#but the guy spent middle school acting smug and eventually we all caught up and surpassed him so he already was used to bragging about shit

[vermillioncrown]

Hello im here to cause trouble. Zyx transmigrates into Yue Qingyuan.

hi sorry, i was busy with skule and work

SJ!SQQ would immediately clock an imposter, if Z!YQY doesn’t play it right as they transmigrate

(bad ending SJ!SQQ murders Z!YQY lol)

Uhhhh if Z!YQY manages to sus out what’s happening, and with the limited (and lacking) perspective in PIDW they manage to discover and speculate on a few things

og!YQY barely has his shit together. Sword and cultivation masquerading as whole, perfect façade as sect leader gone in his private quarters, odd trinkets that seem so mundane for a powerful man to keep. Heap and heaps of spiritually potent gifts, boxed in beautiful lacquered wood and ready to go... to whom?

og!YQY isn’t stupid (that was her worst case opinion), just indulgent. ZYX was of an absolutely low opinion of YQY - his behavior was similar to academic advisors that let their shittier students run roughshod over the rest of their mentees, sabotaging, scheming, stealing, all the nasty stuff. And while ZYX despises those students, they also feel it’s the professors’ job (as the ones that selected these students at that academic level) to enforce and impart integrity on those assholes. the SQQ&YQY dynamic is everything that pisses her off

 OG!LBH missed a lot of detail when it didn’t concern his immediate sphere of influence. He noted that SQQ ‘hated’ YQY, but Z!YQY (with a more normal and socialized upbringing than all these trauma-bait characters) starts to understand that it’s almost like mean pigtail pulling. Baffling.

ok ok ok... there’s history there, and holy shit out of all these low iq imbeciles, it’s gonna be the most vicious fucker out there (barring bingge) that will find them out.

Z!YQY grits their teeth, pulls xuan su out, and fakes a qi deviation like their life depends on it (it kinda does). it fucking hurts, like someone stuck an immersion blender inside, pureed their life essence into a bisque, and sucked it out their belly button through a straw. so it’s kinda necessary that Z!YQY stay on qian cao for a bit

“Asking Mu-shidi... don’t tell Shen Qingqiu”

MQF pauses whatever he’s doing. gives Z!YQY a Look.

“Has Shen-shixiong lost zhangmen-shixiong’s favor?” 

Z!YQY tries so hard to not let the ‘o i fucked up’ look slip out.

“This... one has given more thought to--to many subjects,” they answer vaguely. MQF thinks they look pensive and melancholic. Z!YQY is actually tiptoeing through a verbal and social minefield. They look up, and give MQF a helpless smile. “On this shixiong’s sickbed, we can afford to be more candid. Mu-shidi, please tell me your honest opinion?”

using every ounce of their gossip-gathering skills (not that they developed it for evil - it was just fun to know gossip, and sometimes people needed to vent and then they would say the most interesting things -), Z!YQY pries out MQF’s perspective on the SQQ-YQY Issue. it’s not a complete perspective, but there’s more to go on with YQY’s hidden cultivation issues, SQQ’s also unstable cultivation (?!?!?), and the... sheer duration of this.

Since they were disciples.

Z!YQY thinks they know the approach to take now. It’s not going to be resolved by one, grand and impeccable act towards SQQ - rather, Z!YQY is going to have to manipulate their dynamic to evolve.

It starts with a simple, distant greeting. “Shen-shidi,” at the next peak lord meeting, one that Z!YQY called to get an emergency update on the state of affairs due to ‘unexpected health issues’.

SQQ looks like Z!YQY backhanded their face. Anger and annoyance at some routine changing. but when SQQ starts mouthing off, sly and poisonous barbs thrown across the meeting hall, Z!YQY marvels at how obvious SQQ’s apprehension and fear are.

not one peak lord says anything addressing it.

LQG storms out of the meeting as soon as he is able to. “Lacking manners and respect for Zhangmen-shixiong - I refuse to stomach more of your insufferable attitude,” he calls out when others try to slow him down. He nods firmly in Z!YQY’s direction before stomping out and flying off on cheng luan (probably off to kill a thing - Z!YQY could commiserate after bad lab meetings)

the other peak lords try to (not so subtly) keep SQQ from Z!YQY (”Zhangmen-shixiong, perhaps it’s best to let Shen-shixiong cool off for a bit...”), but Z!YQY lingers and the peak lords can no longer play at any polite pretense to separate the two.

SQQ is vicious once out of public eye. between the two of them, he doesn’t hold himself back as the most elegant peak lord of cang qiong, needing only his tongue to devastate enemies - his words still poisonous but with a rawer quality, his body language barely contained and coiled with tension, unafraid to get up in Z!YQY’s face.

‘what,’ Z!YQY thinks as SQQ verbally rips into his character and dignity, ‘the fuck did the original goods do to SQQ? steal his girl? fuck his mom?? smash and dash his sister??? YQY you did fucking something to this guy!’

again, this diatribe is so ... obviously someone lashing out. SQQ wants something from YQY, but a specific something on his terms. And whatever YQY was giving him before was not only what he wasn’t looking for, it actively upset him.

But potentially losing YQY upset him even more. Interesting.

okay, zyx; pull up your meager theater skills! let’s go!

Sad, overgrown puppy hangdog look. Tears barely held back. A soft hold on SQQ’s wrists, restraining him from further jabbing his really pointy finger into Z!YQY’s pecs (ouch).

“Qingyuan does not know what to do, nor is he able to read minds. Shidi wanted me to stop bothering him, and so Qingyuan listened. And now, it is apparent that Shidi wants something else he’s not saying.” timed look up through their eyelashes, even if YQY’s body is slightly taller than SQQ’s. hm. the hunched look adds to the sadboi act. “Qing--I don’t know what to give you if you don’t tell me, Shen Qingqiu.”

SQQ violently yanks himself out of Z!YQY’s grip.

One more blow. “Just... tell--let me...,” Z!YQY stops themselves from reaching out, and turns abruptly. “Pardon this shixiong.” Exit stage right.

-

So here’s the thing.

Z!YQY was banking on dangling the prospect of their changing dynamic to spook SQQ into saying something (and it’s less of a prospect and more of an inevitability). It’s definitely something, with the way that SQQ stalks performatively around Z!YQY, trying to draw attention to the fact that SQQ 1) exists, and 2) is fucking furious with Z!YQY.

Being as gentle-mannered as OG!YQY is exhausting, but SQQ definitely would not react well to ZYX’s true brand of conflict resolution (”Okay, tell me what the fuck is wrong with you/what the fuck is wrong with us because I want to fix it”).

(It pays off when SQQ finally cracks and it culminates into a one-sided fight where Z!YQY is accused of “finally throwing [SQQ] away like unwanted trash, the last black blemish on YQY’s gallant and spotless reputation”

“Shen Qingqiu.” SQQ looks like he’s about to strike Z!YQY himself. “I cannot change the past or stop each other from carrying its burdens. But-” Z!YQY hopes they’re getting the words right, through half-observation and half-speculation, “-you’re still here. How can you call this ‘being thrown away’?”

It’s not immediately resolved, but apparently SQQ takes it as Z!YQY wanting to wipe the past clean for both of them instead of leaving him and his 100 lbs overweight emotional luggage behind. Thus, Z!YQY gets away w never knowing nor using 'Xiao Jiu/Qi-Ge' stuff.

‘Oh,’ Z!YQY nearly says when a scent like fresh forest and cut bamboo invades their nose and they feel tentative, soft lips upon theirs.

SQQ looks offended when Z!YQY doesn’t reciprocate and pulls away, is mollified and made angrily bashful when his hand is pulled in for a kiss and then strong fingers gently lace through his own slender digits.

“One step at a time, one day at a time,” Z!YQY says, trying to keep their voice light and teasing. They tug SQQ’s hand up and back, leading the other peak lord until they’re standing chest to chest.)

-

(Eventually, as the sect leader, Z!YQY pays attention enough to catch SQH.

SQH is terrified of all the changes, but delighted to meet a fellow transmigrator that respects service workers (even if they pull no punches in how they think that PIDW was a malformed, inbred horse that needed to be brought out back and shot).

“Man, how’d you pull the stick out of SQQ’s ass? I thought he’d never get over the whole slave thing and the Qiu household-”

Z!YQY does a spit take. “-the what.”)

[theonlyrealgod]

Kaminari Denki x Reader; Jiro’s Best Friend

relationship: Kaminari Denki x Reader

fluff ~

warnings : literally one curse word

2.5k words

“Are we there yet?” Kaminari groaned for the thousand times since he and Jiro got on the train but was, just like the past two hours and a half of the ride, only greeted with silence.

The purple-haired girl sat across from him with one headphone in quietly listening to music and occasionally tapping the armchair she rested her hand on. They got very lucky with the seats, no one around them and a lot of space and quiet that was quickly filled with Denki’s rambling about his training with Sero and what Mina told him about Todoroki one time and how mad Bakugou was after he pranked him.

Jiro has honestly gotten used to having Kaminari around. Sure he was annoying and loud and kind of stupid at times but nonetheless he was always there to keep her company and make her laugh if he tried he could make a really good friend. He also matured a lot during their time at UA and wasn’t just a horny teenager all the time. Sometime during the time they spent together at school and then at the dorms, she found herself texting him during the summer vacation and at some point they became somewhat close to best friends. Of course, if anyone asked he had Kirishima and she had Momo but it just so happened that here she was, with him, driving to meet her best friend from middle school.

“And then Mina said she heard some weird noises from Kirishima’s room when he had Bakugo over for studying and-“ his one-sided chatter was cut short by the announcement of the next stop they were approaching. Jiro put her headphones away and looked at her friend “This is it.” she said and got up moving towards the doors with Kaminari following right behind her.

“So Jiro, what are they like?” he asked. The train stopped and the doors slide open revealing the streets of a town ni ether of them had seen before.

“As far as I can remember they are freaking awesome, they were my best friend after all” Jiro said stepping off the train and wiping some invisible dirt off her clothes.“Well yeah obviously” Kaminari laughed standing beside her. Jiro sighed heavily and looked around looking for anyone who looked even remotely like what you looked like.

“Hey, are you sure you’re ok?” Kaminari said, his facial expressions slowly turning into a more concern one. Jiro was honestly very nervous. She wasn’t even sure what to do when she saw you or what to say or how to act, so much has changed and she hasn’t seen you in two years. You moved away just before Jiro had her UA entrance exam, you weren’t there to support her, to celebrate when she told you the good news. You guys kept in touch but as her hero work became more serious, she had less and less time to call you and it honestly surprised her when she saw your name written across the screen asking her to visit you during one of her free days. And here she was, unsure of how this will go. 

“I’m just worried about you to know this... us meeting her and-“ her spoken thoughts were interrupted by a voice, a familiar voice she hadn’t heard in years

“Kyoka!” you screamed maybe a little too loud for many people passing and turning, shaking their heads disapprovingly and poor Kaminari that got scared at the sudden voice. Jiro turned to look at you and her worries were suddenly gone, replaced by nostalgia. “Y/n,” she said breathing heavily as you went and hugged her. She tensed up for a second before giving in and hugging you back.

“This is... uh,” Jiro’s face suddenly fell when she looked back at her male friend who looked like he just used too much electricity. “Kaminari Denki,” she said slowly still concerned over his state. His eyes were fixed on you and his jaw was almost hitting the floor. He had become very good at controlling his hormones but whatever he had expected it definitely wasn’t this.

“Um..” you laugh awkwardly at his reaction “I’m F/n L/n” you extend your hand for him to grab. “Oi” Jiro punched Kaminari in the arm and he finally woke up from his trans, red in the cheeks “Ah yes h-hi. Kaminari” he said introducing himself again and shaking your hand. You just laughed playfully at him and blushed a little yourself. 

Jiro was narrowing her eyes watching the weird tension between you two. “Ok... what now?” she asked looking at you since you obviously knew the town better than them. 

“Oh good, you asked! I actually have the whole day planned out for us” you said with a big smile. “You guys must be starving, let’s go eat first” you smile looking first at Kyoka and back at Kaminari who was still blushing.

“Do it again ahahahaha Kaminari I can’t” Jiro was choking on her words from laughing as she begged Kaminari to show you what happens when he uses too much of his quirk for the sixth time. You were cracking up at the results but didn’t want him to completely wear himself out as you guys just finished eating.

The people around you were probably giving you three weird looks because of how much noise you were making by laughing. 

“Ah Kaminari you’re quirk is really amazing!” you said to cheer him up after Jiro teased him. “Thanks,” he said and scratched the back of his neck giving you a warm smile. 

“What’s your quirk Y/n?” he asked curiously. You blushed slightly “It’s nothing special and also really weak but I can turn any non-organic material into clothing.” you explained with a slight smile. Kaminari thought for awhile “That can be useful” he said eventually. You chuckled looking at Kyoka who was grinning “Well she got lucky” Jiro said. Denki furrowed his brows in confusion looking back and forth between the two of you. “What do you mean?” he asked. “I’m actually studying to be a fashion designer so my quirk is indeed very useful” you smiled explaining. It wasn’t your quirk that made you chose fashion, it just so happened to help a lot with achieving your dreams. 

Kaminari looked surprised for a moment “Oh” he said “Wait why didn’t you tell me this before Jiro! That’s so cool.” he said sounding genuinely excited for you.

You just laugh and shake your head continuing the conversation, talking about school and the hero course, the villains they have fought and the teachers.

Time flew by as you took them to all of your favorite places around the town. You all probably couldn’t remember when was the last time you had such a good time outside of school. 

Not only were you able to catch up with Jiro but also got to know Kaminari really well, it felt like you have known each other for years.

  “So you actually have a pervert in class?!” you ask widening your eyes at all the stories about their class. “Well if you count out Denki, we have one yeah” Jiro said casually sipping on her drink. You almost choke on yours and Kaminari spits him out to yell over you “Ah!? I’m not a pervert, you are!” Jiro turned to him flipping him off “You know I’m right. You’re always checking Momo out when she’s in her hero costume.” Kaminari said and that made Jiro blush like crazy 

“I- I do not!” she protested but you saw right through her lies. She must have noticed your expression when her lips turned into a thin line and her face even redder than before “You have a crush? I can’t believe you didn’t tell me Kyoka!” you said smacking her hand. 

“A-ah it’s not anything yet” Jiro finally gave in but regretting it immediately when she saw the smug on Denki’s face. He will not stop teasing her about it once they get back. 

“Alright guys” you began checking the clock. It was already getting late. “I have one last thing planned for us to do,” you said excitedly. Kaminari sulked a little, realizing they’re leaving soon. 

“What is it?” Jiro asked looking at you a little less flustered this time. 

“It’s karaoke!” you sing loudly and cheering up your idea. Kaminari and Jiro soon joined in both loving the suggestion. “Hell yeah, cmon let’s go we can’t waste another second” Kaminari panicked pulling you down from the fountain you were sitting on to run towards wherever you were taking them. 

You laugh “Denki wait!” but he was already ahead of you.

“What about this one?” Jiro asked remote in her hand.

“No way, gimme that” Kaminari protested trying to get the remote from her. “Stop it, it’s my turn and I wasn’t asking you” she snapped and turned towards you. “Fine! Let Y/n decide then” Denki said crossing his hands on his chest. “Ok” was all Jiro said before all attention was on you again. 

You have been singing for at least an hour now and they still haven’t gotten tired of it. 

“I actually agree with Denki,” you said slowly not wanting to start another fight between the two of them. “Ugh you people probably share the same brain cell for shit music,” Kyoka said pouting 

“I’ll excuse myself to the bathroom then, have fun,” she said before walking away and you were left alone with Denki- what was she thinking leaving you two alone, you just met today and he was kind of low key, ok really cute. You blushed a little at your thoughts. 

“Alright I guess,” he said shrugging and walked over to you. “You don’t have to sing if you're uncomfortable with just me you know?” he smiled shyly knowing Kyoka did this on purpose, she probably figured out he liked you. 

“Actually do you want to dance?” you asked hoping he’d say yes. You loved dancing and the thought of dancing with Kaminari really didn’t seem all the bad, quite the opposite actually. “Oh” you caught his surprised expression, he almost looked scared. “I don’t know how” he finally said still showing little to no emotions other than surprised. “Don’t worry, I’ll teach you... if you want?” you said hoping he wouldn’t just leave you standing. 

“Alright” he simply said awfully calm and got up walking towards you. “It’s really nothing special, just enjoy yourself,” you said a little panicked since you were nowhere near a professional dancer turning on the music and Accidentally in love started playing. 

You moved around to the melody having fun with it. Kaminari, on the other hand, was lost, his body just didn’t move like yours and you made him very nervous. When you stopped to get a glance at him you tried but really really tried not to laugh. Didn’t work, you burst into laughter and watch as he blushes embarrassed. 

“Don’t laugh at me!” he said. “I told you I don’t know how to dance,” he said crossing his arms. You go and grab his hand pulling him closer to you “Just follow my lead” you said in his ear so he could clearly hear you over the music. You two started dancing and even though Kaminari stepped on your toes countless times he was getting better. You were smiling and laughing at his silliness the whole time. 

“No Denki, what is that?” you asked while laughing “This how I dance TEACHER,” he said emphasizing the fact that it really was your job to teach him as you promised. “Alright alright come here boy” you laugh and pull him closer. “I’m not a dog you know-“ his eyes widen when you were suddenly closer than expected and your arms went slowly to wrap themselves around his neck. Kaminari didn’t know what to think, he looked down at you sighing deeply, his hand automatically went on your waist when suddenly the door opened and Jiro walked in. 

You and Kaminari jumped away from each other both blushing and looking at anywhere bit Jiro. “What?” Jiro asked annoyed looking at the two of you. 

“Nothing,” you and Kaminari said at the same time making it even weirder. “Alright weirdos we have time for one more song,” Jiro said and walked up to you. Kaminari wasn’t sure what just happened a few minutes ago but couldn’t help and wonder; would you have kissed him if Jiro wouldn’t barge in?

“Ok Kaminari, wait here I’ll go buy us tickets”

Jiro ordered once you got to the station. She walked away leaving you and Denki alone once again.

You were sad they had to leave already but you also understood how hard hero work must be. “I guess this is goodbye then,” Kaminari said looking at you. “I guess it is” you sigh “It was really fun hanging out with you,” he said smiling “sort of took our minds of hero work for a while” he chuckled 

“aw I’m so glad I was able to do that,” you answered with a big smile. 

“Should probably wish us luck though.” Kaminari said looking around “Oh why’s that?” you ask curiously “It’s way after our bedtime” he explained and you immediately burst into laughter interrupting him “What are you five? Heroes who fight deadly villains have a bedtime?” you kept laughing while Denki just rolled his eyes. “Don’t laugh, it’s serious. If they catch us sneaking in after-hours we’ll be in big trouble” he scolded you and you couldn’t help but feel bad for them. 

“Alright, how bout this for good luck?” you pull him close by grabbing his shirt and press your lips onto his. Kaminari widens his eyes at the sudden action but slowly melts into the kiss and kisses you back. 

Jiro finished buying tickets and headed back only to find you two exploring each other’s throats “Ew” she said furrowing her face and cringing “You guys are disgusting” you both stop what you were doing both blushing and looking at Jiro. 

Kaminari quickly put on a smirk “Go ahead, I’ll be right after you” he said and winked. Jiro made a barfing sound and pushed past you two to get to the train waving you goodbye. “Now... where were we?” Kaminari smirked leaning in again only to be stopped by your hand “You need to get on this train” you said reminding him that it’s the last one.

“Nah I’ll just sleepover,” he said jokingly and you just rolled your eyes. 

“Here, I have a little fashion show next month. You can come and see me if you’ll have time” you said and pulled out an invitation handing it to him. “Jiro will give you my number and then maybe we’ll continue this,” you said with a smirk.

Kaminari took the piece of paper and put it in his pocket making sure he doesn’t lose it. “I’ll try my best,” he said and quickly pecked your lips before waving you goodbye getting on the train home. 

I think it’s needless to say Jiro was teasing him the for the whole ride and nobody at the dorm believed him that you kissed him and not the other way around. However, Kaminari was never home again when they had a free day.

[dear--charlie]

Dear friend,

October 28, 1991 

I’m sorry I haven’t written to you in a couple of weeks, but I have been trying to “participate” like Bill said. It’s strange because sometimes, I read a book, and I think I am the people in the book. Also, when I write letters, I spend the next two days thinking about what I figured out in my letters. I do not know if this is good or bad. Nevertheless, I am trying to participate. Incidentally, the book Bill gave me was Peter Pan by Just. More. Barrie. I know what you’re thinking. The cartoon Peter Pan with the lost boys. The actual book is so much better than that. It’s just about this boy who refuses to grow up, and when Wendy grows up, he feels very betrayed. At least that’s what I got out of it. I think Bill gave me the book to teach me a lesson of some kind. The good news is that I read the book, and because of its fantasy nature, I could not pretend that I was in the book. That way I could participate and still read. In terms of my participation in things, I am trying to go to social events that they set up in my school. It’s too late to join any clubs or anything like that, but I still try to go to the things that I can. Things like the homecoming football game and dance, even if I don’t have a date. I cannot imagine that I will ever come home for a homecoming game after I leave here, but it was fun to pretend that I was. I found Patrick and Sam sitting in their normal spot in the bleachers, and I started acting like I hadn’t seen them in a year even though I had seen them that afternoon in lunch when I ate my orange, and they smoked cigarettes. “Patrick, is that you? And Sam ... it’s been so long. Who’s winning? God, college is such a trial. My professor is making me read twenty-seven books this weekend, and my girlfr needs me to paint signs for her protest rally Tuesday. Let those administrators know we mean business. Dad is busy with his golf swing, and Mom has her hands full with tennis. We must do this again. I would stay, but I have to pick my sister up from her emotional workshop. She’s making real progress. Good to see ya.” And then I walked away. I went down to the concession stand and bought three boxes of nachos and a diet coke for Sam. When I returned, I sat down and gave Patrick and Sam the nachos and Sam her diet coke. And Sam smiled. The great thing about Sam is that she doesn’t think I’m crazy for pretending to do things. Patrick doesn’t either, but he was too busy watching the game and screaming at Brad, the quarterback. Sam told me during the game that they were going over to their friend’s house later for a party. Then, she asked me if I wanted to go, and I said yes because I had never been to a party before. I had seen one at my house, though. My parents went to Ohio to see a very distant cousin get buried or married. I don’t remember which. And they left my brother in charge of the house. He was sixteen at the time. My brother used the opportunity to throw a big party with beer and everything. I was ordered to stay in my room, which was okay because that’s where everyone kept their coats, and it was fun looking through the stuff in their pockets. Every ten minutes or so, a drunk girl or boy would stumble in my room to see if they could make out there or something. Then, they would see me and walk away. That is, except for this one couple. This one couple, whom I was told later were very popular and in love, stumbled into my room and asked if I minded them using it. I told them that my brother and sister said I had to stay here, and they asked if they could use the room anyway with me still in it. I said I didn’t see why not, so they closed the door and started kissing. Kissing very hard. After a few minutes, the boy’s hand went up the girl’s shirt, and she started protesting. “Can’mon, Dave.” “What?” “The kid’s in here.” “It’s okay.” And the boy kept working up the girl’s shirt, and as much as she said no, he kept working it. After a few minutes, she stopped protesting, and he pulled her shirt off, and she had a white bra on with lace. I honestly didn’t know what to do by this point. Pretty soon, he took off her bra and started to kiss her breasts. And then he put his hand down her pants, and she started moaning. I think they were both very drunk. He reached to take off her pants, but she started crying really hard, so he reached for his own. He pulled his pants and underwear down to his knees. “Please. Dave. No.” But the boy just talked soft to her about how good she looked and things like that, and she grabbed his penis with her hands and started moving it. I wish I could describe this a little more nicely without using words like penis, but that was the way it was. After a few minutes, the boy pushed the girl’s head down, and she started to kiss his penis. She was still crying. Finally, she stopped crying because he put his penis in her mouth, and I don’t think you can cry in that position. I had to stop watching at that point because I started to feel sick, but it kept going on, and they kept doing other things, and she kept saying “no.” Even when I covered my ears, I could still hear her say that. My sister came in eventually to bring me a bowl of potato chips, and when she found the boy and the girl, they stopped. My sister was very embarrassed, but not as embarrassed as the girl. The boy looked kind of smug. He didn’t say much. After they left, my sister turned to me. “Did they know you were in here?” “Yes. They asked if they could use the room.” “Why didn’t you stop them?” “I didn’t know what they were doing.” “You pervert,” was the last thing my sister said before she left the room, still carrying the bowl of potato chips. I told Sam and Patrick about this, and they both got very quiet. Sam said that she used to go out with Dave for a while before she got into punk music, and Patrick said he heard about that party. I wasn’t surprised that he did because it kind of became a legend. At least that’s what I’ve heard when I tell some kids who my older brother is. When the police came, they found my brother asleep on the roof. Nobody knows how he got there. My sister was making out in the laundry room with some senior. She was a freshman at the time. A lot of parents came to the house then to pick up their kids, and a lot of the girls were crying and throwing up. Most of the boys had run away by this point. My brother got in big trouble, and my sister was given a “serious talk” by my parents about bad influences. And that was that. The boy named Dave is a senior now. He plays on the football team. He is a wide receiver. I watched the end of the game when Dave caught a touchdown thrown from Brad. It ended up winning the game for our school. And people went crazy in the stands because we won the game. But all I could think about was that party. I thought about it quiet for a long time, then I looked over to Sam. “He raped her, didn’t he?” She just nodded. I couldn’t tell if she was sad or just knew more things than me. “We should tell someone, shouldn’t we?” Sam just shook her head this time. She then explained about all the things you have to go through to prove it, especially in high school when the boy and girl are popular and still in love. The next day at the homecoming dance, I saw them dancing together. Dave and his girl. And I got really mad. It kind of scared me how mad I got. I thought about walking up to Dave and really hurting him like maybe I should have really hurt Sean. And I think I would have, but Sam saw me and put her arm around my shoulder like she does. She calmed me down, and I guess I’m glad she did because I think I would have gotten even madder if I started hitting Dave, and his girl stopped me because she loved him. I think I would have gotten even madder about that. So, I decided to do the next best thing and let the air out of Dave’s tires. Sam knew which was his car. There is a feeling that I had Friday night after the homecoming game that I don’t know if I will ever be able to describe except to say that it is warm. Sam and Patrick drove me to the party that night, and I sat in the middle of Sam’s pickup truck. Sam loves her pickup truck because I think it reminds her of her dad. The feeling I had happened when Sam told Patrick to find a station on the radio. And he kept getting commercials. And commercials. And a really bad song about love that had the word “baby” in it. And then more commercials. And finally he found this really amazing song about this boy, and we all got quiet. Sam tapped her hand on the steering wheel. Patrick held his hand outside the car and made air waves. And I just sat between them. After the song finished, I said something. “I feel infinite.” And Sam and Patrick looked at me like I said the greatest thing they ever heard. Because the song was that great and because we all really paid attention to it. Five minutes of a lifetime were truly spent, and we felt young in a good way. I have since bought the record, and I would tell you what it was, but truthfully, it’s not the same unless you’re driving to your first real party, and you’re sitting in the middle seat of a pickup with two nice people when it starts to rain. We got to the house where the party was, and Patrick did this secret knock. It would be hard to describe to you this knock without sound. The door opened a crack, and this guy with frizzy hair looked out at us. “Patrick known as Patty known as Nothing?” “Bob.” The door opened, and the old friends hugged each other. Then, Sam and Bob hugged each other. Then, Sam spoke. “This is our friend, Charlie.” And you won’t believe it. Bob hugged me! Sam told me as we were hanging up our coats that Bob was “baked like a fucking cake.” I really had to quote that one even though it has a swear. The party was in the basement of this house. The room was quite smoky, and the kids were much older. There were two girls showing each other their tattoos and belly button rings. Seniors, I think. This guy named Fritz something was eating a lot of Twinkies. Fritz’s girlfr was talking to him about women’s rights, and he kept saying, “I know, baby.” Sam and Patrick started smoking cigarettes. Bob went up to the kitchen when he heard the bell ring. When he came back, he brought a can of Milwaukee’s Best beer for everyone, as well as two new party guests. There was Maggie, who needed to use the bathroom. And there was Brad, the quarterback of the high school football team. No kidding! I do not know why this excited me, but I guess when you see somebody in the hallway or on the field or something, it’s nice to know that they are a real person. Everyone was very friendly to me and asked me a lot of questions about myself. I guess because I was the youngest, and they didn’t want me to feel out of place, especially after I said no to having a beer. I once had a beer with my brother when I was twelve, and I just didn’t like it. It’s really that simple for me. Some of the questions I was asked was what grade I was in and what did I want to be when I grow up. “I am a freshman, and I don’t know just yet.” I looked around, and I saw that Sam and Patrick had left with Brad. That’s when Bob started passing around food. “Would you like a brownie?” “Yes. Thank you.” I was actually quite hungry because normally Sam and Patrick take me to the Big Boy after the football games, and I guess I was used to it by now. I ate the brownie, and it tasted a little weird, but it was still a brownie, so I still liked it. But this was not an ordinary brownie. Since you are older, I think you know what kind of brownie it was. After thirty minutes, the room started to slip away from me. I was talking to one of the girls with the belly button ring, and she seemed like she was in a movie. I started blinking a lot and looking around, and the music sounded heavy like water. Sam came down and when she saw me, she turned to Bob. “What the hell is your problem?” “Come on, Sam. He likes it. Ask him.” “How do you feel, Charlie?” “Light.” “You see?” Bob actually looked a little nervous, which I was later told was paranoia. Sam sat down next to me and held my hand, which felt cool. “Are you seeing anything, Charlie?” “Light.” “Does it feel good?” “Uh-huh.” “Are you thirsty?” “Uh-huh.” “What would you like to drink?” “A milkshake.” And everyone in the room, except Sam, erupted in laughter. “He’s stoned.” “Are you hungry, Charlie?” “Uh-huh.” “What would you like to eat?” “A milkshake.” I don’t think they would have laughed any harder even if what I said was at all funny. Then, Sam took my hand and stood me up on the dizzy floor. “Can’mon. We’ll get you a milkshake.” As we were leaving, Sam turned to Bob. “I still think you’re an asshole.” All Bob did was laugh. And Sam finally laughed, too. And I was glad that everyone seemed as happy as they seemed. Sam and I got up to the kitchen, and she turned on the light. Wow! It was so bright, I couldn’t believe it. It was like when you see a movie in the theater during the day, and when you leave the movie, you can’t believe that it’s still daylight outside. Sam got some ice cream and some milk and a blender. I asked her where the bathroom was, and she pointed around the corner almost like it was her house. I think she and Patrick spent a lot of time here when Bob was still in high school. When I got out of the bathroom, I heard a noise in the room where we left our coats. I opened the door, and I saw Patrick kissing Brad. It was a stolen type of kissing. They heard me in the door and turned around. Patrick spoke first. “Is that you, Charlie?” “Sam’s making me a milkshake.” “Who is this kid?” Brad just looked real nervous and not in the Bob way. “He’s a friend of mine. Relax.” Patrick then took me out of the room and closed the door. He put his hands on both of my shoulders and looked me straight in the eye. “Brad doesn’t want people to know.” “Why?” “Because he’s scared.” “Why?” “Because he is ... wait ... are you stoned?” “They said I was downstairs. Sam is making me a milkshake.” Patrick tried to keep from laughing. “Listen, Charlie. Brad doesn’t want people to know. I need you to promise that you won’t tell anyone. This will be our little secret. Okay?” “Okay.” “Thanks.” With that, Patrick turned around and went back into the room. I heard some muffled voices, and Brad seemed upset, but I didn’t think it was any of my business, so I went back to the kitchen. I have to say that it was the best milkshake I ever had in my life. It was so delicious, it almost scared me. Before we left the party, Sam played me a few of her favorite songs. One was called “Blackbird.” The other was called “MLK.” They were both very beautiful. I mentioned the titles because they were as great when I listened to them sober. Another interesting thing happened at the party before we left. Patrick came downstairs. I guess Brad had left. And Patrick smiled. And Bob started to make fun of him having a crush on the quarterback. And Patrick smiled more. I don’t think I ever saw Patrick smile so much. Then, Patrick pointed at me, and said something to Bob. “He’s something, isn’t he?” Bob nodded his head. Patrick then said something I don’t think I’ll ever forget. “He’s a wallflower.” And Bob really nodded his head. And the whole room nodded their head. And I started to feel nervous in the Bob way, but Patrick didn’t let me get too nervous. He sat down next to me. “You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand.” I didn’t know that other people thought things about me. I didn’t know that they looked. I was sitting on the floor of a basement of my first real party between Sam and Patrick, and I remembered that Sam introduced me as her friend to Bob. And I remembered that Patrick had done the same for Brad. And I started to cry. And nobody in that room looked at me weird for doing it. And then I really started to cry. Bob raised his drink and asked everyone to do the same. “To Charlie.” And the whole group said, “To Charlie.” I didn’t know why they did that, but it was very special to me that they did. Especially Sam. Especially her. I would tell you more about the homecoming dance, but now that I’m thinking about it, me letting out the air of Dave’s tires was the best part. I did try to dance like Bill suggested, but I usually like songs you can’t dance to, so I didn’t do it too much. Sam did look very pretty in her dress, but I was trying not to notice because I’m trying not to think of her that way. I did notice that Brad and Patrick never talked once during the whole dance because Brad was off dancing with a cheerleader named Nancy, who is his girlfr. And I did notice that my sister was dancing with the boy she wasn’t supposed to even though a different boy picked her up at the house. After the dance, we left in Sam’s pickup. Patrick was driving this time. As we were approaching the Fort Pitt Tunnel, Sam asked Patrick to pull to the side of the road. I didn’t know what was going on. Sam then climbed in the back of the pickup, wearing nothing but her dance dress. She told Patrick to drive, and he got this smile on his face. I guess they had done this before. Anyway, Patrick started driving really fast, and just before we got to the tunnel, Sam stood up, and the wind turned her dress into ocean waves. When we hit the tunnel, all the sound got scooped up into a vacuum, and it was replaced by a song on the tape player. A beautiful song called “Landslide.” When we got out of the tunnel, Sam screamed this really fun scream, and there it was. Downtown. Lights on buildings and everything that makes you wonder. Sam sat down and started laughing. Patrick started laughing. I started laughing. And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.

Love always, Charlie

(CHBOSKY, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999). MTV Books, 2010.)

[marklineson]

RED THREADS (ACT IV)

Park Chanyeol × Park Sooyoung

Park Chanyeol loved his wife enough to think she’d be blinded by love as much as he was when he took her for granted and started meeting another woman behind her back. He thought he, as a respected police officer, would be strong enough to take any damage given to his heart and mind-

The less was he prepared for the day his wife, Sooyoung, ended up leaving him. The day he had asked her out. The day he had proposed to her.

Christmas Eve.

Chapter Song: 

Word Count: ongoing

ACT IV - STILL

“And he was still hung up on her with every single fibre of his body.”

24th of December, 2020

A bell chimmed as the door to the small bar was pushed open. Kim Minseok's eyes left the wine glass he was polishing skillfully, shifting to the tall visitor who was just about to put off his long coat, greeting the few customers at the back of the room with a nod.

"Oh, you're early today, Chanyeol." Said man smiled weakly as he instinctively took his seat - really, if only you'd squint your eyes at his stool, you would be able to see his butthocks engraved from all the hours he's spent sitting on it in the past years.

"Well, it's not like anyone's waiting for me at home", he growled, immediately grabbing the whiskey glass Minseok had just placed on the counter knowingly, and took a sip. "No need to sit on an empty couch any longer when I know you're opening up at 2 in the afternoon."

Minseok sighed soundlessly as he put the glasses he'd just dried on top of the counter. He knew Chanyeol felt lonely all around the year, especially in December. "Listen, I know you're still having your hopes up, but don't you think it's time to move on? It's been four years, Yeol. I have the feeling living in this huge house on your own isn’t very healthy for someone like you." He had thought about it for some time, noticing early how much Chanyeol had changed ever since Sooyoung had left him, and gave him a worried look as he poured him a glass of his usual.

"Someone like me?" Chanyeol didn't answer his best friend's stare, all his attention now lying on a group of women in their late twenties, laughing a bit too loud for his taste. He merely shuttered at the thought that they were nice to look at, but unbearable either way, and he shook his head when he caught himself comparing them to his ex-wive. They couldn't compare. No one could.

"Someone who's usually loud and all over whatever place he's at", Minseok smiled gently and chuckled a bit at the way his old acquaintance eyed said females disapprovingly. "Someone who'd mope around like an immature teenager whenever he's not our center of attention for half an hour."

 "Maybe I've become more mature?", Chanyeol pondered as his gaze returned to the glass in his hand, alcohol gently swaying inside as his hand spun the glass around on the table.

"-Or maybe you've become depressed?"

Chanyeol pulled a face when Minseok quickly took the whiskey glass away from him to prevent the precious item from falling off the bar table."Listen, it's not like you to come here to drink in the middle of the day. I've seen lots of different types of people come and fall in this bar over the past ten years, and believe me, I don't want you to be on that list."

For the first time in a while, Park Chanyeol remembered that this specific friend in front of him was a few years older than him. Minseok usually was a pretty chilled and rather soft companion, someone you could always call up whenever you needed someone to pour your heart out to- and Chanyeol was able to foresee the words that would come out of his mouth in a moment. He remembered having a similar conversation with Minseok back when Chanyeol had just graduated from High School and had decided to rather not go back home to his parents for a week and sleep under a bridge  than tell his father that he'd not fullfill his dream of his own son following him in his footsteps as a renowned lawyer, but to chase his own dreams and become a police officer.

"You know that it irks me to see my friends being so down in the mouth. You're not the type of person to come here and get drunk and mope around for the rest of the day-"

"People change, I guess." 

Both of them raised their heads at the sudden sound of Do Kyungsoo's voice that rang over to them from the front door. They watched said man as he walked over to them and occupied the seat next to Chanyeol, throwing his thick beige winter coat onto another bar stool.

"Wow, what a rare sight", Minseok snickered and nodded at Kyungsoo to greet him. "I can't say I'm unhappy about some help with this tough one we have here-"

"Guys, please. Can't you leave me alone with this whole shit for a single day? It's Christmas." They both raised their eyebrows at the way Chanyeol hid his face in his hands and slouched down, his upper body now lowered to half of it's actual height. 

"-Christmas, the most romantic time of the year", Kyungsoo added and his face lit up as he playfully hit his tall friend's shoulder who'd been groaning at his addition,"that's why the guys are all coming here with their better halves, including me... and sadly, excluding you, dumbass."

 Chanyeol, his head still face-down on the counter, murmured: "What does all mean?" 

The one behind the counter threw in- "All of them- us. Kyungsoo, Jongdae, Baekhyun, even Jongin came here from New York with his girlfriend to-"

"--Wait, so Baekhyun's not coming alone, either?" Chanyeol finally raised his head, eyes widened from the sudden shock the news had put him in.

"Yeah, her name is... Kyungri."

It took a while for Minseok's tone, oozing with irony, to sink into Chanyeol's brain that still couldn't deal with the sight of the blinking fairy lights behind the bar, when-"Wait, your sister and Baekhyun-", he finally exclaimed, but was interrupted by Kyungsoo slamming his empty glass on the table.

"Don't remind me", he growled, "I still can't believe my sister lowered her standards enough to hook up with this horrible excuse of a police-"

"Soo, please. Just a few minutes ago, Chanyeol stated that it is Christmas, the feast of love and joy",  Minseok snickered, and they heard the tallest among them mumble something close to "using my words for your own purpose".

The three of them ended up downing a small shot of Bourbon in silence, giving Chanyeol some time to think. Again.It wasn't like he hadn't been thinking about this matter before- heck, there hadn't been a day without him thinking of his wife, the smug looks on his face whenever his friends had pulled faces oozing with jealousy. He had been thinking about her non-stop, and whenever he was close to forgetting for a second, he'd been reminded of her absence by the smallest things- starting with the same bouquet of flowers he bought every two weeks at her favourite flower shop or the scent of the car air freshener he still bought every month because he couldn't bring himself to change it. Change was something he had loved when he was younger, but it had become a nuisance when his luck walked out of the door of their shared house. Something that pained him when he knew that with every fibre of his body, he was still hung up on his previous wife.

Chanyeol noticed Minseok handing him another glass of liquor, downing it in one go when it hit him that he was still hung up on Park Sooyoung with every single fibre of his body.

“At least the chief’s still single as well”, he murmured, the image of Kim Junmyeon popping up in the back of his mind.

“Actually-” Kyungsoo was cut off the bright chimmng of the bell above the entrance and a mix of laughter and whinng that surely belonged to no other than Kim Jongdae.

“I swear, we tried everything to tag him along, but he said he was having plans!”

“Yeah, we tried bribing him by promising to behave in the office, but even that wasn’t enough to get him to come- I bet he’s visiting his parents for a family reunion”, Baekhyun added, rolling his eyes at the thought of their traditional chief.

“Well, I wouldn’t be surprised. He’s always been very fond of his family-”

Chanyeol, obviously happy to see his friends coming to brighten this evening (but also fairly annoyed by the noise and the happiness everyone was radiating), looked over to Kyungsoo, whose wife had just walked over to give him an affectionate kiss (Yeol noticed that his friend couldn’t supress the redness creeping up his cheeks and ears). He himself responded to her affectionate greeting with a mere nod and a week smile, and the moment she walked over to get a large table close to the counter occupied, Kyungsoo ruffled his hair and simply, but loudly stated:

“Wouldn’t be too surprised if Junmyeon’s far, far away from home at the moment.”

Chanyeol raised his eyebrows, getting up to greet the rest of the group. “Why’s that? Family trouble?”

The smaller guy snickered. “No, but I think he’s started dating someone again. That one team leader you worked with in division five.”

Kyungsoo grinned, while watching the faces of his friends and collegues fall one after another, Baekhyun’s mouth ripped open in disbelief while his girlfriend gently patted his back, and Jongdae being hit by his own female counterpart when he snorted.

 “Irene?!”

The following two hours passed in what seemed like the blink of an eye. Jongin and his girlfriend had eventually arrived half an hour after everyone else had managed to get cozy. While everyone else was engulfed in talks about their plans for Christmas and New Years, Chanyeol was happily looking at photos of Jongin’s twins on his friend’s phone. 

“They’ve grown so much since the last time you sent us a picture.”

Jongin’s nose crunched as he laughed. “That was like, a week ago,”

“-Still!”, Jongdae threw in, looking past Chanyeol’s shoulder to look at the girls. “How old are they? Two?”

“They’re turning three years next month.” Everyone could see Jongin’s chest swelling with the pride of a father. Something in Chanyeol stirred when he noticed his hand brushing the one of his girlfriend. 

“9th January, wasn’t it”, he asked, voice suddenly a lot raspier than before.

Jongin’s girlfriend nodded, glancing at him lovingly, before her gaze took a turn to the sadness that overcame her whenever she thought of what a good father Chanyeol would have been. The softness washing past his features caused her to tear up, reminding her of the most beautiful moment she had shared with Jongin- the birth of their twins. She thought of the first time Jongin had held his baby girls in his arms, and the moment Chanyeol put his arm around her shoulder, congratulating her. She was sure she would never forget the first time she saw Jongin’s friend holding one of their girls, tears of pure joy trickling down his face while Jongin showered her face with kisses. 

What a good godfather Chanyeol was.

“Is that the blanket I sent you as a present for their first birthday?”, Chanyeol exclaimed, face lighting up more and more with every photo.

“Yeah, though I have to admit Yena uses it as a napkin these days-” Jongin laughed, but suddenly raised his eyebrows, his grip on his girlfriend’s hand tightening when he saw Chanyeol’s face was taken over by confusion, his eyes wide and dark as he put Jongin’s phone on the table. 

“ Yeol? You okay-?”

But neither Jongin’s voice, nor Jongdae’s hand on his shoulder could keep Chanyeol from jumping up, throwing his chair back in the process, and running out of the bar within seconds. 

It had been nothing but a glimpse. An image that triggered various memories- dark hair falling down a naked back in waves; soft curves covered in blue, leaning into his touch; dark red lips, curving upwards, consuming his soul; 

He managed to locate the waves of dark hair he had seen in the corner of his eye before, the blue bell coat that had seemed familiar. 

He heard the bar’s bell chimming once more behind him, Minseok stepping out, Chanyeol’s coat in hand. Heard his friend calling out to him, repeating his name over and over, as the woman a few steps ahead turned around, glancing at the phone in her hand, before lifting her head. Her face was taken over by the most radiant smile Chanyeol had ever seen, and he managed to open his mouth to call out to her, when he felt something -someone- brushing past him, nearly knocking him off his feet with a single word.

“Mommy!”

Chanyeol’s gaze shifted from the woman’s face to the small ball of pink fur, sticking its arms up and jumping high, obviously wishing to be picked up, when a man around his age walked up to them leisurely, fullfilling the childs wish and hugging the female shortly after. 

Minseok’s eyes, round and clear, shifted from the young family to Chanyeol’s face, and for a second, he thought he could hear his friend’s heart breaking anew, when Yeol managed to raise his voice.

“Soo... Sooyoung?” 

The woman’s eyes focused on them, and as expected, her face fell.

[richiefuckfacetozier]

Chapter 8: With Or Without You

Story: It’s Not My Fault

Title - With Or Without You by U2

Also on Archive of Our Own

For other chapters - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |

Eddie did something really horrible. As in catastrophically terrible. He should be kicked out of the Losers Club and be forced to live a hermit life. The only problem was…he had no idea what he did. 

Upon reflection, finishing off random alcoholic drinks was certainly not his finest moment. Considering those drinks brought him to a state of being blackout drunk. He could remember the Vermont guy calling him a 13-year-old and a switch in his mind got flipped. An aggressive switch he kept at bay when he could but may be slammed on high at any time. 

He knew he danced with all the losers at some point. Made Bill give him a piggyback ride and then told Mike to catch him as he ran full speed into his arms. Mike poured his drink all over that girl he was flirting with, which probably ruined his night a bit. He remembered straddling and making out with Richie on a couch in public. Eddie shuddered at this memory because it was the most embarrassing thing he has ever done. It was also amazing, but mostly cringey.

The only reason he knew he did something bad, was because Richie would not look at him. 

Which was very disconcerting because Richie prided himself on staring at Eddie whenever he wanted too. Half the time, Eddie had to tell him to stop because it made him want to hit him or make out with him. Richie is the most distracting person in his life for a reason. 

Eddie had a feeling something was off when Richie did not wake him up in a cute way Sunday morning after the party. He had already packed all his bags and spent the morning smoking cigarettes outside. Eddie was annoyed because Richie had cut back on cigarettes considerably since they started seeing each other. It was really weird. 

He got a little anxious as Richie responded to anything he said with ‘yes’, ‘no’, or ‘hmmm’. He was doing it to everyone, so Eddie thought maybe he was hungover. Eddie was certainly tired and his head was pounding even with the aspirin. 

He was really worried when he finally asked Richie if he was ok and he responded with, “I am fine, Eddie.” His stomach clenched because there was no nickname, no candy pet name, just ‘Eddie’. 

He knew he must have fucked up when Richie spent the entire ride home with his headphones on sleeping in the way back. Ben was really confused when Richie sat in his seat. They all were confused. 

He almost had a full-on anxiety attack when Richie was dropped off. He grabbed all his stuff then came over to Eddie’s window. He went to give a goodbye kiss and Richie dodged his mouth, kissing Eddie’s cheek. He watched Richie’s retreating back as he opened the door to his house and disappeared behind it. His breathing becoming panicked as he whipped his head toward Bill. 

“WHAT THE FUCK DID I DO LAST NIGHT?!” Eddie screeched trying to get his breathing under control but there was a tightening in his chest that would not ease. 

Bill flinched at Eddie’s high pitched yell and shushed him. It was just Stanley, Bill, and him. Eddie had a feeling Bill did this on purpose. As Eddie’s best and oldest friends, they were very attuned to what he needed and right now he needed someone to help him figure out what happened. Stanley moved to the middle seat so he could rub Eddie’s back soothingly and keep his panic attack down. 

“W-well, you got drunk,” Bill said slowly as he started the car to take Eddie home. 

“Yes, Bill. I think he figured out that much.” Stanley said frustratedly. 

Bill’s face turned a little red in embarrassment, “Suh-suh-sorry, I was really drunk so I am useless here.” 

“How did he seem when I came home though?” Eddie pressed on. 

“He was scared,” Stanley said steadily. “He was definitely blaming himself for not watching you or realizing how upset you were.” 

Eddie crossed his arms staring straight ahead, “I wasn’t that upset.” 

“Yes, you were.” Stanley and Bill said in unison. 

Eddie paused and glared at each of them. He was probably the second most stubborn of their friends, Stanley taking first place. He hated admitting when anything upset him because people think he is weak already, thanks to his mother. 

“Alright,” Eddie gritted through his teeth. “I was upset and got wasted in retaliation.” 

“That wasn’t so hard.” He could hear Stanley’s smug voice without even looking at him. 

“Fuck you.” Eddie snapped. “We have to figure out why he is upset with me.” 

“Eddie,” Bill said patiently. “Do you think all your drinking may have reminded him of…” 

“His mom.” Eddie finished sadly. The three of them let that sink in for a moment. It made Eddie’s stomach churn horribly. “Maybe…we have just been getting better at communicating lately, I assumed he would tell me.” 

“Richie is about as good at communicating his feelings as a wet sponge,” Stanley argued. 

Bill grinned and turned to look at Stanley, “I’m telling him you said that.” 

Stanley laughed, “Do it. He’ll get a better understanding of himself.” 

“Should I wait to talk at school tomorrow? Or go to his place tonight?” Eddie cut in. 

“Wait for school tomorrow,” Bill said immediately. His car pulled into Eddie’s driveway and he parked the car. “He juh-just needs space.” 

“He was probably tired on top of being moody. Richie only has two modes: Completely obsessively invested or avoids the situation entirely. There is no in-between.” Stanley said knowingly. 

“You’re right.” Eddie stayed a little longer in the car. He was playing with the edge of his shirt ringing it in a slow rhythm. 

Bill placed his hands over Eddie’s. “It will be fine. Talk to him tomorrow.” 

“And if it’s not fine, we will get you through that too,” Stanley added matter of factly. 

“Not helping Stan,” Eddie grumbled. He got out of the car and the three of them grabbed all his stuff to take inside. 

Eddie opened his front door and saw his mother in the living room, “Hi Ma!” He greeted her in his usual fake cheeriness. 

“EDDIE BEAR!!!!” She said gleefully. Eddie smiled, secretly loving how much his mom seemed to miss him. Stanley and Bill said a quick hello, left Eddie’s stuff by the front and closed the door behind them. He went over to his mother’s chair and kissed her cheek lightly. 

“How was this weekend, Ma?” Eddie asked. He took a seat on the couch ready to politely oblige her. 

“I missed you so much. This weekend was hard without you. But…” His mom looked at her son steadily. “I did it, Eddie. I got through it.” 

Eddie’s face broke out into a genuine smile, “I am so proud of you, mom. Did you do anything fun or have anyone come over?” 

“I did actually! A friend from when we used to go to church…” Eddie listened and smiled as his mom talked about her weekend. She eventually asked him about how his was and he told her it was a really special experience. He expressed his appreciation that she let him go and how kind it was to let him use his Dad’s old skis. She teared up at that nodding kindly. They spent the night enjoying each other’s company for the first time in a really long time. 

“Where is he?!” Eddie asked checking his watch obsessively. They were all waiting by their usual spot outside of the school and Richie had not shown yet. 

“Eddie, don’t worry. Maybe he went to class already?” Mike suggested. 

“Or maybe he is avoiding me,” Eddie said in such a dejected voice that Ben put his arm around his shoulders. 

“It will be alright, Eddie.” Ben said kindly rubbing his arm comfortingly. 

“What if he wants to break up with me?” Eddie could hear his voice get small and scared. “I must have been really bad on Saturday.” 

They all looked at him with so much sympathy his heart hurt. 

Beverly spoke up, “I really don’t think it was that bad. I don’t know why he is being weird.” 

“Can you find out please?!” Eddie said pleadingly. 

“You are seeing him first in homeroom,” Beverly reminded him. “But I will, of course, talk to him. Breathe Eddie!” 

Eddie did not realize his breathing was coming in shallow and panicked. He was so anxious about Richie that his stomach hurt. He was desperately trying to keep his breakfast down. 

“You’re right…you’re right. I’m sorry.” Eddie took deep breathes. Mike walked over and took Ben’s place slinging his arm around Eddie’s small frame. 

“Let’s go to homeroom,” Mike said kindly. When they got to homeroom, Richie was sitting in his seat reading. 

“Richie…” Eddie sighed in relief. Richie looked up smiled hesitantly then went back to reading. That relief quickly turned to anger. He lowered his voice and poked Richie’s side, “What the fuck.” 

“What?” Richie jerked at being poked but kept his eyes down. 

“Why are you acting weird?!” Eddie asked annoyed. 

“Let’s talk later.” Richie said shortly. 

Eddie kept glaring at Richie every chance he got during class. Mike ended up throwing a paper ball at the back of his head to get him to stop. He threw it in a rage, without thinking, back at Mike and the teacher caught him. “Detention Mr. Kaspbrak! Report there after school!” Their teacher yelled. 

“Shit…” Eddie whispered under his breath. “Mom’s going to fucking kill me.” 

“Tell her it was my fault.” Richie whispered. 

Eddie frowned at him, “You want her to hate you?” Richie shrugged nonchalantly. 

This made Eddie so angry he could not speak. His face was on fire with embarrassment and rage. The rest of class went by with Eddie slowly but surely losing his mind. He could feel Richie distancing himself which freaked Eddie out.

They had their second class together and Eddie could not even focus. He decided to try grilling Richie on his behavior. 

“What is your fucking problem?” Eddie hissed. 

“It’s not a big deal, Eddie. Chill.” Richie tried to say evenly but his voice gave away the lie. 

“You are lying. Why are you lying to me? I thought we weren’t doing that bullsiht.” Eddie said barely containing his emotions. 

“Later!” Richie insisted. 

“No, Richie! Now!” Eddie banged his hand on the desk. Some of his classmates looked at him but he ignored them. Richie shook his head, “Always such a spitfire.” 

“Can you just fucking tell me what is going on?!” 

“Eds…I will later. Please stop.” Richie’s eyes were starting to shine and his hands were clenched. 

Eddie knew he should let it go for now, but could not get himself to do it. “Why can’t you just tell me? You are being such an ass right now.” 

“Eddie, just FUCKING STOP!” Richie’s voice rose and the whole class went silent looking at him. The teacher glared at him indignantly, “Detention after school, Mr. Tozier.” 

“Fuck,” Richie sighed putting his face in his hands. They did not talk for the rest of the day. Even at lunch, they would not talk or look at each other. Eddie was so angry he could barely form sentences and Richie just looked depressed. Their friends tried to act normal talking about the weekend. 

“But oh my god, Bill was such a fucking HERO on Saturday night!” Beverly said proudly. Bill turned a little pink letting her tell the story. “I was dancing with the guy from Vermont, Kyler, and he was absolutely getting handsy. I probably would have walked away soon, even if Richie had not yelled at me to find Stanley.” 

“I cannot believe he was such an ass to you.” Mike shook his head disapprovingly. 

“I can.” Ben grumbled. 

Beverly put her hand over Ben’s, “I’m ok, really.” Ben smiled at her sweetly. “Anyway, I tried to get away from him to find Stanley and he snatched my wrist saying shit like ‘Come on baby stay with me’. I stomped on his foot but he grabbed my waist pulling me into him. It was horrible. Then Bill comes FLYING out of nowhere and lands a punch to the guys face. I was in complete shock. He was literally knocked out cold.” 

“Good thing too. It made the fight end sooner.” Mike said appreciatively. “It was amazing.” 

“It was not amazing for those who had to pry him off the guy,” Stanley mumbled. 

Eddie let their voices wash over him stuck in his thoughts about everything that happened on Saturday night. He must have said something when he was blackout. He wished he could remember. 

At some point, Richie asked Beverly if she wanted to go for a smoke. Her eyes flickered to Eddie’s then she followed him out of the cafeteria. Eddie left for class shortly after them because he could not stand the rest of the guys staring at him. 

Richie and Eddie did not talk until detention. The teacher watching them for roughly 20 minutes before making an excuse to leave the classroom. He locked them in not specifying when he would be back. 

Eddie took the opportunity to properly talk with Richie, “We need to talk.” He said seriously from the desk he was sitting at. 

“Ok…what do you want to talk about?” Richie asked casually putting his hands in his pockets and slouching in his seat. 

Eddie got up from the desk and went to hover in front of Richie. He put his hands on the desk staring down at him. He took a deep breath then let it out through his mouth making a wheezing noise, “I want to say I am sorry.” 

Richie was silent for a moment then a frown slowly formed on his face, “What are you sorry for?” 

“For…for getting drunk on Saturday.” Eddie said obviously. 

Richie shook his head a little, “I don’t care about that.” 

“You don’t? I was worried…because of everything you deal with your mom…” 

“Fucking hell, Eddie, I don’t care. I mean I do care. But you being drunk is cute and you are so affectionate.” Richie said in exasperation. Then added dismissively, “I was drunk too so it would be hypocritical to be mad about that.” 

“I’m not cute,” Eddie responded automatically. Richie rolled his eyes. Whenever they fought in such a real way, it seemed like they went to their base emotions. Richie keeping everything hidden just like he does with his family and Eddie being aggressively pushy. It terrified Eddie because it was reminiscent of his mother. “Ok, then tell me what happened on Saturday night?” 

“A lot.” Richie kept his gaze anywhere but toward Eddie. His cheeks tinted pink as if he was embarrassed. 

Eddie would not be tolerating any skirting around the situation. “I mean fucking obviously. Jesus Richie, talk to me.” 

Richie cleared his throat, “You really want to fucking know?” 

“I really FUCKING do.” Eddie said harshly. 

Finally, Richie met his eyes defiantly. “Well, you made out with me in public and it was sexy as hell.” 

“I’m not sexy.” Eddie blurted out immediately his face heating up. 

Richie’s mouth almost broke into a smile. “You said you were horny for me always.” He said proudly. “Using my own words against me like a monster.” 

Eddie gaped at him. This conversation was making his stomach turn horribly. He could not believe how stupid his drunk self-behaved. “This is so horrible.” 

Richie continued ignoring Eddie, “You straddled me and tried to put your hands down my pants.” 

Eddie felt himself turn fully red, gulping loudly, “Oh my god…I did?” 

“But I stopped it, knowing you would never do that sober,” Richie said sympathetically. 

Eddie’s eyes stung with unshed tears at the realization that Richie truly understood him like no one else. He was dating the perfect person for him. At least, he hoped they were still dating. “I’m sorry if I pressured you in any way. That was completely unacceptable of me.” 

“You were drunk.” 

“That’s not an excuse.” Eddie insisted. 

“Eddie, I wanted it. I always want more with us.” Richie said softly. Eddie’s eyes searched Richie’s with curiosity. They never had any kind of talk about going further in their relationship than kissing or some touching with shirts off. They had only been dating a couple months but had been best friends forever. Everything felt so much faster when you were with someone who knew you from the inside out. 

Eddie’s inexperience made him nervous beyond belief and he constantly worried this hindrance would make Richie bored. Except Richie never seemed bored, only desperate to be closer. Which is exactly how Eddie felt right now. While they were in Vermont, it was freeing to be a couple that kissed and held hands. Even just simply letting their eyes linger on each other without abandon. It made Eddie need, no, CRAVE Richie’s affection. Eddie had spent so much time suppressing these feelings, he convinced himself he did not need them. Right now, he wanted to touch, kiss Richie, and be as close with him as two people could be. 

“We’ll um…circle back to that. So what the hell did I do to make you internally freak out all day?” Eddie pushed. 

Richie looked conflicted then he stood up pacing for a little bit. Eddie watched him, waiting for an answer. Finally, Richie took a deep breath, “You said ‘I love you’.” 

Eddie’s whole being froze, “No…no way.” 

“It was slurred but you definitely did.” Richie insisted firmly. There was a seriousness in his voice that was completely unfamiliar. Then Eddie’s head started to throb. His breathing quickened as his heart thumped uncomfortably. He tapped his chest to stop the incoming panic attack. Richie waited patiently for him to calm down enough before continuing. 

Richie lowered his voice to almost a whisper, “And Eddie, I know I love you too.” 

The panic was coming in full. His eyes were prickling with tears as he took gasping breaths. Richie stepped forward and wrapped his arms around him. His warmth and strength seeming to pass right into Eddie’s very being. Eddie returned the hug taking shaky breathes with his head buried in Richie’s shirt. 

Richie spoke softly but clearly in his ear, “I have been freaking out since you said it because I can count on my hand the number of times my parents have told me they loved me. None of those times are within the last several years.” 

Eddie’s heartfelt cold thinking about the Toziers treatment of Richie. Someone willing to bring laughter and joy to whoever he met, even when it was entirely inappropriate, should only receive happiness. 

“And I have joked plenty of times about you being the love of my life but I used the humor to hide behind the truth.” Richie plunged forward without a care, “I am terrified. How can you possibly love me when I have never truly felt it and how can I love you when I don’t know what love is?” Eddie’s heart switched to warmth at his honesty. He could always count on Richie to be the most real thing in the world. 

Eddie pulled his face away not looking directly at Richie but still clinging to him. “Rich, you do know what love is. You’ve shown me love every moment of every day since we were kids.” Eddie let his eyes slowly meet Richie’s. 

Richie stared back skeptically, “You always hated it though, I just assumed I wasn’t doing it right.” 

Eddie tightened his arms around Richie as if he could lose him at any moment. “You show love exactly the way I need it.” 

They were silent as those words sunk in. Eddie wanted to kiss Richie more than he could say but knew it was not the right moment. 

Eddie took a shaky breath, “I want to say something romantic as fuck like that loving you comes as easy as breathing, but we both know I can’t breathe for shit.” Eddie said in exasperation. Richie looked at him, his eyes widened, then he laughed. 

“Oh, me confessing my love to you is funny?” Eddie pulled away crossing his arms. He was trying desperately to keep a straight face but could not stop a smile from forming. Richie was bent over in hysterical laughter grabbing his side. His laughter was like loud beautiful music to Eddie’s ears. He slowly calmed down wiping at the tears of mirth that had fallen. 

“You are truly the funniest person I know,” Richie said fondly. 

Eddie’s stomach did a backflip. He felt the need to touch him again, to make sure they were truly going to be alright. He went to reach for him but Richie caught his wrist. His eyes flicked to Richie’s and he could see his defenses completely fallen and be replaced with a panicked desperation. 

He didn’t know if he leaned into Richie first or if Richie pulled him closer. Most likely both, but they smashed together and Richie was kissing him. 

All of Eddie’s fears and insecurities faded into the background. There was just Richie’s familiar taste of candy and cigarettes. Eddie moaned, not being able to control himself because every part of his body was tingling with excitement. 

“Richie,” He murmured against his lips, not taking his mouth away for fear he would never get them back. Richie leaned into him kissing harder, his hands burying themselves in Eddie’s hair. 

Eddie found Richie’s hips letting his hands slide up under Richie’s shirt. Richie jerked with surprise, then relaxed. Eddie ran his fingers lightly over Richie’s sides giving them both goosebumps. Richie brought his own hands down Eddie’s arms, over his chest, his torso, finally finding Eddie’s belt loops and pulled him closer. The close contact made Eddie gasp and Richie deepened their kiss. 

Richie’s mouth left Eddie’s and Eddie felt the hot pressure of lips trailing down his chin, throat, and neck. Richie started to suck and lick leaving a mark at the base of his neck. Eddie sighed contentedly trying to will his legs not to give out. 

“Where did you learn to do this?” Eddie said breathlessly. Richie detached his lips from Eddie’s neck with a loud pop. He blew on the mark making Eddie shiver. 

Richie’s eyes met Eddie’s seriously, “Your mom taught me.” 

“Fuck yo-“ But Richie’s lips went back to Eddie’s effectively cutting him off. Eddie bit down on Richie’s lower lip making the taller boy gasp for once. Eddie ran his tongue along the bite. 

Richie’s hands moved from Eddie’s belt loops to his hips then slowly over his behind. Eddie broke into a grin then was giggling into Richie’s mouth. Richie pulled away smiling but completely confused. 

“Sorry Rich - “ Eddie kept giggling. “ - you putting your hands on my ass is just so weird.” 

“I grab your ass sometimes!” Richie said defensively as he added pressure to Eddie’s behind. 

“And it always makes me laugh!” Eddie chuckled breathlessly. 

“Beverly was right that I needed to just talk it out with you.” Richie confessed as Eddie kissed his cheek. 

Richie smiled goofily at Eddie, “I love you so much, Edward Kaspbrak.” 

Eddie made a face at being called by his whole name but brought his hand up to run through Richie’s hair. 

“I love you too, Richard Tozier.”

Mature Ending

[wellhellsbelles]

down the hall

okay, so by determination and sheer force of will, yours truly was finally able to bust out a short fic for riarkle once again!!!! this one had been sitting in my documents for a while, partially finished, so i’m glad i was able to pull myself out of my writer’s block for this. :)

anyway, here’s the link for it on ao3 if you’re into that sort of website (the au has a little real-life backstory to it at the beginning if you’d wanna see that)

enjoy!

//

She meets him one night while she’s holing herself up inside the lounge on their floor, trying desperately to escape the noise of the annoying freshmen echoing throughout the hall.

//

Riley’s a transfer student. She took a smart route (at least, that’s what everybody’s told her and that her student debt has convinced her) by going to a community college for the first couple of years after graduating high school. She gets an Associate’s degree in art and then pops over to the university, deciding to live in the dorms for at least one year to get that good ol’ college experience she missed out on earlier.

But man, is it crazy.

Her college doesn’t do a good job at splitting the transfers up from the freshmen in the dorms, so she and a few other unlucky souls get caught up in sharing a floor with a bunch of teens who are being released from their “oppressive overlords” (aka kind, generous parents) for the first time.

These kids don’t seem to understand that they are officially on their own now, and that the outside trashcans behind the dorms exist for a reason. Riley talks shit about them with her roommate, Maya, whenever she gets the chance, but most of the time, much to Riley’s chagrin, Maya is off somewhere else to complete a plethora of art projects for her BA in Studio Art.

So Riley’s left by herself most weekends to deal with the onslaught of hyped-up still-teenagers that are bouncing off the wall and partying whenever they get a chance.

It’s not that bad, really, though; at least, not as bad as she makes it seem. Some of the other students are nice and respect the floor rules, and retain the manners their parents spent years teaching them. But when it does get unbearable, she escapes to the lounge before any of them can, claiming the room so that she can watch shows on Netflix to drown out the noise surrounding her. It serves to be a great plan, except until someone crashes in on her plans one night, taking over her time in the lounge.

He's one of the few transfers on their floor, she remembers him mentioning he was a transfer, along with joining her and the other transfer in liberating themselves from the freshmen group they were forced into (they aren’t freshmen!!!) He seemed like a nice guy, but obviously he doesn’t respect boundaries and her lounge time.

“Um, excuse me,” she announces her presence, tapping him on the shoulder slightly with her index finger. The boy (she thinks his name is ‘Farrel’, at least, that’s what his door tag says) looks up briefly from the huge textbook in his lap to give her a once over, his eyebrow arching on his forehead.

“Yes?”

Riley can tell right away he’s the analytical kind, probably verging on nerd territory. Don’t get her wrong, she’s certainly one herself, too. It takes one to know one after all.

“I kind of use the space at this time of night . . .” she trails, trying her best to remain amicable.

She’s not one to get all irrational and angry right away, not over something as trivial as a nonexistent ‘claimed’ Riley-time in the lounge, but she feels as though she ought to fight for it a bit. It is her only real source of sanctuary, and she intends to keep it that way, especially because this time had been honored by the other rowdy kids on the floor up until now.

“Well, there’s plenty of room for the both of us. I don’t see why we can’t both sit in here,” he says with a shrug. “There’s a couple of armchairs and a table still open over there.”

Strike one—she doesn’t need some smug asshole pointing out things to her like she’s some sort of simpleton. Riley is no man’s philistine.

“Okay, but I just want to be alone in here for a little bit. Would you mind moving out? I promise I’ll be gone in a couple of hours.” She’s not being ridiculous, she promises.

“I’m just going to be sitting in here reading my textbook. I don’t understand why we can’t both just sit in here. It’s not like this couch has your name on it.”

Oh, okay. Definitely a strike two if he’s gonna sass her up.

“Really? Last time I checked it did, right on the tag on the side here,” Riley points to the arm of the couch where the tag is sticking out. The boy remains intrigued, settling his textbook to the side so he can check out if what she’s saying is true.

Oldest trick in the book.

While he investigates the tag, Riley takes the opportunity to steal his spot in the middle of the couch, moving his textbook to the floor and replacing the empty spot beside her with her laptop. The boy flashes his eyes back up, quickly becoming unamused at Riley’s usurpation of power.

“Uh huh. I see how it is. You know, I could easily go get our RA—” Strike three. Her eyes widen and she begins flailing her arms around.

“Please don’t!”

“And tell her that you’re not sharing the lounge at all, which as I recall we all deemed this a “community space”, which translates roughly to “not just yours”,” he says, his arms crossed as he looks down at her impatiently. Riley remains still for a long moment, the two of them just staring the other down, but then—

“Ow!!! What the heck?!”

She throws a pillow at him.

Overall, not her smartest move, but she’s not about to let him win without a proper fight. Why not with pillows?

“En garde!” Riley exclaims, pointing another pillow at him.

“This is how you want to settle this?” he asks, incredulous. She nods.

“This is the only way to settle our dispute. Now en garde!” Riley slaps him on the arm with her pillow, disorienting him once again. He eyes her warily but picks up the other fallen pillow at his feet, steadying himself into a proper fighting stance.

“So whoever wins gets the room for the week—”

“Night,” Riley corrects. The guy shakes his head.

“Nuh-uh. Definitely the week after all this toil you’ve put me through. I was just having a nice quiet evening until you started shrieking at me that this was your couch and then began accosting me with pillows. I deserve a week for this.”

“Fiiiiiine,” Riley groans, acquiescing despite that not being a favorable outcome for her. Fair is fair, after all.

“Okay, then. Bring it.”

Riley does bring her best. She really does. But this guy is obviously skilled in the art of pillow warfare. He disarms her after three tries, and Riley gawks at her pillow lying in the enemy’s arms with disdain.

“How?” she asks, pointing at the stolen pillow. He shrugs.

“I’ll admit, it’s not the first time someone’s made me engage in this brand of war. I’ve got experience.”

“So you cheated,” Riley says blankly, her nostrils flaring a bit. He raises a brow at her.

“How can I cheat if you’re the one who challenged me to a duel in the first place?”

“Sounds like something a cheater would say,” she crosses her arms, her nose pointed to the air.

“Sounds like something a sore loser would say,” he fires back, his sea-blue eyes trained on hers.

“I’m not a sore loser! You’re the stupid person who stole my spot in the lounge, Farrel,” she jests back, only to earn a blank stare from him, a complete 180° from how he was acting before.

“What did you just call me?” he asks.

“Farrel. That’s your name, isn’t it?” He places a palm upon his forehead, snorting.

“No, it’s Farkle.” Riley makes a pft sound, her face curling in disbelief.

“Uh, no, it’s definitely Farrel. I’ve passed by your door like, a billion times! The name tag clearly says ‘Farrel’.”

“I think I know my own name, Riley,” he tells her. “But here, let’s take a little fieldtrip to clear some things up.”

He grabs onto her wrist and pulls the door open to exit the lounge, veering left immediately after they leave the room. After passing a couple of doors down they stop in front of the worn, wooden door, his fingers releasing her wrist so that he can point at the tag on the door.

“See? Right here, in plain letters. It spells ‘Farkle’. F-A-R-K-L-E.”

“Well, it’s kind of a weird name. Can you blame me for thinking it was something else?” Riley asks. Farkle gives her a look of disdain, his lips thinning.

“And ‘Farrel’ was normal?” She shrugs.

“It was to me.” Riley gazes at him a moment only to catch the slow curl of his mouth, a hint of amusement playing at his lips. Eventually, he starts busting out laughing, his hand gripping his stomach from the fit he’s in, and after a few seconds later, Riley finds herself cackling beside him, his laughter infectious.

After it dies down a minute or so later, Riley can’t find it in herself to be mad at him anymore.

On the contrary, she quite likes his presence. Farkle seems to mirror the same sentiments, because he blurts out,

“Wanna watch Netflix with me?”

Riley blushes a little at the implications of it, but she doesn’t really seem to mind it too much. She likes Farkle a lot, and she’d really love to spend more time with him. Besides, as a transfer student, she hasn’t met a lot of people yet, and hanging out with Farkle would add to her (hopefully) ever-growing friend list.

“Why not? I suppose the lounge is big enough for the two of us,” she smiles, nudging her shoulder into his playfully. Farkle smirks back, following alongside her as they walk back into the lounge, closing the door behind them so that they can share the comfort of the lounge together. Farkle plops down on the couch and Riley follows suit, waiting for him to open up his laptop so that they can start watching whatever their hearts desire.

Well, what Riley’s heart desires, at least. He lets her pick what she wants to watch (after bickering about it for several minutes until he gives), and she decides on The X-Files. While he cues it up, Riley disappears from the room briefly to pop some popcorn, turning off the lights once she’s returned to the room so they can get the full theater effect.

And as the show starts, maybe they slide closer together. And, just maybe, Riley curls up against Farkle’s side for comfort.

What really ends up making the night is Farkle’s constant smartass commentary.

“See, that’s just not believable,” he says in the middle of their third episode, munching away at the handful of popcorn he’s grabbed. Riley smacks him on the arm lightly, pursing her lips.

“Just shut up and watch the show, Farkle,” she hisses at him. As she leans back against him, the corners of his mouth tug upward, his cheek pressing against the crown of her head.

“Yes, Ma’am,” he says quietly.

Riley thinks this might be the start of a beautiful friendship.

And who knows? Maybe he’ll be the Mulder to her Scully.

She wouldn’t mind that at all.

Not one bit.

And when it doesn't even bother her when the giddy screams of the freshmen on her floor echo throughout the hall, she knows she made the right choice.