#but j school did wonders for my speed

[obanais-koibito]

𝐊𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐤𝐨 𝐒𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐝 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐄’𝐒 𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! ❤️🖤❤️

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐲𝐚

He was a nervous wreck when Valentine’s Day finally arrived, he had planned on confessing to you even though he was hella anxious.

He watched you talk to your friends with a bright red face as he held your gifts behind his back while sweat-dropping

When you finally glanced at him, he felt like his heart leaped out of his chest, it was time…

“U-uhm hey Y-Y/n uh can I talk to you in uhm p-private…?” His heart was pounding in his chest as he talked to you, when you agreed to talk he felt somewhat relieved but still nervous

When you two were finally alone, he had to take multiple deep breaths before handing you the gifts and began talking, “I-I find your personality and appearance r-really attractive and I uhm want to know if you would uh uhm…be my valentine?” His voice got really quiet towards the end but you were still able to hear him.

You felt your cheeks heat up and you smiled at him, “Of course! I’d love to!” He had to process your words for a minute or two but when it finally clicked in his brain, he smiled brightly and wrapped his arm around you.

“Thank you…thank you so much, I promise I’ll do everything I can to make sure you have the best Valentine’s Day ever….”

𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐣𝐢𝐫𝐨

He was excited but also nervous, he had gifts neatly wrapped and laid out on your desk that had your name written on them.

Nezuko helped him figure out what you liked and didn’t like, he was EXTREMELY careful about his gifts he picked out for you in case you were allergic to something or had a bad experience with an object.

He was hoping you would say yes but in case you didn’t, he was thoroughly prepared for what to say and do if you rejected him.

He thought he was calm and prepared but when he saw you, he became a flustered stuttering mess.

“W-well uhm hello! I was j-just uh uhm wondering if you wanted to b-be my valentine? It’s totally okay if you don’t though!” He quickly added the last part in case he made you uncomfortable

Nezuko would be cheering him on in the background and the moment you said yes, she would be bouncing up in joy for her brother.

His face would turn beet red when you accepted him, “R-really? That’s amazing! Thank you!” He exclaimed with a radiant smile.

𝐙𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐮

He would be running around fueled with anxiety and fear of rejection, he had gotten you TONS of gifts such as flowers, chocolates, god knows what else, it was a literal mountain on your desk.

When you came into the classroom, he would be all giddy with excitement and anxiousness, he would come up to you with a bright blush and a nervous smile

“H-hi Y/nnnnnnnnn! I was wondering if you wanted to be my valentine!” He would seem pretty confident on the outside but on the inside, he was literally screaming and crying.

“Oh, sure!” His eyes literally bulged out of his head and his mouth dropped wide open, “RRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYY????”

He had the widest grin and once you confirmed it, he would scoop you into his arms and parade your around the school while jumping up and down

𝐈𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐞

He didn’t know what Valentine’s Day was nor did he know how to confess to someone (he didn’t even realize he had a huge crush on you-)

He was just chasing Zenitsu around the classroom laughing like a maniac but then when he saw you, he stopped and ran over to you.

“Oi! (Mispronounced name)! Am confused! Why are there hearts and flowers everywhere????” “Oh! Well today’s Valentine’s Day!” You said with a smile.

He stared at you with a confused expression, “….What’s a Balintin’s bay?” “Valentine’s Day is the day where people confess to their crush or spend time with their partner!” You explained with a smile

“…How do you know if you have a crush?” “Uh well the person makes your heartbeat speed up, you enjoy spending time with them and you see them as more than a friend!”

“Ohhh so that means I have you as my crush, alright!” He picked you up, threw you on his back and began chasing Zenitsu again.

“H-huh?!” You were blushing but he just laughed and kept chasing Zenitsu with your on his back.

[usafphantom2]

B-58 Hustler

Its transition to B-58 Hustlers required the wing to move to Carswell Air Force Base, Texas. The 43rd received the first B-58 in the Air Force on August 1, 1960. After the wing added the Hustler to its inventory, it conducted Category II and III evaluations with the new bomber. The 43rd also operated a school to train SAC aircrews in the B-58. Once they began flying, it did not take 43rd aircrews long to start setting records with a supersonic bomber. Hustler was the perfect name as it was the first operational bomber capable of Mach two.

Colonel Doug Nelson picked the best of what the B-58 had to offer in 1964 when he went to Little Rock Air Force Base to select the first SR 71 crewmembers. He selected my Father, Captain Richard “Butch” Sheffield as the first RSO/navigator, (We went into the small room (it was like a closet). He asked me if I had any problem flying into denied territory (the denied territory as China and Russia), and I said, “No.” He asked if I was a volunteer, and I said, “Yes”. He thanked me, and I went back home. (Did Butch Sheffield fly with his pilot over denied territory? Yes, he probably did )

So, I became the first person ever to be interviewed for the SR-71 Program and the first to accept the invitation to join the team.

I was (1) in the right place, (2) at the right time, (3) the right age, (4) with the right type of flying time, and (5) in the right medical condition. I was grateful for the opportunity to fly this wonderful aircraft.

Many years later, Major General Nelson told me that when I said yes, he was very relieved. He didn’t know how the aircrew members would react to his request. He stated we were being asked to; (1) give up a spot promotion, (2) leave a very stable position, (3) leave an organization where we were highly respected, and (4) go into a program we knew very little about. A few weeks later, a message said they wanted me to take the astronaut physical at Brooks AFB, Texas.

Captain Robert Sowers was one of the first pilots who flew the B-58. Sowers and Sheffield were crewed together in the SR-71 at Edwards Air Force Base test flight in the SR 71 in 1965. The Hustler was designed to replace the subsonic Boeing B 47. Stratojet bomber

When we did move to Fort Worth, Texas, Major Henry Deutschendorf and his family lived across the street from us. My parents did know John Denver's parents as he Henry was dad‘s commanding officer. I am a fan of John Denver's music, but unfortunately, I never met him. He was in high school when I was in grade school.

On 12 January 1961, Major Henry J. Deutschendorf (John Denver’s father) commanded a B-58 crew from the 43rd that set out to break six flight records, five of which the Soviet Union held.

Captain Robert G. Sowers ( “GREY” was one of the first B-58 pilots to be picked to pilot the SR 71 )piloted a B-58 that set out to break three-speed records on 5 March 1962.

Neither the simulator nor the SR-71B was ready when Sheffield and Sowers flew the SR71. I asked Dad how did you know what to do? He said it was easy. It was just like the B 58. Gray Sowers went to Area 51 to learn how to fly in the A- 12 trainer.

This next part is from my father’s unpublished book: I was a good B-58 Radar Navigator (RN). I had one of the best bombing records in the 43 Bomb Wing (BW) during the five years. My bombing record was good because I took great care of my aircraft and worked with the crew chief to ensure my airplane was the most accurate in the fleet. Plus, my sports training in high school gave me the hand/eye coordination I needed to put radar crosshairs on target and keep them there.

What I liked about the bombing was we would get a score right away; we obtained mission success and a sense of accomplishment even before we landed. It was an instant gratification of accomplishment.

Linda Sheffield

@Habubrats71 via X

[goldenagenonsense]

Action Comics #4 [September 1938]

Since I don’t have anything particularly witty to start off with, I’ll just dive right on into things. 

The cover, once again, is not superhero-related, but damn if that’s not the most sinister mountie I’ve ever seen, like what the fuck. What kind of horror movie nonsense is happening elsewhere in this issue that I won’t be seeing because I’m focusing only on the superhero related stories?

[Insert from friends:

[Solem] Funny thing is, that cover has absolutely nothing to do with the contents of the book. The RCMP did occasionally get action heroes in comics or radio (my father is a childhood fanboy of "Sargent Preston of the Yukon") but they didn't ever run one in Action Comics that I can find.

It wasn't uncommon in the Golden Age for covers to not match up with the contents of the book, it had to do with their production schedule. For Action Comics they'd go for communicating "manly action" to draw readers in with the vibe; pulp magazines and books did similar things.

Though my favorite example is one of the old Blue Beetle comics, where the cover proudly boasted the introduction of his new sidekick Sparky, only for the first page to sheepishly admit that they didn't get the story finished in time and actually Sparky (real name Sparkington J. Northrup, swear to god) would be introduced in the next issue.

(Fun fact -- Sparky's technically in the public domain, but DC recently brought a version of him back into continuity in the Stargirl and the Lost Children miniseries)]

Right, well, I can consider names for the theoretical mountie-themed supervillain later. For now, let’s see what Superman is up to.

Oh boy, this is a flashback to high school and those whole ‘drunk driving’ seminars. Our high school even staged an accident in the parking lot one year and made a whole big deal about it, police officers and everything. Wild.

A crowd gathers around the victim, sticking close while waiting for an ambulance to arrive. High overhead, Superman leaps into action, having witnessed the hit-and-run (called a hit-skip in the comic). Probably from the Daily Star office? And so he’s ducked out in order to help? Hard to say. 

Superman’s leap carries him all the way to a railroad track, where he just barely keeps himself from face-planting into a high-speed train. Coincidentally, this is the same track that the hit-skipper has stalled on, and the train is approaching fast. Which has me wondering if this is gonna be the first instance of the whole ‘Superman stopping a train to save a person on the tracks’ thing.

Inside the engine, one of the drivers is sneaking a bit of alcohol while his co-driver’s back is turned. Only, when he peers out the window, he is stunned on seeing a man outracing the train. The driver tries to tell his co-driver about it, but the man dismisses it as a drunken hallucination.

Meanwhile, Superman reaches the car and warns the man that they need to jump. The man tries to get away, but Superman is having none of it, since the train would kill them both. Which, what? Would a speeding train be enough to kill Superman? I mean, his introduction DID say that ‘nothing short of a bursting shell could break skin,’ and a train by dint of sheer mass probably has a lot more force behind it. If it did kill him, it’d probably be akin to seeing a bug smashed on a car windshield.

(I will do my best to resist the urge to put in too many Ant-Man jokes.)

But then again, he did take the force of a plane face-first without any issue, so… was that simply not enough mass+speed to affect him, or was he just being cautious because he wasn’t sure if he could take a train to the face or not? I imagine that, even if you are super-durable, you probably don’t want to test your luck on something that much bigger than yourself.

Eh, in any case, Superman leaps out of the car with the driver in hand, just in time to avoid the train hitting the car at full speed - which, yikes, I know cars were made with a lot more metal back then, that can’t have been good for the train even if it’s the bigger vehicle. Speaking of not good, Superman checks on the driver, only to find that he’s dead of a heart attack. Which is not exactly shocking considering he was drunk and already stressed from the hit-and-run PLUS the train PLUS the weirdo in spandex who outran and out-jumped a freaking train.

With not much else to do, Superman slips in through one of the train’s windows into a private room of the pull-man car - just as someone else is entering. He ducks behind a couch and listens in as the men comment on the train stopping because of the auto (figures, hitting that much metal can’t be good for the train) and then turn to more sinister discussions. Specifically, football.

Yes, sinister football. Apparently, one of the men - Randall - is the football coach at Dale, and is at risk of losing his job if he doesn’t win the upcoming game against Cordell. So no matter the cost, he has to win it. The men with him agree to help him out with his plot, calling themselves expensive but effective. He accepts their offer, and reminds them that they need to get several players out of the game immediately. The hired hands assure him that rough stuff is their specialty.

I would bet there’s at least a dozen jokes to be made here, mostly with regard to that one movie with the angel playing baseball. Like, I know the premise of that movie is supposedly the angel rigging the game, while Supes here is counter-rigging the game, but like, it’s the same kind of premise. And hey, Supes is even from the heavens, technically! Narrative parallels. 

Superman waits for the three to depart before mulling over what he heard - a crooked coach hiring thugs to play football - just the sort of set-up he likes to tear down! 

The next day, Clark Kent looks at Cordell’s football material, trying to find an in. He comes across a photo-clipping of Tommy Burke, who he looks similar enough to, in order to disguise himself. When he gets home, he dons a bit of grease paint, and comments on how even Tommy’s own mother wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.

Speaking of Tommy, we switch over to where he’s talking to his girlfriend Mary. Or, well, ex-girlfriend - she’s decided to dump him, since despite sixish years as a substitute, he’s never once been in a game. She’s ashamed of him, wanted a proper football hero. He asks if she’s gonna look for a new boyfriend; turns out, she already has one - a tennis champ by the name of Wallace Dood, a real athlete. 

Tommy walks home, despondent, too caught up in his own frustration and dreams of making it big to notice the man trailing him. Eventually, the stalker calls to him, causing him to startle and turn, wondering if this is a hold-up - only to get the shock of his life at seeing another him.

Clark tells him he’s mistaken - he’s not looking at Tommy Burke, substitute, but Tommy Burke, the greatest football player of all time! For some unknown reason, this distresses Tommy further, pushing him to attack. However, his attack is interrupted with the sting of a hypodermic needle, which quickly knocks him out.

I have absolutely no words to describe the emotional journey I went through on this page. I felt bad for Tommy over being dumped and cheated on, then rolled my eyes at his minor (but I would say somewhat justified) venting, then surprise at Clark somehow managing to exactly match Tommy’s suit, and then a touch of horror at Clark actually stabbing Tommy with a knock-out drug with plans to outright kidnap and replace him. Like, what the FUCK, Superman???? What in the actual goddamn hell is wrong with you???? 

The next page doesn’t get much better, what with Tommy waking up to find himself a prisoner in his own apartment. The drug is still in his system, keeping him from getting up or doing more than moving his arms a bit (or so it seems). He’s scared and wants to know what was done to him and why; Superman tells him not to worry, that he’s just been rendered passive, and that Supes is borrowing his life for a few days, before cheerfully leaving Tommy to himself in his apartment.

While drugged, so he can’t even get up to feed himself, or use the bathroom, or any other number of things a person needs to do each day. Which, again, I understand this is a comic book, but also, WHAT THE FUCK. Superman is so fucking. I can’t even with him. Not to mention, Tommy is in university. What classes is he taking, who is he friends with outside of football, does he have any tests, SUPERMAN YOU CAN’T JUST DO THIS TO SOMEONE.

Supes reports to the locker room, wondering if he’ll be able to get away with it. He walks in as casually as possible, greeting the others, and in turn being mocked by the others for being a professional bench warmer and that they want to see what a ‘real football player’ looks like. Supes ignores the taunts and starts trying to guess which locker is Tommy’s, ultimately just guessing at random. Naturally, he’s wrong, and gets an annoyed football player in his face for it. The guy tries to throw a few punches in Supe’s face and gut, but Supes just takes them with a grin and a taunt of his own.

Alright, fantastic, time for the beginning of my ‘out of context panels’ collection, this time featuring some of the boys talking about how well ‘Burke’ is taking those hits. Or taking something, anyway.

The first man’s smirk is exactly my expression when I realized this panel was a gift. I should save it as a reaction image.

Despite Superman’s inhuman ability to take a pounding, he decides to end things with a love tap, one strong enough to throw Martin back into a wall, knocking him right out. Cordell’s coach, Oliver Stanley, comes in to check on the noise, only to be shocked by Martin’s state. Supes plays meek, but the coach is having none of it, telling him to get out of uniform and off the team.

As the rest of the team goes into their practice game, a benched player(?) laments how things just don’t feel the same without Burke on the bench. The coach is also concerned - Burke’s usually meek as a lamb, but today…

Back in the locker room, Supes groans about his fuck-ups so far, before shaking himself off and putting on the rest of the uniform. Orders or no orders, he’s going out there to show the coach a thing or two!

The other players notice him quickly, and prepare themselves for how mad the coach will be when he sees ‘Burke’ out on the field. A ball flies towards an open part of the field - only for Supes to dash out and manage to snag it. This, unsurprisingly, catches the coach’s attention, his temper already taking off as he snaps at the other players to grab him and throw him out of the field on his ear.

As for the other guy, I guess they’re a sub-coach? Student learner? I don’t know enough about sports, but the guy’s shirt says ‘coach’ and he defers to the guy in the trenchcoat, so like. I’ll just refer to him as the sub-coach from here on out.

Superman doesn’t let the other players converging upon him bother him, content to leisurely trot towards the opposite goal with a cocky attitude. The coach doesn’t buy it, eager to watch ‘Burke’ get taken down by the rest of the team. 

Martin’s the first to reach him, throwing more punches in revenge for the locker incident and the love tap. Supes quickly gets around him, much to the sub-coach’s shock, but the coach waves it off as an accident - he’d have to be an acrobat to get past the rest! …which Supes proceeds to pull off by leaping on the next player’s shoulders, and using that to spring over the head of two others. Sub-coach is shook, commenting on how ‘Burke’ is halfway down the field and probably going to make it. Again, the coach dismisses it as fool’s luck, and that there’s no way he’ll get past the ‘unbeatables,’ aka Stevens, Burns, and Lewiston.

The entire team piles onto Superman, which elates the coach… only for it to be a trick, since Supes is able to just keep dashing down the field with the rest of the team hanging onto him. Very normal and non-suspicious there, pal. He shakes off the players just before crossing the line, with sub-coach calling out the touchdown.

The entire team is impressed, with the coach demanding to know if ‘Burke’ has been holding out on him. And to think he’s left the guy on the bench for six entire seasons! Sub-coach replies that ‘Burke’ can be in their last game, the one that decides the championship.

Soon after, Coach Stanley calls in to the newspaper to brag about ‘Burke’ to the sports editor. Said editor, probably for a local paper already familiar with the players on the team, thinks it’s a gag call, since everyone knows Burke is the joke of the team. Despite that, an article does get printed - satirical, but still good publicity. At least according to Supes, who’s reading said article in Burke’s apartment, while Burke himself is drinking tea or coffee or something.

Again. What the fuck. Why is Burke not doing anything about this??? Comic books, man.

Over at Dale, coach Randall thinks that, even if the paper is playing up Burke as a clown, it’d still be better to make Cordell’s star player ‘disappear.’ The hired thugs reply that they’ll make sure he’s gone until the game is over.

Over the next few days, the Cordell team practices for the big game, while the coach and sub-coach wonder how ‘Burke’ got so good overnight. If the coach knew, he’d be the greatest in the world. As that game wraps up, the coach tells the players that the big game is the next day, so remember: early to bed, no drinking, no smoking!

That evening, the hired thugs from Dale approach Burke’s apartment, breaking in and tying Burke up. They only briefly wonder at his lack of struggle, not noticing Superman observing them from the molding overhead. Seems he had already drugged Burke with a sleep-inducer once again, like, what the FUCK Superman. Despite the seediness of this situation, it does leave him in a perfect position to chase after the kidnappers’ car, somehow without being noticed in his suit.

Burke wakes up in the abandoned house the thugs brought him to, and he’s nervous and confused as well. When he asks, the thugs tell him he’s been put somewhere he can’t get to tomorrow’s game. He tries to tell them he’s just a substitute, and that he’s not - the thugs cut him off, clarifying his name and that that’s all they need to know before gagging him. 

Damn, Tommy has had a really shit week, hasn’t he? Dumped by a girlfriend who was already cheating on him, drugged and kidnapped by a lookalike pretending to be him for the next week, and then kidnapped by thugs who are clearly after the lookalike and not him. Please, someone get this man a break and maybe a milkshake.

Superman, observing all this, just shrugs at this situation with a grin; Burke is off his hands, and they mean him no physical harm! I want to say this is a dick move, but considering that he’s also culpable of basically the same thing, I am not surprised that he’s like this. : V

The next morning, the crowds pack into the stadium, unaware they are about to witness the most amazing football game of all time. Coach Randall drops in on Coach Stanley to gloat about Burke being missing, only to be shocked when he sees ‘Burke’ sitting there, ready to be introduced by Stanley. Soon after, Supes manages to get Randall alone, and threatens to expose him and all his shady shit if he doesn’t fire the thugs and resign as coach. Randall plays dumb, but is furious; when he gets to the locker room, he chastises the thugs for letting ‘Burke’ escape and so risking their exposure. One of the thugs pull out a knife and reply that he won’t. When the Cordell team hits the field, the thugs prepare to attack Supes. The game starts, and Supes is already off like a shot, ball in hand.

Meanwhile, the real Burke has escaped his binds and managed to flag down a taxi, asking them to get him to the football field as fast as possible. I wish him luck in figuring out all this nonsense happening.

Down on the field, Supes is bowling through the opposition like bowling pins, scoring a goal - and then another goal right after the next kickoff. The commentator, much like all the rest of the crowds, apparently doesn’t think something is wildly suspicious about a man scoring two touchdowns in the space of a few seconds, which is like ??? Sure, okay. 

His teammates, at the least, are not too enthused about being sidelined while ‘Burke’ takes the spotlight. Even when Martin gets the next kick-off, all ‘Burke’ does is clear the way in such a way that makes the goal feel meaningless - even a two-year-old could have done it! 

The real Burke, denied admittance at the player’s gate, enters the bleachers instead, watching with astonishment as his counterpart scores goal after goal. He’s all but ready to call the cops on the guy - the one sensible man in this entire situation - only to stop when he hears his ex’s voice just in front of him. Turns out that she’s enamored with ‘Burke’ and so ignoring her fancy tennis boyfriend, calling him a lily. Burke gets caught up in the enthusiasm of the crowd soon after (possibly in part because of spite) and enjoying the idolization that he’s technically getting because of his counterpart.

Dude. Like, I get why, but also, dude.

The two thugs finally make their move, only for Supes to quickly body them, forcing them to be removed from the field via medical staff. This is the last straw for Randall; he hands over a note with his resignation to the waterboy(?) and tells him to bring it to Dale University’s president.

At the end of the half, Superman meets with Burke and tells him they need to change clothes. Burke is now eager to go along with this, accepting Supe’s mission and getting himself out there on the field. It’s pretty obvious how much more awkward the real Burke is, missing the kick-off and chasing after it, only to get piled on the second he grabs it. 

Despite that ignoble takedown, he wakes up to his ex wanting to get back together, while also asking him to quit football, since the game’s just too brutal. Tommy agrees to it, probably in part because he knows he’s never gonna be able to live up to his counterpart, and in part because of still being shaken by the week he’s had.

And so the issue closes out - and hey, there’s that freaking exercise routine that was promised two issues ago! It’s pretty simple - start with small weights, gradually add more weight, and soon enough you’ll be lifting even heavy objects with ease!

…still have to admit this issue was a wild fucking ride. Like, what the fuck, Superman. At least I got a funny panel out of it?

Also, looking back, I realize that like, literally no further mention of the dude taken out in the hit-and-run ever happens, nor do we ever learn more about the dude Supes actually fucking killed when saving him from being hit by a train. Like, the fuck.

[xreaderbooks]

Paradise on Earth (13)

Chapter: 13. Prayers

Pair: JJ Maybank x Routledge! Reader

Word count: 2.7k

Warnings: Drugs and Language

Summary: Y/N and the rest of the pogues go on the road to Charleston after receiving a mysterious letter.

A/N: Wayy too many ideas for this series, too many things are happening in life and season 3 hasn't even come out yet, kind of wishing I had a beta reader cause I cannot keep track of what I'm writing. As always, send me a message if you want to be added to the taglist.

Paradise on Earth Playlist

Also available on Wattpad and AO3

It would mean a lot to me if you could support me on KO-FI

Chapter 12 - Series Masterlist - Masterlist - Chapter 14

Fuck this test was hard. It was your fault for not studying but honestly who could blame you? There was way too much going on in your life for you to be focused on your history test. You turned your head to Kiara whose seat was beside yours to the left, Pope in front of her, and JJ to the diagonally to the right. You didn't bother to look at JJ knowing he knew as much as you or less and Pope was too far to even try to get his attention. Just as you were about to whisper to Kie for help, a man in a suit opens the door asking Mr. Sunn-- your history teacher-- if he could speak with Pope. 

"We're in the middle of a test." Mr. Sunn says.

"I'm from the Vanderhorst Foundation," The man in the suit says. If you remember correctly that was the same foundation Pope had to meet with in order to be granted his scholarship. You wondered if they came to talk to him about what went down in the meeting. 

"Mr. Heyward, it's for you." Mr. Sunn allows Pope to take a pause on his test while he speaks to the man. Kie meets your eye with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, she quirks her eye at you in question. You shake your head slightly, I don't know. 

Mr. Sunn returns his attention from the door to the class, you feign your focus on the paper made to test your mind on the knowledge you did not bother to know. Not five minutes later Pope is speed walking to his seat.

"What was that?" You heard Kie ask him. Pope turns to show you, Kie, and JJ a gold envelope with a gold wax-sealed wheat symbol. 

"Is that?" You started.

"What the fu-fudge?" JJ exclaimed loudly, changing his words at your teacher's facial expression of warning. 

~~~

You and your friends rushed to the library straight after class ended, JJ once again speaking loudly and being shushed by the school's librarian. 

"Seriously, Pope, you are driving me insane." You whispered to the boy who was not revealing any information on what the man had told him until you were all gathered in a "secure location". That location being the library/computer lab.

"Okay, so that guy was from the scholarship committee," He explained. "Take a look at this."

JJ snatches the envelope from Pope's hand, tearing the seal open and then pausing. "Out loud, J." You encouraged. He looks between you, Pope, and Kie.

"I can't read cursive."

You slap your face with your hand, the sound echoed through the quiet room, you cringed at the noise. He gives you a face, Kiara grabs the letter from JJ and recites the words from the letter. 

"Dear Mr. Heyward, 

I am reaching out because I have material evidence that can exonerate John B. Routledge. It is of vital importance that you come and meet with me in person at my offices at 27 King Street, Charleston at 8:00 p.m. sharp tonight.

Please come alone.

Regards, C. Limbrey."

"Charleston?" JJ immediately responds to Kie finishing the letter. 

"It's like an eight-hour drive plus the ferry. How will we get there tonight?" Pope paces.

"We would have to leave right now," You comment.

"I have a free period," Kie mentions. Fuck the free period you have a shift at the wreck right after school. 

"'Material evidence'? What does that even mean, 'Material evidence'?" JJ thinks out loud.

"It means they can clear John B," You clarify.

"Oh shit, then we're going to Charleston!"

"I got to tell my mom," Kie groans. You give her a sympathizing look but also one that reminds her of your schedule tonight. She grimaces and you mouth the word 'later'.

"Look, if we get it this time we are not giving it to Shoupe." You said.

Pope logs on to the schools computer as you were talking to search the last name Limbrey. He sighs, "What?" Kie asks him.

"I'm not sure, but I think whoever this Limbrey person is, they might be related to the Captain of the Royal Merchant."

The four of you read the article with the black and white photograph of a man in a sea Captains attire.

~~~

The school day went on dreadfully slow with the newfound information, your nerves wouldn't let you sit tight to the point where several of your teachers had pulled you aside to talk. They let you off with a warning and you couldn't help but think it was because of your brother's "passing" despite their own opinion of him as a criminal. At this point you could not care less knowing he was alive, (and well, though that wasn't entirely accurate considering you had no clue about John B's general well-being), you and your friends would soon be on your way to clear his name. If you could get to Charleston in time for Pope's meeting with this Limbrey person. 

Your first obstacle would be convincing Kiara's parents to let her go. Which from the view inside Heyward's truck, was not going well. They-- Kie and her parents-- were standing on her porch, in deep conversation. You could almost hear the conversation by how loud Mrs. Carrera's voice seemed to carry on. It only got louder with Kie walking to the side of the porch, to the truck, with her bag on her one shoulder. 

"They're taking it really well," JJ says sarcastically from your right. 

You let out a low whistle, "I am so fired." 

"Mm-hmm." Pope agrees, you send him a side glare. JJ notices your look and changes the subject.

"How'd you get his rig? I know your old man didn't let you have it."

"I undid the intake valves on the carburetor. Made it start pinging."

"And now you're gonna take it to your cousin Jeff's house, just gonna get it fixed."

"Crash overnight." You all said in unison. The lie Pope told to his father was obvious. You turned your attention to Pope, "Don't tell me you pulled a JJ on your dad, Pope."

"Oh yeah, I'm definitely rubbing off on him. Lying to his old man, stealing his truck."

"Shame," You playfully shook your head in dismay. 

Pope gives JJ and you a warning glance. "Alright, that's a sore subject. My bad."

"I'd say we have about 18 hours before he absolutely loses his shit." Pope calculates. "So as long as we get it back before then, I think we're good."

"Boarding school? What are you talking about?" JJ had the window open from his side, Kie's anger being heard and seen by the way she skipped down every other step from her porch. She opened the white gate door letting it slam behind her as she protested her parent's arguments. 

JJ hops out to let her in, she would have to sit on your lap or JJ would have to go in the trunk. To avoid you all being seen in public leaving town you agreed prior to having her sitting on your lap, that you would switch when either of you got tired. 

You got out as well if only to tell Kie's parents you would not be making it to your shift. 

"It's good to see y'all, Mr. and Mrs. Carrera." JJ waves.

"Hi, uh, ma'am, sir. I-I promise to have her back at a reasonable hour and safe."

"What are you doing?" Kie snaps at Pope.

"Kiara, you listen to me. You wanna go, then you can go, but if you don't come back at the proper time, then don't come back at all!" Mrs. Carrera threatens, ending the argument. "Y/N," She begins and shakes her head furiously, you can feel her anger from here though most of it you knew was mostly directed at her daughter. "Same goes for you with your shift." 

That's all she said, her intimidating stare of a mother piercing into you. You didn't have one growing up so having to feel that disappointment from someone you considered a mother figure stung. You could only imagine how Kie must feel.

"She's bluffing," JJ says to reassure Kie. You slip back into your seat, pulling Kie along with you. 

Once you were all settled inside the cabin of the truck, you let out a breath as Kie spoke. "This shit would be so much easier without parents."

She wasn't wrong. Being able to do whatever, whenever wasn't ever a struggle. What was a struggle was living without the stability and comfort of having them.

~~~

"My parents are so paranoid of me being a Pogue like it's the worst thing that could ever happen." 

Kie was able to pay for the ferry ride you were currently on, heading to the destination on the letter. The four of you sitting or standing on different parts of the truck. 

"I heard they got good weed at boarding school though," JJ thinks of a silver lining while finishing rolling a joint.

"They're gonna have to kidnap me, tie me up, and throw me in a van."

You laugh at her statement, "That was me when DCS was threatening to take me and John B away. Look how that turned out."

"Your legal guardian is a serial killer?"

"But I'm here with you guys on my way to Charleston, it has a way of working itself out." You shrug.

"Well, I say we crush some herb right now." JJ hands Kie the freshly rolled weed. 

"Hey Kie, have you tried to hit John B back on that number yet?" Pope asks.

"Like, twenty million times. Some random lady at a hotel keeps answering."

"They most likely borrowed it from her or something," You tell him.

"Until we hear from them again we gotta try and clear his name, right now, this letter's our best bet." Pope declares.

"Right," JJ nods. "Stay on task, that's why I love ya' Pope."

Kie takes her two hits and then stands to passes it to Pope, "What Pope are you gonna be today?"

"I'm good," He denies it and re-reads the letter for the millionth time. "I'm gonna try to focus."

"Good Pope," She purses her lips and takes her seat beside you. "Boring Pope."

"I'll take that," You pluck the drug from her fingers.

~~~

You all spent hours on the Ferry now you would spend hours on the road to try to make it in time for the meeting. Your lap getting numb from how long Kiara has been sitting on your lap but you had planned to tough it out for the next stop for gas. 

"Guys, i've read this thing like a thousand times. It makes no sense." Kie states, "I mean the Limbreys own like, half of Charleston. What do the kook Kings of Charleston know about a murder on Kildare island?"

"Why you specifically? That's the other creepy thing." JJ questions Pope.

You peep from behind Kie, "'Please come alone." That's hella sus." 

"I was thinking the same thing, I think it's because-" Pope began, the truck started making an abnormal clucking noise from the hood. Seconds later and it was smoking, more than usual.

"Pull over. That's a lot of smoke even for your dad's truck."

"Pope, I got sensitive lungs, man!" JJ coughs. 

Pope concedes to the demands and starts to pull over at the side of a ride next to a ranch. 

"No. No. No. No." Pope puts the truck in park even though it had already broken down. He slid out of the truck hastily going straight to the front where the problem was. 

"It's gonna blow up, it's gonna blow up!" Kie hops off your lap and out of the cabin with you right behind her. 

"It's not going to blow up!" JJ says, "You probably unhooked the radiator, Pope. I haven't seen this before. You knocked the entire hubcap off!" He claps and lets out a whoo! laughing afterward as if this isn't putting a major roadblock to your journey. Not to mention how much trouble Pope is going to be in with his dad for messing up his truck.

"You might wanna reschedule your meeting tonight Pope," JJ remarked unhelpfully. 

You stressfully scratched your neck as you thought of ideas and begin to list all the things you can do to get to the meeting on time, "Plan B? We could do public transportation, hitchhike, We could rent bikes." 

"Yeah, it's the radiator," JJ noted the problem from behind the hood.

"My dad's gonna kill me," Pope stared off with dread.

JJ nodded," Yeah, he might."

~~~

You were sweaty and gross from standing in the midafternoon Carolina sun, pushing Haywards truck for a couple of miles with Kie, Pope, and JJ until some guy who owns a mechanic shop offered to help you out. By the time you got to said place, it was already way past the meeting time. You and Kie sat on the wheel cutouts of the truck bed while Pope and JJ spoke to the man who run the place. Kiara was oddly silent as you waited patiently for the boys who were handling the logistics of what went wrong with the truck, timing, and payment. 

It was obvious that she was replaying the harsh words her mom had said to her. You couldn't imagine how hard it must have been to hear her mom kick her out, all this for the loyalty of a friend whom her parents considered dead. You appreciated her devotion towards you and your brother, even if she takes it too far sometimes. 

"We're definitely gonna be planted here for the night," You tried to end the quiet as you felt the anxiety of staying at a random person's farm. You swatted a fly that was getting way too close to your ear for your liking, the buzzing sound making you shiver.

Kie, who was zoned out for a while, wrinkled her nose at your reaction, "Hate when that happens." She spoke quietly and once again began to stare off into space.

JJ strolled back to the both of you, he reaches to tap Kiara's shoe, "What's going on here, You alright?"

"My mom is so worried that I'm gonna be a Pogue that she's willing to send me to boarding school." A ridiculous idea if you were being honest. Kie's parents should know that boarding school would not change Kiara's personality, it would be a waste. You could not imagine her not being around no matter how aggravating she could be at times.

"I guess that's what you get for hanging around the wrong crowd, Kie" JJ takes a swig from his flask.

"I'm not gonna go," She shakes her head in refusal. "It's too late anyway, I already am who I am."

You reach for the metal container in JJ's hand, unscrewing the top, "It ain't all that bad." You take a sip of the bitter liquid.

"Yeah, I mean, Just look at that guy over there" JJ points to Pope who's still negotiating with the man. "He would do anything for us, that's a Pogue if I've ever seen one. Bone-deep. That's just one man's opinion."

Kie looks back at Pope with a small smile. You nudge her with your shoulder and a smirk. She rolls her eyes and grins as she hops downs from the side of the truck bed, "I'm gonna go check things out."

"Yeah, you do that." You whistle at her teasingly as she walks away. She flips you off with her back facing you. 

You hand JJ back his flask, "Who knew you could be so good at cheering people up?"

"Everyone, Y/N, it's all part of my natural charm." He winks at you.

"Careful, inflate your ego too much and your head will pop."

"You are getting way too bold now, pretty girl, we're gonna have to put a leash on you."

"Now that's kinky," You chuckle.

He chokes on his drink, "That's not what I meant" He coughs out. You let out a loud laugh, "I know." 

~~~

There was barely any space on the trunk with You, JJ, Pope, and Kie but you all managed to squeeze together with JJ already asleep horizontally closest to the back window of the truck. You, Kie, and Pope laid vertically with your heads on the open door of the truck bed. You were on the left with Kie in the middle and Pope to her right. 

"Goodnight everyone," Pope said. 

You were about to respond when you heard the sound of a light kiss before Kie settled down finally, you peeked over your shoulder slightly to see her looking at Pope and heard her say, "Goodnight."

You almost didn't catch JJ pulling his cap to cover his eyes and turning his back on the scene. Guess he's not over her either. 

Chapter 14

Tag list: Taglist: @deanwherescas - @thtbwltts - @nerdypartytrashpsychic - @random-girl-army - @siresweeney - @simpingbutch - @obx-pogues-4-life - @mitchloveswriting - @p-prettybitch - @gwynschampagne - @slut4booksx - @ellallheart - @shay-https - @namacissi - @lyn07 - @caseysalvatore - @mysticmolina - @dangerdolns - @inkandpen22 - @beebeerockknot - @im-broliet - @princessalana - @princesspogue - @ayeitsjustmee - @instabull - @sexyfoxlady - @80strashbag - @onlyangel-444 - @a-j-stuffs - @clinelyn - @saintgwyn - @bubs-world - @sdawn03 - @boldlypessimistic - @lostinatimeline

(If your name is crossed that means Tumblr won't let me tag you.)

[igot-sarang-ggg]

Kakyoin's Letter

Masterlist

Small Summary: Kakyoin was going to send you a letter.

Small mentions: SPOILERS, death, angst, gn!reader, spell check is out the window..

Y/n,

I Bet you're wondering where I am at the moment, It's a bit hard to explain especially through a letter.

I'm helping a friend, well actually helping a friend whose mother is quite sick at the moment. I should be back within a few days, we're about to reach our destination soon. I can't wait to see you again. Hopefully, we can go on that date I promised you a few months back.

I want to apologize if I was acting weird before I left. That wasn't me and I'm sorry for acting that way toward you. But rest assured I am still the same Noriaki Kakyoin that fell in love with you.

Promise you'll wait for me to return. We'll go on the date, promise.

"Mr. Joestar how di-" There was a lump in my throat, and tears slid down as I clench the letter in my hands, "The Speed Wagon foundation found this letter inside the school uniform Kakyoin was wearing. I guess he was gonna send it to you but..." Mr. Joestar and Jotaro both lowered their heads.

My Childhood friend, first crush, first love, and first kiss... Kakyoin. How did you? "Why?" I grabbed Jotaro by the collar of his gakuran pushing him against the wall; he kept his head down. When I pushed him it was as if his body had down numb, "Why didn't you let me go with you?! I could have helped! I could have healed him J-" I felt so much anger towards Jotaro. I told him I could go I wanted to help them, but he told me not to go and to pretend like I didn't know what was happening with his mother and Dio.

"Even if you did go. You Wouldn't have made it in time!" Jotaro spoke, he lifted his head a bit, and his hat slightly moved I was able to see his face he was crying. "Y/n please understand that Kakyoin died at the water tank there was no way you could have reached him in time." Mr. Joestar placed his hand on my shoulder, I loosened my grip on Jotaro's collar. Lowering my head I wanted to scream but couldn't. Jotaro wrapped his arms around me holding me close to him, "I'm sorry... we weren't able to prevent his death." I cried into Jotaro's arms as he held me tighter.

For the next few days, Jotaro and Mr. Joestar would come to visit me and see if I was okay. Jotaro would walk to school with me and take me home every day after. We wouldn't talk to each other during our walks but I knew he felt sorry for what had happened.

Every day I would read that letter, there was a small part of me that wanted him to come and was waiting for his return but I knew that would never happen.

After graduating High school I moved back to Morioh and started working with the Speed Foundation. I never dated or even got married. Being a stand user I knew If I were to marry or date again I could be putting that person into danger.

[jae-canikeepyou]

| adjacent | j.jh

pair: jaehyun x fem!reader

word count: 18k+ (unedited & not proof read)

summary: jaehyun turns into a golden retriever whenever the day reaches the most beautiful time; golden hour. a secret he kept his entire life & always wonders how long he could keep it, especially when you suddenly showed up.

genre: au + golden retriever!jaehyun + hs!nct

a/n: idk what came to me as i brainstormed this but by now, nctzens and valentines should know jaehyun’s a golden retriever :3 so i decided to write a plot for this adorable fact T^T heavily inspired with fruits basket and beauty & the beast! i really hope you’ll like it. lmk what you think! enjoy reading lovelies! ~j

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time was ticking real quick.

he rushed through the bustling people, avoiding the narrow crowds and jay-walked countless pedestrian crossings. he needed to hide. no one should see him transform. there was little time left. why was he so careless each time this happened? his parents and younger brother warned him to be alert at all times. did he listen? no, never did. they compared him to a rock— hard headed and stubborn. but all he ever wanted was to be free.

curses! just a little more, a few metres more! he pant as he tried to catch air. he felt his flesh tingling, his senses doubling and tripling. jaehyun peddled as fast as he could, at least reach the line of bushes by the basketball court. hopping over the plants, he threw his bag aside and jumped off his bike before bracing for the fall.

the now broken bell sounded horrible as jaehyun’s brother caught up to him with his skateboard. “dad’s gonna kill you if you ask for another bike for your birthday.” he sighed looking at the loosened chain while picking up the single-track vehicle and the scattered clothes.

jaehyun transformed to a golden retriever puppy and struggled to come out of the bushes with his tiny paws and body. when he succeeded, he scratched the back of his ears to brush off the leaves stuck to them. “won’t happen, sungchan. i’ve already saved up enough by then. i’m not gonna burden dad for my wants.”

sungchan pressed the bridge of his nose. “you’re kinda being a burden now.” he picked the animal— his brother— up and put him inside his coat, as well as the belongings on the ground. he hopped on the bike and headed towards jaehyun’s campus.

“what did you say?” jaehyun barked tried opening the zipper from the inside of sungchan’s coat.

“nothing.” the younger excused. “but can i have your bike if you actually plan to get a new one?”

“ugh just bring me to the court. i’ll be late for my morning practice.”

the brothers were able to communicate telepathically as they’re related and were both cursed. instead of golden hour, sungchan transforms during the blue hour, which occured at twilight. tracing back to their ancestors, all were cursed for unknown inexplainable circumstances. they tried breaking it with all they could. every idea ended a failure. so they had to live through it, adjust, adapt and be alert.

they bumped into ten, kun and jungwoo, who were doing warm-ups and they simultaneously trailed their eyes and heads towards the jung brothers. seeing the huge pouch on sungchan’s stomach area, they all cracked up and checked the time. “oh yeah, it’s sunrise.” jungwoo spun the ball on his pointer finger.

ten grabbed the pup with one hand and jaehyun barked at him but he couldn’t understand a thing. although he was confused, he continued to carry him in his palm because jaehyun’s response was funny. “what is he trying to say?” he chuckled and poked the pup’s snout.

“he said ‘it hurts. put me down idiot’. i have to be honest with you hyung. holding us by the back of the neck really hurts.” unlike his brother, he was rather calm and collected despite already imagining the pain.

“you’re a blue holland lop bunny. it’s normal to carry you like this too right?” ten showed the pup to sungchan.

kun facepalmed at the question and took jaehyun. “no dimwit it’s not normal. sorry jae. you know he just likes teasing your puppy form.”

“‘wait until i turn back’- ugh seriously do i really have to translate hyung’s words every time?” sungchan gave jaehyun’s clothes and bike to jungwoo. “you know what to do when he transforms back yeah?”

they nodded and upon seeing the kid leave and headed towards his campus, jaehyun couldn’t wait to turn human. he would always beat ten up almost immediately— sometimes forgetting that he was naked. for the dudes it was alright. the problem was if he was with girls, though he hasn’t encountered anyone so far. he hoped he didn’t have to.

the harsh drills from basketball practice already sucked the energy out of jaehyun. not only that it was physically tiring, transforming into a dog twice a day before that have doubled the strain. then him transforming back would cause migraines and painful joints, as they were the aftermath of the curse. he had to keep his title of m.v.p and captain since the told them there was a possibility of him of having a scholarship for college. he couldn’t let a minor pain hinder that chance. not ever.

however, ten and the others could read his suffering. to them it was obvious through his exhales and slowing speed. hiding it was of no use. jungwoo ruffled his hair with a clean towel after shower. “can’t you just be like that dog in the movie ‘up’? have a collar that translates barks into actual language?”

jaehyun rolled his eyes and wore his black t-shirt. “it’s a damn movie, jungwoo. the world might’ve evolved and advanced in technology and even if they were to exist they’d be expensive. can’t afford that.”

“you sound negative, don’t you have any hope at all?” kun joined the conversation.

“never had any. stopping this curse is impossible. it’s been generations. my dad’s still suffering too. i have to find a way.” he fixed his black cap in front of a mirror.

but he knew there wasn’t. silence loomed above them as the team struggled to continue the topic. they tried not to bring it up yet each time they did, it always ended awkwardly and badly. it was either they riled jaehyun’s mood— mostly ten— or jaehyun himself was building his own raincloud by sulking about it and not looking at the bright side.

how ironic it was, he thought. generally speaking, even though being golden had good intentions and the breed was meant to bring happiness to others, he felt the total opposite. if he had to describe it, it was all insecurity, lowered his self-esteem and hopelessness only increased over the years as he grew.

thinking about it, he slammed the locker a little too hard that its components caused it to bounce back.. and also added to fuel of his anger. “break that again you’ll be in the coach’s office.” kun tied his shoelaces and the others agreed.

“my dad is the coach, what do you mean?” he questioned at the stupidity.

“you didn’t show up the last time it broke. we got the punished in your stead. uncle wasn’t happy.” ten got out of the showers last, a towel was wrapped around his waist before the younger ones were scarred for a second.

“it was sunset and i transformed! of all people dad’s supposed to understand! i-” jaehyun rubbed his face quite agressively and headed straight outside.

“oi i’m still changing! wait up!”

jaehyun kicked the bike’s stand attached to the rear wheel. he and his father didn’t have the best relationship compared with other kids, but he could say that it was better than the relationship he had with his mother. she loved her little family, yet over time the curse grew onto her. her husband would turn into a werewolf at full moon. and until now, even though that happened once month, she thought a part of him wasn’t the same person she loved before. even more so, when her sons were just the same as him.

your mom’s delusional! she doesn’t love us! she fears us!

that feeling stayed in the boys’ mind until they were old and mature enough to comprehend the situation they’re in. why couldn’t she love them like any mom would? she was no different from an animal mother abandoning her calf/pup just because they were or had defects.

mr. jung tried his best to be the perfect father, for only he understood what his two sons were going through, as they might go through decades with it, just like he was. jaehyun still remembered his first transformation, he only had puppy paws, but that was a sign to mr. jung that he indeed inherited the curse. when sungchan grew a tail at a fine age of one, their father gave up his 9-5 hour office job to tend the boys. and that was before he became jaehyun’s basketball coach. now he could monitor them at a close range.

much to jaehyun’s dismay and for that reason, he felt more caged and overprotected.

—

“y/n! coach’s looking for you!” your classmate called.

no.. you groaned. again?..

it was already after school hours. you slouched on your desk as you covered your ears, remembering the errands he asked you to do previously. you didn’t know why, but ever since you had detention because you refused to run a 1600m marathon for an assessment, seemed like the other punishment was that he passed his job to you. that was a month ago, and today was the tenth time.

but curious as you were to find answers, you brushed it off and tried not to show any remorse. it’s all for conduct, you kept telling yourself. the whistle echoed the entire hallway and jolting you up in your seat. “okay, okay! hold on!” you yelled from the back of the classroom.

as coach jung stood rather comfortably outside the room, he gestured you to walk faster with a dimpled smile. “y/n! took you approximately three minutes to walk here.” he laughed and handed you several files and a zipper folder.

“thanks for counting?..” you replied with a confused and questioning tone. “coach, what’s this?”

“all school sports teams will have an annual retreat before their playoff seasons. i need a representing manager since ours was admitted to a hospital just today.” he pointed at the list. you followed his finger and it landed on your name.

“sounds like to me it’s more practice. and you want me to go because?” you raised your brows. he asked you to follow him to the gymnasium, in which it was making you recall all those extra detention after school.

“to make up with all of the p.e assessments you ‘purposely’ missed.” he said proudly while looking at his team doing drills. but he didn’t get any response from you. when he looked on his side, you were gone and ran across the basketball gym. “y/f/n!”

you squealed as embarrassment crawled your entire body. not only were you escaping from coach, you were disrupting the team’s practice and hitting couple of duffel bags and water bottles. “ah! sorry! coming through!”

*whistles* “after her!” coach jung’s voice added an extra chill to your spine.

“ugh why us?” ten groaned with sore muscles as coach gestured to them widely.

“just go.” kun panted.

then you heard a several footsteps turn into drums until they sounded a stampede. you jumped on your toes as you passed the line of showers cubicles. good thing you haven’t seen a naked man, or else you’d faint without knowing. you turned around and went straight ahead then to your right, and hid in a random room. the echoing voices and squeaking friction between shoes and waxed floors were cut to a silence, like your ears were muffled instantly.

your wobbly legs were tired and you were sighing in exhaustion and crouched down against the door. great, i’ll stay out of their sight- “what are you doing here?” you heard a low voice and froze on the spot. “only members of the basketball team can access the meeting room.”

that sounded like the captain.

“did you hear what i just said?” he raised his brows. you slowly lifted your eyes from his shoes to his legs, then to his built and face. “well if you’re a nobody you might as well leave before coach arrives. you interrupted my recording-”

“i heard you jung jaehyun.” you tsked and realised you had the name list on your hand. “ah, as a matter of fact, i can be here because i am part of the team. my name’s on the list.” you grabbed a pen and ticked the empty box on the paper.

what are you saying, stupid?!

“uh-huh..” jaehyun trailed, putting down his camera.

“y-yeah!” you stuttered. “you heard me.”

the door shook by the loud knocks from the other side. on the frosted window, you could see four figures. orange and black jerseys, they must be the team members. “ah! the door’s locked! she’s definitely in here coach!” one said.

“i’ll toss you the keys!” he yelled. oh crap. you were caught in between. your heart patterned with the knocks.

“you look terrified after hearing coach, y/n.” the chair squeaked from the weight. “i’m guessing you’re that troublesome student he has a hard time dealing with recently?”

of course captain knows you. great reputation you have, y/n.

“so? what’s your point?” you stood up to see his amused grin.

“say hello to a term’s detention.” jaehyun waved as the door swung open, revealing ten, kun, jungwoo and.. the coach.

you sighed heavily and dropped the papers. the coach crossed his arms and you lowered your head a little. “you plan to escape again y/n? then i shouldn’t hear any excuses from you. you’ll join us for the twelve day retreat. period.” he picked the papers up and wrote something.

“sir i can’t be with a bunch of jocks for that long!” your whine had the captain blocking his ears. “i have debate finals to attend to.”

jaehyun flinched at the high pitched sound and rolled his eyes. what was your deal? it was rude of you to suddenly barge into athlete’s quarters but judging them for that was even more rude of you. he had to shut you up at some point.

“so much excuses.” he played with his nails and to you he looked more amused than ever. you rolled your eyes at his chuckle and know he would target you from now on. “dad, y/n told me she’s ‘part of the team’.” he played his video that recorded your voice, clearly saying what jaehyun heard.

coach jung looked rather surprised, but his smile definitely screamed happy. “oh? that’s all i needed to hear. welcome, uh- temporarily. i’ll inform mrs. park about the situation.”

nononono- “i did this.” you were at a loss for words. “i won’t be able to compete in the debate.”

“yeah pretty much you made the wrong decision.” jaehyun stood to tower over you. “i’d like to see you suffer our drills-”

four knocks cut jaehyun off. “oh no, she’ll only do those for two days.”

you swifted your head in confusion, seeing coach jung wrote down your schedule on the white board. you were packed and it’s a lot worse than the actual assessment planned in school. “and what about the rest of the ten days?!” you exasperated that your hairtie snapped at the right moment, and your hair fell in sightful way.

“ooh that was hot.” ten commented in soft whisper, causing kun and jungwoo nudge him on the each side.

“she’ll be our manager for the remaining days, keep track of our drills and score points, or other extra things i needed a hand with while taeyang’s in the hospital.”

jaehyun rested his palms on his waist, swirling his tongue inside with a provoking gaze at you. “see if you can keep up, manager.” he chuckled.

you checked the time, it was nearing 5 p.m. “you know what, give me a day to process all this sport thing. it’s close to evening and i have to get going-”

“it’s evening already?” jaehyun cut you off as he looked outside the window.

the sun glistening at the distance while the sky showed a pretty ombré of warm colours. his senses doubled again and his whole body ached. he had to make you leave. it was already enough that his friends knew about his situation. there’d only be more trouble if you knew too.

“uh duh? the clock’s right there.” you pointed.

“hm, anyway you have to leave now.”

“sheesh i was going to anyway.” you rolled your eyes, but felt jaehyun’s palms behind your back. “hey stop pushing!”

“you’re too slow!” his tone changed. different than the usual because panic was what you felt from his palms. “quickly!”

the rest of the boys could tell you were pissed. they couldn’t understand why jaehyun had to make a fuss out of it when all he had to do was to kindly ask you. using force would only cause misunderstandings, like what’s happening now. “hey what’s your deal?!” you flicked his arms. “do you like to push people around? just because i’ll be with the team for the next two weeks, that doesn’t mean you could treat me like this already!”

“tsk so noisy! you’re wasting time! just leave would you?!” jaehyun turned you around towards the door.

this time you wouldn’t budge. “no jung jaehyun i need an explanation with this stupid attitude of yours!” you wriggled off of his hold, pushing him back with pats several times more that he stepped backwards.

“i don’t owe you an explanation!”

“you definitely do?!”

“why can’t you listen to what i say?”

“why can’t you stop being pushy, pushy?”

“you’re the one pushing me! time’s ticking y/n!”

the continuous back and forth of bickers and the war of pushing each other was an idiotic sight. your wrist was in jaehyun’s palms as he gripped you tighter. “i don’t care captain jerk! it wouldn’t bother you or hurt you to just give me one reason- and he slammed the door at my face! argh!”

jaehyun smirked wide and proudly knowing that he ‘won’ argument. silencing you was better than letting you see his other form. the boys stared him once he turned around to face them. “what?” he questioned,

“definitely not the right way to treat a girl.” they all said simultaneously.

“you know how bad it makes me feel when you all said it at the same time?” jaehyun pressed the bridge of his nose.

he knew well enough that this wasn’t his usual self. he’s good friends with you despite being in different teams of the school. you both took literature as your electives. sometimes you’d let him copy your notes when he had matches or leave small appetisers and juice cartons when he was tired and vice versa.

but no matter how close you both were, he couldn’t afford to let you see his other self.

not just yet.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

waking up so early in the day to assist the team was way more annoying than birds chirping by your bedroom’s window. instead of hearing their tuneful tweets, you had to endure endless phone calls every minute. you couldn’t remember much from that day because you passed out. and the team didn’t look for you until yesterday.

coach jung waved to catch your attention, only to be greeted with your huge yawn and a disinterested face.

“ah there she is! c’mon now, i got the green light from mrs. park. she agreed that p.e is the only subject you’re likely to fail this semester, so she’s giving you a cool-off from the team and focus on here.”

“yep. heard you coach.” you tied up your hair, only listening to half of what he said. “where’s the captain?”

kun did few stretches & jumps, his expression mirrored the other two boys who were also doing the same. you had a feeling about this— their telepathic gaze and awkward silence. you took a basketball to pass it to ten. “is he still mad about me calling him a jerk? that was a few days ago and i didn’t expect him to be that sensitive.”

they laughed because they couldn’t deny his obvious trait. “he doesn’t show it but somehow you know he is.” ten passed the ball back to you. “but not this morning y/n. he’s late for.. another reason.”

you hopped to catch it yet you were a second late, and groaned as you had to run far to retrieve it. “uh-huh. nature calls in the morning, again?” you yelled.

“do you think she knows about jaehyun?” jungwoo asked the older ones. they eyed you rummaging in the bushes for the ball, later looking back at each other for answers, but no one knew how your mind worked. “it’s been five days and no word from her at all.”

“if she actually does, i guess she just doesn’t want to be involved? i think we can trust her for that.” kun drank from his bottle.

ten didn’t look convinced. “involved or not, we have to make sure she doesn’t tell anyone about jaehyun’s curse. keep an eye on her-”

“ah!” they heard your squeals and ruffles from the bushes. “guys look what i found!”

kun sighed when they saw you running back with a golden retriever puppy in your arms, taking back his words said earlier.

“uh-oh. that scream means she has no clue at all.” jungwoo brushed his hair up.

“this puppy is so cute! i wonder what it’s doing here? are you lost?” you hugged and sniffed into its fur and gosh it smelled like vanilla shampoo. there was a metal collar around its neck, the piece spelled “jj”. “aww it has a name!”

no matter how happy you looked from the boys, they couldn’t help but take a photo of you and ‘puppy’ jaehyun. they had to tell you before it was too late. the golden hour in the morning was shorter than sunset, so either they would tell you straight up, or let jaehyun transform back to human.

but guess what? they were too late. they shouldn’t have second-guessed.

what had happened was way beyond your comprehension. it was in an instant. all it felt in totality was that, you weren’t carrying a puppy anymore. you lost balance and the weight in your arms doubled or tripled, you couldn’t tell. but you knew you were falling backwards. was there to brace for impact? none.

you blinked several times from the orange sunrise blinding your vision from the window. slowly you got up to sit and soothe the pain. that hurt..

here’s the thing. remember you mentally told yourself you hoped you didn’t run into any naked boy in the basketball team’s showers? there you have it. you jinxed it. jaehyun’s figure was on top of yours and you knew he had no clothes on. oh goodness.

“hyung? you forgot your lunch box- oh.” sungchan barged in the scene and everyone could tell he sort of malfunctioned. he froze then facepalmed.

you took turns into looking at the embarrassed jaehyun and at the boys who whistled to avoid the numbers of questions you were going to ask.

kun quickly shielded your eyes where your doubts were showing in your face. and no matter how much thought hard, you just couldn’t believe it. with fear written all over you, you dusted your pants and hands reached kun’s arm to support your weight.

“oh so you shielded her eyes but not my body?!” jaehyun’s voice entered your ears and you swore there was a hint of puppy whimper.

“this is a dream.. right?..” you asked before you fainted.

sungchan managed to save you from the fall. “whoa! ah, i had a feeling something like this would happen.”

—

“was she always like that?” minnie took a peep of your classroom, her eyes showed confusion. “is she tired?”

lisa shrugged and in her innocence she pursed her lips. “i don’t know. she’s been sighing a lot for the past hour? i wanna ask her but it might be too personal.”

you could her them and they were wrong. it was nothing personal at all. you’ve been sighing because you didn’t know how it was possible but it just happened— right before your eyes. since then you hoped that science could explain but not even the smartest people could give you a conclusion. you’ve been called out from lessons that came in the day and not that you didn’t blame jaehyun.

because for one thing, he at least told you the truth and the answer to your question as to why he had to make you leave that day. you propped your chin on your palms from jaehyun’s warning: “tell anyone i swear i’ll make you run a hundred laps with no water breaks.”

but the other thing? he was naked. and that’s not something you could erase in your memories overnight.

you let out a small whine that led to minnie and lisa copying your position, obviously making fun of you. “seriously, not a good time.” you laid on the table and hid from them. “don’t ask me anything.”

minnie and lisa looked at each other as you were being unreasonable and already gotten them curious with your remark. they both grabbed each of your arm, tugging on your sleeves where they begged nonstop for you tell them what had happened. they knew it was about the basketball team.

since you started to train and be with them, you’ve never complained. because if you did, coach jung would add another exercise for you, in which you knew you couldn’t handle. broken bones and sore muscles awaited for you. so you chose not to utter a single sigh, but you were careless just now and there was no escaping from these best friends of yours.

“c’mon y/n! tell us the deets! you sighing could only mean one thing.. did someone confess to you?” minnie closed her eyes and a wide smile suddenly became shrieks of laughter when you facepalmed. “oh who in the basketball team confessed?” she singsonged.

it’s not really a confession, jaehyun being a golden puppy is a secret that was never meant to be revealed but i happened to see him transform-

“what if it’s not a guy? maybe two? or three? oh gosh this is like a reverse harem anime-” lisa began to hype an awful assumption but you covered her lips. and plus? her voice was loud and how embarrassing it would be when the rest of the class heard it.

you were already restless at their energy. “none you idiots. i was sighing because i didn’t know that people with dimples would be that attractive.” you tried to divert the topic.

“pfft you’re talking about jung jaehyun?” lisa raised her brows and grinned teasingly to get a reaction from you.

“no, i’m taking about coach jung.” you hit her arm.

“but jaehyun’s his carbon copy, so you’re basically saying he’s handsome too.” minnie quickly rebutted.

“i mean, coach’s the original face so he’s definitely more handsome-” you paused. shoot they nearly got you to a corner. “wait- why are we talking about this? i thought we’re talking about me.”

“ah you were paying attention to our conversation?” minnie’s eyes grew.

“you’re not telling us anything dimwit.” lisa hit you back.

couple of squeals echoed the corridor and your classroom door crowded with people. apparently jaehyun stood by the door frame and scanned the room looking for you. when he spotted you, his face bubbled up and literally glided his way to your seat. you could tell he was slightly fuming, but you didn’t know what reason. “y/f/n! come here for a second!” he grabbed your wrists and pulled you up from your chair.

you tried to catch up with his pace as he continued to pull you. “let me go!”

jaehyun did in fact let go of you, but he instead led you to hit your back against numerous lockers. the squeals didn’t stop there and how that you were the centre of attention amongst all of the students, you had endure this for a little while. he was staring into your soul, eyes piercing that could strain yours, you knew he was pissed about something.

he slammed his forearms at the space right above your head, then the screams of giddy began to grow louder. you managed to see your friends at the far end of the corridor. they were smiling and lisa mouthed ‘kabedon’, making you flustered than you already were. “what do you want?” you asked.

“i thought i made myself clear?” jaehyun smirked as he felt you quiver against his skin. he leaned lower that his whispers tickled your ear. “did you tell anyone? your friends?”

“i’m not gonna risk my health for some dumb secret.” you rolled your eyes and crossed arms.

“please it’s not like our training puts your life on jeopardy-” jaehyun butted back.

“it’s safe with me. if there’s anything you’re worried about, just look at your fanbase. you’re making them sad.” you sighed, walking away and through the girls who has been following jaehyun around.

jaehyun exhaled at a rather slow pace. he liked your reaction and was aware of their presence. and in order to shoo them away, he had to do what he did. he just hoped you’d notice that too. “see you after school!” he yelled.

you briefly stopped in your tracks at his greet, you continued walking and pulled your girls away from the scene. you didn’t pay any attention, but you knew they couldn’t contain their smiles appearing on their faces.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

the bags full of foldable cones fell to the floor. the rest of the team turned to your direction, who already made mistakes on the first day of camp. they knew that you were obviously flabbergasted with your encounter. it was funny that you managed to stride your way so quickly towards jungwoo— he was very much entertained with your expression. “i know right? that was me earlier.” he stroked the large pup.

“h-how did puppy grow so big? that’s an adult sized dog! you stuttered but hiding your love for golden retrievers just wasn’t possible. there were times you forgot that this was actually jaehyun. “it’s only been a week.”

“yeah i’d like to know the reason too.”

suddenly you heard jaehyun’s voice. it felt like he was close to your ears again, but he wasn’t anywhere near you.

remains of memories probably were still in you head. you wouldn’t say you were traumatised, just surprised. why the hell am i hearing his voice? you shook the thought off at first but then again-

oi y/n. beside you. i’m talking to you!

what?

you gasped and fell on your butt. the pup’s ears were on alert and you knew he was hearing you too. “you can hear me?” jaehyun’s dog form practically towered on your fallen self. you avoided his look although the pup was so cute. his paws poked your shoulders, whiskers twitching as he waited for your response. “don’t look away! you can hear me right??”

all the guys could see was jaehyun staring down at you. and while you did the same, your knitted brows only meant something was definitely going on. they wanted to know. “what’s wrong y/n?”

your lips shook in heavens knows it was fear. “you’re asking me what’s wrong? why can i hear jaehyun? can you hear jaehyun? oh my g- this is really really weird-”

“you can?” they scooted closer to you, very much intrigued with your gift.

“and you all can’t?” you pushed jaehyun away for his body was weighing you down. he whimpered and got up to sit in front of the boys too.

they shook their heads vigorously. “only sungchan and coach were able to hear him.” kun stated, typing on his cellphone to inform his family.

“y/n! let’s talk when i transform back!” jaehyun’s paws kept poking you again. you glared at him with a loud hiss. his ears were alert, he didn’t realise that he was clawing you already, and turned a few rounds before he was laying like a bagel-shaped position.

jaehyun thought it was pretty strange. never in his life were there any people who could actually converse with him telepathically. other than his family, you were the first and he was determined to find out why this impossibility was made possible. there was a spark of hope forming in his heart at this sudden revelation. the glow from the orange light then shone above your head, marking the end of sunrise.

you looked at jaehyun’s dog form, it was- correction, he was.. quiet, and was still staring at you as if you were his master. he laid on this front legs, snout on the ground. huh, he can actually be behaved. footsteps were closing in. at the distance, coach jung walked with lisa and minnie, who were in their cheerleading uniforms. right, you forgot that they were also included in the annual athletes camp.

for a moment you panicked because you knew jaehyun would transform back from being a dog. ten and rest knew more people shouldn’t know about jaehyun’s curse. they were glad you read the atmosphere too. seeing jaehyun’s jersey in his duffel bag, you grabbed it and wore it on the animal.

coach jung made eye contact to your direction. he diverted the girls’ attention, and led them away from the basketball court. they headed towards the storage to “retrieve” some equipment.

jaehyun grunted and growled, his fangs tried to bite your skin. however, goldens were known for having a soft jaw, so his bites weren’t that painful. when you finally managed to put the jersey on him, jungwoo couldn’t catch up. “why let him wear the jersey?” he questioned.

“so he wouldn’t transform back naked when lisa and minnie arrives.” you pointed out the obvious.

ten held his laugh in. you recognised this tone, and prepared what came after. “heh..” he trailed off. “is it because you want to keep jaehyun to yourself?”

you continuously threw random items at him as heat spread to your cheeks. “screw you!” you scoffed. “get jaehyun to wear his pants. i have to pack a lot of things before we head onto the bus.”

“yes ma’am.” ten nudged your shoulder. “i’m kidding y/n. don’t take my jokes seriously.“

“it’s fine.” you picked up the fallen cones. “you’re worried about people knowing his curse. so i’m just doing my part to keep it secret.”

he pursed his lips and his heart softened at your willingness to help. “hm, i guess i can trust you after all.” ten opened the bag to help you pack. “oh! and also, jae in his dog form already is naked anyway.”

“you think i’m not aware of that?” you rolled your eyes.

your friends already have settled themselves inside the coach bus and you were seated in between them. now they would get to witness you with the team and hoped for a budding romance with any of the boys. you lowered your face under a cap to pretend you were sleeping, but in reality you just wanted to avoid lisa and minnie’s bombardment.

few rows at front, jaehyun stared by the window, deep in thought. rarely spoke a word since they started their journey to the retreat campsite. why was his hunch telling him to get closer to you? why could you hear him and he could hear you? he slightly turned to his side between the gaps of two seats. seeing you giggling with your friends had him rethinking if what happened earlier was just his imagination. he wondered why you purposely ignore him after he transformed back.

he slid lower from his seat. “i’d understand if this was a soulmate thing, but it’s not.” jaehyun sighed heavily where he broke the silence and supposedly ending the conversation earlier. now that he wanted to talk about it, his friends were still up for the news.

“oh yeah. those things are going on. except it only happens to some people.” kun popped a chip in his mouth.

“i just don’t get it. dad told me that never occurred to anyone with this curse.” he stole the bag of chips from the younger one to relieve his emotions.

jungwoo’s pursed his lip in wonder. “maybe the curse in another light has its own blessing? maybe you guys are soulmates?”

“nah, impossible.” they all said simultaneously.

“it’s a possibility-” jungwoo’s face soured where wrinkles appeared on the sides as the boys flared at him.

jaehyun shrugged not knowing what to say. his friends have bizarre ideas throughout the journey, and he wouldn’t say they were wrong either. all he could do was to wait until the next transformation. maybe you would say your thoughts about it through telepathy.

he would know if time passed quickly when he didn’t pay attention to anyone. one of them was the number of times you waved in front of his face to snap him back to earth. “jaehyun?” you laid on the ground and called out, panting to catch air after your successful reps. you tugged the ends of his track pants.

“hm?” he hummed, looking for your voice until he got annoyed with your repetitive pulls of his clothes. “ah stop that. i have to report your record to coach. come with?”

“do i really have to?” you whined. “i could barely stand, my legs are wobbly and i’m hungry.”

jaehyun rolled his eyes and took your hand, pulling you up on your toes. “then let’s grab something to eat on our way to the camp, hm?”

you gulped at the sudden gesture, even more so when you noticed your heart beating faster around him. somehow your sixth sense told you your friends were somewhere in the woods looking at you, and you were right.

minnie had her binoculars by her eyes as you and jaehyun headed in another direction back to everyone else were. she held in her excitement with a huge inhale. out of curiosity lisa stole the binoculars from her. a growing smile showed her pearly whites when within its frame, jaehyun was pushing you from the back before he took your hand again because of how slow you were. “min, consider your reverse harem dream for y/n over. we found her leading man.”

—

“few more reps y/n! do it properly this time?”

jaehyun rubbed his face, raising his tone in question of your athleticism. it was the second and final day of your assessments. your core should be able to get used to the pressure if you’ve done the reps for two straight days. so as of today you salute to all people who persevered and with great stamina. you just.. weren’t that person.

you’ve grown conscious now that jaehyun’s friends were watching a few metres away. you’d prefer kun counting and timing your exercises over him. in contrast, kun’s a little more understanding than the hotheaded jaehyun. “if i say i can’t, shouldn’t you consider stopping here? it’s the last one anyway so put random number on the blank or something.” you struggled to lift yourself up from the ground, arms in an ‘x’ position over your torso.

“is that so? then you wouldn’t mind if i write ‘0’ for the final count?” jaehyun checked the stopwatch while his knees put enough weight on your feet. “at least do five more?” he sat on the soles of his shoes.

“ugh! fine!” you tsked and did sit ups slowly, eyes shut closed.

jaehyun smirked with how determined you were in finishing. and he has gotta credit you for having the last brain cell to endure his overly playful bossiness and plans up his sleeves.

but even his friends has something up in their sleeves. they whispered to each other and nodded heads as excitement already boosted their anticipation. ten cupped his mouth then giving the raised brows as signal to start. “y/n! jaehyun’s recording your expression with his phone!” ten yelled.

jungwoo’s mouth widened and followed along. “jae! there’s a bee behind you!”

“what?!”

“where?!”

the moment you froze and opened your eyes after bringing yourself up, and jaehyun leaned forwards to avoid the insect, was way too hilarious for the guys to see. both of your faces were centimetres away from each other and jaehyun’s ears already tinted pink. jaehyun already found it awkward to help you for three days, but he never prepared himself for something like this.

as his friends bursting out laughing, that was when he realised it was all their plan. you were still too close to him, so he cleared his throat to cut the gap between. “is that a pimple on your nose?” he asked, only for his nose to be smacked and soon be numbed. “agh!”

what the- “jerk! don’t point it out!” you kicked him and rolled sideways to stand up, angrily leaving the area with the sheet in your hands. “i’ll give this to the coach!”

jaehyun held his nose and walked back to the guys, who were still laughing their butts off and rolling on the ground. “you can stop now.”

“oh that was funny! it was like a typical ‘ba-dump’ scene in a rom-com!” jungwoo wiped a tear.

“should’ve recorded it!” kun threw his head back while his hand rested on his heaving chest.

“no worries! at least it’s recorded in jaehyun’s mind!” ten cheered with closed fists.

“it’s embarrassing!” jaehyun threw his towel.

bonfires were mandatory at the start and end of the camp. however, because of your assessment, coach jung had negotiate with the other members of the basketball to get to the campsite a day before the other teams actually arrived at night. so for the kun and the rest, they had a little more free time than jaehyun. and him being the coach’s son.. he didn’t have the same benefits. he was stuck with you because he had to keep an eye on you while

he thought being with you would only be for the first two days, then he would go for his training. and yet here you were, sitting beside him in front of the bonfire while everyone else arrived and other danced to their hearts’ content. maybe he could ask you about the telepathy thing? but figuring you were cranky from earlier, he held back.

“can i ask more about your curse? if it’s okay with you to tell me.”

jaehyun nodded, you had the right to. not because you accidentally picked a random puppy then saw him naked few moments later. you could hear him in your head, and that was enough reason to tell you rather than a general information about it. “yeah. i’m okay with it.”

“you said your ancestors had the curse too. was there any specific reason why they had to suffer that your family and you had to be the..” you paused for a while. jaehyun was waiting for your next words, you guessed it was alright to say it. “..collateral damage?”

“right. i didn’t tell you more of it yeah?” he sniffed from the chilly night. “i don’t know how far back in the years it happened. but they said the head of the family casted out his wife because he assumed he cheated on him. he was the only person the wife ever treasured, so when she was accused, she took his pet and killed it. the head found out, he cursed her that her descendants turn into animals. and we’re the descendants of that woman.”

“that’s awful.” you cleared your throat. “i’m sorry you have to suffer the curse.”

“you don’t have to be. i’m just trying to cope with it.” jaehyun chuckled. “how awesome would it be if there was a way to reverse everything.”

“gotta find the blessing then.” you laid on the grass.

jaehyun’s face wrinkled in disgust. “okay you sound like jungwoo.”

“at least appreciate me for trying to lift your spirits up.”

he hummed in agreement.

“or you can just.. let the blessing find you.” you singsonged as you realised how corny you actually sounded.

“fine, and if it’s you?” he had to give a hint of the telepathic communication.

“because i can hear you when you’re in your retriever form? i’m not exactly a blessing but yeah i’d like to know how telapthy works too.” you stared back at the bonfire, flames flickering as the smoke flew in the air. as of tonight, you wanted to be that person who’d be the igniter of that hope he held on. “if i could help out a little, i’ll be happy to help.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

lisa and minnie stared at you, both had their palms under their chins as if their silence asked you to talk. “i can’t eat when the two of you are like this. it’s very disturbing.” you gripped on your fork, hesitant to eat as you took glances between the food and them.

you knew what they were going to ask. not like you didn’t want to share, it was just that you knew them well enough that they wouldn’t stop once they start. the food was getting cold every second passed, due to the wind outdoors, it was more vulnerable. lisa stretched her elbows while holding her poms to be noticed. five days have gone by and even though you were rarely with them in all those days, she had to ensure you’d tell them about the basketball team and your leading man— although you had no idea about that.

“any updates?” she raised her brows.

“nothing is happening with me or anyone in the team, if that’s what you both wanted to know.” you sighed. “i’m just simply taking down minutes.” you said sternly, kind of regret that you answered her and swirled the noodles with your fork.

“are you sure? twelve members should be enough for that.” minnie tied her shoelaces and bent down with a pressed smile when you pout. she softened her gaze when you were telling the truth and that their teasing should stop there. but they knew that the team should know something about you.

“they’re divided into teams. some did the score board while others practiced on their own. of course i have to be the one- why are you pulling my arm?” you asked and eyed them as if they stained your clothes.

lisa twirled on her toes and posed with her arm rested on her waist. “you’re being quiet again.”

“i’m not?” you said monotonously while you munched on your food.

she sighed and grabbed your chin. “you don’t look at me when you’re lying.” she hummed, yet you didn’t respond. “what’s up y/n? something’s on your mind i can tell.”

in fact a lot of things were.

so far in the week, you’ve helped jaehyun theorise solutions to end his curse after practice. not only for him, but his family and extended family too. some have passed not having to enjoy their lives, while others chose to hide themselves from the world. and a small percentage of the family tree actually tried to live through it— that was jaehyun’s family. coach jung was as determined as jaehyun to put a stop into this curse.

not only that thought alone. to you, jaehyun has been rather noticeable. even if you weren’t thinking of him, he’d appear out of nowhere— during your breaks, on your night-walks alone or even heading to the toilet. you’d always bump into him and his presence seemed to be marked in your consciousness now. not that you liked him around, it was just captain was more friendly than others made him out to be. “really, it’s nothing.”

to say that jaehyun didn’t feel same was definitely an understatement. since the start of the freshman year, he knew you were the loud girl with the two hot cheerleaders, but always wondered why you’ve never joined the team. sometimes he would catch you sitting at one corner, dancing along with the routines aside from cheering your friends on as he was heading to practice.

now he took a peek of you eating alone while lisa and minnie showed off their new uniforms. he was about to call you out to help the team, but the girls pulling you almost immediately once you were done had him holding back. “chaeyeon will be arriving soon, and remember the dare was to wear our uniform.” minnie giggled while you begged her to stop, to the point you nearly cried thinking about it. “you agreed to it-”

“i didn’t agree to it! you agreed for me! i had no say!”

jaehyun’s eyes widened at the thought of you in uniform. your yells were getting louder and pitchier. should he be your knight and shining armour? probably not. he’d like to have something to tease you about. for a moment there was silence, he hid behind the corner of a storage building. you were still telling your friends to stop doing what they were doing. but it was two against one, and he knew you were at the losing end.

the door slammed open, your huffs and puffs getting heavier and closer to where he was. jaehyun’s heart beat so fast that when he finally decided to call out your name, you bumped into him and he caught you to prevent you from falling. “i was about to fetch you, manager.”

you felt heat spread your entire cheek because of the attire you were forced to wear. “well you did and i’m here. can we go? my friends are giving me the stares.”

“fiesty, but i think you look alright.” he chuckled when you grumpily walked ahead. jaehyun followed you from behind with his hands in pockets.

what does he mean by that?

lisa and minnie pursed their lips, soon bursting into giddy squeals and continuously fanning each other from what they saw yet the second time. “he was really checking her out.” minnie laughed.

“his ears said it all.” lisa checked her watch on her wrist. “basketball team’s practice match is starting soon. wanna sit in?”

“girl you bet i will.”

even hours later you blew your baby fringes blocking your view. as you flipped the score board and whistles for a time-out echoed the outdoor gym, your friends could tell how uncomfortable you were but they’d do nothing to get more reactions from you. they liked that you entertained them. and what choice did you have? chaeyeon was already taking pictures of you in the uniform you despised wearing.

coach jung briefed the team information on their opponents this season. you wrote down important points, feeling the chill of the early sunset. you couldn’t wait to change into actual soft and comfy clothes, mosquitoes weren’t your friends.

jaehyun listened to his dad repeating the same points- mostly because he got the advice first before others. he heard you hiss several times, you were supposed to jot the notes down. then it got frequent. he tiptoed to see you opposite from him, shooing the bugs away. of course you were still wearing the cheer uniform. he didn’t want to draw attention, so he stealthy walked behind the guys and straight to you.

“trouble?” he asked.

“just a little chilly, that’s all. meeting’s nearly done yeah?” you hugged the file to your chest.

“say so if you’re cold.” he took his jacket off and draped it on your shoulder.

“and who am i to tell to?” your voice challenging him.

he hummed so low that it almost lulled you to sleep. “me. i’m not the captain for nothing.”

you were both busy talking that you and him weren’t aware of time nor anyone else close by. mind you that minnie and lisa were watching the whole thing. you managed to smile even if you were crossed with how you were dressed. like you enjoyed his company.

they couldn’t hear your conversation, nor were your lips were moving. but the body language they saw already proved and confirmed their assumption. they had to tell you. they went straight to you once the meeting was over, and pulled you aside whilst jaehyun was talking about his childhood.

jaehyun raised a brow and chuckled as you were being pulled away. his friends immediately surround him, bombarding him with questions that he wasn’t paying attention to the meeting. “dude, your time’s near.” ten smacked him on the back.

“don’t make it sound like i’m dying, ten.” jaehyun rolled his eyes, but whenever he did, they were always fixated on you. he couldn’t shake off the feeling you were that something to solve the curse.

“be alert than be busted.” ten shrugged, head tilting to where you were. your friends were busy recording you and giggles filled the air. “how are you so calm now jae?”

jaehyun pursed his lips. “with her, there’s no way i’m calm at all.”

“okay now i can’t tell if that answer was from human jaehyun or doggy jaehyun.” jungwoo pointed out.

his friends all looked at each other, jaehyun wasn’t his usual self. it was as if he was dazed but was able to converse with them properly. slowly his naturally peach-like fuzzy cheeks grew more fur, his tail started to reveal. although they were quick enough to hide jaehyun, they didn’t realise the commotion that came afterwards and drew everyone’s attention.

you swifted your head at the boys’ yells and gathering circle, faintly hearing jaehyun’s refusal into whatever they got him into. “stop it! hey!” he hissed.

jungwoo, a little too excited of the drama going on, spotted you looking at them and gestured you to come over too. your friends built up a curiosity and went ahead of you. as for you, you were mentally tired to think of anything.

not until you heard kun’s wavering yet convincing words. “uh.. y’all wanna see magic?” he chuckled nervously as he knew what jaehyun would do to him after all this was over. “quickly because it’ll happen soon!”

you held in a laugh at jaehyun when he was forced to sit down on the grass to hide his tail. “i’ve been trying to master this for months and i thank jaehyun as my participant. who loves animals? give me a name.”

most hands were up and the answers were said at the same time. some didn’t believe him, but others have seen kun’s little magic tricks over the days. so something of a huge scale like this already got them curious than ever.

“ah i hear great ones but i’ll choose dog. now i’ll turn jaehyun into a golden retriever.” he draped a blanket above his friend.

ten and jungwoo bit their lips to contain themselves, holding onto each other as they filmed this once-in-a-lifetime event. the circle enlarged in scale with the poor lad at the center and the golden hour shone over everyone.

“in 3.. 2.. 1..” kun only snapped his fingers then the blanket shrunk in size. your schoolmates were convinced that something was actually happening.

and it was amusing because you were able to hear jaehyun swearing so much in your head.

you let out a giggle. jaehyun was soon surrounded by everyone who wanted to pet him. even your friends went over to the animal. “at least pretend to be happy for them. goldens are known for being clowns.” you told him.

*sighs* “tell kun i’m gonna kill him.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

the silence was all jaehyun ever wanted after the shock he had to go through from kun’s improv few days ago. he’d be thankful for a moment because he actually forgot the gideon hour at the time, but he would soon later be clouded with annoyance that he should’ve been informed beforehand of his actions— not only kun, the others included. they’ve got a part in this too.

his friends seated side by side with bruises and bandages on their faces, jaehyun still giving them the silent treatment. he was cranky about that, yet even more so when there was no progress into finding a solution to his curse. “jae. we said we’re sorry.” jungwoo apologised and felt that he was the only one giving effort to talk to jaehyun compared to kun and ten.

“and i said it’s fine. so stop saying that before i actually don’t forgive you.” jaehyun pressed the bridge of his nose.

after walking up the slope to the cabin with heaves of breaths, you managed to hear their conversation before opening the door. “i refilled your bottles.” you threw them on a duffle bag, not caring whether either of them rolled away. “i have to apologise too, jaehyun. i haven’t come up with anything to help you.” true enough because you couldn’t think straight or have the energy to use your remaining brain cells for that matter.

“ugh it’s fine. i’m not in a rush or anything. not even assigning you to solve within the duration of the camp.” jaehyun squeezed the bottle as thirst continued to drive him crazy, the heat as well, so he removed his tshirt. you averted your gaze and looked elsewhere. maybe you were still a little bothered seeing him half naked after the incident?

ten sought the opportunity and decided to fan the flame even more. “why look away when you’ve seen him already?”

he managed to dodge your hits and you turned around embarrassed. jaehyun could see you fanning yourself from the heat. “it was an accident!” you cleared your throat.

“gah i’m tired. we’re done with practice. we get a day off tomorrow, so can’t we watch a movie? who has disney plus?” jungwoo wiped himself with a towel.

“i do.” kun brought out his ipad. “what do you wanna watch?”

“i haven’t watched that one.”

“beauty and the beast?”

“o-kay, i’ll be going now.” you yawned as you began to feel the exhaustion take over your body. “see you tomorrow.”

the door closed and suddenly you remembered a funny memory last halloween when taeil dressed himself as belle. he blended in with the other ladies that you didn’t realise it was him. either it was the wig’s work or just taeil in general. you found it funny when a bunch of young teens become children again as disney’s mentioned.

your phone vibrated with your friends asking to help them out with their practice. “i came to the camp for the basketball team, not you two.” you left a voice mail. all you wanted was to rest up today. not until a certain realisation hit you hard.

because what if?

it hasn’t been that long since you left the cabin when the boys jolted from their positions. their peace and concentration on the movie already ruined by you. “oh my goodness i think i got it?” you slammed the door.

jaehyun sat up and set his phone aside. “you’re saying it a question rather than a discovery. not convinced.”

“will you be when i tell you if it’s based on that movie?” you pointed at the tablet.

he trailed his eyes to the screen then back at you, a more confused expression on his face. “you expect me to find someone to love me so my curse will be lifted?”

“pfft nah kidding, you don’t seem that loveable anyway.” you stole a lollipop from ten. “okay bye for reals.”

as the door closed, ten unwrapped another lollipop. “bet you he’s thinking of his potential ‘belle’.” ten nudged the boys.

“shut up. i’m not going to base my life on a fictional movie.”

“but it could be y/n. i mean she can hear you.” jungwoo paused the film.

“it’s not going to be her and it doesn’t prove anything.”

jaehyun thought a lot for two things— you keeping his hopes up, the other was you setting his heart in a frenzy and he always hated that feeling. he groaned and dragged himself to bed to place a towel over his face. sure he’ll hold on to that idea you came up with for now. however it didn’t prove on telepathy.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

your heart missed a beat when jaehyun waited for you in front of the cabin you stayed at. he thought you bumping into his torso wasn’t a good way to greet in the morning, whereas you feeling some fur on his tshirt as greeting was any different. jaehyun handed you a file and a little note from coach.

while you read it, you could sense jaehyun was staring, like he had something to say. he retracted his lips when your friends appeared behind you with grins annoyingly appearing on their faces. “make it quick captain. we have things to discuss with y/n.”

“yeah sure. i just dropped by to pass this to you. coach said to make copies. i’ll come back after you’re done with breakfast.” he cleared his throat and announced his leave.

“hm. fishy. he could’ve just left it here outside but he seems like he waited for you.” lisa drank from her cup as you all sat and ate breakfast together.

“right? it’s been days he acted that way!” minnie walked back to the table. “he’s indeed a gentleman, but there are times he’s very hard to approach.”

you unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite. “anyway, what is it you guys wanna talk about?”

“lisa will go first. she couldn’t wait.” minnie giggled.

lisa laid out series of pictures of nature she recently took and were indeed beautiful. “oh my goodness they look amazing!” you sat up. “as expected from someone in the photography club. i bet if you submit these to johnny he’ll regret putting you as backup-”

“really?! i took advantage of the retreat and i made sure they were pretty!” lisa interrupted you and placed more pictures down. “these are my favourite! i’m thinking of sending these to johnny instead!”

however your face turned sullen at the next pictures. they were blurry and almost gone, but it was definitely jaehyun at the background, each one showed he was transforming from human to dog. you paused and your heart did the same.

the silence got longer, you knew you had to speak up, but no words came out. “what’s wrong y/n?”

“you can’t submit these to johnny.” you brushed the first batch of pictures aside and bind latest pictures together.

“why not? you supported the rest of them! how could these be not good enough?” lisa’s voice changed in an instant, like you’ve taken away her pride. she sat back with folded arms, her behaviour scared you a little.

minnie slightly wiggled your hand. “hey, are you hearing to yourself y/n?”

“sorry, i know i sound stupid-”

“you are!” lisa huffed where her cheeks blew up. it was cute though.

“but you have to hear me out.” one thing was for sure, your stress levels shot up high if word gets to jaehyun. you had to prepare for the consequences.

“okay, so why can’t i submit them?” lisa sighed.

you held her hand. “it would be alright to, only if these are not in the background.” you said, pointing out a figure at the background of the subject. it all became clear as day to them when they looked closely. “did jaehyun just.. transformed?”

you were surprised with how quick they were able to catch on. as much as you wanted to protect jaehyun’s family curse, things would’ve turn for worst if someone else had noticed it. i’m sorry jaehyun, this is for your own good.

“we believed kun’s ability of illusion and his magic tricks. ten sent us a video of it and it didn’t really occurred to us that the golden was actually jaehyun.” minnie pursed her lips. “if you think about it, he does look like a golden.”

“how is this possible?” lisa asked with a growing smile, but refrained since transforming twice everyday was nothing good anyway.

“i found about his family curse accidentally. he turns into a dog when it’s golden hour, like sunrise and sunset.” you propped on your elbows.

“it’s a curse? poor lad.” minnie gasped.

a rather sad nod caught them off guard. “the coach signed me up to join this retreat. it’s not only for my missed p.e assessments but it was to keep his curse a secret. a-and now that you know, i’ll be damned if word gets to him. so you have to promise me you both don’t say or do anything..“ you sounded as if you begged. that was how much your the friendship you have with jaehyun meant to you.

“and yeah, that’s my answer. the magic trick was just a cover up to hide jaehyun’s dog form.” they listened and were surprised to hear you like this.

your fidgety hands and nervous breathing was too obvious. if jaehyun was just a friend, you wouldn’t act as if he was your- “oh no.” you slumped down on your arms. “why did i..” you mumbled as your feelings for him became clearer to you.

“oh my gosh. you like him! you like jaehyun!” lisa covered her mouth and changed the lingering negative atmosphere.

ba-dump. i..

“then that means your love for golden retrievers doubled!” minnie hugged you.

“no! it’s b-because you’re putting m-me in the spotlight-” you stuttered when they leaned towards you. “i’m gonna go.”

jaehyun flinched even though he was at a distance. your friends were yelling quite excitingly. you were being chased by them and although it was inaudible. he answered his phone as it was ringing for a while. “what, ten?”

“don’t ‘what’ me!” jaehyun tilted his head from his friend’s volume. “jae where are you?”

“i’m at y/n’s cabin and on my way bac-”

“nevermind that. i can see you.”

ten rushed towards him and looked at the cabin. “where’s lisa?” he squinted his eyes.

“just her and minnie chasing y/n out. i don’t know how but they left the door open. what are you doing here anyway?”

he mimicked a photographer’s gesture and pointed at the cabin. “lisa told me her pictures have developed and i’m here to get them.”

jaehyun flicked his forehead. “and you could’ve asked me instead.”

“they’re confidential and i’m shy if anyone sees it.” ten walked to the cabin.

“gross. just get them and head back quickly.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

you lost track of the days that have passed and there was an unsettling feeling that stayed in your chest. had it been two or three? you couldn’t remember. the basketball team’s practice matches and drills were normal. but there was a difference in air lingering around jaehyun. he still talked to you, kept the same gentle smile and was caring as usual. except whenever he did those, it seemed like he was distancing himself from you, creating an imaginary wall just to let you know your limits and boundaries.

you’d like to think it was because of the pressure coach has been giving him since the play-offs were close to date. but, it wasn’t all jaehyun who behaved that way. ten also distanced himself, his gaze pierced against your skull and thinking about it only caused you to have migraines. you were more scared of ten.

coach jung have asked you to help the cheerleading team, saying you’ve helped them enough. the amount of appreciation he had for you was too much, you couldn’t ask him about how jaehyun recently. yet this was all too sudden that your gut feeling told you otherwise. you planned to talk to jaehyun after the day ends. because in all honesty, something definitely happened.

and the boys left you out of it.

approaching jaehyun was harder than you thought. now you’ve realised it, he was always the one who took the initiative and you on the receiving end took the benefits of his kindness. it was supposed to be the other way around, so why were you taking advantage of this?

if having feelings for him was the reason for that, then you’re really stupid y/n. you laid on the grass in defeat from your thoughts and closed your eyes. you decided to have some peace and nature was your best friend in time like these. chirping birds and crashing riverbanks-

“jaehyun where are you?!”

ah crap. you twitched hard enough that swarms of goosebumps appeared on the majority of your skin. on your stomach, you hid behind the bushes to see jungwoo and the others struggling to find him. even at the mention of his name you were already feeling shy and flustered.

“is he skipping practice again?”

“ah whatever let’s just leave him.”

“i understand why he’s like that.”

“even i would feel hurt if i were him.”

a heavy and deep audible breath from their sudden entry was difficult to hide your response. you tried to leave as quiet as possible. not wanting to get caught, you had to move stealthily with few glides backwards on your knees, eyes glued to the boys’ actions if they looked elsewhere. when you felt something blocking the soles of your shoes, somehow you knew what it was.

“you’re blocking my way.” jaehyun’s irritated tone made your chest ache— in the most painful impact you never expected from him.

quickly you stood up and made sure you stayed out of sight from the boys. jaehyun scratched his temple at your awkward behaviour. he was already in front of you, why were you hesitating to ask him questions he left unanswered? jaehyun pulled a long face when you still remained silent. “if you’re not gonna speak when you clearly have something to say, do i really have to say it for you?”

what the hell is his problem? what’s with his tone? “yeah as a matter of fact i do. the thing is, i don’t understand why you’re being like this. you ignore me but still talk to me when i don’t help with the team anymore, and for some reason you’re mad at me?” you grimaced while leaning on a tree trunk.

there was cynism in jaehyun’s nods and the swirls of his tongue evident on his cheeks. you hated his attitude and all you wanted was an explanation. “whatever this is, i’ve got no reason for you to doubt me, jaehyun.”

“ah, really? ‘cause you just gave me one.” he fished out something from his pockets and as you watched, the item he was holding was too familiar and they were obviously not his. he flicked the sheets and that was when you confirmed they were the new pictures lisa developed.

why were they with him? at the pit of your stomach, a whirlwind of emotions and stressing pressure began, and you didn’t like the feeling at all. “what-”

he threw the pictures on the floor. “other than my family and friends you’re the only one who knows about my curse! and at some point you go against my back telling them to picture me when i’m left clueless?!”

right now you were really afraid jaehyun’s mood would attract attention.

you closed your eyes as he raised his voice. “look i have no idea how you got those but i promise you i had nothing to do with the picture-” you insisted and could feel your blood pressure rising.

“how- how could you betray me like this?!”

your heart fell and instead of feeling bad about him knowing, you felt your head ache with so much anger building up inside you. because jaehyun didn’t bother to listen or let you explain yourself.

“i found you in the background before lisa actually showed those to johnny! it would spread if she did! where’s the betrayal in that?!”

he stepped closer to you, your entire was itching to run away. “i don’t care! you still told your friends! you could’ve said another excuse like kun’s practicing his magic trick or something! you promised me my secret’s safe with you!”

that’s messed up. i did tell lisa and minnie but not because it was to mock him!

“kun was no where to be seen in the picture! what else can i do? lie to them? i know my friends more than you do and they won’t tell anyone!” you raised your voice as well.

jaehyun scoffed, rolling his eyes. “i don’t trust them!”

“well, i do! and you should trust me!” your tone wavering at all emotions hitting you at once. especially coming from him— the guy you developed feelings for.

“the moment you told them you broke my trust already! what else did you tell them, hm? my dad and brother having the curse too?” he brushed his hair in anger when your silence meant yes. “ugh is this really happening?! you told them everything!”

“okay that’s enough-” your vision blurring from the tears wanting to fall.

“i’m asking what else did you tell them?! dammit y/n what could be so important to you than my secret?!”

“well- i-”

“i what?!”

other than the secret, you knew what went after the reveal. then you realised the weight of your words, you couldn’t tell him that you actually like him. you wanted to be selfish this once. “i can’t.. tell you.”

jaehyun started to harbour more resentment towards your reasoning. he found it ridiculous of you to even continue with this conversation. ten already warned him that the secret wasn’t safe with you in the first place. the glimpse of hope faded when he thought you’d be the key, even if you were, trust was still important to him. it was the very thing his mother lacked and you doing so reminded him of it.

his expression darkened and you were afraid of him— excluding of how cruel he was with you on the exercise reps. you were afraid you just broken a promise and put your friendship on a rocky end.

“so that’s it? i’m begging you with my life on the line and you just gave me the most bullcrap answer!”

“you’re being unreasonable!” you yelled.

“shut up! you found about my curse so you should be the one compromising!”

“y/n!” lisa came running with a panicked face.

tsk, wrong timing. “not now.” you mouthed.

“have you seen my pictures?! i told ten to get them the other day but he got the wrong envelope! it’s the one with jae-” she bent down to catch her breath and was taken aback with jaehyun’s presence. “..hyun.”

the boys followed lisa and once they found their friend, you could tell ten’s stares that felt like daggers. he pulled jaehyun away but eyes still locked on you. “what happened?” lisa asked as you mirrored ten’s expression, but your friends could see the hurt in your eyes.

“he has the pictures. i think ten saw them and gave them to him. jaehyun’s mad, he thinks i betrayed him for telling you-”

“no that’s not it!” lisa held your hand and glared at the boys, especially ten, since he was her childhood friend. “you had every right to tell us because the pictures are my works-”

“shouldn’t have said anything further y/n! you should’ve gotten the pictures and told us instead of them! you promised, remember?” ten finally spoke up.

you rolled your eyes. “and what?! you’re like saying i should risk my friendship for his stupid secret!”

his friends turned heads to jaehyun to see his tight-knit brows and softening demeanour. jaehyun frowned and hurt was evident in his face. he was hurt by you, someone he developed feelings for in a short amount of time. “i believed it when you said you’ll help me. or were.. were all those just words to you?”

ah.. that came out wrong.

you bit your lips to say something, but they left so soon after, making your chest squeeze as if your lungs let out the last bits of oxygen from your body.

shortly over an hour, jungwoo watched his friend pace back and forth, nibbling on his nails when the tension grew in their cabin. “aren’t you too hard on her? you didn’t let y/n explain further-”

“i can’t believe her!” jaehyun crumpled the picture after looking at it. “how could she do this to me?!”

“honestly i just don’t think she’s that type of person to go behind someone’s back for her own entertainment.” kun spoke up and tilted his head, avoiding the cup that smashed on his side of his cheek. “perhaps you’re mistaken.”

jaehyun wasn’t in the right headspace whenever his past trauma was reminded or brought up, so no matter how much reason was given, he wouldn’t listen. “do i have to repeat it? she already had her fun when she told her friends to picture me!”

“your explanations are always so conclusive.” kun sighed.

“and your heart’s too soft as usual, kun! so back off!” jaehyun grabbed the older one’s shoulder and shoved him against the wall.

he released him soon after realising that he didn’t once listen to you, but he was too stubborn to take any more excuses. there was one thing he thought you were wrong— weren’t you risking your friendship with him by exposing his secret he kept so dearly? maybe distancing himself more than he did would clear his mind off from the mess.

—

when all sports teams lined up with their designated coach buses the days after, jaehyun slightly put his chin up to search for you in the crowd— in a subtle manner, since he still stood in his decision into having his space from you yet didn’t want it to be obvious to others that he cared for you still.

you knew he was staring from afar. it was a stupid misunderstanding, both of you were in the wrong, but he made you feel as if you carried the blame for this.

sure that was a given, that he would react worse than expected. you were going to take the pictures from lisa anyway, and the guys wouldn’t know that your friends knew. you didn’t expect you’d burst out of anger or that ten took them before you did and made the assumption. it still drove you mad, ten probably convinced jaehyun of your doing since he didn’t trust you at first.

that aside, you decided to ride the coach bus with the cheerleading team. “when we reach school, you can forget about the basketball team and camp. how dare they hurt you?” minnie hugged you as you stared out the window.

“if i had to weigh it, it’s not me who’s hurting. jaehyun is.” you sighed and pat her back. “how do i act if i bump to any of them? i’ll probably do something stupid again. at all cost, i’mma just- *sigh*”

“she’s talking about jaehyun right?”

“yeah she’s still not straightforward about him.”

“we know she likes him. she doesn’t have to hide it.”

“i can hear you both.” you lowered your hat to avoid their gaze.

jaehyun sat beside his father at the front for a change, playing with the blinds to cover sunlight. coach jung knew his silence more than anyone, even if jaehyun didn’t plan on telling him. “i’ve done what you told me to do. you didn’t want to see y/n after the fight. so? did it to any change?”

“no. i kept my distance and i’ll see if she’ll admit her mistake.” jaehyun adjusted the fan above him.

“jae, if only you saw her reaction when i told her to not come see the team. i know you’re smarter than this. you know it’s not all her fault.”

he clenched his palms hard. crescent moons soon showed themselves on the flesh. “where exactly in this is my fault, dad? have i not been patient to wait for curse to be broken? who said that y/n might have a contribution in this? it’s you, dad. i’m not holding any grudge against y/n. i’m just disappointed at her because she’s nothing i ever imagined her to be. goodness’ sake i even like her.” he mumbled at the last sentence, missing the point that his dad could hear it.

coach jung let out a short laugh at the remark. “not sure if you noticed, you haven’t seen y/n working hard at researching about our curse while you boys practiced. she’s always brainstorming at the possibilities, science or not, she’s always looking for ways. don’t let anger cloud you.” his father paused and had a pressed smile. “..don’t end up having small fights like me and your mother. you wouldn’t want it to be bigger than it already is.”

“yeah.. i know.”

you woke up with a thud and saw a rather prominent bump on your right temple through the reflection of the window. arriving at the campus grounds was quicker than you thought, despite being almost a half day journey. you overheard that the basketball team would stay there a little longer and you had to leave immediately because once everyone has gone home, you’d see him. you didn’t want to risk yourself from being spotted after you both fought.

it was a small matter now that you think about that day. stubbornness outweighed understanding in the two of you, and that resulted in immaturity. and if neither of you were willing to admit, might as well make the first move.

but you were stubborn as he was.

once the coach bus was nearing the parking area, the first and only thing you decide to do was get out of the vehicle and head straight home. you wouldn’t let your friends speak and looked at their bus. there sat jaehyun fiddling with the curtain. you then rushed out, covering your face from the basketball team as they too were getting off. “is that what she meant ‘at all costs’?” minnie facepalmed as she saw you walking away quickly.

“oh look, there’s y/n.” coach jung tapped the window to make jaehyun notice you. the way you behaved was weird for him, because it was too obvious you were avoiding getting seen.

“i don’t care.”

“it means you do.” his father messed his son’s hair. “okay, off you go. i’ll cancel the extra practice today and let all of you rest up during the weekend.”

jaehyun’s lips agape at his father’s last minute decision. he wore his cap and slung his bag. “if you’re doing this and expect i’d make up with her, you’ll regret ever cancelling practice.”

“ah c’mon. your old man is helping you out with a girl. can’t you tell what i’m doing, jae?” he laughed at his son’s reaction. he could see himself in jaehyun and knew things would get better.

“it won’t work dad.”

he rolled his eyes and went to where the bikes were parked. he kicked the stand at the rear wheel when his friends caught up to him with their own bikes. goodness why can’t they just leave me alone? “what do you want?” he stood a little to pedal ahead.

kun rode along beside him, eyes alternating at and on the road. “what now? you’re just going to pretend you didn’t see y/n? like nothing happened?”

“how can i ignore that when her figure’s so obvious and literally running away from here? i’m not going to do anything about-”

jungwoo then sighed heavily, causing jaehyun to knit brows. “she looked over our bus you dimwit! that means she thought of talking to you but held back because of-”

“i’ll talk to y/n in my own terms and in my own time! stop forcing me to do things when you think it would work well for me!” jaehyun pressed on the brakes with his palms.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

kun and jungwoo’s eyes followed your swirling fork and the silent air that had been going for half an hour. they thought knocking onto the doors of jaehyun’s closed heart was hard, never expected yours was harder. you wouldn’t say anything after they invited you, claiming they missed you around them.

because it had been two full semesters since then. from what the boys told you, jaehyun lost focus and couldn’t lead the team to the championships. he always fought with his father and would burst in anger, throwing unnecessary fits towards them even though they worked hard to reach the quarterfinals.

this behaviour would happen so often that it began to strain his relationships with everyone on the team. the transformation did a lot worse to his body, he’d get sick and weak, and for over months, he would not transform back immediately within the golden hour ended. it lasted longer. sometimes even the morning after.

it worried them that if jaehyun given up all hope and continued to act that way, the urge to find the solution would never take place. and that he would remain an animal forever. even so, you knew their intentions to invite you today despite feeling sad for jaehyun. and you prepared your answer before they could speak.

“y/n-”

“as much as i love to stay, i’m here to tell you you’ve wasted your efforts. if jaehyun won’t talk to me.. then i’ll just keep giving him space until he apologises first.” you were already losing appetite talking about it.

“and you think waiting game would pull off too, hm?” kun’s dimple deepened, a flat smile seen on the exterior.

you put down your fork. “i didn’t think we’ll last this long not talking-”

ten smirked in disbelief, you forgot he was there too. his presence was almost non-existent as he kept quiet the whole time. “keep it like that. you’re held accountable for making jaehyun the way he is now.”

“ten!” kun scowled at the guy. “i told you not to talk.”

you rolled your eyes that his words hurt more than the eye roll. “why is he here anyway? you said it’ll only be the two of you. unbelievable.”

“to see if you came up with a solution to lift jaehyun’s curse. looking at you now, i guess you didn’t.” he said and you tried your best to refrain yourself from hitting him. “were you mocking him when you suggested it might be the same answer as that disney film?”

“i said as a joke but it might be a possibility. we live in a world where people go through inexplainable experiences that science couldn’t dive in deep.” you sighed.

jungwoo tapped the table to stop the bickering you and ten were starting. “like my hunch says, maybe it’s another soulmate thing i’ve mentioned to you guys at the camp.”

“it’s not a soulmate thing, jungwoo.” kun and ten said simultaneously.

you brought out an a5 sized sealed envelope and the action alone made the boys stunned. “don’t open this. just give it to him. anyway, the sun’s setting. i really have to go.” you passed the item to kun.

it’s suffocating. i can’t stay here long. they saw how hesitating your limbs were, your eyes averting them and clearing your throat several times.

“ten, does this look like she didn’t do anything? this proves she’s trying.” kun took the envelope and hit it on ten’s head.

as you put on your coat whilst standing next to the table, ten sat back with arms crossed. “acting smart, aren’t you? you really think you’re the belle for jaehyun huh? i wouldn’t believe that for a second.”

“i didn’t say anything about me being the solution. i’m still keeping my promise to help him. and trust me, i don’t think i’m belle either.” you grabbed your bag and left, your food gone cold and jungwoo sighed at the air turning worse thanks to ten.

the cash money was placed on the table when kun called the waiter. “please keep the change.” he looked at your slouching figure by the bus stop across the restaurant. it screamed sadness and hurt all over.

the reason for suddenly leaving wasn’t because you were offended with what ten said. of course there was truth in his words. at some point you thought you were someone important to jaehyun, since you could hear him.

you thought you both were soulmates.

you left because you spotted a familiar figure standing by the door. haven’t been seeing him lately only made you feel angry at yourself. you were a coward, you even passed the envelope to the boys instead of giving it to jaehyun yourself. your friends already encouraged you about it, that that was the only thing to narrow the gap between you and jaehyun. it was to show that you were still supporting him.

why are you like this y/n? if you like him, you’d do anything to get his attention and forgiveness. why are you doing things to push him away, rather.. why are you forcing yourself to not care when you still do?

you continued to walk with your head low for another hour, troubled in your thoughts as they’ve been bothering you for many months. snap out of it y/n-

*tug*

*scratch*

the hems of your baggy jeans were pulled and torn with minimal, adorable force. it took you a while to process the animal before you. a blue bunny, what’s a bunny doing here- oh.

“sungchan?”

—

he rose from the bushes in front of their house. you stood there awkwardly while he figures to cover his body after the blue hour. “i’m sorry for asking you to bring me home. i get tired from hopping sometimes.” he grabbed a towel that he was hanging by the gate.

“no worries. i-i’ve seen- nevermind.” your voice softened at the latter.

sungchan pursed his lips to refrain himself from smiling since he was there and witnessed when it happened. “come in, i’ll make you some tea. it’s my way of thanks.”

although he was kinder than his brother, probably more mature, he was still young that you could see through his intentions. you knew he wanted some patching up done between you and jaehyun. you hesitated for a while, but since you were there already, might as well try to talk to him—

even if there was a slim chance of making things work.

you sat on the sofa, slightly still and awkward being in the residence. little sips, light breathing and the soft wind from the fan were only heard within the living area. “did my brother cause you a lot of trouble during the camp?” sungchan asked and knowing that you were silent, he knew jaehyun probably did. “how about now?”

“actually, i think i’m the one causing more trouble for him because i feel like i’m not doing anything to help when i said i would.” you sighed as he continued to listen.

“really? i heard from the others you’re helping so much that it changed my brother.. at the least he’s not cranky.” his nose twitched so adorably that you thought it was derived from being a bunny almost his whole life. “also, there’s that envelope-” he paused while realising how your expression caught him off guard.

maybe he shouldn’t have mentioned it, but he wanted you to know he wasn’t spying on you. he made that clear with his silence.

if he saw that back at the restaurant, that only meant he was there for quite some time. you let out a small smile that he was probably there not for you, but to wait for his brother’s friends. instead of bumping into them, he bumped into you.

“oh, that. it.. has a bunch of handwritten letters i’ve compiled when i struggled talking to jaehyun. i just felt that maybe it’s more sincere if i had to apologise.. y’know, eventually.”

he pursed his lips and nodded. “then why not put those words into actual words? like verbal words.” sungchan’s fingers pointed upwards, hinting that jaehyun was up in his room. “for all i know it’s the most sincere thing to do.”

crap, he’s not expressive but he’s so so mature for his age. it made you feel inferior for a moment.

“but before you do that, i have to tell you something that my dad and brother missed out about our curse. why jaehyun-hyung is more pressured than i am.”

(few minutes later)

you slid against the wall while sungchan went out to do grocery shopping. at the other side of the door, in between the thin gap, you could hear soft breathing; jaehyun was on his bed, sleeping in his dog form and it hurt you since time already passed both golden and blue hour, he should’ve transformed like his brother did. instead he laid there as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

meanwhile, jaehyun knew you entered his room. he pretended to be sleeping and expected he wouldn’t know how to act when he gets to face you. he decided to stay as he was.

until you pat then caressed his head.

he didn’t want to settle or give in for the fact you loved golden retrievers. he blamed on the shallow euphroria dogs easily feel. and because he was in his dog form, the anger he held for you disappeared. but at the same time, was your touch out of care or pity? he couldn’t figure it out. then he could hear the beats of your heart, and that made him sit up. your heart was fast. it was worrying. it was—

“why didn’t you tell me the whole story?” your voice wavered in heaving breaths as he finally looked you in the eye. his ears twitched and he faced the door, knowing that sungchan told everything.

jaehyun shook his body and whiskers moved before he telepathically answered you. “believe me i tried. i hate myself for being sensitive and i couldn’t bring to tell you because i got angry. but you have to know that i value trust more than anything.”

“you know what’s ironic?” you sighed, pressing your forehead as pain began to form. “you didn’t trust me first and and we fought because you didn’t do that. and you didn’t trust me enough that you only told me what, like 50 percent of it?”

of course he knew what you referred to.

he was going to tell you the day he visited your cottage at camp. but he didn’t get to, because ten told him news ahead of him that it ruined the purpose to talk to you. it wasn’t that he blamed him, it was due to the fact he wasn’t prepared for something like that. even for something like this.

because there was that prophecy weighing on his shoulders.

“sungchan said that it has to directly come from you, so you better tell me now before our friendship falls out.” you warned and leaned back against the headboard.

currently your friendship was on the line, wobbling on tight ropes. pushing you further away would do no good.

jaehyun sat and his paws were dignified into a comfortable position. his head laid on a cushion pillow, facing towards you. “fine. most of my family turns into wild animals, and they couldn’t control themselves in that other form. their wildlife instincts overpowers their thoughts.” he yawned.

“and it’s different for me and sungchan. when we were born, when we had our first full transformation, they were shocked to know we turn into domestic animals. we’re able to remember, think and live as if we’re still humans. at the end, it’s either of us to stop the curse.”

“so why did your brother mention that you’re the most pressured? why did it only have to be you?” this time you spoke, there was more depth into your feelings if you spoke. as sungchan said, verbally was more sincere. “you could share the burden with him.”

he sighed at the tone of your voice. “isn’t it obvious? the role is immediately passed onto me not because i’m the first born.. it’s because you suddenly could talk to me.. telepathically.”

“yeah and we couldn’t even figure that one out yet.” you scoffed remembering the times you’ve placed your efforts on that matter and now it had gone all to waste. all because you both had that fight.

he read through your eyes and sensed the intention from your words. plus he hated how you delivered it with that certain tone. “i didn’t bring this up just to blame you for my own satisfaction!” he groaned. “i brought it up so that i can apologise! i was wrong, okay?! i should’ve listened to you instead of carelessly listening to ten-”

you refrained yourself from showing any further hurt. recalling it would only make you cry. “well you were manipulated with ten’s assumptions. you believed him more than me. he had proof while i didn’t. i was in the losing end! not like i expected you to change your mind. so can we just.. get this overwith and tell me what the prophecy is?”

he was speechless for a while. you being straight-forward yet in a pained voice was too much for him. he was already softening his feelings for you and you had to tense it all up again. “‘only one could save those who lay under the curse, for they must be in the correct peace of mind and body to break it before it turns for worse.’”

“and the ‘worse’ means you won’t transform back anymore?” you asked, the prophecy already piercing your heart as you waited for more explanation.

“that and..” he trailed off. “..we lose our humanity too. we won’t remember anything. memories erased like a snap of the finger. and we’ll just be.. another animal.”

you pushed yourself to sit up as your heart clenched tight. “jaehyun! why say it now and not before?”

“because! what is there for you to do-”

you squished the dog’s into a wrinkly mess, to the point jaehyun couldn’t see anything. his paws tried to put your arms down, but even clawing was hard for him to do. then he felt you lean forward to hug him. “y/n? what’re you doing?” you didn’t answer.

crap, this is warm. it feels.. nice. embarrassed, he put his thoughts at the back of his mind. “are you doing this out of pity? do i look that helpless-”

what crossed his mind was that you thought he needed a hug and was the only thing you could do. but you proved him wrong, so, so wrong. and why didn’t he realise it sooner in his life?

“you have to treat yourself like someone you love!”

what?

“you have to fill yourself with it! have you been thinking half-heartedly or do things half-assed because you’re different from people? do you not realise there are people who loves you? you trust them so less that you’re not confident into breaking the curse! because you didn’t really try!”

he froze in his stance, like a bullet pierced through his chest with how true your point was. he didn’t know what love was when his mother left the family. he didn’t dare to open up with his dad and brother, not his friends as for so long he didn’t do that one important thing— trust.

jaehyun thought he did that. he had enough encouragement but only to the level of content. he didn’t expect more as what else was there for people cursed like his family? “why are you so worried or do this much for me?”

“because no one actually helped you!” your arms tightened around him. “your friends were occupied into thinking that protecting you and your curse from others was the safest thing to do. it’s not! it just gets you self-conscious, conceited and too comfortable to not to do anything at all!” everything you said knocked down the pillars of his pride. he wasn’t at all living in humility if his friends did ever help.

“y/n we’re nothing more than friends. how could you be pushing yourself onto my problems-”

“i’m one of the people, jaehyun. don’t you get it now? i l-”

as if the phone line got cut off, he couldn’t hear the rest. you appeared like a television who lost its voice, however, somehow he knew what came after that. he didn’t want to admit it, after spending time with you at camp, he realised his heart felt the same.

you were quick to catch on. the golden retriever just stared at you, you couldn’t hear him as well. not even telepathically. jaehyun laid back down, ignored you and went to sleep. you nudged him, he wouldn’t move. you felt a swarm of blame towards him. if only he told you earlier, he wouldn’t be in this state where he was just another dog. mostly you blamed yourself for not taking the initiative first to fix things. you went along with your anger and his waiting game.

where did it get you? to this.

the one second revelation he heard from you and then fell into slumber, he was standing in front of himself, before a mirror. a series of himself switching from human to animal throughout the years. the glass cracked over his face. as if he entered a new world, he had to prepare mentally for what was to come.

instead he awoke like he only passed out from exhaustion. to only see you hugging your legs, head down with soft sobs and hiccups, he reached out for you yet hesitated. he checked the time, the golden hour was to arrive.

“y/n.” he called out in a low voice.

“no.” you mumbled. “i shouldn’t be hearing him.”

“but you really are, though.”

you shot your head up, tears rolling down your cheeks when you felt his touch— his large palms holding yours. he transformed, you had many questions as you thought it was too late.

confused and tired, you stared at him blankly. processing the guy before you took a whole minute to realise jaehyun transformed back. “is.. is this a joke?” you coughed and rubbed your tears. “i saw you faint- i saw how you lost the light in your eyes- i saw-”

he’s blushing. his ears are red.

jaehyun pulled you into an embrace, he caressed your head as if he held a newborn. “the curse broke around the time i realised i lacked self-care. it was the same time you said it too.”

looking back, he didn’t treat himself right since the beginning. he realised he shouldn’t have looked for a solution or someone to love him. he was the someone he was looking for, and should’ve reflected on himself than to rely too much on others.

“you’re still hugging me.” you said, stopping his trail of thoughts. you pat his back quickly and he was holding you tight. “you’re squeezing the oxygen out of me.”

“can’t i hold you longer? you’ve been so helpful even when i pushed you away. now i don’t really want to let go.” jaehyun whispered. he never felt something like this before— this urge to love someone. “what if the curse comes back when you go away?”

you felt your head bursting with temperatures your body was experiencing now. “you really have to let go!” clearing your throat, you tried to shove him away.

“no. don’t be stubborn.”

“don’t be clingy, clingy!”

“you want me to hug you though.”

“i do but- wait no that’s not- i-”

he squeezed your face between his hands. “you love me, don’t you. and you said i’m not loveable.” he teased and goodness his dimples shot you at the heart. you kicked him in the chest yet he leaned forwards, closer than usual. “i can feel your veins beating crazily.”

ah for crying out loud! “jung jaehyun.” you called him with a stern and plain voice. “get off me.”

“tsk i said i wouldn’t-”

“jaehyun you’re naked.”

hm? he pulled himself away from you, looked down and covered his lower body. ah heavens- “i’m sorr-”

a thud was heard by the door. you both turned heads to sleepy sungchan dropping a parcel delivered to jaehyun while holding a toothbrush with his mouth and prominent bed hair. “uh bro, this is-”

“dad! i think hyung’s in his mating season!”

“i’m so not!”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

because the curse was lifted and jaehyun made it happen, all those who fell under it soon experienced freedom and joy after years of agony and pain and fear. feelings opposite to them showered upon them that morning like spring rain.

you sat in between jaehyun and ten, who haven’t been talking to each since they fought over little things, mainly about you. ten still didn’t believe that you were jaehyun’s girlfriend, because he recalled you guys were not going to mend things.

“so that’s it? it’s so hard to believe. she just hugged you and the curse’s gone? even more so you’re both dating?”

“ten, c’mon dude.” kun brought out his fist to bump yours. “she’ll be hanging with us from now on. you have to stop being a stuck-up.”

ten shrugged in defeat and finally nodded in acceptance. “fine. i’ll let it go. i mean the curse’s broken won’t bother jae anymore.” he turned to you. “i’m sorry y/n. jae and i have been best friends since kindergarten. so it’s kinda a brotherly instinct to protect him. it just comes out.”

“you do seem like the leader of the pack.” you fiddled with jaehyun’s fingers while he draped his arm around you.

“i thought i was the leader?” kun sounded offended, but not entirely.

jaehyun remained quiet. he told everyone what had happened. however, there was still one question left unanswered. what was the telepathy about?

what did it have to do with you and him? he thought about that real hard. were you actually a missing piece in the prophecy or did he misunderstand it? there were a lot of possibilities, a lot of ideas coming up that maybe he figured it wrong. maybe you did contribute to the breaking of the curse-

“ah!” jungwoo exclaimed as flicked the paper back and forth. he proudly showed what he found, putting the pieces together. the paper was moving quickly that the pairs of eyes couldn’t focus or see anything. “i’ve been telling you guys since camp but you wouldn’t listen to me!”

you squinted your hardest to see the words. all you got from the sheet of paper scribbles and connecting lines. the boys started to fight for the so they could read the younger one forcibly shoved in front of their faces.

jungwoo wanted his friends to feel their pride stepped on them, and held on the paper. “read the prophecy again. i’m excited-”

“you being excited about these things is nothing new-” ten yelled, and kun covered his mouth at the loud volume.

“‘only one could save those who lay under the curse, for they must be in the correct peace of mind and body to break it before it turns for worse.’ guys, it’s already hinted in it!” he pointed at the parts he was scribbling on earlier.

he expounded the prophecy was a little misleading. it wasn’t being literal about the right mind and body. they were the results of the having the correct heart, as the two would only be affected greatly if not for the heart.

jungwoo scooted next to you. “y/n, you weren’t only the key to solving it. you were the only person who gave him that push and made him realise he should love himself for who he was. you gave him that peace of mind because you are the heart. as we all know, the mind and body can’t function without the heart.”

“that sounds sweet?” kun blushed even though he wasn’t supposed to.

“yeah sure but the telepathy happening at the same time with my curse was just a coincidence though?” jaehyun asked.

“onto my next point!” jungwoo drew on the paper again. “i realised you told us before that only family members of the same curse can talk to each other telepathically.”

jaehyun’s brows only furrowed narrower. “which doesn’t make sense because she’s not part of my family.”

jungwoo grinned widely, it almost made you nervous but if it was coming from jungwoo, it always had to be something good. “not even us lads can even talk to you with our minds though we’re close like brothers. what if it’s a sign that she will be part of your family? even if the curse’s broken, it still proves my point that you were soulmates all along.”

somehow you knew it was headed to this. what jungwoo’s saying was similar to your hunch. you weren’t confident as he was because at the time, the curse wasn’t lifted. now that it was, you never knew you were actually right.

jaehyun shrunk in his seat after hearing jungwoo’s theory. he looked at you; who was now giggling with the others. he never thought you were his soulmate, it never crossed his mind. you appeared in his life as a shadow at first, before you resurfaced and made it a roller coaster ride. it was an eye opener for him too, you loved him for who he was, his flaws— that being the curse. although there were frequent bickers, that didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy or hate them. he was afraid you’d leave after knowing his transformation.

you didn’t. you stayed. not because you were forced to just to keep his secret, you stayed since you said you’d help. and that lifted weight off of his shoulders. colours came into view more spirited, clouded thoughts in his head faded and everything he heard that were once muffled became clear. he had to compare it like he was reborn.

in the end, you were still beside him, adjacent to him.

[vgucciking]

JJ And Me

Chapter 1 “The Local Dead Kids”

(READ THIS!)

First off, JJ is from Outer Banks. Second of all, there won't be any parallel between the movie and show. Third of all, the only thing that includes outer banks is JJ being in this fanfic, and that there's a little background based at Outer Banks.

———————

Hey there, I guess this where I introduce myself and my crackhead of a friend JJ Maybanks, yeah?

Well first off, both our families go way back to when our parents grew up together. Which ultimately made us grow up together. He loved to surf, I mean that was our main stream thing down in outer banks.

Leaving behind our friends was rough. But I'm glad we both went together. We had John B who was passionate about finding out about his dad. Kie who decided to become a pogue, even though she was a kook, but her dads from our side, so meh. Pope who basically keeps the group together, and the most "go to friend" for advice. Sarah...uh. Well it was rough with her and Kie. But it got better for sure!

Ok that's enough of them.

When we moved away, both me and JJ were fuming. I mean, we are 14. And moving to a WHOLE new place, was gonna make, making friends more difficult for our age. Yeah we have each other, but we can't just rely on one another all the time.

And don't even get me started with the dramatic tantrums JJ threw-

"Y/n! Come help with moving the box's in!" My mom shouted, rolling my eyes, I ran down the stairs and out the door. JJ grinned and passed me a box "Gotcha a light one" he winked, going back to grab another.

"PLEASE! You make me sound very weak" he mentally face palmed "that's because you are" glaring at him I placed the box down inside and pointed to my biceps, flexing them in the process "These babies? Pshhh! They could take you down in seconds" I ranted.

"Oh yeah!? Wanna see about that?" He questioned, getting in a stance to tackle me. Copying his actions I nod my head "Only if you wanna turn out dead" I retorted, he ran full speed at me. His body collided with mine, and smashed me to the ground.

My breath flew straight out of me, as I was now being suffocated. I could her a groan and then laughter "So...w-what happened to t-those biceps!" He snorted, while I was currently dying on the floor.

"They left. J-j-just like y-your ex" Ok, maybe I shouldn't have said that, because now I could hear a tantrum arriving at full flash. "HEY! She doesn't count as a girlfriend!"

Of course she didn't, JJ didn't do relationships, not after HER anyways. Her name was Daisy, she was nice and all. She really made him happy *coughs* Not as much as me *coughs* so when she cheated on him at a party, he couldn't stand the thought of seeing her again. He still loved her, but he knew that she did that fully sobbed, meaning she WILLINGLY cheated on him.

After that he ignored her whenever she walked up to him. Walking right past her in the hallways, not sparing any glances at her. Not responding to her messages.

But he got better after a year when she finally dropped out of school. She had too, since her parents had become rich, so she became a kook.

"Really? You always say that when-" I was hit in the head with a plastic bottle. "Owww you ass!" I said annoyed, rubbing my forehead in the process. Just then both our parents came in, my mom looked mad while JJ's looked neutral. Both dads were just standing there.

"You two better stop fighting, or else you're gonna get this belt!" My mom shouted, while pointing at our figures.

To be honest, me and my mom argued a lot. I guess we just never really got to bond as much, since she was always busy with work. Where as my dad had lots of time for me.

Looking at JJ I stuck my tongue out, as he just stared disgustingly at me. "How bout you two go out and have a wee wonder around the town" JJ's dad suggested "Yeah! I heard there's a baseball game on today, at 3:50pm." My dad added on, mom looked at me and just sighed "go, go have fun"

She ushered us out of the house, and walked back in, leaving me and JJ just standing there. I turned around and started walking towards this supposedly cool baseball game they were talking about.

"Y/n," my dad called out. I responded with nodding my head "The game should be located around the school here! And don't leave JJ behind" staring at JJ I raised an eyebrow "you gonna just stand there or what?" Making his way over to me, he punched shoulder slightly.

To say me and JJ act like an old married couple, was an understatement. If you seen 5 minutes of our friendship, without knowing us. You'd think we were a couple. WRONG. 

"Y'know I'm glad we moved." He spoke suddenly. Peering over I seen him staring at the concrete. "Why? I thought you loved it there" laughing he shook his head "Moving away made me realise that, Outer Banks was a bad place," his blue eyes pierced your own E/C ones "people there put you on a scale from 1 to 10. And if you ain't rich, you're automatically looked down on." A frown scrolled upon your face.

You weren't mad, it just hit you now that it's true. Over here, it feels like no one knows you, and that they don't care who you really are. "I mean at least we aren't there anymore, yeah?" I said, not trying to show any signs of being down.

"Yeah" was all he said before it went completely silent...

———

Instagram ~ V_Guccciking

Tiktok ~ Im_okie

Chapter 2

[lacharcutiere]

x2 [suna rintarō]

1k words

✯haikyuu!! masterlist✯

alcohol consumption, soft angst

mara comin thru w a fic based on My Real Life Experiences™️ oops, s/o to bri for being my hype man and sam (not on here) for also being my hype man and telling me i should j write fics about my real life because Mara is Accidentally Y/N™️. technically this is unfinished but i’m posting it like this bc it’s basically what actually happened to me n i don’t wanna make shit up for stuff i don’t remember lol

☾𓆙𓂻

two sips of vodka, two times you catch him staring at you in the span of a few seconds, two vapes he’s hitting at the same time, two hugs because he says “y’re not coming back” no matter how many times you laugh and tell him you promise you’ll see him around. the two of you in your mom’s old car, and it’s only the first time you’ve hung out properly, so there’s not two of that.

you were in front of his house just five minutes later than you said, waiting with the engine still running, kanye blasting. to aran’s first to pick up a bottle of vodka (mostly empty, actually, rin complained when he gets back in the car; he got ripped off), then to his, where you passed his sister on the stairs and she gave you a smile and a laugh, real ones. he led you into his room, where you sat on his bed awhile, and you commented about how clean it was (definitely not what you expected, and cleaner than yours at the moment) and he laughed and told you he’d manically cleaned it hours before. that’s where the two sips of vodka came in; all you drank that night because you had to be home by one. shortly after was the first time you caught him staring at you twice within maybe thirty seconds. the only other time anyone had ever looked at you like that had been when they were about to kiss you. you wondered if you wanted him to kiss you, too. instead you asked what he wanted to do, and he said, dunno, up to you, and you suggested drive around because after this you didn’t know if you’d ever be back in this town.

☁︎︎

through winding roads through the woods and past a country club, past the street you’ve lived on for the past ten years, and a quick circle through the parking lot of the middle school you went to.

“‘s where it all started,” you tell him, with a little sad laugh.

the alcohol’s beginning to hit him now, and he asks if you can stop at the gas station down the road so he can take a piss. he hits two vapes when he gets back in the car and laughs, ‘s how you know i’m drunk, he says.

☁︎︎

you drive all the way up to the town on the bay; there’s still snow and ice on the ground. it’s pretty, still with christmas lights strung on the trees lining the streets downtown. the two of you park near the boardwalk and get out; go down to the tiny little lighthouse to see if you can get inside, but there’s a padlock on the door and it’s fucking freezing and in the end you surrender and get back in the car.

☁︎︎

a while later he’s even more drunk, you’re not, obviously, because you’re driving down the interstate and also because you need to be home in a couple hours so you can finish packing because you’re going back to school tomorrow. and he’s going to stay here, or maybe not, because he’s got six days to decide if he wants to move away with his mom. if there’s nothing keeping you here, you tell him, do it.

“but, like,” he says, and it’s slurred a little and you’re behind the wheel, speeding down the highway, “i don’t wanna run away from everything, you know? wanna, like, resolve all my shit first.”

“but what shit do you have to resolve?”

he laughs. “dunno.”

“so do it, get outta this shitty town. i promise it’ll be good; ‘s what i did.”

he laughs again: “ha, you’re right, you’re right. maybe i will.”

☁︎︎

there are a couple moments where, as streetlights cast strange shadows on you as you drive past them and you listen to him speak, you wonder what the two of you could be.

☁︎︎

heading back to aran’s for a bit because… you don’t actually know, but why not, high school comes up in the conversation, and you say something about how you’re glad you’re no longer who you used to be and,

“what’re you talking about?”

“ha, what do you mean? you knew me in high school. sort of.”

“kidding, right? i know so many people who thought you were bad.”

you’re silent for a while, and he repeats it.

“…who?”

“like… samu! aran! lotsa guys!”

“i… what the fuck?”

“yeah, y’ kidding? everyone thought you were some, like, badass chick or whatever.”

you snort. “that’s news to me.”

“no ‘s not, you gotta know. ‘s why you got that thing ‘bout bein’ a catfish on your instagram isn’t it?”

“what? no, ha, that’s about, like, my personality—“

“but your personality’s what makes you not a catfish?”

“hah, oh my god, no, are you kidding, i’m nowhere near as cool as i seem, i’m a fucking nerd,” you laugh.

“nah exactly! y’d be a catfish if y’ didn’t have a personality but ya do. so you’re not a catfish, and you’re very pretty…”

he goes on and on talking. you smile at the road in front of you and just listen.

☁︎︎

the night ends where it began, too, with you sitting next to him on his bed—well, really he’s lying down now, but then he sits up again because oh yeah, rings! and you laugh and he fills your hands with rings and then you tell him, “alright, dude, i really have to go now,” and you stand.

what to say? “see you around?” you settle on, even though you're not sure you will.

it takes him a second to stand up, but he does. “hug?” his arms are open.

you walk into them.

“‘s gotta be a long hug, because you’re not comin’ back.”

you laugh a little. “yes, i am!”

“not comin’ back.”

“i am—”

“no. not comin’ back.”

he lets go after a while, and you’re heading to the door, the rings jingling in your pocket now, about to say, see ya, and he goes,

“two hugs, because you’re not coming back.”

you laugh and indulge him. this one’s longer than the first. he kisses your shoulder when you pull away. and then you're heading back downstair, you’re out the door, walking back to your car in the freezing fucking cold, wondering what just happened.

you think about what he said. you should just stay here, with me. we coulda been great friends. he’s right, you think. you wonder about wasted time, about how in high school you’d been so scared to leave what was comfortable, leave your shitty friends, so scared of what people like him thought of you, and all along the truth had been that they’d never seen you the way you saw yourself. it’s usually like that, isn’t it?

[devilrainbunnie]

Midnight Train

Dabi x Fem!Reader

cw: smut 18+ minors DNI, chikan, dubcon/noncon, pet names, pervy dabi

You stood in the train station, feeling a bit out of place. Looking around at your surroundings, and wondering when your train was going to arrive. It was running a little too late for your liking. Not to mention the fact that it was late, and cold, you didn’t even have a coat. You were wearing a long sleeved shirt, a short black skirt, and matching thigh highs with some simple school girl like shoes. Which was kind of ironic for you to wear. At the moment, you were currently in your second year of university. Just coming back from an outing with your friends, and cutting it off early because you had work the next morning. You were always overly cautious anywhere near trains, just due to the nature of pervy men, and the amount of times you’ve had experiences with them. Not even to mention how intense it is around this area. You berated yourself internally for deciding to wear something like this out, but now you had no choice but to just try and deal with it for now.

Absent-mindedly you scrolled on your phone, to give you some sort of distraction from the anxiety you felt beginning to stir in your stomach, tightening your thighs together, and keeping your purse close to your body. Then soon, the sounds of a fast moving vehicle, and wheels breaking to a halt brought you out from beneath your phones gaze. Looking up to greet the train. You patiently waited until it’s gears locked into place, and the doors opened. Waiting until the small crowd of people walked out of the cart, and then following into it. The cart was decently full of people. But to your absolute demise, there was some substance on some of the seats that looked like a spilled milk tea boba. Which was why you had to stand. Opting for the back of the cart that had some people also standing around. One of them meeting your gaze. Hooded, cerulean eyes following behind you, as you reached your spot to stand. He must’ve got on with me, you thought to yourself. The person was a bit of distant from you, staring at you without remorse. It was hard to make out their features with the large hood they wore over their head, and it made you anxious. Holding your body closer to itself.

He was looking at you like a predator stalking prey, hungry, and ready to devour. A look that quite honestly was making your heart absolutely flutter against your rib cage. Then you did something kind of stupid, pulling out your phone again, and trying to focus all of your attention on it. Trying to pay the hooded man no attention, out of your peripherals, you saw him lift his hood back. But again, you were too scared to see what he looked like. No matter how intense your curiosity was. After a short while into the trip following that, you checked again to see if he was there, and surprisingly he wasn’t. 

That’s when you froze, instantly recognizing the feeling of someone standing just behind you. Too scared to gaze behind you, and the train suddenly causing the cart to jolt, your body mushed right against his, as your wobbly knees made you unstable on your feet. Perfect timing.

“S-Sorry!” you cried out, lurching yourself forward. His body following yours.

“It’s quite alright, doll face.” a husky voice whispered behind you. “I like your skirt, it’s cute on you.”

You didn’t respond to this, your blood was running cold, and your breath hitched inside of your throat. He made it a point to step closer to you, the heat radiating off of him was almost too much. The stranger was only an inch or so from touching your body, a hand reached to you hair, tucking it to the side as he leaned in. Body flush with yours, as he whispered to you. “It’s not nice to ignore people when they compliment you.”

“I’m s-sorry.”

“Is that all you know how to say?”

“I-I’m sorry I’m not trying to offend you--”

“Oh baby, you already did though. You hurt me real bad. Don’t you think I deserve something for my bleeding heart?” he taunted. Hands traveling in different directions, his large hand groping the flesh of your ass. This stranger just reached under your skirt to grab you, and  you to let out a little yelp, and his hand colliding with your mouth forcefully. “I don’t think you want to find out what happens to little girls who are loud, and bratty. I’m not gonna hurt you baby, just be a good girl, an’ let me take care of ya.” he raised the hand from your mouth to show you the tiny blue flame in his palm. Instinctively you shuddered, gulping down the lump in your throat. “Am I understood?”

You nodded, he grabbed your jaw, which forced you took look at him as his head appeared by you shoulder. “Use your words, like a good girl. Remember what we talked about?” he was quite attractive, despite all of the deep scars on his face. His black locks framing his face evenly, and looked quite fluffy. His scars looked painful, and so did all his staples. The piercings on his nostrils were cool though-- despite that, he looked like he had been through hell and back. It made you all the more confused, he was good looking enough to score any girl he wanted. Even with all of the scars and staples, girls probably drooled over it. So why did he bothering harassing you on a train? The man was probably just a full blown predator, and it made you start to panic worse.

“Y-yes, I-I’ll be quiet. I’ll be good.” you said with a wavering voice, tears forming in your eyes at the situation. 

“Mmm, such a good girl. Nice an’ sweet, just like I like ‘em.” he murmured against your neck, leaving a wake of wet kisses across it. Taking some experimental bites to try to find your sweet spot, and when he did, you writhed against him. Letting out the cutest little whimper. “Look at you, you’re so fuckin’ sexy.” he was thankful he spotted you initially, he really found a prize that night.

He was walking back from a bar, and he saw you approaching the train station. You looked so sweet, so soft, and so easy to taint. The way your squishy thighs looked in your socks, and how your ass’ curve was more prominent due to the skirts little ruffling drove him to you. Eyes lingering over ever inch of your body, he needed you the second he saw your cute face too. He just knew you were a sweet little girl, and he wanted to taste you before he lost you for good. Honestly, you were such a good girl for him right now he debated on taking you home. Sure, you’d be a lovely little pet to have around the house. He could sure use the company, and you were just so goddamn cute. The man would love to wake up every morning to face fuck you, or violate you a little bit before he started his day. I mean how could he not— just look at the way your pretty e/c eyes leaked tears out, and your plump lips pouted as his fingers dove for your pussy. So pretty.

This sick man decided to lick your face to wipe away the tears from your stained, heated cheeks. His long, calloused fingers rubbing against your clothed slit, making your hips buck at the pleasure of it. Little strangled moans being held down in your throat. Waiting for your slick to seep through the pretty light blue cotton, and keep it for later. “Has anyone ever touched you like this before? Hmm? Does it feel good?”

“N-No, plea-ah, please j-just stop.” you cried out, sniffling after you choked out the words. His fingers began to push your pretty little panties to the side, moving his fingers up and down your cunt. Finally able to feel that you were actually becoming a bit wet, he chuckled behind you. You let out a soft moan, the first one he was able to actually get out of you.

“Mm, you’re getting more wet by the second. You sure?” he teased. His opposing hand sleeping inside of your sweater, pushing a breast out of its cup, and squishing the flesh in his palm. Tweaking the nipple between his fingers, arching your back and wincing at the pleasurable pain. “You’re so sensitive, and I haven’t even put my dick in you.”

“Pl-please. I- just want to g-go home.” you whimpered as he continued to violate you, finding your clit and pinching the bud between his fingers. Watching as your breaths became ragged, and the way your knuckles turned white as you held on to the metal pole. The way his fingers were working against your untouched pussy right now, was making it drool. You hated how much that was turning you on.

“Turn your head.” he commanded, and you did. Meeting once again, his face at your shoulder, this time his hand slipped from your breast. Grabbing the opposing side of your face and slamming your lips against his. Surprisingly, his kiss wasn’t at all overbearing, or forceful as you thought it was going to be. It was slow, and somehow passionate, despite the situation. You kissed him back, just trying to be compliant. His lips were soft, despite his lower lip being badly damaged, and he knew how to use it well. The hand quickly knotted itself in your hair, causing you to gasp, and open your mouth for him. His wet muscle tangling in with yours, and with that, a deep guttural groan left the back of his throat. Combined with your little whimpers, created an odd symphony of pleasure.

With your mouth occupied, two of his fingers began running across your slit. Gathering the arousal between his fingers to act as lubricant. Then plunging the digits straight into your throbbing, and tight hole. Which made your body act on instinct, and you gasped loudly in his mouth. He pulled back, chuckling at how much you were reacting now. Panting like a bitch in heat, biting back a plethora of moans inside of your throat. He really wanted to hear you crying out to him, and moaning, but he didn’t want to cause too much of a scene. Who knows, if he’s really feeling up for risking everyone’s safety, mostly his own for some snatch— he’ll fucking do it.

“Do you feel good?” he asked you, kissing up your jaw again.

“Y-yes.” you whispered, your small hands struggle to stay up against the pole. The pace of his fingers began to speed up, causing a horrid squish-y sound to be heard in the atmosphere around the two of you. He was practically cumming at the sound of your wet sex being violated and how well you were taking him.

“Mm, I wish I could hear all those pretty sounds you’re tryin’ to hold back. God, you are just killin’ me tonight.” he moaned into your ear, taking it upon himself to start feverishly pepping your skin with his kisses as he pumped you closer, and closer to your end. 

He began noticing the way you were starting to clench against him, he assumed you were beginning to enjoy yourself fully now. His other hand snaked its way down your body to toy with your clit again as well, without intent, you mewled at the sensation. One of your hands coming you to cover your mouth, you anxiously looked around the cart. For some reason, no one was looking. Either they really didn’t want to look, or they were utterly disturbed by the sight in the far corner of the cart. Since no one was paying attention, you decided to act purely on desire since you were now worked up. Letting go of the pole you were holding on to, which the man behind you was quick to notice, thinking you were about to try to fight him off, the hand toying with your clit put a bruising hold on you midsection. You winced, both at the sudden loss of your breath, but also the fingers now violently crashing into your cunt, his breath ragged in your ear, causing a chill to run down your spine. “C-can I turn around?” you asked him. His movements stopped, you couldn’t see but he was looking at you completely dumbfounded.

“Why?” he said, sounding a little offended.

“Well t-there’s not a-lot of people in here. No one i-is going to care, I... liked uhm, kissing.” you murmured shyly, feeling pathetic and disgusted with yourself for wanting more. But the throbbing inside of your womb was now becoming almost unbearable, you could use something to take the edge off.

“What’s your name, baby?” he asked, his chin now resting against your shoulder.

“F/n, why?”

“F/n... you’re very naughty, you know that? I mean what kind of dirty slut wants to start kissing someone who just grabbed ‘em on the train? Maybe I was right, you are a special girl, huh?” he was quick to turn you around, pulling his hood back over his head, but not all the way. Your bodies were touching, and resting against the pole. So that way you could actually look at him. The fingers that were inside you, stuck straight into his mouth. Cleaning off your natural essence off his fingers like he had eaten the best meal he’d ever had. “At least you taste good. Sweet. Like fuckin’ honey or somethin’. C’mere pretty, I’ll let you try.” he leered down at you, his jagged scars twisting up in a cocky smile. Grabbing you by the back of your head, and crashing his lips against yours, sucking your bottom lip into his mouth immediately, snaking a hand of his into your hair. The other one traveling down south once again, pushing right into your slippery walls. Mewling against his tongue.

The sight must’ve been so erotic, they way you were pulling his face closer to yours by holding the back of his neck. Moaning, and panting into the heated kiss. His fingers inside of your pussy scissoring, and harshly pressing right against your cervix. God his fingers are so long.

He yanked your head back, looking at your features. Drinking in the sight of your half lidded eyes, kiss swollen lips and flushed expression. Your eyes silently begging him to keep at it, removing your arms from his. The man bit his lip, leaning back a tad to put his hand around your neck, reveling at how pretty and soft you looked like this. His hand never stopping it’s assault inside of you. “Sweet, right?”

“Y-yeah.”

“How close are you?” he asked, picking up his pace.

“Mmm, c-close. So close. Nngh.” The hand around your neck squeezed harder at the sides, making your eyes roll back as the thrusts of his hand picked up. The man stood over you once more, watching how your eyes kept rolling back into your skull, and how you biting so hard on your lip he was worried it might split. 

“Dabi.” he said, waiting for you to reply, and giving your neck a break from the squeezing. 

“H-Huh?” 

“My name, I want you to say it. Say it when you’re cummin’, I want you to remember who made you feel this good.” he kissed your cheek. “Will you be a good girl, an’ do that for me?”

“Yes D-Dabi. I’ll- be good.”

“You’re completely falling apart with just my touch.” he chuckled, leaning to your ear again, his hands dropping from your neck, to your thigh. Feeling to flesh of your ass again, this time he tried to hold your thigh to his hip, like he was expecting you to let him carry you. But in all honesty, it’s so he could rut his hips against your thigh and try to pretend for a second he was fucking you. Dabi reveled in the feeling of your soft skin against his fingertips. Bet it would feel even nicer against his dick. “I could fuck you right now, just whip out my cock, and stick it right in. I bet you’d like that huh? Me fucking you in front of all these people? I bet you wouldn’t even try to be quiet. Dirty, dirty girl. Maybe I should, huh-”

“No! No, p-please not here. Not in public. P-please Dabi.”

“I like seeing you beg like that, so I won’t this time ‘round.” he attached his mouth to your neck. Making it a point now to mark his territory, and watch you squirm. Wait-- this time around?! In that moment, you felt you were seconds away from bursting and his words meant nothing. His fingers inside of you continued to curl, and push you in all the right places. Your body quickly beginning to flood with a familiar euphoric sensation, knees growing weak, and the blissful feeling of stomach growing tight was all you could think about.

“D-Dabi.” you mewled out, mouth left to hang open. Your hands quickly clutching the jacket he was wearing, trying to feel like you had some control. “Please d-don’t stop, p-lease- oh!” 

He stared into your face as you grew closer. Dabi liked how hard you were tugging at his jacket, it confirmed for him that you were actually growing a lot closer than he thought. Despite the feeling of your gooey walls clenching around his fingers as if it was trying to suck them in. “Cum for me baby, you’re so close.”

“Dabi-- oh God, fuck- Dabi!” you cried out, a little bit louder than you intended. The coil in your stomach finally snapped, releasing the overwhelming feeling of your formerly restrained orgasm. Your tight cunny was clenching vigorously around him as he continued to pump into you, enjoying as you struggled to breathe due to how hard you had just came. Every inch of your body was jolting, trying to adjust to the come down of the feeling, and the man above you was watching with a smile. Dabi brought his free hand up that wasn’t covered in slick, and wiped some sweat, as well with stray hairs from your face. 

“Open up.” he said, removing his hand from your aching, and pleased cunt, shoving them into your mouth. Suddenly alarmed by the feeling of tasting your own arousal, and having his fingers try to climb their way down your throat. “Suck.”

So that’s what you did-- suck on his fingers, and he pumped them as well. Watching your pretty mouth try to take all of his abuse, and after he deemed them clean enough, he pulled them out. “You did so well for me tonight. We a couple minutes left of this ride, let’s make out.”

Before you could even respond, his tongue was already in your mouth and silencing you. During the time it took for you guys to get to your train stop, you did exactly that. Passionately making out for all to see, against a pole inside of a train cart. His hands palming your ass under your skirt like before, and your hands running through the tendrils of inky black locks. Honestly, you really should feel more ashamed than you currently are. Making out with the same man who was making you cry not even fifteen minutes ago, and letting him grind his erection against your thigh. But, you needed to fix that ache in your womb. You needed someone, or something, to make that coil snap.

Then soon, the train was beginning to halt to a stop, and the two of you pulled away. Your hands still locked into his hair. Holding his face close to yours. “That was fun, but I oughta head off now. I’ll be lookin’ out for you, so don’t do anything stupid, or run off on me.” you nodded, feeling threatened by his words, but also excited at the opportunity to see him again. Never in a million years would you think this of all things would happen, but it wasn’t anything to complain about. He pulled you in for another kiss, and following it by pressing another one to your cheek. “Get home safe now, ‘kay?”

“Okay.” you said in a hushed voice, as he pulled away from your body. Pulling his hood further over his face. Leaving you a stick, sweaty mess in the now emptying train. Adjusting your skirt, and top, combing through your now horribly messed locks. 

Before stepping out, you got a disgusted look from an older woman in the back of the cart. Shaking her head at you. But it made you let out a little laugh, stepping out of the cart on to the platform. Eyes scanning the scene for any sight of your scarred, and disturbed prince charming. But by that time he was long gone. Which kind of made you sad, but also relieved. Your mind was hazy, and clouded with a confused lust. Wondering if his words were true— were you going to see him again? Did you even want to? Why weren’t you freaking out right now? What is going on?

The entire walk home, was filled with your mind being so loud it was drowning out all of your senses.

Including the one that could’ve sensed the man following you home.

Don’t worry though, he just wanted to make sure his pet got home safely.

[daveeddiggsit]

The Plan

WIDEOUT MASTERLIST

Series: WIDEOUT (chpt viii)

Note: Thank you @braidedchallah for proofreading. Reminder — before you kill me — there is one chapter left (and an epilogue). Keep that in mind. Enjoy. Feel free to yell at me afterwards. If you’re reading this, I’m sorry for what you’re about to experience.

Word Count: 12.2k

Pairing: Football Player!Thomas Jefferson x Tutor!Reader

Warnings: angst. possible breakup. perhaps some crying. implied sex (more than once). thom being a perfect boyfriend. thom looking fine af in denim (i’m trash).

Summary: Goodbyes are hard.

Tags: @coololdsoulpoetlove @wreakhavoconmacroissantdiggs @lilangeldevil006 @pana-ce-a @merrahonthawall @katierpblogg @thespianbooks @a-hopeless-fan @uniquelystarchildthedragon @wcreech @sabbrriiinnaa @imperial-martian @harpersmariano @icanneverbesatisfied @underthewillowtreerycb @i-know-i-can @astralaffairs @braidedchallah​ (if i forgot anyone i apologize, just lemme know for next time)

As one of the smartest kids in your graduating class, you have a certain reputation to uphold. Maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA isn’t easy, which means that you have to choose all the right answers and make all the right decisions. 

As it turns out, you seem to be pretty good at that. Being right about a lot of things, academic or not, seems to come naturally to you. Especially when it comes to a certain curly-haired athlete who also happens to be your boyfriend of over a year.

You had been right when you told him that he would recover from his ankle injury on the night it happened. Well, you can’t be entirely sure of that yet since he’s still not clear to engage in full-action sports, but it’s incredibly clear that he’s well on his way to recovering fully.

Almost exactly seven weeks after the incident, he’d gotten his cast removed and replaced with a boot so that he could put weight on his ankle again. Since then, he’s been in physical therapy almost daily in order to make sure that he’s healing the right way. According to him, he’s progressing well every week and is slowly regaining his mobility, strength, and speed. Just two weeks ago he ditched the boot so that he could finally put on a pair of shoes; you remember the grin on his face when he gave you a little dance to show off the new kicks he’d gotten as celebration.

He’s not 100% healthy yet, and he certainly won’t be back on the field (or track) for another couple months until he’s clear to practice, but you’re proud that he’s been able to recover as much as he has in relatively so little time.

On the night of his injury, you’d also been right about another thing: the fact that Thomas would receive college offers.

And that’s what you’re celebrating today.

After weeks and weeks of advocating for himself and sending his player reel and personal letters to the head coaches of schools he wanted to attend, he finally got an offer from one of his top college choices: the University of Virginia.

While their football team isn’t the most notable in the nation, their program is one of the best in the state of Virginia at a Division I level, and that’s pretty much all Thomas wants. After he recovers fully, Thomas will make an excellent asset to the team since one of their starting wide receivers is entering the NFL Draft after this year. 

At UVA, Thomas would get the play time he needs to shine and show his true colors and talent as a wide receiver all while having a coaching staff there to support him and his every need. Their academic program for liberal arts is also something Thomas has been looking at in a school since he plans on majoring in English.

With all of that said, the Jefferson household decides to host a special dinner for their son in celebration of the wonderful news. 

And while under normal circumstances, you would feel happy and excited for your boyfriend and his amazing accomplishment, instead you have a voice that lingers in the back of your mind reminding you of the similar news you had received just a week prior.

Thomas isn’t the only one with a huge scholarship offer.

After applying to many different schools with somewhat notable engineering programs in-state (because let’s be real, out-of-state tuition is absurdly expensive), you’ve received only a few grants from NYU and Syracuse University, but it isn’t enough to cover all of tuition.

But when you’d received an email last week from the one out-of-state school you had applied to last minute, your heart had just about dropped from your chest.

UCLA is offering you a full-ride.

You should be happy that you have an incredible offer. You should be elated for Thomas with his scholarship offer, too. However, you can’t help but feel a looming sense of stress every time you think about telling him.

That’s why you haven’t told him yet; it’s been nine days.

“Y/N?”

Thomas’ voice snaps you out of your thoughts and suddenly you are brought back to reality. You’re dressed up and sitting at the dinner table with Thomas across from his parents. The menu of the night consists of a couple different French dishes that his mother had learned to make a few years back when they visited Paris for an entire summer. His mother’s rendition of the food is nothing short of amazing.

Your eyes meet the warm brown ones that belong to your boyfriend as you turn your head to glance at him next to you. “Hmm?”

”You didn’t hear anythin’ I said, did you?” Thomas chuckles, biting his lip as he watches you put on a guilty simper.

“No, sorry.” You breathe out a small laugh in order to cover up your underlying nervousness. “I zoned out for a minute there. What were you saying?” 

“Well, I’m arguin’ a case here. Technically, a hot dog — a piece of meat held together by two pieces of bread - is a sandwich, right? In simple terms and by definition this should be true, so don’t overthink it. My dad keeps saying it’s not, but please, Y/N, you gotta side with me this time.”

You take a breath in and click your tongue. “I don’t know, Peter, I think I gotta go with Thom on this one.”

“Yes!” Thomas celebrates, throwing his arms up dramatically. “I told you!”

Mr. Jefferson’s mouth drops at your response. “How dare you take his side. Did all those other times teaming up at dinner and making fun of him mean nothing to you?”

If it hadn’t been evident prior to this moment where Thomas gets his overdramatics from, then it’s certainly clear now.

“Case closed.” Thomas smirks, crossing his arms, proud of himself.

“What are you talking about? The case is far from closed.” His father retorts, splaying his arms out, causing Thomas’ mom to speak out. 

“Hey, calm down, you two. You’re gonna make a mess if you keep on bangin’ the table like that.” She chastises them. They both mutter their apologies before Thomas’ father continues on defending himself.

“Y/N, why’d you choose his side? You know I’m right. Don’t let that boy guilt trip you; he’s still gonna love you if you disagree with him.”

“Sorry, Peter.” You shrug, sneaking a glance at Thomas who’s watching you with a glint in his eyes. “As much as I don’t want to agree with your son on this one, I unfortunately do.”

Thomas pauses to narrow his eyes as you in puzzled manor. “‘Unfortunately?’ Your words wound me, sweetheart, really.” He says in a teasing tone before his smile turns smug as he directs his attention towards his father. “But you see, Dad? It’s 2 against 1. ‘M sorry to say, but your opinion is overruled.”

Mr. Jefferson waves his son off dismissively. “That’s horseshit; your mother hasn’t sided with anyone yet. We still have one more vote to count.”

“Language, Peter.” The woman in question warns, giving him a look that’s only half serious.

“Well, honey? You agree with me, don’t you?” Peter asks his wife with pleading eyes, causing her to roll hers.

“Sure, sweetie.”

You shake your head and smile, leaning back in your chair to watch the antics unfold.

“What? Ma, why you takin’ his side?” Thomas jumps in. “I’m supposed to be your favorite, you know.”

“Of course you’re my favorite; you’re my only child, Thomas.” His mother deadpans, causing Thomas to frown.

It’s Peter’s turn now to smirk at Thomas and you. “See? Now we’re tied. Opinion very much not overruled, thank you.”

“Wait, what was your side of the argument again?” Mrs. Jefferson asks her husband. “You said a hot dog is a sandwich, right?”

“No, that’s what I said.” Thomas interjects.

“Oh, well then I agree with Thomas.”

“Ha!” Your boyfriend exclaims, pointing at his dad. “I told you! Your opinion is not valid. Hot dogs are sandwiches. End of story.”

“They are not sandwiches! They are a different entity. How can you compare a ham and cheese to a weiner between two buns? Well I’ll tell you. You can’t!”

“For the last time, Dad. It’s a piece of meat in between two pieces of bread. That is classified as what? A sandwich!”

“With that logic, you’d say that a burger is a sandwich, too?”

“Yup.”

“There is somethin’ wrong with y’all.” Peter shakes his head, picking at the leftover food on his plate. “I thought I raised you better, T. Y/N, I expected you to take my side on this one.”

“Sorry, Mr. J.” You shrug. “Tommy’s right. A piece of meat in between two pieces of bread does indeed technically classify it as a sandwich.”

“Y’all got me thinkin’ that I’m the crazy one now.” Peter sighs defeatedly.

“Alright, alright, that’s enough of that nonsense.” Thomas’ mother chuckles, waving her hand in the air dismissively. “Thomas, honey, your father and I are very proud of you and are excited for your opportunity at UVA.”

“Thanks, Ma.” Thomas grins. “I’m excited, too.”

Under the table, Thomas’ hand finds yours and laces your fingers together. Its warmth is comforting and the small moment makes you forget about everything for just a moment. A small silence stretches on for a bit before Peter speaks up.

“So, Y/N, how are your college applications going? Have you gotten any scholarships yet? I feel like you’re too smart to not get anything.”

Your stomach drops at the question. You really hadn’t expected to be put on the spot like this, and while it is a simple question that you should be able to answer quickly… you don’t. You hesitate and Thomas notices. 

You want to tell the truth, you really do, but you can’t. This is Thomas’ night to celebrate and the last thing you want to do is mess it up with news that you’d be going to school across the country. Tonight is supposed to be about him, not you.

So you lie.

“Oh, um, no, not yet.” You chuckle nervously. The hand holding Thomas’ fidgets slightly and he squeezes lightly to try and help calm your nerves. “I mean, I’ve gotten into NYU and Syracuse so far. Still waiting to hear from Columbia. I haven’t heard much as far as scholarships, though, unfortunately. I’ve received a few grants here and there, but nothing too big.”

“Columbia, wow. What’s their acceptance rate? 10%?” Mrs. Jefferson asks, seemingly interested.

“6%.” Thomas jumps in to answer before glancing at you with a small smile. “I don’t think Y/N will have any trouble getting in, though.”

You send him the biggest smile you can muster, though you feel like it sort of comes out as a grimace. “Thanks, T.” You say softly.

Beat.

“What time is it? I think it’s past my bedtime.” Peter yawns, checking his watch. “10 o’clock? Where did the time go? Y/N, are you going to be okay driving home this late?”

“It’s not that late, Mr. Jefferson. I should be fine.” You’ve definitely driven home from Thomas’ place past 10pm before (multiple times), but you’re not telling him that. “I do think I should probably leave soon, though.”

“You wanna go get your things upstairs, then I can walk you out?” Thomas asks you with a mischievous look in his eye. Knowing him, he probably just wants to get you alone for a bit before you leave. Even through your nervousness to tell him the truth, you can’t deny his charm.

“Yeah, that sounds good, Tommy.”

Then, both you and Thomas excuse yourselves from the table. You make sure to thank Mr. and Mrs. Jefferson for dinner and the invite. You’re always honored to be included in their family events even if it’s something as small as dinner on a Friday night.

When you make it up to Thomas’ room, he doesn’t waste another moment before he kisses you softly, his hand reaching up to cup your cheek after he gently shuts the door.

“Been waitin’ to do that all night.” He grins afterwards, softly brushing over the skin of your cheek with his thumb.

You smile as you bring your hands up to his shoulders, wordlessly leaning forward to sweetly press your lips to his again.

“Missed you.” He mumbles as he pulls away to lean his forehead against yours. “Feel like we haven’t been seeing a lot of each other lately.”

He’s right. With both of you not having any classes together this year, you both worried about college applications, Thomas not in football season anymore and in and out of PT almost constantly, you two haven’t been seeing each other as much as you’d like. Another reason why you haven’t been able to tell Thomas about UCLA (aside from the fact that you simply don’t have the guts to do it).

“I know.” You sigh, looking off to the side for a second. “I’m sorry.”

“‘S not your fault. We’ve both been busy.”

“Yeah, but still.” You say softly. “Feels bad. I miss you.”

He chuckles. “Well, I’m right here, baby. Don’t need to go far.”

You smile haphazardly and roll your eyes as you bring your hand up to the back of his neck and pull him into another kiss. Who knows how many more of these you’ll get before you both graduate and have to go your separate ways.

Before it can go too far, you pull away again.

“T?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m so proud of you.” You say genuinely because you really want him to know. You feel like you don’t tell him enough (even though that’s not the case).  “Really, I am. You deserve that scholarship and so much more.”

“Thanks, love.” He murmurs while a soft smile adorns his face. “Hey, if none of these in-state schools give you anything, I think you’d have a good chance at getting something at UVA. They have an honors college that gives up a ton of grants and shit, you should look into it. I’m not sure if the applications are still open, but worth a try.”

You purse your lips before you give him your response. “Maybe, we’ll see.”

“I’m sure you’ll get something anyway, but just wanted to bring that up and let you know.”

“Appreciate the thought, Thom.”

Thomas grins, giving you one last peck on the lips before finally turning away to remove his overcoat. He double takes when he sees your face drop slightly. His eyebrows furrow as he notices your mood shift. “Hey, what’s wrong? Somethin’ botherin’ you? Not gonna lie, you’ve been a little off all night, sweetheart...”

You hesitate, not able to look him in the eye, the guilt eating you alive. The pressure of holding everything in is building up and while Thomas is normally your rock, the one you can go to for anything, you can’t this time, and you can feel it wearing you down.

You take in a shaky deep breath before you go to sit down on his bed, eyes cast towards the ground. “I’m okay, T, I’m just… stressed. With school.” You say, finally willing yourself to look up into his caring gaze. It hurts to lie to him, but you keep telling yourself that it’s his night.

“You sure?” He asks, taking a seat next to you to gently grab your hand in his. “Seriously, baby, I know when somethin’s up. What’s on that brilliant mind of yours, huh?” He lightly bumps his shoulder against yours in a teasing gesture, causing you to let out a half-hearted chuckle. He always knows how to get a laugh out of you, doesn’t he? “I know you’re worried about more than that stats test you have next week. Tell me what’s really botherin’ you.” He says softly, catching your gaze again.

Sighing once more, you tear your eyes away from his pleading ones. “I um…” You trail off after trying and failing to come up with another lie or excuse. 

Thomas always draws your worries and frustrations out of you; he knows you so well to the point where he knows exactly what to say to convince you to tell him something. Honesty has never been a problem in your relationship, and the last thing you want is to push it to a point of no return. You already feel terrible for withholding the truth; you want to be free from this secret you’ve been holding.

And suddenly seven words echo in your head:

“Tell him. He’ll understand. He loves you.”

Your eyes flit back up to meet his concerned gaze. Here it goes.

“I did get a scholarship. All tuition and expenses paid. I got the email a week and a half ago and I didn’t tell you. I’m sorry.”

His eyes widen at the confession, taken aback by how big the news is.

“Holy shit, Y/N, that’s… that’s amazing, baby. I’m so proud of you. Not surprised, but proud nonetheless.” He says genuinely, a smile evident on his face before it drops slightly. “Why didn’t you wanna tell me?” There’s a moment of silence before he speaks again. “Wait, why’d you lie at dinner when my dad asked?”

You give him a sad smile before you look away again, fidgeting with your fingers on the hand that Thomas isn’t holding. “I didn’t want to take over your night, T. And I didn’t tell you when I found out because… the school’s in Cali.” You say, releasing a breath you didn’t know you’d been holding.

He cocks his head to the side slightly, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. “I thought you only applied to schools in-state.”

You shake your head, pursing your lips before you respond. “That’s what I had planned originally, but my advisor pushed me to apply for this scholarship program at UCLA and… well, I got in.”

Thomas goes silent for a few moments as he looks off to the side, breathing deeply. It’s hard to tell what he’s feeling. Then, he lets out a low whistle. “Full-ride to UCLA, huh?” He says softly before he turns to look at you. 

“Thomas…” You start, your voice soft and full of worry, but he continues to talk.

“Are you going to accept it?” He asks and you nod slowly. 

Ideally, you have no other real choice; by going to UCLA you’d graduate with zero debt. And with UCLA’s engineering program and opportunities that other schools can’t fulfill, it fills all the boxes you want in a university.

“I’m so proud of you, sweetheart. Really. I’m glad they recognize how amazing you are.” The tone in Thomas’ voice is fond and he’s absolutely sure of the words he’s saying. “It’s far away, I know, but we can make it work.” 

The emotions in his eyes are conflicting, but they still hold unrelenting love and support in them. When you hesitate to respond, his eyes search yours, trying to find some sort of answer in them, but before he can decipher anything, you tear your gaze from his.

“Right?” He asks as his grip on your palm loosens until your hand falls back into your lap, the warmth from Thomas’ fingers completely vanished. “Baby, talk to me. Please.”

“Thom, I… I want to think that but I’m not sure.” You admit quietly, and having said that, you can see something in Thomas’ composure crumble.

He shakes his head. “Nah, don’t you say that. We can make this work, Y/N.” His voice wavers slightly as he stands up and runs a hand over his curls, smoothing them back and away from his face. “I haven’t accepted the offer at UVA. I can decline and apply to UCLA—”

“T, I’m not going to ask you to do that—” You start, but he cuts you off.

“You don’t have to ask me, love. I’m willing to do this all on my own. Like I said, we can make this work. I’ll improvise. My parents can afford it, then I can just join the football team as a walk-on. I’m confident I’ll make it. Since they didn’t give me an offer I’ll prove them wrong and be the best damn walk-on they ever had.”

“Thomas, don’t—”

“I can also have my dad send the head coach a letter. I didn’t wanna pull that for any other schools because I wanted to earn all my offers — and because of the whole nepotism thing — but I’ll make an exception for—”

“Thomas, please!” You raise your voice and when he finally stops, you immediately regret it. You’ve never raised your voice like that with him before and doing so right now feels terrible. 

“Please, T, just stop. I don’t want you to do any of that for me. How long have you been waiting for UVA to give you a chance? How many letters have you personally written to Coach Michaels, begging him to consider you for one of their open receiver positions?”

Thomas is silent as you speak, knowing full well that you have a point. You continue.

“You’ve been set on UVA as your top school for a couple months now. Don’t forget how hyped you were when you finally got the offer this morning. And now you want to just throw that away? No. I’m sorry, Thom, but I am not going to be the one to take it away from you.”

“You’re not.” He says earnestly. “Taking it away from me, I mean. I want to do this for you. For us. UCLA has a good football program, too, all I have to do is pull some strings if you’ll let me.”

You shake your head at him. “Okay, well I’m not letting you do that. Thomas, it’s not as easy as you’re making it seem. Think about this, okay? Think about yourself and your football career and all the opportunities that you’ll have for yourself down in Virginia. Don’t let me get in the way of that! I don’t want each of us to be an obstacle in each other’s successes.”

Thomas gives you an incredulous look and stills himself. “Are you serious? Is that what you consider our relationship? An obstacle?”

You look away, sighing. “No, T, I… I didn’t mean it like that, you know that.”

“No, Y/N. I don’t know that.” He looks at you with a distressed gaze, all traces of comfort and playfulness gone and replaced with hurt… caused by you — something you never would have thought you’d see in his eyes. 

“Look, I don’t wanna talk about this right now. Today’s supposed to be your day.”

“Let me get one thing straight, Y/N. Our relationship is not an obstacle… it never has been and it never will be.” Thomas says coldly and you cringe when he calls you by your full name in a tone that’s less than friendly.

“I just don’t want our love for each other to get in the way of…” You trail off, but decide against speaking mid-sentence. “You know what, nevermind.”

“Get in the way of what?”

“Thomas,” you start, making eye contact with him once again. “I don’t want to get in the way of your football career. It’s unfair; I can’t do that to you, T. You deserve to make the most of your career in college so that you can make it to the NFL. That’s your dream, right? To play in the NFL for the New York Giants like your father did. Am I right?”

His jaw clenches slightly as he nods, and you continue.

“The coach at UVA believes in you — even through your injury. Why are you going to throw that away? In order to be with your high school girlfriend? Do you see how childish that sounds?” A beat of silence passes before you continue in a softer tone. 

“I just… I don’t want you to do that, Thomas, it’s too big of a risk. You have a solid spot at UVA to prove yourself on the field. If you drop that for a walk-on position at UCLA, it’ll be a mistake. Instead of proving yourself to NFL recruiters, you’ll be set on proving yourself to college coaches just to get a chance on the field. I want you to have the best chances at making it to the NFL.” Now it’s your turn to stand up. You pace away from him as you continue to speak. 

“Let’s say you do follow me to UCLA and join the football program. What if… what if something happens while we’re in college and we’re not together anymore? What will happen? You’d have potentially messed up your career for me and I don’t want that to happen, T. I’m sorry but I won’t let that happen.”

Thomas holds a hand up to stop you from your ramblings. He speaks his next words slowly.  “Wait, wait, hold on now. You think we’re going to break up in college?”

You roll your eyes in frustration, crossing your arms defensively. “That’s not what I said—”

“No, no that’s exactly what you said.” He responds coldly, narrowing his eyes at you. “I’m starting to question our intentions in this relationship, Y/N. Did you ever plan on us being long term?”

“See, this is why I didn’t wanna tell you. I didn’t want this to happen.” You say, annoyed that it’s gotten to this point of you two having an argument.

“You just gonna ignore my question?”

“Before applying to schools, T, I wasn’t even thinking about the future. I was taking things day by day. We were both pent up in our little perfect world, but right now we need to face reality.”

“Okay, so then why’d you keep this a secret from me? Were you plannin’ on keepin’ this to yourself until graduation? I don’t know if you knew this, sweetheart, but a relationship is a two-way street and involves a little somethin’ called communication.” His snarky tone fills the room and has you rolling your eyes again. “Girlfriends aren’t supposed to lie to their boyfriends and then get mad at him for reacting a certain way when she finally decides to tell him huge news.”

“Look, I’m sorry, okay?” You say, breathing out another sigh and softening up at his last sentence. He’s right; you shouldn’t have kept it a secret. “I wanted to tell you, I just, I don’t know what’s gonna happen after we graduate, okay? And I’m scared.”

“You don’t think we can work through that together? As a team?” Thomas’ eyes are begging you to reason with him. “I’m scared, too, but we’ll figure something out. Right?”

The look in your eyes is distant as you cast them down to the ground. “Yeah.”

“Maybe we could do a long distance thing. I’ve seen other couples do it.”

You fiddle with a loose thread on your sweater. “I don’t know, T. We’ll see if we can come up with something.”

He rolls his eyes and huffs out a hot-tempered laugh. “Okay.” He says shortly.

“What?”

“So you don’t want me to drop everything and go to UCLA with you, which is fine. I understand that. But now you’re telling me that you don’t wanna do long distance?”

“I didn’t say that, I just— we need to be realistic, Thom.”

“What does that even mean?!” He yells, and it’s the first time he’s ever raised his voice at you. You hate it.

“We have to keep the future in mind!”

“I want you in my future! Don’t you want me in your future?”

“We both have different ideas of what we want. Different dreams, okay? You can’t have your dream of making it to the NFL and also have me when I plan on going to an engineering program across the country!” 

You’re deflecting and he knows it.

“Answer the damn question, Y/N.” He says lowly, his voice taking on a dangerous edge.

“Of course I want you in my future, Thomas!” You say exasperatedly, looking at the ceiling. “What kind of question is that?”

“Forgive me if I’m strugglin’ to believe that when you’re actin’ like this.” He says, his voice taking a more neutral tone, but he sounds exhausted. “You’re going to school across the country and you were hesitant to tell me - fine. I fucking get it. But you can’t just say that we’ll probably break up in college and think that that is fucking okay. It’s not! And you can’t say ‘I don’t know’ about dating long distance when that’s literally the only other option we have.”

“That’s the thing, Thomas. I don’t know if that’s the only other option we have.”

His face looks puzzled as he looks at you for a few seconds before realization finally settles in. Thomas narrows his eyes at you once again, his gaze cold, making your heart drop in your chest. “You wanna break up, don’t you?”

“No.” You state, choosing your words carefully. “I don’t want to. But we have to think about—”

“Our future, yeah. I get it.” Thomas snaps, cutting you off. “You know what? You want to talk about the future? Fine. Maybe we should.” He says simply, crossing his arms. “If you think we’re just going to break up in college anyway, maybe we should just speed up the process and get it over with.”

You shake your head at him. “Thomas, don’t do this. That’s not what I want.”

“Isn’t it?”

“It’s not.”

“I find that extremely hard to believe.”

“I’m done arguing with you, Jefferson.” You breathe out tiredly, running a hand through your hair.

He sighs, rubbing a hand over his face. He looks completely drained as he speaks again, his voice now calm. “What are we doing here, Y/N?”

A small silence fills the air before you answer quietly. “I don’t know, T.”

What are you both doing? Arguing about whether or not your relationship should continue after high school? Maybe you are being a little irrational about it, implying that you should break up before college and all. Thomas’ reaction to it all is understandable because he doesn’t want to lose you. However, he needs to be truthful to himself. Is this relationship going to work when the two of you are seeking entirely different career paths on opposite coasts?

What a fucking mess.

You hate that it’s gotten to this point. Your fear about telling Thomas and it going downhill has come true, and knowing that makes you even more emotional.

“Tommy… I…” You say sotto voce, on the edge of tears as you slowly reach for him, but he puts a hand up stopping you from moving any further. He turns his face so you can’t see his expression.

“Don’t, Y/N.” Thomas’ voice is firm, but it breaks slightly when he says your name. “Just don’t.” He whispers.

You watch him and he struggles to keep himself together. You hate that you’ve done this to him, that you’re making him feel this way… you hate that you’ve caused this.

“I’m gonna go…” You voice (barely above a whisper) after a long silent pause, not trusting your normal voice due to the shaky deep breaths that begin to rack your body. You’re on the verge of breaking down.

Thomas nods. “I think you should.”

And that breaks your heart.

You feel weird leaving like this, gross even. You don’t want to leave things off like they are. You don’t want to leave things unresolved and you don’t want to leave with Thomas still angry at you. Still, though, you grab all your things and head to the doorway of his room.

Pausing to look back at him, you open your mouth to say something, but hesitate. Deciding against it, you turn to open the door and leave without another word.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━   ♛   ━━━━━━━﹤⋆

You call Maria as soon as you get to your car. She helps you keep your composure as you drive to her house, keeping you company via phone. You make sure to send your family a quick text of your whereabouts and that you plan to spend the night at Maria’s place.

As soon as you arrive in her bedroom and drop your bag to the ground, you break down and begin to sob, crashing into the welcoming arms of your best friend. You cry until you can’t anymore, and Maria is there for you the entire time hugging you and easing you through it.

She stays there, quiet and still, allowing you to let out all of your emotions. You don’t tell her the details about what happened until after you have no tears left to cry.

“Don’t be mad at T, please, none of this is his fault.” You sniffle, wiping at your nose with a tissue Maria gave you. “It’s all mine.”

“Y/N, don’t blame yourself for all this. You just want what’s best for the both of you in the long run. If he doesn’t understand that, then he’s just not seeing the whole picture.”

“I just hate arguing with him, Maria.” You say weakly, wiping at your face to dry your tears. “This is our first fight and I hate how I feel right now. I don’t want things to end on bad terms. How am I supposed to get over this feeling once we… if we break up before college?”

“You don’t have to end things on bad terms, Y/N.” Maria says softly. “You both need to be on the same page about this. If you both make a plan and sort things out, then maybe you can leave things on a positive note. Not as a goodbye, but as a see you later, you know? And if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. You’ll meet again one day and you can pick up where you left off. But if it’s not, then at least you guys can cherish what you had when you were just two kids in high school who didn’t know any better and made the most of their teenage years.”

You nod slowly. She does have a point, and this is all what you were thinking when you had even brought up the thought of breaking up after graduation.

“How do you always know the right thing to say?”

“It’s my best friend superpower. I can’t help it.” She shrugs, making you laugh, even if it was only a half-hearted one. “Seriously, though. You two need to have an honest conversation with one another.”

You sigh, wiping the rest of your drying tears away with the tissue. “I think we both could use some space right now, though. I’m going to wait until Monday.”

Maria nods. “Monday. But you have to talk to him. You can’t chicken out. I know you, Y/N.”

“Sometimes a little too well…”

“All for the best.” She grins.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━   ♛   ━━━━━━━﹤⋆

After a long and lonely weekend, Monday finally comes and you make sure to wake up earlier than usual in order to make it to school in time for when Thomas comes out of his physical therapy session with his track trainer.

You haven’t called, texted, or seen each other since Friday night and the guilt and heaviness from what happened still weighs on your chest despite the reassuring words from Maria. 

Patiently and nervously, you wait outside the boys’ locker room like you have countless times before, only this time, things feel much different. The anticipation lingers in the air surrounding you and you feel the stress push at your shoulders until the door finally opens and Thomas walks out.

After over a year of dating, you still get butterflies at the sight of him even though he’s just wearing simple black jeans and a t-shirt.

As he shrugs on his jean jacket and backpack, he glances up through a few stray curls that fall down in front of his eyes. His eyes flicker to you as he walks in your direction before he rips them away quickly. 

“T, hey how was…?” You try to speak to him, but he just continues to walk past you.

You watch him as he goes on like nothing, completely disregarding your presence.

“You’re still mad…” You trail off, falling into step with him and his pace doesn’t falter.

He doesn’t say a word.

“Listen, I know you probably don’t wanna see me right now, but please hear me out.”

Still nothing.

You know he’s still upset; he only gets quiet when he has a lot on his mind or he’s going through something. Taking in a deep breath, you speed up so that you can get in front of him.

“Thomas, hey, stop.” You say, putting a hand on his chest. You know that if he really wants to charge past you he can, but instead he stays there, halted by your touch. He looks down at you, his face nearing yours, and your eyes plead with his. “Please.” You whisper, your fingers curling into his black shirt to hold him there (or maybe it’s more of a way to ground yourself).

Thomas’ detached gaze lingers on your face and as your eyes search his, you note just how devoid of energy he looks. 

“I just want to talk. I…” You watch him as he breaks your gaze to look at the ground. “I know I fucked up; I said some things I shouldn’t have. Just please let me make it up to you. I need you, T. I want to fix this while we still can.”

You sneak a glance around you to see that you’ve attracted some attention from your fellow classmates who are unapologetically staring. Do they know about you and Thomas’ fight? How could they possibly know? You two are hardly making a scene, but then again… people are vultures who will perk up at even the slightest bit of drama.

“Can we go somewhere private? Please? Just the two of us.”

Thomas licks his lips as he looks around, then back at you lazily. “Can this wait? We have class in six minutes, you know.”

“Let’s skip.” You say, causing him to raise his eyebrows in surprise. “This is more important than class today, okay? How about we go to that diner down the street?”

“It’s a little too early for a milkshake and fries, isn’t it?”

“They have eggs and waffles, too.” You say, your eyes pleading him to accept your offer. “Please? I know you love breakfast.”

He’s quiet for a few more minutes and you wait in anticipation for his answer. Just when you get your hopes down and think he’s going to reject you, he speaks up.

“Okay.” He responds finally. “But only because I really don’t want to watch boring presentations about the social cognitive theory in my Psych class…”

You breathe out a sigh of relief. “That’s good enough for me, T.”

“Bribin’ me with breakfast. You know that shit’s my weakness…” He mutters under his breath as he shakes his head. You’re not sure if he’d meant for you to hear that, but either way it makes a hint of a grin form on your lips.

“Come on, I’ll drive.”

⋆﹥━━━━━━━   ♛   ━━━━━━━﹤⋆

When you get to the diner, it’s fairly empty except for an elderly couple at a booth and a man at the counter drinking a cup of coffee. The smell of eggs and bacon wafts through the air and enters your nostrils as you breathe in.

A waitress greets you when you two slide into a booth, sitting across from each other. She hands you both menus and gets your drink orders before she’s off.

Silence fills the air between you as you both look over your menus. Thomas doesn’t say anything and it feels weird, suddenly reminding you of why you’re here in the first place. While from an outside perspective it may look like a normal outing between you two, you can feel the lingering tension in the air that’s leftover from Friday night. Unspoken feelings and unresolved problems still remain. 

You sneak a glance at him over your menu only to find him already staring back at you. As soon as your eyes meet, he looks away.

“I feel really bad about Friday.” You finally break the silence, your voice small. Wanting nothing more than to let him know how you feel, you try to catch his gaze. When his brown eyes finally meet yours, you continue. “I hate the way we left things…”

“Me too.” He finally says softly. You two stare at each other for a few more seconds and Thomas opens his mouth to continue. “I…”

Then, the waitress comes back with a couple water cups and two black coffees, interrupting whatever it was that Thomas was about to say. You and Thomas direct your attention to her with fake smiles as she asks for your orders. 

After she takes your menus and leaves, you let out a sigh as you look down at your fidgeting hands.

“Listen, T…” You begin, regret and guilt evident in your voice. You make sure to look up and meet his gaze one more time before you continue. “I'm sorry for lying to you and your family — I should have told you the day I found out, but I was too afraid of losing what we have. And I'm sorry for fucking up your day when we were supposed to be celebrating instead.” 

You stop to take in a shaky deep breath, looking down at your hands once again. “I’m so sorry if I made it seem like I was doubting our relationship or… or if I made you feel like I didn’t… like you weren’t…” Struggling to find the right way to express how sorry you are, your tone gets more and more emotional as you stumble over your words.

Thomas saves you from your struggle, however, as his hand reaches across the table to cover yours, causing you to look up at him with surprise. “It’s okay, sweetheart.”

“What?” You voice breathlessly. “I… I thought you were still mad. It shouldn’t be that easy. Why are you…?”

He shrugs slowly. “Because you’re not entirely at fault… and as much as I want to stay angry, I can’t stand seein’ you in distress like this.”

You purse your lips and squeeze his hand in yours. “I’m still really sorry, T. I want you to know that. I said some things I regret and…”

“I know you are. Especially after seeing you try to fix things today by not takin’ no for an answer earlier. We both said some things we regret and it’s okay, Y/N. Really.” His voice is soft as he responds. “I’m sorry for yellin’ and not fully listenin’ to what you were sayin’. And for bein’ kind of a dick to you earlier when I ignored you. I was in denial. I just felt like you were givin’ up on us too quickly and I… I don’t wanna mess up what we have. I really don’t.”

Your eyes soften at his words. “I know. Me neither.”

You both are quiet for a few seconds as you both struggle to find a way to address the elephant in the room. 

Luckily, you both get interrupted by the waitress again who comes back with your orders. You let go of each other’s hand when your plates are placed in front of you. Your mouth waters at the sight of your food, and you thank your waitress before she leaves again, telling you to let her know if you need anything else.

A comfortable silence falls in the space between you and Thomas, and though you feel that the tension from Friday night has now dissipated, the stress of the upcoming conversation still sits on your shoulders.

Surprisingly, Thomas is the one who initiates it.

“So…” He starts after chasing a mouthful of pancakes with a sip of water. “I’m guessin’ you won’t be comin’ back to town on holiday breaks?”

You cringe at the bluntness of the question. “What made you assume that?”

He shrugs, chewing his food before swallowing. “Just the way you were so helpless with your options. Thinking back to it, I figure that you probably wouldn’t have jumped to the possibility of breaking up unless you’d already thought things through somewhat.”

Very observant of him.

You nod before letting out a small sigh. “Yeah. My family’s planning on moving to Miami once I move out. Apparently they’re tired of the cold weather and wanted to wait to move until I graduated high school. They let me know when I told them the news.”

“Erik, too?”

“He’s staying in Philly until he graduates next Spring.”

“Well, that sucks.” He says, picking at the leftovers on his plate.

“Yeah.” You reply softly. “I just… I don’t know what to do anymore, Thomas. I thought the answer was clear, but now I’m not so sure.”

He sighs, putting his fork down before looking up at you. “I think I do.”

Your eyebrows furrow as you tilt your head in confusion.

Thom sighs, leaning back in his seat. “Well, for starters, you’re always right, let me just put that out there.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is. Well, for this instance, at least.” He says simply before he continues. “As much as I hate to say it, I don’t think we’ve got options here.”

“Yes we do, you said it yourself, T.”

“We don’t, Y/N, you were right. I didn’t wanna believe it before but now, I don’t think I have a choice.” He says, holding your gaze firmly. “The two of us going to the same school is out of the picture. Especially with application deadlines already being passed - I checked and I don’t know what I was thinking on Friday. And with us not going to be able to see each other even on holiday breaks… I don’t think that leaves anythin’ else on the table.”

“Thomas, really, you don’t have to do this. Don’t let me pressure you into something you don’t wanna do. Like you said, a relationship’s a two way street. We can work something out. I don’t know what, but we’ll try something else.”

“You’re not pressuring me, Y/N. What would that ‘something else’ be? Long distance? The chances of us visiting each other are slim, especially since I’ll be stuck at UVA for the majority of summer break for training camp. Especially since you’ll be in California and especially since you have no incentive to come back to town after you graduate.”

“You’re my incentive, T.”

He licks his lips and lets out a small laugh. “Baby, don’t fight me on this; you wanted this. Why the shift?”

“I don’t wanna lose you.” You say, voice quiet and close to tears.

Thomas reaches out across the table for your hand again. You lace your fingers with his and hold tightly. “I know. I don’t want to lose you either, but you were right, sweetheart. Seeing each other once a year isn’t good enough, let’s be real. I think we’d be hurting more than we'd be happy.”

You let out a long, deep sigh, squeezing his hand. He’s absolutely right and you knew this when you started this conversation on Friday — doesn’t mean that you don’t want to avoid it, though.

“We… we should…” He hesitates to continue the sentence. “We— God, why is this so hard?”

“You don’t have to say it if you don’t want to, T.”

He takes a deep breath before the words finally come out. “We should break up. This summer.”

It sounds foreign coming out of his mouth and his change in viewpoint surprises you still, even after talking it through with him.

“I don’t wanna be your shackle, Y/N.” He says, squeezing your hand comfortingly. “I want you to do great things without worryin’ about me. Just like you were sayin’ on Friday. And I don’t wanna risk getting to a point where we grow too distant we lose all hope.”

Your eyes tear up a little bit and you reach up to wipe at your eyes with your free hand.

“But that doesn’t mean I’m lettin’ you off easy, missy.” Thomas looks at you pointedly, his voice wavering slightly. He lets out a small bittersweet laugh before he continues. “I’m gonna consider this more of a ‘see you later’ than a ‘goodbye forever’ kinda thing. At some point, I don’t know or care when, we’ll continue where we left off. Mark my words.”

You laugh, wiping away a stray tear. You’ve definitely heard those words before. “Have you been talking to Maria lately?”

He gives you a confused look. “No, not since we went on that double date with her and Ellie like two weeks ago, why?”

“She said a similar thing to me when I vented to her this weekend.”

“Really? Oh. I thought I was clever for that one.”

“You were.” You smile, rubbing small circles on the top of his hand.

A comfortable silence settles. The waitress comes back with the check and you give her your card against Thomas’ protests. It’s not long before she comes back and wishes that you both have a good rest of your day.

“This is gonna fucking suck.” Thomas suddenly says bluntly.

“Yeah, it is.” You sigh. “But you know what? We’re gonna make the most of the next three months. We’ll laugh together, we’ll cry together, we’ll enjoy the good times, and when the time comes… we won’t look back. Then, maybe one day, when I’m an engineer and you’re in the NFL… we’ll meet again.”

He sends you a watery smile, giving your hand a small squeeze. “I’m countin’ on it, sweetheart.”

You reciprocate his smile as a small silence stretches in between you two.

Thomas’ eyes fall onto his untouched (and probably now cold) coffee and with his free hand he reaches for the cream. You take that as a sign to let his hand go to let him tend to his glorified bean water, but as you try to withdraw your fingers from his, he just holds on tighter.

“Um, excuse me? What do you think you’re doin’?” He asks, glancing at you like you just committed a sin. 

“Don’t you need to pour creamer?” You raise an eyebrow, wondering what the big deal is. “I don’t want you to spill it.”

“Girl, I can pour creamer with one hand, thank you very much.” And there’s the Thomas you know and love, not that he was ever absent in the first place, but it’s good to see him messing around again. “Let me hold your hand in peace because God knows how many more times I’ll get to do it. I gotta savor it.”

“Stoppp.” You whine, drawing the word out. “This is how you’re gonna act until graduation, isn’t it?”

“You complainin’, sweetheart?” He fake pouts as he carefully pours the cream in his coffee and stirs with a spoon. “I thought you loved me.”

You roll your eyes. “You know I love your dramatic ass.”

“Mhm. In more ways than one.” Thomas hums before he takes a sip of his coffee. He cringes when he realizes it’s cold and you laugh at his reaction.

“Ready to go yet?” You ask, amused.

He nods. “We’re not going back to class, though, are we? Because if that’s the case, then no.”

“What? Hell no. Who do you think I am?” You say as you both mutually let go of each other’s hand to get up from the booth.

“A goody-two-shoes, that’s what you are. Really, baby, I didn’t expect you to mention skipping class. That’s like… blasphemy for you.”

You shrug as he holds the front door open for you. “Guess you’re rubbing off on me.”

Thomas gives you a suggestive look and that causes you to smack his arm. “God, Thomas, not like that. Jesus.”

He lets out a full-bodied laugh as you approach your car and he grabs you by the waist as he leans back against the driver’s door. He presses a kiss to your forehead, hugging you close to him. “Just messin’.”

You roll your eyes before you pull back to look him up and down.

“When’d you get this jacket? Haven’t seen you in it before.” You muse, bringing your hands up to grab the denim on each side of his collar.

“A week ago? Maybe two? This is my first time wearing it, though.” He answers before he smirks. “Why? You like it?”

“Yeah, you look good in denim.”

“Do I, now?” He cocks his head slightly, amused as your face drifts closer.

“Mhm. The jacket really suits you.” You hum, releasing the material with one of your hands to slide it up to his jaw. You give him a soft kiss on his lips before you pull back. “Might look better on the floor, though. I don’t know. We’ll have to try and find out.”

Thomas’ eyebrows shoot up in surprise; he hadn’t expected you to turn the suggestive talk around on him. A smirk forms on his lips as he presses them to yours one more time.

“Your parents home?” He mumbles against you.

You pull away slightly to think about it for a second. “No, actually.”

“Well, then I guess we’re about to find out.”

⋆﹥━━━━━━━   ♛   ━━━━━━━﹤⋆

Over the next few months, you and Thomas keep the promise you gave to each other at the diner. You’ve stayed positive and lived in the moment and, to be honest, those three months have probably been the best three months of your life.

You and Thom are both making the most of your time, making sure to spend almost every weekend together. 

You study together even though you don’t share any classes. Most of the time is spent doing homework in silence, but you still enjoy each other’s presence.

For spring break, you go on a trip to the beach with Thomas, Maria, Ellie, James, Aaron, and a few more mutual friends. The week is full of banter and lots of fun-filled memories that you’ll remember for many years to come. It’s definitely one of the many highlights of senior year.

Thomas, being his over-the-top self, asks you to prom by spelling ��Prom?’ out with bouquets of roses on your front lawn. And as if that isn’t enough, you wake to the sound of a live orchestral quartet playing your favorite song. You groggily walk over to your window to see where the sound is coming from and you’re met with the sight of your boyfriend grinning up at you with his arms gesturing around him proudly.

Of course you say yes. 

You would have said yes even if he had asked you casually — but what can you say… you’re a sucker for flowers and he knows it.

Prom night is an absolute blast. You feel like a stunner in your dress and Thomas looks unbelievably handsome in his fitted tux. You stay together the entire night, dancing, singing, laughing, and joking around with both your and his friends.

You almost lose track of the amount of date nights you have with Thomas. You have movie nights, some nights you go rollerskating, concerts, restaurants, hell, you even go paintballing together, which is something that neither of you had ever thought you’d get into.

But as June grows closer and closer, you can’t help but feel that heaviness settle back into your chest. You’d be lying if you said that you haven’t thought about backing out of this agreement the two of you have. In fact, you’ve spent countless nights lying wide awake (sometimes right next to Thomas), trying to figure out how things would go if you decide to stay together.

With your parents deciding to move down to Miami a week after you graduate, it pushes the day you move out to LA earlier than you had originally intended, which makes the idea of staying together seem next to impossible. Your mother says that it’ll be a good opportunity for you to get to know the LA area before classes start in August. 

This causes you and Thomas to have a more in-depth conversation about the plan and it ends with you two deciding to break it off a week before your big move. Both of you are in agreement that it would be best for the both of you, so that you have some time to recover. You figure it will be easier that way.

So, when the time comes to start packing your things for your move to California (and your parents’ move to Florida), you get stressed out. You notice that Thomas’ and your enthusiasm/positivity starts to fade as the date of graduation creeps closer and closer.

Which brings you to the present.

On the day of graduation, reality finally hits you. Because not only are you recognizing the fact that you’re leaving the love of your life in eight days to go to school in Cali, you’re also leaving Maria who has been a constant in your life since elementary school.

Maria plans to stay in town and go to community college to knock out all her general education classes before she transfers to a four-year university. Luckily, her girlfriend Ellie has the same idea, so they’ll be taking the same path after high school.

At least they will be together.

Unlike you and Thom, who are currently posing for a photo together for his and your parents who stand behind their phones grinning and teary eyed. You both give your best smiles to the cameras, trying to preserve the memory as best as possible without breaking.

Surprisingly, you and Thomas have stayed strong despite the impending suspension of your relationship that lingers in the atmosphere between you. Although teary eyed because you are saying goodbye to a lot of friends and faculty you’ve gotten to know over the years, you and Thomas don’t cry on graduation day. You don’t cry during the ceremony, you don’t cry during the many pictures you take that day, and you don’t cry at the large family dinner the Jefferson household holds for both you and Thomas.

You’ve both toughed it out both privately and in public. But graduation day eventually comes to its inevitable end, and the day after begins, marking your last day with Thomas Jefferson as your boyfriend.

The two of you make your last day special and have a day-long picnic in a nearby park. You wake up early and spend the entire day together, laughing, kissing, talking, and having as much fun as you can with the inevitable future looming over your heads. You both make the best of your time together, and that’s really all you can ask for.

As the day goes by, your time together begins to run out. And both of your composures begin to fade as each second passes.

While your curfew to be back home is 10pm, you and Thomas decide to hold onto each other a bit longer, so he drives you home and you sneak him into your room when your parents are too busy packing in the basement. They know that this is your last day with Thomas, so when you’re distracting them while Thomas makes his way up the stairs, you tell them that you’re going to sleep early. They comfort you for a few minutes but leave you to your own grief, knowing to respect your wish of ‘sleeping the night off.’

Little do they know, you and Thomas decide to have one more special night together. 

When you finally make your way up to your bedroom, Thomas is sitting on your bed, glancing at the half-empty boxes in the corner of your room that need to be filled. Half of your room is packed up, but you’ve put off packing lately to spend time with Thom before you physically can’t anymore.

You let out a sniffle and you don’t realize that you are on the verge of crying until you see Thomas begin to break, too.

“Come here.” He murmurs, standing up from your bed to pull you into a tight hug. 

You both cry into each other’s shoulders, fully letting yourselves go emotionally as you let out your pent up sadness. You’re getting each other’s clothing wet with tears, but neither of you care as you cling onto each other, not wanting to let go.

You don’t know how long you stay there or how long it takes until both of you calm down enough so that your tears fall silently.

“I told you this was gonna fucking suck.” Thomas mumbles against you, causing you to let out a laugh and sob at the same time.

You don’t respond, but after a few seconds, you pull away from his shoulder to look at him. Silence stretches between you before you whisper, “I love you.”

“I love you.” He echoes without hesitation before he leans his forehead against yours. You both bask in each other’s presence for a few more beats until Thomas speaks again, his words shaking. “Football won’t be the same without you, Y/N. I won’t be the same without you.”

“You played football for years before I became a part of your life. You’ll be fine, T.” You say quietly, though you are absolutely sure of your words. You bring a hand up to cup his cheek and wipe some of his tears away. “You’re gonna move on and be great and show people what you’re capable of.”

Silence stretches between the two of you before you take a step away from him as you remember something. Thomas frowns at your sudden withdrawal, but you explain yourself as you both wipe at your faces to dry them as best as each of you can.

“That reminds me…” You say, digging into one of the open boxes in the corner of your room until you feel a familiar piece of fabric. You pull out Thomas’ purple hoodie — the one he gave to you the night you officially became a couple. Damn, it feels so long ago now, but it hasn’t even been two years. “Here. You should probably take this back.”

He lets out a small laugh and takes the purple fabric from you to examine it. He seems lost in thought, but after a few moments, he shakes his head and hands it back to you. “Nah. Keep it.”

When you don’t take it, his hand reaches out to one of yours and he wraps your fingers around the fabric. You try to protest, but he continues.

“Don’t want you forgettin’ about me, now, do we?” He chuckles dryly.

“I won’t forget you, Thomas.” Your voice sounds so sure of your words that Thomas has no choice but to believe you.

He swallows and looks down for a second before he glances back into your eyes. “I know.”

“You’re gonna forget about me, though.”

Thomas shakes his head and his eyebrows scrunch together and he looks like he’s about to break again before he reaches out to pull you close.

“Never.” He mumbles into your hair before he pulls back. “Hey, I mean it from the bottom of my heart. I will never forget you, Y/N Y/L/N. I couldn’t even if I tried.”

He brings his hands up to cup both sides of your face. His thumbs brush some fresh tears away before he continues to talk. “These eyes? Unforgettable. This beautiful face? Ingrained in my brain forever, sweetheart, I promise you that.” One of his thumbs lightly brushes over your lips. “Don’t even get me started on these lips. I’ll miss them for sure.”

Thomas pauses for a second before his beautiful brown eyes gaze into yours, letting you know that he truly means his next words. “I’m never going to forget any part of you, Y/N.”

You stay there, gazing at one another with nothing but pure love and admiration. Without breaking eye contact, you gingerly put Thomas’ hoodie (which is apparently yours now) back in the box you removed it from. You reach up to pull Thomas’ lips down to yours passionately. 

Thomas responds, instantly reciprocating the kiss with the same amount of emotion that you pour into it. He moves his hands from your cheeks to pull your body closer to him. Your hand digs into the material of his shirt and suddenly, you can’t get enough of each other. You both need more — to be closer — but neither of you rush anything. You take it slow and try to take in every little detail about each other.

As layer after layer of clothing comes off, you two savor the feeling of each other’s lips, bodies, and touch. Every soft moan, every sigh, every gasp, every kiss… each and every moment that you spend with each other is savored in one final heat-filled act of love.

Afterwards, you both lie in your bed under the blankets, Thomas’ arm around your naked body and your head on his bare chest. You cherish each other’s presence for one final time, basking in silence until Thomas finally breaks it, his voice barely above a whisper.

“You still sure about this, sweetheart?”

You are quiet for a few seconds before you answer, sotto voce. “Yeah, T.” You listen to his steady heartbeat as you bring your hand up to rest on his torso. “You?”

He nods slowly. “Yeah.”

A few seconds pass and you subconsciously trace little circles on his abdomen with your thumb. Thomas’ arm tightens around your waist as he pulls your closer.

“I’m sorry things have to end this way.” He mumbles against you, his deep voice reverberating throughout his chest.

“Don’t be.” You murmur, exhausted from the emotional toll this day has taken on you. But you wouldn’t trade it for the world — unless there’s a way where it doesn’t end with you and Thomas going your separate ways.

You shake your head at yourself for thinking so negatively. You promised each other something back at that diner.

“It’s not the end, T.” You speak out loud, shifting so that your head rests on the pillow and you’re face to face with Thomas. “You said it yourself before and now it’s my turn to say it: this is a ‘see you later,’ alright? So I better fucking see you later, or else.”

He laughs (oh, you’re gonna miss that laugh) and his hand slides up the curve of your hip to pull himself closer to you. “Back at ya, princess.”

You both sniffle, but you know that your time together, for the time being, at least, has come to an end — especially as both of you begin to drift off no matter how hard you try to stay awake.

“I don’t want to say goodbye.” You whisper in Thomas’ warm embrace.

Thomas responds after he brushes a strand of your hair behind your ear. “You don’t have to.” 

So neither of you do. 

And you both fall asleep, bodies entangled with one another, content to be in each other’s embrace one last time before you move away.

The next morning, Thomas wakes up before you do and he slowly untangles himself from you as he wills himself to stay strong. He dresses himself as quietly as he can before he presses one last kiss to your temple.

Then, he takes one last look at your sleeping form before he leaves, keeping his word to you and not giving either of you a chance to say your goodbyes.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━   ♛   ━━━━━━━﹤⋆

A week later, your heart beats frantically as you drop a box of things you plan on leaving behind against the wall outside of your room.

It’s minutes before you’re supposed to leave for the airport — you want to leave early in case something goes wrong and you get delayed. Sighing, you walk back into your empty room to check for any last things you may have missed packing into the many boxes that are already stashed into your parents’ car.

“Y/N?” You hear your brother call out from downstairs. “I think there’s someone waiting for you outside.”

Who could it be? You’ve already said your goodbyes to Maria earlier that day when she’d helped you finish packing.

Erik gives you a sad smile as you pass by and you give him a confused look.

“What? Who is it?” You ask, eyebrows raised. “You know we have to leave in a few, right?”

“You’ll see.” Erik says, causing you to sigh.

After determining that your final sweep (even though you’ve done it three times now) is done, you make your way past Erik and open the front door. When you make it onto your driveway, you’re shocked to see Thomas Jefferson standing there with a sheepish grin and his hands in his pockets, looking as handsome as ever.

“Thomas…” You trail off, surprised to see him after your last day together the week prior. “What are you doing here?”

Your boyfriend (well… ex now, technically) walks closer and takes his hands out of his pockets. You can see him fidgeting with his fingers as he speaks. “I uh…” He breathes out a nervous laugh before one of his hands reaches up to rub the back of his neck. 

You watch him from a few feet away as he struggles to get his words out.

“Well, I… as your… not-boyfriend wanted to say goodbye.” He says softly, shifting his eyes to the ground briefly before looking back up to gaze into yours. “I changed my mind. Leaving without saying goodbye just gutted me and made me feel like we had unfinished business. I had to see you one more time, Y/N. I-I���m sorry.” Thomas’ voice is unstable as he apologizes and you feel tears well up in your eyes as he continues. “I know this breaks our agreement and everything, but I couldn’t just let you leave before—”

You cut him off by stalking forward to wrap him into a crushing hug — a hug the two of you desperately need at the moment. Thomas doesn’t waste a second before his arms encircle your waist to hold you just as tightly to him.

Even though you had spent the entire day with each other just a week prior, the need to see each other — to feel each other — one last time has consumed you both. You agree that waking up to an empty bed without saying a proper goodbye (even though it’s what you had initially wanted) had crushed you, and it had caused you to be an emotional wreck to the following two days.

“I’m sorry.” He mumbles, sniffling before letting out a bittersweet laugh. “I just made this so much more fucking difficult for us.”

“It’s okay.” You reciprocate his laugh as tears stream down your face. “It’s so worth it, T.”

A few minutes pass by as you hold each other close.

“I know I’ve said this before, but I’m really gonna miss you.”

“I’m gonna miss you too, T.” You say quietly. “So much.”

You’ve lost track of time and your mother is the one to finally bring you and Thomas back to reality.

“Y/N, we gotta go, honey…” Your mom speaks as softly as possible from her position at the front door, and you can see the guilt on her face as she watches her daughter’s heart break. “You’re gonna be late for your flight.”

You turn back to Thomas and give him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry…”

“Don’t apologize, Y/N. You gave me the best year and eight months I could ever ask for… so thank you.”

You look up at him for a second before you sob and crash into his chest. “I love you.”

“I know. I love you, too.” He replies softly before he steels himself. “But you have a flight to catch. Which means you need to go.”

You give him one last kiss, it’s watery from both of your tears but neither of you care.

“Go be great.” He says when you pull back. “You deserve the world, Y/N.”

He holds your hand until the grip slips when you take a step towards the car.

“See you later, Thomas.”

He smiles through his tears before he replies. “I’ll see you later, sweetheart.”

You get in the car and a few seconds later, your mother pulls out of the driveway (apparently Erik and your father are going to drive separately). As the car drives away, Thomas waves from your driveway until you can’t see him anymore. You know that’s the last you’ll see of him for a while.

And maybe, just maybe, you regret leaving him behind.

But a voice lingers in the back of your mind that gives you some sort of relief:

If it’s meant to be, then it’s meant to be.

[havana-great-time]

September 7th, 2022. La Habana.

Mis vidas —

Once again you find me tired beyond my usual norm. This heat and the newness of everything does not provide me with the energy I would like to have to complete all that I wish to do.

My first class of the day was Historia de la Cultura Cubana, consisting of me and four other girls, who all know each other well. They showed me the forbidden spiraling staircase to the roof; certainly not a permitted activity, but well worth the wonderful views of el Vedado. The class, too, was fascinating, debating the existence of high and low cultures and its definition over time.

I returned once again to an internet park for my rather unfortunate and ever-present applications, and from thence home.

After lunch, I saw my first rain in Cuba, and oh! What an incredible wonder! It began with rumbling thunder and heavy grey clouds, from which emanated the occasional fat raindrop. Within moments, the drops turned into a deluge, with all the speed and intensity one would expect from a tropical storm. My skirt hem was well soaked by the time I arrived at the university, though my host family had had the foresight to remind me to bring a umbrella, protecting me from the worst of the water. The lack of drains turned the very street into a flooded river, and it was absolutely glorious. Only alas! For even the furor of the rain could not abate the heat.

Though its professor talked immensely rapidly, Nación y Sociedad en Cuba, 1868-1902 was also a thrilling class, and points its focus toward the foundation of the nation rather than its current manifestations.

Today, you will be pleased to know, I found a convent — a grand building in pale yellow and green, archways permitting entry into a veritable oasis of calm, where palm trees shaded the courtyard and wrought iron graced the walls. Its library does not open until the 18th, but rest assured that I will return here often.

I also joined two of my fellow group members, J and C, who live closest to my house, in a walk along the Malecón. The interminable heat did not aid the pleasantness of the walk, but neither could it shutter the everlasting beauty of the ocean.

My host grandmother tells me, quite frequently, that my Belarusian is quite Ukrainian; born not 100km from the border, I am hardly surprised.

A final note on wardrobe: should you ever find yourself in Cuba, my frieds, I would not recommend wearing a blue button-up in combination with a navy skirt. It is, it seems, the uniform of Cuban secondary schools.

Con amor,

MICHA.

[citydreamgrls]

summer luvin’

fred weasley x fem! reader

words: 6,418

a/n: this is my first fic on tumblr, i’m usually on wattpad (J-myhope) but decided to move onto here for my weasley / harry potter fanfics. hope you enjoy :))) (also sorry it’s so long // i got carried away)

warnings: swearing (?) 

When I had gone home for the summer, I had promised Hermione I would write to her everyday while she was at the burrow with Ron and his family. Which I did do, but what I didn’t realise was that she would be so quick to invite me there herself. It wasn’t even a week until the invites turned into pleads, and then they were more like threats.

Ginny has gone to a camp for the month, I need you here y/n please or I swear I’ll hex all your homework next year I mean it, she had written, making me laugh at the breakfast table. Come to think of it, why was Hermione willingly spending her summer with the Weasleys and Harry?

“Something funny?” my muggle father asked over his morning newspaper, the hand with his coffee in disappearing behind its pages every few seconds.

“Just a friend from school dad,” I played it off, knowing he wouldn’t approve of me mentioning magic in his house. At least not since him and my witch mother divorced.

“I was thinking dad…” I started. He peered over the paper with a disapproving look, knowing those words meant I had a plan of some sorts. “Since you’re busy with work, maybe I could spend the next two weeks at a friends house before I go to mum’s house?”

He stayed silent, the glasses that once sat firm against his face beginning to slip down his nose. I waited in anticipation as he mulled over my offer.

“This friend. I’m guessing they’re like your mother, yes?” He spat.

“Well yes, but they’re responsible. I could get Mrs Weasley to send you a letter herself promising that I’ll be in safe hands.”

“Why must you continue that nonsense, don’t you see how it tore your mother and I apart?” He huffed, finally putting everything down on the table and focusing on me.

“It wasn’t magic that made mum leave you.” I snarled, sick of him pinning the blame on her.

“How dare you accuse me y/n. I can keep you here all summer if you insist on acting like such a child.”

“Ah yes what a great idea, keep me here to rot while you work day and night. That’s a real punishment father, at least you can do one thing right.”

“Leave then!” He bellowed, pushing away his chair and standing up.

In that second I realised I had yet to see my father in anything but a suit since I’d come home from school. He had become so enthralled in work that it had pushed away everyone he had once loved.

“Go see your silly little friends, or your mother, I couldn’t care less.”

With that he picked up his briefcase and started to open the front door. I stared as he turned back to me with a look of fear on his face, but it went as quickly as it had appeared. “Just don’t you dare come back to me when your paradise burns down.”

The door slammed behind him, but I wasn’t bothered. I could win him over, as cold hearted as he acted towards me, I always could. This wasn’t our first fight, nor would it be our last. He was just lashing out, and he would apologise in a day or two. I just had to move on from it in the meantime.

Immediately I wrote a letter to Hermione to tell her I was ‘allowed’ to come and sent it off with my little barn owl Canon. I packed my things in a hurry and sat on my case at the back door, with the realisation that I had no way to actually get to the Weasley’s burrow. An hour passed with my case still waiting for me at the door as I made endless cups of tea in nervous anticipation. While I was sipping on my fourth I heard a screech by the window. Little Canon was sat with another letter in his beak.

“Good boy” I cooed and took it from him, opening it up as I ruffled his feathers. “Quick, back in your cage in case dad comes home.” He squawked and did as he was told.

The letter was short, but told me all I needed to know.

We’ll be there at 6pm muggle time to get you, wait in the garden. Love, Mione x

I smiled and hid my case behind the shed, hoping I could sneak out without dad noticing. But of course, lady luck was not in my favour. He came home at 5, frowning at the way I sat at the kitchen table. Maybe he wondered if I had moved since he’d left that morning.

But no words were shared, and he just sauntered off to the living room.

“y/n?” Dad called out, coming down the hall. I looked up from my book.

“Yes?” he sat beside me at the table, taking a hold of my hand sincerely.

“I just wanted to apologise for this morning I was-”

“Really it’s fine dad, I’m over it.” I felt a pang of guilt, knowing that in a matter of minutes I would be leaving.

“I just don’t like the idea of leaving you with strangers, and maybe it’s because I’m not like your mother that I’m afraid of who they are. Who you’re becoming.”

I heard a whirring, sputtering in the distance.

“Please stay here y/n darling, I’ll take some time off work and we can do something nice together.” I nodded silently, causing him to smile and stand up. “I’ll go get changed then we can make some dinner yeah?”

I waited until I heard him use the stairs, the noise getting louder and louder as it got closer.

From the kitchen window a floating car came into view, reminding me that I needed to be quick if I wanted to get out before Father noticed it. I ran to put on my shoes and grab my coat. I threw it on just as he shouted down to me.

“What’s that sound y/n!”

I ignored him and headed to the back door, grabbing Canon’s cage from under the table and calling him into it from outside. He flew in and I heard the footsteps come through the house.

“Quick my dad’s coming down!” I shouted to Hermione, who was hanging out the back of the car. She took my owl’s cage as I ran to the shed for my case.

The trunk popped immediately and I chucked it in with no hesitation.

My Father appeared at the back door, frozen with shock at the sight before him. The passenger door opened behind me but I just kept my dad’s gaze as he forgot how to speak.

“I’m sorry dad I have to go,” I hurried my words, shouting over the loud engine.

A long arm stretched out behind me, pulling me inside the car as I saw my father's figure reach after me. I pulled the car door closed behind me and watched my feet.

“Go now! Please!”

My father’s eyes dropped as I went up into the air, uttering pleads to himself as he watched me go off into the distance. I didn’t dare another look back at the shell of a man I was leaving.

“Thank you,” I finally saw that it was Fred who was driving, and who had pulled me up with such ease before.

“It’s all my pleasure, I love a good getaway mission.” he smiled at me, taking his eyes off the sky to look at me a second before speeding off. Making Hermione squeal in excitement in the back.

-

Ron and Harry were waiting outside along with George to watch us land when we arrived. They waved excitedly, cheering on the shaky parking job to mess with Fred. From behind them Mr and Mrs Weasley came out, Mrs Weasley with her arms crossed shaking her head.

I held my breath as we got out, ready for her to be angry beyond all emotions. But she just pulled me into a loving hug, only letting go to slap the older boy’s head as he tried to sneak past.

“There’s no telling these boys what they can and can’t do is there y/n?” she smiled, “I’m just glad you’re here, Hermione told me all about your father dear.” She whispered as we walked inside. “Well not to worry, we have plenty to celebrate.” She announced.

“Yes, it’s Harry’s birthday on saturday so we’re having a big bonfire party for it.” Ron told me, making his best friend blush with embarrassment beside him.

“I told you it’s really fine, I don’t need you to make a big fuss over me.” Harry explained, but everyone at the table just shushed him in unison.

-

It was Monday morning when I woke up in Ginny’s empty room with Hermione, with 5 days until the party there was enough to keep us occupied. But Fred and George’s pranks didn’t help get things underway.

Obviously I knew the twins at Hogwarts, they were Ron’s family after all, but I had never spoken to them alone before. I’d never had a reason to. But now I had no choice.

Hermione was finishing up the cleaning in the kitchen, having offered to give Molly a break so she and Arthur could go for an evening walk together.

That usually meant they would be gone a good hour or so, and this meant the twins and Ron went into full mischief mode. Ron and Harry were busy trying to convince Hermione to have a drink with them that the twins had snuck from Arthur’s stash, not that he would notice (or even mind). George had already drunk too much of it and was currently laying in the field outside of his back, singing to the stars in the sky. I laughed at him from the window, alone in the sitting room, or at least I had been.

“Here, you’ll need some too.” I turned at Fred’s voice, him holding out a glass of the firewhiskey to me. I took it from him and forced back that first sip with a grimace.

“Promise me I won’t get like that?” I told him, referring to his tone-deaf lookalike in the garden.

“I’ll make sure you’re in bed before mum and dad get back,” he laughed. “Only if you help me carry that lunatic up.”

“Deal,” I laughed and drank again, this time it tasted not as searing as the first.

-

I fulfilled the promise I made by helping shove George up to his room that night, which proved a lot harder than expected.

“You never told me you were on the top floor,” I groaned, hearing the front door open and close signalling their parents’ return. “Oh fuck quick, I can’t talk to your mother when I’m drunk.”

“Haha got you! I knew you were drunk this entire time.” Fred whisper-shouted, dropping his brother in excitement. We had stayed talking most of the night, the others had snuck off somewhere leaving just the two of us to get more and more tipsy.

“Help me Fred,” I groaned, still taking the weight of George which was a lot. The blacked out boy groaned in my arms.

“Here, throw him in there. I’ll deal with it.” Fred opened his bedroom door and helped me toss his brother inside.

Then it was just the two of us on the landing, a silence having taken over the house suddenly. Maybe it was the alcohol, but he didn’t seem half as irritating as I had assumed he was when I was at Hogwarts. In fact, he was quite sweet.

“Right.” I said, startling him from his thoughts a little. “I better get to bed before your parents catch me,” I laughed lightly.

“Goodnight y/n,” He smiled, “sleep well.”

-

The next couple of days I didn’t get much of a chance to speak to Fred alone. But we all spent time together. So he was always there, as a reminder of my confusing feelings from that first full day at the burrow.

As I thought over the past week or so I was reminded of how quickly he had dragged me into the car, not risking leaving me with my father for a second longer. The way he’d been the one to join me when I was sat alone that night. Even just glances at the dinner table, everything made me wonder whether what I had seen as friendly acts were maybe more.

Or maybe I was going insane?

“What are you thinking about?” Hermione asked me as we cleaned the flying car. She’d offered to do it to say thank you for letting us stay, so I of course agreed to help.

“Oh nothing,” I laughed, hoping she would drop it.

“Come on y/n, you can’t hide anything from me. It’s so obvious that you’re distracted.”

Luckily she was interrupted by Fred and George coming outside to play a game of quidditch with Ron and Harry who were already whirring around the grounds on their brooms.

“Oh girls this really is a treat!” George shouted over, winking at Hermione who just scoffed at his teasing.

“If you look for too long it’ll cost you,” I smirked back as they passed by.

“For you? I’d take out a loan darling!” Fred shouted back, making me roll my eyes and splash the hose at both boys. They ran off to escape a water fight and I turned back to Hermione who had a suggesting look on her face.

“Oh what now?” I groaned.

“Never seen Fred act like that.” She said matter-of-factly.

“Come on, that was just him joking.”

“I’ve seen him joking. That wasn’t a joke y/n.”

“It was all playful.”

The damp girl came over to my side of the slightly cleaner car, facing the makeshift quidditch pitch and the boys playing.

“Do you want to know what I think?” She smirked again.

“You’re going to tell me anyway aren’t you?”

“I think that Fred likes you… a lot.”

“And I think that you’ve got it twisted.” I scoffed, going back to my task. Mainly to stop myself from watching the boy at hand take his top off in the scorching sun.

“You didn’t see how quickly he offered to be the one to get you in the car, god even Ron could have driven but Fred insisted it be him to go with me.” She started, but I just ignored her still. Continuing to clean the side mirrors.

“And you must see how he looks at you, he’s in love.”

“Oh shut up!” I laughed, unable to take her claims seriously.

“Even Ron’s noticed how he’s acting around you, and he’s clueless!” She had a point there.

“He’s just friendly, not to mention that he barely knows me.”

Molly came outside just in time to stop Hermione from spewing anymore nonsense about Fred. “Could either of you girls do me a favour?” She asked.

“I will.” I offered, anything to get away from my incessant best friend for a while.

“Great thanks y/n could you collect some firewood from the forest, we still need some for the bonfire.”

“No problem,” I put the sponge into the bucket of water.

“Go grab a jacket though sweetie, it’ll be colder once the sun sets.” I nodded and went to grab one from the burrow.

I passed Arthur writing an essay at the table and hurled myself up the stairs glad to have some time to myself for a while. As much as I loved the Weasley’s, it could sometimes get suffocating being with them at all hours of the day.

“Here she is,” Molly said, “Fred darling!” she shouted and I groaned internally. The boy ran over, “Go with y/n to collect firewood will you?”

“Ah you chose the strongest one didn’t you?” he joked, flexing his arms in his mother's face.

“Go put a shirt on first you fool.” she huffed and went back inside.

I stood still by the wheelbarrow left for us as Hermione came over a look of satisfaction painted across her face. She crossed her arms and laughed.

“Not a word okay,” I glared but she took my threat as being empty.

“Have fun!” she shouted after me and Fred caught up with his shirt now on.

-

I threw sticks and logs into the wheelbarrow that Fred pushed along, all the while keeping up the casual small talk. Soon the topic turned to Hogwarts.

“I guess we never did speak at school huh,” he thought out loud.

“Yeah, you’re always with George too. Hard to know someone when they’re joined at the hip with their twin.” I teased.

“Ohh so you wanted to know me?”

“You know what I meant, if someone wanted to hypothetically it would be hard to.”

“Right right,”

He wasn’t very convinced, just smiled to himself. We walked for a while, just doing what we’d come into the forest to do.

“I’ve wanted to get to know you..” he said out of nowhere, I paused slightly and hoped he didn’t notice it, “well at least since you came here.”

“Well, you haven’t been doing a bad job.” It was hard to gauge where his head was at.

On the one hand he could just be being friendly to me, want to know me as a friend and all this ‘getting to know me’ chat is purely platonic. But as much as I hated to admit it, Hermione’s words had stuck with me. What if he liked me, and she wasn’t wrong about his ‘advances’. I was pretty sure that I liked him, but only if he felt the same. It was confusing.

“We better get back, it’s already dark and the barrow’s full enough.” Fred said, turning himself around to head back. I couldn't see much, I’d left my wand back at the house in a hurry to leave and Fred’s had been left on their quidditch pitch.

I tripped over something on the ground, grazing my knee with a groan. Fred immediately let go of the wheelbarrow and took my arm. He helped me up with ease, just like he had done that day with the car. Despite the pitch black night, I could see the way his face contorted into worry. I watched him, neither of us saying anything for a moment.

“You alright?” He looked over me quickly.

“Yeah fine, thank you.” I laughed to myself, finally the embarrassment of having fallen over hitting me.

I took a step and winced, the boy beside me stopping again.

“Here,” he lifted me off the ground and placed me on top of the log pile in the wheelbarrow. “Lay back alright or you’ll fall off again clumsy.” He teased, making me feel more relaxed than before.

I had never realised how strong he really was until I felt how effortlessly he handled me.

He wheeled me back to the house slowly, being careful not to let me topple once again. The whole family crowded me when Fred had to carry me inside the kitchen in his arms, which I wasn’t complaining about. Until all the fuss started, then I insisted I’d be fine to walk.

“It’s just a graze, really it’s nothing.” Molly made me some tea and refused to let me get up until she’d cleaned up the cut on my knee and put a bandage on it. An overreaction if you asked me, but still I appreciated her concern.

Soon the others went up to bed, the plan for everyone to go to Diagon Alley in the morning so Harry could choose his presents himself. Plus it meant everyone could get a headstart on their school supplies. Much to Hermione’s delight.

It was just Molly and Fred sat with me at the kitchen table, Mrs Weasley refusing to let me sleep until she was sure I didn’t have a concussion and Fred wouldn’t let me attempt the stairs on my own.

“Really, I didn’t hit my head, did I Fred?”

“Better be safe than sorry,” Molly laughed, finally giving into the idea that I might be okay to go to bed. “I’ll stay home with you tomorrow, can’t have you limping around Diagon Alley in this state can we?”

“I’ll stay with her mum,” Fred offered, I looked over confused. Was he being nice or was he-

“No no Fred it’s fine,” Molly insisted. But her son was just as determined.

“Mum, go. You love school shopping, plus I hate it. George can just get two of whatever he gets for me.”

Mrs Weasley sighed and nodded.

“Well I suppose it would be nice to get out for a while, this place can drive you mad sometimes.” She laughed. Oh I knew. “I’m going up to bed, please don’t let her walk up Freddie.”

Her son laughed lightly but nodded still, knowing I wouldn’t be able to convince him overwise. I glared at him jokingly.

“Night mum,”

“Goodnight Mrs Weasley.”

“Call me Molly already y/n!” She said for the fifth time that day and disappeared up to bed.

“Are you tired yet?” He asked me once we were alone again. I shook my head.

“You?” The boy replied the same as I did.

“Thank you by the way,” I told him sheepishly. “I feel stupid that you have to look after me.”

“I don’t have to, I wanted to.” Fred smiled, and that’s when I realised how genuine he’d been all this time. It was the same tone and smile he had always used with me, it had been real from the start.

“Can I ask you something?” I said, holding back any fear I had of being completely wrong and just biting the bullet.

“Sure,” He sipped some firewhiskey hidden by a mug.

“Hermione said you offered to get me, when I was at my Dad’s house,”

“Yeah well she mentioned that he can be a bit aggressive and I wanted to be there in case he tried anything.”

“Right, thank you… again.” He laughed quietly, not wanting to wake anyone this late.

“Was that it?”

“Uh not really, Hermione also said… and this is probably stupid or just completely wrong.” I took a deep breath and said what I had been thinking all week. “Well I just want to know if how you act with me is because you’re a nice person.. Or whether it’s because of something more.”

He smiled down at the table.

“By something more, you mean that I like you right?” He asked.

“Uhhh yeah haha it’s silly isn’t it.”

“Not really. I didn’t want it to be overwhelming in case you felt differently.” He explained.

“Right.”

“Do you feel the same?” Fred asked me.

“I think so,” He laughed again at my response. “I mean yeah I do, it was kinda hanging in your answer really.”

-

We didn’t discuss feeling for any longer that night, just chatted for another hour about everything else in our lives. I told him about my parents, and how guilty I felt about leaving my dad regardless of how awful he could be.

Fred told me about his fear of failing. He always wanted to be the best at quidditch because he was never academically gifted, so when he would lose or not do well in a match he took it hard on himself.

It wasn’t as deep at the time, but upon reflection we’d covered some heavy stuff. All before he casually lifted me from my chair and carried me up to bed. He stopped at Ginny’s door where Hermione was sleeping inside, and smiled down at me in his arms. I blushed slightly and looked away.

“See you in the morning?” He asked.

“Only if you lift me out of bed,” I teased.

Fred quietly opened the door and placed me on Ginny’s bed, as my friend had already set up camp on the floor. The only noise in the room was her gentle snores, which made it very hard for us to refrain from laughing. The boy stood up straight and winked, mouthing goodnight and stepping over the sleeping girl on the floor and out into the hallway.

I laid back, completely content knowing that the next day could only bring further joy to this week.

-

When I woke up there was a tall ginger boy sat at the end of my bed, as he had promised, holding two mugs of tea.

“Morning darling,”

“Were you watching me sleep,” I mumbled, slowly opening my eyes. He walked round the bed and sat beside me as I propped myself up. He passed me the mug and I took a sip.

“Most definitely not,” He smirked and I put my head on his shoulder.

It all felt so natural now that Fred had made his feelings clear. I wasn’t even fazed by him carrying me down to get some breakfast. I was still tired from staying up late the night before, which he could tell by my consistent yawns.

“Wanna go back to bed?” He asked me. I nodded sleepily.

He put me in his bed, feeling weird laying next to me in his little sister’s bed.

“Plus mine is much more comfy,” The boy wasn’t wrong, it was like a little cloud of happiness.

A kiss was placed on my forehead as I drifted off, Fred’s body laying beside mine, his arm resting beneath my head, working as a cosy pillow.

I snuggled into his larger frame, enjoying the comfort having him around gave me.

-

When the others came back he woke me gently, helping me to my feet when I explained that my leg felt a lot better than it had done all day. I managed to walk, leaning most of my weight on the cautious redhead beside me.

“Y/N!” Harry and Ron had exclaimed, happy to see me back on my feet.

“You guys have fun?” I asked them.

“Yeah, look what Harry got,” Ron was acting like an excited child.

From behind the table they produced a brand new broom.

“Woah!” I widened my eyes, never being that interested in brooms but feigning excitement for them in this moment.

“We’re gonna go test it, will you watch from the window.”

“Course I will.”

They ran into the garden, the twins following close behind. Hermione came up behind me with a smile on her face. “So.. you and Fred looked very cosy just now.”

“I suppose we did,” I ignored her smirk.

“You talked to him didn’t you.” I just nodded, not wanting to give in to her. “I was right wasn’t I?” she laughed.

“Of course you were Hermione Granger, the day you’re wrong the world will stop.” I teased her as I hobbled to the window, seeing Harry whiz past the window with a shout. He narrowly missed hitting the trees as he skimmed over the forest and back towards the house in a flash.

-

Everyone helped set up the bonfire that evening, even I tried to prop logs up with my slightly injured leg. But Fred came and stopped me almost straight away, picking me up easily and placing me down on a garden chair.

“Stay.” he demanded.

“I’m not a dog!” I shouted as he returned to the bonfire making.

“Woof woof!!” He called back in protest.

-

That night we all drank ourselves silly in Harry’s honour. I’d never seen Hermione so happy, finally letting all that stress she held onto slip away as she and Ron stole some fireworks from the twins’ stash.

George of course went through the seven stages of being drunk, the scale starting at professing his love to any inanimate object that came into his possession, all the way down to staring at the stars again.

Molly and Arthur gave in first, kissing us all goodnight and stumblestumbling up to bed.  Hermione and Ron ended up having to drag Harry off to sleep not too long after, the birthday boy still singing ‘Sweet Caroline’ (his favourite muggle song) as he let us. Neither of his carers returned so I could only presume that they’d fallen asleep too.

George was still doing his sky serenading routine, insisting that he would sleep in the field once again. Fred and I left him to do his thing there while we rambled to one another drunkenly by the fire.

“Do you know something?” he had started off, “From the moment Ron introduced you to me at Hogwarts, I had been wishing he would bring you here.” His face was warm from the fire as he leant it against my own.

“You always were my favorite Weasley, Fred.” I giggled, taking the last sip from my beer.

The bonfire had started to die down and I began to shiver in the cool summer air, despite the copious amount of blankets Molly had piled onto me.

“Come on trouble, let’s get you up to bed.” Fred announced, once again lifting me as if I weighed nothing.

“What about him,” I motioned to George who was beginning to sound like Luna, praising the moon and the clouds with all the passion of an old-timey poet.

“I’ll sort him out after, don’t you worry.” His brother laughed, taking me inside.

I was left in Fred’s bed while he went down to retrieve George, the cold air still filtering through the gaps in their bedroom window. I reached up to the headboard, grabbed a jumper and pulled it on. After about 20 minutes I was beginning to warm up beneath the covers when Fred returned empty handed.

“What did you do to George?” I laughed.

“Left him on the sofa,” He scoffed, “I’m not pulling him up the stairs on my own, I might be strong. But he is a bloody lot of dead weight.” He huffed, pulling off his shirt and getting into bed with me.

“Oh so not only are you stealing my bed, but my clothes too,” He smirked, noticing the knitted jumper with a big ‘F’ on the front that I was wearing.

“I was cold.” I whined, sleepily.

“That’s okay baby.”

He couldn’t see my face, but still I tried to hide my smile. Secretly happy that we were so normal about things.

-

Another week passed by and soon we were all heading to the train station to go back to Hogwarts for another year. I piled my stuff onto the train along with Hermione, who went to save us a carriage as I said goodbye to Molly and Arthur.

“Thank you so much for letting me stay, it’s been the best summer I’ve had in years.” I beamed, hugging them both in turn.

“You’re always welcome to stay with us, no matter what y/n darling.” Molly promised. “Now you better hurry before the train leaves.”

Fred and George had rushed to see their friends as soon as we’d arrived on the platform. I had thought about going and saying hi, but decided against it. I remembered the reason that Fred and I had barely known one another before the summer.  

He had his life, and his friends. And I had mine. We were still different in that sense.

“Come on y/n!” Ron called, sticking his head out of a carriage window. Hermione was doing her best to pull him back inside, but he insisted on making faces to his father.

I jumped on and walked down the hall, turning to open the sliding door when a flash of red hair caught my eye. I stopped and looked, seeing George push his brother into a carriage with a laugh. Like that they were gone.

-

I didn’t get to see Fred properly until 6 days into the new term. He had been busy with quidditch, and I helped Hermione study. Despite the fact that we had months until the first lot of exams.

Everyone else had gone to the great hall for dinner, but I had skipped it, telling the others that I needed to get some leftover summer homework done. Really I just needed a moment to relax. I went out to the courtyard and stood on the bridge, looking down at the dark lake below. I wondered why Fred hadn’t tried to talk to me at all, it wasn’t like I was really his girlfriend. But it just confused me.

Back at the burrow he hated being away from me, groaned about how horrible it would be once school started again. Yet there had been no sign of him at all, almost as if he’d disappeared entirely. Not even Ron had seen either of his brothers.

The nightly wind howled lightly and I was thrown to the ground by a flash of light and something hitting me quite hard. I closed my eyes, not daring to open them until a voice spoke above me.

“Oh finally.” I recognised Fred, immediately pushing him off me and jumping up.

“What the hell!” I shouted. “How did you- what? WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?” I shouted in shock.

The redhead rubbed his neck sheepishly, shoving something into his pocket quickly.

“What are you hiding?” I asked him.

“I just wanted to surprise you,” He laughed nervously, blatantly lying. Which was odd, because usually I could never tell.

“What’s up with you, I haven’t seen you at all since we came back. Where the hell have you and George been!” I was starting to get annoyed as he stood there waiting for me to finish.

Then there was another flash, I jumped back just in time to see George falling to the ground out of thin air. He groaned and kicked his brother’s leg.

“You git!” He called up to him, “You were supposed to come back for me.”

“Someone needs to explain what’s going on RIGHT NOW!” I shouted, startling George who hadn’t seen me behind him.

“Oh hi y/n, i’ll leave that to Freddie here. It was his idea after all.” He glared at his twin before stumbling off, clutching his head.

“Tell me everything right now Fred,” I demanded.

“Well George and I stole something from Hermione, and we were just testing it out you know. Then we sort of lost it, and couldn’t get back to Hogwarts.”

“What do you mean you couldn’t get back,” I frowned.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a golden ball, attached to a chain, a small circle surrounding it’s charm.

“Come here,” I stepped closer, still unsure about his story. He wrapped the long chain around my neck and then his, forcing us to stand close to one another. I’d missed him in the past week or so, and being close to him made me feel like I had no worries. Just like the warmth of summer had felt.

His long fingers held the ball and he lifted it up to show me as he spun the circle around it.

I watched it turn over and over as if it had a life of its own, Fred’s voice distracted me from its trance.

“y/n, look.” I watched his face and he laughed. “See,”

The sky was bright, not like the moonlight I'd been beneath back at the castle. Then I noticed the burrow, and the forest and I could hear the voices of Ron and Harry debating something from inside the house.

“What- how did we? What is that thing?” I asked Fred.

But he didn’t answer me right then, he just took my hand and ran into the forest, pushing me behind a tree and ducking.

“It’s a time turner, means we can travel back in time to events we were a part of.” He whispered.

“Why are we hiding?” I whispered back.

“You’ll see.”

Just as he uttered those words, two girls came out of the burrow and headed to the flying car that was covered in mud. It was me and Hermione, ready to wash the car for the Weasley’s.

“How am I here and there, how is this possible. There’s two of me.” He chuckled at my hushed shock.

“What’s Hermione saying?” He asked.

“She’s trying to convince me that you fancy me.” I laughed quietly.

“Did it work?”

“Then? No way.”

I watched the two redheaded twins come out and flirt exactly as they had done that day, then Molly came out right on cue, asking me to go into the forest for wood.

“We need to go.” I told him. “We’ll be coming out here soon.”

He nodded, wrapping the chain around me.

“Wait, look.” He whispered pointing to another part of the forest and ducking further down beneath a nearby bush. There was yet another version of Fred hidden by the trees watching himself flirt with me.

“I came here with George before, this is when I got stuck. I stayed to watch us in the woods and George went to play a prank on himself, he lost the time turner and I nearly left him behind. Plus so much time had passed since I’d left that I couldn’t just go back to the start of term. I honestly tried to.”

“But how did George get back if you had it?”

“I must ask him when we’re at hogwarts. It's very impressive.” Then he spun the ring once again, and in a single flash we were back on the bridge where we had left moments before.

“Why did you go back?” I asked him.

“I felt bad, I wanted things to be like they had been with us at the burrow. But I’d gotten so caught up with my friends that I never even got a chance to talk to you before we got on the train.”

“So you went back weeks?”

“I wanted to relive those memories too, wouldn’t you?” He asked.

“I’d rather make new ones with you, here.”

“I’m sorry y/n, you’re right.”

“It’s sweet though.” I blushed, nudging his side.

Fred led me inside, all the way to the great hall where dinner was still going on. We passed Ron, Harry and Hermione, whose jaw dropped seeing Fred and I together at school.

“Guys, this is y/n. My girlfriend.” Fred introduced me to his friends all gathered at the other end of the Gryffindor table with a proud smile across his face, his hand linked into mine tightly.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Halloo, I just wanna say that after i typed the dialogue with Jamil about wanting to ride a magic carpet, (excited for your reply) I thought why not an imagine for Jamil (perhaps Kalim too?) and mc riding on the magic carpet. Then you know the accidental kiss from Aladdin. I feel so fluffy, thinking about it. IT’S A WHOLE NEW WORLD, only if that’s okay with you to write hehe please feel free to ignore my request and i understand that you have other requests to write! :)) take care of yourself!

Hello, hello.

You can read the in-character dialogue response you’re referring to here if you have not already done so. This imagine is Jamil-centric since I felt that would make the imagine flow better--and it ties in well with the dialogue response.

I watched and rewatched A Whole New World several times to try and get a sense of the feeling of flight and wonder! I wanted to impart that into my writing. I hope it was successful.

You’re in luck, Anon. This piece exceeds my usual 1000 word limit on imagines, but I made an exception since I have a friend that really loves Jamil. If you’re reading this, my friend, you know who you are.

Please enjoy, and take care of yourself as well.

***Warning: spoilers for chapter 4 of the main story campaign ahead.***

Imagine this...

“...uu. Yuu. Are you there?”

They followed the cadence of the silken call to the balcony. Yuu threw open the windows and peered down--and there he was, standing on a magic flying carpet and set in threads of red, gold, and black. An alluring, snake-like smile upon his lips.

Jamil Viper.

“I have come to steal you away for the evening, as promised,” he announced calmly, offering his outstretched hand. “Come.”

“Are you sure this is safe? The magic carpet was pretty hard for me to control before...”

Yuu tactfully neglected to add that, when they had last been piloting the carpet, it had been to escape his clutches. Yet here they were now, just a breath away from leaping back into his embrace. Oh, the irony.

“Do you trust me?” Jamil asked, his question flat and simple.

“Yes...?”

“Then all will be well.” he offered his hand again. In the darkness, his eyes were pleading, longing. “Come.”

Yuu gingerly accepted Jamil’s hand, and they immediately fell into his arms. Was that sudden floating sensation the feeling of being in the air? Or was that their stomach fluttering at his touch?

He smirked at their blushing face when they gazed up at him.

“Good girl.”

“J-Just shut up and drive already...!” Yuu sputtered back.

“Mm. As you wish. Make yourself comfortable, and hang on tight,” Jamil advised, gesturing for Yuu to sit. He reached for the tassels on the magic carpet and tugged.

They bolted into the bitter night sky, the wind nipping at their skin. Then--they dived back down, racing through past various school buildings and into the courtyard.

Shadows lurked in every twist and turn, every crook and bend. Under the moon’s silvery glow, the college seemed mysterious, mystical.

“Everything looks so pretty at night...” Yuu said quietly, taking in the sights. “It’s like a dream...”

Jamil nodded and yanked on the magic carpet again, directing it to shoot up at an apple tree. It complied at once--and he plucked a fat fruit off of a branch during the ascent. The leaves of the tree rustled and jingled upon contact

He tossed the apple at Yuu, who caught it with a free hand.

“A souvenir,” he called it, “to prove to yourself tomorrow morning that this was, in fact, not a dream.”

“Oh, stop being so cheeky,” Yuu mumbled, averting their eyes. They were lying to themselves if they said they did not appreciate the gesture.

“Speak for yourself,” Jamil retorted smoothly. “We’re going up.”

“Huh? What, even highe--w-whoah!”

The magic carpet rippled through the sky, tumbled past birds, and tore the clouds asunder. Bursts of cool water vapor kissed Yuu’s face--unexpected, but refreshing.

The carpet slowed--

And there it was.

The night sky unfurled before them, a vast swathe of black and violet fabric encrusted with diamonds. Yuu’s mind cycles through a number of words--shining, shimmering, splendid--but none of them seemed to be able to really embody the sight.

“It’s beautiful...like a whole new world,” Yuu marveled, for lack of a better term. They tried their best to etch the view permanently in their memories.

Jamil scoffed. “Hold your breath, it gets better.”

“How does it get better than this?” Yuu asked, rolling their gifted apple around in their palm. “Free food, great sights, good company...it’s perfect.”

“Oh, you’ll see.” Jamil flashed a wicked grin.

Yuu didn’t like that look of his--but there was no time for them to process what it could possibly mean.

For the magic carpet plummeted like a falling star.

Yuu’s hair flew up, and they screamed, clutching on for dear life.

The carpet flew in arcs and loops, throwing the couple every which way and back. Then, picking up speed, it dived again--and the wind barked in Yuu’s ears, sending shivers of fear throughout their whole body.

Yuu squeezed their eyes shut, bracing for impact.

“Don’t you dare close your eyes.”

Jamil’s voice was at Yuu’s ears, drowning out the whistle of wind. It was low and seductive, yet gentle...and it soothed them to their quivering core.

“Look.”

Slowly, Yuu peeled their eyes open.

The world around them unraveled.

The sky and stars above, the river they skipped across below, the grass and the trees sailing by. Mesmerized, Yuu reached out a hand and ran it across the waters. Moonlight and midnight magic dripped from their fingers.

Yuu laughed.

Yuu laughed and laughed, relishing in the moment until, at last, the magic carpet whisked them home to Ramshackle.

The ride back was a tranquil one, wordless but full of feeling. Yuu leaned against Jamil’s chest all the while. Warmth and love and tenderness enveloped them.

“I had a great time tonight!” Yuu confessed as they stepped off of the magic carpet and onto their balcony. “It was all so...magical. Thank you.”

“It was my pleasure.” Jamil brought a hand to his chest and gave a mocking bow. “It must be well past midnight by now though--and you must be off to bed.” He smiled smugly. “Do try to remember that tonight was not a dream.”

“I will,” Yuu promised. The apple remained in their hands. “Good night...” Their voice trailed off, but they were quick to throw in a last-minute remark. “Good night, my handsome prince.”

Jamil’s poker face faltered. “I am no prince.”

“You are to me,” Yuu reassured him softly.

Jamil pulled his hood over his face. The darkness of the night--and the shadow of his hood--did little to obscure the faint blush creeping onto his cheeks.

“...Rest well, princess,” he mumbled back, bringing his eyes to meet Yuu’s.

They stared at each other--knowing that they should retire for the night, but not wanting to leave the others’ presence.

If only time could stop now.

Suddenly, Jamil stumbled, lurching forward by the motion of the magic carpet. Before he--or Yuu--knew what was happening, their lips were locked.

The apple in Yuu’s hand clattered to the floor, forgotten.

Their eyes drifted shut--and they savored the feel, and the taste of one another. He cupped their face and pulled it toward his, deepening the kiss. A mewl, a whimper, escaped from Yuu’s mouth against his.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl.

A magic spell cast by the stars.

But a cheer soon pierced the silence and shattered the magical moment. “Whoo-hoo! Good going, magic carpet!”

Yuu and Jamil broke their kiss. They snapped their heads in the direction of the voice--and there stood a familiar face nestled between shrubbery and the trunk of a dead tree.

“K-Kalim?!” Jamil sputtered, his cheeks flaming. “What are you doing here?! Y-You should be asleep at this hour...!”

“Heheheh! There’s no need for sleeping when there’s love afoot!” Kalim planted his chin between his pointer finger and his thumb. “Operation make-sure-Jamil’s-First-Date-♡ ♡ ♡-is-super-duper-♡-heart-♡-thumping-and-lovey-♡-dovey is a huge success!”

“KALIM!!”

[insfiringyou]

BTS - Going Solo (Part One) - Jimin x Ara

Contains: Angst. *Potential trigger warning for descriptions of panic attacks*

Set a few months following their scene in ‘Private Moments’, Ara is faced with a decision which will change the course of her future. 

(Part Two will be uploaded soon, after a few fics focusing on some of the other members.)

You can find out more about our headcanon universe and ongoing storyline here and more about our headcanon girlfriends here.

To read each member & their girlfriend’s headcanon universe fics in order, follow the links here: RM   /   Jin /   Suga /   J-Hope   /   Jimin   /   V   /   Jungkook & our full masterlist of fanart and fanfictions can be found here

If you wish to follow all member’s storylines in chronological order from the beginning, you can find them listed here.

Content below the cut

‘Jimin,

We just spoke, and you asked if I was happy. I think I am. At least most days.’

Ara typed slowly. Her nails had just been manicured and were longer than she was used to. The sound of acrylics against the keyboard rang through the small hotel room. 

‘When I’m with you I can feel really happy. You can be so sweet and loving and I appreciate you always check up on me - to make sure I’m okay. Touring is hard. You know it better than anybody else, and you tried to prepare me for it.’

She gave a soft sigh, knowing no one else would hear. The words were spilling out of her fingers before her brain had time to catch up, though she knew based on experience she would eventually work out what she was trying to say. The room was dark and the white glow from the word document was starting to make her eyes water. The contact lenses had been in all day and were getting on her nerves. Still, she persevered. She could remove them once she had finished. 

‘I’ve been asked to renew my contract.’

She stopped typing, heart thudding, and realised she felt scared. Her hand moved automatically to her stomach and she exhaled slowly before taking a deep, drawn out breath. She had been practicing and it had gotten easier. At first she would panic, and find her chest rising and falling like crazy, on the verge of hyperventilation, but soon she learned the trick; it was her stomach which was supposed to be moving, not her chest. Her cheeks were a little warm and she knew it was shame she was feeling, not embarrassment. She hadn’t told him yet, despite having known for over a week. Tentatively, she continued, fingers picking up speed as she became used to the sensation of the new nails. 

‘You remember me telling you the first was on a trial basis, based on sales. Well - whatever target they set for us, we must have hit it. Even you have noticed the increase in publicity lately...the T.V appearances. They’ve asked me to film a reality show. I don’t know what they’re expecting.’

Her brow furrowed, wondering...

‘I guess they might have asked you too?’

The laptop stayed silent for a long time and she rested her hands against the small, cheap desk as she gazed at the screen. Her mind suddenly seemed blank and she felt stupid. She would never send the document to Jimin, just as she hadn’t sent the ones she had written before; three month’s worth of unopened, worthless ramblings saved in some obscure folder on her desktop, trapped in the harddrive somewhere between her acoustic recordings and photographs of hairstyles she had saved from Pinterest. She often wondered why she even bothered to save them. Her counsellor had told her, time and time again, that keeping a diary would be helpful. She could record her mood swings and track her periods, along with keeping count of what she ate; wholegrains made her bloated, red food colourings brought out a rash. She sometimes worried she might be lactose intolerant, though could handle it in coffee. That type of thing. She kept it up at first; bashfully bringing the sparkly diary into the small office she visited once a month and reciting what she had written to the man opposite. He would nod sympathetically as she spoke, making a comment from time to time; asking how she felt about what she had put. But the company was paying him to do this; all the girls went, and she sometimes wondered if it was the food diary he was really interested in. If her manager was keeping track, making sure she and the other members were not overdoing it on the full-fat salad dressing and milky lattes. 

The diary entries began to dwindle and, not long after her last week-long visit back to Seoul, the meaningless letters on her laptop started. They were usually addressed to Jimin, though she had written several to her father and one to her brother. She wasn’t good with words; she had been told that often enough at school when she would have to read out loud from the book of the week in Literature, or come up with an argument in Business Studies. Her mouth would stumble and she’d turn red, both ashamed and humiliated, until the teacher inevitably took pity on her and told her to sit back down. Writing in private was much easier, especially when she knew no one but her would see.

‘I don’t know how to feel.’

The cursor hovered, blinking at the end of the last line. There was a heavy knock at the door and Ara jumped, hands automatically reaching for the laptop lid, before a familiar female voice called out.

“Ara? Are you coming?”

She quickly gathered herself, clicking the save icon at the top of the screen. The company had arranged a group meal in the restaurant downstairs, though she had forgotten, her mind distracted by more pressing thoughts.

“In a minute…I just need to change my lenses.” She called back, moving her finger against the touchpad as a pop-up appeared. She selected the save button once more, mouth twisting as she read the title in the little window: ‘Untitled #12.’ She wondered if she would ever get around to renaming them properly.

***

“Your hair has so much texture. I wish mine were thicker.”

Ara murmured in reply before catching the young stylist’s reflection in the mirror and realising how rude she must have sounded. Da-eun had come to the company some months before and was undeniably sweet. Too sweet, Ara sometimes thought, for the business she was in. The other makeup artists and hairdressers loved to keep one ear to the wall, in case there was a chance of promotion or, she rather cynically suspected, a way to increase their pay by selling gossip, but Da-eun didn’t seem like that. At least not yet.

After a moment’s hesitation, Ara smiled into the glass at the figure behind her. “I’m glad I have you to do it for me. The roots are a nightmare!”

Da-eun returned the smile and seemed to relax, but a curious expression still played on her features as she ran the straightener gently across the dyed tips of hair. “Are you tired?”

“I didn’t get much sleep.” Ara confirmed, briefly closing her eyes. Da-eun knew not to press her, but she couldn’t help but worry the younger woman might know more than she was letting on. They had shared hotel rooms in the past and, perhaps it was the stylist's instinct, used to paying close attention to detail, but she always seemed to tell when something was amiss. It was frustrating sometimes. 

“I looked at the schedule. You’re not going on set until last so you’ll have time to rest before you go out.” Da-eun murmured helpfully. Ara nodded, relieved. It occurred to her, not for the first time, that Da-eun should quit while she could; while she was still young and hopeful and kind. 

“I just don’t have the energy right now…” Ara sighed as she felt her hair being released. The younger woman finished working the ends and unplugged the device from the dressing room table. 

“Did you sign the contract yet?” 

Her voice was inquisitive and a little optimistic. Ara had never asked, but there was always the chance that Da-eun’s contract was somehow tied to her own; that if the group were to disband, she might lose her job. Ara shook her head lightly.

“No.”

Da-eun raised an eyebrow. “Are you having second thoughts?”

“I just haven’t had time to read it properly.” She said, truthfully. “It’s come around sooner than I thought…”

The stylist moved forward, reaching for the set of hairbrushes on the counter, before selecting the biggest. She teased through the ends of hair with her short fingers before brushing lightly along the bleached roots, smoothing the locks. 

“There’s been rumours.” The younger woman said, voice suddenly low as though she were worried about being overheard. A thick curtain set apart the dressing room from the photography studio, but it was always possible someone was listening. 

Ara blinked, tensing a little. “What?”

Da-eun smiled gently. “That you’re making a solo album.”

“Oh…” The older woman wasn’t sure what she had expected, but this news took her by surprise. “I wasn’t planning on it.” She shrugged.

“That’s a relief.” Da-eun beamed with a small laugh. “I’m looking forward to going home soon. Aren’t you?”

Ara opened her mouth to speak, not sure what she was going to say, but the curtain beside them drew apart suddenly; startling them both. 

“Oh! Costume change…” Da-eun exclaimed, setting down the brush and turning to accommodate the older woman who had just entered. Mimi was a year older than Ara and usually less prone to accidents, but the leather strap on her camisole suggested a wardrobe malfunction which needed attending to at once.

“Sorry to interrupt…” The other woman murmured apologetically, gesturing to Da-eun. “Could you fix this for me?”

“Sure.” She nodded, stepping away.

Ara’s phone had vibrated against her thigh twenty minutes before but she hadn’t wanted to risk opening the text, especially with someone standing over her shoulder. As Da-eun seated Mimi in the rotating chair on the opposite side of the room to take a look at her costume, Ara took the moment to slip the device from her pocket and flick through the recent notifications. Unsurprisingly, it had been Jimin who had texted and she read the sentence a couple of times before returning it to her pocket.

‘Two more weeks. I’m looking forward to seeing you. It’s been too long.’ 

***

Ara sipped from the glass, the cool water clearing her throat and offering a much needed refreshment from the events of the day. Her voice had become raspy from singing, but luckily she didn’t need it to type. 

‘Jimin,

I was cleaning my closet before we went on tour and found the dress I was wearing on the night we met.’

She found herself smiling, a little longingly, at the memory, a strange anecdote coming to mind.

‘It still has a Daiquiri stain on the hem and it’s too big for me now. I don’t know why I’m saving it.’

The thought made her sad, somehow. 

‘I wonder if you remember that night as clearly as I do. I didn’t want to leave. I knew you were with someone else, but I didn’t care.’

A deep frown played on her otherwise gentle features.

‘Does that make me a bad person?’

It wasn’t until she read the line back, she realised the thought had never occurred to her before. Not once in five years. She wondered why it suddenly seemed to matter. With a sigh, she continued, committing her trail of thoughts to the page.

‘You told me it was over the next time we met, and I believed you, but part of me wondered if you’d go back to her, once you knew how inexperienced I was. I guess I know how you feel sometimes. The whole thing has taken me by surprise as well. I never felt like anyone would want me.’

Her chest ached as she typed the final sentence; overwhelmed by emotion. It was true that the compliments and flirty glances she often received were met with an automatic but fleeting sense of glee. It felt novel, after so long of feeling like she didn’t deserve it. It sometimes still felt that way; back in the hotel room, after the cheers of the crowd had faded. She had brought the subject up with her company counsellor who had laughed it off, explaining that everyone suffered with imposter syndrome from time to time; she wasn’t the first and wouldn’t be the last. On the matter of flirting, she had kept that one to herself. It felt too personal and she was sure it would come across as vain. Occasionally it was unwarranted; the older mens’ eyes moving down her legs when she took to the stage in a short skirt back in Seoul, or the way she jumped in alarm when someone once slipped their hand down the back of her jeans while she stood tightly packed in an elevator in Osaka. But other times she found her heart racing and stomach churning; not thinking of Jimin until she tucked herself in bed at night. A pretty, tall waitress brushing her hand as she handed over the bill in a Thai restaurant, or the hotel doorman who had helped her move her luggage earlier in the week and smiled kindly at her in the lobby. She knew Jimin, of all people, would understand. She had seen the way he played the audience, like he had a secret to share with them all. Early in their relationship it had made her crazy; the way he seemed to flirt with anyone he came into contact with, often without even realising. But now the tables had turned. He would understand; but she wasn’t sure he would accept it. 

She glanced a warily at the shadowy corner of the room where an oversized bouquet of red roses sat on the dresser. They had arrived earlier to the hotel room, along with a postcard sized letter from her manager. He had been unable to make the trip to Taiwan but was waiting for her in Tokyo; the contract was ready, whenever she was ready to sign. The flowers seemed like a bribe; the gesture leaving a sour taste in her mouth. She wondered if the other two girls had received any, or if the privilege was all hers. 

The sound of her ringtone, a chirpy, summer tune, alerted her to the fact that an hour had already passed and it was getting late. She quickly swiped the screen and raised it to her ear, not wanting to wake up the neighbours.

“Hello?”

There was a pause before Jimin spoke. “How are you?” 

“Good.” She squinted at her watch with a frown. “What time is it there?”

“2am.”

“Shouldn’t you be in bed?” She asked, a little baffled. He hadn’t called her this late in a while.

“I only just got in. There was a company dinner.” He explained. “What are you up to?”

She hesitated. “Just thinking.”

He laughed, softly mocking her. “Just thinking?”

She shook her head, dismissing it. “Oh, it’s nothing…I was drying my hair.” She lied, fingering the ends of the bone-dry locks in an automatic response. “Da-eun dyed the tips purple for the photoshoot.”

“I liked the pink.” He groaned, a little sulkily.

“They thought purple would fit better with the concept photos.” She mumbled deflatedly. “It’s not really my choice.”

“You could change it when you come home.” He said hopefully. She heard the flirtatious grin in his voice and could picture his smile on the other end. “They can’t do anything about it once your contract has ended.” 

“Maybe.” 

She sounded distant and he noticed the change at once.

“Are you okay?” 

She closed her eyes tightly, temporarily blocking out the glare from the laptop screen. “I’m fine. It’s just been a long day.”

“Did you take a look at the brochures I emailed you?”

“I haven’t had time. I’m sure whatever you pick will be fine.” She knew she sounded a little irritated but was unable to mask it. The weight of the day suddenly seemed to dawn on her and she wanted nothing more than to go to bed. The last thing she wanted to talk about was moving house. 

“I’d really like you to help.” He argued lightly. “There’s a three bedroom going for sale on the Han River. Yoongi says it’s a good deal.”

Ara sighed. “I’m sure he’s right.”

A pause. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I wish you’d stop asking.” She pleaded, feeling on the verge of tears. Jimin seemed to hear the tremor in her voice and thought for a long moment before he spoke, tentatively.

“Maybe you should ask the doctor to change your medication again.”

Ara clutched the phone tightly. “It’s fine.” She tried to smile, hoping it would show in her voice. “I’m feeling much better, just tired.”

“Is that a side effect?” 

He sounded concerned and she nodded to herself, though she knew full well she hadn’t taken the time to read the little leaflet properly. “Probably. Maybe I just need some sleep.”

“Okay.” He agreed, though she sensed his trepidation. “I’d better go then.”

He sounded disappointed and Ara felt guilty once more. “I’m sorry Jimin.” She apologised softly. “It really was nice that you called. It’s just these time zones…”

“I understand.” 

She wondered if he did. Her eyes felt damp beneath her heavy, false eyelashes, making them itch. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

***

She had forgotten her contact lenses and had to rummage through her Birkin to retrieve her reading glasses. They felt strange on her nose and she wondered how she had ever made it through high school wearing them. At least she had been given a moment’s peace to read through the contract. The office overlooked Ueno Station and the rush of traffic below would be too distracting had someone also been watching her. 

‘As a permanent member of the label you should not bring the company into disrepute…’

She read carefully, though the paperwork seemed much larger than the last one she had signed. Some of the phrases looked familiar, such as the declaration of her dedication to being a ‘brand ambassador’, but others were definitely new. Her gaze hovered over one line:

‘...should not jeopardize future success…not limited to personal relationships, controversial thought or opinion including strong ties to political associations, ideologies or groups.’

She expected no less, particularly after Mimi was caught on camera reading a Betty Friedan book. The first part was more complicated and she wondered if Jimin’s management had asked something similar of him. 

With a sigh, she continued down the page, skimming the text now but picking up on key words which seemed important, ‘Maintain a visible and transparent social media presence….Agree to the screening and management of said accounts with the view of protecting our artists and their wellbeing.’

By the time she reached the end, it did not seem to matter and there was a strange comfort in realising this. The past three years had been carefully planned, organised, operated; her future written for her from the moment she stepped foot on stage for the first time. The moments of quiet between shows, or during her increasingly short stays back in Seoul, only seemed to complicate things further. Her thoughts were a mess whenever she stopped to breathe for a moment, and maybe it was easier to shut them off altogether; to give over all control and decision-making to someone else than to try and deal with them all herself. 

The fountain pen was heavier than she expected as she picked it off the table. It had the company brand embossed on the side in gold-leaf which seemed to reflect the fading light outside as the sun set below the concrete structure of the art museum to the West. Slowly, she signed her name on the final page; the ink blotting a little as she moved aside the bound file and repeated the motion on the second copy. The second attempt was neater as she grew used to the feel of the pen in her hand. There was a knack to it; just like many of the things she had grown to learn in her adult life; underwear should be washed on the delicate cycle, t-shirts should be turned inside out before they are ironed, glasses should not be left in the sink too long, should they smash. She had an assistant to do those things now, and her clothes were mostly dry cleaned these days. 

She neatened the piles of paper and put the lid back on the pen, so the ink wouldn’t dry. The first contract had been signed in black Biro, which hadn’t come with such demands. Reaching down, she picked up her black handbag and carefully folded her personal copy, slipping it between her lipstick and glasses case before adding the pen. She had probably paid for it anyway; in her own way. The green light on her phone was blinking and she slid it from the pouch in the lining. The text had arrived while she was in the meeting, which is why she hadn’t heard her phone go off. Her thumb paused over the messenger button for a moment, before she tapped the screen lightly; Jimin’s name and picture coming into view in the little window above the text. 

‘One more week! :)’

***

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[mega-bastard]

i was kidnapped by shiratorizawa ?!?!?!?!

this was painful to write, but like a masochist I did it anyway. this is my part of the the first Whorehouse Collab, located here. Finally getting back into writing fanfics since like 2015, this was oddly therapeutic.

I wrote this under the influence of magic grass after binging several wattpad fics, enjoy at your own risk-- by which I mean laugh alongside me LMAO

The ending is sososo rushed, in true wattpad fashion <3 this was 1.3K words of nonsense

When I woke up today, I didn’t think I’d end up in such a bind— bindings to be more specific. I’m just your average little miss no one, another everyday student easily lost in the in the crowd. Wearing glasses and being like super shy does that to u, yknow?

Now, blindfolded and tied up, I can’t help but wonder just how someone so unnoticeable had gotten snatched up so suddenly— perhaps that was had why you were taken (insert Liam neeson voice: I will find you, and I will kill you hehe >:3). Now, with the full throb in my head beginning to subside— I started to recount what had bringed me into such s predicament

~ rewind to earlier in the day ~

I’d only just waked up when I received a text from my best friend mina (bnha wink wonk) gushing about or schools volleyball match— to say she was crazy in love aoba Joshuas volleyball team would be selling it crazily underwhelmed. Especially their captain, oikawa tooru ! Most of our school did, but I was really observant of the people around me— he gives me weird vibes, like he puts on an act or something. But still, I keep that thoght to myself so no one comes for me. Seriously, he’s got fans like a Kpop star (a/n haha stan bts for clear skin uwu)

Either way, her dragging me to a volleyball game is nothing new— and as she’s blowing my messages up like the world is ending I know  what to expect this coming afternoon. What a pain, I had planned on watching naruto when I got home today :(

There was no telling Mina no, so when we enviably met to walk to school I was well aware I’d be attending the volleyball match today. Boring, but I’d manage— I don’t care much for sports but sweaty and muscley men are finer than fine, I’d at least have spank bank material hehe (a/n not to whore on main buuuuuut ;3).

The day flew by and suddenly I found my self seated on the stands, waiting for the game to begin. Mina was chatting away, so when the urge to go to the bathroom came I simply got up and left— I wouldn’t get a word in edgewise, everyone always runs at the mouth and I can never get a word in as a result.

Not paying attention on my way to the bathroom, I suddenly shivered— feeling watched. I looked up from staring at the floor and was brought face to face with...the Shiratorizawa Volleyball Team ?!?! At the head was the tank of a captain, japans number one ace Ushijima Wakayoshi (a/n a whole snack yumyum) was indomitable and a scary man to be faced with. Ushijima was still as fierce as ever; I say that because we’d gone to middle school together— we never spoke or anything like that but we’d been in the same classes. He scrutinized my small form with impassive olive eyes, I felt rooted in place at such a state.

I shook myself from my little reverie and quickly scurried off, heart beating a mile a minute. “ just find the bathroom and head back to Mina “ I murmured to myself, finally finding the bathroom after rounding a corner. The feeling of being watched finally lifting.

After using the bathroom and began to head back, I could hear someone...singing something? I began to head towards it out of curiosity, peeking around a corner to see a tall red haired guy and a grey haired guy— they were wearing the same uniform so they must also be a part of the team as well! Lost in my thoughts, I was only briefly able to dick away before the red haired guy turned around to where I was peeking.

Ok seriously, let’s head back ‘ I thought before scurrying back to Mina— who grilled me on my absence before becoming entranced in the starting game. I stayed on my phone for the most part, reading one direction fanfic— with the phone screen down waaay low (a/n who else has done this before ???). Id peek every now and again to watch, at one point catching the eye of the tall red head— a chill ran down my spin at his impish smile that I looked away immediately.

He was...cute. In a scary way.

A sudden hush flew across the crowd and I looked up in time to see oikawas serve hit clean across the net, received by some guy with brown hair before being set by some twat with shitty hair (a/n shirabus a twat, their I said it >:/) before the ball was spiked back with a force unmatched.

That was Match point. Shiratorizawa wins.

The air is oppressive, oikawas fan girls— mina included, are wailing. That’s my cue to exit, bidding a mina goodbye I began my way down the hail, the rush of the court fading into background.

Then suddenly, rushing feet and the crack of something hard against my skull.

Darkness consumed me.

~ back to the present ~

Now back to the hear and now, I hear murmerings-- voices I don’t recognize. I try to listen, try to focus in on their voices but I can’t as the throbbing in my skull takes my focus away. A whimper escapes me, and a silence sweeps across wherever I am like a breeze-- it’s scary.

“haha, is she awake?” it’s the sing=songy voice from before-- the red head probably then? I know I needed to say something, anything, but I was still to disoriented. The sound of shoes nearing me immeadiatly set me off, beginning to wiggle and move before I was held still vision suddenly assaulted with brightness as my blindfold is redmoved.

Standing before, me in all their glory, is the Shiratorizawa volleyball team??

It looks like I’m being held in...an empty dorm room? I’m trying to gather my bearings and cannot figure what to possibly ay before being yanked up harshly from a laying position. It’s the red head holding me up, wicked smile and everything as he crouches in front of me before opening his mouth.

“ You belong to us now, got it~” his voice is too cheery given the words he’s just said to me (a/n tendou owns my heart and soul <3333 ), and only now does my voice find me. “ B-but w-why m-m-me ? You c-can’t j-just do t-that, please just let me g-g-g-g-g-g-go !” by the time I finish blubbering, theres tears streaming down my cheeks like rushing rivers. Through my lashes, I look pitifully around at everyone-- landing on an umcomfortble looking kid with a bowl cut, but he looks away as soon as i stare up at him.

no, no ,no nononono no ones going to help me. the tears fall puddle on the floor, only growing in speed when ushijima speaks. “ You’ll be transfering here, become our manager, and be staying in this dorm room-- it’s already been settled” (a/n idk I’d be p happy to be shiratorizawa’s manager uwu) his voice is deep and leaves no room for any back talk, but my stomach drops at his next sentence “Semi, put it on her’ my head whips up, starring doe eyed at the grey haired guy from before as he approaches with...IS THAT A COLLAR AND LEASH??? (a/n insert debby ryan face)

my face heats up, embarrassed and ashamed at the idea of being collared like an animal. I try to wiggle away, annoying Semi, “Tendou hold her still damnit!” at that Tendou-- the red head, grips my face with one hand to keep me still, gripping it hard enough that hes smushing my cheeks (a/n tendou, t e n d o u, loml, how I cherish thee) . He mutters a quiet cute, so faint I think I’m hearing things, before the tightening of the collar breaks me from that train of thought. With that done, I’m released, falling to my hands and knees staring up at the entire team now gathered before me.

A tug on the leash tugs me forward without much effort, and the tears spring up once more at the humiliation. 

“This is gonna be fun~”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ok so I hoped you guys loved it <3 I’ll try my best to get out weekly updates, next chap I’m thinking I either focus on how ushijima and reader-chan actually do know eachother, shirabu and semi fiighting of reader-chans attention, or maybe tendou and reader-chan getting into trouble while draggin goshiki into it! SOund off in the comments and let me know what you think ?? anyway love you guys sm <33333

[everybodyscupoftea]

i’ll be there

frat jj x reader

words: 2020

warnings: underage drinking, cursing

synopsis: in which boys will be boys and forget important dates

You and JJ had only been dating around seven months when your birthday came around. The birthday talk had come up because his was about four months before yours and you planned a whole day for the two of you to go fishing because you could tell how much he missed it with how busy school was keeping him.

JJ was ecstatic and the two of you drank all afternoon. You had a reservation at one of his favorite restaurants and a cake you’d made waiting in your room. He swore up and down to you that it was his favorite birthday ever and that he’d definitely one up you for yours.

As the date got closer, you began to doubt it. To clarify, it was fine, your birthday wasn’t a huge deal to you, just another day really. You never really announced it or had a party for it growing up, normally just movie marathon, dinner, and cake with your parents, sister, and some of your closest friends. But this year, it was your first birthday away from your family and home friends.

You thought maybe JJ was just planning something as a surprise until he started talking about a mixer he was helping plan that was supposed to take place on your birthday. While he was talking, you must’ve gotten a weird look on your face because he trailed off and asked, “Babe, everything okay? Do you think the theme is stupid?”

“No, the theme isn’t stupid, it sounds fun. What day is it again?”

He repeated the date and sure enough, you’d heard him right the first time. Nodding, you took a deep breath, “Well what if you moved it to that Friday instead of Saturday?”

“It’s like tradition or something to have Spring mixers on Saturday nights.”

This time you were absolutely sure that you were making a face. Your mouth fell open as you searched for the right words, “Wait, that’s one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard.”

JJ laughed and ruffled your hair, much to your annoyance, “Yeah, well, we don’t fuck with tradition.”

“Right,” you didn’t really feel like finishing the conversation, so you decided to just head out, “well, I have study group tonight, so I’m going to get something to eat before having to head over.”

“Oh, you want company?” JJ asked reaching for his wallet.

You shrugged, “I’m good. Have to call my sister anyway, so I’ll do that while I’m eating.”

JJ looked confused and a little hurt, you rarely ate dinner without him, but he quickly smoothed his face over, “Yeah, sure. Text me when you get out of study group, we can hang out later.”

With a weak smile, you nodded, “Sure, I’ll talk to you later.”

You left his room before he could lean in to kiss you goodbye and speed walked to the elevator before he could chase you down. The feeling in your chest was hard to pin down, maybe disappointment, maybe insecurity of not being important enough to JJ, but as soon as you had that thought, you pushed it away. That was absurd.

Pulling your phone out on the walk to the cafeteria on campus, you called your sister. She picked up on the second ring with an excited, “Hey!”

“Hey, loser, I miss you.”

She laughed, “Yeah, miss seeing your dumb face around the house.”

“I don’t know how, it’s like I’m still there with all the outfits of mine I keep seeing on Instagram.”

“Hey, if you didn’t want me to wear your clothes, you should’ve brought them with you.”

“Oh whatever,” you told her, not really in the mood to argue back.

She was quiet for a few seconds before gently asking, “Everything okay? Did you and JJ fight?”

You sighed, “No, I just, I think he forgot my birthday because he’s planning something with his frat and I asked if they could move the day and he was all like ‘no we don’t fuck with tradition’ and like I guess I get it, but I just wanted to do the whole movie thing with him this year since I won’t be with you guys.”

“Did you, I don’t know, tell him it was on your birthday or did you happen to leave that little detail out?”

With a soft laugh and slight blush, you responded, “What do you think?”

“I think you left that important bit out because you know how much the frat means to him and you’re willing to just get your feelings hurt for his sake.”

“Shut up,” you mumbled, hating how well she knew you.

“Well, Sis, unfortunately he’s probably going to be a typical boy about this and he’s not going to remember until after the fact and then he’s going to feel like shit and you’re going to feel like shit with him. Really this could all be avoided if you just tell him.”

“He doesn’t have to know.”

“Oh my god, you do realize he’s going to be thinking to himself in a few months, huh, I wonder when her birthday is and he’s going to find out.”

“Well, I’ll tell him I don’t celebrate it.”

She made an exasperated noise, “Okay, clearly nothing I say is going to change your mind, so I’ll just drop it for now. How are your classes going?”

And with that the two of you started catching up. You told her about your classes and your study group, and she told you about all the gossip going on with people at home and about how bullshit senior year of high school was.

“I’m just ready to be in college and doing whatever I want, like you,” she whined at the end of her rant.

You laughed, “The grass always seems greener, my friend, but I can promise you it is not.”

She complained a little bit more before the two of you exchanged goodbyes and you started walking to the library to meet with your group. By the time you finished there, it wasn’t too late, so you texted JJ that you were finished. He replied pretty quick, telling you to wait there, and he’d come walk you back since it was dark and your dorm was pretty far away from the library.

Everything was going to be totally fine, he still cared for you, it was going to be okay.

In the weeks leading up to the party, JJ got busier and busier, focused on making sure the details were exactly right. He was put in charge of coordinating the alcohol, which you didn’t really get because he was only 20, but he told you it was a real privilege, so you let it go.

The night before, he crashed in your room and by the time you woke up at 10, he was gone and you had a text from him that he had to go help set up and that he’d be back to pick you up at 5:30.

You stretched and decided to go for a run before getting some expensive coffee you normally didn’t spend money on as a treat for your birthday. It was nice outside, and you enjoyed the fresh air. While you were drinking your coffee, you parents FaceTimed you, so you moved to the outdoor patio and talked with them and your sister for a good 30 minutes.

After picking up lunch at your favorite sushi place, you went back to your room to eat and start getting ready for the Mardi Gras themed party. You scrolled through Instagram, smiling at your friends’ posts for you. It felt nice, especially since JJ hadn’t said anything about it yet.

Your suitemate let herself into your bedroom around 4 with a cupcake from the bakery downtown and a huge smile. It almost brought you to tears. She gave you a huge hug and sang to you before asking, “What do you and JJ have planned?”

“Oh, uh, we’re going to a party his frat is throwing. He helped plan it, so he’s pretty excited.”

She looked disappointed, “He planned a frat party on your birthday.”

“Yeah, but it’s okay. It means a lot to him, so, I don’t mind.”

“Right…” she trailed off before straightening back up, “want me to do your makeup?”

“Oh yes, please!”

JJ knocked at your door at exactly 5:30 and you greeted him with a smile and a kiss. He yelled out a greeting to your suitemate and she got off her bed to lean against the doorframe and glare at him, not returning his hello.

With a weird look in her direction, he grabbed your hand and pulled you out after him, rambling about how sick the house looked with all the decorations, still not bringing up your birthday at all. With that, you resigned yourself to just having to get over it.

You got a drink almost immediately and stayed pretty close to JJ’s side as he walked around socializing. A few people from your study group found you and started talking to you, which you were grateful for. And then it happened, before you could stop it, one of the boys in you group blurted, “Oh, by the way, happy birthday! The big 20, huh?”

JJ laughed, looking down at you, clearly thinking the guy was confused, and you blushed, “Oh, uh, thanks. Yeah, 20.”

“One more year till you’re legal!” he cheered before catching someone across the room’s eye and excused himself.

JJ had gone totally rigid next to you and you cautiously glanced up at his face. You held your hands up, and quietly told him, “J, it’s not a big deal.”

His face was incredibly pale as he whispered back, “It’s your fucking birthday?”

“Um, yep,” you responded with an awkward half smile.

“And you didn’t tell me why?”

You shrugged, “I don’t know, you were just really excited for the party, I didn’t want to ruin it for you or anything.”

“Ruin it for-“ he cut himself off and started pulling you through the crowd and out the back door. JJ ran his hands through his hair, “So that’s why your roommate gave me such a dirty look then.”

You nodded, playing with your fingers as he paced back and forth. Clearing your throat, you said, “It’s really not like a huge thing. I mean we get to spend time together tonight.”

JJ stopped, “No, it’s actually a huge fucking thing. What kind of boyfriend forgets that shit?”

“A busy one,” you joke.

His jaw tensed and he sighed heavily before speaking again, “Babe, I am so sorry. I promise I’ll make it up to you. I don’t know how this happened; I mean it’s in my phone calendar.” JJ pulled out his phone to show you and then sighed again, “I put it in April.”

“JJ, I promise it’s okay. I mean I was a little hurt, sure, but at least it wasn’t intentional.”

“It’s just, I love you, and I want to be there for you and I knew you had a problem with the party but I figured it must not be huge since you never said anything but I should’ve fucking asked.”

You had frozen at his words; he’d never said them to you before. JJ gave you a weird look when you didn’t react and it unfroze you. You surged forward, kissing him, before pulling away to look him in the eyes, “I love you, too.”

His eyes went wide, suddenly realizing what he said and he kissed you again, holding your face gently in his hands. When he pulled away, he pressed a final kiss on your forehead before taking your hand, “Let’s go.”

“No, you worked hard on this, we can stay.”

JJ gave you a look, “No, we’re going. I’m going to buy you some ice cream and then we’ll go for a walk and spend some time together. I know I’ve been really wrapped up in this and I haven’t seen you as much.”

You smiled and squeezed his hand a few times, “I’d love that.”