#but nope apparently the curse just.....wore off on its own? So boring

[arabian-batboy]

I have been really loving Fruits Basket so far, but I’m at the end of the show and I gotta be honest.......I’m not feeling some of these resolutions?

[luci-is-a-devil-]

If I’m Not Falling On The Rink, I’m Falling For You

Author Note: Hiya! It’s been a while since my last post, i’m truly excited to show you the part of a possible series! I recommend reading on desktop if you can, a lot easier! I hope you enjoy, its my first time trying a fic based in the past, the 70s to be exact~

Trigger Warning: Cursing / Mentions of blood / Fighting / Homophobia / Underaged Drinking

Word Count: 6,037

When Chanyeol had applied for a job at the local roller skating rink, he hadn't expected to actually get a call back, nor had he thought he'd actually get the job. See, Chanyeol wasn't a bad worker per say, he was really kind to customers and always did things with a smile. It just so happened that Chanyeol was also a student and often studied into the wee hours of the morning and woke up late. Extremely late.

His worst memory was when he was late for his own birthday, it'd be fine if it was ten or fifteen minutes, but this was a whole hour and a half, and he didn't even remember who's birthday it was!

He accepted the job, not that he had much of a choice in the matter, his mother had been on his case to get a job since the day he turned seventeen, something about responsibilities or whatever.

It had been a month and a half since his first day on the job, which hadn't gone as well as he wanted but he got what he expected. Was he late? No. Did he spill cola all over himself and trip over his words to every single customer? Yes, yes he did. But he did it with a smile!

His shifts varied, but he was usually stuck with odd hours and weird days of the week. Monday morning as soon the roller skating rink open, you could expect Chanyeol sitting in his hot dog booth, wearing his dumb uniform that was made to look like ketchup and mustard were on him.

It was July, his second to last summer of being in high school. His friends had already laughed at his uniform but he had laughed at them falling down while 'skating'. You'd think a wannabe dancer like Jongin would be more graceful, but he was not. Chanyeol would compare him to his drunk aunt at Christmas after she found the liquor that his mother had stashed away, hoping that she wouldn't find it. She always did, Chanyeol wasn't sure why his mother tried anymore.

Kyungsoo was alright, he stumbled here and there, but after a while Chanyeol wasn't sure if the small male was doing it on purpose to make Jongin feel better or not. Sehun, was much better than expected, he skated circles around the other two and kept going off by himself to flirt with the other skaters, going so far as to wink at himslef in the mirror multiple times.  

That was a typical shift, what he had come to expect.

So when one day, his friends hadn't stopped by, he thought it'd be a boring day until he stopped by.

He being the one and only Byun Baekhyun. Also a soon to be senior in Chanyeol's school, a class clown yet also the class pet. Everyone knew Baekhyun like everyone knew his best friends, Yixing and Jongdae. The three had gotten close since the first year of high school when Yixing moved to their town. Jongdae and Baekhyun had already been friends since kindergarten, so they were already a duo of clowns, now they were a trio of fools, pretty ones but fools nonetheless.

Chanyeol had been in the same school as the three, but he'd never gotten a chance to talk to any of them besides an occasional 'excuse me' or 'hello'. Chanyeol and his friends compared to Baekhyun's trio were troublemakers. Except for Kyungsoo who was top of his class, the other three were, interested in other things to say the least.

Where Baekhyun would make his classmates laugh, Chanyeol was interested to see how many times he could leave math class undetected. The answer as of last year was twelve and a half, he would've gotten to thirteen if it wasn't for kyungso throwing an eraser at him.

Whilst the four would attempt to have study sessions, they'd always devolve into a gossip group while they got junk food with whatever money they had on them. Baekhyun and his crew were different, they went to the library to actually study, they were called the pretty boys in school. Chanyeol and his friends had matching leather jackets that they found at a thrift shop.

As Chanyeol was daydreaming and wiping the counter with a rag that was dirtier than the counter, he heard the squeak of the wheels on the rug, meaning that someone approached him in his small hot dog shack. Looking up, Chanyeol dropped his rag on the floor, quickly bending down to get it, only to hit his head on the counter.

Groaning, Chanyeol clutched his head, squatting on the tiled floor.

"Are you alright?"

A voice that was trying not to laugh asked, his voice was light and airy, making Chanyeol fumble as he stood up, grasping on to the table to not fall down.

"Fine! Yes, i'm. Wait, what?"

Chanyeol stumbled over his words, grimacing as he questioned what he just said. Baekhyun giggled, holding his wallet in his hands. The black dots that clouded his vision disappeared, slowly allowing him to see the light brunette boy in front of him.

"How can I help you?"

Chanyeol asked, standing up straight instead of his previous hunched self that had to grasp the table to not fall down. Baekhyun skimmed the menu, his eyes lighting up as he saw something the called his name.

"Can I get an order of cheese fries please! With a water."

Baekhyun's eyes practically sparkled, Chanyeol had to stop himself from flushing, punching the order into the register.

"That'll be two dollars and forty cents, please."

Baekhyun nodded and gave him a five, Chanyeol gave him his change and went into the back to make cheese fries. According to Chanyeol's manager, you were supposed to skimp out on everything you could, fries included. Chanyeol wasn't able to without feeling guilty and usually just made a suitable amount, with a reasonable amount of cheese and bacon, so that's what he did.

Walking back to the counter, holding the tray that held the cheese fries and a water bottle. Placing it on the counter, Chanyeol noticed two dollars in the tip jar that had been empty only a few minutes ago.

"Thank you, Chanyeol!"

With that, Baekhyun grabbed the tray and he was gone. Chanyeol froze, startled by the older teen calling his name. Looking down at his uniform, Chanyeol made sure he wasn't wearing his name tag. He knew he took it off, he hated the thought of so many strangers knowing his name. It wasn't hung on his pocket like it was supposed to be, and there was no way Baekhyun had seen it through his pants pocket. So that could only mean one thing.

Byun Baekhyun knew his name.

It had been a few weeks since the first time Baekhyun visited the roller skating rink, but it wasn't the last, in fact he'd been there at least twice a week by Chanyeol's count, maybe more if his visits weren't only during Chanyeol's shifts.

His friends had continued to make fun of him, they had known of his slight infatuation with the light brunette before he'd seen him at the rink, now that he'd seen him plenty, now with shared smiles and quick banter, Chanyeol was falling deeper and deeper.

It was his day off, a Saturday. You'd think that was the day they needed him but nope, apparently Mondays and Wednesdays were the shifts that were empty. So instead of doing his summer packet, studying, or sending in applications to colleges, Chanyeol was at a diner with his friends.

They were wearing their leather jackets, even if Sehun complained that they looked dumb all together. Chanyeol laughed, saying that Sehun looked dumb anyway. A bruised shoulder in the shape of a fist was worth it when he saw the younger teen roll his eyes, and they were at the diner, drinking as many milkshakes as they could.

Another typical Saturday.

Leather jackets weren't the only reason they were getting strange stares, it might have to do with Sehun wearing platform boots or his jeans with chains, maybe it was Jongin and Kyungsoo who were holding hands and laughing at Sehun's stomping, or it was about Chanyeol who was pointing out that Sehun could just take off his jackets if it really bothered him that much.

They had grown used to the stares, it was either they learned to deal with it or fit themselves into the social construct. They went with the first choice, it seemed so much more fun.

They were squeezed into a booth, laughing at Sehun spit balling at Jongin who retorted with a wet willy, mature teen stuff. As they waited for another round of shakes, Kyungsoo nudged Chanyeol, getting the tallest males attention.

"What, Soo?"

Chanyeol questioned, staring at the black haired teen. Kyungsoo pointed at the entrance of the diner, making Chanyeol squint to see what he was pointing at. At the double doors of the diner stood Baekhyun and his crew. The three held bags from stores and were laughing. Chanyeol flushed, immediately turning his sight away from the trio.

Unlike Chanyeol's leather jacket and jeans, Baekhyun wore high waisted pants with a flannel tied around his waist and a white tank top. He looked like he wandered out of a catalog compared to Chanyeol's grunge esque fashion that typically came from goodwill and other thrift shops.

The four got their milkshakes, Sehun's arriving with a slice of cake as well. The youngest had quite the sweet tooth to his brothers chagrin, it was always a fight between the two. Since their parents had disappeared, Junmyeon had become the legal guardian of his step-brother. It had been three years, Sehun had gathered some sort of disdain for his parents after their disappearance. What the public hadn't known was that they left after Sehun had come out.

The day after, Sehun returned home with Chanyeol in tow. He had slept over at the elders house, not excited to return home. From what Chanyeol could gather between the crying was that it hadn't gone well, but he could tell that by the fading red mark on Sehun's left cheek.

At Sehun's apartment they had expected to see the two stood there, perhaps ignoring their don or even beginning the fight from last night all over again. Instead what the teens saw was an empty apartment. The living room had been stripped of all signs of living, the only remaining furniture being the couch and the ugly rug they had gotten from Kyungsoo's mom.

It was a strange week and a half, lots of angry tears and tantrums. Junmyeon had returned after being called by the police, he'd requested a transfer from his office job in New York to California.

Chanyeol knew it was the guilt that Sehun struggled with, that he'd caused his parents to leave and his brother had to give up his dreams for him. Even the littlest argument caused Sehun to spiral, they'd find him days later in an alley passed out.

Maybe that's why the three babied the youngest, even Jongin who was barely older treated the younger like he was a child, gifting him with sweets and letting him sneak through the window into his room to spend the night.

When Chanyeol was shaken out of his thoughts, he was horrified to see Baekhyun in front of him, all six males looking at the tall teen. Chanyeol flushed, quickly looking at Kyungsoo to plead with him to save him from the awkwardness he'd unknowingly created.

"Baekhyun asked if you wanted to sit together."

Kyungsoo stated, smirking at Chanyeol. Chanyeol nodded, and the four moved over to a table that could seat all of them.

The seven of them got to talking, the extroverted males easily taking over the conversation while the introverted ones listened and put forth their words in where they wanted.

Baekhyun was sat across from Chanyeol at the furthest edge of the table. Taking a sip from his milkshake that had deflated quite a bit, Chanyeol's attention was dragged away from the conversation when Baekhyun called his name.

"Yes?'

Chanyeol asked the brunette, staring at him. The older teen smiled, a whipped cream mustache on his cupids bow causing Chanyeol's stomach to fill with butterflies.

"Can I have your cherry?"

Baekhyun asked, making Chanyeol gawk at him. Chanyeol had his heart on his sleeves, or more likely, his blush on his ears. His ears already stuck out, now having them be red garnered much more attention than he would have cared for.

"My what?"

Chanyeol stumbled over his two words, making Baekhyun laugh. It sounded so precious that Chanyeol wanted to record it and keep it forever, bottle it up inside his memories and never let it go.

"Your cherry! I see you going around it.Can I have it?"

Baekhyun pointed out the fruit that remained in Chanyeol's mostly empty milkshake. Chanyeol, flushed harder, realizing that the question had been perfectly acceptable.

Chanyeol fished out the red fruit that had spots of whipped cream on it, offering it to Baekhyun. Instead of plucking the fruit with his own fingers, he got closer to the fruit and used his mouth to grasp it out of Chanyeol's fingers.

Chanyeol stared, his face probably redder than the cherry had been. Baekhyun smiled, his eyes shutting as his tilted his head to the right. Chanyeol smiled back, to the best of his abilities.

Baekhyun didn't need to know that the cherry was Chanyeol's favorite part.

A month had passed, Chanyeol's last year of high school was coming up fast. He had so much to do, he'd begun to wonder what he'd spent his summer doing. Between working at the hot dog booth and spending time with his friends, he'd only done half of his summer packet but honestly that was more than anyone was expecting him to do.

He had to quit the hot dog shack soon though, he kept putting it off hoping to see Baekhyun again. It had been a week since he'd last seen the trio, the last time was at a beach on a Wednesday. Had it been planned by them? Not to Chanyeol's knowledge and he wasn't sure that it was plain coincidences anymore.

It was a Thursday afternoon, his sister had gone out with some friends and his parents had gone to some party. They had said he could invite Sehun over but the newly dyed orange haired teen was grounded, Junmyeon hadn't been too thrilled with the new hair color. Chanyeol's parents hadn't either but they'd gotten used to their son going along with Sehun's antics.

So Chanyeol was sat on his bed, in his pajamas at a reasonable time, four in the afternoon to be exact. His guitar sat in the corner of his room, begging to be played but Chanyeol couldn't be bothered, his mind was to muddled with thoughts of the future.

Soon he'd be off to college, for the first time since second grade he and his friends wouldn't be together. Jongin had gotten into an art school, which they had all been excited for but it was an underlying thought that they were in fact growing up, they had things that had to be done and wouldn't have time for each other anymore.

Sehun wasn't going to college, he wasn't sure what he wanted to do. Chanyeol couldn't blame him, there had always been so much going on in the younger teens life to navigate around that he had never gotten the chance to figure out what he wanted to do.

Kyungsoo wanted to be an author, his parents wanted him to be a doctor. So he was going to med school, in New York. That had put a damper on things, especially between Jongin and Kyungsoo. They had just gotten together and by this time next year, they'd be in different states. It'd been awkward last time they'd all hung out, they'd ended up back at their houses before sun down.

Chanyeol's was knocked out of his worried state of mind by the phone ringing. He had a passing thought to ignore it but the last time he'd done that he got an earful from his mother, so downstairs he went. Speed walking into the kitchen, he picked up their red phone from the base and humming into it.

"Chanyeol?"

Chanyeol all but dropped the phone, surprised at the familiar voice.

"Baekhyun?"

The teen hummed back, giggling over the line. Chanyeol was breathless, the feeling of butterflies back in his stomach.

"How'd you get my number?"

Chanyeol asked the brunette, racking his mind to see if he had blurted it out at some point. As far as he could remember, he had not. That was too smooth for him, the best he had done was compliment Baekhyun's shoes, and even then he had made it sound like he was going to steal them.

So yeah, flirting wasn't going well.

"Sehun gave it to me." Baekhyun paused, giving a moment for Chanyeol to think how unlikely it was that the teen had given his number to his crush with good intentions. "He said to say sorry that he couldn't hang out with you today?"

That was more like Sehun, the teen apologized through others. Before Chanyeol had found it frustrating, he still did but not as bad as before.

"Yeah, that sounds like him."

Chanyeol agreed, nodding even though the elder couldn't see him.

"What's up with him? Why couldn't he hang out with you guys?"

Baekhyun asked, causing Chanyeol to hum again, trying to figure out how he should phrase what he wanted to say.

"His brother grounded him, Junmyeon wasn't thrilled with Sehun's hair. It was only me he would hang out with, he's avoiding Soo and Jongin, too awkward to third wheel, even for Sehun."

Perhaps he could have phrased it better but it was still better than the usual garbage he spewed.

Baekhyun made a sound of acknowledgement, understanding the drama that came along with friends. There was a minute of silence, a race to see who could come up with something interesting to say to keep the conversation going.

"Do you wanna hang out tomorrow?"

Baekhyun won. Chanyeol nodded, then realized that the elder couldn't see him so he voiced his agreement.

"Cool, see you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow."

Another moment of silence, listening to Baekhyun laugh quietly as they stayed on the line. Chanyeol joined in, his cheeks dusted pink.

"Hang up, Park."

Baekhyun said, breathless as he whispered. Chanyeol could imagine the brunette, fingers playing with the cord of the phone as the spoke, his eyes twinkling as he listened to Chanyeol speak.

"Not before you, Byun."

Baekhyun snorted, commenting how gross they sounded before hanging up, leaving Chanyeol to the silence in the line. A dopey smile painted on Chanyeol's face as he hung up the phone, leaning his head against the wall.

Baekhyun wanted to hang out with him.

Friday came slowly and quickly at the same time, Chanyeol couldn't sleep last night. At some point he'd picked out an outfit but after that everything was a blur. Getting dressed into the white t-shirt and high waisted jeans he'd picked out. Deciding on a over shirt instead of his leather jacket, he headed out of his room. Saying goodbye to his parents, he walked out of the house.

Walking the two blocks that it took to get to Baekhyun's house, Chanyeol knocked on the door. Waiting patiently, Chanyeol messed with his hair, anxious to see whoever would come to the door.

Thankfully it was Baekhyun, not his parents.

"Hey Chanyeol! You ready to go?"

Baekhyun asked, shutting the door behind him. The two walked, making conversation as they walked to their destination. Baekhyun hadn't told Chanyeol where he was taking him, nor what they were going to do.

As they approached town, Chanyeol knew where they were headed. He had to laugh as he watched the rink come into view.

"Seriously?"

Chanyeol punched Baekhyun in the shoulder, causing Baekhyun to laugh. The elder shrugged, grasping Chanyeol'd hand and dragging him along. Once they entered the rink, Chanyeol waved to Minseok who was working the counter.

"What's your shoe size?"

Baekhyun asked, removing his shoes and putting them in a cubby nearby.

"Size ten, you?"

Chanyeol asked, doing the same with his shoes, freezing when he looked at his socks. Of course he picked the socks Yoora gave him for Christmas, the ones with breakfast foods on them. Baekhyun stifled a laugh by coughing into his palm, his cheeks pink.

"Size eight."

Chanyeol nodded, walking to the counter to get their skates. Ignoring Baekhyun's calls to get back.

"Hey Yeol! Didn't expect too see you here today."

Minseok said, hopping off of the chair he had been sat on. Minseok was a college student, also one of Chanyeol's favorite co-workers. Minseok was at a communal college, he also didn't rat Chanyeol out for giving too many freebies out.

"I didn't expect it either, Min. Eight and a ten please."

Chanyeol held out a ten dollar bill, only to be waved off by Minseok.

"Keep it, buy your date a milkshake or something, Dumbo." Minseok put the skates on the counter with a thud. "Not from the dog shack though, Namjoon is working and you never know what you get."

Chanyeol nodded, knowing how often the freshman had been chewed out by their manager. Saying a see you later, Chanyeol grabbed the skates and headed back over to Baekhyun who was sulking.

"Lighten up, buttercup." Chanyeol said, placing the shoes on the floor. "We can go for shakes after this, if you want."

Baekhyun smiled, nodding as he slipped his feet into the skates.

"Only if I get to pay."

Chanyeol shrugged, a smile on his face.

"We'll see."

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, standing up after he laced his shoes. Chanyeol attempted to do so, but he wasn't good at walking with normal shoes, even worse with ones that had wheels.

"You're bad at this."

Baekhyun smiled, making Chanyeol stick his tongue out at the brunette. Wobbling over to the railing, Chanyeol managed to make it inside of the rink without falling.

Baekhyun skated next to him, without use of the railing that Chanyeol held onto for dear life. The two laughed at how bad Chanyeol was, laughing especially hard as a child young enough to not be in school zoomed past them.

There was something about spending time with Baekhyun that made Chanyeol giddy inside, he wouldn't be laughing this hard every time he nearly fell. There was no embarrassment, even though Baekhyun could skate circles around Chanyeol if he wanted, in fact he had at some point.

"Come on, let's get milkshakes, Bambi."

Baekhyun teased the pink haired teen, tugging him towards the exit. Chanyeol agreed, flushed by the new nickname he'd acquired. The two skated it to seat they had been at before, removing their skates and putting on their normal shoes.

Chanyeol returned their skates to Minseok, who winked at him. Rolling his eyes at the elder, Chanyeol went back to Baekhyun, the both of them exiting the rink.

They headed to the nearest diner, which was only a block away thankfully. Chanyeol's legs already felt like jelly, he was definitely going to have some bruises tomorrow.

The two went into a booth, ordering their milkshakes. Strawberry for Baekhyun, vanilla for Chanyeol. There was conversation over Chanyeol's wobbly legs, Minseok, and the hot dog shack.

When their milkshakes came, Chanyeol handed over his cherry, laughing as Baekhyun smiled at him. They drank their milkshakes, Baekhyun payed and they headed back to Baekhyun's house.

"Bye Baekhyun."

Chanyeol waved, dropping off the elder. Baekhyun waved, although his mind seemed to be on something else. It was strange but Chanyeol didn't question it. He waited for Baekhyun to enter the house and then walked back to his own house.

The car wasn't in the driveway and he didn't hear his sister so he assumed he was by himself. He was surprised to hear the phone ringing, but he assumed it was Yoora, probably telling him that she wouldn't be home.

"Hello?" He answered the phone, setting his over shirt on the back of a chair.

"Have you seen Sehun?"

Junmyeon's panicked voice carried over the line, instantly causing the hair on the back of Chanyeol's neck to stand. The last time this had happened they had found Sehun in an alley drunk and unconscious.

"No, why?"

Chanyeol needed to know, if it was over a simple fight the younger teen was probably on his way to one of his friends houses. If it wasn't, Chanyeol didn't want to think about it.

"We had a fight a few hours ago, he went into his room and locked the door. He's not there anymore, Yeol. He didn't even take his wallet."

Dread filled Chanyeol's stomach, this wasn't like before. Something was wrong.

"I'll call the others, stay home in case he comes back."

Chanyeol didn't wait for the reply before he hung up. Dialing Kyungsoo, he urged for the black haired male to pick up. As soon as the phone was picked up Chanyeol questioned him, hoping that the youngest teen was with him.

"Is Sehun with you?"

The words came out of Chanyeol's mouth as if they made him sick, the felt like poison, like they were so heavy they could crack the earth.

"No."

A one worded reply, yet he understood the seriousness in Kyungsoo's tone. It was a never spoken fear between the eldest in their group, the fear that they wouldn't be able to find Sehun one day.

"Call Jongin, I'm going to go look for him. If he doesn't know either check by the bars, I'll go the the fort."

Once again Chanyeol hung up without waiting for a reply. Quickly writing out a note in case his parents returned, he rushed out the door, not taking his over shirt.

Thousands of thoughts went through his head, as he ran past dark alleys glancing in them for Sehun's body. Soon he'd gotten to the forest, one of their favorite places to play when they were younger, the place they had the first drink of alcohol.

Sprinting through the foliage, he made through the forest in record time. Getting to the gathering of stumps that they had called their fort.

Relief rushed through his body as he saw a body curled up next to a stump, the orange hair giving away his identity.

"Oh Sehun, what the fuck?"

Chanyeol called, closing the distance between them. Dropping to his knees in front of the younger teen, Chanyeol forced Sehun to look at him. Quietly gasping at the sight of Sehun, Chanyeol froze.

The younger had a split lip, bloody nose, and a black eye, that was only his face, Chanyeol couldn't imagine what his body looked like.

"Did Junmyeon do this?"

Chanyeol whispered, rage filling his every being. This was his friend, who could do something like this to Sehun? The younger teen couldn't hurt anyone, he was all talk.

"God no. He wishes he could, Myeon is too nice."

Sehun replied, blood dripping from his nose. Chanyeol wiped it, rubbing the blood onto his jeans.

"What happened, Sehunnie?"

Chanyeol asked, using the younger teens nickname to calm him down. It worked, Sehun begin to spill what had happened.

"Myeon and I fought, I told him that mom had called. He got angry at me, and I stormed off. I'm so sick of him treating me like a kid, Yeol. I'm seventeen, not three. So I jumped out the window, I forgot to grab my wallet so I couldn't go to the bar."

Sehun paused to spit out some blood, wiping his nose with his hand and then grimacing as his foot moved.

"I went to Yixing's he was having a party so I figured I could get booze there, I did but you know me, always fucking things up. God, I messed things up so bad, Yeol."

Sehun finished, not bothering to say how he ended up here beaten and bloody. Chanyeol knew better then to ask, plus getting Sehun out of here was more important then figuring out who did this. For now.

Helping Sehun up, Chanyeol tried to help the younger walk, telling him to avoid putting pressure on his leg. The two walked in silence, slowly getting out of the forest. They hadn't gotten very far when they ran into a tearful Jongin and a silent Kyungsoo.

"Sehun?"

Jongin cried, fresh tears falling from his eyes as he practically ran into the youngest, squeezing him as he sobbed. Kyungsoo watched, talking to Chanyeol through stares. It was a language that only they spoke, the silent questions and the quiet answers that couldn't be spoken just yet.

"Jongin, we're taking Sehun to the hospital. Grab his other arm."

Chanyeol cut the reunion short, more worried over the pain that the younger was feeling. Jongin nodded, wiping his tears before helping carry Sehun's weight. With both of them to distribute the orange haired teens weight, they could walk faster.

Soon enough they were at the hospital, carrying Sehun inside and receiving strange looks and glares from other patients. They quickly divided up tasks, Chanyeol would carry Sehun to a chair, Kyungsoo would call Junmyeon, and Jongin would get the papers to sign in Sehun.

"I'm sorry."

Chanyeol turned his head, now staring at the boy sat next to him. Chanyeol smiled, staring at him before replying.

"It's alright."

Seven and a half hours had passed from the incident that the four were calling 'Sehun got his ass kicked by mystery people', Junmyeon hadn't appreciated the name. Sehun hadn't told anyone what had happened yet but Chanyeol got an inkling as to who it had been.

Junmyeon had come and finished signed the papers, hugging Sehun before the doctors had taken Sehun away to X-ray his leg. One cast later, the four teens were cramped in Junmyeon's car on the way home. It'd been a few hours since they'd all left their houses, well past their curfews. Junmyeon was taking them home to explain what was going on and to apologize to their parents for keeping them out so late.

The teens had pleaded for him not too but quickly shut up once he glared at them. Jongin and Junmyeon got out of the car first, Junmyeon telling the three that he'd be back. Jongin pressed his lips to Kyungsoo's face, wishing Chanyeol goodnight before ruffling Sehun's hair.

"It was dad."

Sehun whispered after a minute, looking straight ahead so he didn't see their reactions to his words. Chanyeol sighed, nodding. He had been right. Kyungsoo was silent as well, leaving the car to be obnoxiously loud with their thoughts.

"He found me outside of the apartment. I was going to go back in. He didn't even say anything, he just kicked me. He said I was going to die and they could return back to normal with their useless son dead."

Sehun sobbed, furiously wiping his tears away. Chanyeol's hand was clenched into a fist, pissed at how his friend that felt like a younger brother had been treated. Kyungsoo was the next one to speak, also the last one to speak.

"You aren't useless, Oh Sehun."

Harder sobs, Sehun's body shook as he cried. The eldest two were left in the backseat, unable to help. It'd been a long day, one that had started so well ended so poorly. Even if Chanyeol tried to find the positives in the hours, all he could come up with were even more negatives.

One day, they wouldn't be around to help Sehun. They'd be all over the place, they couldn't just up and leave. What happened when Sehun couldn't feel their love anymore? Would it stop with drunken alley fights? Or would Sehun do worse, would he go through with things that he's confessed he'd though about at sleepovers. Chanyeol feared the worst.

Junmyeon came out soon, the three as silent as before even after they dropped off Kyungsoo. When they got to Chanyeol's house, the car wasn't in the driveway. Chanyeol pleaded to just call his parents later, the two needed to get home.

Junmyeon didn't put up a fight, Chanyeol could see the elders bags that laid under his eyes.

"Goodnight Chanyeol."

Junmyeon said as Chanyeol opened the door, putting one foot out before speaking.

"Tell him what happened, Sehunnie."

Shutting the door behind him, Chanyeol walked up to the front door, shocked to see someone sitting on the steps.

"Is Sehun okay?"

Baekhyun.

Chanyeol nodded, opening up the front door and urging the other teen inside. The two made their way inside the kitchen, Chanyeol getting out mugs and making hot chocolate for the both of them.

It had been a long day.

Once the mugs had been filled, Chanyeol offered one to the teen sat across from him. Taking a sip, Chanyeol realized Baekhyun was sat there frozen.

"What's wrong?"

Chanyeol asked, not quite understanding why the teen would be the emotional right now. They had found Sehun, he was mostly alright for the time being. It was up to Sehun what they would be doing now, if they wanted to charge Sehun's dad with assault.

"Does this happen a lot?"

Baekhyun asked his voice shaking as he gripped the mug of hot chocolate, he was so pale. Chanyeol thought over how he would reply, had this happened so often that he'd gotten numb to it?

"I'm not going to lie to you, it happens more than any of us would like. It used to be worse, almost every day. He's gotten better, this time wasn't about Sehun."

Chanyeol knew that didn't make sense, it wouldn't make sense to someone who didn't spend sleepless nights listening to someone you cared about cry. It was hard to explain to someone who hadn't had to spend hours in the dark looking for their best friend fearin that they would be dead.

Perhaps Chanyeol had numbed himself, but he felt so much for the younger that he wouldn't be able to function without shutting himself off.

Both were quiet, sipping their hot chocolate occasionally. It was a silence that made Chanyeol anxious, he'd been infatuated with this boy since the beginning of high school, how would he take it if Baekhyun didn't approve of Sehun.

Tears slowly gathered in Chanyeol's eyes, pooling around his chocolate colored orbs before streaming down his cheeks, a silent sob shaking Chanyeol's body.

When was the last time he cried? When was the last time that he allowed himself to be vulnerable?

"Okay."

Chanyeol looked up, slightly surprised by the single word. His tears clouded his vision, making the brunette across from him seem dream like, as if this was all a fantasy that Chanyeol's subconscious had created.

Baekhyun's chair moved back with a squeak, startling Chanyeol, fearing that the teen was leaving. Instead Baekhyun closed the distance between them, his fingers wiping Chanyeol's tears, lingering on his cheeks.

"I love you," Baekhyun paused, wiping another tear From Chanyeol's eye. The pit of anxiety opened up in Chanyeol's mind and for those few second he spiraled to his worst fears, waiting for a but. It never came. "No matter what, Bambi."

A dopey smile from Baekhyun, the one where he closed his eyes and you could see his tongue behind his teeth, the smile that erase all of Chanyeol's fears instantly. The smile that beat the sun out in brightness, the part of Baekhyun that made Chanyeol want to protect him.

"I love you too."

Tears and all, the thoughts of being separated, the fear of what would happen to his friends not forgotten, those thought lingered in the back of his mind. Like the fear of rain on a perfect day, it was useless to worry about.

Byun Baekhyun was Chanyeol's perfect day and he would be damned if someone took him away.

[hamiltontrashaccount]

Memories (Lin-Manuel Miranda X Reader)

AHHHHHH so this took a VERY log time to write but its here!!!! I really hope you guys like it <3

Request: Can I have an imagine where the reader and lin have been married since 1997 (they have no kids) and they celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary! 

SO just an fyi, i changed the anniversary to their 15th. In 1997, Lin wouldve been 17, and I didn’t want the characters to be really young when they got married. So they were about 22 when they got married :)

Pairing: Lin-Manuel Miranda x reader

Word Count: 3277

Warnings: Just some cursing, someone gets a minor injury (i dont wanna say what it is cause it might spoil the fic), if theres any other warning lmk please

MASTERLIST

You stood in front of the mirror, fretting about tonight, July 13.

July 13 was a special day. It was the day you first met Lin, at a campus tour for Wesleyan University, 20 years ago in 1997. It was also, coincidentally, the date of the first Hamilton preview. And, the most important event on this date, your wedding anniversary.

Needless to say, everything about tonight had to be perfect. Starting with your outfit.

You wore a dark blue dress, that fit tight in all the right places. Lin was so going to love it, but he’d probably love taking it off you more when he found out what you had underneath for him.

Lin knocked on the door. A few days prior to today, Lin planned to stay at a friend’s house for the day, so that you two could act like this was a date, and he’d have the opportunity to knock on the door. You had to admit, hearing the knock gave you butterflies. It made you think about your first date with him, in your sophomore year of college.

Despite having met Lin at Wesleyan, that wasn’t the college you’d decided to go to. You both kept in touch during your senior year, always hanging out when you had time. You both knew that you liked each other, but because your careers were going in two different places, you both decided that staying friends would’ve been much easier and less stressful. But that plan hadn’t lasted long. Since your colleges weren’t too far from each other, you and Lin had spent even more time together, sometimes even going to each other’s classes whenever one was too bored waiting for the other’s class to finish. Your friend groups, which eventually merged due to all the time spent together, constantly told you two of the passion you’d had when around each other. You always denied it, and you and Lin continued the friendship.

Until one fateful night, at a frat party at Wesleyan. You were sorta dating a guy during that time, and invited him to the party. A very sensual song came on, so naturally, you had decided to dance with your date. You’d both kissed during the dance and Lin saw it all. After walking you back to the dorm, Lin admitted he couldn’t stand to see you with another guy, and asked if you’d be willing to give the two of you a chance; of course you said yes.

Your first official date had been sometime in the fall of your sophomore year. You were in a red dress, all dolled up and ready. You weren’t nervous, because this was Lin. Why in the world would you be nervous?

But when you heard that knock on your dorm room door, your stomach dropped. The thought of eating that night made you sick. This was Lin. You kept telling yourself. But no, it wasn’t Lin. It was your date. You had to impress him, right?

All bad thoughts you’d had that day came back, which was absurd. You’d been married 15 years. Why in the hell would you be worried?

Because you love him. A beautifully reasonable voice in your head said. You agreed with the voice, and swallowed your worries. This was your husband, your beautiful, talented and amazing husband.

Finally getting the courage to go on this date, you smoothed down the non-existent wrinkles in the dress you’d spent a good hour ironing and walked to the door. The moment you opened the door, you were greeted with the beautiful sight of Lin-Manuel Miranda. He literally took your breath away.

“Woah,” Lin whispered, obviously as starstruck with you as you were with him.

“You look amazing,” You both said at the same time.

“Thanks, I try.” You both said at the same time again. You giggled and Lin rolled his eyes. 15 years of marriage made you both think the same way.

“So where are we going?” You asked, linking your arm with Lin’s.

“It’s a surprise.” He said.

You rolled your eyes. Lin loved surprises. As long as they weren’t for him.

Lin led you down to his car and opened the passenger door for you. You stepped in, making sure your dress was tucked under you. You didn’t want Lin to get a peak of his surprise.

The drive to wherever the hell you guys were going was a pretty long, so you and Lin played a car game on the way. I Spy, was always a favorite of yours, so that was what you played.

“I spy with my little eyes something green.” Lin started.

“The traffic light?”

“Mm-mm.”

“Uh… That tree?”

“Nope.”

“Your air freshener.” You said, sure of yourself.

“Nope, do you give up?”

“I guess.”

“It was that sign we passed by like four miles ago.”

“Lin! You can’t choose something like that!”

“Why not?”

“It’s cheating!”

“No, it’s called strategy.” He said smugly. You socked him in the arm and took your turn.

Lin won the game, through lots of cheating you might add.

As you stepped out of the car, you were greeted with the sight of Wesleyan University.

“Wha-”

“Now this is only our first stop for the night. I thought you might like a tour of the campus. It might convince you that you made a bad decision not going to Wesleyan.”

“Haha, very funny. But can I ask how you expect to get a tour of the campus when it's 6 o’clock at night?”

“See, since I’m Lin-Manuel Miranda, I can get whatever the hell I want, especially since I’m an alumni here.”

As Lin said that, a man came walking out of one of the buildings, carrying two folders with him.

“Hello, Mr. Miranda.” He said, walking up to Lin and shaking his hand. “Hello, Ms. Miranda.” He now gave his hand to you. You shook his hand, still in a state of shock, since Lin wasn’t kidding when he said you guys were getting a tour of the university.

The tour was just as you remembered it. You all passed by the science building and you were hit with another memory.

Senior year was fast approaching, so your parents decided that summer was a great time to visit colleges. You’d already visited a couple, some you had good chances of getting into, others not so much. The whole experience was fun, but at this point, you just really wanted to go home and be able to sleep. This was the second and last college of the day and you were dreading it. It didn’t help that being around other people your age made you anxious. They were so different yet similar to you that you could hardly stand them, let alone kids from your own school.

Wesleyan University had a beautiful campus, but it just didn’t give you that vibe. The vibe that this was the place that you belonged in, that feeling that this was home. But you continued the tour because the tour guide said there would be snacks waiting for everyone at the end of the tour.

Five minutes into the tour, a young man followed by an older man, who looked similar to him so you could only assume that was his father, walked up to the rest of the tour. They were both out of breath as they stood next to you and your parents.

You gave the younger man a questioning look and he shrugged and leaned in close to whisper “My dad got lost on the way here.” You nodded in response and paid attention to the tour guide.

You thought that was the end of the conversation, but the other guy apparently didn’t. “You from here?”

“Not really.”

“Where do you live?”

You sighed loudly, hoping he would see that you were exasperated with the conversation. He didn’t care. “New York.”

“Really? So do I!”

“Lin.” His dad said. You stifled a laugh as Lin quickly shut his mouth so his dad wouldn’t yell at him again.

The tour guide led everyone inside a building. You could hear him start explaining how it was a science building and where they got the money to afford to build it. Lin decided this was a perfect opportunity to start talking again.

“Where in New York do you live?”

“NYC.”

He nodded his head and thankfully, that’s the end of that conversation. The tour guide leads everyone upstairs and as you lifted your leg to step up, you tripped on your untied shoelaces. Your leg got stuck in the air and you barely had a chance to fall forward before you mom turns around to you, ultimately knocking you backwards instead.

With a yelp, you fell backwards until you’re caught in the air by a certain Nuyorican.

“Looks like you’re falling for me.” He said with a smirk.

You scoffed and stand up, putting as much space as you can from ‘Lin.’

Thankfully, the memory isn’t relived and you make it up the steps without incident.

Everything else about the tour was unmemorable, the first time you went through it. If there was anything you remembered from the first tour, it was that Lin consistently tried to flirt with you, and consistently failed.

The next stop on Lin’s surprise night is a restaurant. And not just any restaurant. It's your favorite restaurant.

It's a pizza parlor, that only just recently got renovated to add indoor seating. You and Lin are much too overdressed, but Lin didn’t seem to mind as he led you over to a table he apparently reserved. You both sit down and a waitress comes over with two small menus. Lin waves the menu away and said, “I already know what we’re going to order.”

“Do you now?” You asked, resting your chin on your hand.

The waitress tried to stifle her laugh. Lin stuck his tongue out at you and continued. “Yes, half-mushroom and half sausage pizza, with three mushrooms on each slice of the mushroom side, one lime Coke, one regular Coke, an order of garlic bread, with extra garlic, and buffalo wings, with two ranches and one nacho cheese.”

You were shocked.

“What?” Lin asked when the waitress walked away.

“We haven’t been here in five years. You still remembered our order.”

“Of course I do. I remember everything.”

You smirked. “Everything?”

Lin noticed the evil twinkle in your eye. “What?”

“Do you remember the first time we came here?”

His cheeks went red. “Nope, don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh I think you do.”

Another memory found its way through your head.

On your one year anniversary, you’d decided to take Lin to your favorite restaurant, one that your family always took you and your sibling up to on vacations. It was where they had met, and you’d always dreamed of meeting your own soulmate there too. Unfortunately that never happened, but you were pretty happy with the place where you met your soulmate.

You’d told him about it, but neither of you ever had the time to go and visit it. But for your one year anniversary, you both thought it would be fun to take the long drive up to Middletown for the date.

You loved mushroom pizza, but only from this pizzeria. No other pizzaria could match the taste of this pizza, so you’d never ordered it anywhere else. Which was why Lin was surprised when you ordered a large mushroom pizza.

“Mushrooms?” He asked, taking a nervous sip of his water.

“Yeah… Is that okay?”

“Yeah, its just just never ordered mushroom pizza before.”

“That’s because I only like it from here.” At seeing the anxious look on his face, you added “We can make it half and half if you want, it's okay.”

“No, I love mushrooms! Don’t worry, babe.” Lin said quickly. You nodded your head, although you already knew he was lying. But if he didn’t want to speak up, then you were just going to sit back and watch as a disaster happened. Boy, was it going to be a great show.

And a great show it was.

When the pizza came, Lin gagged, though he hid it pretty well. But considering how well you knew Lin, you knew when he was disgusted with something. And he was definitely disgusted now.

“Smells amazing right?” You asked, smiling big.

“Yup! Can’t wait to eat it!” He rushed to grab a slice and stuffed a big bite into his mouth. His eyes widened as the slimy texture of the mushroom finally touched his tongue. With great difficulty, he swallowed it, and smiled at you.

“Taste good, babe?” You asked. He smiled, but you could see the pain in his eyes.

He struggled to eat two slices of pizza, and you happily ate half of the pie.

Once the pizza was stored away in a take out container and the meal was paid for, you and Lin left the pizzeria.

Lin was silent as you guys walked back to the car.

“Lin, are you-”

Before you finished your sentence, Lin was running to some bushes across the street, and throwing up what he had eaten. You ran to him, asking him if he was okay.

“Yeah, I just...”

“Don’t like mushrooms?”

He looked down guiltily.

“Lin, babe.” You used your finger to lift his head up by his chin. You grabbed the sleeve of the hoodie that was wrapped around your waist to wipe his mouth. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“You seemed really excited to eat here, and when you ordered that,” He made a disgusted face, “I didn’t want to make you unhappy. You love it whenever we have something in common, and I just like making you happy, okay?”

You shook your head, smiling. “I also like it when we have things not in common. It keeps me on my toes, you know.” You joked, but then turned serious. “I want to make you happy too, and I want to take care of you. Letting you suffer by eating mushroom doesn't seem like taking care of you. Next time you don’t like something, you tell me, okay? We’re married and that means we take care of each other, Lin. It's not a one-way thing.”

He smiled, and wrapped his arms around your torso. “Got it.” He leaned down for a kiss and you quickly turned your head away.

“Okay, I love you a lot, but what we’re not gonna do is make out after you just vomited all over some people’s lawn.”

He smiled again, and settled for kissing you on your cheek.

“I thought we agreed to never bring that up again.” Lin said.

“Wha- No! That was the funniest thing to ever happen. You weren’t watching your face as you ate it, Lin. You looked like you were forced to eat shit.”

“It tasted like shit too.”

“Hey!”

He put his arms up in surrender. “I’m just being honest.”

The time at the pizzeria is uneventful. You and Lin just continue to talk and joke around, occasionally throwing food at each other, thus earning the stares of parents in the pizzeria. Neither of you were setting a good example to any of the kids in there.

Once the food was eaten and packed away, you and Lin left. There was a beach not too far from the pizzeria, so that was the next stop.

Like every other moment of that night, the beach brought up old memories of you and your husband.

It wasn’t necessarily the beach that you were afraid of; it was the nasty creatures that resided in the ocean. Namely, jellyfish. When you were ten years old, a jellyfish came and stung you on your arm. This was back when people still believed peeing on a jellyfish sting actually helped it; so of course what happened on that horrible day? Your friend, who’d been there with you, decided that they were going to save the day, and peed on your arm. Unfortunately, they didn’t pay attention to where they were peeing and accidentally got some pee on your hair.

Since then, beaches were completely banned for you. It was Lin who’d convinced you to go to a beach during spring break in your freshman year of college. You just absolutely refused to go anywhere near the water. Your rational adult brain knew that there was no reason for you to be afraid of the ocean, but your inner child always came out whenever a beach was mentioned, so you still never managed to go into the actual ocean. And if you would ever go to the beach, it would only be with Lin by your side, so that he could “beat all the mean, ol’ jellyfish away from you”, as he kindly explained it.

It was your fear of beaches that gave Lin the brilliant idea to propose to you there.

“Now wait, hear me out.” Lin said when he brought the idea up with your older sister. “I want to replace a bad memory with a good one. This is the perfect way to do it!”

Now you had to admit, when your sister told you he said this after that day, it made perfect sense. And you couldn’t help but fall more in love with him, if that were even possible.

Lin took you to the beach, as normal as ever. He’d even coaxed you into going to the edge of the water, watching him as he splashed around in the water, and giggling whenever he splashed you in return.

It was there, when he got down on one knee, submerging almost his entire lower half of his body in the water, that he proposed to you. Too bad that immediately after you said yes, and he was standing up to put the ring on you, a jellyfish stung Lin. On his… private part.

He was rushed immediately to the hospital, and the whole way there, Lin cried about how he ruined the proposal.

“Babe, it was perfect, stop crying about it. I love it.”

“But it's ruined. I tried to give you a good memory but now its a bad memory.”

��Baby, a couple years from now, hell, a couple days from now, we’re gonna be laughing about today. Don’t worry Lin, everything about today was perfect.”

He, of course, still wasn’t happy about that. But you were right. A couple days later, when Lin’s embarrassment was gone, he laughed about the situation until he couldn’t breath and he had tears rolling down his face.

You and Lin walked along the water’s edge, talking about each other’s job, occasionally splashing the other with water using your feet. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

The drive back to New York was quiet, the only sound in the car being a CD that Lin made for you on your birthday many years ago. Come to think of it, everything you had in your life was touched by Lin. Even the car, which you’d had for 10 years now, was touched by Lin; he was there when you bought the car and he’d been the one to pick it.

There was nothing that didn’t have Lin all over it, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

“What are you smiling about over there?” Lin asked, grabbing your hand and giving the back of it a big smooch.

“Nothing. Just that I’m lucky to have you.” You turned to look at him. “I love you so much, Lin-Manuel.”

“I love you too, Y/N. I love you so much.”

[etherealblasphemy]

Adventure of a Lifetime

these just get longer and longer...

TW: Cursing (Cal has a very dirty mouth), mentions of injuries, mentions of angsty backstories (*laughs maniacally*), transphobic slur

Their wounds were finally healed. In the weeks it took for the gash on their chest to close up enough that it no longer needed stitches, Calrex found themself slowly warming up to these strange outlaws who had practically adopted them as one of their own. Cal was still wary of them, especially knowing that Draven was after them as well. They’d yet to wrangle the story out of them of exactly why that bastard was hunting them of all people.

   With a yawn, they stretched their thin arms high above their head, cracking their neck to get the kinks out of it. Patton finally told them the night before they could start walking around the ship for more than a couple minutes. Though they’d never admit it to anybody, Patton had quickly become their favorite, with his paternal antics and constant smiles.

   They swung their legs over the side of the cot that had been their home for the past few weeks as Patton happily doted over them, monitoring the cut across their chest. They were still unsteady, as the father-like figure had only allowed them to begin walking earlier that week, and only for short bits at a time.

   “Believe me,” he’d told them. “You don’t want any chance of your skin beginning to dissipate again.” Thankfully, they’d listened to him, and now they could finally use their legs for what they were made for.

   Cal stood cautiously, testing out the strength of their limbs. Figuring they were sound enough to stand, they took a tentative step forward on uneasy feet, not used to Patton’s absence. They didn’t fall, which they considered an ‘okay’ to step forward further. Letting out a breath of relief, their foot landed firmly on the solid floor. Smirking, they headed for the door. Now that Cal could move freely, they were going to explore every inch of this mysterious ship.

   The doors opened as they waved their hand to reveal a long hallway splitting off into several other corridors. “Who in the heavens designed this place?” they muttered, craning their sore neck to look around at the pristine white walls. It was certainly boring.

   “Oh, you’re awake already!” they heard. They turned their gaze from a brightly lit panel to down the hallway, where Patton poked his head out from behind a corner. “Follow me, I made breakfast for everybody!” They opened their mouth to ask why a kitchen was necessary in a spaceship, but their stomach interrupted them, growling loudly. Patton giggled. “Looks like I finished at the right time!” he laughed, the sound melodious and reminiscent of- Cal stopped their thoughts there.

   They obediently followed the antlered man, who took them through a maze of hallways until they could smell the food and knew the kitchen was close. Patton waved his hand in front of a little panel, and the circular doors beside him spun open. Inside the room were the rest of the crew members Cal had met. L.O.G.I.C.- Patton and Roman had begun calling him Logan during their time on the ship- was seated at the table, his eyes scanning over pages of a leather-bound journal as he jotted down notes with a jet black feather that sparkled in the light. Roman was scouring through the cabinets, his hair mussed and unruly at this early morning hour; a bag of makeup that was definitely his was on the countertop, its contents spilling overboard. Anxiety was sitting on top of the countertop like a feline, contently munching on a piece of toast with what looked like jam smeared on top.

   “Oh, Calrex, how do you feel today?” Logan asked, looking up from his notes and noticing them. They shrugged, not really sure themselves.

   “I dunno. Bored, for one. Not much you can do in a cot for three weeks straight,” they complained, heading for a chair. Patton, meanwhile, headed for the cooking devices, where Cal noticed he had been making some sort of dish they had never seen before.

    “What do mean, ‘bored?’ Believe me, young noble, there is so much just waiting for you!” Roman cried, triumphantly grabbing a small jar from a cabinet, proceeding to struggle with its cap as he tried to open it. “...Anxiety could you... maybe help?” he mumbled. Sighing, the emo grabbed the jar and twisted it open with little effort, handing back to the embarrassed prince.

   Cal snickered. “And just what do you have in mind to entertain me, Princey?” They smirked, a hand on their cocked hip. The prince grumbled something with a spoon full of jelly in his mouth, snarfing it down like a hungry orphan.

   “How you feel about robbing a bank, Calrex?” Logan asked, adjusting the navy blue ascot tie he wore beneath a black waistcoat. Cal’s smile widened, showing off a mouth full of sharp fangs.

   “Positively! I feel very positive about robbing a bank!” they shouted with glee, already fantasizing about the destruction they’d wager. “Which one are we going to? How much are we taking? Can I use a blaster?!”

   “Calm down, Calrex, it’s a simple operation so we may acquire the necessary funds to continue our “intergalactic punk acts,” as Anxiety refers to them. We are headed to an aquaterrestrial planet known as Levian, and we will only be taking as much as we need.” Logan smirked. “If the commoners nearby decide they would like to take back the money they used to pay egregiously overpriced taxes, however, then that is entirely up to them.” Cal huffed.

   “Well, look here, everybody, the robot has a heart!” they exclaimed as Roman choked on his jam, laughing.

   “Aw, he’s actually a big softie when nobody’s around to see it!” Patton said giddly, overly excited for both the upcoming adventure and Logan’s slip of character. “Anyways, I’m setting course for Levian as soon as we finish breakfast, so eat up everybody!” The other four hummed in acquiescence, munching on the food Patton had prepared for them. They all joined Logan at the table, though Anxiety allowed Cal to take his seat, leaning against the window behind Logan.

   “So, tell me, Calrex,” Roman was saying, finishing off the last spoonfuls of his delicious jam, “why is it that you’re an outlaw? Whose feathers did you ruffle?” They hesitated briefly, the tension of their shoulders only noticed by the cameras in Logan’s eyes.

   “...Actually, I’m not that sure myself,” they sighed, running a hand through the tangled locks of their hair. “I ran away from my orphanage, so I guess some people might consider that ‘criminal.’ According to my wanted posters, though?” They trailed off, licking their smiling lips, enjoying the suspense as the others leaned forward, eager to find out. “I destroyed an entire galaxy system, and killed everyone.” The table fell silent, taking a tense turn.

   “Did you really?” Patton asked, his brows slightly furrowed.

   “Well, of course I didn’t!” Cal cried, offended. “I wish I was strong enough or as badass enough to actually do it, but, nope, I can’t even hold my own in a fight…” They snarled at long-forgotten memories, bitterly recalling past grudges and losses. “Nah, I suspect it was some sort of shit Draven put together after- nevermind.” They cut themself off suddenly, gripping the edge of their seat tightly in their palms. The crew members noticed, but remained silent, inferring Cal’s story was one like their own- painful, and not to be discussed.

   The rest of breakfast was quiet, most dialogue pertaining to one of them asking another to pass the butter. At one point, however, Logan asked Roman to pass him the salt, to which the prince replied, “I don’t think I can lift Anxiety, though.” That got a laugh out of the rest of them, however short-lived the relief of silence was.

   Patton soon left for the cockpit, Roman following him. Logan turned his attention back to his writing, mumbling something about cross-space travel, leaving Anxiety and Cal to shuffle their feet awkwardly. The earthling coughed into the sleeve of his hoodie, feeling the silence stretch longer than he wanted it to.

   “So, you like robbing banks? Who’re you, Nimona?” he asked, his voice small and tinny in the thick silence that preceded it. Cal nodded, thankful for something to distract them from something other than the quiet scratch of Logan’s pencil on notebook paper, paying no mind to the second part of his dialogue, more than likely a reference they wouldn’t understand.

   “I’ve had quite a bit of practice over the years. A little nick of a galleon or two here, a little swipe of a jewel or three there, the usual. Most of it I give away, though. There are people who’re starving out there, so if going hungry one night means another person doesn’t die of hunger, I’d do it in a heartbeat,” they mused, gaining a faraway look in their eyes. Anxiety tilted his head, smiling softly as he saw Logan pause from his writings out of the corner of his eyes.

   “Say, why don’t we talk to Thomas? He’s always fun,” Anxiety proposed, getting up and heading for the door. He stopped in front of the circuit board on the wall next to it and typed in something on the number pad. Cal watched him with confusion before a hologram appeared next to them. They shrieked in surprise, Anxiety sniggering with mirth.

   “What is up, crew buddies? Who’s the new pal?” the hologram asked, turning to Cal with a smile that seemed too real to be digital. The hologram looked similar to Roman, though with light chestnut instead of blond hair swept over his warm brown eyes. He was donned in a bright red charvet shirt, though not much else. The image cut off right below his chest, an electric blue edge fizzing in the air like real-life glitches.

   “Hi, Thomas!” Anxiety greeted, waving at the hologram, who waved back. “This is Patton’s newest childling.” Cal stuck out a hand before realizing the person apparently named Thomas was just a hologram, and shaking hands would most likely be one-sided.

   “The name’s Calrex Bennova. Most people just call me the Pirate, though, seeing as I’m wanted in nearly every system there is,” they offered, quirking a side of their lips. “Who’re you, exactly?” they inquired.

   “As Anxiety said, my name’s Thomas, your local, friendly AI! I’m basically the ship’s mind.” Cal narrowed their eyes, raising an eyebrow. “Logan was the one who programmed me, and he takes the more logical side of things, so he programmed most of my functions. Anxiety wrote down most of my speech patterns, though,” Thomas explained. Cal noticed Logan straighten at the mention of his new name.

   “Oh no, you, too,” he said, pressing his lips into a thin line of frustration.

   “Yah, Patton sort of changed your name in my database and I think Anxiety put a lock on it, so I guess I’m calling Logan from now on!” Thomas said cheerfully, shrugging his digital shoulders nonchalantly. Logan closed his eyes, taking a deep, audible breath.

   “Ooh, hoo, hoo, I’m really regretting not leaving when I had the chance,” he muttered under his breath. He snapped his notebook shut, placing it delicately on the table as Cal and Thomas continued to examine one another.

   The hologram tilted his head suddenly, his brows furrowing. “Ah, sorry, pals, but Patton and Roman are summoning me right now, so I gotta dash,” he said before the image was promptly cut off, nothing more than white static and garbled speech.

   “Well, shoot,” Anxiety said, pouting. “There goes our only escape from boredom.”

   “Nonsense, Anxiety, I can easily help with that.” Both Cal and Anxiety raised their eyebrows, clearly not seeing how the intellectual could possibly entertain them. “I recently memorized the entire Requiem scripture, which, despite its facade to be a book on religion, is actually quite an interesting commentary on our humanity and philosophy-”

   “Nope, I’m good,” Anxiety said sharply, shaking his head fervently. “I’m going to go join Patton and Roman, so see you guys.” Anxiety finger-gunned the both of them, at which they cocked a confused eyebrow at the earthling’s antics, and make a hasty retreat from a possible hour long lecture on intergalactic morals. Cal breathed a laugh, rolling their eyes. They cast a side glance at Logan, catching him watching them intently.

   “Don’t even think about it,” they warned. “I’m not about to be your next victim.”

   “Very well,” Logan conceded. “Shall we join our crew mates?” Cal shrugged, getting up as Logan did the same. He waved his hand in front of the blueish panel, the doors opened, and they walked through in silence.

   It didn’t take long for them to reach the cockpit, weaving in and out of a labyrinth of white-walled hallways. Anxiety was waiting for them there, Patton and Roman seated in the pilot chairs, small holograms flickering over their gazes. Cal’s breath stopped momentarily as they took in the sight of the room.

   Behind them was a wall filled with buttons and wires and levers and all sorts of things that made no sense to them. The floor was transparent, giving the illusion of walking out right onto the stars. A faraway cluster of stars painted the heavens beneath them a neon purple, the celestial skies dark as a raven’s fallen feather. In front of them were two high-backed leather seats the color of marble, holographic screens popping up in front of them to deliver information. Ahead, the entire wall was one seamless pane of glass, not a single fingerprint visible.

   It reminded them of happier times, when they could tell themself their childhood myths without triggering some painful memory. They bit their lip and focused on the stars twinkling like divine dancers slowly reaching their svelte arms towards them.

   “...bank,” Logan was explaining, likely describing how they would go about robbing whatever establishment the robot had chosen. They cursed silently, having heard not a word. “Calrex, are you paying attention?”

   “What? Who, me? Yeah, of course. I get a blaster and destroy everything in my path, got it.” Logan’s eyes narrowed, unimpressed. “Okay, fine, I got a little distracted by the stars and everything. Just tell me what I have to do, I’ll be fine.”

   “Actually, I was going to ask if you wanted to take part. You have only just healed, and you hardly know anything about us. Robbing any establishment is more than just pointing a weapon and demanding resources- it is a carefully crafted dance where everyone knows the parts they must play in order for the performance to go as smoothly as possible,” Logan replied. Roman snorted.

   “I thought we normally just go off the cuff and end up with you ranting how certain damages could’ve been avoided if we’d just listened to you,” he laughed, his reflection in the glass smirking.

   Logan pursed his lips. “You see what I have to deal with?” He gestured towards the prince, who smiled and waved. Cal shook their head sarcastically, fooling the robot. “Roman’s a handful and he’s emotional and he’s illogical. Is that not the worst possible scenario for any being to encounter?” The crew mates shook their heads, biting back giggles. Logan sighed. “Well, I’m frustrated now.” Cal barked out a laugh, shaking their head as they let out a long sigh.

   The hologram called Thomas appeared suddenly next to them, frightening them. “Fucking Calypso! Don’t do that!” they yelped, jumping about a foot in the air, a hand clasped over their heart. Thomas cracked a smile, sheepishly apologizing as he rubbed the back of his neck.

   “Language, Calrex! Anyways, we’ll be arriving soon kiddos, so grab onto something,” Patton said, turning his head slightly to direct his words at the three behind him.

   “What bank are you guys robbing this time?” Thomas asked.

   “You’ll see,” Logan said, bringing out a pair of glasses from a breast pocket on his chest. “You all remember your illusions? Oh, Cal, you never gave me your answer. Do you want to take part in this? You’re free to leave at any time, now that you are sufficiently healed, though I must warn you that Patton does not like goodbyes.”

   Cal thought for a moment. They and the crew had slowly warmed up to one another, though neither ever asked each other why Draven was hunting them. But in the few weeks they had been in the med bay, they had felt a sense of familiarity. A sense of home. A sense of belonging. It had been something they hadn’t experienced for a long time, something they only ever felt in wispy dreams that floated beside them in the heavens, mixing and mashing and creating beautiful creatures they knew they had seen somewhere beforehand.

   Before them was a chance to finally have a family. No longer would they be alone. No longer would they be living on the streets. No longer would they be unwanted.

   “Sure, if you want me,” they replied, lifting their head to the purple and navy skies, brilliant white stars continuing their immortal ballet. Logan nodded, Patton clapping happily. They let out a breath they hadn’t realized they’d been holding in. Part of them had latched onto distant memories that had begun fading, of the constant rejection, the endless days where they were told over and over again nobody wanted them today. Not yesterday. Not today. Not tomorrow. Never.

   “That settles it. Come with me, we need to figure out a way to disguise you. Along the way I’ll explain our usual tactics,” he said, adjusting a pair of metal-rimmed glasses on his nose. He blinked, testing his vision, and determined his sight was not deterred by the pieces of convex glass. He grabbed Cal’s arm and led them out of the room, ushering them into one nearby. “Grab a stool, I believe we will be landing soon,” he instructed, grabbing a stool for himself. Cal followed the orders, and soon felt the familiar rumble of a spaceship entering a planet’s atmosphere, adjusting to the pressure and weather conditions.

   “So, tell me, how exactly do you plan to disguise the most wanted outlaw whose face is plastered on every building you could think of?” Cal asked, lacing their fingers beneath their chin, settling their arms on a knee, feeling the ship begin to rock as the ship  prepared to land.

   “Roman will cover your scars, though I have no idea how, and I will provide you with an attire that should cover any other distinguishable features, yet still be functional should we encounter unnecessary problems.” With that said, the AI strode over to a chest in the corner of the room and opened it with a flourish, revealing dozens of clothing items packed neatly into the cramped space.

   Cal’s eyes were immediately drawn to one piece. Though folded, they could tell it was a silk dress the color of faded cream. Logan noticed where their gaze fell and picked up the dress. As the garment whoosed into the air, a cerise ribbon fell out of the chest, falling on the floor in a heap, and Cal rushed to pick up the gorgeous material.

   “I think I know how we can disguise you, Cal,” Logan simpered. They could practically see the gears turning in his head, his attention now focused on a chest beside the open one. He opened the smaller trunk, which contained beautiful jewelry and accessories. “Thank Calypso Draven’s nobles have such exquisite taste.” Pulling a few bracelets from it, Logan stepped back, surveying the items the both of them had acquired and looked at Cal, shoving the dress and bracelets into their arms. “Try this on.”

   “For a someone as serious as you, you seem to know a lot about fashion,” they remarked, already shoving their pants off. They knew one of them had taken their shirt off to treat their wound, and besides, it’s not like Logan wouldn’t turn around anyways- which the robot had indeed already done. They pulled off their shirt, throwing the dress over them quickly, eager to see how the dress fit them. Around their waist they wrapped the cerise ribbon, tying it in the back. They slipped on the bracelets and told Logan he could turn back around.

   He studied them, more focused on how well they would stay hidden rather than how the garment fit like a glove, giving them the appearance of a feminine being, a radical change from their previous experience. “It’s very flattering, Calrex. The guards should easily fall for this. Shall I acquire Roman for you?” Cal shrugged, nodding as their hands roamed over the soft fabric, marveling at its beauty. It had certainly been a long time since they had even dared to wear something so pretty, so untouched, so perfect.

   It was a rogue feeling, one that dreamed of wearing dresses and slacks and jerseys and slips, unconcerned who thought what about them. But as they grew older, they had learned to forget these childish fantasies. They couldn’t afford wearing what they wanted, not if they wanted to stay hidden for as long as possible before Draven eventually found them again and they had to run for their life.

   They had worn a dress once in their lifetime, a grey sleeveless one that tightened around their waist and puffed out slightly as though they wore a crinoline underneath. The best part of it was that no one had called them a girl or a tranny or anything except Calrex. That day, they had felt weightless, able to conquer anything. Pity the euphoria had ended so quickly.

   With a start, they realized Roman had entered the room, Logan likely taking his place as copilot. The prince was mumbling to himself, carrying the bag they had noticed in the kitchen area. “Roman?” they asked, unsure what he was doing. The prince looked up, startled, and proceeded to gasp dramatically.

   “Oh, I didn’t know Calypso herself was alive and well! You look absolutely stunning, by the way, but you shall look ravishing as soon as I’m done with you,” Roman said, smiling wickedly as he whipped out what looked like an eyeliner pencil from the bag. Cal inwardly groaned, ready to have their eye poked out or worse.

   The prince got to work quickly, constantly swiping his blond hair back as he grabbed foreign objects from his bag, twisting open tubes and popping the lids off of jars. At long last, he stepped back to survey his work, and gave a satisfied sigh. “Take a look,” he said, pulling out a mirror from the seemingly bottomless bag. They take the mirror gratefully and held up it.

   Cal nearly dropped it in surprise, taking in their transformed face. No longer were they the scrubby outlaw on the run for far too long, but an untouched person who had never seen poverty or war. They now took on the visage of a dainty damsel who had not yet met with death’s grim grip, their cheeks full and lips pursed, ready for the sweet taste of love. Roman had highlighted their cheekbones, covering their scars with mounds of concealer, and added dark grey eyeshadow to give their eyes more depth. They patted their cheek, seeing their reflection copy them, confirming they were real and not some illusion Roman had whipped up like magic.

   They turned to Roman, smirking smugly. “How do you do this? This is incredible!” they gushed happily, ready to woo all the guards and have a good time. Roman shared their content, and the two began to exchange make-up tips they’d garnered over the years as Patton’s voice came over the intercom.

   “Hey, kiddos, we’ve landed! Me, Anxiety, and Logan are all ready, so come on out whenever you guys are ready!” Cal hid a snicker, hearing Logan correct Patton’s grammar as the intercom shut off.

   “I guess we join them,” Cal said, handing the mirror back to Roman. “Let’s go have some fun!” they cheered, exiting the room, promptly getting lost before Roman led them to the docking bay, where they rejoined the others.

   “Oh, dear Calypso, Calrex, you look wonderful!” Patton squealed, running to hug his adorable child. They thanked him, grinning gratefully. “Right, let’s go do whatever Logan planned!” he cried with excitement as the robot took a calming breath, ready to go off on the Drisine for already forgetting the plan. Cal watched them, a bittersweet smile on their face. It had been a while since they’d witnessed scenes like this, been apart of scenes like this. Deep down, they hoped this sensation blooming in their belly like a rose at midnight would last, that maybe they could go on more adventures than just this one.

Lord Condor Finch’s Royal Bank of Taxes and Tributes was exactly like its name: huge, overzealous, and an obvious candidate for mockery and tomfoolery. Though imposing at first sight, the overuse of gold leaf was laughable, the guards sleeping were they stood was pathetic, and the amount of currency it actually contained in comparison to other banks the group had been to put a beggar’s tin cup to shame. It was perfect for the heist.

   “So I know you already explained, everything, but why this bank of all places? I’ve been on the downlow for a while now, but even I know how crappy it is behind the scenes,” Cal was saying as they hiked up the long flight of cracked marble steps that led to the entrance.

   “Easy,” Logan began. “Lord Finch is a moron. Thusly, his security systems are vastly inferior to others I have encountered. Besides, he taxes his people needlessly, some to the point of starvation, so by distributing the wealth within the vaults, not only might we save some lives, but the common people will begin to take our side, benefitting us in the future,” he explained as they finally reached the end of the stairs.

   Anxiety bent over, panting for breath. “Give me a second, okay?” he wheezed, catching what little air remained in his lungs. Patton fussed over him, offering a canteen of water from his satchel. Anxiety shook his head, saying he was fine.

   “Let’s get this over with, shall we?” Roman said, fixing the lapels of his white suit jacket. The copper on the goggles perched above his ever-present flower crown shone brightly, nearly blinding Cal as the prince turned in the sunlight. “The steampunk aesthetic belongs to Remy, and to Remy alone.”

   With that said, the group moved. Cal stuck with Roman; their jobs were to distract the tellers. If the Generals broke loose, Cal had a blaster hidden within the handbag they clutched nervously. They were hoping for chaos.

   Roman laced his arm with theirs, giving his most charming smile. “My dearest sister-”

   “We don’t look anything alike, try again.”

   “Roman glared at Cal. “My dearest friend,” he started again, “what a lovely day for us to go to the bank to make a withdrawal!” Cal sighed, raising an eyebrow. “Quiet, I’m a great actor, I just have unique methods.”

   “You can say that again,” they mumbled under their breath. Roman playfully whacked Cal’s arm, huffing in exasperation. Cal’s attention, however, was already gone as they entered the massive bank. Despite its shady purpose, the bank was a magnificent sight to behold.

  The golden wall stretched up for what must have been forever, curving into a domed ceiling, where a chandelier made of thousands of crystals glittered, reflecting rainbow patterns onto the walls. Dozens of little stalls were lined up against the walls, all leading towards a single door in the back of the room, which undoubtedly led to the vaults. Above the door hung a ginormous portrait of the irascible Lord Finch in all his glory, sporting a cape of loon feathers and too many medals pinned across his chest like some feeble attempt to give credence to his leadership abilities.

   Looking around, there were only two or three tellers. Cal grinned. This would be easy. Roman grinned, too, sharing a knowing glance with the pirate. “I’ll take the mermaid,” the prince said, gesturing subtly to a fair maiden currently combing through aegean and peacock locks, cream seashells poking out in some places, looking bored out of her mind. “Can you handle the other two?” Cal glanced at the tellers on the opposite side, seeing a merman who definitely had to be the mermaid’s brother or something and a young girl whose eyes were the color of amethysts. They nodded, a wicked grin forming on their lips.

   “I got this,” they said, hurrying off to the neighboring tellers. “Good morning,” they greeted, smiling sweetly as they approached the tellers. The merman stood at attention immediately, jolting awake as the young woman waved cheerfully. Cal headed for the woman. She would prove to be more a challenge. “My mother recently made a deposit here, but she would like to withdraw the amount. She’s fallen terribly ill, you see, and needs the money to pay for her medication,” Cal alleged, batting their eyelashes seductively. They could practically see the young lady melt at the charms they had picked up from the streets over the years.

   “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, miss,” the woman said, speaking as though she had a bag of marbles stuffed in her mouth. “What was her name?” she asked. Cal swore under her breath. “What was that?”

   “Nothing. Her name is, uh… Cassandra. Cassandra Ildris,” Cal offered stoically, swallowing the lump in their throat as the young woman brought up a hologram, pressing a dainty finger to the screen to scroll through a long list of names written in electric blue. The young woman furrowed her eyebrows.

   “Hmm, I don’t see your mother’s name on the list. Are you sure she made a deposit here?” the teller asked. Cal nodded insistently.

   “Perhaps she used one of her other names. She’s been married twice now, including my father,” Cal explained. “If you just check all names under Cassandra, it would likely be fastest,” they said, leaning down slightly, watching the teller’s gaze glance down before meeting with Cal’s eyes again. They smirked mentally. Too easy.

   “All right, but I’ll have to ask Damien to help me. I’m not that good with technology,” the teller confessed, laughing nervously. “Damien, could you come over here and help me?” Cal grinned. Perfect. Glancing upward, they saw a small wooden beam painted white to match the walls. If they aimed just right, they could bring it down and trap the tellers. It might not be exactly what Logan had planned, but it would certainly be more fun.

   The moment the merman called Damien entered the stall, however, a shout came from the other side of the spacious room. Cal turned to see Roman back away from the stall, the mermaid saying something unintelligible, waving her hands furiously. With a burst of mist, she cast a spell. The result nearly made Cal choke on their laughter.

   Roman shrieked as he felt his now enlarged head, nearly double the size it had been before. At that moment, Anxiety chose to run in, who took one look at the enchanted Roman and said, “Oh, my God, it’s finally big enough to fit your ego!” He fell to his knees, laughing hysterically. Cal soon found themself unable to contain their own giggles, laughing as well as Roman began panicking.

   “Um, help!” he cried.

   “What did you do to Faerin?” the merman asked, running out of the stall towards the prince, who immediately began backing away, walking around like a drunk man as he tried to hold his head upright. “What did he do to you, my princess?” he asked the mermaid as Cal watched on. The other young teller ran out from her stall, joining the merpeople as they exchanged words, Damien’s eyes soon boring into Roman’s. “You will pay, you vicious fiend!”

   “Oh, I should probably help him,” Cal mumble under their breath, pulling out their blaster. “Eat crystal, motherfucker!” they cried, firing the gun up at the chandelier. They didn’t know what to expect, but an ominous rumbling emanating for the ceiling was hopefully a good sign. From the corner of their eyes, they noticed Anxiety rush towards Roman, grabbing his arm and getting him away from the tellers and whatever Cal had initiated. They glanced up to see a myriad of spider cracks running across the ceiling, just barely touching the chandelier. “Hmm. That’s probably not good,” they said, beginning to head towards the back of the room, where Anxiety and Roman were headed.

   They took one step forward and heard a resounding boom echo through the interior. They gulped, eyes widening, and bolted for the earthling and prince, not one second by their side before they heard a loud crash, turning to see the chandelier hitting the floor, the crystals smashing into smithereens as the brass structure holding it all together pinned down the tellers, trapping them all together. From behind them, Cal heard someone enter the room.

   “Nicely down, you two- dear Calypso, Roman, what did you do?” Logan said, a large, bulky creature Cal assumed to be Patton following behind, carrying several medium-sized satchels, the coins creasing in the fabric. Roman whimpered softly, embarrassed. Anxiety rubbed Roman’s back reassuringly, calming the prince down. “We should probably leave,” Logan remarked, eyeing the enraged merman chanting in a foreign tongue.

   The others agreed and they ran for one of the tall gilded windows by the door, where they had formerly agreed they would exit, as Logan knew the guards would more than likely block their original entrance. The creature known as Patton leapt first, his body weight easily shattering the glass panes. With a whoop, Anxiety jumped out, pulling some sort of martial arts move as he dove out the window, rolling as he hit the ground. Cal shot their blaster once more, firing randomly at a wall before diving out the window after the prince and the robot had clambered through awkwardly.

   “FUCK YEAH!” Cal shouted giddily, a wide grin plastered across their face. The others rolled their eyes lightheartedly. Their mission, however, was not over yet. They still had to get away. Their grin grew, showing off sharp fangs, as they raised their blaster, squinting at a couple nearby trees as they jogged after the gang, nearly tripping over their feet. With a laugh, they fired a final time, directly hitting the trees, setting them aflame. Immediately, the nearby guards, all dressed to the nines in their saffron red and midnight blue uniforms and shiny black boots, ran to the fire, panicking. “That should distract them for a while,” Cal whispered-shouted to their companions, who cheered as they ran around trees, jumped over small fences and walls, and avoided any more destruction.

   They all sprinted towards the nearby wooded marsh, tall pines sprouted up, outstretched towards the emerald sky dying down to a husky, smokey blue. As they reached the brackish waters, the sounds of confusion fading away, the water began seeping into their boots, the thick fog that hung in the air suffocating them, the setting sun blinding them.

   “Yeesh, Logan, why do you always pick the worst places for us to hide the ship?” Roman grumbled, still holding his head so he wouldn’t fall over like a newborn. Logan simply shook his head, not bothering with a response. They continued trekking around the edge of the shallow parts of the marsh, heading deeper into the wildlands where they had hidden their ship. “Shouldn’t we see it by now?” Roman asked as a soft whisper cut him off.

   “He-llo?” a voice called from all around, as though the voice wasn’t coming from just one place at one time, but rather every place at every conceivable moment. The crew froze, all looking in different directions. Cal glanced at the water a few feet away, where the water was much deeper than where they stood, and shrieked when they saw a pair of yellow eyes watching them from underneath the surface. For a moment they thought it was Draven before realizing he would never go anywhere near a marsh, too afraid of getting his precious cape wet.

   “Who are yo-u?” the voice asked, echoing across the otherwise silent swampland. Cal stared down those eyes, convinced the voice belonged to the body that held those eyes. “Who are yo-u?” they repeated. The voice sounded familiar. If they closed their eyes, they could almost picture-

   “Cassandra?” Cal spoke aloud. The eyes in the water were unwavering. By now, the others had noticed the yellow eyes, too, and were coming up behind Cal, ready to fight off whatever foe was calling out to them.

   “Who-o is Ca-ssandra?” the voice said as the eyes rose slightly, revealing slivers of a face soaked in water. “Who are yo-u?”

   Cal stepped forward, cringing as they felt the water and dead pine needles spill into their boots, soaking their socks. “My name is Calrex. Cassandra… Cassandra was a friend of mine. You sound like her,” they told the eyes. The eyes seemed satisfied with the response, blinking slowly as they registered the answer.

   “My na-me is Mi-la,” the sighing voice replied. Without warning, the eyes leapt into the air, bringing with them a face, body, and mind. Before the astounded group floated a young girl, skin blue as the water she lived in, eyes wide and unblinking. Water droplets coated her body, clinging to her skin as though it didn’t want to leave, forming a dress that covered her like a ball gown, the water becoming long, draping sleeves and a high collar. Her sweeping hair that spilled past the small of her back was made of reeds swaying in the breeze; in fact, her entire body swayed as though she was made of liquids herself. “Yo-ur not suppo-sed to be he-re,” Mila said, waving a single finger childishly to emphasis her point.

   “Our spaceship is here,” Cal told the water nymph. “Do you know where it is?” they asked, having a feeling the nymph did indeed know the location of their hidden ship. Mila nodded shyly.

   “I kept it hi-dden for yo-u,” she whispered, drawing both her hands close. “Ingare nadia,” she chanted quietly as the water began leaping up just behind her, dancing like bolts of energy. As the water parted, fragments of cool white metal appeared. With a giggle, Mila lifted her hands into the air as if praying, and the water enveloping the ship did the same, raising the bulky vehicle in a bubble. Logan stepped forward, ready to get away from the chaos they had created at the bank. Mila suddenly whipped towards him, throwing up a wall of transparent water to block him from continuing forward.

   “Mila, you want something from us, right?” Cal asked, remembering previous encounters with water nymphs that had not ended well. Mila nodded, her lips parting into a youthful smile.

   “Tw-o things,” the nymph said, holding up the equivalent number of fingers. “One, a ki-ss from the pri-nce,” she said, blushing as she glanced at Roman, who flashed her a charming smile. “Tw-o, an apology for hur-ting Fae-rin... She’s my only fri-end.” Mila ducked her head.

   “It doesn’t seem to bad an offering. I say we take it,” Cal proposed, turning to the others. Logan shrugged, as did Roman. The creature known as Patton squealed, indicating an agreement. Anxiety, however, stepped forward.

   “Undo whatever spell was cast on Roman and I’ll be your friend,” he offered. In a more gentle tone, he added, “It’s got to be lonely, out here all the time, when nobody ever stops by or says hello.” Cal’s brow raised. They’d have to ask about that later.

   “I’ll be your friend, too! It would be an honor to share a friendship with such a magnificent young lady such as yourself,” Roman commented. Patton barked, agreeing with the earthling and the prince. Logan sighed, muttering something along the lines of, “I’ll offer companionship as well.” They all look expectantly at Cal.

   “What, do you really think I wouldn’t want to be friends with someone like Mila? She’s cool enough, I wanna be friends with a water nymph,” Cal remarked, turning back towards a smiling Mila. “So, what do you say? We accept your offering, what about ours?” Mila lifted her yellow eyes ever so slightly and grinned, nodding.

   “I would li-ke more fri-ends,” she mumbled. She drew closer to the group, her feet barely skimming the surface of the marsh, until she floated in front of Cal. Mila shyly extended a hand. Cal grinned back at the little nymph, grabbing the hand and shaking it firmly. “Ke-ep your end of the de-al first,” she said as she drew her graceful hand back.

   Cal glanced over at Roman, who stumbled forward as Anxiety shoved him forward, the shadows on his face just barely concealing his smirk. “Go on and kiss the girl,” he said as Roman’s eyes lit up at the phrase.

   “Oh, I love that movie with the mermaid!” Roman exclaimed as he neared the nymph. “Perhaps we can show it to Calrex tonight?” he inquired, pursing his lips as he batted his eyelashes.

   “Only if you get us out of the mess you caused,” Anxiety replied. Roman scoffed, but turned towards Mila, who had sunk halfway into the water to be eye level with the dashing prince. Flashing her his trademark grin, the prince leaned over and pecked the young girl on the cheek as she blushed, giggling in a manner that echoed across the marsh.

   “I apologize most deeply, my dear Mila, for hurting your friend. Do accept my most sincere and heartfelt apology,” he said, bowing deeply. Mila laughed, a tinkling sound that reminded Cal of fairies.

   “It was fu-nny hearing it from the wa-ter,” she mused. “Th-ey tried to mi-mic it, yo-u flirting with Fae-rin and fai-ling.” Mila turned towards the others, whose interests were now piqued with curiosity. “He to-ld her, ‘Yo-ur eyes shine like the mo-on on a cry-stal ni-ght,’ ‘Yo-u’re the mo-st beau-tiful sea crea-ture I’ve met.’” Mila burst into laughter, clutching her stomach as Cal glanced at Roman.

   “You called her a sea creature? No wonder she cast a spell on you!” they uttered, shaking their head in exasperation. Roman spluttered, unsure how he could spin some sort of witty response from this humiliation. Mila sighed.

   “Yo-u kept your bar-gain, now I ke-ep mine,” she proclaimed as she throw her hands up in the sky, waving them as though she was signaling some passing ship. “Vocifere, caban!” With the enchantment cast, a cloud of smoke encapsulated Roman, dissipating to reveal the mermaid’s spell had been reversed.

   Roman clapped both hands over his face. “Oh, my gorgeous head is back to normal! Anxiety, do I look okay? Because a prince has got to slay,” he asked. Anxiety laughed, disguising it with a cough.

   “You look fine no matter what’s happened to you, don’t worry,” he reassured the prince. “Anyways, Mila, thank you so much for your help,” he thanked the nymph. “We might not be able to come back for a while, but we’ll try to return as soon as we can.” The nymph smiled happily, waving. The wall of water blocking Logan suddenly dropped down, scaring the robot. With a few more thanks and a couple vociferations of the marsh water soaking their feet, the group finally clambered onto the ship.

   As the door shut, Cal swore they heard Mila say, “Go-od luck, Pi-rate. Fi-ght and pro-sper.” Perhaps it had just been the wind.

   “Alright, kiddos, let’s get out of here before the guards find us!” Patton said, morphing back as he threw the heavy satchels off his shoulders, heading for the cockpit. Cal felt a breath of relief rush out of them as they followed the Drisine. They’d done it. Nobody had gotten (fatally) injured, no guards were firing at them as the ship started up its engines, and they had actually done something.

   “What a heist,” Anxiety sighed, leaning over the copilot’s chair, dangling his arms in front of Roman’s face.

   “That was certainly an ordeal,” Logan huffed, settling onto a stool as Patton skillfully guided the craft into the air, where they could easily see the miniscule figures of guards and peasants all grouped around a hole in one of the bank’s back walls. A pile of golden coins shimmered on the ground, spilling from the vault inside the building. “Hmm, looks like the commoners are taking advantage of Lord Finch’s private income,” the robot noted.

   “I don’t know about you, but I could use a drink or two,” Cal stated. “Calypso knows after all this, it’s gonna take at least seven Harvey Wallbangers to forget the sight of Roman’s head double its size.” Lighthearted laughter overtook the cockpit as Roman groaned, wishing he, too, to forget what would likely be held against him for the rest of his life.

   “Let’s just head over to Remy’s already,” the prince pleaded.

   “Alright, I’m setting course for there now,” Patton said. “Boy, I won’t forget that adventure of a lifetime. And Cal got to be a part of it!” he squealed, his smile practically crushing his cheeks. Cal quirked up a corner of their, the feeling of apprehension beginning to sink in.

   “If you don’t mind,” they began nervously, “I’d like to keep having more adventures with you guys. At least I wouldn’t be bored.” A silence fell and immediately Cal knew they said the wrong thing.

   Patton squealed even louder, confusing the outlaw as to how the windows had yet to break from the high-pitched noises. “Oh, we would love that!” he exclaimed as he got up from the pilot’s seat to hug Cal tightly, Roman huffing as he took over Patton’s duties to fly the ship. Though first surprised at the kind gesture, Cal felt themself relax, awkwardly wrapping their arms around the Drisine to hug him back. The warmth that followed was something they remembered feeling a long time ago, when they were still an innocent child.

   Yeah, they could definitely get used to this.

WOOT WOOT WOOT ANOTHER CHAPTER UP! I hope all you lovelies enjoyed this new installment! (It was so much fun to write the bank scene)

Hey guess what I was inspired over the weekend for a chapter that probably won’t come up for a while so here you go:

“I will give you world. Every night, I'll let you know how much I love you in a hundred different ways. Every morning, when you wake up, I'll be by your side, whispering sweet nothings, telling you how beautiful you are, how your eyes look like the heavens when you're excited, how you are the bravest person I've ever met. Every day, I'll sing a ballad of praises for you. I will make you and this entire universe see how much you mean to me, because lavehsea, I’m so in love with you I might just burst, and dear Calypso this went so much better in my head.”

Hmm, may have just spoiled what that story’s about... heh.

AnYwHo, thank you all for reading, reblogging, and leaving likes :)

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Splintered : a rant

*disclaimer: --not spoiler free-- pls these are just my opinions, I hope we can get along*

Summary:

Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

Alright, this is my first book I finished in 2019, aaaannndd… I hated it, yay! A friend of mine recommended it to me because she had enjoyed it a lot, but I don’t share the same opinion as her (sorry, Heaven~!). This is not at all formal, it’s literally ranting. I’m sorry.

Alright, to start off, our main characters here are Alyssa, Jeb, and Morpheus. I’m just going to start out with saying I did not like Alyssa, not even a little bit. She starts out as an edgy emo teen, and just delves into a confusing and indecisive person later on. She’s cool, she skates, she hates other ‘normal’ girls; just everything you could ever ask for in a protagonist. Although, I will admit it made me laugh to know that she wore knee pads and shit when she went skating, because that’s not exactly my idea of someone who is so hard. Saftey first, Al. Oh, my god. Did I mention Jeb calls her skater girl, and she likes it. Just… puke.

Anyway, she’s just so annoyingly edgy, just clearly not fitting in. People apparently bully her for being related to the original Alice, which confuses me greatly. How did they even find out? Is it even bullying just making shitty Wonderland jokes? I’m so confused by this, but apparently she just needed to be different, and needed to be an outcast. Honestly, it would make more sense to me if they just bullied her for being a goth.

Onto our first love interest; Jebediah Holt. Our emo hunk, one of Alyssa’s oldest friends. His character is pretty flat and boring. He’s deep, has a dark past, and he’s in love with Alyssa. Did I mention he’s unattainable because he’s dating a supermodel-esque girl who is a bitch to our main character for no reason. Seriously. Like she seems like she could be a nice girl. She shows remorse for some things, the only thing making her mean to Alyssa is the fact that her boyfriend has the hots for her-- and that makes him the dick. Seriously, I hate this trope of dating a bitchy girl to try and forget your feelings for our lovely protagonist. It’s just horrible ok.

Anyway, back to Jeb.There’s not much for me to say about him, I just didn’t like him at all as a character. Just his style already put me off, but of course that’s just personal preference. He’s just… alpha male. A Chad to the core. He gets angry so easily, so unnecessarily. He treats Alyssa like she’s a child, bosses her around even after it’s obvious that she knows what’s going on here. He doesn’t let her make any decisions on her own. If she talks to someone he doesn’t like, he fights them. If she starts doing something he doesn’t want her to, he just lifts her up and carries her away. He’s just so controlling and moody and I hate it. He’s also just really fucking horny apparently, always on Alyssa’s ass any moment he can get there, in completely inappropriate situations.

But to be fair, Alyssa is also some virginal teen who has never touched anyone of the opposite sex apparently. She gets all hot and bothered any time he gets close, and she hyper focuses on things about him instead of the WHOLE TWISTED WONDERLAND AROUND THEM. Anyway, let’s get onto the last main character, and my favorite; Morpheus.

Morpheus is yet another edgy guy in love with Alyssa, and honestly I just imagine him to look like Brendon Urie in his music video I Write Sins Not Tragedies. He wears hats all the time, and has gloves, and a British accent. He’s supposed to be the caterpillar, but I really don’t know how he fits in that role. He comes off more as a Mad Hatter type.

He’s the most confusing person in this whole series, because what the fuck are his motives even. They change at the blink of an eye to just random ass things, but he always has an explanation. Shit goes wrong and he’s like ‘yup, just as planned. This is exactly how I knew it would go.’ Like…. Please stop. Be a normal person, Morpheus. He’s a sleaze too, always hitting on Alyssa and touching her when she clearly doesn’t want to be touched. But, no, it’s alright because she only thought it was going to be inappropriate. Maybe just… tell her what you’re planning on doing so she doesn’t fight you immediately.

Did I mention he’s a moth? Cause he’s a moth. Literally, just stole the look of a human, but his true form is a moth. Alyssa is flirting and falling in love with a magical bug. Gross.

Alright, so the story I didn’t mind so much in the beginning. I actually really enjoyed the whole twisted Wonderland, and all the interpretations of it. I liked her going in and undoing what Alice did, but finding out things were not exactly as the famous story said. Honestly, I’m not really even going to go too much into the story, it’s just confusing as fuck, and the majority of the book is her just going around and doing as she’s told while she gets stuck in between two dudes in a pissing contest, fighting for her love.

The first half of the book really goes nowhere, and then in the last few chapters it seems like the author just threw a bunch of shit in to try and make sense of it all. It was awful, and barely understandable. Morpheus was apparently behind it all, somehow knowing everything would go a certain way, even when it seems like he doesn’t and he loses hope. Nope, he knew Alyssa was going to do what she did despite her making that decision herself (for the first time in the goddamn book, and still apparently someone was pulling the strings!)

Alyssa’s relationships with everyone were just so weak. She would say she loved Jeb and be in his arms, but the next minute she’s all lusty after Morpheus for seemingly no reason other than he’s hot and apparently they were somewhat friends as kids. Don’t get me wrong, I liked Morpheus way better than Jeb, but make up your mind, Alyssa.

She gets mad at our poor mothman and then forgives him within seconds more times than I can count. Oof, I’m just going back to the annoying characters, sorry. It’s just the only thing that really stood out to me, and that’s not a good thing. I can’t even remember half the plot because I’m just so pissed and confused at all these characters. Like, literally the only scene I remember vividly was Alyssa going a little crazy at the tea party and fucking belly dancing on the table while Jeb was all bug eyed and trying to get her to stop (but not really?), like I hated that scene so much. Uncomfortable and unpleasant.

I feel like I’m ranting and this is going on for too long and I don’t know what I’m saying anymore. So, yes, I hated this book. I thought it was awful, but putting those feelings aside… Morpheus is my daddy and he deserved a lot better than shit Alyssa choosing gross Jeb over him. He’s a fucking MAgIcaL MOtHMaN, ALYssA. JeB IS JuST aN EDgY ARtiSt SKatER DuDe.

P.S just learned its a series and OH BoY