. I stand aside, pointing to the flash drive. “Where did you get the flash drive from?”

   “A third-year student gave it to me,” Well, I am starting to understand it better. “He told me that the teacher needed me to send her some urgent files and since he was busy, if I could do it.”

    I make a noise in my throat and nod at her detailed information. If it is still in circulation, this can cause problems.

   "Well, I have two news for you: One good and one bad. Which one do you want to hear first?" I try to appear as calm as possible, although I admit that I have been nervous for a while, trying to figure out where I could see her. I hope she do not notice, I do not want to seem weird or a stalker.

   "The bad one," she lowers his voice, almost as if with fear, " perhaps the good one will relieve me later."

    Her tone makes me laugh. It is true that good news after bad news is better than nothing.

   " The bad thing is that they have played the joke that is played on first years—"

   "I'm a first year...”

   <<Well, I feel so sorry for her then that she fell for this joke after a long time.>>

    I scratch the back of my neck, uncomfortable with the situation now.

   “Oh… Well, officially welcome to the university.”

   “Thank you…” She tilts her head and it makes me think of a little puppy when I see her expression.

   <<Jake, please, she is a human, do not compare her to a puppy...>>

    I say to myself at that thought. I avoid getting nervous with this comparison.

   “Although it was supposed to be already prohibited since it can generate a high cost in repairing these computers,” I try to keep as neutral a face as possible. The way she is looking at me now, it is like she is reading my expression.

   “Oh yeah?”

   “Each class had a flash drive like these to scare the first years, they gave it to the second years to continue the tradition,” I lean on the table, trying to settle in and create a less tense atmosphere while I explain it. “But seeing that each time the “virus” was much more dangerous, they banned it.”

    And it is true, some even tried to sneak it in to their teachers, some almost missed important exams they had on their computers. I avoid commenting on it, surely a girl like her does not want to know so many details of what happened. Plus she seems like someone who hangs out with classier people.

   <<Look what happens when you date Katherine, you judge people like her in the end... Maybe I am wrong about this girl...>>

    I see her relax a little, nodding.

   “Okay, and the good news?”

    I smile and turn the backpack around, taking out a flash drive from one of the pockets that can fix it.

   “I am the one they call when this happens,” I say, proud of my abilities.

    I cannot help it, I like being helpful.

   " Or maybe you're the one who made these flash drives that make computers explode," I notice a tone of distrust. I do not blame her after what happened.

   “No, it is not my style, I prefer to be more stealthy,” I answer while I turn the flash drive over.

     She laughs and I am surprised. I do not know why I do it, it is normal to hear someone laugh and the truth is that my joke was terrible, referring to when I entered. But it is true that I am very careful when working with computers so as not to be detected.      I try to calm down after hearing her laughter and start working on the computer.      I see that she sits at the table and covers herself with her skirt. Would not she be more comfortable in the chair? I shake my head. Sometimes I will not understand girls and the way they behave. She will not last long sitting at the table.

    I am trying to fix the mess they have made, I do not know where they got this improved version from, but it is driving me crazy and it is taking longer than I expected.

   “You do not need to wait, you can go,” I comment after noticing that she has not gotten off the table yet.

    “What?” her look is confused.

    I smile when I see her expression. She is funny.

    "You can leave if you want, it is just fixing it." I repeat again.

   "I won't stay calm until I see it fixed."

    I lean on the table, seeing that she seems to doubt my abilities. I raise an eyebrow as if I were letting her know with my expression.

   “It's just that I've gotten nervous and I need to see that it's fixed, and also return the flash drive to that guy and tell him that his joke almost cost me a foot in the grave.”

    I laugh at her exaggerated words. But I get it, believing that it was your fault that the computer broke down can be quite scary and even more so if the computer is not your property.      I return to entering the codes and finally she sits in the chair next to me.      I see her shake her head, like she is uncomfortable. I am sure all this has stressed her out quite a bit.

      “It will be fine, do not worry,” I remain calm for both of us, without taking my eyes off the computer.

    I will not let the poor girl have to suffer because of others. I know what that feels like.

     "It's not..." She pauses, but continues. "Yes, I'm worried, too worried."

     “Well, do not worry, that is why I am here.” I wink at her with confidence in my abilities. There is not a single computer that can resist me in the end.

    I see her rolling your eyes, she still do not trust me? I am supposed to be here to help her, is not this demonstration enough for her?

   “Do you do this thing of fixing the computer of newbies who play pranks?” She settles down at the table, looking at me curiously.

   "No, it is been about two years since I fixed one," I look at her for a moment to answer and continue with the work. “I am surprised that flash drives are still in circulation, they are supposed to get rid of them.”

   "Well, someone didn't do it in my career."

   << Will not be…?>>

   “What do you study?” I ask curious if I am right.

   “Journalism.”

   “I understand then,” I take a deep breath, trying not to get angry. “There is a promotion to get a future position in the news 'The Vigilant’, so everyone is wanting to be on the lists.”

   “And how do you know that?” Again, seeing that she makes that gesture of tilting her head I think she is like a small animal. I do not know why I think it is like... Adorable? Better not to think about it... “Do you also study journalism?”

   "No, my..." I bite my lip, thinking what I am doing wrong now talking to this girl. Katherine would surely do anything to interrupt my helping this student, but now that she is not here... And I only start to think that she is easily on the list without making the greatest effort. I am sure this girl does at least try, like the rest of the students. "My girlfriend studies journalism."

   "Oh..." Why did that 'Oh' sound like a disappointment? Maybe because she thought I could help her if we were in the same career? “And you study programming,”

     I do not blame her for thinking that because of my computer skills, but if I studied programming, I would be very bored in classes knowing that I already know everything I need to know to be self-sufficient.      I smile as I shake my head, almost mockingly.

   "If you say it because of how to use the computer, that's because I have known how to use it since I was a kid."

   <<Maybe I do have a bit of ego about my confidence in my abilities…>>

   Likewise, why do I behave like this now? It is not like she cares what I study or not.

     I continue trying to fix the computer. From time to time it gives me small errors when I put the codes that I have previously put in the past to fix it. Who will have improved this? He must have paid someone from the IT major for this.      I glance at the girl from time to time, hoping she does not get bored. But I do not know what to talk about, I do not know her enough to, I do not know... Talk about Star Wars? Maybe not… Will she like old movies? No, it looks more like she probably likes 'Twilight' or something like that.      I look at the computer, trying to get these thoughts out of my head. I am sure she will find me boring for not talking to her.

    I hear her cell phone and seconds later, a laugh.

   “It seems like you are better,” I comment when I see that she is more relaxed.

   “Oh, my boyfriend just sent me a message,” Her tone of voice is happy, I almost envy her a little. “We barely get to see each other because he lives a couple of hours away from the city, so it's nice when he remembers me for little things.”

   “Oh, a long-distance relationship?” I notice how my voice has changed tone. Shit... I remembered how bad I was having it with Katherine and how jealous she was. I should not involve her in this but the topic has come up.

   “Yes, is there something wrong?”

     I sigh and continue with the work.

   “Well, I do not think those kinds of relationships work.”

     At least, not for the two of us. If Katherine does not trust me, I feel like I have failed. I do not know what I have done wrong to make her think I am going to go with the first girl I meet. I have always been aware of her and everything she needed. Unfortunately, it was only one-way.      And with each passing day, I feel like I see her more as a friend. It is as if all the love he had felt for her had disappeared.

   "Sorry, but a long-distance relationship is very romantic. Then the reunion is magical. "

    Well, I do not deny that, although she has not returned yet. But if that person distrusts everything around you as if you were going to fail them, how do they think I feel then?

   “Until one of the people in the couple doubts you or is constantly wanting to know who you are with,” My voice comes out even more annoying. I should not continue talking about this topic.

   “Have you already been through that?”

    I glance at her, not angry, but tired.

   “You really like to talk,” I hope that with this she understands that the topic makes me a little uncomfortable, I do not know her and I have not even talked to Al about this, I do not want him to bother with my concerns.

   "If you want, I'll start talking to the chair," I smile at her proposal. At least that would seem funnier to watch and it would relax me a little "You're the only one in this room I can talk to."

    I then manage to find the correct code and the computer turns off to restart.

   “What are you doing?!” She screams with a rooster in her throat.

     I look at her and point to the screen, while making a silence sign so that she is calm.      As soon as she sees that the computer has restarted, she calms down with a sigh.

   “You could have warned me,” She hits me on the arm, angry.

   “It was more fun to see your reaction,” I smile proudly, and I see her blush with embarrassment at her reaction. Those who do not know about computers always surprise me, although she has been funnier than others because of all her expressions and her way of speaking. “And yes.” I finally say to her question.

   “Yes what?”

   "Yes, I have been through that," I shrug my shoulders, indifferent "or well... I am going through it."

    She bites her lip, as if my response had made her uncomfortable. She is the one who asked, she wanted to know what was happening. I am just trying to have a conversation with her so she does not get bored with me.

   “Then she is not the right person if she doubts you,” she looks into my eyes, seeking empathy.

   "Oh, it is not because she doubts, it is..." I cross my arms as I look at the screen, trying to find a way to explain it. “Let me say it is because of her, she has been through terrible things and I am here to support her in whatever she needs.”

    Maybe I should talk to Katherine instead of thinking about it, try to improve our relationship and bring up the subject of distance to improve it. It is much better than waiting for advice from people who do not know about our relationship.

   "Well, at least it's confirmed that you're trustworthy." I look at her confused by her words, what is he talking about? “Your girlfriend can rest assured that you have not cheated on her.”

   "Wait, all this time you thought I was trying to hit on you?" Do I really give that image? Does anyone really look at me and think I am going to go harass a girl?

     She laughs at my question: What do she see as funny? She is the one who has had a bad image of me... Although I have also judged her at first, but at least I have not told her out of politeness.

   "I do not know what kind of men you have encountered, but you have offended me, I have only come to fix the computer." I continue typing, a little more annoyed. I did not think someone would actually say something like that to me...

   "Believe me, you've left me with a good impression, Mr. Computer technician."

     I look at her surreptitiously, her smile is sincere, it is not like she is really messing with me.      I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks knowing that I have left her with a good impression, which means she does not see me like the other guys who must have bothered her.      I wish I had the sweatshirt now to cover my face, at least I would not look like that.

     I finish writing and the computer restarts. I breathe a sigh of relief and look at her. She is biting her nails.      I get worried when I see her like this, this has truly affected her quite a bit...

   “You are going to get hurt,” I say and lowers her hand slowly, looking away a little. I smile a little and nod my head. “Look, I already fix it.”

     The computer turns on normally again. All files appear on the screen again as if it had not been infected. Luckily it was not a virus that deleted everything important, the three of us would have had problems if those files had not come back.

   "I admit it, you're good," she says after a sigh, coming a little closer to me, to see the computer.

    I stare at her, her curious expression has made my heart skip a little. Or maybe it is the smell of her shampoo? I swallow hard as I have her closer than necessary. What is happen to me with this girl?

   “If I have a problem with my computer, can I call you?” I stay looking at her. Her smile makes my heart race. No. This is not right “Are you okay?”

   “Yes, I am fine,” I get up from the chair quickly. It is like something is attracting me, but I do not know what it is. No, I do not understand.

    I try to keep my distance from her, taking the flash drive out of the tower and extending my hand towards her to hand it to her.

    “Here, try not to get into a fight with the boy.” I warn her knowing the strict rules of the university. She could get in trouble for this.

   “Oh, don't worry, I'm just going to hide his body in the next lake I find,” I laugh at her joke.

She goes to grab the flash drive, but I move my hand away.

    “Do not be too hard on him,” I try to stay serious now, but I cannot help but continue with the joke. ''You do not need to make an adult cry.''

   “I like to be hard sometimes,” She smiles at me with some malice and I let out a laugh. The way she say it makes me partly nervous.

    I extend my hand without taking my eyes off her. I am still thinking what her face sounds like to me.      I think… I think it was a long time ago…      It is like something hits me and my mind sees her with a different hair color. Black. Yes, that was the color. That is why I did not recognize her. But...was not she a teenager? What is she doing at university?

   <<People grow up Jake, the years go by, or are you stupid? Two years have passed, what did you expect?>>

     I then feel uncomfortable when I inadvertently, distractedly realizing who it is, brush against his hand.      It is a simple touch, but I get nervous, like it is nice.

     No.      This is not good.

    I grab my things while she is distracted looking at the flash drive and leave class, trying to calm down.      I walk into the nearest bathroom and splash cold water on my face, trying to calm down. I feel bad, nauseous. I should not have found her here. I do not want her to think badly of me.      That is why she said it could not be... She recognized me... It is better to keep  distance, I do not want there to be confusion and on top of that I have confided private things to her. 

   <<Blonde hair suits her better...>>

     I shake my head, no longer having these thoughts.      My cell phone rings and I see that Katherine is calling me.      I smile, relieved that she called me. It did not take me long to answer her call.

   “Hello Katherine,” I respond, but I can tell I am short of breath.

   “Hello?” more than a greeting, it seems like a question “Are you okay? What happens?”

   “I was helping a girl with the computer,” I say completely sincerely. I have never hidden anything from Katherine... Except the matter of my half-sisters.

    “A girl? And that’s why it sounds like you’ve done “exercise”?” I notice a little anger in her voice.

   “I had to run because of another emergency,” partly real and partly hiding the truth from her. I also do not want to argue on the phone now.

   “Oh, okay,” her cheerful voice returns. “I have to tell you, they called me 'The Vigilant'! I can be a correspondent wherever I want as soon as I finish my last course!”

    A wave of envy runs through my body. Yes. I have a permanent job thanks to my computer skills for a long time, because they found me… But this? Her classmates make an effort, they fight in thousands of ways to want to be on that list. Someone has been left without a spot on that list.

   “And of course, you're going to have to pack your suitcase.”

   “To pack? Why?”

    She lets out a laugh through the phone.

   “Jacky Isn't it obvious?”I make a sound of denial “You're going to come with me, because that's what we talked about, remember?”

     Actually we have not. She is the one who plans everything without me. For some time now my opinion has not counted.      It is like I have a lump in my throat that does not let me speak on my own. Before she was not like that. Things between us have changed. 

    But not. It has always been like this. He has always tried to change me. Even change everything I like. We do not function as a couple, but as friends. That is what I have realized. Our differences have not made us a united couple, quite the opposite. I wonder when I stopped caring about my feelings.

   “We can talk?” I ask a little discouraged. “When you come back, I mean.”

   “Sure, but have your suitcase ready, okay?” I make a nodding sound “Oh my God! Is incredible! I've done it! I have achieved my dream thanks to all my work!”

   <<You have not done it…>>

   “We’ll talk soon, okay? Kisses” she says goodbye, throwing a few kisses.

    She hung up, lowering the phone and squeezing it tightly.

    A first love that has disappointed me. A first love that was selfish with everyone around him and looked down on them as if they were not important. This comes from before all those problems that we encounter in the middle of our lives. I do not think I will ever feel this way about anyone else again.