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jjunieworld · 4 months

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MEET ME AT OUR SPOT ˒˒ 심재윤 ▸ part one of the player’s game series⌇playlist & series tag

with the news of your grandma’s depleting health, life has you moving to your mother’s seaside hometown for the summer to your aunt’s. while there, you meet the illustrious player—jake sim—that everyone can’t seem to stop talking about. what you never expected was to gain his attention and spend the three months you’re there falling for him.

pairing ‎⸝⸝⸝ sim jaeyun x fem!reader 𓄷 iηcℓudᥱs 𓈓 jungwon, lifeguard!jay, player!sunghoon, and oc hana (jake’s ex)

genre﹙📓﹚⸝⸝⸝ angst, smut, fluff, strangers to temporary lovers, beach au, summer fling/summer love, lifeguard!jake, blonde!jake, kindaaa slow burn, h2o jokes references (i had to), slice of life, lifeguarding & surfing inaccuracies, reader is jungwon’s cousin

warnings ‎⸝⸝⸝ player!jake, toxic!jake, soft dom!jake, subtle manipulation, reader and hana almost drown once, mentions of reader’s dad passing (before story) and grandma’s depleting health, alcohol, skinny dipping, corruption kink, virgin!reader, inexperienced!reader, unprotected sex (condoms!), fingering, oral fixation, oral (f. rec), semi-public sex?, jake is jealous and a little possessive, he’s also lowkey a munch, hair pulling, cum eating?, petnames (baby, pretty), praise, jake talks you through it, creampie, dirty talk, slight dacryphilia, dumbification, marking

kipo’s note ‎⸝⸝⸝ this is mainly for @jjunberry (who held me at gunpoint to make this fic about jake), so echo i hope you enjoy!! ♡ i might make a part two,,, not sure! i have some ideas for it, but it depends on how everyone is feeling! >ㅅ< let me know what you think!! divider is by @/cafekitsune :D i hope you all enjoy!!! all feedback and reblogs are welcome! ♡

∿ [ 22k ] ⋆ [ continue on to . . . masterlist ]

your mom nudged you awake just as the plane was beginning to land. you rubbed your bleary eyes and blinked rapidly to try and get your eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight. nudging you again, your mom said, “wake up, we’re about to land.”

rolling your sore neck out, you sat up in your chair and looked around the plane at all the other passengers preparing themselves for the landing. you sighed softly to yourself, you never really liked planes—not that you’ve been on many. you were flying from the small town you called home to the small seaside hometown of your mother’s on the request of your aunt.

your aunt’s phone call still replayed in your head. you and your mom were in the middle of making lunch together when she got it. with a smile, your mom answered her sister’s call. “yes, older sister, is there a reason you’re interrupting my day?” your mom asked playfully.

her grin quickly vanished and through the phone you could hear your aunt say, “it’s mom… the doctors say she isn’t getting better…”

your mom turned you with a worried expression. you had stirred the contents of the pot on the stove before turning fully to your mom, brows furrowed. fear sank deep into your chest at the thought of your grandma not getting better. surely there was something else the doctors could do, right?

stepping up beside your mom at the kitchen island, you listened in to what your aunt was saying. “they’re trying everything they can. some things work—and she starts getting better—but some things don’t,” you could hear your aunt's voice start to wobble.

your aunt then quickly changed the subject away from your grandma’s depleting health, “why don’t you and y/n come down here for the summer? see grandma, jungwon, and i? it’s been so long since i’ve seen you both!”

you thought about the last time you saw your aunt and cousin. it was at your dad’s funeral—where you and your aunt had desperately tried to keep your mom together. it would be nice if you made a new, happier memory with them.

“oh…” your mom spoke, looking over to your place next to her. you could tell she was trying hard not to break in front of you. “we’ll be there.”

you and your mom were in your aunt’s car now after she had picked the two of you up from the airport. your head was resting against the glass as you peered out to the coastal scenery. you’ve never been to your mom’s hometown before. you had asked her once—sometime after your father’s death—and the sadness in her eyes made you regret asking. it was where your parents met. your father was visiting and the rest is history.

[ YOU HAD ME AT “HELLO” — 1ST MONTH ] ✈︎ ninety-two days until you return home.

your aunt pulled up to her and your mom’s childhood home where you could see your cousin, jungwon, waiting for you all on the porch. jungwon jogged up to the car just as you were exiting it, “y/nie! it’s been so long since i last saw you. did your head get bigger?”

“shut up!” you said, playfully pushing your cousin away from you. you put a finger to your chin in thought, “hmm, did you get shorter? i swear you were taller the last time i saw you.”

jungwon put a hand to his chest in mock hurt as he playfully rolled his eyes with a grin. he helped you and your mom get your luggage out from the car and drag it all inside.

you were staying in your mom’s childhood bedroom for the summer. although most of her decorations from her teen years had been taken down, you could still see the remnants of your mom in the room. you piled up your suitcases near the closet and dresser, turning to jungwon with a huff as you tried to catch your breath.

“we should head down to the beach after you’re done settling in! you said you’ve never been in the ocean, right?” jungwon asked you. you nodded in reply. you were excited to swim in the ocean and check out what the boardwalk had to offer.

“we should, that sounds fun!” you exclaimed. he then left and you started the lengthy process of turning the bedroom into your own for the summer. it didn’t help that you also overpacked. you couldn’t really tell what to bring and what not to bring to a small seaside town, so you kind of brought everything.

once you finished unpacking and taking a quick visit to your grandma’s room to greet her, you met jungwon in the living room. he was sitting on the couch scrolling through his phone. once he heard your approaching footsteps he looked up. “ready to go?” he asked you.

“ready to go,” you repeated with a nod. you had dressed in your bathing suit and cover before leaving your room and you saw that jungwon had done the same. he was clad in swim trunks with a black shirt. nerves bubbled in you about swimming in the ocean for the first time but you tried to not let anxious thoughts overwhelm you.

you and jungwon were making the short walk down to the ocean, which your aunt thankfully didn’t live too far from, when you caught sight of the boardwalk and marveled at all the shops and people around. you and jungwon laid your towels down in the sand and made your way straight to the bright blue water. squealing as jungwon flicked the cold water at you, you pushed your hands forward to splash him back. you then dunked completely under the water to try and get used to the coldness faster.

“oh my god!” you exclaimed as you surfaced, teeth chattering and body shivering, “i wasn’t expecting the water to be this cold!” you guessed that it was quite nice with the harsh heat of the summer sun beating down on you. jungwon’s laugh filled your ears as he splashed water at you again.

you weren’t the best of swimmers, that fact being very obvious to jungwon once he saw you doggy paddling in the water. you mostly stuck close to the shore, not wanting your feet to not be able to touch the ground. slowly, jungwon got you further and further out to try and help you swim better. it wasn’t working that well.

“i swear if i end up drowning out here because you’re a shitty swim teacher, i’m coming back to haunt you so bad!” you shouted to jungwon as you dipped under the water with the small oncoming wave. jungwon laughed hard, “don’t be mad at me because you’re a shitty swim student! besides, there’s like three lifeguards on the beach right now.”

jungwon motioned back to the shore at the three lifeguards. you turned to look, their small figures elevated from the rest of the crowd. one of them blew their whistle at some kid trying to drown another kid. distantly, you heard him yell, “stop trying to drown her before i kick you off the beach!”

you turned back to jungwon, “they seem preoccupied.”

jungwon shook his head with a smile. “well i’m kind of hungry… i’m gonna go get something to eat. you coming with or staying in the water?” jungwon asked you. you thought it over for a moment. you weren’t particularly hungry. “i’ll stay in the water. you know, hone my swimming skills while you’re gone,” you replied.

“don’t drown!” jungwon said as he began making his way to the shore. you scoffed playfully at him. once you were alone in the water, you started trying to actually swim a little. you decided that you wanted to test yourself to see what you learned by going further out in the ocean.

you were swimming, pretending to be a mermaid and going absolutely nowhere when all of a sudden a bigger wave than normal came rushing towards you. you noticed it a second too late and it crashed into you, causing you to submerge in the water.

just as you surfaced, gasping for air, another wave hit you and submerged you again. you hands grasped at air and your lungs burned as your ears rang. you didn’t know how long you spent being pummeled by the water until you felt arms wrap around you.

you were flipped onto your back as they pulled you to the surface. sputtering and gasping, you were finally able to inhale properly and bring oxygen back to your lungs. you tried to move but your limbs were heavy with exhaustion and you couldn’t help closing your eyes from the bright sun.

your back hit a hard surface and you cracked your eyes open to see that you were on a surfboard. “i got you, don’t worry,” a male voice, who you were assuming was one of the lifeguards, said above you. you started to cough violently as you held on for dear life to the surfboard. “thank you,” you managed to whisper hoarsely.

“no worries!” he responded breezily. you could feel him paddle you back to shore. you focused on taking deep breaths and trying to still your racing heart. you could’ve died back there all because you got cocky. if the lifeguard didn’t rescue you when he did you would’ve drowned.

once you both got back to the shore the lifeguard gave you a once over to ensure everything was all right. he pushed the blonde hair off his forehead as he spoke to you, “are you okay?”

you nodded weakly and said a bit flusteredly, “i think so, yes. thank you again, truly!” he flashed a bright smile at you and you couldn’t help but notice how cute he was. it almost made you want to jump back into the water and purposefully sink to the bottom so he would come and save you again.

“maybe you should stay out of the water for a while,” he said with a smile, “especially if you’re alone.” just at that moment you heard your name being shouted, the sound getting closer and closer to you. it was your cousin and you could hear the worry in his voice.

“oh my god, y/n!” jungwon exclaimed as he bent down towards you in the sand. he kept repeating what he said a couple times as he inspected you. you had to push his hands away and tell him that you were fine thanks to the lifeguard.

“i told you not to drown!” he suddenly shouted. if the people around you weren’t already staring at you, they were now. heat rose to your face from all of the sudden attention and embarrassment filled you. before you could speak the lifeguard chimed in, “technically she didn’t!”

you raised your brows as you smiled at how annoyed jungwon looked from his comment. “exactly, i got saved!” you added. jungwon waved a hand at you as you got to your feet with the aid of the lifeguard. jungwon then grumbled to himself, “i knew i should’ve made you come with me. and just my luck too, i left my food back at the table!”

turning swiftly to you, jungwon took your arm, “alright, beach time is over, we're going home. you get to explain to our moms how you managed to almost drown.” he pushed you towards the entrance of the boardwalk. jungwon then turned to the lifeguard and said, “oh! thank you for saving her!”

the two of you were almost out of the boardwalk when jungwon asked you why you kept looking behind you. you quickly turned to face forward with heated cheeks. you had been staring back at the attractive lifeguard, not realizing how obvious you were being about it. “that lifeguard was cute,” you said meekly.

jungwon looked behind him to look, “oh, jake? you really don’t want to get involved with him, y/n… he’s kind of a player.” you began to laugh off his statement when you turned to look at jake again and saw how he was surrounded by a group of girls in colorful bikinis.

jake had a smirk on his face as he wrapped his arm around a girl with dark hair while talking to another. your heart sunk a little in your chest. of course you weren’t the most special girl in the world, but that didn’t mean that you didn’t feel a little disappointed. you had to be realistic with yourself, someone like jake wasn’t going to fall for an average, everyday girl like you.

“oh…” was all you could say in reply as you turned back to the path you were taking home. you tried to think of the bright side of things—at least you wouldn’t end the summer with a failed relationship and a broken heart.

it had been almost a week since you arrived and besides the small beach trip you and jungwon took when you first got here, you haven’t left the house much. you were pretty sure that you were driving your mom and aunt crazy, especially when your mom brought up the idea of you getting a summer job. “it’s easy cash!” your mom explained, setting her open book down on her lap.

you aunt chimed in, “yeah! i heard mrs. song needed some more employees, why don’t you go down to the juice bar and apply?” you supposed that earning a little bit of cash while you were here wasn’t that bad of an idea, so you did exactly what your aunt suggested.

mrs. song didn’t even spare one glance at you and all she asked was, “can you make a smoothie?” you told her that you could—and very well if you do say so yourself—and she responded with, “great, you’re hired! you start monday at nine.”

you hadn’t realized that it would be that easy. she didn’t even interview you, but you put it to the back of your mind. you weren’t the one to pass up easy money. you had thought that it would at least take maybe an hour to go through the whole process, so now you were out and about with nothing to do. you decided to explore the town a little by yourself, since you still were unfamiliar with the whole place.

as your feet moved mindlessly, you looked around. it was a beautiful day out today, just cool enough for the summer sun not to boil you. you were so lost in your thoughts that you didn’t realize that you were climbing over some rocks to a secluded part of the beach until you almost slipped and fell.

there was a cove where a small amount of the water flowed in to an open cave-like entrance. being the curious person you were, you decided to follow it. you peeked into the cave, there was a huge opening at the top of it that let in a lot of sunlight. cautiously, with your flip flops in your hand, you made your way into the cave. you guess it wasn't really a cave at all, more of an open rock structure.

you were in the middle of the cave, the opening at the ceiling shining sunlight onto you, when you heard behind you, “oh!” jumping in shock, you turned to where the voice came from.

it was the cute lifeguard who saved you earlier this week—jake. he wore his shock completely on his face as he was frozen mid stride. there was a towel balled up in his arms along with what looked like some fishing equipment. heat quickly spread through your face as you struggled to make eye contact with him. “wasn’t expecting anyone to be here…” he murmured to himself, shaking the blonde hair out of his eyes slightly. you noticed he had an accent.

“oh! i’ll go!” you quickly said, already making your way back to the entrance. jake held up his hands to stop you and in the process his towel fell to the sand below the both of you. “no, no, no, that’s okay! you can stay if you want. uh… hello!” he replied with a smile.

you froze right in front of him like a deer in headlights, but managed to nod. he nodded back to you, smile widening, before making his way further into the cave. he sat his stuff down a couple feet from the small pool of water that formed from the ocean. you stood in the same spot by the entrance and watched him.

“nice meeting you again! what was your name? are you new here? i feel like you are. i haven’t seen you around before,” jake asked you, looking up from where he fiddled with his fishing hook. you took small steps towards him and nodded. “uh, yeah! my name’s y/n—i’m just here for the summer actually! thanks again for, you know, saving my life,” you said awkwardly.

jake chuckled, “seriously! no worries, y/n! so… how’d you find this place? i mean, nobody really knows about it but me.” he put his hook down and stood from his spot, giving you his full attention.

“i was just wandering around really…” you trailed, scratching the back of your neck, “i’ve been trying to explore the area since everything is so new to me.” jake’s eyebrows raised and he nodded at your words.

“you know what, you should let me show you around town since you’re new here!” jake exclaimed like it meant absolutely nothing. your eyebrows shot up at his offer. he wanted to show you around? just the two of you?

you shook your head a little and waved a hand in the air at him, “oh, you don’t have to bother! i can find my way around by my—“

jake cut you off and playfully said, “come on, i insist! i can’t just let you wander around blind! besides, this town may be small, but it does have its secrets. and lucky for you, i just so happen to know all of them!” he motioned around the cave that the two of you were in. “for example: this place,” he added.

call it genuine curiosity or the fact that you found him so attractive and charming that you couldn’t say no, you agreed. “if you insist!” you laughed sheepishly and jake smiled from ear to ear. the warning of him being a player got completely pushed out of your mind and all you could think about was the opportunity of getting close to him. everything seemed so perfect for it.

jake walked up to you and wrapped an arm around your shoulder, “good, good! i was gonna go fishing, but this is way more fun. from here on out, this place will be known as our spot!” jake held a hand out as he turned the two of you in a circle. you giggled and glanced over at him, “our spot, got it!”

for the rest of the day, you and jake spent time getting to know each other as he showed you around town. he was a lot different than you thought he would be. for one, you expected him to be a lot more standoffish, but he was really friendly instead.

the two of you were sitting at one of the tables outside of a food stand after getting food when you asked jake what he liked to do for fun—besides the fishing he was going to do earlier. “well, i like long walks on the beach and—“ he joked before you cut him off with a nudge to his shoulder.

“be serious!” you exclaimed as he started laughing, which made you laugh too. jake raised his shoulders and exclaimed, “what! i do like long walks on the beach, they’re calming!”

after the two of you settled down a little, jake suddenly asked, “do you have a bucket list?” you thought for a moment. you’ve heard of the whole concept of bucket lists, but you always thought them too unrealistic to actually go through with it. it was more of those things that you thought would be nice to do, but knew you were never going to be able to do it.

“no, i don’t,” you replied.

jake’s eyes widened at you from across the table. the setting sun casted him in a hazy glow and made his blonde hair almost appear pinkish. “you don’t have a bucket list? no, we need to fix this. we’re coming up with a bucket list together—what’s something you always wanted to do?” he asked rapidly.

“i’ll have to think this through first!” you quickly spoke, holding your hands out in front of you to slow him down, “it has to be realistic if we’re gonna do this together, i’m only here for three months! and i want to be able to have memories of it—physical memories!”

“okay, okay, i’ll give you until tomorrow to come up with some ideas!” jake laughed, “but what do you mean physical memories?” he leaned forward onto the table and rested his head in his hand as he waited for your answer.

humming in thought, you replied, “like one of those cheap disposable cameras! we can take a bunch of pictures of us going through the bucket list and at the end of summer when i’m gone we can get them developed! that way we stay in the moment.” jake’s eyes lit up and he practically dragged you out of your seat and down the boardwalk.

“i know just the place!” he said and led you towards the entrance of the boardwalk. after walking a short distance, jake pulled you into a place that selled various types of cameras. you had gotten there just in time, since the store was just about to close for the night.

the two of you had run around the store looking for the disposable cameras you were talking about, having absolutely no luck, until you heard jake call out your name. when you made your way over to him he held two in his hands out for you to see. “one for you and one for me!” he grinned.

you made your way over to the register and jake paid for them—which you complained about but he ignored you anyways. once you got outside you both ripped the packages open. you heard jake turning the dial and looked up. he had the camera up to his face and took a picture of you just as you looked up.

blinking rapidly, a shy smile took over your face. “what was that for?” you asked. jake grinned from behind the camera and lowered it to look fully at you.

“i want my first memory to be of you,” jake said simply. your eyes widened and your heart did backflips in your chest. heat spread to your cheeks and you looked away at the intensity of his stare.

“really?” you asked quietly. you heard jake’s laugh and his finger was under your chin. he turned your head so you were looking at him. the two of you were so close you could feel his breath fanning across your cheeks. jake nodded at you.

with a smile he added, “you’re so cute.” he held his camera up and aimed it at the both of you so that you were in frame. still shocked from what just happened, you idly looked up the camera with a dazed smile and jake snapped another picture.

to break the sudden tension, you turned to him with a flustered smile. “i want one of us too!” you said cheerfully. you held your camera up and jake wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you close until you were completely up against him. your face felt on fire as you snapped the picture.

you looked over to jake—who still had his arm wrapped around you waist—and quickly came up with an excuse to escape the tension. “i should probably start heading home,” you muttered as jake stared back at you, “it’s getting late.”

jake slowly removed his arm—not far, as it now rested on your hip as you turned to face him. “i’ll walk you,” he replied.

the walk back to your aunt’s was shorter than you expected and it made you wish that you purposefully took a couple wrong turns so that you could stay with jake longer. you were beginning to really enjoy his company and wanted to get to know him more. you took a step towards the porch before turning to jake. “this is me…” you trailed.

he had given you his number on the walk over so you could talk more about the summer plans you had come up with. “it was nice getting to know you today,” jake spoke softly, a smile slipping onto his lips. you nodded and agreed with him.

“thank you for making my summer more interesting! if it weren’t for your bucket list idea i probably would just stay in the house the whole summer whenever i’m not working at the juice bar…” you chuckled. jake joined in with you and said that it was no problem.

for a second, you thought that he was going to kiss you, like how this scene played out before in so many movies. an awkward smile overcame your face and you took another step towards the door. “i’ll see you later?” you asked, taking more steps towards the door.

“absolutely! after your shift tomorrow—you did say you worked tomorrow, right?” jake asked and you nodded in reply. he then said, “i’ll see you tomorrow then!”

when you finally got into the house you inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. you took your shoes and jacket off by the door just as your mom came down the stairs. “you were gone all day! where have you been?” she asked curiously and made her way to the kitchen.

following her, you responded, “just out exploring the town… i made a new friend!” she hummed and turned to raise her eyebrows at the last part. “new friend? that’s good, honey! maybe you won’t be inside all summer,” she teased.

the two of you laughed and you made your way upstairs to get ready for bed. you placed the disposable camera on your dresser, a small smile coming to your lips as you thought about the day you just had. slipping into bed, you tried to not let the excitement for tomorrow not let you sleep and closed your eyes.

jake: meet me at our spot? jake: after your shift, of course.

your shift had just ended when jake had texted you. the two of you texted all night about potential bucket list ideas for the summer but neither of you had decided on anything concrete.

you: i’ll see you there!

when you got to you and jake’s “spot”, he was waiting there for you, two drinks in hand while sitting in the sand. the sunlight from up above perfectly lit him up and made his blonde hair glow. he extended one of the drinks out to you—the same drink you had gotten last night on your little adventure together—as he rose to his feet.

you thanked him with a warm smile and the two of you had begun going over different ideas for your bucket list. “remember though, i’m only here for three months! it can’t be anything crazy like going skydiving or anything,” you told jake as you sat side by side in the sand near the entrance of the cave.

jake nodded and pretended to cross something off midair. “got it—no skydiving,” he said with a playful pout. you giggled at him while nudging him with your shoulder as you rolled your eyes.

“what about… surfing?” you asked, turning to jake. “i’ve never been surfing before, but that’s mainly because i can’t swim… maybe that isn’t a good idea actually.” you let out a nervous laugh as you recalled the way you and jake met and your cheeks heated from the embarrassment.

“lucky for you,” jake said while standing to his feet and putting his hands on his hips, “you have the number one lifeguard here to teach you and look out for you!” jake started flexing in various poses, making you laugh as you looked up at him.

“seriously, though. i can teach you! nothing will happen to you on my watch,” jake exclaimed as he sat back down. you shrugged, he was your best option considering that he’s literally a lifeguard. if something went south, at least you knew you’d survive with him by your side. nodding, you agreed, “okay, deal!”

you and jake spent the rest of the time at your spot debating on various things you both wanted to do for your bucket list. other than him teaching you how to surf, the both of you also came up with stargazing, going to the summer splash charity event, and doing something adventurous—like skinny dipping.

the summer splash charity event is a party that raises money to provide resources for the sheltered animals in town. according to jake, it happens every year and everyone goes to it. it’s a formal event that everyone dresses to the nines for. you made a mental note to ask your mom about it to see if she had a dress you could borrow.

“skinny dipping?!” you whipped around to where jake was sitting, feet in the water as he mindlessly dipped his finger into it. he looked back to where you were standing, “what? you said you wanted to do something adventurous and that’s the first thing i thought of!”

you wrapped your arms around yourself, suddenly self conscious, as you shifted your weight from one leg to the other. noticing the change in your body language, jake stood as came up to you slowly. “we can do it at night when the beach is completely empty—or not at all if you’re not comfortable. it’s completely up to you,” jake said softly.

you looked down to your feet as you thought about it. you did tell him that you wanted to do something adventurous this summer, break out of your shell. there’s nothing more adventurous and nothing that screams “breaking out of your shell” quite like skinny dipping does. you inhaled deeply, “no… let’s do it—only at night though and only when the beach is completely empty.”

jake’s eyebrows raised but you couldn’t miss the slight smirk that was making its way onto his lips. “are you sure?” he asked seriously.

you hit jake in the arm. “don’t pretend like you aren’t excited to see a naked girl!” you joked, trying to lift the tension. the smirk on his face shifted to a grin and he broke out into a laugh. jake held his hands up in the air and turned away from you. “i can’t say that i’m not,” he replied.

the first month of your stay was almost coming to an end and it seemed as if you and jake were attached at the hip. for the entire month, jake had shown you the ins and outs of the small seaside town until you knew it like the back of your hand. your disposable cameras had filled up and you had to buy another one from all the pictures you’ve taken.

a smile came to your face and heat spread across your cheeks as you thought about one of the special pictures you’ve taken just yesterday. you and jake were out on the town again, him showing you this skate park that nobody really uses anymore. the two of you sat on the edge of the ramp and you listened as jake pointed out various graffitied names and told you about the people behind them.

it was nighttime, and you knew you should start heading home before it got too late out, but—like always—you didn’t want your time with jake to end. the moment grew quiet and your eyes traveled over all the different names and made up different stories for them. you felt a pair of eyes on you and looked over to where jake was staring intently at you.

“i’m glad i got to meet you,” he said softly, leaning closer to you. you looked away briefly, a flustered smile lighting up your features and face heating. you couldn’t imagine a different timeline where you didn’t meet jake.

“i’m glad i got to meet you, too,” you replied shyly. jake smiled and reached his hand up to cup your cheek. for another moment, which seemed everlasting, the two of you looked into each other’s eyes. when his lips pressed to yours, everything felt as if it fell into place. it felt as if this was the moment when everything clicked—when you knew what you’d finally been looking for.

you were filled with passion that threatened to break out. you pulled jake closer and the thought of needing to breathe didn’t even cross your mind. that was, until your lungs screamed for air and you and jake finally pulled away from each other.

a smile broke out onto your face and it did on jake’s as well. he chuckled slightly and held your hands in his. then his eyes lit up suddenly and he was pushing himself off the ground and jogging over to where your bags were.

“what are you doing?” you giggled, turning fully to where he stood. he dug in both of your bags and pulled out the cameras. jake then jogged back over to you, dropping back down to the ground next to you, and handed you your camera.

“you said you wanted physical memories, right?” jake held up his camera so that the two of you were in frame with all the graffitied names in the back. “say cheese!” he smiled and you laughed—which he caught with the flash of the camera.

“now you,” jake added, urging you to hold up your camera. you laughed again and held up your camera, head tilted against jake’s, as you snapped a picture. you turned to jake and he smiled at you. he then pressed a kiss to your cheek and laughed at how flustered you got from it, which he also managed to catch on camera.

when you did finally get home, drunk on the thought of the kiss you and jake shared, jungwon was waiting for you. he sat on the couch, some random show he wasn’t watching playing on the tv. when you stepped through the door, he turned towards you.

“you and jake have been spending a lot of time together…” jungwon trailed, eyebrows knitting together. the smile on your face vanished and you quickly took off your shoes.

“yeah…” you mumbled in reply, “what about it? we’re friends.” you didn’t mean for your words to come out so harsh, but you couldn’t help it. you were getting two different ideas of jake and you believed the one that came straight from the source more rather than the one that was passed around.

jungwon’s eyebrows raised slightly, “i just want you to be careful and to not get hurt. i told you, he’s a player, and i don’t want you to get caught up—“

“i’m a big girl, jungwon. i can handle myself,” you cut him off abruptly. anger pulsated through you. why does he keep telling you this? “jake isn’t like that—not anymore.”

before jungwon could speak again, you stormed off to your room. you refused to let his words ruin your night, not after you and jake had finally kissed. you tried to focus your mind on the kiss, the way his soft lips felt against yours and the tickle of his blonde hair—dark brown roots barely grown out—against your skin.

inhaling deeply, you got ready for bed. under the security of the covers, you opened up your phone to send a message to jake. a smile made its way across your face and it took everything in you not to squeal as you put your phone on your nightstand.

you: i had a really great time tonight! sweet dreams! jake: me too! sweet dreams, pretty.

you mentally slapped yourself to stop thinking about his text. “pretty,” he called you pretty. you giggled to yourself and turned over in your bed, shutting your eyes.

[ YOU KNOW I’LL “SEE YOU LATER” — 2ND MONTH ] ✈︎ sixty-two days until you return home.

it’s been almost a week since the kiss you and jake shared. the two of you had fallen naturally into things a couple do—go on what seem like dates, kiss and such. you were so sure that jake was going to ask you to be his girlfriend, yet he’s made nothing official.

you thought that maybe you were imagining the whole thing, that the two of you haven’t kissed at all and nothing has changed between the two of you, but that was until he kissed you again. and again. the only thing he asked you is if you wanted to go to a beach party one of his friends is having this weekend—which you agreed to.

you sat slumped against the counter of the juice bar. today was a slow day and you began regretting working there at all with how much your feet hurt. “i don’t know, what do you think? am i overthinking things? i just feel like he should’ve asked me by now…” you looked to your side to where your coworker, hana, leaned near the smoothie machine.

you met hana on your third day of working at the juice bar and the two of you became fast friends. you didn’t have a lot of shifts together, but when you did she told you all the gossip on some of the people around town who you’ve never met and probably never will. in return, you mainly shared your anxious thoughts revolving jake, which she didn’t seem to mind hearing.

“are you sure he’s not playing you?” hana asked, somewhat hesitantly. you sighed and looked away, focusing your attention on the ocean waves ahead. you hated how many times people asked you that question.

“there’s nothing to play if i’m not even his girlfriend,” you stated. to which hana responded with a “…not quite.”

“i know this is a sore subject for you so i’ll keep it brief, but what if he is?” she pushed off the counter and made her way over to you, slumping next to you as she looked at you. she rested her head in her hand, “i don’t really know this jake, but i have heard of him. and i’ve heard that he cheated on his last girlfriend. now that could just be a rumor, but he doesn’t exactly have the cleanest track record. the guy has hooked up with every girl he could lay his eyes on—what if he’s just trying to get into your pants?”

you groaned and buried your face in your arms. this really didn’t help with your overthinking. what if jake was just trying to get into your pants? what if this all was some elaborate scheme to get close to the new girl so he could sleep with you? what if he wasn’t the person he was making himself out to be?

“what if he is?” you asked, voice muffled. you already knew the answer, hana didn’t even need to say it. and she didn’t. hana rubbed comforting circles onto your back instead.

“my shift is about to end… i really hope that what i said isn’t true y/n, but for your own sake… i would be careful around him.” you got up from the counter, nodding at hana and her departure, and sighed again. from your pocket you felt your phone buzz and looking at it, you laughed wryly. the universe really does have a way with things…

jake: hang out with me after your shift? jake: we can get a move on with our bucket list and i can teach you how to surf!

you wanted to bang your head off the counter at how your heart fluttered from him messaging you. you wanted to heed everyone’s constant warnings, but a part of you wanted to push them out of your head. a part of you wanted to cast caution to the wind and take the leap of faith. jake couldn’t be playing you, he couldn’t. that just didn’t seem like him. a part of you wanted to keep moving forward with your relationship, close your eyes to the fact that you could very well be walking down the path of getting hurt.

at this point, you were in too deep. if you got hurt, then you got hurt. at least then you’d know it was real—at least for you. caution be damned. you inhaled sharply as your fingers typed out your response:

you: of course! meet me at the beach after i grab my swimsuit? jake: i’ll see you later!

after your shift ended—and you ran back home to grab your swimsuit—you met jake at the beach like you both agreed. he was already clad in swim trunks, the lack of shirt shocking you for a quick second, and leaning against the surfboard he had next to him. “you ready?” jake asked as you walked up to him, a smile gracing his lips as he pushed off his surfboard.

you nodded, eager to get into the water and cool down your heated cheeks. the two of you made your way into the water together after he grabbed another surfboard for himself, passing the one he was carrying to you.

jake had begun teaching you how to actually even get on the board, firstly getting onto your stomach and then eventually standing. when you finally cheered at the fact that you were able to stand and not embarrassingly slide off into the water, he then taught you how to actually ride a wave.

“steady… and then up!” jake guided next to you as the two of you caught a small wave. when you surfed back to the shore you jumped to your feet and cheered, wrapping your arms around his bare torso.

“i did it! i did it!” you cheered, twirling you and jake as he laughed. you pulled away from him, smile still as big as the sun. jake pulled you into a brief kiss, pulling away with a proud smile. “you did it!” jake cheered back.

with your flustered gaze, you turned back to the oncoming waves with newfound courage, but instead noticed something else. in the distance, you could see someone flailing in the water. their head went under with the oncoming waves. in wordless shock all you could do was point towards the water while hitting jake’s arm until the words finally spilled from your mouth, “someone’s drowning!”

jake turned towards the direction you pointed in just as the person in the water gasped for air and went back under. his eyes widened and he briefly looked around at the lifeguards present on the beach. when he saw that none of them were paying attention, he picked up his surfboard from the sand and took off towards the water.

you stood back on the shore, worry eating at you as jake pulled the person onto the surfboard and swam them back to shore. it reminded you of how he saved you on your first day here. when he reached shore you helped him get the unconscious person onto the sand as one of the lifeguards ran towards your direction.

your eyes widened in horror as you realized it was your friend, hana. jake alternated doing mouth to mouth and chest compressions on her until her eyes sprang open and she coughed up water. “oh my god, hana! are you okay?” you bent down to ask with furrowed brows, cradling her cheek with your hand.

weakly, she nodded and smiled at you. hana turned her attention to jake, her smile widened as she let out a hoarse “thank you, you saved my life!” jake gave her a tight-lipped smile and nodded, his eyes finding yours. the two of you backed up as the lifeguard on duty took over.

“that’s one of my good friends from work!” you exclaimed as you looked back at the scene, brows knitted together. “i really hope she’s okay… almost drowning is really scary.”

jake’s hand found yours and he pulled you back to where your towels were. his face was weirdly blank and there was what almost seemed to be a scowl on his lips. you put a hand on his shoulder and leaned towards him, “hey… you alright?”

jake just nodded, giving you a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “that was just kinda hectic… why don’t we go do something else instead of surfing again?” he asked you. you nodded, an empathetic smile forming on your lips.

the weekend had arrived and the beach party that seemed to be the talk of the town was tonight. instead of being excited for your first ever beach party, you were nervously shifting your phone in your hands. since the whole beach incident, it’s been almost radio silence from jake. when he was answering your texts, they were only one word replies or dry texts.

you didn’t understand what had gone wrong. at first you thought he needed space. saving someone’s life was no easy feat and definitely had to take a toll on him, but you wanted to be there for him any way that you could.

when you saw him one day while working, he acted like he didn’t even hear you calling him—choosing to instead hurry off with one of his friends. your heart dropped and hana rubbed more comforting circles into your back as you tried not to cry. “he really seems like he’s playing you, y/n…” hana had trailed off hesitantly, knowing how much of a sensitive issue this was for you. “maybe you should just end things officially with him.”

what if jake was playing you?

you did the finishing touches on your outfit for the party and took another look at yourself in the mirror, a small smile forming on your lips. it was just your bathing suit and a simple cover up, but you looked good, if you did say so yourself. you grabbed your phone again, hoping to hear from jake but knew that you wouldn’t. sighing, you threw your phone onto your bed.

you debated even going to the stupid party—in fact, you were already an hour and a half late for it. what was the point if the person who invited you wasn’t even talking to you? but you thought fuck that. you were going to go out and enjoy your summer at a party you were going to have fun at, with or without jake.

after doing another once over in the mirror, you grabbed your things and made your way downstairs for the walk down to the beach. if jake was going to ignore you, you were going to ignore him right back. tonight, you were only going to care about you, not him. two can play at this petty game.

you could hear the music playing from the party, which only got louder and louder the nearer you got to it. there were bodies everywhere, including those in the water. everyone was clad in their bathing suits, either chatting with others or pulling each other into the water. you made your way over to where a bar was set up and grabbed yourself a drink.

you didn’t want to get too drunk tonight, since you were alone, but you wanted something in your system. nursing the drink, you wandered around to find something to do. it dawned on you how little people you knew here. you didn’t really expand your friendships much besides jake and hana.

the cool night breeze made you shiver slightly, so you decided to make your way over to where there was a campfire set up. there were plenty of people around it and maybe you could meet some new friends. that’s when your heart dropped.

just a few feet ahead of you was jake and his friends, no doubt drunk out of their minds. you wondered how you didn’t hear their loud bantering over the music, but you guess that it all sort of blended in. jake sat on a beach chair, some random girl in his lap with his hand resting on her ass. it wasn’t any girl you recognized.

what the fuck, you thought, anger bubbling up inside you. i knew it, i should’ve knew he was playing me like the fucking fool i am. just at that moment you and jake made eye contact, the smile on his face faltering as he took in your look of pure devastation. you should’ve just stayed home.

turning on your feet, your eyes scanned for somewhere you could run to, but seeing nowhere good enough they landed on the water ahead. it’ll have to do.

you stripped off your bathing suit cover and speed walked with fevered passion out towards the water, hoping that the darkness will cover up your tracks. you didn’t even care that the water was freezing cold, you couldn’t feel it with how the anger was heating up your skin. instead, you dipped your head underwater for a couple seconds, complete silence and darkness calming you briefly, before surfacing again. luckily, jake didn’t follow you out—if you could even consider that luck.

as soon as you surfaced, you were face to face with a stranger you didn’t know. you let out a shocked gasp and moved backwards. “sorry,” the stranger awkwardly chuckled, giving you some space. “i saw you storm in the water—it’s not safe to be out here in the dark swimming in the ocean alone.”

you quirked an eyebrow at him, “what’s it to you?” you really didn’t need more people making this moment difficult for you.

his face lit up like he forgot to mention a very crucial piece of information. “oh! uh—i’m a lifeguard.” he held out his hand to you, the moonlight illuminating it. what was up with you and lifeguards? you hesitantly took it and gave him a wary smile. “i’m jay. you’re jake’s girl, right?”

your smile immediately dropped. you weren’t “jake’s girl,” and it was clear that you never was. all you were to him was some pawn in a game you didn’t even really know you were playing. “not jake’s girl,” you responded.

you looked back to the campfire, seeing that jake and some of his friends were nowhere to be found. you turned back to jay, “and i guess you’re right. i can't swim that well anyways.” a sheepish smile made it’s way onto your face.

“maybe i should get you back to shore then…” jay laughed, “get you warmed up by the campfire? it’s pretty chilly out here and i wouldn’t want you to get sick.” you nodded and the two of you swam back to the shore together. as soon as you stepped out, your teeth chattered and your body shook like a leaf. all the heat from the anger dissipated and now you were just cold.

you and jay sat side by side on a log, the flames from the fire drying you off and warming your bodies. after a couple moments, jay turned to you and said, “you don’t seem to be one who falls for a player’s antics like jake’s.”

caught completely by surprise, you cleared your throat slightly as you thought of something to say. you weren’t one to fall for a player, especially after being warned so much about him. it was unlike you. but there was just something about jake that kept luring you in, like a lamb to the slaughter. “i guess i was too caught up in being in a new town that i put caution aside…” you trailed, staring down at your hands.

jay hummed, “ah, new girl. i see.” you looked over to him and nodded, trying to lighten the mood with a small laugh. “you live and you learn,” jay added, almost solemnly. it made you wonder what he had to go through to give you such advice. you didn’t have the chance to ask before you saw jake barreling his way over towards you, stumbling over his own feet.

he stood across the fire from you and jay, anger dripping from his face. “wow, you move on quick!” he seethed, eyes locking on yours. jake’s accent was heavy and thick, words slurred. you scoffed at him. did he think you didn’t see him with that other girl on his lap?

you shot up from your seat, “i move on quick? me? you literally had some girl on your lap after ignoring me for days, jake.” in the corner of your eyes you saw the attention the two of you were gathering. people dipping by other’s ears to whisper about the two of you. you didn’t even have to guess what they were saying. you knew that it had to be something along the lines of “jake sim strikes again! another stupid girl fell into his trap. they just don’t know how to learn.”

ignoring your words, jake instead said, “i didn’t know you were such a whore, y/n.” you face contorted to one of hurt and you took a small step back, the back of your foot knocking against the log you were just seated on.

jay jumped from the log, moving ever so slightly to step in front of you. “what the fuck, man?” jay hissed towards jake. jake didn’t even pay him any attention, his eyes never left yours.

you didn’t know how everything went so wrong. it seemed like just yesterday jake was kissing you for the first time at the abandoned skate park. now everything was so twisted and you were left standing in the center of it all. you desperately tried to not let tears well up in your eyes. jake didn’t get to go treat you this way—he didn’t get to win. you looked him dead in the eyes, “what the fuck is wrong with you, jake?”

before he could answer, his friend came up to him and slang and arm around his shoulder. you recognized him, despite jake never introducing you to any of his friends. park sunghoon, jake’s bestfriend and right-hand man—and no doubt another player. his eyes glided over your body, still somewhat wet from your dip in the ocean. his lips curled up into a smirk, “who’s this jake? victim number…” he trailed off into a laugh, eyes hooded from the alcohol. “oh wait… i lost count,” sunghoon laughed again.

the anger disappeared from jake’s face, now replaced with complete detachment as he turned to sunghoon and laughed. you literally couldn’t believe what you were seeing. was this how he treated every girl who had unfortunately fallen into his web?

“she’s cute,” sunghoon said, eye’s trailing you again. you had the urge to cover up, pulling your bathing suit cover tighter around you, suddenly feeling disgusted at the fact that they were talking about you like you weren’t even there.

“make your move, i bet she’ll let you take her right here,” jake replied, looking at you. your mouth opened in shock and you were frozen in place. jake was like a completely different person. no—this must’ve been the real him he was hiding from you to get in your pants. you were in such shock that you didn’t even see jay’s fist connecting with jake’s face until they were rolling around in the sand throwing more fists at each other.

you stood in the same spot, unmoving, as more of jake’s friends showed up and pulled them apart before anything serious could happen besides some cut lips. jake pushed his friends off of him and stormed off towards a group of girls—the one girl in particular who was in his lap earlier. he pulled her towards up and smashed his lips onto her’s, all the while making direct eye contact with you.

you looked away, scoffing to yourself as you made your way to where jay stood brushing sand off himself. “i’m so sorry, are you okay?” you asked while aiding him in brushing off sand.

in lieu of a reply, jay hissed, “he’s such a fucking asshole. how did you even get caught up in his drama?” when jay turned to you, there wasn’t any anger in his eyes—at least, not towards you. it was a genuine question, and somehow that made you feel worse about everything.

you looked back over to where jake stormed off to to see that him and his friends—and the girl he kissed—were all walking over to the ocean to swim. they left abandoned articles of clothing in their wake as they started to chase each other into the water. you sighed mellowly, “i thought he was different, not who everyone said he was… it turns out i was wrong. he’s exactly like how everyone says he is.”

you couldn’t help the stray tear that escaped your eye, quickly moving your hand to wipe it away. you felt jay’s eyes on you as you stared down at your toes in the sand. he doesn’t get to win, you thought, opening your mouth to speak as you looked up at jay.

jay beat you to it. “let’s get a drink. take your mind off of it?” he offered. you closed your mouth and nodded, walking side by side with him towards the bar.

you were well past tipsy now as you and jay spent however long talking and getting to know each other. just as the two of you were in the middle of a conversation about your favorite aquatic animal, jake walked up to you. his head was down and he looked like a kicked puppy as he stood in front of you. he was only in his swim trunks and almost completely dry, so you were guessing it’s been a while since he’s been out of the water. “y/n…” he trailed, looking up at you through slightly wet strands of blonde hair.

“the fuck do you want, jake? here to call me a whore again? just leave me alone,” you waved a hand in the air at him, taking a sip from your drink. jake tried to take your hand in his but you snatched it out of his grip. you were guessing he was sober now.

“can we please just talk?” jake asked. his eyes skimmed over to jay who was glaring at him. “privately?” jake added. you laughed at him. is he serious?

“she told you to leave her alone, dude,” jay said, tone a little harsh.

jake rolled his eyes, they landed on jay with a glare, “shut the fuck up, jay. this has nothing to do with you.” jake turned his gaze back to you, gaze softening completely. he almost looked sorry. you almost laughed again.

“please, y/n. just five minutes and you’ll never have to see me again,” jake pleaded.

next to you, jay scoffed. “you promise?” jay cooed towards jake and jake’s glare immediately came back as his eyes snapped towards him. you sighed.

“five minutes, jake. that’s all i’m giving you to explain everything,” you spoke quietly. jay looked over at you. in his eyes you saw his question, “are you sure?” you gave him a slight nod and then stood. “don’t waste my time,” you added.

you wobbled slightly as you stood and jake took your hand. again, you pulled it out of his grasp. “i can walk by myself,” you bit out. jake’s eyebrows raised in slight shock but he said nothing as he guided you to somewhere private.

he led you a little bit away from where the party was, but close enough that you still heard the music blasting from the speakers. he pulled you behind an empty stand where wandering eyes couldn’t see you. you turned to him with a deep sigh and raised brows raised as you crossed your arms. “time is ticking,” is all you said.

“she meant nothing… i promise. it's you i want, y/n,” jake started, hands coming to rest on your shoulders. you rolled your eyes at him. meant nothing? so he thinks you’re stupid.

“doesn’t seem that way to me,” you countered. you turned to walk away. if he was just going to lie to you then there wasn’t any point of hearing him out. jake grabbed your hand and pulled you back towards him. he cupped your cheek and guided your gaze back up to his. “i’m serious. it is you that i want. my head was everywhere and the alcohol didn’t help and i’m sorry. i’m so sorry, y/n, i didn’t want to hurt you.”

in your head you cursed him for being so alluring, and then cursed yourself for drinking so much because now you were melting like puddy in his hands. you didn’t want to believe him, you really didn’t, but the more you searched his eyes, the more you saw the truth in them. jake wanted you, that much was the truth. but was he truly sorry… that was to be determined.

the anger in your eyes softened and your eyes glazed over, “why would you do that, jake? you don’t talk to me for days and then i come here and see you all up on some girl? after spending so much time with me and acting like we’re a couple?” you swear you saw jake’s heart break as he pulled you into his chest.

“i know, baby, i know i messed up and i’m sorry. let me make it up to you and show you that you’re the only one who matters to me,” jake said softly and you pulled away to look at him. he pressed his lips to yours, his hand cupping your face gently. you shivered slightly at his touch and the petname falling from his lips. a fire lit up inside you and you pressed your lips to his harder, wrapping your arms around his neck.

jake backed you up against the empty stand, lifting you so you sat onto the ledge that was lower than the actual stand. he pulled away from you slightly, enough for the both of you to catch your breath. “tell me now if you don’t want this and i’ll stop,” jake breathed.

you kissed him again, skin hot in all the places he touched you. “i want this,” you briefly broke apart to say. jake dropped to his knees between your legs. you shifted slightly as he pressed kisses onto your bare inner thighs, lifting your legs so they rested over his shoulders.

“uh—jake…” you stammered, eyes fluttering closed for a quick second. jake hummed, looking up at you with a raised brow. “i-i’m a virgin… i’ve never done any of this before…”

jake’s lips curled into a wicked smirk. he rose, thumbs trailing your thighs and kissed you. “that’s okay,” he said as he got to his knees again, “i’ll take good care of you, baby.”

you gave him a sheepish smile as you lifted your bathing suit cover to pool around your hips. you then lifted your hips so jake could take your bottoms off and scooted to the edge of the ledge you were sitting on.

once your bottoms were off, you shivered slightly from the sudden coldness. more from the way jake was now pressing kisses close to your core. it was embarrassing how you were absolutely dripping for him despite being angry at him not too long ago, but either jake didn’t notice or didn’t seem to care much. he returned your legs back to his shoulders.

jake’s mouth latched onto your clit and his tongue swirled around it. you jumped, a moan escaping your lips as your back arched slightly. his tongue continued to swirl around your clit and his lips sucked in, making your back arch more. your fingers ran through his blonde hair, grabbing at it to try and steady yourself. jake looked up at you and you could feel the smirk on his lips.

your breath was heavy and you shamelessly moaned from how good jake was making you feel. if there was one good thing that came out of all of this, it was finding out just how good jake was with his tongue. you were so high on cloud nine that you moaned a little too loud once you felt jake slowly enter a finger into you, testing the waters, pulling in and out slowly. he then slowly slid in another finger, the stretch making your head whirl.

jake laughed, the vibrations sending shockwaves throughout your body. you gasped when his fingers angled up, pressing right against your sweet spot, and bucked your hips forward. “feels so good,” you whimpered. “p-please don’t stop!”

you legs began to shake and the pleasure was so much that you couldn’t help but rock your hips towards jake’s mouth and fingers. jake started to to hum against your clit lightly, fingers moving faster. you gripped his hair and the edge of the ledge tigher, “just how many girls have you treated like this?” you breathed out between moans. your eyes were squeezed shut and you felt how close you were to being undone. “is this what you do to get back on their good side?” you asked.

jake pulled his mouth away from you and your eyes fluttered open to look down at him from the loss. his fingers continued to move rapidly. “you wouldn’t be the only girl,” jake commented. you didn’t even get a chance to respond as he pressed his fingers against your walls and you came undone onto his fingers. you squeezed your eyes shut and cried out, chest rising and falling harshly.

when you came down from your high, with the aid of jake and now suddenly sober, you opened your eyes just as he pulled his fingers out of you and to his mouth while rising to his feet. you glared at him harshly as he licked his fingers clean, mouth and chin wet with your arousal and blonde hair messy. looking behind you, you reached for some napkins and cleaned yourself up before putting your bathing suit bottoms back up.

you threw the rest of the napkins at his face and pushed him away from you as you jumped off the ledge. “you’re such an asshole,” you muttered angrily as you stormed back off in the direction of the party. from behind you, you could hear jake calling your name as he jogged after you.

“fuck off, jake!” you yelled, not bothering to turn around as you moved faster.

when you got back to the party, you went up to the campfire where jay was still sitting, a bottle in his hands. “thanks for talking to me tonight, but i’m gonna head home actually,” you told him, trying to give him your best fake smile but it instead coming out in a half grimace. you heard your name being called and jay stood.

“i’ll walk you home,” jay said as he placed his bottle in the sand against the log. you nodded and the two of you quickly walked off.

the walk back to your house was silent. you mainly processed the series of events that just happened. how could you be so stupid? once again, you fell into jake’s trap. when will you learn?

you didn’t even realize you made it to the front of your aunt’s house, too lost in your own thoughts to notice your feet moving on their own, until jay said, “are you going to be okay?” you looked over to him in slight shock, thinking about his question for a moment.

shrugging, you responded, “i’m not sure yet. for now i will be, i guess. thanks for walking me home, jay. i really appreciate it.” jay gave you a nod, not entirely convinced. “anytime,” he spoke and watched as you walked up to the front door and entered the house.

you ran to the bathroom, wanting to rub your skin clean until it was raw. you stayed under the water for a while until it started to run cold and stayed for a little more after that, tears being washed away from the stream. when you did finally get out, you laid in your bed unable to sleep.

you phone was being blown up by jake and you just didn’t have the energy for him right now, so you turned your phone off. you didn’t want to hear anymore of his excuses—or truths, you still couldn’t decipher which was which. you just hoped that sleep would come to you soon and you wouldn’t dream of him.

when you woke up in the morning from a dreamless sleep, the first text your eyes saw as you checked the time on your phone was from jake. you sighed softly, telling yourself you’ll check the rest of his messages later. the message your eyes scanned was:

jake: meet me at our spot? i didn’t mean what i said. it wasn’t my intention for it to come off that way. please answer, y/n. i know you wake up around this time, so please meet me there when you see this.

you weighed his message in your head, deciding to ignore it entirely or to meet with him. after pacing around your room, you decided to meet with him. this was it—you were putting an end to everything. no more games. you were only going to meet with jake for closure, to finally see if his words have been truths or lies.

you got ready for the day, thankful that you didn’t have to work at the juice bar, and mentally hyped yourself up. you couldn’t let yourself be lured in by jake’s trap again; acting like a pushover for him. you wanted answers, not to lose yourself in his warm and inviting brown eyes. not to think about how good he made you feel last night—despite the memories clouding around your racing mind making your heart do flips.

leaving the house, you made your way down to the beach with newfound confidence.

when you reached the open cave-like entrance, you saw jake sitting in the sand lost in thought waiting for you. his eyes immediately snapped to your figure when he saw you approach. jake looked like he hadn’t slept, eyes rimmed red and dark circles sinking in his eyes. his blonde hair was in every direction as if he’d been running his fingers through it constantly and his plain shirt was wrinkled.

jake slid his phone that he was clutching into his pants pocket as he stood to his feet. hesitantly, you walked up to him, stopping a few feet short of him. you left your expression purposefully blank as you quirked a brow at him.

“i didn’t mean it like that,” jake started, taking a few steps towards you. he furrowed his brows and tilted his head to the side slightly.

“so how else did you mean it, jake? i’m tired of playing this game with you.”

jake sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “i mean—i did mean it like that,” he closed the distance between the two of you and grabbed your hands, effectively removing them from where they were sitting across your chest. jake slid his thumbs across them as he spoke.

“but not with you. i won’t lie and say that i don’t have a reputation—“

you cut him off, tone harsh as you pushed away from him. “a reputation of being a player? of stringing girls along; using their feelings for you against them to get in their pants? your reputation precedes you, jake, and i’m not going to be your next victim.”

“and you won’t be—that life, me being a player, it’s over. it’s in the past—canceled, i promise you. i meant what i said to you yesterday, baby. i want to be with you and i’m sorry for making you think that i didn’t.” jake stepped forward and cupped your face, tilting your head so you looked in his eyes and saw the sincerity in them. you exhaled softly and your eyes fluttered shut.

jake continued, “as soon as i got into that water, i immediately sobered up and knew i fucked up. i shouldn’t have spoken to you like that—shouldn’t have let my friends speak to you like that. that was really shitty. i’m so sorry.” you opened your eyes and they grazed across the cut on his lip from his fight with jay.

your arms hung limply at your sides as your mind struggled to come up with any thought whatsoever. it was silent for a moment. “you ignored me for a whole week straight. pretended that i didn’t even exist to you,” was all you managed to say.

jake sighed again and shut his eyes briefly like he was having an inner battle with himself. “my head has been everywhere this week, baby. i’m sorry. lifeguarding has been more taxing than usual and i’m really not in my right mind. the alcohol last night really didn’t help either, like i said.”

your eyes softened. it was just as you expected. “so why didn’t you tell me all of this? i could’ve helped you—been there for you!” your words were light, but your insistence made jake look up.

jake just shrugged, not knowing what to say. he settled on, “i didn’t know how to explain it all. i’m not that good at telling people how i feel—clearly.”

you rested a hand on his cheek, a small smile coming to your lips. “it’s something we can work on… why don’t we do something from our bucket list today? help get your mind off lifeguarding?” you suggested. jake’s face lit up and he wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you into him.

a cheeky smile played on jake’s mouth as he nodded and you rolled your eyes, pushing at his chest lightly. you pointed to the shallow water coming in from the ocean, “if you say skinny dipping i’m drowning you in the water over there!”

jake’s smile widened, a pretty laugh leaving his lips. it was a sound you could hear forever. “i wasn’t! i was gonna suggest we go stargazing.”

he pulled you closer to him and bent down towards you, breath fanning across your neck and his nose sending a shiver down your spine from the way it trailed along the skin near your ear. “but if you wanted to skinny dip i wouldn’t be opposed,” he whispered, voice dripping like honey.

you inhaled sharply at the way jake brushed his lips against your jaw ever so slightly. you didn’t even notice the way your grip tightened around his shirt at his chest. all you could think about was his lips at your core making you feel so good. better than you could ever do for yourself. the way his fingers reached deep inside you and pressed against spots that you couldn’t reach yourself no matter how hard you tried.

breath hitching, you tried to control your breathing as you let out a chuckle that you hoped sounded playfully annoyed, but instead came out as nervous as you felt. with all the strength you could muster, which was barely any at all, you pushed at his chest again and jake took a couple small steps back. that same wicked smirk from last night curled his lips upwards.

god, that smirk. if given the chance, you knew that jake sim would absolutely ruin you. you knew that he would worship every inch of your skin while completely defiling your innocence.

you subtly pressed your legs together at the thought of his hands wandering over your naked body and bit your lip at how it would feel when he finally slid into you. no, you couldn’t think such dirty things with him looking at you like he knew every thought running through your head right now.

you kept your eyes firmly on the grains of sand beneath the two of you until you were sure your thoughts were clear.

once the dignity started to come back to you, you slowly looked up at him. you plastered a playful smile on and raised your brows while crossing your arms across your chest. “you’re on timeout. so going skinny dipping—and whatever dirty little thoughts are running though your head with the idea—not happening. got it?”

you were definitely projecting with your statement, even if you both were most likely thinking the same things. jake’s wicked smirk remained on his lips, this time more playful than wicked. he raised a singular brow at you, head tilting subtly. he didn’t even need to speak for you to get the connotation.

we’ll see about that, won’t we?

you and jake spent the rest of the morning together, hanging around the beach taking various photos with your disposable camera, until you got called in to work to cover a shift. you had just finished cleaning the blenders at the juice stand when jake scared you, suddenly announcing his arrival while leaning across the counter with a shit-eating grin.

gasping loudly with a hand pressed to your heart, you took the hand towel you were holding and smacked him with it, making him laugh. you couldn’t help the smile that spread on your face at jake being here. your shift so far was boring, your friend hana wasn’t working today and nobody was really buying anything either. you desperately needed the distraction.

“what are you doing here?” you smiled, leaning across the counter in front of jake. your faces were mere inches away and jake closed the gap by pressing a kiss to your lips.

“i wanted to see you,” he replied, smile never leaving his face. that was, until jay showed up to order a drink.

“how are you, jay?” you asked as you started the process of his drink, turning slightly to look at him. he was soaking wet, no doubt just getting off one of his shifts. running a hand through his damp hair he breathed out harshly, smile not reaching his eyes as he shook his head a little.

“you know how lifeguarding is…” he trailed off. you gave him a sympathetic smile, definitely not knowing how lifeguarding is, but from your talk with jake earlier, you could only imagine.

jake shifted in his seat, turning to face jay. “yeah… i do,” he spoke. you glanced over to him as you poured jay’s drink in one of the to-go cups. jake’s mouth was pressed into a thin line and his eyes sharp. they were both deadly silent and you had the feeling they weren’t talking about lifeguarding.

slowly, you slid the drink you just made towards jay as your eyes flicked between the two of them. their staring contest was cut short by one of jake’s friend’s calling his name. reluctantly, he got up to meet them, eyes flicking to you before turning around. what was that all about?

jay’s eyes slid to you, a sigh escaping his lips. “i hope you know what you’re doing, y/n,” he said before handing you the money for his drink and standing from his seat. your brows furrowed in question but before you could ask what he meant, jay spoke again.

“there’s no winner in the player’s game. it’s best to know that before it’s too late.”

jay then left, leaving you with your mouth hanging open. your mind was surprisingly blank despite his words that you were desperately trying to process. to distract yourself, you began tidying up.

jake came back up to the stand just as you finished, his friend—sunghoon, if you remember correctly from his hurtful words at the beach party—following suit. your eyebrows were raised in slight shock as you tried to keep the scowl from off your face. jake said nothing, just waved his hand towards you while looking at sunghoon in a “well…” kind of way.

sunghoon sighed while leaning on the stand towards you. “uh… listen, y/n…” he looked towards jake in question and jake gave him a small nod without taking his eyes off you. sunghoon continued, “i was a real asshole for what i said at the beach party—real shitty. i’m sorry, i shouldn’t have spoken to you that way.”

he scratched the back of his neck and his apology hung in the air for a moment. you smiled awkwardly, eyes flicking between him and jake. clearing your throat slightly, you responded, “t-thank you? i appreciate the apology.”

it was awkward for another few moments before jake finally broke the silence. “so…” he started, dragging out the vowel as he leaned more over the counter towards you. “will you be my date to the summer splash event?”

sunghoon scoffed while turning towards jake, hitting him on the shoulder. “dude, you haven’t even asked her yet? the event is next month!” he exclaimed. a sheepish smile took over jake’s face as he leaned back into his chair. you raised your brows at him.

“yeah, jake, why haven’t you asked me yet?” you teased. sunghoon mirrored your expression and the two of you stared a hole into jake. he sunk into his seat.

“i may… have forgotten about the whole thing…” jake murmured. you and sunghoon laughed at him, sunghoon shaking his head as he turned back to you.

“yes, i’ll be your date to summer splash,” you laughed, causing jake’s smile to brighten.

the three of you talked more before they left for sunghoon’s house. before they did, jake leaned across the counter to meet where you already sat halfway. “are we okay?” he asked near your ear in a hushed tone. you nodded, a genuine smile on your face which caused one to appear on his. jake then brought you in for a kiss, which was quickly cut short by sunghoon going, “ugh, get a room!”

heat spread throughout your face and chuckles escaped jake’s mouth as he pressed another kiss to your warm cheeks. he was then pulling out his disposable camera, turning his back to you and holding it up in the air.

“group picture!” jake shouted as he pulled sunghoon towards him. sunghoon rolled his eyes, but smiled for the picture nonetheless. you gave the camera an embarrassed smile as the flash went off. jake chuckled again, bringing your lips together briefly before running off with a disgusted sunghoon.

you: meet me at our spot? jake: already here, baby. you don’t even have to ask! you: rolling my eyes right now… bring the blankets!

a couple days later, you and jake had planned to watch the stars at your shared spot since you were both too busy the day you originally planned. according to jake, it was the best spot to see as many stars as possible in the small town. jake had beaten to you the spot, already having the blankets and even pillows set up right under the opening in the ceiling.

the moon shown perfectly from the opening, illuminating jake and the area he had set up. “hi,” you smiled, setting the basket of wrapped sandwiches onto the blanket and plopping down next to jake. you looked up towards the ceiling at the stars, a soft smile taking over your features.

“hi,” jake replied. he moved closer to you until you were almost cheek and cheek to look up at the stars as well. “i told you it’s the best place to see them,” he added quietly. you looked over to him, smile still on your face, and giggled. jake’s smile widened and he brought you in for a kiss.

the two of you watched the stars for a while in silence, apart from the rustling of one of you unwrapping a sandwich. at some point, the two of you had laid down onto the blankets and pillows, you tucked into jake’s side, head resting on his chest as his fingers lazily traced patterns onto your arm and hip.

“the whole world outside disappears when it’s just the two of us in here,” jake softly said, causing you to look up at him. his eyes were focused on the stars until he felt the weight of your stare. he looked down, a shy smile playing on his lips.

“you’re right,” you smiled at him, continuing your watch of the stars. “we’re the only people in the world in here.” jake’s fingertips were suddenly lifting your chin to look up at him. once you did, he pressed a soft kiss to your lips.

smiling against his lips, you kissed him again, sitting up on your elbow to kiss him better. the kiss deepened, so much so that you got the urge to swing your leg across his to straddle him. but before it could go any farther than a kiss, jake pulled away. you both were breathing heavily as you stared into each other’s eyes, lips barely brushing.

“will you be my girlfriend?” jake breathed, searching your eyes for your answer. you giggled a little. it was funny that he even had to ask you. the answer was always going to be yes.

you nodded, smiling widely, “i thought you’d never ask…” you lips connected with his again, this time more passionate than the first. jake sat up onto his elbows, eyes fluttering closed.

“i’m sorry i took so long,” he murmured against your lips.

this time you did give into your urge. throwing your leg over both of his, you wrapped your arms around his neck. jake’s arms immediately came to sit around your waist, pulling you closer to him until you were chest and chest. the kiss was feverish, desperate. it’s what you wanted to do ever since you had gotten to know each other.

fire burned in the pit of your belly and you were overwhelmed with the sudden need to have jake as close to your body as possible. you needed more than his lips on yours and his arms around your waist. you didn’t even realize you grinded down onto him until he broke away from your kiss to let out a small whimper, forehead pressed to yours.

he trailed hot kisses along your jaw and down your neck all while you grinded down against him again. you felt like you were on fire as his lips found yours again and it was the only thing you could do but pull away and take off your shirt.

jake’s eyes landed on your breasts and the lacy bra covering them, but you didn’t let them linger before you were pulling off his shirt as well, completely driven by desire. next you were shimmying off of him until the shorts you were wearing were off too, leaving you only in your bra and panties.

the rational part of your brain finally kicked in when you heard jake unbuckling his belt. you broke away from his kiss, suddenly aware of what the two of you were about to do. heat spread up your neck and across your cheeks and you whispered, “i told you, you’re on timeout.”

jake’s mouth fell open in a shocked smile, hands freezing in place. in order to cool yourself down, you pulled yourself away from him and stood to your feet. turning your back towards him, you made your way to the ocean, stripping off your bra and panties in the process until you were completely naked. you glanced back at him with a playful smile.

you stepped a foot into the water and immediately shuttered at how cold it was, but you made yourself walk the rest of the distance until you were submerged up to your shoulders. you turned towards the cove where jake still sat frozen. “are you coming?” you called, giggling to yourself at the bulge in his shorts.

“you’re such a tease,” jake called back playfully, standing to his feet. you laughed, more teeth chattering than actual laughter. when jake started pulling down his shorts, you averted your gaze, suddenly interested in the ocean horizon.

you heard the pitter-patter of jake’s footsteps and the slight splashing of water behind you as he came closer. “you put on such a show, but now you can’t even face me?” jake said in a husky voice against your ear, chest pressed against your back, causing a shiver to go directly down your spine and your heartbeat to pick up.

jake trailed a wet finger across your shoulder and you inhaled sharply, trying to gain your composure. turning to him, you replied, “if you can’t handle the heat, stay out of the game.” you threw his signature smirk back at him and he laughed, coming closer to you until your noses were brushing up against each other. you tried to ignore the brushing against your thigh, but it was growing harder the more seconds that passed. instead you cupped your hand in the water and lifted it to drip the water onto jake’s head, pulling another laugh out of him.

grabbing your chin, jake lifted your head to kiss you deeply, his tongue dancing in your mouth with yours. pulling away, jake smirked. “you’re going to eat your words once i’m finished,” he said lowly, pressing kisses to the skin beneath your ear.

jake pressed you closer to him, his body heat helping to warm you from the cold water. his lips trailed back up to your ear and he added, “get use to the feeling of your body shaking.”

if your body wasn’t on fire before, it definitely was now. jake’s lips were back on yours, this time rougher. you were sure he could feel your heartbeat racing from how close you were to him, feel the heat creep up your neck with how your bare bodies were against each other. when you pulled away to satiate your burning lungs, jake caught hold of your bottom lip between his teeth. he bit down softly, the corners of his mouth raising at your reaction before letting go.

you hid your face in his chest as he trailed open-mouthed kisses up your shoulder. you resisted the urge to shiver. “jake, i—“ you cut yourself off, too embarrassed to bring the topic up.

“has anyone ever touched you like this?”

jake’s fingers trailed down your sides, stopping just at your hips and you took a sharp inhale. you shook your head as jake continued his kisses, going from up your shoulder to the side of your mouth. “don’t worry, pretty,” he whispered huskily, lips lingering over yours before giving you a feather light kiss. “i’ll be gentle… i promise.”

he intertwined his hand with yours and guided you back to the rock structure where your abandoned late night picnic resided. you laid down onto the blanket, looking up at him with big doe eyes from where your head laid on a pillow. his eyes took in your body finally, eyes widening more at every exposed inch he could see. when they landed on your soaked pussy he smirked subtly.

jake climbed over you, pressing a deep kiss to your lips. “are you sure you want this?” he asked you breathlessly. his eyes were squeezed shut and his brows were furrowed, like he was fighting the urge to not ravage you right then and there.

“yes… please. i’m ready,” you whispered.

eyes fluttering open, jake brought his lips to yours again. he then started to kiss down your body, making sure he kept eye contact with you. when you looked away, his gaze too intense, he would immediately stop and grab your chin to look back at him. “you don’t have to be nervous, baby. it’s just me.”

how could you not be nervous? the last time he was this close to your body was when he was eating you out at that beach party. and you were nervous then, too; never having someone attached to your core before. even then, you only remembered bits and pieces from the encounter—jake’s pretty mouth on your clit and the hazy sensation of his fingers inside you, stretching you out—you being too drunk to remember the full thing. this time you were completely, absolutely, sober with none of the confidence the alcohol gave you.

jake kissed right above your core, stopping with a smile against your skin. you thought he was going to speak, but he instead dove straight in, tongue flicking against your clit as his lips sucked.

you immediately moaned out, back arching off the soft fabric beneath you and head throwing back. you gripped the blanket tightly in your hands as jake wrapped his arms around your thighs to keep you from moving. he continued his motions, eyes never leaving you. your hand found his wet blonde hair, fingers tangling in the strands as you pulled at them. “please, jake!”

he hummed and you swear you saw stars, moaning loudly and trying to squirm away from his strong grip. “does that feel good?” jake asked you, breath fanning over your throbbing clit. all you could do was nod. “yeah?” jake asked, removing one of his hands from around your thighs.

his other hand rubbed at your clit with the pad of his thumb, sending jolts up your body, as the hand he freed teased at your entrance. you were a spluttering mess, desperate pleas for him to do something other than rub at your clit breaking the silence and clouding your thoughts. you barely even heard the chuckles that escaped jake’s lips as he kept teasing. he waited until you were practically writhing underneath his touch and begging him for more before he finally slid his fingers inside you achingly slow. you barely registered the slight pain, only the pleasure.

“you’re so pretty like this,” jake cooed.

you gasped as his fingers started to move, dragging against your gummy walls. the wetness making you dizzy and bringing tears to your eyes. jake’s pace only grew the more his fingers fucked into you, fingers curling and making your thighs tremble.

just as you moaned out a broken “g-gonna cum!” jake replaced his thumb running circles into your clit with his mouth, his tongue swirling around your poor clit. his hand went to hold your legs open when you tried to squeeze them together, the rope in your stomach about to snap.

when it did finally snap, you were gripping the blankets so hard that the clenching of your fingers started to hurt. you cried out, weakly trying to push jake’s head away with your other hand but getting nowhere. he didn’t stop, lips sucking your clit as squelching sounds emitting from your spent pussy with how your cum now dripped down his fingers still pushing in and out of your entrance.

the vibrations of jake’s laugh was like lighting throughout your body, shocking you to the core. you whimpered and jake finally pulled his lips away, satisfied with helping you ride out your high. he sat up on his knees and you looked up at him through half-closed eyes, brain foggy.

“you ready for more? baby?” jake asked before sticking his cum coated fingers in his mouth while staring down at you. he let out another hum, eyes fluttering closed briefly, “you taste so fucking good.”

you covered your face and sheepish smile with your hands and jake chuckled, leaning down to press a quick kiss on your lips once he was finished licking you up from his fingers. you could taste yourself on him. “are you ready?” jake asked and you nodded.

“words, pretty. i wanna hear you,” jake added, moving your hands away from your face. your body was on fire still, still reeling from your recent orgasm. jake pressed kisses to your cheeks.

“i’m ready,” you uttered meekly.

jake leaned back and now it was your turn for your eyes to trail along his body, not quite getting the chance when his head was between your thighs making you see other galaxies. his blonde hair fell in his eyes, which he dragged his fingers through to get out of his way. toned body still glistening from your dip naked in the ocean, making you want to run your fingers along the soft skin. and finally… his large hard cock hovering mere centimeters above your still throbbing pussy, precum leaking from his tip.

you didn’t know how you would fit all of him inside you, it barely looked like you could wrap your hand around him. but you were determined and you refused to back down. if you were going to have your first time with anybody, it would be jake sim.

“lift your hips for me, pretty.” your eyes snapped back to jake’s face to see he had dragged a pillow next to the both of you. you did as you were told, knees wobbling slightly, and jake slid the pillow under your hips. he pressed another kiss to your lower stomach.

jake held his leaking cock, looking up at you for confirmation one last time and you nodded. “this is gonna hurt for a second, okay? just take a deep breath.”

you inhaled deeply, waiting in anticipation and slight fear.

he lined the tip of his cock with your entrance, sliding it along your wet arousal and creamy white cum. slowly he began to push himself in and immediately you felt the stretch. you grimaced, resting your head back on the pillows. even with how wet you were with jake fingering you, and your previous release, jake was barely able to get his tip inside before you winced in pain.

“relax, baby, relax,” jake soothed as he kissed the inner part of your thigh. you tried to will your body to loosen up, taking deep breaths to calm yourself. jake rubbed his thumb slowly into your clit, glancing down at you with a look full of concern. you were no doubt squeezing the hell out of him, if it weren’t obvious from the small whimpers leaving his mouth as he slowly pushed in more.

after basically doing breathing exercises and jake giving you soothing kisses, he finally bottomed out, halting his movements so you can adjust to his length and thickness. you moved your arms from where they covered your tear-filled eyes and jake leaned down to kiss your cheek. “you’re doing so well for me, pretty. tell me when to move,” he said softly.

once you felt like you weren’t being split in half, you gave him the go-ahead. jake leaned back again. “do you feel it…” he started. his hand pressed down on your lower stomach and you gasped softly. “right here?” he continued.

you took your lip between your teeth and nodded, “yes… please start moving, jake.” you didn’t know how long you could stand the feel of him completely stretching you out and filling you up. it felt like you were going to burst any minute if he didn’t do something.

“you want it that bad? you’re not scared anymore?” jake grinned and you shook your head. “good, remember what i told you.” he slid his hands up your stomach to cup your breasts, thumbs rubbing over your hardened nipples before settling back down at your hips.

you struggled to remember what he was talking about, you mind going entirely blank. all you could think about was his cock inside you, his hands all over your body, and how you felt everything. was it “i’ll be gentle… i promise,” or “get use to the feeling of your body shaking”? your mind started to spin with how both sentences contradicted each other.

jake grunted as he slowly slid halfway out. “fuck…” he groaned, his grip tightening on your thighs. “you’re so fucking tight—squeezing the shit out of me, baby.” he pushed in a little too fast and you moaned out, half pleasure and half pain.

he continued his slow pace, making sure he didn’t go too fast so he wouldn’t hurt you. your body finally relaxed, eyes rolling back and sensitive walls fluttering around jake’s cock. “faster,” you breathed.

“faster?” jake repeated and you could just hear his smirk. “you want me to fuck you faster?” without a response, jake’s hips snapped to yours. he pulled his cock out until just his tip remained in you. jake hummed, waiting for your reply.

“yes!” you cried out, back arching from the way his cock rutted so deeply into you. your breathing was heavy and your tongue was heavy as you tried to form more words. “y-yes, please fuck me faster,” you whined, speech coming out slurred as your hands clawed at the messy blanket beneath you.

jake leaned down to bring his lips to yours just as he rutted into you once more. you moaned against his lips, the sound cutting off as he kissed you rougher. jake continued pounding into you, not hard enough to hurt you but enough to make sure you felt every inch of him inside you. he took your lip between his teeth as he pulled away slightly before letting go. “f-fuck you drive me crazy. do you know how long i’ve been waiting to do this to you? fuck your perfect pussy like this?”

you barely registered his words, your blown out pupils staring at him hazily as you moaned louder each time his hips connected with yours. jake continued, his words slurring, “and to think that asshole almost had you…” jake let out a wry laugh in between his heavy breaths, his hips moving faster on their own accord. “you’re mine. all mine. can that asshole fuck you senseless like this?”

you bucked your hips up, shaking your head rapidly. you really didn’t know who jake was talking about, but that didn’t matter to you. he was right, nobody can fuck you like he can.

jake kissed you sloppily through your moans, breath hot on your cheeks as he occasionally pulled back for air with the way his chest rose and fell heavily. “that’s it, baby... fucking take it,” he moaned when your back arched again and his cockhead hit deeper. “you’re taking my cock so well. do you like how i split you open like this? do you feel how deep i’m fucking into you, pretty?”

tears streamed down your faces as you moaned out incoherent words, too dumb on jake’s cock to think straight. all you could do was nod and tell him to move faster, clawing at his shoulders until your nails dragged red lines down his back. you never needed someone as much as you needed jake. it was like a fever, making you burn red-hot until every thought consisted of him

you whimpered loudly, trying to press your legs together and squirm away but jake held you in a death grip—making sure your legs stayed spread and your knees stayed pressed to your chest. your thighs shook in his grasp as you twisted from side to side, a squeal leaving your parted lips. “g-gonna cum!” you spoke shakily, whimpers falling from your mouth.

“good, baby. let go for me. cum all over my cock,” jake gritted out, accent heavy, before throwing his head back in a moan. he muttered out curses as his pace increased slightly and then kissed you roughly. he kissed along your jaw and now to your neck, right where you were the most sensitive and leaving goosebumps in his wake. jake sucked pretty markings onto your skin, claiming you further as his.

you wrapped your arms tightly around his neck, on the verge of hiccuping just as you felt the cord in your stomach begin to fray. with a particularly hard thrust, wet squelching sounds filling the nighttime air, the cord snapped and you were smearing warm cum all over jake’s cock.

the pillow beneath your hips prevented the cum from dripping out of you except when jake thrusted into you, dribbles of cum leaking out from around the base of his cock. jake leaned his forehead to yours, “f-fuck, baby. you’re taking my cock so well. you feel how well you’re pretty pussy is taking me? it’s l-like your pussy was made for my cock.”

you felt jake twitch inside you before he was filling you up with even more cum, the white liquid completely coating him as he fucked his cum back into you. your nails dug into his shoulders as you cried out from the overstimulation despite bucking your hips up to feel even more, unwrapping yourself from jake’s neck to grab a fistful of the blanket as you shook underneath him. “too m-much, jake! ah—“

jake kissed you hard, moaning softly against your lips. he pulled back and leaned back onto his knees, hand holding the base of his heavy cock that was still buried deep inside you. you managed to sit up on shaky elbows. your poor pussy was glistening with your arousal and painted white you and jake’s mixed cum.

you watched as jake slowly pulled out of you, creamy white liquid covering his softening cock, eyes fixed on how your pussy fluttered around the loss of him. the corners of his mouth pulled up into a wicked smile. you didn’t even notice how he had pulled out his disposable camera, nor the flashes of how fucked out your face looked and how completely ruined by him you were beneath the full moonlight. “good job, baby! i’m proud of how well you did,” jake leaned to kiss you, his cock sliding against your sensitive clit and making you jump. jake chuckled.

you beamed shyly, eyes avoiding his stare and instead focused on how his cum was still inside you. jake reached out his hands and you took them, slowly sitting up fully. his eyes focused on the way your mixed cum spilled down your thighs and dripped onto the blanket. “fuck,” jake murmured.

his eyes trailed up your body and to your swollen lips, his smile growing. you could see it in his eyes what he was thinking: you look the prettiest like this, defiled and my cum drilling out of you. jake kissed you again, softer than all of his previous kisses tonight.

“let’s get you cleaned up, pretty.”

“why are you walking so weirdly?” you mother’s voice startled you. you fiddled with the shear scarf you’re wearing. jake left a lot of love bites on you—most that you were able to cover with makeup but some that shone straight through it no matter how many layers of concealer you put on it. you didn’t really want your mom seeing that and asking a bunch of questions. it was also the height of summer and you could practically see the heatwaves in the air, so you didn’t really want to be sporting a turtleneck right now.

your voice comes out slightly unsteady, “what do you mean?”

your mom comes to stand in front of you, eying you up and down. her gaze flicks back to yours with an analytical look. “you’re walking like a duck. what’s wrong with you?” she questions.

racking your brain for a suitable and believable lie, you rush out, “oh, i just hurt my ankle a little bit on the walk to work yesterday...” her gaze widens. “but don’t worry, mom! it’s nothing serious. i’ve just been trying to not put as much pressure on it is all!” you quickly add.

you definitely weren’t telling her that you lost your virginity last night to the renown player in this small town and you walking funny was the result. no, that would be much too embarrassing. you straightened your walk a little, trying to make it seem like you were okay. you were glad your back was turned to her so it hid your wince of pain. maybe you shouldn’t have told jake to go so fast on your first time…

“we’ll make sure you ice it or something, you don’t need it getting worse,” your mother said before leaving the kitchen, mug in hand. you sighed in relief to yourself as you finished getting ready for work.

jake met you halfway on your journey and you smacked his arm hard whenever he came up next to you. “ow!” he laughed, cradling his arm. “what was that for?”

“that was for making me walk funny and leaving all kinds of love bites all over my skin that i had to try and hide!” you exclaimed, pointing at your neck with a pout. jake laughed, wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you closer.

you pouted again, “you said you’d be gentle!”

jake pulled down the scarf you were wearing with his free hand. he pressed kisses to your neck, right where the marks were, causing you to squirm away from him from the sensitivity. “i’m sorry, baby,” he murmured against your skin. “but you did tell me to go faster.”

you rolled your eyes at him and he laughed more. jake leaned down, his lips brushing up against the shell of your ear. “and i did say to get use to the feeling of your body shaking,” he added huskily, accent thick.

“besides, you should see the red lines and crescent marks you left all over my back. i’m a lifeguard, i can’t just put makeup and a scarf over it!” jake mumbled. you laughed at him.

the tank top he was wearing told you he clearly didn’t care if others saw the marks you left. it’s almost as if he wanted to show them off. the two of you continued your walk.

[ YOU HAVE TO SAY “GOODBYE” — 3RD MONTH ] ✈︎ thirty-one days until you return home.

you sighed deeply as you stretched out your tired joints after a particularly long shift. the sun was blaring on your skin all day and despite the thin clothing of your work uniform, it did nothing to save you from the heat. you desperately just wanted to meet up with jake so the two of you could go swimming before the afternoon sun went down.

in the distance down the boardwalk you caught sight of jake. a smile spread it’s way across your face as you excitedly called out to him. jake didn’t seem to hear you, instead turning the corner to where the water fountains were located. you quickened your step as you tried to catch up with him.

you were just about to call his name again as you turned the corner before you froze in your spot. the smile completely dropped from your face and you tucked yourself against the corner of the wall as your eyes widened at the scene in front of you.

jake and hana stood just a few feet from you. hana was pressed against him, arms lifting to wrap around his neck while one of his lingered around her waist, just barely hovering over the bare skin of her torso.

“oh? but you kissed me, so you obviously still have feelings for me!” you heard hana exclaim.

you moved to lean against the wall away from them, pressing your back to the cool bricks. you felt like your world was coming down around you, once again. how stupid—how foolish of you to believe jake. your chest rose heavily as you tried to catch your breath. and what did hana mean by “still”? was she one of his exes this whole time?

suddenly everything started to fall in place. hana’s constant encouragement of you ending things with jake under the guise of being a “good friend”. jake never coming to see you at work when hana was working the same shift as you. your eyes widened as you finally understood why jake was acting weirdly towards you the week leading up to the beach party.

it was hana he saved from drowning. the very same hana you told him was your good friend. you felt so stupid. you tried hard to keep the tears from brimming in your eyes.

you took a deep breath as you pushed yourself off the wall and another as you steadied yourself to go up to them. “—to mouth, …psycho!” you heard jake say distantly, but the drumming in your ears overtook his words.

you stormed up to them and as soon as jake saw you he jumped five feet away from where he and hana were pressed up against each other. a nervous smile quickly appeared on his face and his mouth opened to speak before he got a good look at the state you were in. the smile fell from his face. “y/n, listen to me… it’s not—“

“you know what, i should’ve listened when people kept telling me you were a fucking player,” you swiftly cut him off, venom dripping from your voice with so much ferocity that it shocked even you. “you never cared about me, did you?”

jake opened his mouth again, eyebrows knitting together, but you didn’t let him speak. “is our spot even our spot, or is that where you take all the girls you want to sleep with? make them feel special and like they’re the only girl in the world for a night before tossing them to the side?”

“nobody knows about that place but you. you’re the only one who knows about it, i swear, y/n. and i’m not playing you or tossing you aside. please, let me expl—“ jake started.

“some people are just made for each other and some people aren’t! and clearly… you and jake aren’t meant for each other,” hana butted in, swinging her attention towards you with a smug smirk. it was like she was a completely different person now that the mask was taken off. she put a hand on your shoulder, “i’m your friend, take it from me!”

you harshly shrugged her off, causing her to scoff loudly. you glared at her fiercely. “shut the fuck up, hana!” you and jake spit out at the same time.

you refused to let the hurt creep into your voice, refused to let the two of them win against you. “i thought you were my friend, hana? how could you? the whole time you were only in my ear to try and give yourself the advantage. you’re both pieces of shit,” you said while staring daggers at her. you attention turned to jake.

it was almost impossible to not let the hurt show through. you had really tried, but looking into jake’s eyes was the last nail in the coffin. his eyes were glossed over and he went to reach for you but you backed away. “all you wanted from me was to get your dick wet. you’re such a fucking asshole, i never should’ve let myself get close to you. never should’ve found that stupid spot and never should’ve met you. all it caused was trouble,” you finally spoke, voice quiet as the tears slipped from your eyes.

you turned to leave but jake grabbed your wrist, you refused to turn and back and look at him. if you did, you knew you wouldn’t be able to stand your ground because despite everything, you still wanted to be with him.

“y/n… please,” jake breathed, his voice breaking.

you roughly yanked your wrist from his grasp and more tears fell from your eyes. “you don’t have to worry about me getting in the way of your game anymore. i’ll be gone by the end of the month and we’ll never see each other again. we’re done, jake.”

you inhaled sharply, pushing down a sob as you quickly walked away from the two of them. behind you, jake kept calling your name, but it only pushed you to go faster until you were running. tears blocked your eyes as you let your feet guide you home.

your body collided with a hard chest and you looked up, sniffling and wiping your tears. “what happened?” jay asked as he steadied you.

all you wanted was to be in the comfort of your bed right now. you couldn’t help the broken sob that left your mouth. “you were right… there aren't any winners in the player’s game. i get that now. thanks for telling me, jay,” you pushed out quickly before hurriedly making your way home.

you pushed through the front door and immediately ran over to where your mother stood half in shock. she wrapped her arms around you, her hand rubbing comforting circles in your back. “oh honey, what is it?” she asked softly between your wracked cries.

you just wished this day never happened.

two weeks have passed since you’ve last seen jake. two weeks have passed since you last saw anybody, really. you’ve mainly stuck to the confines of your mother’s childhood bedroom crying until you no longer had any tears to cry. you laid curled up in your bed, completely numb.

your family, especially your worried mother, tried checking up on you to see what happened but you just kept saying the same thing over and over again, “i’m fine.” or at the very least, you will be once you’re back in your hometown and far away from this one. there was only a little over two more weeks left and then you’ll be rid of all this drama for good.

a little over two more weeks and you’ll never have to see or even think about jake sim ever again.

half of you is finally ready to go home. it was funny how you thought this place would give you a pseudo fresh start. the other half of you… it wants some type of closure.

for the two weeks you’ve been tied to this bed you’ve debated on if you wanted to give jake one last and final goodbye. not for him, but for you. to close this chapter of your life once and for all. you sighed as you heard your phone buzz again.

jake: i know you said you needed space, but please let me explain everything. jake: i promise you nothing happened between me and hana. jake: or any other girl besides you for that matter. jake: please talk to me, y/n.

he’s been texting and occasionally calling you since you left him and hana to their own devices two weeks ago. you haven’t answered a single call or message from him. at first, you read every message that came through and listened to every voicemail, but listening to his voice, accent filled with sadness and guilt, made you feel worse.

you ignored the buzzing as a knock sounded on your door. you didn’t have the energy to move from the blank, white wall you were staring at, nevermind talk, so the knocker entered without a word. the bed dipped beside you and a hand was placed on your shoulder.

“honey, there’s lunch downstairs if you’re hungry,” you mother spoke, softly. you said nothing. you heard her defeated sigh as she stood to her feet.

“mom?” you asked, voice barely above a whisper, as you turned to her. you caught a glimpse in the mirror of your red-rimmed puffy eyes. you looked like you went through the ringer. your mom froze briefly before turning back to you with a hopeful smile. “can we catch an early flight back home?” you continued.

your mother’s smile faltered slightly, but she nodded sadly. just then, another knock was heard. this time you recognized it as the front door. your mom gave you one last sad smile before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her. you went back to staring at the same blank, white wall. a moment later your mother came back.

“it’s for you.”

you sighed softly and pulled yourself up from the bed. you felt like a zombie with your red eyes and dark circles and pajamas that hung limply off your body as you made the trek to the front door. with another sigh, you opened it, breath catching in your throat.

jake stood on the other side, blonde hair looking like he hasn’t brushed it a day in his life and the same red eyes and dark circles as you. he had dark brown roots sprouting from his scalp, despite him always making sure to keep them touched up. he looked rough, but you suppose you didn’t look any better.

“y/n…” jake breathed, like he couldn’t actually believe he’d ever see you standing in front of him again.

in the corner of your vision you saw your mom exit down the hallway to her room, giving the two of you some privacy. you didn’t hear anyone else in the house, so your aunt and cousin must’ve been out. you resisted the urge to slam the door shut in jake’s face. “i don’t want to see you,” you spoke sternly, a bite in your tone.

“i won’t be able to live with myself if you leave believing in a lie. please hear what i have to say,” jake pleaded.

you squeezed your eyes shut as you fought back tears. seeing him was too much. everything, every emotion came slamming against you like a tsunami and you wobbled on your feet. you inhaled a shaky breath and opened your eyes as tears fell from them. “i. don’t. care. i don’t care what you have to say, i don’t want to hear it!” you shuddered, voice progressively getting louder as more and more tears fell from your eyes and his.

you shut your eyes again and focused on steadying your breathing. a hand came to rest on your upper-back. “i think you should go,” you heard your mother’s voice say protectively. you didn’t open your eyes again until you heard jake’s retreating footsteps. only then did you see his defeated retreating figure.

your mom pulled you into a hug and shut the door, effectively blocking your view of jake. you buried your face in her chest as a sob overtook your whole body. your mother held you close, rubbing comforting circles in your back.

the next day you couldn’t get the vision of jake at your doorstep out of your mind. it’s all you thought about all night. the tears that fell from his eyes and his defeated stance as he ushered away. you decided on the half of you that wanted closure.

you: meet me at your spot.

despite you sending that message as you were already halfway there, jake was still there before you like he always was. he was pacing around when you entered, looking even worse than he did yesterday. when he turned and saw you, he immediately started, “y/n, i—“

you held up a hand to stop him. you didn’t come here to hear his excuses. “don’t speak,” you said, and you sounded so done with the world. like nothing even mattered anymore. “i’m not here to hear whatever excuses you’ve come up with, i’m here merely for closure.”

jake’s brows furrowed as you talked and his shoulders slumped. a look of confusion rang loudly on his face as he tried to piece together what you were saying. “i’m going back home early—a couple days from now, actually. so this is goodbye, jake.” you turned to leave but he grabbed your wrist to stop you.

“wait…” jake murmured with a pleading gaze. he pulled a folded up piece of paper from his pocket and pressed it into the hand that held your wrist until your grip tightened around it. you looked down briefly and looked back up at jake with a melancholic look.

“please,” jake begged, voice a whisper. “please don’t go.”

you shook your head at him and went to pull your wrist from his grasp but he held on tighter, refusing to let you slip through his fingers again. “what about the rest of our bucket list—summer splash? we were supposed to go together… and i was supposed to show you more of the hidden spots around town—you can’t leave yet, y/n. you can’t.”

you looked away from him and the way his voice broke as he spoke to you. you pulled your wrist again to escape the shaking from his hands. this time you were able to break free. you shook your head again, “goodbye, jake.”

you didn’t look back at him as you sped away, over the rocks and through the warm sand as tears fell once again from your eyes. you knew if you did you’d stay, and you just didn’t know how much more heartbreak your heart could take. you had to leave, there was no other option. if you looked back at him, you would’ve stayed forever.

as you and your mother packed your things for your upcoming flight, the letter jake gave you burned a hole through your brain from how much you were thinking about it. the feather-light paper weighed a ton of bricks everytime you picked it up that you stuck it in the pocket of your suitcase to hopefully forget about it. you didn’t.

it was all you could think about as you said your goodbyes to your family and as you entered the airport to wait for your flight. you didn’t want to read it, but a part of you had to know what the contents of the letter were.

you slipped the letter out of the pocket it was in as you were boarding your flight, making sure to keep a tight hold of it so you wouldn’t lose it anywhere. only when your mother had fallen asleep did you unfold it and read jake’s words, inhaling sharply as your eyes scanned the first line.

to my love, my one and only,

i’ve never really written a letter to someone before. as i told you, i’m not really the best at expressing my emotions, but i’ve run out of options to get my feelings across to you. i really do hope you read this.

where do i start? from the beginning, i guess… when i pulled you out from the water, you were the prettiest girl i had ever seen. i’ll admit that then, i only saw you at face value. i only saw what you could do for me, and not you as a person. but then i thought that it was fine because it was likely that i’d never see you again, until i saw you at our spot.

something in my brain just automatically clicked and i had to get to know you; know your name and all of your interests and hobbies and every single little mundane thing about you. i just knew i had to know you. put aside my ways and be someone worthy of even being your friend. so that’s what i did, or at least, that’s what i tried really hard to do. it turns out when you’ve screwed over as many people as i did, karma comes to bite you in the ass quick.

but even then, i couldn’t help falling in love with you. i wanted to spend every waking moment with you, just breathing the same air. unfortunately, that didn’t stop me from fucking up repeatedly. i got jealous, and albeit—even a little possessive, and got out of line. i really hurt you and words can’t describe how sorry i am.

i’ll say it once, and i’ll say it a million more times if i have to. i meant what i said when i told you that you’re the only want i wanted. not hana, not some random other girl, you. you’re the one i want, the one that i desperately need, and now you’re slipping through my fingers because of my own dumb actions.

i should’ve been honest with you and maybe things wouldn’t have ended like this. i’m sorry that hana and i’s past ruined our relationship, and i’m sorry that i let so many things come between us to ruin it as well.

about two years ago, hana and i dated. it didn’t last very long, only four months, but she’s made my life hell ever since trying to get back with me. no, i didn’t cheat on her or anything of that sort, we just didn’t click. and i don’t know if it was my reputation or what, but she’s been trying to tell me in any way she could that that was a mistake.

i don’t know how much you overheard, but none of it was true. she cornered me and wrapped herself around me, saying how i must’ve still had feelings for her since we “kissed.” the kiss in question being me giving her mouth to mouth and saving her life. i told her that she was a psycho to think that mouth to mouth—saving a person’s life—was kissing. that’s when you found us.

i would do anything to fix this, anything for another chance with you. prove to you that i’m someone you can be with and not have to worry about what my next move will be. if i’m being completely honest—and i’m not saying this to try and manipulate you or anything, so please don’t take it that way—but over the course of the summer i really have fallen for you, y/n. with these unfortunate circumstances, it made me realize that i love you, i really do. and i’ll fight for you, because our relationship can’t end on this note. i refuse.

i’m so sorry for everything i’ve done and everything that has happened because of me. and the worst part is, i’m not sure if i’ll ever even be able to tell you any of this in person. i’m not even sure if i’ll ever even see you again, but i have have hope that i will. like the poets say, or whatever, two people who are meant to be will always find a way back to each other. and we are meant to be.

no matter how long it take, i’ll wait for you.

i’m also sorry for this shitty fucking letter, i tried to be all poetic and in tune with my emotions, but i got do clue how to do any of that shit. i hope my emotions still shine through, though. i love you.

always yours, jake

you clamped a hand over your mouth as you suppressed your sobs, looking at the letter through your now blurry vision. you didn’t know how to feel, if you were being honest with yourself. it took your mind a while just to process everything he was saying. the one thing that stuck with you at the moment was the fact that he loved you. jake loved you, and you were coming to the startling realization that you loved him too.

you’ve never loved anyone romantically, but the feeling was undeniable as anything but. you loved him and he loved you.

tucking the letter neatly and safely into the pocket of your carry-on bag, you tried to focus on everything that has happened this summer. tried to name every emotion that came up and categorize every thought. you still didn’t come up with an inkling on how to feel. even if jake’s words were true, which you suspect they were, that doesn’t change all the hurt he put you through because of his selfishness.

but still, you regretted ending everything how you did. now you were millions of miles in the air far away from where jake was and the only thought in your head was how you missed him already. how you wished you kissed him one last time.

how you wished you were next to him laying under the stars where the rest of the world melted away.

but it was too late. you had already made your decision, and you had no choice but to stick with it.

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thefrontofmymind · 1 year

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Proof Positive 4

a/n: i know, i know. its been a little while. i've been a bit distracted but i'm getting back into it all

series masterlist

It felt like your life had lurched to a stop when Ross went away for tour. On one side of the coin, all your work you’d been doing for months leading up to this tour had finally been set in motion and now you were supposed to just move on to the next project, and then on the other side of it, you were without the father of your baby. A baby that had been making it so that you could hardly swallow anything other than water without feeling a constant wave of nausea, even then, that was difficult to stomach.

It was a hard goodbye. You two had spent every day together for the past six weeks, you didn’t realise how much you’d preemptively miss him. You had to say goodbye at his flat, to keep with the secret between you both–it was still so new, you couldn’t quite wrap your heads around what was really happening yet, so you couldn’t just tell everyone about you three yet.

Once he’d left you in his flat, you just cried. You probably cried just as much as when you found out you were pregnant. Though that was for fear, this was just pure desolation. You texted each other constantly but with the time difference, his constant travel, and you now having some serious fatigue that resulted in many naps, it was hard to keep consistent.

You had to go to your ultrasound alone. It wasn’t even until you were sitting in the waiting room that you got the fear that something could be terribly wrong and you would be alone to deal with it. Yes, you were pregnant, but there could be every chance in the world that something could be wrong with the baby and you wouldn’t be able to carry it. Or that it was all just a false alarm.

In a trick of fate, there was some emergency and your doctor was far behind schedule so you had all the time in the world to dwell on your anxiety. You watched the other people in the waiting room with you; a woman around your age, quite a bit further along than you, with the biggest rock you’d ever seen on her left hand, a woman holding hands with another much older than her, her hair may have been greying out but their smiles were identical. Looking around you’d never felt so alone. You’d tried to busy yourself by scrolling through your phone but nothing could distract you from the hat trick of your melancholy, your nausea, and the fluorescent lights giving you a migraine.

You’d never felt such relief as when a nurse fetched you from the waiting room and led you down the hall to the ultrasound room. You met the sonographer, and she explained what she was looking for, confirmed that you were around six weeks along, and it was time.

You tried to keep your eyes off the black screen, splattered with white splotches, you didn’t want to look, you didn’t want to jinx it at all.

Until a pounding filled the room, and your heart just melted.

“There we are!” The sonographer said excitedly. “Baby was hiding from me for a bit there!”

Now you couldn’t take your eyes off the screen. Watching as measurements were taken of the little dot that was unmistakable on the screen.

“We’re looking good…” She said again, writing down a few notes on the pad next to her. “Can you see alright?”

You nodded. “Do you mind if I record a bit of it? The heartbeat?”

“By all means,” she smiled. “And I’ll make sure you get some printouts.”

“Thank you. The dad’s in South America for work and he was gutted to miss this…”

“There’ll be plenty more things he can join you for,” she answered.

You recorded a video as the sound echoed throughout the room. It was almost hypnotising, the beat over and over again. Each time you thought you’d gotten a handle on it, you could finally wrap your head around it all, you were surprised each time it just got more and more real. And you still had eight months left of this.

“Well that’s it for us today, I’ll send this all over to your OB, and I’ll get you to book in for another scan in about two…three weeks time so we can keep an eye on bub.” She gave you a tissue to wipe the gel off your abdomen. “And I’ve sent the photos to the printer in reception so just ask them for the photos.”

Walking out of the blue-tinted building, you were immediately on your phone.

would you look at who has the best beating heart?? [video attachment]

You were only four hours ahead of him, it was mid-morning for him, he’d see it soon enough. And soon enough, he did. Merely a minute after it was sent, your phone began ringing, you answered it without even looking at the ID.

“Holy shit!” Ross laughed, which you returned. “I…don’t know what to say!”

“Same!” You giggled. “We’re having a baby!”

The giddiness between the both of you was palpable. You both giggled through your conversation–you told him about the appointment, all the things the sonographer told you, and he told you how the tour was going, every detail of every show so far.

You heard someone talking to Ross, before he said to you, “we have soundcheck, I’ll call you later though?”

“I have a meeting with Atlantic Records people at 4 so in like two hours, I’ll text you when it’s over.”

“Alright…love you.”

“Love you too.”

It was only as you put your phone back in your bag after hanging up that you realised what you both said to each other. You didn’t even think about it, it fell so naturally out of your mouth. There was no fear, no worry, just a warmth spread through your chest–combatting the gust of early April wind that was blowing against you.

You wondered what Ross was thinking, whether it was something he planned to say or if it was as much of an instinct as it was to you. You hoped he didn’t worry if you would say it back, because obviously you would’ve–and you did. You pictured him as giddy as you, trying to focus on his soundcheck and not let the rest of the band suspect anything.

You couldn’t think about it for too long, making your way to your office, you had to turn that whole part of your brain off. It was work time.

You were always grateful for the respect that you had at work. Though, you supposed, it came with the commitment you’d put in, being one of the first workers for Dirty Hit, and staying with them for close to a decade now, it was very well earnt.

You got through your day blocking out the excitement, the giddiness, the nausea. Only finally taking a breath in the refuge of your home. You checked the time, four hours back is…three in the afternoon. You pressed call on the contact of the man you loved.

“Hello?” You heard chatter through the other side of the phone when he answered, laughs and yells–nothing unexpected.

“It’s me,” you answered.

“Hold on,” he said without another word. You heard the noise get quieter. “How are you?”

You let out a huff. “I love you!” You said with a laugh.

You heard him chuckle. “I love you too!”

You didn’t think you’d ever get over the feeling. The exhilaration you were feeling every time you two spoke now. Even just the thought of him could make you blush now.

“I wanted to say it properly,” you said. “Was thinking about it all day.”

“Were you? Daydreaming about me while you’re supposed to be working…” He teased. “Remember you’re working for me!”

“Sure, if that’s the way you think it works…” you quipped, which he laughed at.

“Either way I. Love. You.” He emphasised each word.

Then there was another voice, muffled but still just a little audible if you focussed. “Who you love, huh?” Unmistakably Matty.

“None of your fucking business, mate,” Ross answered.

“Fine! Fine if you don’t want to tell us…” You heard Matty say. “But we’ll all find out eventually…”

“Oh I’m sure,” Ross said. You heard whatever door Matty entered through shut again before Ross turned his attention back to you. “Sorry about that.”

“You’re acting like I haven’t known Matty as long as I’ve known you. I know what I’m in for here!”

“Yeah.” He breathed a sigh of relief. “We need to tell them eventually though.”

“We still have time.”

It went without saying. We still have time to actually fathom what’s happening here.

“I know,” he said. “Hate to go but…I have to.”

“Alright, knock ‘em dead,” you answered. “Love you.”

You could practically hear his smile through the phone. “Love you too”

#ross macdonald x reader #ross macdonald imagine #ross macdonald fic

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lahotelbellamuerte · 1 month

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𝐇𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐥 𝐎𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐧 - floor seven. capabilities

series masterlist ! current: capabilities ! next: weddings are always so fun

pairing; slight five x phoenix warnings; zombies basically, crushes word count; 6.8k notes; none for this one, blast from the bast maybe

A SILENT CRACK IN THE AIR SOUNDED AS FIVE APPEARED. With no other than Phoenix over his shoulder. Carefully he placed on her the bed, along with her collapsed cane beside her.

His eyes trailed over her as she peacefully slept the liquor away. He couldn't help his hand as he moved her red glasses away from her face. It was Eight, but at the same time, it was the furthest thing away that she had been. The girl currently on the bed, remarked on every single thing he ever said.

Not once did he notice his fingers trailing over her soft skin. Naturally bruised lips, long lashes brushing against her cheeks. All to reach her vibrant purple hair that framed her face, along with the fringe that finished right above her eyebrows.

Phoenix may have looked like Eight, but he now understood that she was everything but. Afraid of riding motorcycles, couldn't see through snow storms, and definitely couldn't hold her liquor for shit.

Snapping out of the trance he just placed her glasses on the table beside the bed, and he blinked with a crack away from the room.

The older Five plagued her dreams each time she closed her eyes. The man with hair draped over his eyes grabbed her shoulders.

"Save him, do whatever it takes," his voice echoed around her, no longer the calming beach that she had first seen.

Rather instead, the two stood in the middle of a floating piece of rubble. Around her were buildings, houses, cars, and trees, all floating. Swirling around her and the vibrant red sand.

Turning back to Five he once again spoke to her, but nothing reached her ears, "Five! Wait!"

Sitting up with a gasp she found herself in an unfamiliar room. Moving off the bed she dropped to the ground, hands grasping the dingy carpet. Taking a breath, her hands began glowing a red spreading all over the ground. Slowly the entire building began coming to an image to her.

Counting each person who was in the building, hearing their heartbeats, and their thoughts.

"Back to Hotel Obsidian, it seems," she mumbled to herself and grabbed her glasses and cane from the bed.

Not before raiding a suitcase by her feet. It was time for an outfit change. Not to say it was the best choice seeing the line of danger the whole world was getting into. Stopping by the tailors in the hotel she let them choose from the suitcase.

She was left with a white turtle neck long-sleeve with thumbholes, white straight-fit jeans along with some new red cowgirl boots.

The woman with a French accent kissed her fingers, "Muah, my best work as of yet," she mumbled then pushed the teen girl with her glasses and cane.

Phoenix just waved and left the room walking down the empty halls of the hotel. But before she could make her way to the breakfast area a voice called out to her.

"Bird you're awake great!" he called and grabbed her by the elbow, his eyes trailing her new outrageous outfit. When did she have time to change?

The teen had barely gotten dressed and was already dragged somewhere new, "Where are you taking me?" she mumbled, "I haven't eaten yet," she whined.

"You're going to my family meeting," he added and blinked away back to old Hargreeves home.

As they arrived Five watched the girl make her way to a wall, touching it with her hand, "Jesus your dad has a big house," she mumbled dragging her fingers along the wall.

Five rolled his eyes and pulled her towards the living room, "Come on Bird, no one has time for your freakish eyesight," he said.

Her cane left soft taps on the large carpet as she moved along, "How are you alive?" A male voice called as he looked over to the purple-haired girl.

Phoenix cocked her head and turned over to the man who had spoken to her, "I'll have you know I've always been alive, just no eyesight," she said with a scoff.

Ben smirked at the sight, this one happened to look more feisty than the last one, "So you came back just for me?" he asked moving closer to her, "Knew you couldn't get enough of me."

The purple-haired girl scoffed, "Sorry to burst your bubble mate, but I don't know you," she said and tapped her cane on the ground, sending a weak enough pulse to make him stumble.

Five just pulled the girl away before she started another fight with the man. But he didn't miss the look Ben continued to give Phoenix.

The two now standing away from any of the families, "Oh, I'd like a cookie," Phoenix said smelling the desert from her spot.

As she was about to make her way there, Five stopped her, "Let me, you cause trouble everywhere you go," he mumbled and blinked off to Grace to grab a couple of cookies, "Here now stay quiet."

The girl just huffed and shrugged her shoulders, "Fine," she replied and began eating some of the cookies FIve had given her.

"Welcome, please make yourselves at home," Fei says as her raven caws and flies over her.

Allison in her chair rolled her eyes at the statement, "Bitch this is our home," she says looking over to the woman.

At this Phoenix just shoves more cookies in her mouth, she loves family drama. Her house life wasn't all that exciting.

"Where the hell is Viktor, Klaus, and Chris?" Diego then asked looking around the room to see them missing.

Five sighed, "With our luck, probably Kugelblitzed by now," he responded not caring at his point.

The purple-haired girl smacks his arm, "Five you can't say that about your siblings," she mumbled to him.

The time traveler just looked over to her and shoved another cookie in her mouth, "Hush, Bird."

Ben who had been idly listening to the talking clapped his hands, "We don't have time for idle chitchat," paused his eyes landing on the girl standing beside Five, "But for you anytime," he said his voice lower, "Everyone let's sit down."

Five glared at the man, "In your dreams, stay away from her," he hissed and pulled Phoenix to sit beside him.

The girl with her mouth full of cookies looked over at Five, "This is the brother you mentioned," she whispered words hard to understand with food in her mouth.

Five leans over and clicks his tongue, "No this Ben is from your universe, our Ben is dead," he replied simply.

Luther looked around at the family, both of them, "So, uh, this is nice. All of us here together. One big happy family," he said chuckling nervously, then moving to Sloan, "I feel like I'm sweaty. Am I sweating?"

Sloan leaned up and touched his face, "No, you're fine," she said pulling him to his chair.

Ben rolled his eyes at the two, "Look, I know there's been bad blood between us—"

"—You killed my wife," Five said with a deadpan look back at Ben.

He lifted a finger, "No, it was our father that did that, but whatever. Bygones, right?"

Diego raised his bandaged hand, "Question?" Ben says looking over at the man.

"Yeah, if I kill you, do we get our Ben back?" He asks seriously, making Fei chuckle on her end, "Hypothetically."

Ben again rolled his eyes, "Keep talking, and your hand won't be the only thing bleeding."

Five annoyed at the back-and-forth pitches in, "Okay, if the testosterone twins are done, I'd like to get back to a plan."

Before anyone could get back on track, Vikor walked in quickly, "Where is he?" he asked.

Allison on the other end of the group looks at him, "Viktor," she greets him.

The man looked at everyone's brows furrowed, "What did you do to Harlan?"

"They didn't do anything," Allison said looking at Viktor, "I did. I killed Harlan."

Phoenix made a face at the news, "Holy shit, I thought you guys were incapable of killing," she paused to poke Five, "Well except you, but this is good," she says in a whisper looking back at what was happening.

Tears welled up in Viktor's eyes at the news, "I...I don't...I don't understand, why?" he asks heartbreakingly at the news that the little boy he saved just a few days ago is now dead.

She shrugged, "Because he didn't deserve to live.

Ben then moved and squeezed himself between Phoenix and Five, one arm around her. A bowl of cheese balls is in his lap as he offers.

The girl didn't even feel his arm around her shoulder, picking up cheese balls and shoving them in her mouth watching the show. Five just clenches his jaw at the sight.

"What? Because they said so? You don't have to listen to them." she says pointing at Ben and his siblings.

"20 bucks on the little one," Ben whispered as he watched too.

Phoenix nodded, "I'm with you, Allison's a bitch," she replies grabbing more snacks.

Five makes a face and nods, "I'll take that action."

"They don't get to tell us what to do," Viktor adds still equally as sad at the news, "You could've talked to me. We could've figured out something else."

Allison rolls her eyes, "So, what if you could lie to us again and take his side?" she rebuttals.

Phoenix shrugs, "She's not wrong," she whispers.

Viktor shook his head, "That's not what happened," he said voice low.

The Rumor furrowed her brows, "Oh, no, that's exactly what happened. I know Harlan killed all of our mothers," she then says dropping a big bomb.

"What?" Diego exclaimed.

Five was equally as shocked, "What?"

Luther looked over from Allison to Viktor, "Shit."

"Bloody plot twist," Lila adds taking a bite of her Twizzlers.

Phoenix leans forward and grabs more cheese balls, "Said it sister," she says Australian accent dragging it out.

Viktor was silent, "Who told you that?"

"Harlan," Allison replied then cocked her head to her brother, "After you lied about it to my face."

Diego didn't want to take sides but it was the mother's thing, "Is that true Viktor? Harlan started all this?"

Having no choice but to come to clean Viktor confirmed, "Yeah, but he didn't mean to hurt anyone. He—"

Before he could finish Five piped in, "How do you know?" he asked jaw clenched.

"Because I knew him. And he was sweet and kind until I made him like us. Okay? So, I screwed him up. And if you need someone to blame I'm right here—"

Arms crossed Allison continued her dark glare toward Viktor, "What makes you think I don't?" she cuts him off.

Viktor's eyes gleamed as the tears idly sat, "This wasn't about saving the world. This was about hurting me. Payback for—" he pauses when Allison stands from her seat.

Phoenix moved her hand out to hold Fives, "Oh shit, this is getting real," she mumbled not realizing she looked for him, but Five never made a move to remove her hand.

"Go on," Allison says standing before Viktor, "Say her name."

Luther feeling the tension got up, "You know what? Maybe we should all just take a minute—" but paused when Allison listed a hand, "—okay," he quipped and sat back down.

"Did killing Harlan bring Claire back?" he asks.

Equally as quickly Allison replies, "Did protecting him bring Sissy back? It was just as personal for you—"

"—I didn't kill anyone!" He then yells out of frustration.

"But you risked everyone! Do you know what that felt like?" Allison says eyes moving to look at every part of Viktor, "Watching you fight harder to protect the man who helped destroy my daughter than you ever did to bring her back?"

The purple haired could feel and see the powers coming off them in waves. Even if they weren't using them, she could tell these two were powerful.

"I don't know how to bring Claire back. Okay? No one does. But I was there for you. I tried. I was—" Viktor adds, hoping to get her to understand what he was going through.

Allison scoffs, "To what? Help me grieve? God, this whole family is so quick to tell me to suck up my pain and so worried about fixing yours! Somebody had to pay because you never seem to." she says through her teeth, "Destroy the world, kill Pogo, almost kill me, and for what? So we can all run around and clean up your mess? Eight saved us both times after you almost end the world!" she yells again, thinking of the blonde girl who would understand the love of a mother, "And where is she now? Dead! I'm sick of it."

Five never was a fan of anyone talking of his late wife, but with how this was going, he knew it wouldn't be long before a fight broke out, "Take it easy Allison."

"Okay, I—" Viktor starts but Allison cuts him off.

"Shut your mouth!" she yells voice echoing as her eyes glow an eerie gold, her powers activating, "Every time I build a new life for myself, you end the world and take it from me!" she yells at Viktor as he can't speak.

Five furrows his brows at this, "How are you doing this without saying, 'I heard a rumor'?" he asks shocked about this new extent of her powers.

Phoenix now stands from her seat, "She was gifted powers from Harlan," she says feeling her old aura mixed with this much darker, heavier one.

Allison looks over at the blind girl, "Your girlfriend is right for once," she hisses, then looks back at Viktor, "We should have left you in the basement."

At this Diego stands knowing it was taking it a little too far, "Woah, Allison take it easy!"

Before much could be said, Viktor backhands Allison making her stumble. The man looked around and left the mansion.

"You okay?" Five asks Allison hoping to calm things down.

But the Rumor didn't bat an eyelash, "I'm fine. Let's continue."

Ben smiled at the action, "Sweet, you guys fight just like us," he said as he ate a few more cheese balls.

Diego couldn't say much, he knew whatever just happened was just pushing the boundaries, "Nah, man. We don't fight like this," he replied, watching where Viktor had just been standing.

The Australian whistled lowly as she stood, "Welp that was something," then she paused to look over at Fei and the remaining Sparrows, "Okay will you show us the Kugelblitz?"

The short-haired woman nodded and motioned everyone to follow her down the steps. As the two families reached the steps. Phoenix couldn't help but frown at the feeling of the power.

As Five stood beside her, she leaned towards him, "This won't be easy, I'm telling you this now. This thing is surging with the most energy I've seen anything have," she mumbled.

Five scoffed at her words, "Yeah I could see it Bird. And it's going to take the whole damn universe."

Ben looked over at Five who was analyzing the bright orb, "What is it made of?"

Sloan looked over and shrugged, "Micro black holes collapsing at increasingly short intervals," she said to the teen near her.

"Why aren't we getting sucked inside?" He asks raising a brow.

Sloan shrugged again, "Honestly we don't know," she said looking back at the bright light, "You shouldn't exist here, and neither should this."

The teen hummed, "An impossibility for an impossibility," he paused to look over at Phoenix who hadn't taken her eyes off the light, "The universe is a sucker for balance."

"Grace has been tracking the waves. The next one is due in three hours," Fei informs the room.

Diego who was standing behind looked over at the people in the other room, "Alright so what do we do?"

Sloan looks over at him, "We trap it," she simply responds.

"Dyson sphere?" Five questions assuming he was right.

The woman nodded, "Yeah," she said confirming his assumption.

The teen clicks his tongue, "Okay, Confinement factor?"

Pheonix snaps from her daze and looks over at Five and Sloan. Building off each other by the second.

"0.98 at peak energy flux," she replies with a smile.

"Tensile strength?"

"UTS ceiling of 10,000 gigapascals," she responds equally as quickly.

Phoenix turns to look at Lila, mouthing a "What the fuck." The two shrugging at the jargon.

"I'm sorry but are we supposed to find this hot?" The two said in unison looking the two back and forth.

All she got from the two was a glare from Five who rolled his eyes at her.

Allison from the corner of the room looks over at them, "What do you think, Five?"

"Could work..." he paused to look at the others, "or we could all die horribly."

Phoenix snorted, "Speak for yourself, I'll outlive everyone in this room."

Five rolled his eyes, but looked at the Sparrows, "I'm in."

Fei lifted her hand, "We don't need you," she paused and looked around, "For this to work we need Sloane, Lila, Christoper, Phoenix—" again she paused to look in her direction, "That's if you have the same skills as Eight did—and—"

Allison cut them off before they could finish, "—Viktor. Of course," she finished and walked out of the basement, with a stomp. She couldn't believe that after the argument of how he was nothing but useless. He had to be a part of the plan.

Sloane looked over at Phoenix and raised a brow, "How do we know you're anything like Eight?" she then asked, not believing that the teen before her would be of any use.

The purple-haired girl just smiled, "You don't," was all she simply replied with, moving her hand to push her glasses up her nose. She might have been forced to join this little club, but she didn't owe anyone to show her powers, "I'll supervise," she shrugged.

After everyone had dispersed and went their separate ways, Pheonix stayed behind to look at the glowing orb. The powerful energy, pulsed in small waves as she stood near. Somehow it felt warm to stand near it, the distant humming that it emitted, that no one else could hear.

Something about it felt familiar but she couldn't place what it was. Eight? She had been a woman with great power, a strange pattern in her abilities. But it wasn't Eight, her powers had been a bright light, and different waves of energy merged with hers.

"What are you thinking about?" A voice came behind her.

The purple-haired girl said nothing for a moment, "There is something familiar about this energy, I've felt it before."

She then felt Five standing beside her, "How would you have this type of energy before?" he mumbled, "There hasn't been anyone in this timeline that didn't belong, before us."

Pheonix shrugged at his response, "I don't know, but I've felt it," she paused for a moment, "it feels like thousands of shockwaves going off at once. You feel it deep in your gut."

Before Five could say anything else, Phoenix gasped and gripped her chest. The teen grabbed at her shaking figure, "Hey what's wrong?"

She turned her head to him, "I got to go, it's Chris," she mumbled.

Five, "Bird, wait—" but she was gone before he could calm her down about what the issue was.

She didn't know exactly the feeling, but the boy she had grown to know, was in danger. Not only was he the one to go and find her, but he knew what Eight's plan was.

Phoenix stumbled as she landed in new territory. She could feel Chris' flickering energy. Doing her best to register her senses, she looked around in horror. It was her parent's house. The very one she grew up in.

But this time all the greenery, and large trees surrounding her home were gone. All that was left was the burnt chard leftover from the trees. But it didn't feel as if anything was burnt.

"Phoenix!" a voice called to her from behind, "You shouldn't be here, you need to leave."

The purple-haired girl turned to Chris who had made his way to her. She could feel his heartbeat racing miles a minute.

"Chris, what is happening here?" She asked turning to the house that was in ruins, "Are my parents okay? Who did this?"

Chris shook his head and grabbed her shoulder, "Look you have to leave, this will not end well. The Kugelblitz has two points in this universe that it will not destroy, one is the hotel, and the other is here, but you can't be here," he rushed out hoping that she would leave.

The girl furrowed her brows, "I cannot leave you here Chris, you're hurt, I could feel your energy weakening," she replied not wanting to leave him alone.

He shook his head, "I don't care, you need—"

Before he could finish his sentence a large blast pushed them both tumbling on the burnt ground. The girl groaned at being pushed to the ground. It had been a very long time since she didn't see any attack coming towards her. Lifting her head, her heart skipped a beat at the sight.

"Eight?" Phoenix whispered as she pushed herself off the ground, "I thought you were—"

The blonde stood before the two in pristine condition. Her blonde hair ran past her shoulders, her uniform clean and untouched, as she had never been stabbed in the first place.

"Dead?" she asked, but her voice wasn't the one she had heard once before. This one was dark and sinister. Nothing alluring as it usually is, "I'm anything but dead, sweetheart, seems they already replaced me."

Chris then got up, "They didn't replace you, this is your plan Eight!" he yelled fists beginning to glow a yellow.

The blonde smirked at the sight, "I didn't plan this, I wouldn't want to see my family parading around with a danger like her."

The teen boy snarled at Eight, "You don't know what you're talking about, Phoenix is here to help us, which is what you told us to do."

Phoenix couldn't help but feel a little nervous at the thought of Eight knowing the things she had done.

As if she was reading her mind Eight chuckled and began twirling a piece of hair on her finger, "Oh little old bird didn't tell you the horrors she's committed?"

Phoenix twitched at the sound of that, "Please don't," she begged this wouldn't end the way she had imagined it.

A much darker laughter came from Eight at the thought, "She killed her classmates when she was a young girl, killed a whole bar of men, a full floor of hospital employees—"

Before she could finish her sentence Chris had stepped forward to punch the blonde woman, "You don't know what you're talking about!" he hissed moving to punch her again, just to swing at nothing as she had disappeared.

"Oh you poor souls working with the devil incarnation," she giggled now walking on the branches of the burnt trees, "So much blood on her hands, you wouldn't even know.." she cackled appearing again behind Phoenix to brush a hand on her back.

Phoenix flinched at the feeling, "Y-you don't know that full story," she tried to say, but no matter the story, she still did have all that blood on her hands. All those lives were taken because she couldn't control her abilities.

"You don't owe her an explanation," Chris then hissed appearing with a crack to punch the blonde woman onto the ground. On the ground, the blonde yelped, but quickly got up and swiped her left leg to trip him.

He gave him a sinister smile, "And you don't know who you're messing with," she hissed her bright-colored power now intermixed with shades of black, twitching her fingers she surrounded his neck with her power, "Now you're going to die for it, you little pest."

Chris began to choke at the feeling, "You bitch," he hissed and made his hand move, throwing a large tree over her. Releasing from the hold he coughed. Walking over to her and grabbing a knife from his pocket. He moved his hand to stab her heart, but she rolled over before she could.

Her hands gripped the dirt, powers falling again until her golden hair floated around her. Eight moved her head, looking up, and dug her fingers in the dirt. Thick roots sprouted up from the ground forcing themselves to grab Chris in any way.

"You think you and your little knife will do anything?" she asked moving to stand the roots still following her every single movement.

The teen huffed but ran forward, doing his best to avoid all the flying roots. Sliding under them, and jumping from root to root, "You underestimate me, sister," he called, making replicas of himself and going after her.

He didn't know who this was in front of him, but it couldn't be the Eight that he knew. The girl he had grown to know cared for him when she had no memory. And even when she got her memories back, she had devised a plan to save her family. Now, who the fuck was the person that currently fought him?

His clones hopped over and under the vines, all fighting their way to reach Eight.

Eight turned her head when she felt one of the clones get a little too close. Twitching her fingers she sent a vine to impale it in the heart—the fake version of Chris turning to dust.

"Is that the best you can do?" she laughed continuing to kill the clones that all got too close.

The real Chris who stood on a much taller tree rolled his eyes, twirling the knife in hand, his clones followed the movement. Flinging it towards the blonde who stood in the middle of the sentient tree roots.

Eight only smirked at the sight of the knives, before they could reach her, she took control of each of them. Stopping them inches from her, her eerie glowing eyes trailed over the clones resting on the twisting roots. Before landing on the real Chris that was sitting on the tallest tree.

"I got you," she whispered, her fingers twitching once more turning the natural direction of the knives towards the teen, "Bye, Chris," she called.

Pheonix knew who Eight was through the name. She was a mother, sister, and wife. Every story that was said about her was told with love and admiration. Even when she infiltrated the Commission all those times, they all admired the woman. But what had they done to her? Who had made her this way?

Not wasting a second more she dropped her cane and began running towards Chris, "Enough!" she called.

Through her voice a pulse was felt on the ground, Eight looked up at her knives and watched them all convert from the darker shades of colors to a brilliant red, "Oh shit—" was all she said, not having enough time to react as the knives once more turned, but each one began to lengthen, all quickly landing back through Eight.

The blonde who somehow was still alive looked over at the purple-haired girl. Her power was so effortless, the way she had converted the weapon into something so different, "You don't even know who you are," she said as blood began to fall from the sides of her mouth.

Pheonix didn't move from her position, she couldn't see the spears surrounded by her red energy, "I know who I am, I protect those who are in need, when did you stop doing that?"

Eight scoffed and began laughing, the blood continuing to fall from her mouth, then coughed to look at the girl's gleaming glasses, "You don't know anything..." she huffed out before letting her last breath, and her head fell limp. Blonde hair covering her face.

Chris let out a breath at the sight, "I'm sorry but you couldn't have done that sooner?" he called running a hand through his hair, "You transformed my knives, and made them real," he whispered leaning closer to look at the spear that protruded from the ground.

Phoenix sighed, "I try not to use any of my abilities all that much," she said walking over to her cane and picking it up.

The teen shook his head, "Uh, no, you should use them, I mean with the power you have—" he paused to walk alongside her, "You could handily take down the sparrows."

"I will not be doing anything," she replied and grabbed his arm, warping them back to the mansion.

As the two returned, Chris stumbled as they landed, "That felt weird," he mumbled holding his stomach, "It felt as if all my intestines were stretched out and put back together."

The teen rolled her eyes from under her glasses, "And you're stupid," she replied walking forward to where she felt Five was.

But before she could do anything more the building started shaking, Five came out of the room and caught sight of the Phoenix.

"Bird we have to go," he called rushing over to the girl that was trying to stabilize.

Phoenix turned to him, "I wasn't even gone that long, what did you guys do," she said grabbing onto his forearm, "I could feel it, that energy is stronger now," she added.

Five nodded, "I'll explain later, we have to go," he said and grabbed her, blinking out of sight. While Chris was quick and grabbed Ben before he got swallowed by the orb.

And then suddenly everyone was back at the hotel, the place where it had all begun.

"Well I also have news for you," Phoenix said as they stood by the railing at the hotel.

Five turned to her and raised a brow, "Don't go proclaiming your love to me now," he mumbled.

The teen scoffed and tapped her cane on the railing, the one he was holding, sending an electrical current through it.

Five hissed and stepped back looking down to see the red sparks die down, "It was a joke," he replied placing his hands back on the railing, "What is it that you wanted to tell me?"

Phoenix sighed, "When I felt Chris in danger and got there—" Before she could finish Five cuts in.

"Okay where is there?" he asked turning to look over at her.

"Five shut the fuck up," she hissed and sighed once more, "I found him at my old house, my parents to be more precise, but he wasn't alone," she said pausing, "Eight was there."

At this the boy froze and looked at her with wide eyes, she could feel his heart rate increase at the mention of his late wife, "What do you mean she was there? I held her dead body in my arms."

Phoenix shrugged at his words, "I wasn't there to confirm that, but she was in the flesh, but not like the woman you remember Five. She actively tried to kill Chris and me."

Five's grip on the railing tightened, knuckles beginning to turn white, "Where is she?"

"I killed her," she simply answered.

He looked down and tightly shut his eyes at the thought, "Show me, I know you can," he mumbled his body visibly shaking now.

Phoenix nodded knowing what he was talking about. Leaning her cane towards the railing, she moved both hands to grip the side of his face, fingers glowing the familiar red.

Five's blue eyes began glowing red, and then he was transported to the memory of his wife fighting the two. He furrowed his eyebrows at the sight, that wasn't Eight. She wouldn't ever willingly bring danger to her loved ones. Someone had taken control of her. Not only did he see Eight's new dark form, but he felt Phoenix's fear, nerves, and stress.

But he felt a warmth pitter against his chest as she stepped forward to save the boy from Eight's wrath. But then he got a glimpse of Phoenix's powers, the way the knives all lengthed so quickly, just to spear Eight everywhere. He pulled away right when he got a glimpse of her dead eyes.

"That wasn't her," he mumbled shaking his head, trying to think of any reason she would be acting this way.

"So I've been told," she replied and pulled away completely, hand moving back to grab her cane, "any clue of what's wrong with her?"

Five was silent for a moment, looking down below the railing, "No, she was fine when we arrived, a little jittery," he paused to look over at Phoenix, "but that was probably from her plan coming to motion."

"Do you think she knew that this would happen?" she then asked now curious how far ahead Eight knew what would happen.

At that, the teen paused and bit his lip in thought, "I honestly don't know, after her memory came back in the 60's she was more alert, sort of not there anymore."

Pheonix nodded, "She was living her future already..." she said softly, "I can't do that, how is she able to see the future?"

The two were silent for a moment also thinking of the possibilities. That was before Five broke the silence, "I have a theory that you two are different sides of the same coin."

The blind girl raised a brow, "Elaborate."

Five nodded and turned to look at her, "Okay, from what I've seen the two of you can do it. There are things that both of you don't share, maybe hers is just seeing into the future," he paused again tapping his chin, "Have you jumped to any different timelines?"

Phoenix nodded, "I have plenty of times, I got on the radar of the Commission a little too many times."

At this Five scoffed, "Of course, you were the troubled teen that appeared in different times," he sighed closing his eyes and remembering hearing of a young girl who purposely wanted to change the future, "You're lucky neither of us was ever assigned to you."

Five chuckled at his words and looked at Phoenix who said nothing. He waved his hand before her face, and snapping out of her trance, she gripped his hand, "She's sought me out multiple times, it's just coming to me now."

He had no recollection of the said visits, it seemed his wife would hide more things than she led on, "How do you know that?"

She shook her head, "I just remembered—I mean I knew about it before since I knew a part of her plan. But just now I remembered that when I was a little girl she was there, when I was a teen she was there, and multiple sightings of her being near. I never put it together until now."

Five knew that his wife was always thinking ahead, be he didn't know this ahead. What had she seen in the future that warranted this much secrecy? That she knew she was going to die? Of who she would become? Did Reginald know of Phoenix?

"That's odd indeed, we now have two things to worry about," he mumbled bringing his hand to his mouth to lightly bite on his thumb, "As much as it pains me to say, Eight will have to wait."

Pheonix only nodded and turned to his family behind them, who had just started to get into a heated argument.

Five rolled his eyes at his brothers, "Hey! You guys done?" he called silencing the two as he walked away from the railing, "The universe is disappearing outside. So you can keep rearranging the deck chairs of the Titanic if it makes you feel better. But the fact remains that we are too late." he says to them.

Diego and Ben scoff at the younger boy talking to them.

"It's over Luther, we failed," he adds.

The larger man sitting beside Sloane frowns, "Come on it can't be over," he starts as his eyes dart over to Phoenix, "We haven't even given Phoenix a go, maybe she's the answer."

Diego nodded, "Yeah, come on, Five. We gotta figure this out, man," he started, "Luther's right, copy Eleanor hasn't given it a go."

The purple-haired girl rolled her eyes under her glasses, "You bunch are crazy, look at the big picture you morons," she paused to tap her chin, "Let me think, for the past who knows how many days you lot have spent your time trying to save the world from ending," she starts, "Not only did you fail twice, but you got one of yours killed," she adds with a raise of her brows.

For a moment all of them stood silent, looking anywhere but towards the blind teen.

Luther is always the optimist, "Well, we made some friends along the way," he says looking at Sloane who was grabbing his arm.

Five rolled his eyes and pointed towards him, "Incorrect!" he said and watched Luther's smile fall from his face, "Nothing, we made things worse every single time," he hissed towards his family.

Allison who was reclining on a pillar scoffed, "Amen to that."

Five sighs and calms himself a little more, "Look when I went to the Commission, I had a conversation with my 100-year-old self. And my last words were, 'Don't save the world.'"

Everyone had looks of confusion, "'Don't save the world'?" Vikor questions.

"Don't save the world," Phoenix reiterated.

Diego furrowed his brows, "Fake Eleanor, that's the stupidest thing you've said yet," he said looking at her.

"Is it?" Luther asked thinking about the words his brother and Phoenix had said, "Well whatever we're doing is not working. All we ever do is save the world for a day, pat ourselves on the back, and then everything goes to shit again."

Viktor couldn't believe his family was thinking of giving up, "Yeah, maybe we're the problem."

"Oh, yeah, Us," Allison scoffs at the stupid remark.

Lila looks at the two, "Wait, your big plan is no plan?" she asked raising a brow, now confused about how the family that was so adamant about saving the world, is now giving up.

Five nodded, at the moment if he got rid of the whole ending of the world problem, he could maybe resolve the issue of his wife coming back from the dead, "Exactly, conscientious objection."

Phoenix coughed, "Well you might as well try, you did come in bursting through my timeline and got everyone I know killed," she added with a smile, "Maybe this is the way the universe wanted you to go, embrace you're ending."

Sloane just hugged Luther a bit tighter, "What if it's...nothing?"

"Then it's been nice knowing you all. Whatever's on your bucket list, I recommend you do that now," he finishes and looks over at the purple-haired girl, "Bird?"

Even though the world was ending, and nothing could be done, Five still wanted to know what would happen to his wife.

As Phoenix was about to follow him to find the answers to his alive/dead wife, she felt a spike of serotonin in the room. Not something she'd felt in a while, the warm feeling caused her to turn and notice it was coming from the couple on the loveseat.

Luther smiled down at Sloane, "Well on that super happy note...we've um..." he paused and mumbled, "Oh what the hell," he said with a smile, "We've got a little announcement to make," he said and looked down at Sloane.

The woman smiled from ear to ear lifting a hand, "We're engaged!" she excitedly said towards her family and the umbrellas.

Five just sighed and sat down, "idiots," he mumbled, knowing another marriage would be ruined by the apocalypse that was waiting to happen.

Even Allison was confused out of her mind and angry at a lot, "Now?" she asked eyes wide, and brows raised.

Luther nodded, "Yeah, look we realize the timing is less than ideal. But it's now or never. Am I right, Five?"

The boy was less than inclined to answer, "Don't drag me into this, please."

Phoenix smiled, "I love weddings, so this will be fun," she called making the couple smile, at least one person was on their side.

"Thank you Phoenix, Whatever time we have left, we wanna spend it with all of you," she added holding Luther close to her person, "if you would join us in the banquet hall at 6:00 p.m. and the official union of what left of our two great families."

Luther smiled at his fiancé, "Dress code is creative black-tie," he said and everyone went their separate ways.

Chris smiled a drink now in hand, "I love weddings, I always look good in suits," he giggled and skipped off to a chair.

#the umbrella academy #five hargreeves #aidan gallagher #five hargreaves x reader #five hargreeves x oc

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iamcherryblessed · 1 year

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Rosaline // Alec Volturi: Chapter Two

Summary: “How the blood rushed into my cheeks” Rosaline was no stranger to hard work, she’s been working as a maid for as far back as she can remember. Starting off as a scullery maid and ending up as a Lady’s Maid for the fearsome Jane Volturi. She’s just trying to keep her head on her shoulders and her heart beating, what happens when she catches the eye of her Lady’s stoic twin brother? What does Alec Volturi want with a lowly maid? “So scarlet, it was maroon” Series masterlist

Chapter Two

This is a strange castle. As servants we’re taught not to let our eyes wonder, not to ask questions and most definitely not to let our minds run wild with theories. There will always be idle gossip between maids but it will never be confirmed. The normal whispers that flow through the walls of a noble family consist more of affairs or who we think will be next to marry. The ones in this house are much more sinister, much more confusing. The older maids, who have somehow survived to work here for multiple years, try to discourage any chatter about the Masters. They say we don’t need to know, to keep quiet and keep our heads down. I have yet to see the Masters in person, I’ve heard about their red eyes and how they don’t sleep. How each member is impossibly beautiful and beautifully cruel. On every third day of the week, all servants are required to stay in their quarters until late afternoon. We try to talk amongst ourselves but the blood curdling screams ring out and bounce off every wall in the entire castle. I had experienced two, the sounds of their scream echoed in my bones and made it impossible to sleep that night. At first the other maids comforted me but now they say I will get used to it, it’s just something that comes with the work.

Annie sat me down when I first started to tell me who each of the Masters were, as the head housemaid it is her duty to ensure all of the maids in the castle are doing their work properly. It’s a role she takes very seriously. There are three main Masters; Aro, Caius and Marcus. Those are the three who are in charge, they are the head of the household, we are to refer to them as Master. A step down from the Masters is; Chelsea, Jane and Alec. The rest of the members are Heidi, Demetri and Felix. Apparently the family has a strict hierarchy to adhere to but no matter how low down they are from the Master’s they will always be a lot higher up on the social ladder than any of us. Just before Annie gave me the news of my new position she made sure to let me know about Lady Jane. She gave me a list of things to avoid doing and some things that she knows Lady Jane approves of, she warned me of her temper which has only increased since her twin brother Alec had been away. According to Annie the two are inseparable so if I was to serve Lady Jane I would also serve Alec too. He went away the week before I arrived, there had been no whispers of where or why he went, and until he came back Lady Jane would continue to torment.

I awoke with a start, my heartbeat racing against my chest. Taking a deep breath I focused on the mirror across the room, my heart calming down. Only to jump again when another thud was heard. Light floated into the room from the small window at the top of the wall, the sun had yet to rise so I knew it was sometime before 6:00. I gently raised from the bed and softly got dressed for the day. I knew to be as quiet as possible and to make my steps as feather light as I could.

“Girl.” If not for the stern demanding tone of the word, the voice itself could almost be musical. It was officially my first day as Lady Jane’s maid. I stepped into her room as quickly as she spoke, my head tilted down and arms clasped respectfully behind my back.

“Yes, Ma’am” I responded, I felt my heart stutter in fear, as if she heard it, I could practically feel her smirk in response.

“Ah, a new girl. Tell me, did you know of the last?” Her tone was teasing, how could one speak so lightly over death?

“No, Ma’am. Sorry, Ma’am, I did not meet her,” I whispered back. I knew to be quiet but I could not trust my voice to be any louder than a whisper.

“Speak up, girl. I do not care if you knew her. You know what happened to her, do you not.” It wasn’t a question, it was a warning. Of course I know what happened to Hattie, I know what happened to most of the maids that she got annoyed by or tired of.

“I do, Ma’am.”

“Good. Now get me ready for the day.”

The morning was spent getting Lady Jane ready for an important meeting with the Masters in the late afternoon. Her twin brother, Alec, is due back today. I overheard her speak to Lady Chelsea about it while I was running her bath. Most Ladies like their maids to bathe them but I was forewarned that Lady Jane liked privacy so as soon as the bath was filled, I nodded and left the room. I got the clothes ready for her day and laid them out on the plush four poster bed that stood in the middle of her large room. My room could fit inside here 15 times over.

“Girl, I am ready.” Lady Jane’s commanding voice drew me out of my thoughts. I stood by the bathroom door and slightly lifted my head as she came out of the bathroom, a fluffy white towel wrapped tightly around her body. She came to stop in the middle of the room as her eyes ran out of the black dress I had chosen for her. “My brother bought me this dress.” She hummed, a rush ran through my body thinking I had correctly chosen. “Now, girl.”

“Yes, Ma’am” I hurried over to her, careful to keep my footsteps light. It didn’t take long for Lady Jane to be dressed yet she still seemed impatient as if she could do a corset up a quarter of the time it took me. However, any amount of appreciation I got from choosing the right dress completely disappeared when it came to doing her hair. My fingers clumsily attempting to braid her hair, I could see the annoyance darken her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Ma’am.” I stuttered, I could feel my eyes brim with tears as I worried how she would react.

“Just get it done.” her tone was clipped and frustrated.

“Yes, Ma’am” I nodded, my hands shakily undoing the mess of the plait I had created. My fingers softly combed through her hair, instead of going back to braiding, I twisted the strands together to create an elegant updo.

As soon as I was finished I stepped back, my head turned down and my hands behind my back. Lady Jane stood up and swiftly turned to face me, her expression thunderous. I should’ve asked Annie or one of the other maids to teach me to braid properly, if I’d have known it was one of Lady Jane’s favourite hairstyles I would have practised every spare moment. Her eyes narrowed on me and in the next second all I could feel was an imaginable amount of pain spread through my body, it was like my blood was on fire. My knees buckled as I fell to the floor but I could hardly focus on anything other than the agony coursing through my body.

And then all of a sudden it stopped. I gasped as I abruptly remembered how to breathe, trying to get as much air as possible into my lungs. “Get up, girl.” Lady Jane sounded bored, she looked at me uninterested as I attempted to stand up. My legs were unsteady, I was like a fawn standing up for the first time. Lady Jane was already at her bedroom door by the time I was fully stood up.

“Learn how to braid.” Lady Jane said before she opened the door and walked towards the throne room. I quickly followed after her, my legs moving before my brain commanded them too. I stayed a few paces behind, close enough if she was to need me but not too close to seem familiar.

My mind was racing, I didn’t understand why her eyes were red, why she didn’t sleep or how she managed to cause all that pain without even touching me. I fought with my mind to forget those thoughts, I just had to be better than I wouldn’t have to go through that again.

Waiting outside the throne room I made eye contact with a male servant of one of the Masters. My watery eyes, shaky breathing and unreliable legs must have given away what had happened for he gave a sympathetic smile. I just turned away with my head down. The servants are not allowed in the throne room, we are permitted to wait outside in silence or we were to do a job if ordered.

We stood outside for a while before all of a sudden the massive double doors were thrown open, I kept my head down and tried to not show the fear that was bubbling inside. I knew my heart beat gave me away. In an instant a figure was in front of me, a cold finger rested below my chin and tenderly lifted my head up. He was gorgeous. They all were but this man was breathtakingly stunning. His dark hair fell slightly into his eyes as if it had recently had a hand brush through it, his eyes–like the others–were a wonderful red, I could see them swirling with emotions but none I could confidently pick out. His lips are full and were a pretty shade of pink, I wanted nothing more to reach out and gently swipe my finger across them. His eyes met mine, my heart lurched and breath hitched.

#twilight #alec volturi #alec volturi x oc #alec volturi fanfic #alec volturi imagine #alec volturi x reader #twilight fanfic #twilight x oc #rosaline series #fanfic

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silverwings22 · 5 months

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Song of the Sea: Chapter 19: Dance Under Fire

Chapter Warning: mentions of attempted assault, child endangerment, major injury, blood Series Warnings: explicit smut, alien anatomy (it's a monsterfucker fic, guys), major character injury, grief, canon typical violence, autistic meltdowns, and my terrible attempts at Mando'a

Previous Chapter:

Next chapter:

“Alright, hands up.” Hunter chuckled. “Echo, watch her form. Omega, watch mine.”

Shiani was barefoot on the Marauder, in sight of all the clones and squaring up to Hunter for his first lesson to her. Hand to hand combat. She’d made the comment about wanting to be more useful after her nap with Tech, and this was the sergeant’s suggestion.

Hunter was stripped to his blacks and unarmed, Echo giving Shiani guidance while he provided an example for Omega. She brought her hands up into the defensive stance he was in, watching his movements. “Okay.”

“You're pretty light, so the trick is not to be stronger or bigger than your opponent. It's to be faster and use their size against them.” Hunter explained.

“He's an expert on that.” Wrecker laughed. “Cause he's the shortest.”

Shiani just nodded, eyes locked on Hunter's middle. Under water, you could determine which way someone was going by their abdominal movements. Surface gravity was something new to contend with, and she'd never liked fighting when she was young. Juvenile scraps were unavoidable, but she'd rather investigate ancient wiring in the hopes of keeping the city lit rather than claw another siren at the crumbling outskirts.

He jabbed, demonstrating the punch in slow motion for Omega. Shiani put her arms up to block and Echo nodded. “Good. Okay, try at full speed and see if you can hit him back.”

Shiani nodded again, and Wrecker noticed Tech squirming in his seat. He hadn't been a fan of this idea to spar.

This time when Hunter swung, Shiani went low to avoid it. She popped up to swing at the sergeant, but he caught her fist in his hand. Then a tentacle swiped his legs out from underneath him and he landed on his back hard.

Echo laughed. “Nice.”

“Forgot about those.” Hunter propped himself up on his elbows. “You sure you need this training?”

She nodded. “The Empire fights with soldiers. I need to know how it works, and if I can work around it. Sirens fight differently.”

“How do sirens fight?” Omega kicked her feet from her seat on top of Gonky, looking adorably curious.

“Mostly in packs. Hunting parties, or city patrols that move in groups between five and twenty.” Shiani explained. “We hunt big prey or fight sea monsters together. Our weapons are harpoon launchers and spears, mostly. Nothing like blasters or slugthrowers.”

“Do sirens fight one on one?” Wrecker blinked.

“Fighting each other is frowned upon.” Shiani sighed. “Kids fight sometimes, but not adults. Historically… when sirens were slaves, many died fighting over food in the cells. Sirens make a rule, to cooperate and share instead of fighting and more of us would survive. That kind of cooperation helped the Chainbreakers get away, too. The only time we fight each other is the Venom Dance. It’s like a… duel. One siren challenges another, for honor or their position in the clan and city. The only way to refuse is to give in to the challengers demands, or run. Otherwise, you fight until one gives in or dies. No other sirens are allowed to interfere, only watch.”

“Have you ever done it?” Hunter looked as mesmerized as Omega at her words and the image of two sirens battling for their lives.

“No, but I was challenged once. And I’ve seen one actual Dance my entire life. When I was a teenager, an older siren wanted to marry me because my family is powerful. I refused and he got violent. He threw me against the wall and tried to hurt me, but my big brother came to rescue me., The other siren challenged my brother for me. Brother won.” Shiani sheepishly fiddled with her claws. “Killed him.”

“Your brother sounds formidable.” Tech said softly.

“My big brother is a strong warrior. Led his own hunting party before he was old enough for a mate.” Shiani smiled sadly. “I miss him a lot, sometimes.”

“What's his name?” Omega asked.

“Kashae Illumai.” Shiani ruffled her hair. “My last name used to be the same.”

Omega opened her mouth to ask another question when the ship comm went off. “This is an unknown frequency.” Tech frowned.

Shiani leaned over him. “It’s a distress signal. Play recording?”

He hit the button and the tinged holo of a young twi'lek appeared. “Omega, I need your help. The Empire has captured my parents and declared them traitors. They're hunting me too. Please, you're the only one I can trust.”

Hunter looked at Omega. “You gave her our comm frequency? “

“Only for emergencies. This seems urgent…” Omega shuffled her feet.

“The situation is likely not as dire as it seems. Children often exaggerate.” Tech offered.

“We do not!” Omega yelped. “Shiani! Tell them we do not.”

Shiani leaned in, closely examining the holo as she replayed it. “Baby Hera is very scared. I don't think she's exaggerating.”

“We need to go help, Hunter.” Omega pleaded.

“We can't rescue everyone in the galaxy who's got a problem.” Hunter sighed. “It could be dangerous for you.”

“Isn't that what soldiers do?” Omega tugged at his arm.

Hunter looked at Shiani. “... do you really think she's in danger?”

She nodded. “She’s not lying, as far as I can tell.”

“Tech… set a course for the coordinates she gave. We'll see what we can do.” Hunter sighed.

Omega hugged him around the waist. “Thank you.”

“Don't thank me yet. Go get your bow.” He sighed, but patted her back. He loved her. She drove him nuts, but he loved her.

Tech set the ship down inside a hidden bunker built into the rock cliffs of Ryloth, just outside of imperial patrol areas surrounding the capitol. They stepped out to meet a very frightened Hera and her droid, Chopper. Omega ran out past them to hug her friend, leaving four heavily armed men and a siren to follow behind.

“Thank you for coming.” Hera took a shaky breath. “I don't know what the Empire will do to my parents… but they could pay you, if you help them.” She squirmed, looking from one brother to another. They were mercenaries, she was putting all her faith into hoping they needed money bad enough to get involved.

“No promises.” Hunter said softly. “But we'll take a look and see what we're up against.”

She nodded, shaking a little. Shiani felt sorry for the poor, scared girl left to her own devices, so she stepped up and knelt. A careful claw swiped the tears from Hera's face. “Don’t cry.” She crooned. “You’re brave to survive, and smart to call for help. Don’t worry, Baby Hera. We’re here now.”

Hera sniffled for a moment before throwing her arms around Shiani's shoulders and sobbing into the siren's neck. She'd been in desperate need of a kind word and adult's reassurance. Shiani rubbed her back and rocked her back and forth until the sobbing stopped. “S-sorry miss… I got you wet.”

“I have gills. Can't drown me.” The siren wiped her face again. “Show us what you can. We’ll make a plan.”

Hera nodded and got herself together, leading them out to a rocky outcrop that served as a lookout point. Everyone was looking through binocs, taking stock.

“This is no peaceful transition of power. This is a military operation. The Imperial presence is much like Raxus.” Tech mused aloud.

“But this isn't a Separatist planet.” Echo frowned.

“Doesn't seem to matter.” Hunter sighed. “They're taking over everything.”

Shaini made an unhappy sound. “... I see Crosshair. His hair is gone, he looks like an angry egg.”

Wrecker bit back a snicker, but Hunter just scowled. “He was able to predict our moves on Bracca. If he's here-” He froze. “Heads down. Stay here.”

Everyone huddled together as he slipped back the way they'd come, eyes peeled and the two girls in the middle of a protective circle. The pregnant silence was broken by the sound of clanging metal when Hunter came flying into view on top of a round little flying droid. He stabbed his knife into its head and jumped off, landing back with them as it went falling and exploded. “Probe droid.”

“It saw us.” Shiani said wearily. “The Empire will know we’re here.”

“And so will Crosshair.” Wrecker looked sad at the mention of the missing brother, so Shiani patted his back too.

“We’ll take the babies back inside to think.” The siren waved the girls to follow her back to the bunker, where she comforted both of them and waited for the verdict.

Tech shook his head, looking at his datapad. “We were spotted. Our image is all over the Imperial channels already.”

Hunter sighed. “We've lost the element of surprise. I'm sorry, Miss Syndulla. We can't help you, but we can take you somewhere safe-”

“I cannot leave without my parents!” Hera looked panicked, clinging to Shiani desperately for some kind of hope. “Please. I can… I can double the price.”

“There's no amount of credits worth it if we're dead. I'm sorry.” Hunter shook his head.

Hera burst into tears and ran back the opposite direction, pursued by a beeping Chopper. Omega puffed up defiantly. “You shouldn't have said that! She's trying to save her family. I'd do the same for any of you!”

Hunter's instincts around Omega were all paternal, and he softened. “Omega, listen-”

“No. We can't give up.”

Omega was lifted off the ground by a purple tentacle. “Baby Mega, you have kind hearts but we need a plan. Go check on Baby Hera. Let us think?” Shiani soothed her tiny righteous fury and set her back on her feet. She trotted off to Hera obediently.

Hunter sighed. “You got a plan? Because I'm not rushing to get us all killed.”

Shiani nodded. “You’re a good leader, and you’re protecting us. But if you don't find a way, Baby Mega will never forget it.”

“Crosshair is here, Shiani. He predicted us on Bracca. He'll do it again and this time he's got a whole garrison as backup instead of three ships.”

She twiddled her claws a minute. “... so Batch doesn't make the plan, only approve it. Crosshair doesn't know me, Baby Mega, or Baby Hera very well. Can't predict us.”

“You want me to let you and two kids plan an infiltration into an Imperial stronghold?” He stared at her.

“I would be interested to see what that plan is.” Tech said sheepishly.

“Me too.” Echo nodded.

Wrecker grinned. “Let's see what you've learned so far, huh Shiani?”

She smiled and hit her comm. “Baby Mega, bring Baby Hera to the ship. We need her help.” When the two girls arrived, Shiani took them inside. Shiani set up one holo table and gestured to Hera. “You know Ryloth better than us. Tell us what we can use against the Empire.”

Hera dried her tears and nodded. “... the refinery? Troops would be mobilized away from the capitol if anything happened there.”

“Diversion gives a second team time to infiltrate and rescue your parents.” Shiani nodded. “Security at refinery?”

“Four auto-cannons.” Hera smiled sheepishly. “I've been watching them.”

Tech looked smug. “Those are vulnerable.”

“The access panel is inside the main gate. Chopper could go in and disable them, if he hid among the other droids.” Hera sounded more confident now.

Shiani looked at Hunter. “Split forces. Chopper goes in. Tech flies the Marauder and Wrecker sets off explosives at the refinery. You and Echo rescue her parents.”

“Someone needs to escort the droid.” Echo pointed out.

“We can do it.” Omega grinned.

“Only from a distance, and with Shiani.” Hunter said firmly. “I trust her to keep you safe.”

Shiani smiled brightly. “I won't let you down.”

Shiani had a job to do; keep the girls safe. They were crouched together just out of sight of the refinery gate, watching Chopper join a line of authorized droids to get inside. “Tech says droids are not capable of recognizing good or evil. Only able to follow their programming… but I think Chopper knows the difference and chooses to do sins.”

Omega tried not to giggle. “He's a feisty droid, isn't he?”

“Loyal to Baby Hera. That's good enough for me.” The siren watched the orange head of the droid disappear into the refinery “Move down. We need to see him disable the cannons.”

She was trusting a homicide-happy droid with taking out the only threat to Tech right now. She'd been confident about this plan an hour ago, but now…

“He's at the console.” Hera breathed, looking through her binocs.

“He fried that other droid to get in, too.” Omega peeped.

Shiani sighed, looking through her own binocs, and touched her comm. “Almost ready, Tech. Chopper’s in position.”

“You and the girls are safe?” He questioned immediately, tone as level as ever. It still gave her the warm and fuzzy feeling.

“Yes, we're safe.”

“Good. Standing by for your signal.”

Shiani looked back at the girls, smiling. She'd kept them safe, this was nearly done and she'd be back home on the ship soon. Hera would have her parents back, Ryloth would dissolve into an uproar that might disrupt the Empire here, and they'd be far away from it before Crosshair ever figured out they were-

“Chopper's been spotted.” Hera gasped, and Shiani yanked her binocs back up. Sure enough, the droid was being arrested by two clone troopers.

“Shit.” The siren bared her teeth, then covered her mouth when her hand when Hera gave her a concerned look. “New plan. Gotta disable those cannons or Tech and Wrecker will get hurt.”

Omega and Hera both looked at her, innocent eyed and waiting for the grownup in the situation to solve it. Shiani almost wanted to look over her shoulder for someone to answer, before realizing… she was the adult. Shit.

Think. I’ve een in danger before and escaped… didn't have babies to think of then, though.

“... Baby Hera, you’re a pilot, right?” She asked hopefully.

“I want to be, but I've never done takeoff or landing.” The girl muttered sheepishly.

“I’ve only done takeoff, but we’ll have to figure out landing as we go. We’ll steal a shuttle, okay? Baby Mega runs straight back to the gun and shoots console once we get in the air. Then Baby Hera flies, I’ll open the hatch and rescue Chopper. Can we do that?”

The girls nodded. “Got it.”

Shiani sighed. “Hunter is gonna kill me…” They dropped from their lookout position and crept to the hangar bay outside the refinery walls.

Hera pointed to a shuttle she was reasonably comfortable she could fly, and Shiani plugged her datapad into the security panel and typed a minute before the hatch opened. Omega got straight into the gunner's seat and Shiani went with Hera to the cockpit. It was only slightly different than the Marauder's controls, so Shiani started flipping dials. “Start engine, disengage landing gear, raise nose-” She muttered to herself. She’d only taken off once, months ago, and she knew she needed more practice but there was no time. They zoomed forward a little too fast, triggering every alert possible.

Hera took the controls. “I think I got it. Help Chopper.”

“Got it. Baby Mega, start shooting!” The siren rocketed backwards and to the hatch as Hera got them in position and Omega started blasting. “Aim better! Doonium is flammable.”

“Sorry, Shiani!” Omega chirped.

They managed to blast the console into scrap as Shiani opened the hatch. Chopper electrocuted the two clones who'd arrested him and came barreling toward her. She wrapped a tentacle around him and hauled the droid to safety. “Help Baby Hera.” She ordered, turning around to spot a couple troopers who'd engaged their shuttle. A round knocked her off her feet and into the opposite wall of the ship, and she hit the hatch door panel with a groan. “Tech. Cannons offline.” She coughed.

“I'm picking up explosions coming from the refinery. Is everything alright?”

“Everything’s fine. Explosion was us.” She pushed herself up onto her hands and knees. “Don't shoot the Imperial shuttle when you get here.”

“Why not?”

“The babies and I are on it.” The ship's gun went off again and she heard Omega and Hera both whoop, while she slid across the floor at a sharp turn. “Oh. We’re fighting now.”

“Fighting? You were supposed to observe the droid from a distance!”

“Chopper got caught. Had to improvise.” She oomph-ed when she fell over again, curling up in a ball. “You almost here?”

“We're here. I see you now… who is piloting?”

“Baby Hera.” Shiani frowned, touching her mouth, which tasted of metal. There was blue blood between her teeth.

“That explains it. Fortunately, her unpredictable and uncontrolled flying is just as confusing for the Empire as it is for us.”

“Funny.” She mumbled. Shit, she was light headed as the adrenaline wore off, patting herself down to find why she was bleeding.

“I think this destruction should be sufficient. They are mobilizing towards us.” Tech chuckled. “Can your little pilot make it back?”

“I trust Hera.” Shiani found the blaster wound in her side, a lucky shot that had disappeared inside the bottom gill slit. She sat with her back against the wall, hand full of blood as she applied pressure. She could make it back to the Marauder. She didn't need the girls to panic. She was short of breath, but managed to raise her voice enough they could hear it. “Back to the hidey-hole. We did our job.”

“Yes ma'am!” Cheered Hera.

Shiani could hear her and Omega talking excitedly, proud to have pulled this off together. It was heartwarming, and she'd have to tell Omega how proud she was later. Now she was just trying to stay conscious.

They landed about the same time a private shuttle did, the Marauder not far behind. Hera dove out of the upper hatch to get to her parents, tearing up immediately. Hunter walked over and caught Omega when she dropped out. “What the hell are you doing in a stolen shuttle?”

“We had to get creative.” Omega beamed. “It was Shiani's plan, I think it went well.”

He sighed and set her down, crouching to look at her. “... I'm proud of you.” He finally said. “You stood up for what you believed in, even against me, and followed through.”

She smiled, looking up as the bottom hatch opened and Chopper came barreling out beeping uproariously. Behind him, Shiani walked out slowly with one arm wrapped around her side and her tentacles dragging.

Hunter frowned. Something smelled odd, almost but not quite like blood… “Go say your goodbyes to Hera, Omega.”

Omega darted off, and Hunter looked at Shiani. Her all black clothes looked damp, around her mouth oddly blue. “Hey. You good?”

She nodded, eyes on the Marauder. He didn't quite trust it; so he went to talk to Cham Syndulla and kept her in the corner of his peripheral.

She dragged herself up the ramp to home. “Tech?” She mumbled.

“Just a moment, cyar’ika. We are about to take off. We need to go swiftly.” He called back from the cockpit.

“Okay. I’ll be in the medbay.” She replied.

The genius froze at that. “Echo come take over the cockpit.”

The cyborg quickly swapped spots with him as Hunter ushered Omega and Wrecker inside. Crosshair had shot at them leaving Lessu, so they needed to move as quickly as possible to avoid him coming after them somehow.

As Echo got them into the air, Tech got to the medbay. Shiani was on her feet at least, leaning over the gurney. “Cyar'ika? What is wrong?”

“Blaster.” She mumbled, relaxing her gill slits. At least a pint of blue blood splattered out onto her boots and the floor. “Sorry… Exit wound in ny back.”

Tech felt his blood pressure spike. “Lay down. Let me see.” He quickly helped her into the gurney. He'd panicked when the Zygyrrians hurt her before, because he was immobilized and unable to help her. This time he could do something. “Why did you not say anything over comm?”

“Babies would’ve panicked.” She said quietly as he carefully lifted the edge of her gill to look inside her chest. “My job is to protect them. Can't get back safely if they’re upset and make mistakes.”

“You did very well not to panic.” He rolled her to her other side to examine the exit wound below her shoulder blade. “The shot missed anything vital, fortunately. I am going to pull your shirt off, and I will need to use a syringe to get bacta into the wound.”

She nodded, wrapping her tentacles around the gurney rails to keep herself still. Tech peeled her top over her head and winced at the wet plop it made hitting the ground, saturated with blood. He worked quickly, getting a long needle and getting bacta in both ends of the wound. It was cold and stung, making her already discoloring skin go whiter. Tech then bandaged her securely and started cleaning her up. Her pants, socks, and boots were also full of blood so he stripped her entirely and wiped her down with a clean rag and water.

“How do you feel?” He asked once she was clean.

“Naked. Cold.” She mumbled back.

He grabbed a clean shock blanket and carefully wrapped it around her, carefully scooping her up. “I will be better able to monitor you in our bed.” He said softly.

Shiani rested her head on his shoulder and nodded. “Sorry… deviated from the plan you approved of.”

“This squad is best known for their deviant nature. You are simply proving yourself as one of us.” He walked them to the bunkroom, passing Hunter on the way.

“What happened?” He frowned.

“She was shot. I will launder her clothing and clean the medbay later, but she needs to rest.” Tech murmured. Hunter saw the barely constrained stress in his brother’s eyes.

“I'll take care of that. Look after her.” He patted Tech's arm. “You gonna be okay, Shiani?”

She nodded. “Sorry for changing plans.”

“Omega told me what happened. You did good.” He probably would have been a little harder on her if she wasn't hurt, but she had gotten the job done and protected Omega at her own expense. He couldn't be too angry.

Tech cut any further conversation short and took her to the bunkroom. He set her down only long enough to get her a pair of underwear and one of his rarely used rec shirts, slipping them on her over the bandaging before tucking her up into their bunk. He dumped his kit hastily and climbed up to join her. “You have lost a significant amount of blood. You must rest.”

Shiani cuddled to his chest, nodding. “You’re so warm.” She slurred as he pulled the blankets more firmly around her. It didn't take her long to fall asleep with all six limbs entwined over him to leech every little bit of body heat from him.

He gently stroked her head tentacles, mind racing. She needed protection. This injury could have been avoided if she'd only had armor. Even just a chest plate would be beneficial, seeing as too much weight would slow down the reflexes and maneuverability she relied on so much. He could design her armor, he should have done it sooner. His cyar'ika had to be kept safe. It was the only logical course of action.

#explict #original character #clone force 99 #star wars #the bad batch #fanfic #tbb tech #song of the sea

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lchufflepuffcorn · 8 months

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Meeting you pt. 7

(Not my gif, credits go to its owner/creator)

Author's note: Hi !! I think it's been like a year or so since I posted anything about this series... It's been worked on, don't worry, I'm just awful at being consistent.

Words: 2716

Warning: None... longing... badly written emotions... all other warnings from this series...

Masterlist OGW Masterlist

Serie Masterlist

Part one Part two, Part three, Part four, Part five, Part six, Part seven.

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In the night's secret

No sound but the wind- Editors

↺͏͏ ◁◁͏͏ ll ▷▷ ⋮≡

It took a little while for the three vampires to plan the perfect cover story for their situationship. Philadelphia was really the town of miracles for Alice's imagination. She'd come up with the story that Jasper was her brother and that (Y/N) was her sister-in-law. It always bothered (Y/N) that the short girl with her was so good at covering up the truth. But this time, the story was adequate and sensible for humans to understand.

Soon after leaving Philadelphia, the trio stayed in Toronto for a short time. The trio resided in a two-story building owned by a lovely older couple, who took them in without asking many questions.

"My brother doesn't talk much." Or "My sister-in-law is so discreet." Would say Alice when they were shown the apartment. The lovely -but quite nosy- Mrs. Grant quieted down after that. And (Y/N) remembered why she disliked living with humans all over again. Because the biting envy and bubbling thirst (Y/N) felt from Jasper was one thing, combining it with Alice's and the poignant curiosity from their neighbours was nothing short of unbearable.

Jasper was not much of a talker, and added to what (Y/N) knew from Alice's vision was not helping her communicate with the man. But the crisp and cold waves of nervousness she could feel wave off of him each time they talked weren't either.

Every time. (Y/N) knew that the conversations he forced on them were out of duty and under the encouragement given by Alice more than anything else.

It usually looked like this:

“It was nice today.”

"Hmm. Yes, the wind wasn’t as bad as yesterday.”

Or:

“What did you buy at the market?”

“Oh, just some clothes. You really need some new ones too…”

But slowly, the cold, shaky feeling echoing in her chest melted into a sparkling and lukewarm wind behind the skin of her neck, and the conversations started to center around things they both liked.

And then, after some months, (Y/N), Jasper, and Alice went to Alberta, where they had no trouble constructing their own small house not too far from the Slave River. It was hidden from society, perfect for the diet (Y/N) was trying to convert the other two.

And then, after some months, (Y/N), Jasper, and Alice went to Alberta, where they had no trouble constructing their own cabin. Situating it not far from the Slave River to add to the illusion of their rustic lifestyle. It was mostly hidden from society, perfect for the diet in which (Y/N) tried to convert the other two. It was also less complicated for Jasper to control his thirst for human blood if no humans were around. Plus, the surroundings were beautiful. (Y/N) liked hearing the birds in the early morning and having water run nearby.

''East from here, there's three of 'em.'' Jasper's voice said, floating in the wind and through the bushes around them.

The three of them were running in the forest, searching for prey. Jasper had smelled some moose earlier, but now they were chasing a bear and her cubs. (Y/N) did not hunt with the others often. She preferred to do it alone. But it was always fun to see how Alice and Jasper would try and compete for the first kill every time. While she didn't participate in their games, she liked watching them. It brought life to their undead lifestyle.

Running through the tall grass and between the tree's roots easily, (Y/N) spotted a rabbit. She lounged at it with ease. It didn't bother her that the animal was little. Smaller animals were more accessible for her to catch without butchering her clothes. (Y/N) didn't like to get dirt on her. Plus, rabbits never travelled alone. She would have plenty to feel full at the end of the hunt, and she wasn't in a hunting mood today, so it played in her favour.

It had been months since Jasper joined Alice's and (Y/N)'s little clan. He'd been charming and kind and helpful. Even if he thought it hard to change his diet -he often complained about how the animal blood tasted- he still tried his best. It was January seventeen now. A new year had started, yet Alice was deflating each day more to see that neither of her companions wasn't getting any closer. She found it infuriating.

Alice had seen hopeful moments, like when Jasper renovated the cabin. He'd taken (Y/N) words and requests to heart. Or when (Y/N) had consoled Jasper about one of his slip-ups, her hands brushing through his hair as he cursed himself in low growls. (Y/N) had nothing but encouraging words to give him. Then, of course, she gave him a stern talk about how she controlled herself by thinking about things humans did when she couldn't see them. Or again, when he was reading on the porch and (Y/N) was lost in her world, humming a melody only she knew. Alice had to confess that she'd never seen Jasper smile so softly before that afternoon.

(Y/N) liked to think that Jasper took his time to court her. She liked it that way. They had all the time in the world anyway. As she caught a second bunny, plunging her sharp teeth through the fur and into the skin until its still-warm blood flowed into her mouth, (Y/N) got a glimpse of the naked ring finger on her left hand. The familiar shine hadn't caught her eyes as it would usually have.

She'd removed the enormous wedding ring from her finger two months ago, preferring to wear it around the chain on her neck, where too rested a medallion with the triplet's picture.

''Ahah! You owe me ten dollars, Whitlock.''

Alice's laugh took (Y/N) out of her reverie. She looked in the direction her voice came from. The vampire couldn't see them anymore, but she knew they would come back in her direction soon enough. She let go of the now-empty rabbit she was still holding.

Raising from her spot on a tree root, she patted her dress to remove whatever could still stick to the fabric. Jasper's head popped out from behind the bushes. An amused smile lit up his face as he looked over the pixie-like vampire. The blond man stopped as he reached (Y/N)'s height, offering her his arm.

''If I could have the pleasure, miss.'' He said with a smile on the corner of his smile. (Y/N) responded to his smile with one of her own.

''If I must.'' (Y/N) teased the man, accepting his arm by wrapping her own around it.

The comfortable warmth of the calm he feels, yet a subtle hint of burning cold passion that resists in the pit of his stomach, made her eyes shine. The group walked back to their cabin. Their slow pace is now a sharp contrast to their earlier race.

''We'll have to get new shoes; you can't be comfortable in those old things,'' Alice called, referring to the boots (Y/N) wore. They were from her time as a nurse for the Second World War. Those boots were still in perfect condition. The older woman wasn't letting her things get hideous or unwearable. Still, she obliged at Alice's request.

''I think we could go in town this week.'' (Y/N)'s butterflies now associated with Alice exploded in her stomach as the girl's face illuminated with a smile. The tiny vampire held onto the other girl's hand before stopping all of her movement.

(Y/N) stopped walking to ensure that Alice wouldn't tumble over the snowy ground. Jasper stopped, too, getting closer to the girl in alarm. He was still getting used to Alice's gift. One of his hands met the small of (Y/N)'s back to help walk over some roots, but Jasper's attention was on Alice too.

''It's alright.'' She assured, starting to walk again.

''What is it?'' (Y/N)'s tone was worried. Since the other girl had revealed to Jasper and her that they were mates, (Y/N) had asked Alice not to hold secrets about her visions anymore. Especially if it concerned other people. But Alice only smiled at her, walking to the cabin. Jasper, ever the gentleman, held the door of the cabin open for both girls to enter it. He closed and locked the door behind him after following them inside.

Jasper was never much of a talker. So the girls had come to realize. But it was alright. His actions spoke louder than every word he could have said. The man walked to where both the girls were seated, but he stayed back a little. On the table was resting the piece of a rocking chair he was building at the moment; he took place behind it.

''We'll have a visitor soon.'' Said Alice before (Y/N) could reiterate her question.

''Visitor?'' Quipped Jasper, ''in this part of the woods?'' Alice shot him a smile.

''(Y/N)'s old friend, my mate, I think.'' This got (Y/N)'s attention. She, too, was wondering why they'd have a visitor so far from civilization. There were only two people who knew their location, and those people were Thade and Esther. The older vampire's face darkened with a frown.

''Which friend?'' She asked. Her hand went to the necklace she wore, holding onto the locket hiding the triplet's picture. Not all of her friends were recommendable frequentations. But Alice only smiled and rose to leave the room. (Y/N) sighed but couldn't ask anything more.

The cabin was somewhat small. Not that the vampires minded it. It was big enough to maintain purpose: not living outside like homeless people. They might not be in any states now, but they could still live comfortably. It had one large room and two smaller ones behind the wall. It gave them the chance to have their place if need be.

Her ring finger slipped into the wedding monument she still had, then back out. A comforting habit (Y/N) took since she started wearing it around her neck.

So it couldn't be Thade, that was for sure. But, on the other hand, Thade has been married to Esther ever since (Y/N) could remember meeting both of them. So maybe it was Gabriel. Last she'd heard of him, he was somewhere in France teaching history at a university. So that left – in the reasonable choices of friends (Y/N) would leave Alice with – either Gregory or Elliot. But would Gregory come to visit her out there in the woods? Esther, she knew the man was still bitter from their encounter during the First World War, as she was on the Allies' side, and he was on the Nazis.

That only left Elliot.

''What are yeh thinkin' about?'' Asked Jasper from his seat. He could feel her doubt just as she could feel his concern for her. (Y/N) turned her gaze to the man. He was still working on the rocking chair's part. Jasper's eyes shot up in her direction, staying for a second before wandering away.

''I wondered which of my friends was to be Alice's mate.'' She answered honestly.

The man hummed.

Jasper's hair seemed more strawberry blond in the candle's light than the honey colour they had in the sunlight. His frozen features, kinder in the natural glow, were darkened by the dancing shadow of the flame. The now yellowish eyes he now had matched his hair. (Y/N) could only imagine just what the man's past was to make his face so stoic and emotionless while she could feel every change in Jasper's humour. Even from where she sat, the woman could see on his arm -uncovered as he worked, littered with bite marks. (Y/N) never asked about it, just like neither of the vampires with her wondered about her story. They didn't know about Alice. She could not remember anything from her past except for her first name.

''I meant to ask,'' continued the man after a short silence. ''What's in the locket? You always play with it.''

''Old memories.'' (Y/N) rose from her seat and walked to the table, taking place in the chair facing Jasper.

Usually, the seemingly young woman had no trouble talking about her experience and life. Some things were too hard to speak about, and nobody had ever asked.

(Y/N) wasn't proud enough to assume her story could interest him more than any other. Tugging the long gold chain gently from her dress to present the locket better to the man in front of her, (Y/N) opened the locket to show the picture inside.

Alice shuffled closer to the both of them.

Three small boys were staring at Jasper and Alice now, a serious expression on their juvenile faces. The man thought they couldn't be much older than eight or nine years old. He guessed that it had been taken late in the eighteen-fifties, early sixties, from the black and white picture and their clothes.

"The first boy on the right is John, the second, the one with the hat's George, and the last one on the left is Lowett." (Y/N) let Jasper take the locket in his and, it wasn't to see any better the photos, but more like a reflex.

"Were they yours?" He asked. The man could see little resemblance between the triplets and the woman sitting before her in the rocking chair. But there was still something in the expression and the posture that reminded him of her.

''In a way,'' (Y/N) answered. "I didn't birth them or bite them, but they were my children nonetheless."

Jasper's eyes met hers. Alice smiled and got up. She silently walked to one of the other rooms, closing the door. She knew of this story and didn't want to put (Y/N) in more stress with her emotions in the room again.

''They were vampires?'' (Y/N) smiled at Jasper's expression. But, then, his incertitude swung in her throat like a monkey to a branch. She shook her head.

''They didn't live long. And brought my creator's death with theirs.'' Jasper's expression didn't change. He looked conflicted. (Y/N) continued, shrugging. ''It doesn't matter now. It was a long time ago.''

''And the ring?''

(Y/N)'s smile faltered a little at his question. Then, from the other room, they heard Alice sigh. Her disappointment was bitter in the other girl's throat. ''It was my wedding ring when I was still human.''

Jasper went quiet after that, concentrating back on the rocking chair part. (Y/N)'s eyes followed his movement; she tucked the neckless back into the collar of her dress. Outside, the sun was already setting, and from the windows, the woman could see the timid shine of the slow rising of the moon in the sky.

She suddenly felt the nip of boredom in the back of her chest. Like she was dragging the world around with her. It made her realize just how cruelly their house missed books, games, and music. If only she'd asked Esther to send her the harp she'd left in her care. But it was too late now. Her friend and Thade were travelling the world in search of his past. The man had felt the need to reconnect with his civilization now that the Second World War had ended.

Maybe they could buy a radio once they'd gone to town. But, then, the music would fill the house at every hour of the day. (Y/N) missed the time when giggles would fill the homes she was in. She missed her son.

Sons.

Cocking her head slightly to the side, her hands resting on the table. The woman's eyes slowly clouded; Jasper recognized the look for when he'd meet her dazing out outside the house. He decided not to push his questioning further and worked silently on the rocking chair again. Alice came out of the room, her gaze unfocused but lucid enough to walk. When she didn't have full-blown visions, she would sometimes lose herself in the pathways of many shifting decisions of the people around her.

In the silence, (Y/N) isn't aware that she started humming. Her finger played with the locket she'd tucked in her collar. It was a habit she couldn't seem to lose now. She hums the song Alice heard her sing to Esther years ago, and the girl can't help but sigh.

Jasper just smiled.

#x reader #x reader imagine #jasper hale x reader #twilight romance #jasper hale twilight #jasper x reader #twilight imagine #twilight fanfiction #imagines #fluff #slow burn trope

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foxgirl95 · 6 months

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Back Into the Fray CH.2: Killjoy

Chapter Description: No one said babysitting was this dangerous.

AO3 Link

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Hangar three-five had become an unwilling home to Anai these past few days as she was stranded on this forsaken planet. At least she wasn’t alone though, the perks of being a pilot she supposed. As she returned to the main chamber with her new little companion in hand as the beeping of a droid could be heard behind some big empty oil drums. The young woman laughed, shaking her head lightly “Tena ja, sulatuka o!” She comfortably spoke in her native tongue now that the bounty hunters had left. The frustum head of a yellow, silver, and white astromech cautiously poked out “Stop hiding and come say hello to our new little friend here.” The young mechanic kneeled as the droid slowly rolled out of its hiding place letting the child down to stand. “Bachsu, this is R6-K5 we call him Racket.” She gestured to the droid while introducing him and hoping the little one would understand as she continued “He’s a very good friend of mine, we’ve been traveling together for a long time.” Racket beeped several times in greeting, his processor cycling through a series of warm colors. The young one giggled with glee clapping his little three-fingered hands, happy to meet another new friend.

“How cute.” Peli’s voice sounded from behind the small group now leaning over them “If you’re done with your touchy-feely moment we got work to do!” She grumbled as she pulled a pouch of tools over her shoulder “C’mon! Chop, chop, we don’t have much time until that bucket head comes back!” Anai couldn’t help but laugh as she watched her friend climb on board The Razorcrest “Even if we don’t finish in time, what’s he gonna do?” The younger mechanic replied as she peeled off her leather jacket tossing it to one of the pit droids “Fix it himself?” Peli’s cackling laughter echoed through the open hull shouting back “Yeah I’d love to see him try to repair this mess!”

The two women spent the rest of the day working on the many issues of the old ship. It was a wonder the damn thing hadn’t fallen apart mid-flight, luckily it had landed in the hangar with the best mechanics Mos Eisley had to offer. The work slowly came to a halt as the two suns began to set. Now near dark Anai sat atop the old ship as she just finished welding back together one of the engines. Very carefully the young woman began her descent but was unable to keep her footing upon the rungs of the ladder “Peli!” She called out “Turn on some kriffing lights before I fall off this hunk of junk!” The light of day fading more and more taking her sight with it. “Hold on, don't curse at me!” Peli yelled back holding the child on her hip as she flipped some switches bringing on the hangar lights “Sorry, the little womp-rat was getting into the tools” Anai climbed down the rest of the way, dropping to the ground as the dusty sand puffed up around her boots “It’s fine just…you know not being able to see freaks me out.”

“Right, the night blindness…” Peli sighed “You still haven’t fixed that visor of yours?” The pink haired mechanic shook her head disheartened “I’m close though, just need to figure out the wiring.” She sighed “Wish I would’ve thought to take it apart myself before it was smashed.”

Peli shook her head as well “Damn thieves.” She sneered before making her way to the living quarters “Still don’t know how they broke into my hangar and took off with your ship without anyone noticing.” The green-eyed woman followed behind wiping sweat from her forehead “Who knows.” She looked down as Racket rolled up next to her beeping in a disapproving way “Hey I wasn’t the one who nearly lost the hangar playing Sabacc with the shifty-looking bug.”

“I wasn’t losing!” The older woman called out, stepping into the bunk room and setting the child on one of the hard mattresses “I was just letting him build up confidence so that he’d add more to the pot” Anai nodded skeptically “Yeah sure and that handful of credits you got was worth it?” Peli picked up a pillow and threw it at her friend who only giggled in response as she dodged out of the way “Oh hush! I'm gonna get junior here something to eat.” She turned on her heels heading to a small kitchen area as Anai shook her head “I’m getting in the ‘fresher!” She called out grabbing some sleep clothes and treading over to a tiled room letting the door slide closed behind her.

After some time enjoying a sonic shower Anai stood in her pajamas using a washcloth to clean the makeup from her face. As she finished, she caught sight of herself in the mirror and sighed, she looked nothing like herself anymore after all these years in the outer rim. Her body had changed from the rougher lifestyle; her arms and legs in particular had gained more muscle simply from the amount of work she had to take to earn credits for herself and Racket. The rest of her though showed more of her age, she was at least thirty or just about to be by her calculations, her face now rounded and stomach no longer flat but a soft muffin top. It almost made her feel like a fool with her wavy chin-length hair dyed a bubblegum pink, even worse that her eyebrows were dyed the same. Peli had asked if she was going through a crisis of some sort of crisis when Anai had arrived only a few days earlier. What had she been thinking letting that uppity hairdresser talk her into it? Suddenly the refresher door opened, and the young woman spun around ready for a fight only to find no assailant but the cooing little green baby staring up at her curiously “Bachsu?” She let out a relieved sigh before bending down to scoop him up into her arms “Did you get some food in your little belly?” She lightly poked his bulging stomach, earning a cute little laugh. Looking up she spotted Peli fast asleep slumped over the edge of her bunk with an empty bowl hanging limply from her hand. Anai covered her mouth to keep from laughing “Poor Peli.” She placed the little one at the foot of her bunk as she rearranged the older woman into her mattress, taking the bowl, and pulling the shoes from her feet. After putting everything away she flicked some switches on the wall turning off the ceiling lights but keeping the low lights in the floor active for her own sake “Alright little one, time for bed.” She gathered the baby up in her arms again as she crawled onto her mattress laying him against her chest, Racket rolled up to the wall next to them putting himself in sleep mode. It took a short while as the tiny green boy fussed to fight against sleep but was soon lulled as his babysitter who lightly patted his back and hummed a calming tune. Before long Anai found herself cuddled up to the little heat pack into blissful sleep, completely unaware of the danger heading their way.

Hours later the mechanic awoke to the grumblings of the child as he pushed against her chest in an attempt to get up “Bachsu?” Anai called out to the little one “What’s wrong?” She sat up holding him close to her as he continued to whine, his ears cast down staring up at her with those big pleading eyes. The noise was enough to bring Racket out of sleep mode, coming to life and beeping curiously. The woman sighed using her free hand to rub her eyes of sleep “You’re hungry, aren’t you?” She watched the way his ears immediately perked up confirming her suspicions “Alright, let’s see if I can find you something.” Anai sighed stepping down from her bunk only to pull back a moment stunned at how cold the floor was before quickly tiptoeing past a still sleeping Peli into the kitchen. With the child in hand the mechanic rifled through some storage containers eventually coming across packets of powdered stew and bread “This’ll have to do.” She grabbed a small pot and bowl, setting them both and the little one on a counter as she prepared the meal, cooking the stew on a small burner and adding water to the bread making it rise instantly. Now done she pulled the bread apart and dipped a piece in the stew letting it soak up the juices before handing it to the child “Here you go, try that.” He took the bread in his clawed hand and took his first little bite, his big pointy ears practically jumping up and down with joy. Anai couldn't help but smile as she pulled off a piece for herself, continuing to share their breakfast until a very groggy Peli dragged herself around the corner and made a b-line for her caf maker. “Navila.” The younger woman greeted only to be nonchalantly waved off, she turned her attention back to the kiddo who having finished his breakfast now watched them curiously “Why don’t you come with me Bachsu, we gotta lot of work to get to today before Mando gets back.” She scooped him up again, taking him back to the main room to get ready for the day.

Back to work once again Anai had a better plan to handle the child this go around. Digging through some other storage containers she found long scraps of fabric and tied them around her upper body as a makeshift carrier. She secured the little one making sure he was facing forward so he could watch everything she was doing without interfering. Luckily all they had left was to work on the landing gear, recalibrate the entire system, and do a final run-through. The work was tedious especially without the help of the droids as Anai grabbed her datapad to start checking the connectivity of the system to the landing gear. As she stood there the child began to fuss yet again pulling at the fabric and holding him to her “Oh?” She looked down at him curiously “What’s wrong Bachsu?” He kept pushing the fabric kicking his little feet as he whined “Woah okay, I’ll let you down” She pulled him out of the carrier kneeling into the sand while setting him in front of her “That was pretty big fuss there, do you need something? Are you hungry again?” The little one continued to whine as he grabbed her hand and tried pulling her towards the ramp of the ship “Hey! Bachsu, what’s gotten into you?” The little one’s behavior had her alarm bells ringing when suddenly a shadow fell over her. Slowly turning her head, the mechanic now came face to face with the barrel of a blaster, a gasp escaped her tinted lips and Anai shot up to her feet “Pel-!” There was a sharp blow to the back of her head that sent her careening to the ground. The last thing she heard before blacking out being the panicked cries of the child.

There was no way of telling how long she had been out but when Anai opened her eyes again all she could see was darkness, It must be night. She rationalized while trying to move but quickly found she could not, her hands were tied over her head and she was hanging in the air, Where am I? Suddenly the clinking of boots against metal came to her ears “Finally awake I see.” A familiar voice spoke, “I saw the dog tag I thought you’d put up more of a fight.” It was that boy from the cantina, Toro, if she remembered right. Anai tried to speak as she struggled against her bonds but quickly became aware of the fact that she had also been gagged. A gloved hand pulled the gag down from her lips “Sorry, what was that?” He asked in a mocking tone.

“Karillja! What the hell are you doing?!” She yelled, “Where’s the Mandalorian?!”

“Oh, he’ll be along shortly.” He walked a small distance away from her as he spoke “Heard there was a bigger prize of glory if I brought him and the little green guy back to the guild, so I thought I’d just cash in them instead.”

The kid…, of course now it all made sense, that was why Mando was specifically not looking for guild work. He was running from them for not turning over a bounty, “You don’t have to do this.” Anai tried reasoning with him “There’s still time, just walk away. You can’t tell me entry into the guild is worth your life.”

“You have no idea how much I need this.” Next thing she felt the leather of his gloved fingers as the gag was pulled back over her mouth “Keep quiet.” Toro warned ‘“And when this is over you ladies can go back to your little lives as if nothing happened.” He walked further into what she assumed to be the hull of the Razorcrest leaving her to hang there.

Moments later she heard the shuffling of one of the pit droids across the hangar, something had startled it. Turning in the direction of the noise she could only see the faintest outline of a figure as the dim light bounced off his shiny armor Mando! She struggled against the restraints again grumbling through the gag. “Took you long enough, Mando.” She heard Toro’s voice call from behind her and the padding of hid boots slowly getting closer “Looks like I’m calling the shots now. Huh, partner?” Anai heard two sets of boots walk past her onto the ships ramp she assumed he had Peli at the end of his blaster and possibly holding the child in his other arm. Unfortunately, their shadowed forms blocked what little of Mando the younger mechanic could see. “Drop your blaster and raise ‘em.” She heard the small thud of a blaster hitting the sandy floor. Kriff. This was bad, Anai may have just met the man a literal day ago, but she didn’t want to think of what would happen to the kid if he wasn’t around. Toro’s shadowy arm pushed Peli forward with the barrel end of his blaster “Cuff him.” Listening to what was about to play out the former rebel quickly made up her mind, This guy needs to go. While the boy started his speech about how legendary he’d be she reached up to the ceiling grates of the ship, slipping her slender fingers into the holes for stability as she started pulling her knees up into her stomach. Suddenly there was a flash of light and Anai could finally see the scene in front of her as Mando and Peli ducked behind some crates. Toro shot blindly and using all her strength Anai kicked her feet forward throwing him off balance as Mando appeared and with one shot from his blaster the now dead man fell from the ramp. She was left there swinging lightly as the light from the flare faded taking her sight with it.

After everything settled the shine of metal armor appeared again and approached her “Hold still.” Was all the Mandalorian gruffly spoke as he reached up to cut Anai’s hands free and quickly grabbing her waist in the same motion to stop her from falling. She pulled the gag from her mouth as she turned down to Mando but not fully meeting his gaze “I guess that’s what I get for laughing at you, huh?” He tilted his domed head to the side in a nod “Should’ve told you to watch your back.” They both shared a small chuckle as he let her down on the ramp, she could hear Peli consoling the child somewhere below “Thank you.” She heard the Mandalorian softly speak next to her “For all your help, I wish to repay you.” Anai just smiled lightly and intended to tell him she didn’t need anything before Peli spoke up for her “She needs off planet; you could do that.”

“Peli…” Anai followed the older women’s voice giving her a look. “What? You do!” Peli called back defensively “The only reason you’re still here is that your ship got jacked! Didn’t you say someone was asking for you on Ukio?” Anai hesitated, there was a client who had been practically begging her to come to his shop. “I can ferry you there.” Mando interjected, “It’ll only take a couple of hours.” Anai opened her mouth to speak but the words were refusing to form before she sighed looking in the general direction of Mando. “It’s not that I don’t want to, it's just…I’m kind of a package deal.” She saw the shine on his helmet move, probably looking at her quizzically now. He’s not gonna like it. “Racket!” Anai turned back to the hangar as she called out for her droid. The astromech appeared from the living quarters rolling up next to Peli as Anai continued “I…can’t go anywhere without him, and I know you don’t like droids…” Suddenly Racket interrupted with a series of serious beeps that had Anai turned to him with shocked confusion “Are you sure Racket...?” She listened to another few beeps before turning back to Mando “He said he’s willing to travel in off mode with a restraining bolt, you can even chain him to the wall if that’s acceptable.” It wasn’t like the astromech to offer something, so she really hoped an opportunity like this didn’t go to waste. The Mandalorian seemed to think it over for a moment before sighing heavily “Alright, I can work with that. Get your things, we’re leaving.” Anai nodded and she smiled as relief flooded over her. Putting her hand out for balance she made her way down the ramp towards the small amount of light her droid emitted, placing her hand on his head he guided her back to the bunk room.

It took only a few minutes to shove everything the mechanic had left to her name into a backpack and grab her discarded data pad that one of the pit droids thankfully retrieved. Opening the door again she walked into a now illuminated hangar where Mando stood at the top of the ramp now holding the child as he waited for her and Racket to come aboard. She patted the droids little metal head “Go on, I gotta say my goodbyes.” Racket beeped lightly before heading up the ramp. The younger mechanic turned to her friend who stood with her arms crossed in front of her “Well I guess this is goodbye for now.” Anai shrugged her leather-clad shoulders. Peli scoffed “About time I was starting to get sick of ya.” Anai couldn’t help the light giggle that escaped her tinted lips “I’ll let you know when we get settled in, thank you again for taking us in.” Her friend simply waved her off “Go on, get out of here before you make an old woman cry.” Anai reached out placing a tender hand on her shoulder as she softly whispered “Peli Moto, Vidu.”

She let her go climbing up the ramp into the hull just as the Mandalorian secured the restraining bolt onto Racket and pressed a button on his vambrace to power the droid down. Mando starred at Anai for a short moment before turning on his heels and heading up the ladder to the cockpit, the ramp now closing behind her. She took in a breath as she walked past her droid patting him on the head before scrambling up the ladder herself. The mechanic soon joined her ferryman and his little companion taking the only other empty seat and setting her bag on the floor as they began to lift off. Anai turned to the little one watching him play with a little silver ball and recognizing it immediately Ah! So that’s where that went!

Translations:

Tena ja, sulatuka o!: He’s gone, it’s safe!

Bachsu: Child

Navila: Morning.

Karillja!: Bastard!

Vidu: Goodbye

Header & Footer: @samspenandsword

Mudhorn divider: @dreamland-gallery

Diamond & Din Dividers: @saradika-graphics

#star wars #din djarin #the mandalorian #fan fic #peli motto #din djarin fanfic #din djarin x ofc #din and grogu #groguthechild #original droid character #original chatacter

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denimbex1986 · 10 months

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The recent 60th anniversary of Doctor Who led to a special anniversary episode which introduced the Fourteenth Doctor, played by David Tennant, and while the actor's new Doctor may seem just like his old one, the Tenth Doctor, his companion Donna Noble made it clear how the two are different. Doctor Who is a British sci-fi television series that first began in 1963. The series follows an intergalactic being called the Doctor who travels through time and space via the TARDIS, a device that looks like a British telephone box.

David Tennant's return to Doctor Who as the Fourteenth Doctor may be confusing considering the fact that the actor played the Tenth Doctor from 2005 to 2010. Typically, the Doctor is played by a new actor with every regeneration, and in fact, Tennant is the first Doctor Who actor to play two Doctors. In between Tennants' regenerations are actors Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, and Jodie Whittaker. Ncuti Gatwa will play the Fifteenth Doctor after Tennant. However, as strange as his return may be, the Doctor Who 60th anniversary special makes it fairly clear that, though Tennants' two Doctors are quite similar, they are ultimately two different people.

Doctor Who's Fourteenth Doctor Is Virtually Identical To The Tenth

It may be hard to believe that David Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor is different from the Tenth Doctor because of how similar the two are. While Doctor Who easily could have dressed Tennant in a completely different outfit and given him an entirely different personality, they ultimately did not. In many ways, Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor is just like his Tenth Doctor, just with a different label. In particular, the Fourteenth Doctor's costume looks exactly like the Tenth Doctor's in terms of clothes and hair, and his demeanor is the same as well. Seemingly, all Tennant had to do was reprise his previous Doctor Who role.

Doctor Who's creators and David Tennant himself have commented on the Fourteenth Doctor's look. Executive producer Russell T. Davies noted that the Fourteenth Doctor's outfit is quite similar to that of Jodie Whittaker's Doctor because he regenerated from her. However, there are some slight differences due to their different genders. Furthermore, of the Fourteenth Doctor, Tennant said, "...to a sort of casual viewer, I look like I'm sort of dressed in the same way as I used to be. But actually we've gone for something that's sort of the same, but different. That has echoes of the past, but it's also a bit something of the now as well."

Donna Nails The One Difference Between Tennant's Fourteenth & Tenth Doctors

In reality, there is only one major difference between David Tennant's Tenth Doctor and his Fourteenth Doctor apart from their name, and Donna Noble points it out right away. The Fourteenth Doctor is older than the Tenth Doctor. During the Doctor Who 60th anniversary special, Noble jokingly points out that the Fourteenth Doctor's suit doesn't quite work for a man of his age. This tease is not only a fun bit of dialogue, but it also acknowledges two big facts. First, the Fourteenth Doctor is similar to the Tenth Doctor, particularly in terms of clothing, and second, the Fourteenth Doctor is quite a bit older than the Tenth Doctor.

It is no surprise that the Fourteenth Doctor is older than the Tenth Doctor, because that is simply true of David Tennant. The last time Tennant appeared on Doctor Who was in 2010, and at that point, he was around 41 years old. Now, 13 years later, the actor is currently 52. That decade-long age difference isn't detrimental to David Tennant, but as the Fourteenth Doctor, it certainly gives him a different ambiance than the Tenth Doctor. Without considering the fact that Tennant is an actor playing different variations of the same character, it is easier to see how a 40-year-old Doctor would be distinctively different from a 50-year-old Doctor.

Why The Fourteenth Doctor Looks Older Than The Tenth

Because David Tennant is physically older than he was when he played the Tenth Doctor, he obviously looks older now as the Fourteenth Doctor. However, the fact that Doctor Who points his age out could mean that there is a deeper meaning behind it. The Doctor has never taken on the same appearance twice, so why, in the world of Doctor Who, did he regenerate into the same person, but older? Perhaps this is an issue that should not be looked into too deeply, but it is an interesting line of questioning. Hopefully, the anniversary special episodes will provide more solid answers.'

#David Tennant #Catherine Tate #Donna Noble #The Star Beast #60th Anniversary #Doctor Who #Matt Smith #Peter Capaldi #Jodie Whittaker #Ncuti Gatwa

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potroasttheghostdogrants · 7 months

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So let's get the big bich out the way first.

We gotta talk about it.

First, yes, I'm a huge fan. Yes I am aware this gives me bias.

I would, however, advocate for the position that Fire Emblem having more characters than most other franchises is actually a great way to nutshell the games as a whole in a crossover game. Fire Emblem is a series about war, massive armies, and ragtag bands of lunatics banding together to fight off an invading empire or the devil (when they aren't, like, plowing in the encampments). The consistent themes are unity and friendship between allies and how they're stronger together. In these games, you control an army, and you need to use all of them together in order to win (unless you're Seth, but that man swings lower than any character in gaming history, he gets a pass). It makes sense there's a lot of them. They sent a squad. That's how they roll. They also, by virtue of being an enormous cast of humanoids and warrior people, fit the physical criterias of a fighter by default.

However, because of this, Fire Emblem needs a special rule unique to its franchise. It's not FE Bros. I get that.

So I've come up with a solution that I think makes everyone happy. It limits FEs taking up "slots", while also allowing the franchise to stay relevant as more characters get added in future and more games in the series comes out in future (and they will. FE has become one of the cash cows of Nintendo. They're gonna pump these things out. Hell of a glowup really, and all with the power of anime) without kicking any older characters off of the roster to make room. And it even makes sense for the franchise.

Archetypes baby.

If you're unfamiliar, see, Fire Emblem does this thing in every single game where characters are created basically as references to older characters, and are built, stat-wise and personality-wise, to ape older ones to serve similar purposes to the narrative and gameplay. The fandom has dubbed them archetypes. It's a really interesting idea, allowing the developers to make a gaming shorthand for veterans to immediately adapt to a new roster and strategize with their new game pieces, while also allowing those archetypes to be subverted in a narrative sense between games, creating surprises and allowing characters to be narratively interesting just by subverting the expectations created by older characters of their archetype.

For example: The Cain and The Abel.

These nerds (Cain and Abel) were the first two unpromoted cavaliers to join your army in the very first FE game. Cain had red armor and Abel had Green. Cain did more damage on attacks and had higher defense, while Abel was faster, hit more frequently, and missed less. Cain was hotheaded, Abel was calm.

Every game after that has had a Cain and Abel. You get two cavaliers at about the same time, one red, one green, one fast, one strong, and they have conflicting Red Oni/Blue Oni personalities. But FE keeps them fresh by tweaking them here or there.

Come Awakening. You get Sully (red, hot headed) and Stahl (Green, sedate), only Sully is a woman, and is the fast one, Stahl is the strong one. They then used Sully's gender and hotheadedness in concert to examine how she has adopted the hotheadedness from her training with men to protect herself from the sexism she faced from them. They used existing pieces, tweaked them a bit, and then extrapolated from them to say something interesting by examining how those tweaks can affect a character in a tangible way. No, I wouldn't say Awakening is a uniquely feminist work, but playing with an established trope allowed the character writers to say something cool and I really dig that.

In Gaiden/Echoes, your Cain and Abel in the mage protagonist's campaign are two mages instead of cavalry. In Sacred Stones the green knight is the hothead (serious, dour, and short tempered) and the red one is the sedate one (lackadaisical, sarcastic, and easygoing) You get the idea. There's a lot of them and they're in every game.

So that's the solution. FE Archetypes in Smash. It represents the series while also keeping things civil, while also giving FE fans more characters while taking up little actual space in game data. From here on, if a character in a new FE game fits into an archetype established already and are to be added to Smash as a fighter, they instead get added as an alternate skin of the older character that defined their archetype. The moves, inputs, animations, and effects of moves would be the same, the only things changing would be visual effects. If the character in question adds a truly unique gameplay style to FE's representation, they get to be a standalone character, and then *they* will have established an archetype of their own.

The archetypes would be the first character on the roster that behaves this way. We already have some established ones. We'd have;

The Marth: Steady and graceful, with elegant, light, fast sword play, emphasizing finesse and thrusting over swipes and slashes. The blade tips to maintain careful distance that must be managed and the focus is on exploiting weakness with shield breaks and outplaying with counters. Personality-wise, this is reserved for royals or otherwise raised in environments that emphasize diplomacy and mercy over warfare. Bleeding hearts types.

The Roy: fast, aggressive, and unprofessional. The sword swings are unusal and unorthodox but aggressive and strong. The focus is on blitzing people down up close and personal. The heft near the base does the most damage to highlight this and the focus is on aggressive attrition with an unreliable defense. The swords are magic and capable of producing flame. Personality wise, this one is for royals who are more focused on the fighting than the talking. Either unskilled at the act, uninitiated, or uninterested. Stock shonen hero types.

The Ike: Slow and powerful, with brutal swings with wide arcs. The swings are slow but efficient, a soldier's mindset instead of a prince. Powerful, effective, the emphasis is on destruction, not grace. The overwhelming strength creates impacts wherever the weapon lands. Personality wise, non-royal, or must have a sneering contempt for the practice of statecraft but priority one is being a bit of a sourpuss. Seinen types.

The Lucina/Chrom: We're gonna get into *this* one later in another post! Oh golly oh gee.

The Robin: Spellswords with an emphasis on magic, but capable of swordplay. Must have access to a lightning attuned weapon of some kind. Thankfully this is not restricted to swords in FE. As an avatar, this archetype is not limited to personality types.

The Corrin: Shapeshifters that use their bodies in tandem with magical weapons. Capable of magical feats by virtue of their transformations, but otherwise not a mage. As an avatar, this archetype is not limited to certain personalities.

The Byleth: Multiweapon masters who use more than one weapon at once. As an avatar yadda yadda.

With these, any character introduced later that fits into these boxes can be added no sweat, so your favorite character can be in but no one has to yell at you! We can even retroactively add characters to the old ones as alt characters as skins, like Alph and Olimar or the Minecraft crew.

My proposals for some FE characters to be added to the established archetypes and why I think they work;

Marths:

Leif from Thracia (he even has a reference in Marth already, Marth's white palette is supposed to be a reference to Leif, who is the only lord in the franchise to wear predominantly white armor)

Eirika from Sacred Stones (her sword Sieglinde is actually the closest sword of the main lords in the franchise to actually resemble a rapier in structure, thus making her a perfect candidate to use Shield Breaker in a moveset she also fits the emptional aspect of the archetype better than any other character)

Seliph from Genealogy (whose Tyrfing is actually practically interchangable with Marth's Falchion in appearance and he's another pollyanna.)

Roys:

Alm from Gaiden/Echoes (he's a soldier first and foremost and trained as one, thus explaining a more guerilla fighting style of swordplay, the flames of his Falchion can be green)

Eliwood from Blazing (Roy's dad, Durandal can ignite, and -- tangent time -- my headcanon for why Roy fights so weird? His dad trained him. However, he trained him using Durandal, because he didn't want to abandon such a poweful weapon in uncertain times, and Durandal is a HUGE heavy weapon, so much so that Eliwood explicitly mentions that the sword is actually too big and heavy for his form of fencing training to wield it properly. So what do you do when the sword is too heavy to swing correctly? Uppercut with the bitch, swing wild, keep your movement economical and use the heft of the weapon to do all the heavy lifting for you. Like Roy's neutral A, dash attack, neutral B, up-tilt, etc. Boom. Bam. Gottem. Within Canon. His flames can be red.)

Rinkah from Fates (she is of the Flame Tribe and is attuned with fire magic. She's wild, strong, and "uncivilized" for the setting, from a culture that emphasises strength and solitude, and joins the player's army not really of her will. She fits the archetype to a T even without the uniquely magical sword, and her kanabo can absolutely be wielded effectively using Roy's sword strikes)

Ikes:

Hector from Blazing (big and strong, Ike was written as a callback to him. All of Ike's attacks could conceivably come from an axe as well as a sword, and since Ike was trained by an axe wielder that makes sense. Keep Armad's lighting, but don't change the flame effect. Lightning can start fires after all)

The Black Knight from Radiance (Wields Ike's sister sword, is his rival, trained by the same guy, change the flames to green)

Xander from Fates (he's the oldest brother and the physically strongest, wields an enormous broadsword, a stoic to his core, his flames can be black)

These are most of the ones I feel are relevant enough (see rule 4) to be in while also fitting the archetypes. This is mostly to keep fandom wars to a minimum, and to prevent the ensuing tusnami. The war. The fandom fight to end all fandom fights. You know it's coming. *I* know it's coming. You know what I'm talking about.

shudder

She approacheth. The coming tide.

God help us all.

#super smash bros #fire emblem #rambles #fan theory

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spideyanakin · 2 years

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10 Things I Hate about you - Chapter 3

Eddie Munson x Harrington! reader

Synopsis - A new rule strikes the Harrington household: if Steve wishes to date ever again, his sister needs to find a boyfriend first. As Steve becomes desperate and thinks of everything in his power to set her up, only one guy comes to mind that will take up a challenge such as that: Eddie Munson.

warnings - still season 1 Steve sry and he’s getting worst, underage drinking, angst at it's finnest

word count - 16k

proof read by the amazing @inknopewetrust

series masterlist 🌻

Monday arrived at the pace of a sloth.

In addition to the “no dating” rule, your parents had put Steve under house arrest for the next three weekends––which quickly backfired on everyone in the house that wasn't him. You never thought you would be grateful that Steve had spent every weekend with his friends. Since middle school, his absence always meant the house was quiet, peaceful, for a short period of time.

The entire weekend, your family endured Steve's constant complaining over his homework and the fact he was home instead of at Tommy’s or with any other of the popular douchebag boys. It only became intolerable when your mother ordered you to tutor him in order to 'make him shut up.’

It only resulted in you giving him all the answers or him copying your work, and no quiet reprieve was gifted in return.

You had fought Steve over the TV like the two of you were toddlers. You battled for the last of the leftover cupcakes you had baked with Dustin, and then Steve threw the Monopoly board in your face when you won. He always became too competitive when it came to games. When you suggested a “truce” game of Clue, he ripped the Mrs. Scarelt card when she had been the murderer you were searching for and not Professor Plum whom he had accused. It got to the point where you were debating drowning yourself in the pool that had just been cleaned from the debris winter had left behind.

"What did you say for the question on scene three?" Barb wondered as she reread through the text in question. Her eyebrows knitted together as she skimmed through the words carefully in an attempt to decipher the man’s prose.

"About the nurse?" You questioned and placed some of your textbooks into your locker. "I talked about how her role in the play is explicitly for Juliet's happiness, and I tied it in with what Mr. Arnold said about older women in Shakespeare being shown in a different light than the younger ones."

"Oh yeah…” She thought on the analysis, “that's good," Barb nodded and closed the book and looked blankly at the white cover and red writing.

"Barb," you spoke her name with a desperate tone as your locker door closed with an echoing bang and your palm met the metal.

"What?"

"Kill me now…” You groaned dramatically, perhaps with more emotion than she had ever seen you emit before. “I have to walk into class and sit next to Steve." Your words made her chuckle. "It's not funny!" You whined, hitting your forehead against the locker door. "This weekend was hell with him not leaving the house. I did half of his homework for him. Half!"

"Hey,” Barb stood straighter as she leaned on the locker beside your own. Her books held tightly against her chest, the red-headed girl gave a kind smile and hopeful eyes. “Look on the bright side! You only have a few hours and then the day’s over, you can go home and lock yourself away in your room."

"That long? I might pick up some ideas from the end of the book by then." As if on cue, the bell rang. You wanted to melt in your spot; become a puddle like the glob of spilled soda that threatened student’s pristine shoes right outside the lunchroom.

But your luck wouldn't have it. You had to sit in your usual seat, in the same boring English classroom, with Steve at your side.

However, who you hadn’t expected to see, was Eddie sitting next to Gareth as they chatted their spare minutes away. Your eyes went a little wide as you looked at him; your gaze fixed on his head of waves as you passed by his seat and sat a few rows behind and to the side from him.

Eddie turned around to look at you once he had finished speaking to Gareth, your gaze still fixed on him.

And then he winked.

You couldn’t fight the way a grin plastered itself onto your face.

You felt like a madman. As though the events of the last week had changed you completely from the stone-cold bitch everyone was afraid of to a gooey, romantic lead in some cheesy B-film. Eddie Munson winked at you. It shouldn’t have felt like the world had chosen you to be the main character of a romantic subplot of life but it did. He winked, smiling himself as he turned his attention back to Gareth and laughed about something his younger friend said.

Thinking about that wink, you didn’t realize the look that had stilled on your face as Steve took his spot beside you.

"Did Munson just wink at you?" Steve blinked in disbelief as he put a folder down on his desktop.

Steve did not know you could smile like that. Steve did not know that you could get flustered like that. Steve did not know that Eddie, the “freak” who had a work ethic so unlike your own yet shared the same interests, could make you feel that way.

"Yes and…?"

"I’ve never seen you speak to him before?" He had to stop the smile that was threatening to spread across his lips. Was his plan working?

"So? Now you watch who I talk to and what I do in your spare time?" You raised an eyebrow.

"No,” He huffed. “I just have never seen you talk with Munson. That’s all."

You shrugged at him to play it off. A part of you wanted Steve to suffer from the “no dating” rule. He was an asshole. Self-centered and mean; a boy who would peak in high school and be stuck selling cars until the end of his days because at some point, Steve decided being the popular kid was his only mission. But you had to stop lying to yourself about what you may want out of life too.

Maybe it isn’t a date or relationship with Eddie Munson—maybe it is. But if you were going to keep Eddie as a friend if it doesn’t plan out like a fantasy novel, then Steve had to know that if he saw Eddie talk to you, wink at you, or give you a smile, that there was a reason for it.

You unzipped your pencil case and retrieved a black pen from the bag.

"We went to The Hideout together last Friday."

"WHAT?" His shriek was a mix of everything Steve was feeling at once.

Shock that his plan was working and you had actually accepted to go out with Eddie; jealousy that you had gone out and he wasn't able to; surprise that you had sneaked out of the house without him noticing; mad that you hadn't actually been in the house and therefore hadn't fulfilled your duty as his emotional support for house arrest; and seriously pissed off at the fact that if your parents had known you were out, then maybe, just maybe they would have let Steve meet his friends too.

"You're telling me you were on a date while I was on house arrest?"

“Can you please,” you hissed at him, “scream it a little louder so the rest of Hawkins High can hear this conversation?” Your gritted teeth and harsh whisper told him it was indeed a type of date. “It wasn't a date," your whispers were calmer as you eyed the teacher standing up to close the door. "I just went with him to see his band play."

"So, it was a date."

"No––"

"You're dating!" He smiled, jumping up and down in his seat like a kid who had too much sugar. Steve was in high school, not an elementary student.

"I'm not!” You defended. “Stop… insinuating things! It wasn't just him, his band was there too."

"Hmm," he said as if he wasn't listening. "I totally believe you."

"You should."

"Morning class," Mr. Arnold greeted with the same two words he had been using for years on end. "I hope you all had a good weekend," his eyes lifted to scan the room, stopping when his gaze landed upon the one student he never expected to be here. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Good to see you, Mr. Munson."

"Same here Mr. Arnold," Eddie gave him his best angelic smile.

"Well, I have this for you," Mr. Arnold turned around to take the white book from his desk, placing it in front of Eddie. "We are at Act one, scene four." Eddie took a second to comprehend the system as he flipped through the pages. Plays weren't his thing.

But when Act 1, Scene 4 was written in bold on top of the page, he gave a thumbs up to the older man.

"I will collect your homework, and then we can read together."

"Steve, where's your book?" You whispered as you examined his desk. The homework you had done for him was in the middle, his pencil case resting on the top corner––but no Romeo and Juliet.

"I don't know where I put it," he lied.

"Are you serious?" You already knew how this was going to end. You'd have to share the book for the rest of the semester, and worse, you knew this would lead to Steve happily copying all your homework and ideas for the assessment later on.

He just shrugged it off as though it were not moot. Those were the facts, you’d just have to accept it as it was because he was the “King of Hawkins High” afterall… Steve Harrington just didn’t fail because he was stupid, he played the long game and that always meant one thing:

Stealing your work.

"Hey! Party at my place on Friday!" Tina cheered as she handed Nancy and Barb a neon orange piece of paper each. ‘Tina's Spring party’ was written in big, black bubble letters with her address at the bottom.

"Y/n didn't get one," Nancy told Tina with an innocent smile with her hand extended to receive another. Tina looked from Nancy to you and back to Nancy as her eyes went blank.

"Oh! I'm sorry!” Tina was not sorry. “That's right," she played dumb as she reluctantly licked the tip of her finger to whisk another paper from the pile she was holding, handing it to Nancy who passed it to you. Taking it with a fake smile, you thanked her before continuing on with the only two girls you’d consider to be friends.

"You didn't have to do that,” you mumbled to Nancy as the paper between the tips of your fingers began to feel like a brick rather than a feather.

"Are you kidding?" Nancy's eyes went wide. "I wasn't going to let her get away with that."

What? Blatant disregard for your existence? Pure dislike for your perfectly penurious outlook on this thing called life?

"It's fine, seriously. I won’t go anyways," you looked down at the page, your nose scrunching up at the idea.

"You won't?" Nancy was almost pouting while Barb had already stressed with her eyes that it was nothing but a burden.

"No… Don't count me in to go to this dumb… mating ritual," you crumpled the paper and threw it in the first trash that crossed your way.

"I don't think I'll go either," Barb shrugged her shoulders. The only way that Barbara Holland would go to a party was with the assurance that Nancy wouldn’t let her pout away in the corner for being a third wheel––but she knew it was going to be her sitting in a corner all evening, making sure Nancy was alright before she would disappear somewhere, or be drunk enough for Barb to leave without her noticing.

"But you have to come with me!" Nancy protested.

"No! You know I don't like parties!"

"But it will be fun!" You scoffed at her, shaking your head at her insistence.

“Stop bothering, Nance!” You smiled as Barb backed you up. “If she doesn't want to go, then let her stay at home.”

“I’m sure the new episode of Little house on the Prairie will be much more interesting than this,” you flicked the invitation still sitting between Barb’s hand.

“Whatever,” Nancy rolled her eyes. “I guess I’ll just have to go alone.”

“I’m afraid so,” you pouted, the look on her face making you chuckle.

Eddie watched with a smile on his face as you passed right beside his locker, almost melting at the little smile and wave you gave him when you passed his way.

Oh, fuck him. His sanity was burning to a crisp along the very path you walked. A simple smile, a tiny, little wave that looked like something out of a stranger danger VHS and he was jittery. The money in his pocket––even if not physically there––weighed it all back to reality. The reminder that the smile was based on a lie bled just as quickly as it skimmed.

“Did you just smile at Munson?” He could hear Nancy squeak as your head turned back around.

“Yeah, and?” Your voice snapped back, but unfortunately, you had disappeared down a different hall before he could snoop on the rest.

“I heard you went out with my sister last Friday,” Steve’s voice broke Eddie’s day dreaming.

“I did,” Eddie nodded, straightening his back in pride.

“I can’t believe you’ve actually convinced her to go out with you,” Steve chuckled in disbelief before placing a hand in one of the pockets of his jacket. “Here,” Steve stuffed a new fifty dollar bill in Eddie’s hand before he even had the time to protest, “as promised.”

Steve was still laughing to himself. “Just make sure that I actually know about it this time.”

“Alright,” Eddie stuffed the bill in his pocket without taking a second glance at it.

“Like take her to the movies or something.”

“Noted.”

“Good,” Steve nodded before walking away.

As Eddie watched Steve disappear down the hall you had moments before, the money in his pocket was no longer imaginary. The weight was heavy, it was physically there and jesting him like a foe. Here it was, it cried to him as Shakespearan as an enemy could. A prize.

And it made him sick thinking that he ever agreed to such a deal.

But then he remembered your smile, that little wave. In his mind, Eddie could recall the innocence of it. How he felt, and how you felt––but the money kept rolling in.

“Y/n,” Steve jumped on the couch next to you. Your eyes lifted up from the episode of Dallas playing to see his big smile creeping only inches away from you. “You’re coming to the party on Friday, right?”

“No, I’m not.”

“What do you mean you’re not?” His smile fell. “You have to go!”

“No, I don’t,” you rolled your eyes before looking back at the TV to see a close up of Larry Hagman’s face.

“But you have to go! You’re the only way I can convince mom and dad to let me go! Pretend I’ll be your… protector or something.”

The fact that had spewed from his lips made you want to chuck him out of a window.

“My protector?”

“Yes! Make sure drunk boys don’t cling to you or laugh at you or try anything with you.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “You mean half of the guy you are when you get drunk? I’m sorry, Steve,” you drawled his name out like he was a child being scolded by a parent, “but I specifically remember the halloween party freshman year where you got so drunk you—”

“We don’t need to talk about that!” He pointed a finger, cutting you off with the slap of the back of his hand to your shoulder.

“You are literally those guys! You wouldn’t be protecting me from anything!”

“Other guys! Not me, just… other guys! And they don’t need to know about me… just how their precious little daughter is going to be looked after by her precious brother.”

“I’m not going,” you stated definitively. “Convince them yourself.”

“Y/n!”

“Steeeeve!” you mimicked his whining.

“Is your brother bothering you again?” Your mother walked into the room when she heard the commotion. It was like a dog answering a silent whistle—she heard it, she came. A motherly instinct, if you will.

“He is!”

“I’m not!”

She shook her head, pushing the reply as unimportant, not bothering to care about your sibling banter before grabbing a book from the shelves next to the TV.

“Diner’s in five,” she gave both of you pointed looks and you scrambled up off the couch, leaving Steve behind.

As you disappeared behind the doorway, your mothers gaze was kept on your brother. She raised an eyebrow when he simply grabbed the remote and flicked through the channels with a soured expression painted on his face.

“Steve?”

“Hmm?” He barely looked up.

“Go help your sister set up the table,” Steve’s face fell even further when the words registered.

Chores. Expectations. The rules of the house for every evening since he was old enough to remember them.

“Oh, right.”

And after ten minutes of fighting Steve over which side of the plate the forks were placed on and which glasses were the ones for water rather than all else, the family sat around the diner table with a meal whisking up into the air and filling each nose with a delicious scent.

The food was comforting. The stress that you accumulated throughout the day shedding away as you enjoyed the meal. For a second, you pretended you were transported to a time where you and Steve still got along. A time where the two of you had the same interests and he didn’t make every second of your life miserable.

One where he wasn’t the ‘King of Hawkins High’ and you weren’t the sibling who was a little too far on the side of strange.

“Mom, dad,” Steve lifted his eyes from the potatoes in his plate, “I wanted to ask you something.” Of course he had to quickly ruin the moment.

Your dream shattered with the sound of his sweet voice.

“What is it?” Your mother brought her glass of sparkling water towards her lips.

“Well… there’s this party on Friday—”

“Don’t even think about it.” Your father’s voice cut him off before he could really begin.

“But—”

“Steve,” he lamented, “you need to focus on your work! When you show us that your grades are improving, only then will we trust you enough to go out again. It’s simple.”

“But that’s unfair!”

“How is this unfair?” He asked, letting the question hang in the air. When your father didn’t receive a reply, he continued; “Is your sister going?” His eyes landed on you like a target being breached.

Mayday, mayday! Abandon ship before Steve sinks you with his conniving pea-brained ideas.

“No.”

For once, Steve had told the truth.

“Then you won’t go. Take an example from her,” your father pointed at you with his fork. “She has nearly perfect grades and still has a social life––”

“That's a lie,” Steve snorted to himself.

“Your sister is doing fine. She’s proof that you can get good grades too and have a life while doing so.”

“That’s not fair! I want to enjoy my life as a teenager, and she doesn’t!” Your father sighed as he listened to Steve. “You can’t keep me on house arrest forever!”

“No, but––” he stopped mid sentence, the same look that had lit up his features last Monday coming back. This was bad for Steve, you thought to yourself as you watched your father search for the right words. “Not forever.”

“Ok! Then when!?”

“When your sister goes out.”

“WHAT?”

“Yes,” he nodded. “You can take this as a new addition to the dating rule. Forget the house arrest stopping in three weeks, from now on, you follow your sister’s footsteps.” You almost spat your drink onto the ornate tablecloth your mother had set for spring. Oh my god. The three weekend house arrest had turned into this? Steve was just digging himself a bigger hole and it made your evening all the more entertaining.

But that also meant that Steve would make your life a living hell.

“BUT THAT’S SO UNFAIR!”

“It’s not. You’re being too careless with your work, she isn’t. When she goes out, you can too. End of story.”

“DAD! I–– YOU’RE RUINING MY LIFE!” The plates flew as Steve’s fist collided with the table. “UGH!” He stood up, frustration taking the best of him. “I can’t stand another minute of this,” he mumbled, his face red in anger. You could almost see the smoke coming out of his ears as he walked around the table, his feet stomping up the stairs before his bedroom door slammed shut and he made the house rumble with it.

“Do you plan on going out any time soon?” Your father turned to you.

“Nope,” you spoke, your face half hidden by your glass of water.

“Too bad for your brother then.”

“I can’t believe you’re also on house arrest,” Tommy snickered as he watched the soccer scrimmage with Steve. He opened his water bottle, bringing it to his lips as he was still thirsty and sore from ten minutes of light exercise that morning.

“Shut up, please,” Steve groaned and lifted his head to the sky. “I need to go to this party.”

“Have you thought about trying to have Eddie convince her to go? Maybe he can do it if you can’t. Hell, he’s managed to get this far without being found dead in a ditch.”

“It’s impossible… even for Eddie Munson,” Steve shook his head as he grabbed his Peanut Butter Kudos bar from his bag––elated Carol had called in sick that morning so he could have it all to himself. “Nothing in this world will get her to that party.”

“Even if you raise him? Pay him double?” Tommy shrugged.

“I could try,” Steve placed the wrapper of the bar between his teeth, taking the other end of it with his fingers to rip it open. “I’m going to have to take from my savings from now on.”

“You mean the savings you promised yourself you wouldn’t touch til you were out of high school?” Tommy’s eyes went wide. “What do you have in there? Like six hundred?” He knew how much the savings he’d been collecting since he was twelve meant to him.

It was a way out. It was an opportunity to take the girl of his dreams on an ice cream date. The money sat idle waiting to be clinched and spent on Steve’s dreams and unrealistic plans of his future––maybe a cute house and six little munchkins that he loved yet despised at the same time. But it was his. He had saved it, he had scoured hot summer days mowing neighbors lawns and shoveling their driveways during freezing winter mornings for something he could call his.

“Mhm,” Steve hummed an answer.

"I can’t believe you’ve already spent a hundred on this."

“You’re the one telling me to spend more!”

“Yeah! Because you look like a lost puppy and can’t stop complaining.”

"You don't understand! This party is my shot to ask Nancy out. We chat a bit, make out, and boom! She's my girlfriend! So, you’re right… I will pay him double," Steve explained his plan as he scribbled down the amount of money he already spent on Eddie yesterday, right next to the $1 Kit-Kat he swiped.

"Do you really have to write down everything you spend?" He raised an eyebrow and Steve sighed as he continued his writing.

"Yeah. You'll see when you're broke and I'm not."

"Well I don't spend my money for a stupid cause. Plus, isn’t that just proof that Eddie’s faking it? The fucking world will go up in flames if your sister ever gets her hands on that."

"She won’t and this isn't stupid," Steve dropped his pencil. "It's me trying to get the girl of my dreams.”

"The girl of your dreams?" Tommy gagged. "What kind of drug are you on? Did you let Munson finally convince you into buying from him or something?"

"You’re hopeless, Tommy." he shook his head as he closed his planner and placed it back into his bag.

"Says the one who gave away a hundred dollars and is about to spend more on a guy just so you can start dating again. Are you sure Munson is even invited to this party?”

Valid question.

But Steve knew one thing about the parties in Hawkins: they all needed a supplier of something… booze, weed, a little pick-me-up… and he’d be damned if Eddie Munson wasn’t the first person everyone thought of when they needed something that would make Jim Hopper turn red.

“Doesn't’ hurt to ask…”

Eddie was pulling a chaotic stunt in the halls of Hawkins High when Steve noticed him for the first time that day.

Your brother had been losing himself in the maze of hallways that he should have recalled like the back of his hand in an attempt to find Eddie when he didn’t find him at his usual spot in the drama room. After what felt like hours of searching, Steve hadn’t expected to find Eddie sprinting across the empty hallway with one of the big, black clocks from the cafeteria gripped between his hands.

“For your game?” Steve wondered as a breathless Eddie sprinted past him.

“You bet!” He nodded before disappearing into another hallway, heading straight for the drama room.

“Did Munson just pass by here?” Mrs. Jinkles arrived in front of Steve barely a few seconds later. The older woman was on the verge of sixty, huffing as though she had smoked three packs of cigarettes in a row.

“He went that way,” Steve pointed in the opposite direction to where Eddie had gone.

It hadn’t registered in his mind that if it were any other day, under any other circumstance, he would have sold Eddie out just to gain the favor of the teachers––to skip out on assignments, of course.

Steve watched as Mrs. Jinkles rolled her shoulders back and marched in the direction of his finger. He sighed in his own right before making his way toward the drama room. The familiar posters greeted him before he opened the door.

Eddie was hunched over the clock he had stolen. He had already opened it, its contents spilling onto the already messy table.

“Harrington,” Eddie did not look up at him, “ if you’re here to tell me to hurry up and get your sister on that date, know that you only asked me yesterday–”

“I’m not here for that,” Steve shook his head before walking towards Eddie, dropping a crisp, new fifty dollar bill beside the clock.

“That’s to get her to Tina’s party,” he paused. “You’re invited, right?”

“Believe it or not, Harrington, but I do get invited to parties,” he looked from the bill to Steve with a look the latter was all too familiar with. It was the kind where someone more intelligent challenged Steve to see the stupidity of his question.. “I thought you already paid me?”

“Not for the party,” Steve explained. “I need her to go or else I won’t be able to. You’ll need that extra cash for luck because she has a thing against parties that I don’t really understand… somethin’ about ‘radical feminism’ or was it ‘toxic social spheres’?”

“What?” Eddie snickered.” You’re also on house arrest?” Steve Harrington, the King of Hawkins High, not allowed to date and under house arrest, was paying him to take his sister out so he could magically remove all of these new rules. It felt so much like a popular kid tantrum that he had to laugh.

Eddie felt like a goldfish out of the bowl on many occasions but Steve treating him as though he was a main character in a film he wouldn’t be caught dead watching, a proverbial fish inside of the bowl, was jarring.

“Kind of,” Steve muttered embarrassed. “You get why I need her to be there?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Eddie shook his head, tuning out Steve’s words as he tried to remove a screw from the clock.

“Get her to that party,” Steve pointed a finger at him.

“I will.”

But Eddie knew he had a challenge. He liked it, the game of it all, yet Eddie enjoyed the chase so much that the money unraveling beside his hand next to the clock felt like a fire ready to set him ablaze.

Since the second Steve Harrington had approached Eddie Munson on that fateful day, the boys of Hellfire had seen a change. He watched, perhaps unintentionally, everything you did. The way you sat with friends and scoffed at their perspectives and laughed at their jokes; the headphones you wore were falling apart on the top but you pulled them out every day to listen to a tape he surely would have enjoyed too.

It was consuming him—you. A jewel in a sea of so much… bland, grainy sand and Oliver had uncovered Eddie’s mission with spite. He hated watching his friend peek over the edge of his locker just to glimpse at you, he sneered at the way Eddie pocketed that change only to act like a fool in love when you passed by without a glance.

A Pertruchio to a Katherina; the taming of Hawkins very own shrew.

“I think I found a new beat for a song,” Gareth shook Eddie out of his thoughts as his focus broke. The younger man watched from the corner of his eye as Oliver’s expression changed as his gaze lifted off of Eddie and to the discussion.

“Oh, that’s good,” Eddie nodded, taking another pretzel from the plastic bag tucked in his lunch box before letting his gaze fly back to you like a magnet being called home.

“I think it could go well with the lyrics you came up with the other day!” Gareth tried to catch him back, but Eddie was as good as a fish who didn’t like the bait Gareth was throwing.

“Eddie?” Jeff attempted to grab his attention to support Gareth.

“Hm?” The boy in question turned his head to face his friend as if Gareth’s comment had flown over his head and the conversation was no longer important.

“Are you going to Tina’s party?”

“Yeah,” Eddie nodded as he chewed on the remnants of the pretzel.

“I don’t get how easily it is for you to get invited,” another boy from the table chimed in. That kid was a freshman and wasn’t ever going to be invited to a party if he continued to hang out with Hellfire but if he sold drugs, that would give incentive to those looking for a fix.

“It’s a house party, everyone is invited. Just if you haven’t personally received the paper for it, Tina probably doesn’t want you there.” Jeff stated, licking his lips from the previous sip of coke he had just taken. “And Eddie is invited because he deals and that’s cool at parties.”

“Indeed,” Eddie confirmed, his finger tapping a random beat on the table. His reply still felt as though he was far off into space which drew the entire table’s focus to him.

“Is your girlfriend going?” Oliver asked before opening his box of strawberry Nerds only to pretend like he hadn’t just said something triggering or hadn’t been thinking about it the entire period.

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

There. They had Eddie’s full attention.

“Not yet,” Oliver clarified. “But you’re getting paid to become her boyfriend.” The small candies made a big sound similar to a rainstick as Oliver shook the box and a few dropped into his palm.

“Well, I’m also paid to get her to the party so… yeah,” Eddie looked down at his mini pretzels resting at the bottom of his lunchbox.

They didn’t look as appetizing as they did last week and even the sandwich he’d made in a rush that morning made his stomach turn. The peanut butter oozing from the sides, its slices could have been paper and its contents pencil shavings and Eddie would dislike it all the same. He thought that maybe he could use some of Steve’s money or leftover cash from dealing to buy something from the cafeteria tomorrow to fight the feeling that had sunk in his stomach every lunch period since Steve’s proposal. Maybe Eddie would find whatever was on the lunch menu good enough that he could finally get something in his stomach.

However, deep down, he knew it wasn’t the food. He knew very well it was the weight he was feeling in the pit of his stomach growing bigger every time his eyes landed on you and he caught himself thinking all the things he shouldn’t have been.

You looked good that afternoon. Well, you did every afternoon. You were listening to Barb as though she was telling the most intriguing story—which he fathomed could not have been the case yet he was amazed by your enthusiasm. The hard shell you wore wasn’t so hard when people truly looked.

It was as though he was seeing you for the first time, every time. A new, funny feeling rising within him that made him nervous as the money sat lumped in his jeans.

“Are you guys going?” Eddie flipped the question around, wishing to give his mind a break from his sulking.

“Your brother is acting suspicious.”

On the other side of the cafeteria, where Eddie’s gaze had previously been fixed, Barb couldn’t help voice her worries. It was not a story that Barb had eclipsed your attention with, but a comment. One singular comment that made things feel as though the ground you walked on was ice.

“What do you mean?” You frowned before bringing your fork full of food up to your lips.

“He asked me stuff about you… like to be a better brother… which Steve has never, ever, put the effort into being.’”

"Steve? Wanting to be a better brother?" The idea made you laugh. “What did he ask?”

“Stuff about you. What you like, what you do on weekends…” You stopped your fork mid flight towards your mouth, both eyebrows raised.

“Why?” You dropped your fork back on your plate and the food splattered like a painting.

“I told you! He said it was to ‘be a better brother.’”

“Maybe he actually wants to be a better brother,” Nancy chimed in, making your gaze turn to her. A sympathetic smile tugged on your lips.

“Nance, I know you like him but he definitely does not want to put any effort in making my life easier,” you snorted and Nancy suddenly became all flustered when you talked openly about her feelings. “Do you have an idea why he would ask you that?” You turned your attention back towards Barb.

“No,” she shook her head. “But just look out for anything suspicious.”

“That will be hard. Anything Steve does is suspicious.”

“Did you really need to crush on him out of all the boys in Hawkins?” Barb turned her head towards Nancy. The poor girl was hunched over her lunch in embarrassment, focusing all her attention on getting her blush to stomp out as she poked the peas around on her plastic tray..

“I guess my brother is his own kind of special…” You sighed as you moved your own food. “I’ll just have to sleep with both eyes open now… you know, it was getting real hard trying to keep one from closing.”

Barb laughed, Nancy’s blush diminished. Neither of them knew you were able to make a joke out of something that had you on the edge on the inside.

—

When Tuesday came to an end, the joy that bubbled from your stomach made the day feel less aggravating than it had been. The warm spring air made everyone’s spirits brighter; students laughed as they slid into their cars and people shed their coats and sweaters to celebrate as much sunlight as they possibly could after winter deprived them of it for so long.

You opened your car’s back door, swinging your bag in the backseat before closing it again and checking your watch. Dustin should be there any minute now.

“Hey.”

You could have picked that voice out from a crowd––a week ago you wouldn’t have said the same.

“Hey,” you matched Eddie’s tone and gave a small smile as he approached your car, sliding up to lean against the door you had just shut. “Didn’t expect to see you in class today. I think Mr. Arnold nearly shit his pants..”

“He’d never live it down if he did,” he laughed. “But I said I’d show up, didn’t I?”

“You did,” you picked at your bracelet in an attempt to distract yourself from the way your heart fluttered at Eddie. Perhaps it was the way he stood confidently against a crowd, or maybe it was the way his eyes made you feel as though you were the only person he could ever focus on––but the feeling made you uneasy because it was new.

At the same time, you were searching for a distraction to quell the feeling. A group of cheerleaders passed by; all holding the neon orange papers for Tina’s party and grinning like they were the happiest people to ever exist.

"Are you going?" You leaned opposite him, crossing your arms as you waited for his reply. “To Tina’s party, I mean.”

"Yeah,” Eddie nodded, “she asked me to deal. Parties are usually where I make the most profit so… can’t pass that up when I’ve got you to impress.”

You tipped your head to look at your shoes. White, slightly grimey sneakers staring back at you as you fought the heat. All consuming, Eddie Munson was. And he made you feel like jelly when he said stupid, ridiculous things like that.

“How about you?" You needn’t look at him to see the smile on his face. You could hear the difference in tone.

You shook your head. Rising to see him again, he was hopeful when your answer was the furthest from it. “No,” you admitted. “Not a party person.”

“No?” He had a flirtatious inflection to it. “Got a reason?”

“I find them dumb and pointless. An excuse for all the girls who take sips of church wine to act like complete airheads and get plastered off one can of PBR.”

If he was being honest he couldn’t agree more. He never had the conventional “blast” teens were supposed to have at parties. Eddie only liked them because it made his sales blow. But he remembered he had to convince you to go. You had to go. He wouldn’t step foot on Tina’s lawn without you.

Neither of you heard the bell that signaled the end of the middle school day.

Dustin, who had been waddling his way over on the sidewalk that connected the two schools, hadn’t noticed Eddie when he suddenly decided to run his way over and tackle you into a hug.

“Y/n!” The second he and his screaming of your name appeared out of nowhere, Eddie took a step back. A light shock in his eyes when he spotted a pre-teen being so affectionate around you when the girl he knew was far from a “caretaking” type. You didn’t have a little brother? For as long as he could recall, there had only ever been two Harrington siblings: you, and the idiot with the good hair.

A big “oof” escaped your lips before you wrapped your arms around him, tightening the hug as much as he’d allow before letting go.

“How was your weekend?”

“AMAZING! You will never guess what happened! Mike’s campaign is INSANE! There were golden dragons and evil fairies that wanted to steal Will’s wizard staff and the only way we could fight them was with this unknown crystal––” Dustin rambled so fast that you caught none of it but Eddie had. He’d always recognize when someone spoke the language he loved.

“Campaign?” Eddie’s voice broke off Dustin’s jittery talk. “You play D and D?” He questioned you first as though you had been the one admitting it; grinning from ear to ear at the possibility.

“Sadly, no,” you breathed, your words a bit desperate. “But he does! And he promised to teach me but he’s always busy.”

“Who is this?” Dustin snapped his head from you to Eddie.

A wave washed over the young boy at that moment. Eddie wasn’t Steve. He wasn’t a guy who tried to ask Nancy out nor was he a cookie-cutter mold of the jocks everyone loved. He was edgy; he was cool with an immediate draw because like Dustin, Eddie didn’t fit a mold. He smelt of cigarette smoke and a cheap cologne––a scent Dustin knew he had to copy because if he could be cool like this guy, maybe others would find him just as intriguing in his grade.

“Y/n,” his voice was flat, serious, “why were you hiding your awesome friend from me?”

“I’m not hiding anything,” you giggled at Dustin’s dramatic words, Eddie loved the sound of it. “Dustin, this is Eddie. Eddie, this is Dustin, the boy I babysit.”

Awesome. The kid Eddie had never once seen in his life had called him awesome without speaking a word to him. No one had ever said that about him before.

Eddie extended his hand like a real adult toward the kid. Dustin took it and with soft, baby-like hands, tried to return a handshake that would impress his awesome new acquaintance.

“What grade are you in?” Eddie asked.

“Seventh/”

“Ah,” he nodded in reflection. “Well, hopefully I’ll be out of high school by the time you’re a freshman, but when you do get here, tell whichever awesome Dungeon Master is running hellfire that you know me and they’ll take you without question.”

“Hellfire?” His eyes lit up like spotlights on a stage. It sounded dangerous, cool. Dungeon Master had slipped under his radar because the name was so sick.

“It’s the name of our party.”

“Wait, Hellfire is a D and D party?” Your own eyes grew wide because truthfully, you hadn’t any idea what in the world it was. You had seen the recruiting posters that the football team defaced but how were you supposed to know what a devil mascot was supposed to represent?

“Yeah,” Eddie looked as though it were obvious. “What did you think it was?” Eddie crossed his own arms, his expression questioning.

“I don’t know, actually. People say so many different things about it, I really didn’t know.”

“Well, I’ll invite you to a campaign if you want to learn. We play every Friday and sometimes Tuesdays in the drama room when it’s free.”

“I would love to.”

Dustin was not sure what he was watching as he looked up at the one person he loved like a sister giving heart eyes to a boy he found to be his new idol.

“I just have to finish my character sheet.”

“Oh, that’s no problem, I’ll help you.”

Dustin lifted his gaze from you to Eddie like he would at a tennis match. The interaction brought sparks to his eyes. The two of you liked each other. The heart eyes were mutual; they were nervous and giddy and he had seen Lucas give them to Shelley Windsor from across the lunchroom six weeks ago only to be spurred by her accidentally spilling milk on his favorite t-shirt three days later.

“Sounds perfect.”

“Not this Friday because of Tina’s party, but how about the one after? We can go to The Hideout right after, we have a gig then.” The mention of The Hideout made Dustin’s smile even wider.

A date. A real date.

“Sounds like a date.”

The word echoed in Eddie’s mind like a beautiful melody. The keys drawing the most beautiful sound that even Motzart was envious but the second a finger slipped and the keys turned sour, the weight of the money sitting in his pocket squandered the joy.

“Yeah,” he wished he could have replied to it with a full smile and without the lump in his throat or the pit in the bottom of his stomach.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” You asked, titling your head with a hope he had begun the conversation with but ended without.

“Yeah.”

Eddie nodded as you both said goodbye before walking away to his van on the other end of the parking lot.

“You all set?” You turned to Dustin, a dumb smile still plastered on his features as he adjusted the straps of his backpack.

“Mhm,” He hummed yes, walking around the car to access the passenger seat.

“You listened to me,” he spoke again when the door was closed and both seat belts were on.

“What?”

“About meeting people at The Hideout.”

“How––”

“He literally said he played at The Hideout.” You closed your mouth instead of replying, narrowing your eyes.

“I’m glad you finally found someone,” Dustin grinned, a toothless, adorable grin that could always make you feel happy.

“I didn’t––Eddie isn’t––”

“Oh it’s a date then!” He mimicked your voice, but not in a mocking way.

“Alright, I did say that,” you rolled your eyes. “But it doesn’t mean he’s my boyfriend or anything.”

“Not yet!”

“Dustin––”

“Y/n, what more can you ask for! He plays D and D which probably makes him a nerd like us! He plays guitar and is in a band, he looks like a rock star and like he’s the coolest person on earth… plus he definitely likes you.”

“I am not having this conversation with you,” you chuckled, turning your eyes back to your steering wheel and finally starting the car. “Eddie is… just… Eddie.” You hadn’t noticed, but even saying his name made you smile.

“Fine, then I hope you enjoy your date with just Eddie.”

“I will, thank you.”

“Boo!”

Your soul nearly left your body as the quiet solitude of browsing the store’s tape selection was interrupted. Led Zeppelin's cover art shaking as your hand clutched it tightly, the plastic nearly cracking under your grip.

Turning around, you met those big brown eyes and familiar curls that had filled your thoughts every second of every day.

“You followin’ me, Munson?” You raised an eyebrow, questioning him with a teasing tone. “I swear you’ve been popping up everywhere I have been lately.”

“Just a coincidence, I guess…” Eddie grinned as he looked at the tape in his own hand. A flustered, small blush painting his cheeks. “I came to get Bark at the Moon,” he showed you the familiar tape. “I accidentally ruined it while cleaning my room. Stepped on it and it cracked into a million little pieces.”

“Eddie Munson cleans his bedroom?” You laughed as he rolled his eyes. “I never would have thought.”

“Well,” he tapped the tape with his fingers, “I guess I’m just full of surprises then.”

A small lull passed over the two of you as conversation settled. He looked, like he always did, at you with so much curiosity and fondness that you weren’t sure it could have evolved as quickly as it did. A crush that swallowed him whole, all he wanted to do was be in your presence––for a second, for an hour, for an entire lifetime, Eddie Munson was chasing a high that was brought on by all the wrong reasons.

“What are you doin’ here?” He questioned, gazing around the store when looking at you reminded him too much of the funds supplying his purchase. “I thought you were babysitting?”

“Just finished actually. This store is on my way home and I can’t keep money in my pockets long when I know there is something I want,” you scanned the shelf again, grabbing the Fleetwood Mac tape that had been on your wishlist forever.

“He seems like a nice kid.”

“Yeah,” you nodded. “Dustin is the best,” smiling as your eyes fell back to Eddie. “I think the two of you would get along.”

“I’m sure we would. The kid plays D and D for Christ’s sake!” He laughed, walking with you towards the counter to check out.

Before you could set the tapes down, Eddie put out his hand.

“Let me see them?”

You furrowed your brows but let him take them. Eddie may have loved music, but Fleetwood Mac wasn’t a cup of tea he sipped from often, if ever. He’d admit “I’m So Afraid” was sick but only in the comfort of someone who wouldn’t expose him for enjoying something that wasn’t hard metal.

“Why?” You asked as he piled the ones you had collected on top of his own. He set them on the counter and the man behind it began ringing them up.

“Eddie––” The protests left your mouth quickly but he shook his head.

“I wanna get them for you.”

“What? No!” In an attempt to grab one back, he pushed your hand away from the counter. “I have the money for them. I literally just got paid!”

“Didn’t say you had no money, sweetheart.”

The Fleetwood Mac tape rang up to six-fifty. Far too much for him to pay for something like that.

“You can’t pay for those,” you huffed. “They’re not your tapes.”

“You ever heard of something called a gift? Or better yet, maybe chivalry? You take a lot of English classes, I think that word has popped up a time or two.”

You looked at him with a flat face but he challenged it as he pulled bills from his pocket. As you gave him a glare, he slid the money across the counter and the guy took it without you tearing your eyes away from Eddie.

“I can’t let you do that.”

“Little late for that, sweetheart,” that goddamn name again. He tipped his head to the side, scrunching his nose as your annoyance was built from an unearthed appreciation of his motivations.

“Let me pay you back,” you breathed out.

“No.”

“Eddie, come on.”

“No!” He laughed as the man handed him the change and pushed the tapes back out toward the two of you. Eddie split the tapes, one for him, two for you, and made for the door.

“Why did you do that?” You trailed behind him like a puppy.

“You know, a ‘thank you’ would suffice.”

“Th-thank you,” you stumbled on your words as you looked from the tapes that had come back to your hand to Eddie. “But––”

“I just wanted to be nice, give you a gift. Is that so bad?”

“No…. Thank you,” you smiled as the door’s bell had silence, the cars on the road beside the shop filled the air and Eddie halted beside his van that was parked beside your car.

“I was wondering,” he squinted as the spring sun caught his eye, “would you come to Tina’s party with me?” You really didn’t mean to laugh, but you couldn’t help yourself. You had been adamant that you weren’t going. Parties were not your “thing.” Only when you turned your head to side to watch the almost heartbreaking look in his eyes did you stop.

“I’m sorry,” you sucked in a breath. “I’m not laughing at you. I just… I don’t go to parties,” you shook your head. “The thought of me going makes me laugh.”

“Even if I’ll be at the party?”

“Eddie, Axl Rose could be at that stupid party and I still wouldn’t go.”

“You wouldn’t even do it for Axl!?” Eddie put a hand to his heart as if that had offended him.

“Not even for Axl.”

“Well,” he countered, “how about Kirk?”

“Still no,” you giggled. “All of Metallica could be there and I would be at home watching reruns of that Ewok show or the new episode of Little House on the Prairie instead.”

“That bad, huh?”

“You really think I want to attend a party where everyone just gets drunk and makes out and then people throw up everywhere because they get even more drunk––”

“And high,” he added.

“And high! Plus the music is fucking… awful.”

“Ok, I agree with you,” Eddie nodded in agreement. “Nevermind then. You’re right.”

“Thank you, I know I’m right,” He liked the confidence he saw. The way you tipped your chin to the sky and your head bobbled. Eddie was disappointed he couldn’t get you to go but he wouldn’t trade seconds with you for anything.

You walked past his van and opened the door to the front seat of yours.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” You didn’t know why it came out as more of a question.

“Yeah,” his car keys jingled in his hand. “See you tomorrow.”

The second you settled into your car, you slipped in the tape and putting the Metallica one that had filled its spot in the empty case.

You sighed as your hands fell on the wheel; the leather of the material familiar and growing warm under the sun. You watched as Eddie entered his van, giving you a small wave before firing up his engine and driving opposite the direction you were headed.

Two lives separated by a town yet brought together by simple interests.

“Pull yourself together,” you sighed, melting in your seat as the first few notes of Rhiannon started playing.

You never felt like this. The ache in your heart, the butterflies fluttering in the pit of your stomach… These unfamiliar feelings were almost painful as you tried to fight them, trying to run far away from them. You felt like one of those toys you and Steve would fight over as toddlers and ended up splitting in two by pulling too hard. Instead of the forces being two chaotic children, it was your head and your heart.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?” Eddie beamed beside you.

He had caught you in the hall as you made your way toward the gym the next day. Persistent is what he was, when you thought of how he pestered in a respectful, yet interested manner. You never had a guy chase after you before––want to spend time with you or treat you like you were the apple of his eye.

“I told you already,” you fixed your discolored sports bag on your shoulder. “I’m not going, Eddie. No one could convince me to go.”

“But I’ll feel lonely without you.” He gave you sad eyes and fuck, it made you waver for a milisecond.

“You’ll be fine,” you rolled your eyes instead. “There are plenty of others to talk to or make fun of, I am sure of it.”

“No, there won’t be. I need you for moral support.”

“Moral support?”

“Yes,” he furiously nodded with conviction.

“I’m not going.”

“Please?”

“No,” you shook your head, a smile dancing over your lips as you saw his brown eyes peering at you with want.

“Fine,” he scoffed. “If I die, it’s your fault.”

“Die? Dramatic much?” You giggled. “You mean to guilt trip me into doing something I don’t want to do? Sounds like a you problem, Eddie.”

“No. I’m extremely realistic. I will fucking die if you aren’t there to save me.”

“Hmm,” you hummed, nodding as if you were believing his fallacies. “Totally believe you right now.”

“I can’t believe you’re doing this to me, Y/n,” he shook his head in disbelief.

“You’ll be fine,” He was making a disparate face, pouting and looking at you like a sad, stray animal. “You never give up, do you?”

“Was that a yes?”

“I’m not going, Eddie,” you said one last time, rolling your eyes before going on your way, heading towards the inside gym that was fitted for volleyball every afternoon. Eddie sighed as he watched you disappear, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

At least he tried.

But then, he went to Steve.

"I tried, she said she won't go."

“Well, will you convince her for another fifty!?” Steve pulled out his wallet and started sifting through the money. Eddie held out his hands and forced Steve’s hands closed, the wallet slamming shut with a force.

“Steve, you’re not an ATM machine! Put your goddamn money away.”

“I know!” Steve frustratingly screeched. “ButI need her to be there!”

“I can try again,” Eddie faltered because he felt deep down, you’d never agree to go. “She really doesn’t want to fucking go to this thing so if I can’t get to her to, that’s not on me.”

Friday ended with no progress for either Steve or Eddie. Convincing you to attend Tina’s party had been a failure––for both of them and truthfully, neither could blame the other for not being successful in their mission. Your mind was fixed. Parties were dumb and stupid and absolutely useless. You had better things to do with your time.

Like putting on pajamas and watching the new episodes of the last season of Little House or finish reading act 1 of Romeo and Juliet for Monday.

“I don’t understand you,” Steve narrowed his eyes as he watched you from across the room. You were snuggled up on the far end of the couch, eating yogurt while mindlessly watching commercials as you waited for your show to begin.

“What do you mean?” You licked the end of your spoon before dipping it into the carton again.

“Why do you not want to go to this party?”

“I just don’t want to,” you looked back at the TV. “Why does everyone want me to go?” You muttered to yourself as you took another spoonful of yogurt.

“Why can’t you be normal?”

“Define ‘normal’?”

“Tina’s party is normal. Wanting to go to the party is normal. Having friends who want you to be at the party is normal.”

“Tina’s party is just a pathetic excuse for all the idiots in our school to drink beer and rub up against each other in hopes of distracting themselves from the pathetic emptiness of their meaningless––”

“––Consumer–driven lives. I KNOW!” Steve groaned, tugging at his hair in frustration. “Can you, just for one night, forget that you’re totally wretched and act like we're actually siblings with the same interests?”

“No. I told you parties are–”

“Dumb? Stupid? I got that! Y/n, why can’t you just do this for me?”

“I already do everything for you!” You made frantic movements, pointing at him with your empty spoon. “This time, deal with the consequences of your actions yourself!” You huffed, fully turning your stare back to the TV, silently telling him you were done with the conversation.

“You’re being a bitch!”

“Excuse me?” You snapped your head back to only be met by a serious expression.

“You heard me! You’re being a heinous bitch and ruining my life right now!” He leaned away from the doorframe he had been watching you from. “And then you wonder why you barely can get any friends! Maybe you just say you don’t want to be in a relationship because you know you can’t keep a guy. You’re too mean and selfish!” Your mouth remained wide open as the words escaped him. “You’re just a loser! A freak who knows no one will want her at that stupid party! That’s why you’d rather stay home and watch that dumb ‘house in the fields show.’”

As if on cue the commercials stopped and the familiar theme song that was normally comforting was ringing through the living room.

“You just want to make my life miserable because yours is!” Your ears were buzzing, and the pang in your chest that he had started just the week before came back full force.

"FINE!" You screamed over his voice and the noise of the TV. Maybe louder than you expected, but you couldn’t even hear your own thoughts. Your hands were trembling as you grabbed the remote and turned the TV off, bringing quiet to the room. The tension bubbled up like froth on a hot drink once the welcoming melody had gone quiet.

“I’ll go to your stupid fucking party,” you mumbled the words out as you walked passed him and headed straight up to your room. You struck his shoulder with yours, hard, when you passed him.

You wiped the stray tear you hadn’t noticed had fallen before changing. Fumbling with your shirts and pants as if you didn’t even know your own closet; shell shocked from the perceptions Steve had expressed. You grabbed your shoes and spotted Eddie’s sweatshirt spread out on your chair.

You took it without a second thought before flying down the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Your father appeared in the doorway of the entry hall with a cup of coffee in his hands. It was far too late for one and he’d be up all night working because of it.

"To a party,” you bit back, your father taking a step back in surprise.

"A party?"

"Yeah, Tina's spring party," you grumbled, not making eye contact with him as he continued asking questions. You loudly dropped your shoes on the floor before sitting down next to them to slip them on.

Steve came not long after with a beaming smile plastered on his face. His hair was even more perfect than before, he was dressed in his version of perfect. The polished rich kid coming out in his baby blue polo tucked into his light brown pants. Steve grabbed his navy jacket from the coat rack by the door.

“Steve–” your father wanted to deny Steve from leaving the home.

“That’s the rule right?” Steve turned to the mirror over the shoe rack. “She goes, I go!” He looked at himself one last time before clapping his hands together. "We'll be back by two!" Steve turned back to you just as you were standing back up.

"Is that a new sweater?" He wondered, a grin still plastered on his face as he eyed the black hoodie you were wearing. It looked worn out and smelled funny, suspicion rising in the back of his mind that Eddie Munson had been doing his job after all.

"It's none of your business," you walked past him and out through the front door to get to your car.

The party was everything you expected it to be.

People making out in every corner, beer keg competitions that your brother jumped on the second you arrived, and awful flirting skills as boys finally got the courage to make their move with a little liquid courage.

The whole house became a mess of sweaty bodies and spilled drinks topped off with loud, annoying music. Stuffy air from the weed and cigarette smoke mixed with the intoxicating chemical smell of different flavored Teen Spirit deodorants paired with cheap perfume and hairspray.

It was everything you hated.

You spotted Nancy out of the corner of your eye not ten minutes after you slammed the car door closed. She was wearing a flashy shirt, her hair done differently than how she always wore it. She was admiring Steve the ‘King of the Party’ as he won yet again another round of whatever drinking game currently had his attention.

“Sweet,” you barely stepped into the crowded living room when Tommy’s voice made your entire body tense up. “Looking fresh tonight, Harrington,” he smirked, Carol giggling at his side.

Tommy Hagen never failed in making your skin crawl––no––making it want to completely shed itself from your body and run as far away as it could from Hawkins. He was a creep. A pimpled, doughboy creep that thought he was the shit for being friends with Steve and bagged a girl he thought was hot, Carol.

“Did Y/n finally decide to make an appearance?” She snickered.

“Jesus Christ,” you narrowed your eyes as they gathered around you. A pack of wolves on the hunt, a lamb too stubborn to quit centered in their gaze.

You took a step closer to her, “is that lipstick on your teeth?”

Her eyes went wide as her hand reached up to her lips. You took this as an opportunity to walk the other way, quickly getting lost in the sea of bodies again.

The hallway was more crowded. A guy with a tray of shots he was desperate not to spill made his way from the kitchen to the living room, lifting the tray towards you.

“You want one?” The range of shots, from blue to bright pink, looked as unappetizing as dirt. You grabbed the one closest to you without even hesitating. A strange green color that made you more motivated to use it as a way to forget you were at the stupid, fucking party.

To forget the whole fiasco Steve had ruined your weekend with.

That you were a bitch.

That people didn’t want to be your friend.

That no boy would ever want to date you because you were awful.

As the sour liquid slid down your throat, you knew it would help you pretend like Steve hadn’t thrown all of your insecurities at your face. Pretend like you hadn’t gone with him just to prove a point. To prove to him that you were welcomed at this party or that you did have friends.

But maybe it was to prove all of this to yourself.

However, that meant you also needed to forget the pain and the burning feeling in the back of your mind that maybe he was right.

“Hey!” His voice was jovial that he had found you first.

Eddie saw the shot glass in your hand, the blank, nearly heartless look on your face as the scene around you changed from happy to glum.

“What are you doing here? I had to hear from dipshit Tommy Hagen that you actually showed up.” He appeared next to you, concern written all over his face.

If Steve was right, you wished Eddie didn’t give you those looks. You wished he didn’t make you feel like you had a friend in him. You wished he didn’t make your heart thump out of its chest like if he were to disappear tomorrow, you’d have to go too.

“I’m getting trashed, isn’t that what you’re supposed to do at parties?” You bit back, your anger from Steve’s scorching rumble mixed with your words. “And Tommy Hagen? He lies… a lot. You’re just on the lucky end that finally a truth came tumbling out of his lips.”

“Your brother likes to make his presence known too,” Eddie put a hand on your shoulder, smiling to himself when he noticed you were wearing his hoodie.

“Ah,” another guy with a tray of random alcohol filled glasses walked right by you, you snatched one away before turning back to Eddie. “Later.”

And his hand slipped from your shoulder as you walked away from him.

He felt scorned.

“Hey!” Eddie called after you. “Where are you going?”

“I’m off to be ‘normal!’” You made air quotes as you said the word.

Eddie didn’t know why he stood there like an idiot as he watched you disappear into the crowd again. The word normal rang through his mind like poison. You hated normal, he hates normal––and you were both too far into your own worlds to ever be normal.

He quickly regretted his decision to stand there like a tree when it forced him to spend a half an hour running through the maze of Tina’s house trying to find you again. Eddie felt like he was in a haunted corn maze held outside of Hawkins every Halloween. Instead of having zombies or jump scares at every corner, it was drunk students making the way around the house impossibly hard.

The breath that was stuck in his throat only released when he spotted you at the crossroad between the living room and the dinning room; a glass half full of rum in your hand. You were stumbling your way around. A half an hour later and his hoodie was missing the strings around the neck, your hair was a mess, and the nailpolish was chipping quickly.

Your expression was a mix between a smile and a frown which Eddie thought to be impossible until he witnessed it on you.

“Hey,” Eddie called out when the music allowed. He attempted to reach for the glass as a way to help you because just looking at you made him realize no one was looking out for you. Drunk, a bit angry, and alone.

“Y/n, maybe you should give me that––” he reached for the glass again. Eddie’s only thought was to get you away from here and make sure you didn’t swallow one more drop of alcohol.

“No!” You whined like a toddler. “It’s mine! MINE!” You rattled out of his grip before scrambling out to the other room. Eddie blinked as he watched you run away. For a second, he felt like he was back in his trailer, reading The Lord of the Rings as his mind created the image of Bilbo holding the one ring and calling it his just like you did with the drink.

“MY MAN!” Steve appeared out of thin air, beaming at him with his brightest smile, pupils blown wide as the drinks had gotten to him as well. Eddie knew Steve wasn’t a smoker but he definitely had a second-hand high. “How did you get her to do it?”

“Do what?”

“Act like a human!” He laughed to himself.

Eddie wanted to protest. To say something about how this wasn’t normal behavior coming from you, and he had a right to be worried. Instead, Steve’s attention was captured by a girl calling his name. Eddie thought he recognised Nancy’s voice over the music but everything was blurred out.

When his gaze turned back around to land on what was going inside the dining room, his eyes went wide.You were dancing on top of the table, if it wasn’t clear that you were drunk out of your mind, it certainly was now.

Tommy and the rest of the crowd that had formed around the table were all cheering for you to continue. You threw the empty beer can into the crowd as you continued to dance; Eddie questioned for a second how you had changed drinks so fast before quickly pushing past students to reach you.

“What are you doing!? Get down!” He tried to grab your leg but you swatted his hands away.

“NO!” You screamed, giggling to yourself as you swung your body from side to side.

You wanted to twirl to the beat of the music. Sober you was already not very good at twirls, meaning that drunk you’s sense of balance was completely nonexistent. You tripped on your own feet, making you fall right off the table and luckily for you, right into Eddie’s arms.

If you were sober, you would have felt as though it was straight of a fairytale.

“Are you ok?”

“I’m fine!” You scoffed, scrambling away from him to stand up. The second you were standing on your own and Eddie removed his hand from your back, you stumbled backwards again.

“You’re not fine,” his tone became serious, a frown painted his features as he fully took in your state. He could see the way your limbs fell limp and lazy, how your alcohol filled eyes looked around the room. “C’mon,” he grabbed your shoulders to help you move through the crowd.

You made movements to get away from him, making you turn around in his arms and face him. “I don’t need your help,” you whined as you lightly hit his chest, the impact doing absolutely nothing to stop him.

“Yeah, you do,” he looked down at you, trying not to get lost in the galaxy of your eyes as you peered up at him with your drunken glare. “Let’s get you out of here, ok?” He almost whispered, his tone soft and soothing as his thumb rubbed circles on your shoulder.

The air outside was cold; a stark contrast to the oppressing and sauna-like temperature inside the house. The quiet, cool nature felt nice as the music muffled into barely recognizable lyrics when the door closed behind the two of you.

A few people had taken the party outside. Some smoking on the grass or chatting as they sat on the hood of their cars, enjoying the quieter parts of the evening.

Eddie’s hand secured on your hip as he helped you walk in a straight line towards the other side of the garden to a small patio far off from the noise and commotion the night had to offer.

“This is so patronizing,” you complained as he continued to hold you.

“Leave it to you to use big words when you’re blitzed,” he laughed.

You made a sudden move to walk faster, making you tumble out of his hand and onto the grass, giggling to yourself as you did.

Eddie grabbed your waist, lifting you back up to sit you down on one of the dark green iron garden chairs, and only when he was sat down next to you that he realized how romantic the scene was.

The table was placed at the center of a wooden pergola, wisteria twisting with its pillars and in between the planks of the ceiling. Everything was so quiet. The party barely a whisper in the vast, beautiful garden. The outdoor lights lit your features just enough for him to see and defined the color of your eyes.

Eddie sighed to himself. In any other circumstance, he would have died to stand there with a girl like you.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” You giggled as you fully rested your head against the palm of your hand.

“Like what?” Eddie tweaked his head to the side. Maybe he was staring at you for a bit too long.

“Like that!” You pointed out again, smiling to yourself.

“Because you’re pretty,” he knew you wouldn’t remember this, but at that moment, he didn’t care.

You laughed, a sweet sound that dripped from your lips like honey and made Eddie’s heart melt.

“Well, you’re not so bad yourself,” he watched the look in your eyes change as you scanned his features. Drunken you remembering the curve of his nose, to the way his lips hooked into a smile. "You have very pretty eyes, you know? They look a bit like doe,” you blurted out, smiling at him with a gooey grin.

Suddenly you felt all the alcohol begin to surge. The rapid onslaught of nausea confused you, furrowing your brows and causing immediate concern. Before you knew it, you were leaning down, throwing up onto his black converse.

"Jesus!" Eddie abruptly stood up, sighing when he realized no words he could say would change the state you were in. His hand found a way to your hair, gently rubbing your scalp in poor attempts to hold it away from your face as you continued throwing up.

"Hmm," You groaned once you lifted yourself back up, resting your head against your palm.

It hadn’t even phased you––what you had just done.

"I think it's time to take you home," Eddie stood up, chuckling when another protesting groan left your lips. "C'mon, party girl," he hooked his arm around your torso, wrapping your arm over his shoulders.

“I don’t want to go home,” you said sadly, taking Eddie by surprise when he felt you melt into his embrace; your arms fully wrapping themselves around him.

“I don’t want to go home,” you pleaded again, your tone more desperate as you looked up at him, your chin resting on his torso. “Please, don’t bring me back there.”

Going home would make your fight with Steve too real and you couldn’t handle that right now.

Eddie managed to walk you back to his van, patting your knee once he had buckled your seat belt.

“Wait!” You called out when he was about to close the passenger door. “Don’t leave me alone!”

“I’m not leaving you, sweetheart,” the nickname rolling off his lips would have made your heart leap in your chest if your mind wasn’t so fuzzy. “I’m going to get in the car from the other side, ok?”

“Mhm,” your voice fell quiet, your gaze falling down to your hands where you toyed with the sleeves of his hoodie.

When Eddie was in his seat, he felt your eyes on him. With every movement he made, you watched. The way he lifted his arm to buckle his seatbelt, his hand turning the key to start the van… he saw from the corner of his eye as you viewed him with all your focus.

“Who’s watching who now?” He smirked as he started the engine, carefully driving through the maze of sloppily parked cars before he was back on the main road.

“I wasn’t,” you turned your gaze away like a cat pretending they hadn’t just pushed a glass off a table, letting your focus be busy with something else from the decor in an old maid’s kitchen.

Eddie chuckled at your reaction.

“How about we go pick somethin’ up to eat? Get some food in your system so you sober up?”

“Works with me,” you molded in the seat, toying with the hoodie strings that had gone uneven. You closed your eyes as you let yourself get swayed by the vehicle, humming a familiar tune when the silence became too much.

His breath caught in his throat the second he recognized it.

Eddie knew that song.

In fact he knew it very well––he was the one who wrote it.

He smiled as your angel voice filled the car. Eddie thought he was going to collapse at the thought of someone other than Corroded Coffin members knowing this song. Even better, the thought of you knowing it sent him to paradise.

The bright colors of the fast food restaurant lit up the whole car. The neon 24/7 sign standing tall on top of the square building, Eddie scanned the menu as he broke the van beside the machine.

“What do you want?”

“Fries please,” you murmured, blinking softly at the bright lights.

“Alright,” you closed your eyes at the sound of his voice. Your foggy mind barely understood what else he had ordered beside a fry and a coke.

You were coming in and out of sleep by the time Eddie had parked in a quiet street on the heights of Hawkins. It wasn’t much of a view but it was the prettiest one you had around here.

“You alright?” He chuckled as he watched you open your eyes again, struggling to blink sleep away.

“Yeah,” you nodded, and before you could fall back asleep Eddie was handing you a coke and your fries. You struggled to remove your seat belt before shifting in your seat and grabbing the food.

“Thank you,” you sighed before taking a sip, the sweet fizzing drink waking you up instantly.

“No problem,” he smiled as he watched you. You seemed like you were in your own little bubble; still very drunk but better than minutes prior.

“I really didn’t take you for a ‘getting absolutely trashed’ type of girl.”

“I’m not,” you mumbled as you chewed on a fry.

“Then why did you do it?” He crossed his arms.

“Because it’s normal,” you spat the word out like venom. “It’s what people expect of me apparently.”

“Since when do you do anything that people expect you to do?” Eddie turned his body to fully face you.

You shrugged before looking down at your food, “since my own brother thinks I'm a terrible person…"

Ah.

There.

He had hit the bullseye. Steve had gotten to you. And it seemed like he hadn’t been kind because Eddie saw the way your eyes dimmed at the mention of Steve.

"I don’t think you are,” he shook his head. “But I thought you liked being perceived as mean and scary?"

"I do," you hiccuped, placing the coke in the cupholder of the van’s door. "At least I did until Steve was an ass and called me a bitch and well… he made it known how he feels about me. I’m just a thorn in his side." Eddie could see your eyes starting to water as you stared down at your fries. All the filters that being sober you may have put up came tumbling down with your tears.

It was hard to be vulnerable when you spent years perfecting invulnerability.

You sniffed and a small sob escaped your lips. Eddie's heart shattered with it.

"Wh–what I said in the car last time, about feeling confident," you wiped your cheek with the sleeve of the sweatshirt. "I think he took it and crushed the last of it these past few weeks. This tonight… it was just the icing on the goddamn cake."

"Is that why you were so surprised I asked you out?" He didn't know why he said it, but he felt his heart ache as he did.

You nodded.

And you took his heart in your hands as you did. Smothering it, crushing it with the knowledge he held and nourished that could only harm you more.

"Yeah," your voice came out hoarse. "Most guys are scared of me or just want to be friends with Steve… He’s just so… great. Steve is so perfect. I'm just the loser who scares people off," Eddie frowned at what you said. Watching you close your eyes, biting your bottom lip to stop it from wobbling. "It's so stupid," you whispered.

"What do you mean?" He asked, careful with his words.

"Tommy Hagan…" Eddie's frown deepened at the name. "Freshman year," you sniffed as you crossed your arms, "we dated for a month until I realized he only did it to get close to Steve. He was cheating on me with Carol." Eddie's eyes widened. "No one really knows though," you frowned too. "He wanted to keep it a secret and just hang out as friends. Should have known." You sighed, blinking a few times before placing your fries on the side and wiping both your eyes with your sleeves.

"Is that why you started that shell?"

"Yeah," you nodded, your head still feeling dizzy from the alcohol and the tension from the tears.

"Well, he and your brother are assholes."

"Tell me about it," you smiled, turning around so the side of your head rested against the headrest. Your glossy eyes met his as the shallow light from Hawkins eked into the van.

High above the town, in a beat up, poorly kept van that smelt of weed, nothing felt vulnerable in that moment.

You didn't know if it was the feeling of the alcohol still coursing through your veins, or the way Eddie was looking at you––his doe eyes holding in so much softness and compassion––much more than you had ever felt in years.

Before you knew it, words left your lips, mumbling into the short silence:

"You're pretty,” the way his features changed as he smiled made you smile too. It's as if his eyes sparkled every time he did, the way he slowly registered the meaning of it when a short laugh tumbled out. Eddie was happy the car was barely lit because a blush had spread its way across his nose.

"And you're drunk."

"Not that drunk" you stated, a tear filled giggle echoing through the space.

“I said it earlier, but you’re pretty too.”

“Thank you,” you smiled, and Eddie liked it ten times better than the frown you had seconds prior.

You sighed before grabbing your coke and taking a new sip, the drink washing the bare minimum of your pain and sadness away.

You spent the next hour talking about nothing and everything as you finished the rest of your order. The more you spoke the more he could see the tension washing away from you, and the alcohol slowly dissipating from your system.

He could see that by the end, you were trying not to fall asleep on him. The night had already been long and emotional enough that your eyes were closing without your consent.

"C'mon, let's get you home, Harrington."

“Hmm,” you barely had the strength to nod, Eddie smiling when a yawn escaped you, making him yawn just seconds after.

The engine starting broke the quiet of the empty streets, like a familiar melody that was stuck replay until the van would come to a halt. The green dragon proudly standing on the dash nodding his head up and down as the van moved along the road.

The stars were bright, with not a cloud to hide them, and Eddie could see the moon in the distance of the road. It was the perfect setting, and for a fleeting moment he actually imagined what it would be like to be with you.

Actually be in a relationship with you. With no stupid deals made over a popular rich kid’s tantrum.

He imagined what it would feel like to hold your hand without the burning reminder that this was never meant to be real; or Imagined what it would feel like to cup your cheek and run his thumb across it before locking your lips into a kiss.

He wondered what it would feel like to have you in his arms, laying across his chest as he read you The Fellowship of the Ring––his favorite of the trilogy.. Reading the pages that were so dear to him until your eyes closed and your breath became shallow. Until you fell into the dream world and escaped the chaotic mess that life could be in this little town.

All the sudden he wanted to dance with you to his favorite ballads, take you on roadtrips that lead to festivals and golden moments where you got to see your favorite artists live. He wanted to see the sparks in your eyes when Axl Rose started singing and Slash took over with his guitar solo; or how you would scream with him when Angus Young and the rest of AC/DC entered the stage and would take you to another planet for the evening.

But at the end of the day, the money was still buried at the bottom of his jean pocket.

The green bills he swore had morphed into poisonous objects worthy of the worst fantasy villain. Money was Sauron. Money was plaguing the land that wished to be enriched by kindness and goodness and love. Steve’s never-ending funds had become a curse to that sacred land––himself––and now broiled in its controversy, Eddie knew not how to return to normal or understand how good could ever come from something so ridiculous.

The faces of the founding fathers turned into monsters like the ones he wrote about for his campaigns.

The familiar forest road that led to your house was more of a reminder that this wasn’t supposed to be real and never would be; that this was just a stupid deal made over a greedy whim.

Eddie was greeted by the same trees that stood tall along the edges and the same fences to define property lines. The van came to a halt at the same spot he had parked in exactly one week prior. Before the headlights turned off with the engine and darkness washed over the scene, he caught a glimpse of the neighbor's cat perched high up at the exact spot he saw him last. His large yellow eyes mocking Eddie before the faint light source coming from your neighbors driveway made him become only but a shadow.

He could barely see your closed eyes and even breaths when he turned to you, yet his heart twisted in his chest again.

Eddie was falling in love and he knew that was bad. Terrible even.

Eddie had taken the deal for money.

Extra cash to afford things he hadn’t had the privilege to buy in the past. Eddie jumped into the deal with no other thoughts or possible outcomes. He just knew you as that one hot girl who fought anyone who tried to drag her into the neat boxes people created for themselves due to the fear of being different, and never in the entire time that he had passed you in Hawkin’s middle or high school had he labeled you anything more.

Eddie did not take the deal to meet the girl he never even knew could exist. He never knew it actually existed right there in front of him the entire time. He didn’t take the deal to suddenly feel empty at the thought of you not being by his side, or feel doomed at the thought of you knowing the reasons why he came to talk to you on that random Tuesday afternoon. Eddie never expected that the girl the Hellfire club had labeled as ‘hot but aggressive’ would steal his heart.

A heart that was never on the market in the first place.

A deep sigh escaped Eddie’s lips as he scanned your figure. Trying to remember the most he could in the dim light peering from outside the car’s windows.

You looked like an angel.

And the butterflies lodged in his stomach went crazy the more he stared. Eddie never wanted to forget the way your hair fell, any attempts to groom it gone with the night’s adventures. You looked so peaceful, with his hoodie comfortably wrapped around you, he had never known someone could look so comfortable in the seat of his shitty van.

What he was feeling was overwhelming. It made him want to throw the money out of the window and scream the ache away. Curse the skies as to why he had never noticed you before.

But he didn’t do any of that. Instead, he took a breath and leaned in. He didn’t want to wake you but he didn’t have a choice. The peaceful bubble had to be popped. Sleeping beauty had to be awakened from her curse.

But instead of her prince, it was a messy metalhead teenager who was only sitting beside her because of a deal. A deal Eddie had made with your brother––who hurt you with cutting words he knew not to be true.

With the pads of his fingers, calloused from years of playing guitar, Eddie delicately reached to move a strand of hair away from your face.

Maybe the touch was too gentle because it didn’t do anything to wake you.

“Hey,” his voice was careful, his hand reaching your shoulder and gently rubbing circles on it.

“Hmm,” you hummed, slightly moving as his hand jostled you carefully.

“Y/n, we're here,” Eddie gently squeezed your shoulder and this time you made a bigger movement. Your eyes squeezing tightly before you opened them to be met with Eddie’s eyes peering out to you in the darkness.

“Hmmm,” it was a hum that accompanied a stretch. “ Where are we?” You blinked, rubbing your eyes with the knuckles of your index fingers.

“At your house.”

“Already?”

“Yeah,” he smiled. “Already.”

“Okay,” you said it quietly. A world of emotions swept back under the carpet as you stretched your arms and yawned, Eddie admiring each of your movements.

“I’ll walk you home.”

“What a gentleman,” you smirked tiredly before pulling the sleeves of his sweatshirt, already bracing yourself from the cold that would meet you once you opened the door.

Eddie strutted around the front of the car to get to you. The second he was close you leaned in, stuffing your head in the crook of his neck and groaned in an attempt to voice your frustration.

“I’m dreading going back,” you mumbled against his shirt. It didn’t take Eddie long to wrap his arms around your shoulders.

“It will be alright.”

“I hope so…” the thought of seeing Steve at breakfast tomorrow haunted you.

You didn’t know how long you stayed like this. Leaning into Eddie, your hands around his torso as you tried to ease your pain away.

You were tired. Really tired, and already felt the hints of the hangover you’d have the next morning.

That’s probably why you needed his comfort. These odd emotions that came fluttering back started to become comforting. Being in Eddie’s arms made you forget that it was the middle of the night and you were standing in front of his beat up van parked at the crossroad between your home and your neighbor’s. All you could think of was that a sense of comfort you had never gotten the chance to feel before was filling every bit of you. As if just the feeling of his arms around you was enough to make your pain disappear.

“We should get you home,” of course he had to break the silence.

You nodded and felt his hands gently rub your back before they fell back at his side. You instantly missed his warmth, the hoodie becoming all you had left of him on you.

The gravel passage was still the same as Eddie remembered from a week before. Nothing but maybe a few new flowers and leaves scattered on the earth’s floor. He dodged the same branches, passed by the same rose bush he had stolen from until the fence of your house changed from tall, strong wood to soft wires that could bend with barely any force.

“Thank you,” you turned around to face him. Only the moon lighting up his features through the trees. “For everything,” you looked away, almost ashamed. “I was an idiot tonight.”

“Don’t worry about it… Every teenager has at least one stupid night under their belt,” he smiled.

Time stood still. You didn’t want to go back to the walls that still held Steve’s words. You didn’t want to leave the comfort of the boy standing in front of you.

You took a step closer, a hand making its way to his cheek. Your thumb gliding through it the same way Eddie had imagined doing to you.

The touch of your soft hand was almost too much to take in; the fire that accompanied it burning Eddie like the fires of Mount Doom.

You were leaning in and he was too despite what his head was telling him; his whole body caving in without his mind’s knowledge––his heart taking over now.

"Can I kiss you?" There. The dagger had been planted right to his heart.

His mind jolted to your state of mind.

His mind jolted to the chill of the early morning.

His mind jolted to the money that burned a hole through his body.

"Not tonight, princess," he whispered, hoping you wouldn't catch the strain in his voice as he said it. Hoping that in these three words you wouldn't cause a tumble of emotions to lead you down a worse path in self-love. Eddie did not want you to figure out how conflicted he was feeling, nor did he want you to think Steve was somehow right.

He watched as your face changed. Confusion written in your eyes before it changed to something he didn’t know how to decipher.

Your hand fell from his cheek, Eddie instantly felt lost again.

“Well… I’ll see you later, I guess,” your words were as cold as ice and hard as stone.

Eddie’s entire being screamed to reach out for you. To climb the fence with you and chase you through the maze of trees until he could fix what he had done and kiss you.

Kiss you like he had dreamed of only minutes prior.

But life wasn’t as simple.

And Eddie knew he couldn’t let his heart decide this time because the green paper monsters were still screaming in his pocket.

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little-diable · 2 years

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A never ending story (1/13) - Pedro Pascal

Requested by anon. I couldn't stop thinking about this very scenario, hence why I had to start this series with it. Please reblog if you enjoyed reading this. A few chapters are still open, if you want to request something. Enjoy my loves.

Summary: Pedro and the reader have found their way to the beach house days ago, in hopes of curing her depression. Who would have thought that it would just take a bit of rain to lift her spirits.

Warnings: smut, 18+, oral (f), historic setting, talks of depression, gender norms of the early 20th century

Pairing: Pedro Pascal x fem!reader (1.2k words)

header by @hidingsikki

“Doll?” His voice echoed through the house, met by nothing but silence. He called for her again, hoping that she would appear from their bedroom or the living room, but (y/n) didn’t call back, as if she was no longer around.

Pedro cleared his throat, he undid his scarf, hung it up next to his cane, and entered the living room. It felt as if nobody had set foot into this room for years, an uncomfortable silence hung in the air, filling every corner of the house like a ghost of older times.

Weeks ago the two found their way to the beach house, disappearing from the big city to cure her health. The doctors have told them that she needed fresh, salty air, hoping that her mood would lift as soon as the buzzing city would be long forgotten. But her spirit hadn’t been lifted, at least not yet.

She barely spoke, kept stoically staring out of their windows, watching the waves roll ashore like riders returning from a trod through the forest; like soldiers finding their way home after a long, tiring march through unknown territory. Oh how she longed to live a life like that, a life filled with adventure, a life that allowed her to free herself of her duties as a wife to a working husband.

Deep down he knew how much she detested the rules she had to play by, the fake smile she had to wear whenever he’d drag her to the opera, the kind words she’d speak to his colleagues. She hated them all, hated the words those men would speak about their wives, hated how they spoke of money, new technology and the speculations about the war soon striking Europe.

“(Y/n)?” Her name rolled off Pedro’s tongue, hoping to hear the small whisper that would tell him about her whereabouts. But she didn’t reply. Was she hiding from him? Hoping that he’d let her be? Was she distracted by yet another book a woman like her shouldn’t read?

Had she left him?

His heart started picking up its beat, unsure what he should do next, not knowing where he should look first. Just the mere thought of losing (y/n) left his heart clenching in pain, praying to whoever was listening that everything was alright.

By now the rain was falling too hard, no longer giving him a clear view of the beach, the rough shore. Heaven help, may she find her way home without getting lost. Pedro’s palms grew sweatier, mind painting darkening pictures as if night had already reached for her, claiming her body as its own property. A wanderer lost in the shadows.

But before Pedro could fall deeper into that very thought, the entrance door was pushed open, exposing (y/n)’s frame. With a grin tugging on her lips, she stared at him. She was drenched, completely drenched, her dress stuck to her frame, just like her hair. And yet she smiled, a smile he hadn’t seen in weeks.

“I was looking for you.” Pedro whispered his words, hands tingling, wanting to reach for her, though held back by the mere possibility of overstepping the invisible boundaries she had set up.

“Come, dance with me.” She didn’t wait for his reply, stepped back out into the rain once again. The sound of her laughter echoed through the air, forcing Pedro to follow her, unsure what was going on inside her head. Nevertheless, seeing her this happy left his heart skipping beats, hoping that this wasn’t just a dream he’d be ripped from any moment now.

She didn’t speak another word as she reached for his hand, pulling him further into the rain. Within seconds he was just as drenched, and yet he couldn’t find it in his heart to care, fully focused on (y/n).

Pedro started spinning her around, dancing without any music to guide them. Music the two would listen to on a slow Sunday, cuddled into their chairs as he read the newspaper and she’d read yet another novel a woman like her shouldn’t even dare to think about. But nothing of that mattered in that very second.

Just the two of them, dancing through the rain like children. Lovers reunited in a storm, a storm that had rocked their worlds for weeks, only now did the fog start to slowly lift, allowing them to see clearer. Clearer than ever before.

For a few more minutes the two kept swaying, relishing in their touch, the heat their bodies produced. Only as the first roar of thunder broke the atmosphere did he pull her back inside. No words rolled off their tongues as he pulled her into the bedroom, helping her out of her wet clothes.

“I love you, I always will, I hope you know that.” Her eyes found his warm ones, slowly getting lost in the colour that reminded her of the soil that would stick to her fingers on a warm summer morning, bearing life to the flowers she’d plant. The rich colour of chocolate they could only sometimes afford. A colour she’d always cherish.

(Y/n) pressed her lips against his, arms slung around his neck as she pressed her barely dressed frame against his. She helped him out of his wet suit, didn’t let go of Pedro once, desperate to feel him close. And Pedro seemed to understand her body’s call, guiding her to the comfortable bed, gently pressing her against the mattress.

“Let me take care of you, mi amor.” Pedro’s cold lips found her thighs, eyes not breaking contact once, not even as he tugged her undergarments down her legs, exposing her heat. She moaned his name, desperately hoping that he’d never stop touching her, seeking his closeness, the gentle touches and the sweet nothings he’d whisper.

“So beautiful, my pretty girl.” His words vibrated through her body, coaxing curses from her slightly swollen lips. A moan rumbled through her as he pressed his mouth against her heat, tongue brushing her folds, collecting drops of her arousal. Pedro’s thumb found her clit, he gently circled the bundle of nerves, movements in sync with the brushes of his tongue.

“Oh, don’t stop, please.” His reply was drowned out by yet another moan clawing through her, spoken out into the air, accompanied by the sound of rain clashing against their windows. The moment had something so raw to it, so simple, and yet complex. A love born beneath unlucky stars, put to test over the past months, and yet it felt stronger than ever before.

She felt her orgasm creep closer, about to consume her body, lingering in her veins like poison. Pedro picked up the movements of his thumb and tongue, wanting to watch her cum on his tongue. (Y/n) came with his name rumbling through her, head thrown back, eyes squeezed shut to relish in the heavenly feeling.

Heavy breaths spluttered from her lips, body slowly relaxing as the moment passed by, letting go of her tense body. Pedro rose from his position, chasing her lips with his to silently communicate all the emotions he wanted to share with her. A never ending story of love and trust.

#Pedro Pascal smut #little-diable13k #Pedro Pascal imagine

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shadowjax · 2 years

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Red Orchid

Frost Walker

A03

{Previous} {Next}

Donna Beneviento x reader

Series Summary: You’ve worked as a gardener for the Beneviento Family for as long as you could remember. The head gardener has taken you under his wing and as you grew older you viewed him as a father figure. You and the young mistress grew close over time but due to mysterious events she shut herself out form the world. A childhood crush left inevitable yet impossible. Soon other servants and inhabitants of the manor began to disappear one by one. Eventually the head gardener left without a trace and yet you stayed, where would you even go if you ran? The night became more dangerous as the years went by, screams echoed through the night homes left untouched.

Warning: violence, injury, tell me if I missed any

A/N: placed them all in one cuz it was easier to upload lol

*＊✿❀　❀✿＊*

You woke to the sound of Angie bursting into your room because she claims you have overslept. You can’t remember the last time you’ve slept so peacefully. The bright snow was shining through the window, blinding you temporarily while your eyes adjusted to the light. Quite a bit of snow has fallen on the ground but it wasn't unmanageable. You decided to go into the villege to gather an important item from your home and buy new clothes from Duke. You threw on your uniform and planned to change later.

You headed to the dining room and followed Angie to the dining room. You were presented with breakfast and your Lord waited patiently for you. You had explained to her how you wanted to go out into the villege for a few hours. She seemed hesitant at first but you promised you would return in no time. You noticed the mood in the room had shifted and you were asking a great deal from her. She was cautious about the humanoid monsters lurking in the woods and you both came to a compromise. You were to take one of her dolls into the villege for you as added protection.

~~~~

I should have worn thicker layers, you thought the moment you stepped foot on the manor and closed the gates. Something you always hated was the old bridge you’d have to cross to get to and from the manor. Especially during the nights and winter season, the dolls hanging from the trees didn’t help the atmosphere.

You held onto the doll of a little girl tightly in your arms as you slowly made your way on the bridge. Little sounds here and there cause your nerves to tense up more. A bird passing by or snow falling causes you to jump slightly, almost dropping the doll. The sun was barely peer the tree line and the snow made it harder to see your surroundings.

Luckily you made it past the bridge with no problems. What a terrible piece of craftsmanship that no one bothered to fix. As you made your way into the village you could see markings in the soft layer of snow. Markings symbolizing people were taken in the night and it must have happened after the storm died down due to how deep the markings were. You quietly made your way to your shell of a home, keeping your attention on your surroundings. You were like a deer in an open field, everyone must be inside. At least the emptiness made it easier to maneuver around. The wind began to pick up and the cold pierced your ears like thorns. You held onto the doll as if you were holding onto a child, protecting it from the piercing wind. You made your way around so far so safe, avoiding whatever may still be lurking in the village.

Finally you reached your house and somehow it was still somewhat intact. A very small two-floor home, paper thin walls with holes all over covered by tapestry, and minimal furniture. I’m surprised this place has held up for such a long time. You made your way in, shutting the door behind you and climbed the woods ladder to the second floor. You felt a wave of relief when you saw your parents weren’t home. You made your way to your cot and searched for your box that held the flower crown and your stash of money in the wall. After stashing your belongings in your pockets you grabbed a blanket to use as protection against the cold. Although you were used to not having protection against the cold, this weather was harsher than normal.

Dashing through the snow you made your way to where you typically found the Duke. Before you reached his typical place of business, something stopped you. In the corner of your eye you swore you saw something move. Heavy footsteps could be heard in the distance and low growls followed. There was the humanoid creature that stole people in the night lurking around. You hoped they didn’t spot you and ran as fast as you could. Your hands were too full to fight them off so you hopped to make it back to the manor in time.

“THE BRIDGE!” you said with relief, you were so close to safety. You dashed for the bridge as fast as your body could move, pushing yourself beyond your limit.

ROARRR!!

Behind you heard a low roar, you didn’t even notice they saw you. The bridge was a few feet away and you sprinted. Before you made it to the bridge something tackled you to the ground from your left, knocking you to the ground. The doll and blanket went flying and hit the ground. Above you stood a man who looked extremely dirty and messy, eyes as wild as a wolves. He swung his arm towards you, tearing your arm open as you used it to block you. You shouted in pain and blood stopped onto the snow, shirt sleeves tearing. You grabbed into your pocket knife and turned before the beast could swing again. You rolled to the side and when the best missed you slit the best’s throat. Luckily you were able to cut deep enough but before it fell it got one last hit into your chest before it fell down. You clenched your chest trying to relieve the pain as you tried to stand again. But you went out of this yet, the rest of the hoard caught up. Somewhere holding various different weapons, you weren’t going to give up.

You were able to hold your ground for a few moments, only to be thrown against a tree which took everything out of you. So much for the added protection. You kept glancing at the doll but it didn’t move. The last thing you saw was the hoard approaching your limp body, the cold wasn’t comforting but the snow was so soft. Then everything went dark...

~~~~

“Pops, look what Mistress Benevieto made me. It’s a flower crown!” You said as you rushed over to his side.

He simply nodded and pointed at a shovel, signaling you to get back to work.

“She’s a stunning image of her parents.” You ignored the request and began to slightly ramble. “ She’s very nice… and pretty up close.” You felt your heart melt...

Wack! Pops sacked you upside the head.

“OUCH!” You rubbed the top of your head, careful of the flowers. He gave you a stern look of concern. At the time you didn’t understand why he did that. You have an idea but nothing confirming your suspension.

|||||||||

“Hey pops!” You called out to him before the day ended. He was surprised to see you in such a proper outfit.

He simply looked over and crooked his head in response, briefly stopping his current task and meeting down to meet your eye level.

“Look how well the others dressed me up. I was invited to have lunch with Mistress Beneviento earlier.” You twirled, showing pops a full view of your uniform. This time he had a hint of sadness in his eyes. “Don’t worry, I’m not leaving you anytime soon.” you reassured him as you switched out the outfit for your typical wear.

~~~~

The moment you slipped back to consciousness you shot up screaming, “POPS!” Reality hit you quick as your chest felt like it was on fire, causing you to wrap your arms around it.

“Easy there, everything is alright.” a soft voice spoke next to you. It took you a moment to realize it was your Lord speaking and she placed her hands on your shoulders, gently pushing you back onto the bed. You spent a moment observing your surroundings, your head pounding. You were in a room you didn’t recognize…

“You took quite the beating little one.” a voice you didn’t recognize spoke. There was an unknown figure at the foot of the bed. “Lost quite a bit of blood, such an amount would cause a normal person to die.”

“But you didn’t die and that’s all that matters. I knew I shouldn’t have let you in the village at this time.” Lord Beneviento’s began to slightly crack. “I should have known his pets would have hunted you.” Hearing such worry in her voice caused your heart to twist.

His pets? What does she mean? Your eyes glanced between the two as you simply listened. Wait, where's my…

“Here’s your box.” Before you could finish that thought, Angie spoke as she placed your box in your folded hands. She sat beside your left on the giant bed.

The necklace shaped box fit perfectly into your hands, the more you held onto it gave off a comforting feeling. This small wooden box was what you used to hold tightly to at night. A symbol of hope that your situation will get better, a sign that someone cares in this empty village. There was a little dent in the top right corner followed by a bloodstain from throwing it at another kid who bad mouthed the house. It led to you getting jumped by the kid’s friends and getting pummeled to the ground.

“I’ll leave you to it.” The man at the edge of the bed you realized was another Lord of the land called Heisenberg. He tipped his hat and left the room.

You sat up more slowly this time, pain shot throughout your body but this time it was more tolerable. The bedsheets fell down and you noticed bandages wrapped around your chest and forearms. Luckily there was a simple blouse thrown over you, your cheeks began to turn red at the thought that your Lord had dressed you. To your right she was holding a small glass of water, offering it for you to drink. When you raised the glass, a sharp pain shot through your arm but you tried to resist the pain and not spill the glass. You could see your Lord was worried through her body language.

“Do not fret, my lady. I can assure you I’ve experienced worse than this.” You reassured her and hoped she didn’t feel too terribly for what happened to you. I’m alright, promise…

~~~~

Nothing eventful happened for the rest of the day or evening. Lord Beneviento ordered you in bed rest until most of the damage had been healed.

Whenever she came to change your bandages you suggested you wanted to be the one to do so and your lord shouldn’t have to see you in such a damaged state. Even though she initially bandaged you up the first time. When you first requested to change your own bandaging, like any curious person she asked why.

“My lady, I wish for you not to see me in such a disheveled state.” You mentioned as you stood to get ready to unbutton your blouse. When you raised your arms you winced in pain. Your body was something you went completely comfortable with. Although you had muscle your limbs were fairly smaller than most and you looked younger than your age due to lack of proper dieting. A constant reminder of your hike life no matter how much you try to avoid it. The abandonment of a comfortable and stable home, just a mere fantasy.

“Please, allow me to assist…” her voice was filled with concern yet still gentle.

Her voice gave you a sense of comfort you had never felt before. Wrapping you in a warm, safe blanket. You allowed her to change your bandages but kept your eyes closed. As she was changing your dressing she placed her fingers gently on the stitch like scar over your heart. Thankfully she didn’t ask because you had no answer. Her touch caused you to lean into the touch, bringing your head down to seek greater comfort. She placed her warm hands on your check as you nuzzled into her touch, lulling you into a trance as you let your eyes close. For once your mind wandered somewhere peaceful, safe.

You took her hand in yours and kissed the palm gently, then her knuckles. You could hear her breath shudder under the veil and her body skate gently.

Two beings who were forced into isolation due to unfortunate events have found comfort within each other. You were lonely… together.

~~~~

Since that day she gave you space to heal and recover. Angie visited you more and hosted tea parties, not like you had any other choice. Your food was prepared by your lady herself. After observing the room properly you realized this must be her room, you felt guilty for taking up her personal quarters. She eventually allowed you to walk around the manor freely but not to work. You spent time observing her cook and her dolls clean. She remained distant though but you decided not to poke around as it wasn’t your job to question her actions.

Ever since you attacked you began to have more dreams about you and Pops. Memories of the past you would occasionally reminisce about after he disappeared.

You spent almost all of your time with the head gardener when you first started working for the Benevieto family. He barely spoke, even after working at the manor for years. A man of few words, he mostly listened. He was fairly built, tan had a beard and a buzz cut, and his eyes were a dark color that couldn't be made out. He was the closest father figure you had, as a child, you naturally grew close or tried to grow close. You got closer with him than your own father.

He was the one who helped you get the job and often spotted you lingering outside the gates of the manor. You’d spend as much time away from home as you could, the only other person you interact with was the Duke but he didn't offer much without money. He would bring you food and slowly gain your trust. Eventually learning of your home situation and thought it was best to have you do something instead of nothing. He’d let you follow him while he worked and assisted you from time to time. As a kid, you were naturally curious and felt drawn to the manor. One of the maids noticed you and alerted the Lord, thinking you were trespassing. The head gardener explained your situation and the Lord graciously allowed you to enter the land if you were able to work. He wouldn’t have given you pay but given your home situation, he was generous. It wasn’t much but as a kid, any money was good money.

He cared for you, and made sure you were fed, educated, and clothed. Although as time went by and the other servants grew close, you were always close with the head gardener. Since he never gave you a name you didn’t know how to address him. You called him pops, he simply smiled at the name. He watched you grow up and took note of your infatuation with Donna Benevieto. Love was one of the few things he couldn’t teach you and although you were close with Pops, he made sure you didn’t get too close.

He always enjoyed your optimism, given your home situation. Working for the Benevieto family has opened a door in your life.

You smiled while you were staring at the ceiling. Thinking about the past, when things were simpler. So you thought…

////

A few weeks after becoming Lord Beneviento’s personal servant and the incident…

Your actions did not go unnoticed by the other lords. A mere human who killed a lycan with nothing but a pocket knife. Your name had become a topic during one of the Lord's meetings and they had summoned you.

“Oooo that'll be fun for once,” Angie commented.

“Why would they want to see me?” You replied as you placed the tea down on the table and sat across from your Lord.

“We aren’t entirely sure, it’s best not to question Mother Maranda.” Your Lady assured you as she lifted her veil slightly to drink the tea.

You got a partial glance at her lips, soft and lush… You’re pretty sure she noticed you staring and felt her eyes lock with yours. Luckily Angie was there to break the mood.

“HEYA, at least it seems like they’re interested in you instead of taking you in the middle of the night to be experimented on.”

“Experiment on?” You questioned Angie. Sadly the conversation ended there but it left you feeling very cautious about going to the meeting.

[The church gave off eerie vibes and a creepy atmosphere. A place you had avoided your entire life. You knew the villagers saw these lords as holy beings, from a young age you saw right through that. You weren’t sure why, but the church never felt approachable. ]

“Don’t worry your little head, I’ll make sure the others behave nicely,” Angie reassured you as your Lady entered the church before you.

The three of you were the last to arrive, the moment you stepped into the church a minor wave of pain shot through your heart. Your saliva began to taste like blood, your stomach in knots, and your bones aching. You tried your best to suppress the pain as you stood in the center of the group, standing before the oh-so-great Mother Maranda.

“So…this is the one who slain a lycan with their bare hands. What an interesting specimen with a nice aroma.” The one known as Lady Dimitrescu spoke first, her tone screamed intelligent with a big ego.

“H…how could such a small human d…do so much damage?” A Lord Moreau stuttered to say.

“I’m not sure but I’m definitely impressed.” Lord Heisenberg said, eyeing you up.

“And who are you, dear child?” Mother Maranda’s voice was soft yet caused your muscles to tense up. You had a feeling she already knew that answer, seeing as she’s apparently all-knowing.

“I am a mere servant of House Beneviento. I have been serving the family for as long as I can remember.” You bowed as you introduced yourself.

“A well-mannered pet. Tough to come by nowadays.” Lady Dimitrescu implied you could feel her sizing you up.

“I am just behaving the way a servant should in front of their Lord.” You felt as if there was a reason you were summoned.

Yet the pain and uneasiness would not go away. You weren’t able to fully focus on the rest of the meeting. It all became a blur and you were only able to remember bits and pieces.

Lady Dimitrescu wanted you to become her servant and of course, you refused. Mother Miranda never really explained why you were summoned in the first place. Given the hushed rumors, she would probably want to experiment on you. She mentioned how after hearing about the incident she found you interesting and wanted to get to know you. And to get to know the other lords as well since you were going to be working directly under one of them. So to get to know the other servants, Lady D would teach you the mannerisms and how to be a proper servant, Heisenberg would train you in self-defense, and Lord Moreau just keep him busy. Poor guy was treated like a mule for Pete’s sake.

Once you finally left the church, everything felt fine. The pain became unbearable but you refused to show any signs of distress. You sighed with great relief as you felt your let’s sink into the snow. It took you a moment to realize you were kneeling in the snow and the two were trying to get your attention. Angie was shouting nonsense while your lady held your arm to help stabilize you. You knew there was no hiding the truth from your lord so you simply told her you’d explain everything at the manor. Away from Maranda’s earshot.

When you all reached the house, your lady placed a hand on your shoulder, even though you couldn’t see her face you knew she was asking if everything was alright. Your lady was very observant, you decided it was only fair to tell her what happened.

“I’m not sure what happened. The moment I stepped into the church I felt my bones ache, my stomach in knots, and my chest hurt.” You both sat down on the couch as Angie went to grab tea. The memory of the pain still lingered in your chest and you placed your hands over to try and reduce the pain. Your Lady pulled you close as your body began to feel better, embracing you in her warmth.

“This is a rather odd situation we are in.” She quietly spoke into your ear, her breath sending shivers down your spine.

“I don’t trust her. Forgive me, my lady, but I don’t trust any of them.” You deepened your head into her shoulder and wrapped your arms around her waist. “I only trust you, something about the church feels familiar. Not pleasant though, like a nightmare I’m reliving.”

You confess your thoughts to your lady as she holds you tightly the entire time. Her heartbeat soothed yours as your eyes grew heavy. Next thing you knew you fell asleep in her arms, allowing her warmth to envelop you like a warm blanket.

Throughout your life, you’d occasionally dream of your lady. The two of you living together in a small cottage in the middle of the woods, far away from the village. Or in the manor, either one worked for you. She didn’t wear the veil or black dress, instead, she wore an assortment of colors and styles of clothes. The sun warming her face, tanning her skin just a bit.

Love wasn’t something you understood or had the chance to learn. But from the basic literature stories you read, these were possible signs of love. But more importantly, signs of repressed love.

Once again your life is about to become more interesting.

#donna beneviento #donna beneviento x reader #donna beneviento x oc #Donna beneviento x you #resident evil 8 fic #resident 8 fic #angst fic #donna beneviento fic

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hyunjilicious · 4 years

Text

the set up [chris evans]

A/n: this is the reworked version of an older fic that I wrote!!! I loved the vibe so I didn’t want to allow it to get lost in the void!!

Summary: Some mutual friends decide you and Chris would make a cute couple and decide to set you two up!! (SMUT) 6.4k

Warmings: smut, unprotected sex and they also just met so I strongly advise you to not follow their example, oral (both), brief mentions of spanking, hair pulling and dirty talk. It’s chill y’all.

This is a standalone fic, and not part of any series!

“If this girl-”

“She’s great!” Scott cut Chris off harshly, already above tired of his brother’s endless flow of nasty comments.

“I feel uncomfortable doing this!” Chris protested again from the passenger’s seat, shifting around, eyes fixed on the road ahead, “At least tell me what she’s like!”

“Gorgeous” Scott belted, nodding his head to accentuate his point, “Smart as fuck so you better control yourself” he said so sternly, not even a drop of sarcasm escaping his lips, “She’s also into old music so you can talk to her about that? Kind of-”

“So then- God this is still weird” Chris sighed, rubbing his hands across his face, not used to the idea of being set up with a girl. Maybe he wouldn’t be as terrified and nervous if all his friends hadn’t been constantly going off about how great you were, because considering their history, Chris was sure there was something horrible Scott forgot to mention.

“God what the- oh no!” you managed to exclaim as your feet ran laps around your bedroom, “How the fuck do you forget to mention he’s Chris Evans?”

“Calm down” Anne sighed burying her face into the scattered pillows around your bed, “Seriously, that doesn’t change anything, we’re all meeting in a pub, I promise you, it will be fine” she added, giving you a reassuring smile.

“Like I’m not awkward enough around idiots...” you complained again, walking to your friend to zip up your short dark blue dress. “I got this” you said as you felt the material tighten around your body, giving you a well-deserved boost in confidence.

Seated at the round table, you were so absorbed by the conversation that was being held that you failed to realize the two tall boys that approached your booth. Chris’s presence made something inside of you shift; and it wasn’t only the tingly sensation in your stomach at the sight of him, you also felt your walls build up, blocking all the confidence you ever had.

“Hi, (Y/n), right?” he greeted you, extending his arm.

With a shy smile on your lips, you stood up to shake his hand. As if your already existent butterflies didn’t exhaust you enough, his liquid touch managed to send shivers in waves, propagating across your whole body, reaching places you didn’t know could buzz like that. Chris sat down next to you, and after every time you told him something, you mentally scolded yourself for not participating more; for letting the shy side of you take control tonight.

“OK guys, next round, what would you like?” Dan, a friend of yours, raised his voice in order to get your attention as a waiter made his way to your table again.

“Vodka rocks please” you said when it came your turn, and your cheeks couldn’t help but burst into flames when Chris’s head snapped in your direction. That’s what you always had, your always go-to and everyone knew it, but to him it was new, and it certainly didn’t fit the appearance you put on.

The first part of the night flew by smoothly, at least in your opinion. If before Chris arrived you were leaning over the table trying to make a point to one of your friends, now you barely managed to gather enough courage to express your point of view in a completely trivial discussion. Maybe it was the alcohol you had ingested but you were pretty sure Chris’s eyes lingered on your bare shoulders or your lips as you talked, more than once and more than just for a second. All these thoughts, that maybe he found you attractive, maybe he cared what you had to say, everything that roamed through your head made you even more self-conscious, afraid your next action or words would let him down.

“Everybody up, I love this song” Anne commanded jumping to her feet. When you shook your head and explained that you’d rather sit through the first few songs she was quick to object. “Come on!”

“I swear, I’ll be there in 5 minutes” you promised your friend, but you were sure that what made her let you have your way was the fact that her favorite song was approaching its end and she was wasting her time at the table.

After everyone stood up and moved to the dance floor, you realized Chris hadn’t; he was on his phone, making the situation even more awkward than it had to be. You took another long sip of your drink, looking around the carefully decorated rustic pub you were in, before finally turning to him, and taping his forearm.

“Don’t you wanna dance?” you asked

“Yeah I do-” he muttered looking back and forth between you and the screen of his phone, “Just a second”

You tucked your hands under your legs, shamelessly studying his side profile. You could tell his eyebrows were slightly furrowed and the moment one of his hands traveled up to scratch the bridge of his nose, you unconsciously tilted your head to get a better view.

“Aren’t you going?” he chuckled after realizing you’ve been staring, pulling you out of your thoughts; everything about his attitude making your insides turn in embarrassment.

“I was wait- No, I’ll go-” you mumbled, preparing to stand up before his hand flew to your knee to stop you.

“No, actually don’t go, just a second” Chris said, still concentrated on his phone, apparently trying to get rid of the distraction as soon as possible. Your eyes worked their way up from his long fingers that were pressed flush against your skin, to his silver watch, further up his forearm, studying the thick veins that were protruding through his skin, to the halfway rolled up sleeve of the black shirt that wrapped itself so perfectly around his frame. You nodded when he told you to wait for him, but he had already turned his head and now you wondered if you seemed off, but before you managed to over analyze everything, he let go of your leg and tucked his phone in his back pocket.

“I’m so sorry about that” he said leaving his seat and turning, “After you”

You happily followed his actions, stepping beside him, as he placed his hand on your back, bringing you closer as you made your way to your group. After joining the small circle your friends created, you distanced yourself from Chris a little in order to have more room to dance, even if all you were actually doing was swaying and waving your hands around your body. Chris turned out to be as inexperienced as you were, his moves basically consisting of shifting his weight from one leg to the other to the beat of the unfamiliar song that was playing. The atmosphere changed soon enough, as “I got my mind set on you” started echoing through the speakers, bringing a well awaited smile on your lips. As the first lyric repeated itself a few times, you filled yourself with all the good energy of the song, your feet elegantly dancing, as if they had a mind of their own.

“Hey” you heard Chris call softly moments before he grabbed your hand to turn you around. You welcomed him with a giggle, wrapping your arms around his neck, careful to keep a decent amount of space between your bodies.

“Whole lotta spendin’ money” you mouthed the words, as his own hands sneaked behind you to pull you closer.

“You like George Harrison?” Chris asked smugly, remembering what Brian said about your love for old music.

“Isn’t he everyone’s favorite beatle?” you answered, extracting yourself from his hold and doing a childish pirouette before coming back against his chest.

“George Harrison is no one’s favorite Beatle” Chris retorted confused.

“That’s Ringo” you corrected him, “But I have no idea what everyone has against him”

With a shrug of his shoulders signaling his lack of an answer, he sighed heavily, his hot breath reaching your lips, before he spoke again, “Then who’s your favorite?”

“Who do you think?” you played, tilting your head to the side.

“McCartney?” Chris asked hopeful, biting his lower lip as he waited for your answer.

“Nah, Lennon” you chuckled, “Actually no- I don’t even know, I’m not even that big of a Beatles fan”. Your honest answer was as unexpected as it could be and judging by the smirk that made its way across Chris’s lips, you knew he appreciated the way you played it. “Do you like them?”

“They’re alright I guess-” Chris trailed off feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket. You smiled kindly taking a step back in order to give him privacy, just in case he needed it. However, you didn’t get to distance yourself too much before he wrapped one of his arms around you from behind, and settled his chin on your shoulder. You were taken aback by his gesture, as from this position you could easily see everything displayed on his screen, but he didn’t seem to care.

“I’m really sorry about this but I wouldn’t answer if I didn't absolutely have to,” Chris explained as his thumb worked its way around the screen. His hot breath hit the bare skin of your neck and shoulder, and you just turned your head, pressing your forehead against his temple; the fire between your legs not allowing you to stay still anymore.

You felt his cheeks gather up a smile under your touch, and you remained like that for a few more seconds as he finished typing. Once he was done, Chris locked his phone and secured his arm around you, turning his head slowly to meet your gaze. You welcomed him with a smile of your own, but in contrast with the sweetness that was plastered on his features, yours held a more fervid kind of feeling. He was the one to close the distance, his strong hold around your frame tightening as his mouth pressed softly against yours. You felt delight bubble inside you under the careful weight of his touch, and you soon felt his tongue trace slowly along your bottom lip, begging. Doing your best not to break the kiss, you turned around in his hold and planted yourself against his chest, this time not waiting for him anymore, diving in directly, going after what was yours. Soon, one of his hands traveled up your spine to grab the back of your head, his actions growing more and more rapturous with every single grunt that escaped his throat.

Judging by the fact that three hours later your dance moves were just as elegant as they were before, you decided to grab one last drink before making your way home. With your arms folded and elbows rested on the bar, you were waiting for an employer to notice you when you felt Chris’s hands on your waist as he placed a quick peck on your cheek before plopping down on the stool to your left. He spread his knees wide apart and pulled you between his legs.

“Vodka, rocks” he said before gesturing with his hand to the waiter to bring two drinks, “How long would you have waited?” he asked, turning his attention back to you. Sarcasm was dripping off his lips, as his lazy eyes didn’t miss any detail of your features.

“It wasn’t my turn yet” you protested

“You know it doesn’t work like that, don’t you?”

“I think it does”

A tight-lipped grin appeared on his features helping his cheekbones stick out ever more under the warm, dim lights of the bar. His boyish charm may have been amplified by the way his chest hair peaked through the open buttons of his shirt, and you were all for it. You pressed your lips to his and he didn’t wait a second to reciprocate your actions, the kiss feeling as natural as if you had known each other for ages.

“Copying me?” you giggled after the bartender brought your drinks, interrupting the two of you.

“Inspired? I’m inspired!” Chris chuckled before taking a sip.

“Drunk, that’s what you are,” you answered, mocking his state, a state you weren’t far from either.

“Nah” he countered, “I’m just feeling good!”. Belting the words he threw his head back, confirming your assumption, and also giving you perfect access to the skin of his neck, which you didn’t hesitate to attack with rough kisses and soft bites. His attitude changed in an instant, becoming a weak mess under you, “Oh god, (Y/n)” you heard him moan into your ear as you worked your magic along his jugular.

Realization hit you suddenly, and remembering you were still in a public place you detached yourself from Chris and grabbed his hand to pull him back to your group.

“Are you seriously doing me like that?” Chris complained following you, fingers intertwined.

“Sorry, I got carried away”

Your night out didn’t last much longer after that, as the tension between you and Chris reached the point where none of you was willing to deny it anymore. After saying your goodbyes, you headed out through the front door and made your way to the main street in search of a cab. Despite having gathered up the courage to go to his place, the whole car ride was perfectly silent as your head quietly rested on his shoulder.

Once inside the apartment, his lips found yours faster than he had found his keys less than 5 seconds before. With your back pressed against the door while Chris sucked mercilessly on the skin of your neck, you managed to get a quick glimpse of the city lights poking through his huge window, setting an even more intoxicating atmosphere than before. You lost yourself under his touch, feeling his hot body wrapped around yours as his hands roamed shamelessly over the thin material of your dress.

Sighing, you pushed him off of you, “Bedroom” you whispered and after giving you a quick nod, Chris dived back in for a kiss, grabbing your waist and guiding you through his dark home and into his room. You sat down on the bed, as he knelt in front of you on the floor, taking your feet into his lap to undo your sandals.

“God” he muttered annoyed, as the strap refused to come undone. Giggling, you leaned forward to take them off yourself, appreciating the gesture and loving his cuteness. After getting rid of your high heels, you grabbed Chris’s collar as you leaned on your back, pulling him on top of you. This time his hands didn’t hesitate as they found their way to your ass in no time.

“You have no idea what you did to me in that dress” Chris grunted against your lips as his fingers dug roughly into your skin. He traveled down your body, peppering kisses down your chest, before resuming his position on his knees on the floor.

“Spread your legs for me” he commanded and you obliged, crawling to the end of the bed, settling your legs on each side of his frame. His hands caressed your thighs passionately, inching closer to your heat causing your breath to fasten. Chris lifted up your dress, and pushed you to lay on your back.

“Oh god” you whimpered, feeling exposed and completely vulnerable. As you leaned your head to the side and closed your eyes, the feeling of Chris’s wet lips centimeters away from your core caused you to buck your hips in surprise as he started paving his way along your thigh with soft kisses.

“You want this?”

“Please” you begged suggestively

“Look at me” he demanded in a new harsh deep tone that sent shivers down your spine. You raised your head and looked down at Chris, who upon making eye contact, tapped your hips twice. You took the hint and propped your feet on the wooden edge of the bed as he circled his fingers around the sides of your underwear, pulling it down your legs in one swift motion.

After settling back into his position, Chris probed your folds with his thumb, smiling, more to himself, pride most likely pumping through his veins at the sight of his effect on you. He finally leaned down, his mouth volunteering to take his fingers spot, as he teased his way to your clit.

“Chris-!” you hissed at the feeling of his wet tongue working carefully on your bundle of nerves.

“Mmm..mm” he hummed lowly against your sensitive spot, the vibrations of his lips adding to your pleasure, “So fucking sweet”. His voice was hurried, as he lifted his head only for a second in order to look at you. His hands came around your thighs, as he released some of his own tension by vehemently slapping and gripping your skin.

With every lap Chris worked on your clit, a painful need inside of you to spill out profanity after profanity only grew bigger, but you managed to control yourself.

“Are you gonna cum for me?” he asked smugly, and before managing to give a decent answer, you felt one of his fingers enter you slowly.

“I- Uh, god” you cried out, arching your back as your left hand flew down so you could curl your fingers around and pull on the elegant collar of his shirt. Feeling every muscle in your body tense as your hips quivered uncontrollably, you secured Chris in his place by bringing your other hand too into his hair. Realizing how on the edge you were, he added another finger, swirling them against your wall, as his lips maintained the same avid pace around your clit. Impossible to tell how much longer it took, but most likely in a matter of seconds your orgasm came thundering down on you, curling your toes as the muscles of your legs trembled furiously. Chris kept going until you let your body fall flush against his bed, when he came up to your level.

Your eyes were closed, still enjoying the last waves of bliss that traveled along your legs as he teasingly caressed your cheeks with his lips and the tip of his nose.

Coming back to your senses, you gripped his neck, wrapping your legs around his middle, pressing him down against you. His mouth slowly met yours, igniting sparkles in your chest as he tugged on your lower lip before allowing your tongue to meet his’.

After pulling away, Chris straightened up at the edge of the bed and started working on undressing himself. The metal clicking of his belt buckle prompted you to suck in a long breath, smiling to yourself at how this man could make you feel so much, as you were already craving more.

You steadied yourself on your knees and crawled over to Chris, turning your back at him and getting your hair out of the way. He didn’t waste a second before getting back to you and pulling down your zipper of your dress, which allowed his hands to roam freely under the thin material. His fingers softly caressed your sides before sneaking to the front and cupping your breasts as his lips found your neck again. He lowered himself forward, pushing you down on the bed on your stomach and climbed on top of you.

Feeling his lips burn icy tracks along your shoulders, you pushed yourself up, flipping the two of you over. You slipped out of your dress fast and straddled his hips, not caring the slightest bit about being in any way seductive; you already had him. Under you, panting in anticipation, long fingers digging mercilessly into the smooth skin of your thighs.

Your lips were again on his’, working slowly, doing your best to tease him and push his buttons. Your hands traced his sides, making their way up his body,

“Yes, fuck” Chris whined. He had managed to take off his dark shirt before you distracted him, so he was now laying on the bed, half naked with his jeans undone, waiting for you.

You slowly lifted yourself off of him and tugged at his pants, pulling them down with a little bit of help from him.

“Tell me Chris” you teased looking up at him, your face inches away from his erect cock, “You want this?”. Following your question, you licked your lips as they fell into a one sided grin.

Squeezing his eyes shut as his head went from side to side, Chris chuckled bitterly at the taste of his own medicine, “Show me what you can do”

You placed one of your hands at the top of his thigh and lowered yourself even more, maintaining the eye contact as you carefully lifted him up. With your fingers wrapped around his cock, your lips barely brushed his base before you made your way lower.

“Fuck- fuck, (Y/n)” Chris hissed, bucking his hips violently at the way you kept pushing him. He brought his hand to the top of your head, his thumb softly caressing your hair as you worked on his balls.

At an agonizingly slow pace, your hand made its way up his length and when you reached his tip, your fingers continued teasing.

“Fu- take me in your mouth, baby” he tried to demand but under your burning stare, his words came out more as a plea, a struggling moan.

You gave him a false approving nod before you licked your way up his dick, wrapped your puckered lips around his end and sucked harshly a few, short times. When his head flew black as he white knuckled the sheets, you took it as your cue to stop.

“Hey Chris” you whispered as you let his cock fall against his stomach and you climbed on top of him.

A weak chuckle escaped his lips as he tried to smile when he realized the way you were going to play this. You leaned down to his level and slipped two fingers into his mouth before gripping his chin tightly and engulfing his lips in a fervid kiss. After caressing their way up and down your thighs, his hands settled on your ass, gripping tightly as he pushed himself up to meet your core.

You lowered yourself to add to his pleasure, your tongues not parting as you started pressing down on his cock.

“Please?” you teased, your hot breath hitting his damp lips.

“You’re not going there” he stated, his dominant side starting to show as his expression darkened.

“No?” you asked guiding one of your hands between your bodies, against his hard abdomen, wrapping your fingers around his dick. You nodded your head ‘no’ as you pumped him slowly, his squinted eyes prompting a smirk to appear on your lips. You had him; no matter what he said, you could go anywhere you wanted, “No, I’m not”

You guided his tip to your folds, slipping around him without any kind of warning. Straightening your back and supporting your weight by gluing your hands to his stomach, your hips started working in circular motions along his cock. You let your head fall forward before you pushed all your hair to one side, in order to be able to look him in the eyes. His body was responding to your actions, as he kept pushing himself up in sync with your movements.

It didn’t take long before you felt your second orgasm approach, and lost in the moment, you didn’t realize Chris took notice of the choked back whimpers that escaped your throat.

“Hey gorgeous” he grunted, his big hands digging holes into your waist, “As much as I love this-” he tried to speak but ended up concentrating all his energy into picking you up and flipping the both of you over, “-this is what I want right now”. He finished his sentence with a harsh whisper in your year from behind, as you struggled to maintain your balance on your elbows under his weight.

You smiled to yourself feeling his wet, hot chest against your naked back, before he rapidly guided himself inside of you.

“Mmh- Chris-” you moaned feeling his hands roam around your body as he maintained his avid pace.

“Taking me so well, hm?” he hummed in your ear. After caressing your cheek clumsily, Chris trailed his hand on the side of your head, his fingers losing themselves in your hair as he tugged back, forming a makeshift ponytail. The forcefulness of his touch caused you to tilt your head, eyes gluing to the ceiling as he grunted in your ear.

“Hell ugh-” you screamed as your body rocked back and forth under his’.

“Who would’ve thought?” he growled, exploring the skin of your neck with his lips as he kept your head back, “The way you act- so sweet and innocent, but then you down vodkas and take my cock like a good little slut”. Chris’s words were carelessly spilling out of his mouth, the pleasure of each thrust giving him more and more trouble forming coherent sentences, “Fuck, (Y/n)-”.

He let go of your hair in order to steady himself, as his movements became sloppier and angrier by the second, “Sh- Chris!-” you yelled gripping the sheets into your fists to keep yourself up, even though one of his arms was wrapped around your abdomen. “I’m so close, fuck, Chris!” you exclaimed again, letting your head fall against your shoulder.

He moved his hand to grip your ass tightly, before detaching it and then sending it to connect forcefully with your butt cheek again, causing a loud slap to accompany both your moans.

It’s all a blur what happened after that; his fingers kept digging into your skin hard as he was enjoying his high, the loud profanities he screamed sending you over the horizon. You soon went limp in his hold, but he didn’t pull out until he placed a loving kiss between your shoulder blades. Your whole body was trembling, from your lower lip to the tip of your toes, but the way he was still inside you as his lips carefully treated your skin, still managed to electrify your mind.

After that your night didn’t last much longer. A fragile amount of comfortable small talk emerged as you both settled under the covers but your mind was somewhere else. You had a lot of fun with him and your heart ached when you thought that this was a only one night stand after all. With your gaze getting lost in the darkness of his room, you found yourself fighting the urge to snuggle into him. As much as you wanted it, as bad of an idea you thought it was. Chris was laying on his stomach with his head in your direction, as you rested on your back. Honestly, you hoped he’d make the first move and pull you closer but he didn’t so you pushed your thoughts away. Or at least you tried. After saying your 'good night’s, much to your surprise, Chris’s hand found yours under the covers as he started to lazily play with your fingers. You smiled to yourself a little even though you knew he couldn’t see it. Your palm was against the sheets as he softly rubbed your thumb with his own. This didn’t help, all it managed to do was make you want to cuddle into his side even more, to rest your head in the crook of his neck and to fall asleep listening to his heart beat. Though none of those things happened, you managed to fall asleep on your own, despite the fact that the few inches of space between your bodies was killing you.

Surprisingly, at one point during the night you woke up. This time you were laying on your side, and it took you a couple of seconds to realise what it was that disrupted your sleep. You turned your head slowly to peak over your shoulder, and you physically felt your soul break. Chris was cuddled into your back, his whole body pressed against yours as his face was tucked into the back of your neck. You didn’t mind it, but the simple fact that his arms were gathered around himself and not around you, made it all clear. He was shivering in his sleep as the night breeze made its way in through the window that somehow was left open, and as you apparently had hogged all the covers, his pair of boxers failed to keep him warm.

“Shit” you muttered to yourself, turning around and doing your best to wrap the blanket around him. Your warm hand connected to his freezing shoulder in a pathetic attempt to warm him up, and instinctively, moments later, Chris wrapped his arms around you, pulling you even closer. You didn’t fight him this time, you just helped him cuddle into your chest before you fell back asleep.

Ironically enough, in the morning, you woke up to Chris pulling the blanket higher up your body. You didn’t open your eyes immediately as it took you a moment to come back to reality. Right now, you were facing him but not one inch of your body was touching his. When you finally looked at Chris, he was resting against the headboard, typing away on his phone. You wondered how long he must’ve been awake for but judging by his squinted eyes, you figured that not for too long.

“What time is it?” you finally mumbled

“Shit, I’m sorry I woke you up,” he said. He turned to look at you apologetically, but a smile still made its way to his lips as soon as his eyes landed on your figure, “It’s 10:12”

“Why are you awake?” you asked, not moving a muscle.

“My phone kept ringing, I have no idea how that didn’t wake you up”

You just shrugged your shoulders and crawled a bit closer to him before closing your eyes again.

“You can go back to sleep” he whispered, lowering himself to be at the same level as you.

“No, it’s ok” you protested, bringing your arms over your head to stretch, “I just need a minute”

He settled under the covers mirroring your position. His tired eyes matched his tired smile, and his cheek squished against the pillow made him all the more adorable, “I could make you breakfast, do you want some?”

Your stomach was begging for food, but this wasn’t an offer you expected. The dudes you’ve had hook ups with like this one, usually woke up horny and then that was it.

“Oh, yees, thank you”

“I could make you pancakes, like they do in movies” he offered chuckling in his groggy morning voice.

“Pancakes…” you repeated content, mouth starting to water at the thought.

“You can sleep some more while I make them,” he suggested.

“No” you argued, rolling into your back, “I’m coming with you, the girl makes breakfast in movies”

Chris raised himself up, prompting his weight on his elbow as he hovered over you with a bitter smirk on his lips, “The girl usually leaves before the boy wakes up”

His words stung a bit, “Are you trying to kick me out?”

“God, no!” he exclaimed, grabbing your waist and pulling you closer. Finally something. “That’s just what usually happens”. He was weirdly right, that was what you did most of the time too, but apparently not today.

“I guess” you agreed, looking into his big brown eyes. Before allowing the situation to slip into a direction you weren’t too fond of, you stood up on the bed, “Can you give me a shirt, please?”

“Of course” he said in an instant, jumping up from the bed and running to his closet. “This one ok?” he asked, showing you a navy blue one with long sleeves.

“Yeah” you smiled, extending your arm to grab it.

“Or this one?” he suggested again, this time a black t-shirt in his hands.

“Chris, give me the black one” you laughed before he had the opportunity to offer you another one to choose from.

You hurried to pull it over your head as he put on some gray sweatpants, and then you both left for the kitchen.

“Is this the bathroom?” you asked, pointing to a door right next to the one just came from.

“Yeah, but no” he laughed grabbing your shoulders and turning you in a different direction, “Go to that one” he gestured towards another door on the opposite side of the hallway, “This one is messy”

You wanted to protest for a second, as you were curious and maybe you wanted to snoop a little, but eventually nodded and went where he told you.

“Do you have Nutella or some kind of chocolate?” you asked, eyeing the pancakes.

“Um, no..” he mumbled, “But I can go grab some”

“What? No!”

“It’s just around the corner, I’ll be back in like 5 minutes”

“I was just asking” you giggled, grabbing his wrist, pulling him towards the table.

“It would take me-”

“Chris, no” you laughed, this time your tone was more serious.

He eventually caved, and you sat down to eat. The conversation picked up instantly and not for one second did it feel forced or uncomfortable. The awkwardness of getting too close to him disappeared immediately, as when you were halfway done, he pulled you into his lap, to demonstrate how a proper pancake should be eaten. Maple syrup and strawberry jam got everywhere but it wasn’t like any of you cared. Unlike last night, his lips were now sweet, kinda sticky even but it was perfect.

“So, like, last night you came with Anne, right? How do you know her?” he asked as he struggled to pour some more syrup on his pancakes with his left hand, as his right arm was locked around your hips.

“She’s my best friend” you answered smiling, “We actually met at the gym a few years ago”, you paused to shake your head, “God, I hate gyms”

“Why?” he asked curious

“I’m an embarrassment, I’d much rather work out at home”

“Oh god” he laughed dropping his pancake and throwing his head back, “I can make you feel better about that if you want to”

“Sure.. go ahead” you hesitated, afraid of what might come out of his mouth

“So like I was at the gym a few days ago, and there was this lady lifting some weights that, by the way, looked way too heavy for her but who am I to judge. Anyway so as she’s squatting, you know, when she tries to straighten her legs and go back up, this loud fart comes out, and I swear to god it echoed through the whole room-”

“Oh god, no!” you exclaimed, covering your eyes with your palms, “I feel so sorry for her”

“That’s not even the best part” he laughed tapping your tight to get your attention.

“We’re eating Chris, please tell me she didn’t-”

“She didn’t don’t worry” he chuckled, “So like after it comes out, she starts rummaging like crazy through her stuff, pulls out her phone and goes - I’m sorry I didn’t answer faster, it was on vibrate-”

“I’m so embarrassed for her” you whined

“Yeah, like a part of me wanted to reassure her that it’s ok but I’m sure that would’ve made everything worse” he said laughing.

“Definitely”

“And like she left for the locker room but when she came back she was still pretending to be on the phone and headed straight to the door and didn’t look back”

“I can’t” you managed to say between your giggles

“Now I’m so afraid I’ll fart in the middle of the gym” he confessed

With your pancake still in your hand, you felt your eyes start to water, trying to picture him all flustered and embarrassed and you couldn’t help but laugh even louder.

“It’s ok, you won’t” you tried to reassure him, but he was just as amused as you were

“I hope” he sighed

After you were done eating, and then done arguing about Chris not allowing you to help him clean up the mess, it was time for you to leave.

“Do you want me to drive you?” he asked, most likely sure you were going to agree, so probably that’s why his face fell when you declined.

“No, it’s ok, but have you seen my jacket?”

“You didn’t have one”

“Yes, I did, a long maroon one” you explained thinking about where you could’ve left it.

“Trust me, I know what you were wearing last night” he said smirking

“Then I must have left it at the bar, I hope someone saw it and took it”

“Wait, let me give you something to wear” he said, sprinting to his bedroom. You waited patiently for him in the hallway, realizing that this meant you had to see each other again. But you had mutual friends, someone could give it back to him for you, right? This was usually the time you blew the guy off, but this time, something inside of you simply didn’t let you.

“What about this one?” he asks, handing you an army green hoodie.

“It’s perfect, thank you”

“I don’t have your number, and I kinda want it back,” he joked, pointing to the jacket.

“Give me your phone” you laughed, and after he gave it to you, you added the number quickly and handed it back to him.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you, I feel bad for letting you walk home”

“No, it’s ok, it’s not that far, I’m gonna cut through the park and listen to music, it’s ok” you reassured him, stepping away from the door so he could unlock it.

Once you passed the threshold, you turned around wanting to kiss him one last time, but the moment his hands caught your waist, the teasing side of you awakened, so you just placed a long peck to his cheek.

“Bye” he laughed at your antics, before closing the door after you.

As you were walking home, you wrapped your arms around yourself, causing the smell of his hoodie to reach your nose. You were happy he didn’t give you a clean one, this one smelled like him, and maybe he chose this one on purpose. Your mind drifted back to the events of the last 15 hours and unconsciously, they put a smile on your lips. You had so much fun with Chris, and grew so fond of his sweetness, that you almost felt bad for giving him the number of your 50 year old laundromat lady.

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