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milkybonya · 4 years ago

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cheer up, buttercup!

order #001: large banana milk tea with pudding and grass jelly for Cha Eunwoo, requested by my lovely @daybreakx !

-> enemies to lovers! & college!Cha Eunwoo x (gn) reader

-> warnings: some angst and food mentions! also drinking/alcohol mentions and everyone is really mean to the reader >:0

-> where Eunwoo is the president of your department and you're the vice president. you work your hardest but always end up second to him.

[a/n]: i'm sorry for the CHAOS that this is and i feel like there is minimal (?) fluff but i hope you enjoYY THIS WAS FUN

You and Eunwoo had major beef. There wasn't even an event that started it all, but Eunwoo treated you with such disrespect from the start. And of course, anyone who disrespected you was on your list of... well, the closest thing to a list of enemies.

The first time you met him was in freshman year at the orientation before classes began. There was a basketball game going on and Eunwoo was playing. You watched from the sidelines in the shade, cheering him on at first because he was playing on behalf of your department.

Then, the ball flew in your direction. Eunwoo had tried to get the ball back for his team, but ended up accidentally throwing it towards you.

Luckily, it fell somewhere to your left, but it gave you such a fright that you stood up and started panting.

A few of the people who were playing rushed over to make sure you were okay, but Eunwoo didn't even throw a look your way.

"You, from our department? Just throw the ball back!" was all he said to you.

It made your blood boil.

Eunwoo was known for being a little blunt anyway, but he definitely went out of his way to grind your gears.

"Where is the president?" the social convenor asked.

You sighed, checking the time and noticing that Eunwoo was fifteen minutes late.

"If I knew where he was... If only I knew," you mumbled.

"Why is Eunwoo even the president, anyway?" another member of the student council asked.

"Because he's hot and cool and everyone likes him!" a girl squealed. You couldn't even remember what her position in the student council was, but judging by her comment, you realized that she must be here just for Eunwoo.

"He's absolutely dumb, does nothing all day yet somehow gets A's! Of course, why wouldn't he be the president?" your tone was dripping with sarcasm and your anger was almost about to overflow.

Until that man walked into the meeting room, at last.

"I'm dumb and do nothing all day? Why, thank you. I'm here, now," Eunwoo declared, strolling towards his seat. He had his black leather jacket slung over a shoulder.

God, I hate my life, you thought to yourself.

"That's what [y/n], said, but I don't think that way!" the girl who squealed earlier spoke.

"Thanks, Stacy."

Eunwoo only flashed her a quick smile before he sat back in his seat.

"So, what are we doing?"

"What do you mean, 'what are we doing'? We have an open house tomorrow and tons of high school students will be checking on our department! You're the president, you were supposed to-"

Eunwoo hushes you by raising up his hand from where it was resting on his thigh.

"It's all good, I've got it sorted."

He slammed down a notebook onto the table.

"I've taken notes on how open houses have been previously organized and have put them all in this book. I highlighted the events that seemed like they had a lot of potential, so look through those and decide on something, alright? I'll be off," Eunwoo explained, standing up.

"Where are you going?" you almost spat out at Eunwoo. He walks in here, makes a fool out of you and then decides to leave?

"To go 'be dumb and do nothing all day'. Isn't that what you said I do?"

He glared at you slightly before leaving the room.

"[y/n], you made Nunu so angry! Nunu, don't be mad, come back!" Stacy screamed, chasing after him.

You sighed, running your fingers through your hair.

"This idiot really thought I wouldn't know about the past open houses..."

You slam down the notebook that you had also brought.

"Damn... so he really just provided us some useless info and left?" the social convenor asks, shaking their head.

"Yeah, pretty much," you say.

So how did you and Eunwoo end up as vice president and president, anyway? Well, these positions were given to the students with the highest grades. Eunwoo had the highest, so he was given the title of president. You were trailing close behind, and were given the title of vice president.

You always told yourself that you should have been the president, and rightfully so! Eunwoo never did anything but play games on his phone, anyway.

When the open house event finally rolled around, you and Eunwoo were supposed to give a speech in a lecture hall to get the day started. It was mostly to welcome the high school students and lift the spirits of everyone there, not too big of a deal!

But still, big enough of a deal that Eunwoo should have shown up.

He didn't. And you were anything but surprised.

Forced to deliver your speech and somehow improvise along the way to make up for Eunwoo's missing presence, you were shocked to find that the audience started clapping right as you finished. It felt as though your hard work had paid off, and you stepped back, smiling at everyone in the crowd.

Until Eunwoo walked up to the mic, flashing a smile of his own and greeting everyone.

Yep, they had all been clapping for him, not for you.

Eunwoo turned and looked at you, mouthing, "did you prepare my script?"

"You were supposed to do that! Do I look like your secretary?"

Eunwoo scowled at you and turned to everyone who was seated. He ended up repeating a bunch of the same things that you had said and received an enthusiastic applause. You sighed from behind the curtains, wondering why Eunwoo always got the credit for all your hard work. It was probably his looks, but still.

Throughout the day, you walked around campus and ensured that everything was running smoothly. Eunwoo was supposed to be doing the same, you hoped, and you asked him this when you ran into him outside of the campus student centre.

"Have you been walking around like you were supposed to?"

"I'll deal with my business on my own," he said, almost scoffing at you. He was standing there scrolling through his phone.

"This isn't 'your business'? We're literally supposed to be working together!"

"Stop nagging me, [y/n]. I don't like it when you do that," he grumbled.

"Yeah, well I don't like you!" you yelled, storming away from him. You felt... very embarrassed. What kind of comeback was that? It sounded like something a child would say... oh, well.

You saw your friend handing out some goodies at a table outside and approached them.

"How's it going, vice president?" they asked you, handing you a snack.

"Terrible," you groaned, opening it and eating some.

"Why, what's up?"

"Cha Eunwoo is being a pain in the butt, as always," you sighed.

"You might want to watch what you say," your friend mumbled, pointing behind you.

You turned around a little too late as the snack in your hands was whisked away by Cha Eunwoo himself.

"You're the only pain in the butt here, [y/n]," he said, eating your snacks.

"What are you doing here?! You should be on the other side of campus!" you yelled.

"And you shouldn't be here, either," Eunwoo said with a glare.

"Can y'all go argue somewhere else? You're scaring the highschoolers away," your friend complained, nodding in the direction of some highschoolers who were hesitant to approach the snack stand because you and Eunwoo were arguing.

"Go attend to your duties, [y/n]," Eunwoo huffed, walking away from you.

You angrily stomped the ground, walking away and feeling a little embarrassed because you could feel the high schoolers watching you.

"[y/n], why won't you learn from Eunwoo a bit? I understand that he's the president and you're only the vice, but you could have at least prepared what we needed you to prepare!" the director of your department told you, shaking her head at you.

You tried to contain yourself and looked down as you rolled your eyes. The only reason Eunwoo was more prepared than you were today was because he had stolen what you prepared and claimed it was his instead.

"I understand, I'm sorry."

"You're at risk of getting your position taken away, [y/n]! This is a warning."

After leaving the director's office, you were met wih a grinning Eunwoo who was sat on the couches in the lobby.

"What are you looking at?" you asked him.

"Thanks for these papers, [y/n]," he said, holding up your hard work.

"I didn't even give them to you. You took them from me, but okay," you said, leaving him there.

You walked to a coffee shop that was on the same floor to get something to refresh yourself. Since it was so early in the morning on a weekend, the building was fairly quiet and empty. It wasn't hard to overhear a conversation.

"Eunwoo, I think [y/n] has not been taking their vice president duties seriously these days. Do you think we should find someone else?"

The director's voice.

"Do the other members of student council agree?"

Eunwoo's voice.

"I haven't spoken to them-"

"Then [y/n] remains as vice. I haven't seen any sort of slacking or a lack of seriousness from them, and I don't think anyone else is fit for the role."

Did Eunwoo just... compliment and defend you?

You turned around with your drink in hand to find that it was indeed Eunwoo talking with your director. Then, you quickly scurried away to avoid being seen by them, feeling very confused.

"Cheers!" everyone shouted around the table, clinking their glasses together before downing their contents. After a successful open house, everyone had gathered at a bar to celebrate. You squirmed in your spot beside Eunwoo, feeling uncomfortable. He rolled his eyes at you and shifted even closer to you, leaving you with less room to sit than before.

"Is that better?" he asked, smirking at you.

You frowned, pressing your foot on top of his clearly new shoes.

"Is that better?" you asked him.

"Why are you guys so close? Are you about to kiss or something?" one of the student council members asked.

"No! Ew-"

"And what if we did?" Eunwoo asked, glaring at the member.

What the hell?

The member looked down at their drink, unsure of what to say. The atmosphere grew awkwardly quiet until someone asked if everyone wanted more drinks, to which there were murmurs of agreement.

"Hey, [y/n], I overheard the director talking with you in her office today. Did she really threaten to kick you out as vice president?" the student council member next to you asked.

You laughed awkwardly, already feeling uncomfortable.

"Yeah... I'm working hard, though! So I'm sure it won't happen."

"Are you sure? You weren't able to prepare what the director asked you to, and there's been countless times where Eunwoo has always had to do things for you..."

You were in such shock. Everyone in student council knew that Eunwoo just acted like he was on top of everything, meanwhile you were doing all the work. Even for his grades, he never studied but was at the top because of all the people who handed him study notes and past tests to get his attention. You worked so hard...

"... I get that you're the vice president, but shouldn't you be trying a little harder? Hey... [y/n]? Are you crying?"

You couldn't help it... it had all been building up until now. You didn't even realize you were crying, though, until this guy pointed it out to you. His hand on your shoulder felt like it was suffocating you...

"What the hell have you been on about, you idiot?" Eunwoo growled from your right. You turned to him and he was glaring at the boy who had been talking to you.

"I-"

"Don't even talk. There's nothing but garbage coming out of your mouth. Come on, [y/n], let's go," Eunwoo said, grabbing your hand and guiding you out of there.

You were extremely confused, but more than anything, you were just sad. So you didn't stop Eunwoo when he led you outside of the bar.

"Is everything okay? Take some deep breaths." Eunwoo was staring right into your eyes as he spoke to you, reaching out his thumb to gently wipe your tears away.

"What's... going on?"

"That idiot was saying some useless garbage so I brought you out here. I can leave if you want to be alone-"

"No! No, please don't go," you begged, holding on tightly to his sleeve. You couldn't help it, you completely broke down and found yourself sobbing into his chest. What was weirder was that Eunwoo had his arms wrapped around you and was rubbing your back...

After you calmed done, Eunwoo insisted that he walk you back to your dorm.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" you asked him, sniffling quietly.

He threw his hands in his pockets and stared at the ground.

"I don't like it when people are mean to you, [y/n]," he said quietly.

"But you're mean to me all the time!" you pointed out.

"You're the one who started being mean to me!" Eunwoo whined.

You stopped walking.

"I started being mean to you? Eunwoo, you know you're the one who threw a basketball at me that day and never apologized, right?"

Eunwoo stared at the dark sky for a moment as he tried to remember what you were talking about. Then his eyes widened and he looked at you.

"Oh... I swear, there's an explanation-"

"There better be!"

"This is going to sound dumb but... I felt too shy to look at you... which is why I avoided you like that."

What? Eunwoo, the most cocky and arrogant president you know, was shy?

"Why in the world were you shy, Eunwoo?"

It wasn't just the slight breeze in the air that was turning his cheeks red, now. He was about to tell you something important.

"Ever since the first day at the orientation week... I thought you were really... attractive. And then, learning about you through all the icebreakers just made things worse. I don't really know how to handle my feelings, so maybe that's why I came across as so rude."

There was silence as you processed everything and starting walking to your dorm again.

"Eunwoo... if you had just cleared this all up a little sooner, we wouldn't have been like cats and dogs," you said, laughing nervously and touching the back of your neck.

"I know, I'm sorry."

"Do you still... like me?" you asked him quietly.

Eunwoo paused before answering. "I don't think I could ever just stop liking you."

Both of you giggled at his cheesy words. You felt like you were on another planet. The boy you'd hated so much turned out to have a crush on you?

"You don't need to tell me how you feel anytime soon. I know there's been a lot of misunderstandings... so let's just clear those up first?" Eunwoo cocked his head to one side.

"If you get to my dorm faster than me, I'll consider it!" you yelled before running in the direction of your residence building.

"I don't even know where you live!" Eunwoo yelled after you, following you along.

"What kind of president are you? You don't even know where your vice president lives?" you yelled back, sticking your tongue out at him.

Suddenly, Eunwoo caught up to you and started racing ahead. Of course he knew where you lived. He liked you.

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itsmelaurel · 4 years ago

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Begin Again

Summary: When your best friends move away for college, you think life is officially over. However, you find yourself making new friends including the blonde surfer from the other side of the island.

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three.

The first time you physically see the boys again is a whole month after they move. It was prospect weekend at their university which meant all high school seniors who were interested in the school were invited to tour the campus and attend a football game. For most high school seniors it was their first taste of what college would be like next year.

For you, it was just another weekend at your parents alumni college. It was where they met and fell in love. They had been bringing you to sporting events here every year and basically assumed you would follow in their footsteps.

When you got to campus, they boys met you outside their dorm. Each took a few extra seconds to hug you with Topper actually spinning you around. It felt good to see them, to hug them. This was the longest any of you had gone without seeing each other.

You were currently sitting at the tailgate they dragged you and Sarah to. Ward and your dad had left you both there to visit the alumni tailgate, which was probably a bad idea since Kelce immediately poured you a shot as soon as they left.

All of them had promised not to leave your side, professing that they wanted to spend as much time with you as possible while you were here. That didn’t last long though as they were quickly swept up into a game of beer pong with their fraternity brothers.

Since they were preoccupied, you and Sarah had been people watching from the side of the tent. Several people who graduated from Kildare Prep also went to school here. It was the most popular college choice for Kildare's finest.

“Is it just me or does this feel like a KP reunion?” Sarah asked looking around the tent.

“Definitely feels like a reunion.” You agreed with a grimace.

It’s quiet for a moment as you watch people taking shots, shotgunning beers and quickly becoming blacked out drunk.

“I don’t think I want to go here.” Sarah rushes out quickly and you whip your head around to look at her with wide eyes.

“I- I don’t think I do either.” You stutter. It’s the first time you’ve ever admitted it out loud to anyone. It had been a small thought in the back of your mind for a few weeks now, but you kept ignoring it.

Your parents had been planning on you attending this school since you were a baby. The boys didn’t even think there was another option for you because wouldn’t you want to be where your best friends were?

It was where you always thought you would end up, but it didn’t feel right all the sudden. It didn’t feel like home.

“I haven’t told anyone- well, except John B.”

“Me either minus the part about John B.”

Both of you just stare at each other for a moment, letting the reality of your words sink in.

“Y/n! Sarah!” Kelce was shouting your names as he made his way over to you. Your eyes quickly glance back to Sarah’s, a silent understanding passing between y'all. “Come on, I called next for y'all at pong. You're up against Top and Rafe.”

After winning two games of beer pong, both you and Sarah let another team take over your spot. You were a little tipsy even after switching to water during the second game. All of the guys around the table were in awe of you and Sarah sinking almost every shot.

“That’s my girl!” Rafe shouts when you made the shot to win the first game, even though he and Topper lost because of it.

You and Sarah head towards the coolers to get more water, bending down to open the cooler when a heeled bootie slams the lid shut.

“What tha-” your eyebrows wrinkle in confusion as you look up to see three girls standing on the other side of the cooler.

“Um, can we help you?” Sarah asks as you stand up straight next to her.

“The prospect tailgate is on the other side of the quad.” The blonde in the middle says, her nasally voice like nails on a chalkboard.

“We’re here with friends.” You say, eyes scanning the area for Rafe, Topper or Kelce. Of course they are nowhere to be found.

“Oh really? Who?” The brunette on the left asks, trying to catch us in a lie.

“Topper Thornton, Rafe Cameron and Kelce-” you don’t even get to finish before all three girls are cackling. You and Sarah share an annoyed look.

“No way you're friends with them.” The other blonde on the right says.

“Actually, I’m Rafe’s sister and this is their best friend, y/n.” Sarah says. All of their smiles falter for half a second before they turn their gaze solely to me.

“They’ve never mentioned a girl best friend-”

“Maybe you don’t know them that well.” You taunt. It causes all of them to chuckle again.

“Honey, we’re with those boys literally every single day. They’ve never mentioned you.” The one in the middle brags.

“They call themselves the three amigos. I’ve never heard them utter anything about anyone else.” The brunette chirps.

“And you aren’t on their instagrams anywhere. I would totally remember if you were.” The other blonde adds, all three girls now wearing similar smirks.

A frown settles on your face. You know for a fact you are all over their instagrams. From prom pictures to spending the day on the water, you know you're on all of their pages hundreds of times. Your whole lives have pretty much been documented on their social media accounts.

Thankfully, Sarah has the complete opposite reaction of you. She laughs out loud, hand on her stomach as she leans back slightly - intentionally mocking the girls. People are starting to look at the scene near the edge of the tent.

“Can you imagine trying to intimidate two high school girls because of who they're friends with?” Sarah says loudly so everyone on this side hears. The girls' faces fall at her words.

“Because bitch, we can’t relate.” Sarah throws her hand up in the middle girl's face, a clear dismissal of their childish behavior. She grabs your hand and drags you behind her, away from the tent and the three wicked bitches from hell. She doesn’t stop until a small clearing opens up next to the brick stadium entrance and you're all alone.

Once stopped, the first thing you do is pull your phone out. Opening up Instagram you check all three of the boys Instagram pages hoping that bitch was lying. Your heart sinks when you realize she wasn’t.

There isn’t a trace of you on any of their pages. Tears well up in your eyes and you clench your eyes shut to prevent them from falling.

“Don’t cry, you are way too pretty to cry over those assholes.” Sarah says gently, pulling you into a hug.

“How could they erase every single picture of me? Like I haven’t been there for every moment of their lives.” Your voice cracks a little as you try to keep the emotion from spilling out.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to beat their asses. Then I’m going to roundhouse kick Peggy, Susie and Betty in their faces for messing up our day.” Sarah pulls back slightly to look at you, the determined look on her face makes you giggle.

“Hey! There you are. We were just headed to the boys tailgate to get you so we can head into the game.” Ward says as he and your dad walk up to you.

“Everything okay?” Your dad asks, head tilting as he notices your watery eyes.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” You lie, pushing down every single emotion your feeling as the four of you make your way into the game.

When you find your seats, Sarah asks her dad to take your picture. He takes a few then she holds her phone up for some selfies.

Your phone is blowing up, so you take it out to see who it is. There’s at least ten texts in the group chat asking where you went.

Then there’s two texts from a certain blonde haired, blue eyed surfer. The first one asks if you made it and the second one is a picture of the pogues all with sad faces at your and Sarah’s absence.

You send him a picture of the field to let him know you made it, then you make Sarah take a picture just like theirs and send it with a red heart emoji. You immediately regret sending a red heart, but he sends one right back.

Sarah is staring at you as you stare at those little red hearts, her eyebrows raised as she watches you smile.

“What?”

“Just wondering if I look like that every time I text John B.” She shrugs before looking back out to the field. A blush graces your cheeks as you roll your eyes, both of you giggling which catches your dads attention.

“Hey, there’s no giggling in football.” Ward says, snapping his fingers to get both of you to stop. It only fuels your laughter on more.

—

After the game, the original plan was to meet the boys back at their tailgate before getting on the road. All four of you are headed that way, talking about the big win when you look up towards the tailgate. Through the crowd of people, you can see those three girls from earlier talking to Kelce, Topper and Rafe. The site makes you falter your steps until you are completely stopped.

As much as you want to go over there and prove that your friends with the boys, you can’t and it’s not because of those girls. You can’t face the boys right now. All of the emotions you pushed down earlier start to bubble up and you refuse to let them see you cry.

“Um, actually, can we go get the truck?” You ask nervously, eyes trained only on your dad as he stops a few steps ahead of you. He squints his eyes at you, confused at your behavior.

“We need to say bye to Rafe.” Ward comments as he looks back to the tent. Sarah also looks towards the tent, noticing the scene before looking back at you and your glossy eyes.

“We'll go say bye to the boys, y’all go get the truck and pick us up on the corner. It will probably save us all some time.” Sarah makes a plan before y’all go your separate ways.

It’s quiet as you and your dad walk side by side towards his truck, the only noise between the two of you is a faint sniffle as you try to keep yourself from crying.

“So, you want to tell me what’s wrong?” He asks softly. He stops walking, turning his whole body to look at you. His face is full of concern and you can’t hold it in anymore.

You tell him about those bitches at the tailgate, the fact your best friends practically erased every memory y’all had together and then you accidently let it slip that you don’t want to go to school here anymore. He pulls you into a hug, repeatedly telling you that it’s all going to be okay as he rocks you back and forth.

Both of you stay like that for a few minutes until your crying slowly fades into a few tears and hiccups. He sweetly dabs the tear stains with the sleeve of his shirt.

“I promise it’s all going to be okay, sweetpea.” He whispers reassuringly before he pulls you into his side and continues on to the vehicle. His words are comforting, but it does help the ache you feel in your chest.

When you pick up Ward and Sarah, she is practically glowing when she climbs in the back seat with you.

“You should have seen those bitches-” she begins but Ward shoots her a look at her word choice. She rolls her eyes but continues on “they looked like they were going to throw up when we walked up. When the boys kept asking where you were, their faces paled.” She laughs and even Ward chuckles from the front seat.

“Did they say anything?”

“Oh yeah, they said they were just joking around with us. So I told the boys everything they said. I honestly thought Rafe was going to punch their little blonde leader. When the girls left, Topper said they’ve only seen those girls twice at swap parties.”

“You should have seen them leave, total embarrassment as this one actually laughed.” Ward says from the front seat pointing back at Sarah. That little bit of information makes you feel a little better.

“Did the boys say anything about Instagram?” You ask, unsure if you really want to know. She shakes her head no.

“They were too hyped up on shutting those girls down. I’m sure they are blowing up your phone right now though.” She points to your purse. You can feel it vibrating repeatedly from the inside.

When you pull it out, the amount of texts and calls popping up is causing your phone to go slow. You decide to put it on Do Not Disturb, not ready to talk to them yet. Plus, they’re probably still drunk. The conversation that needs to be had would be best sober.

When you get home, you quickly shower to wash the tailgate and stadium funk off. You just finish putting on pajamas when there’s a light knock on your window.

You slowly approach the window, peaking through the blinds to see who it could possibly be. The only boys who have ever snuck through your window don’t live in the banks anymore.

“JJ?” You're completely confused, but you pull the blinds up and open up the window anyways.

“Hey” he whispers as he stands on the roof landing outside your window. His eyes rake over your face before taking in your light pink silk pajamas.

“What are you doing here?”

“John B had to drop something off at Sarah’s, so I thought I would come see you.”

“Well, come in.” You whisper stepping back so he can move inside. He doesn’t, but he grabs your hand pulling you back to the window.

“I can’t stay long. He told me to meet him back at the van in a few minutes.” He explains, his thumb running across the back of your hand.

You don’t even realize your pouting at the fact he has to leave so soon until his other thumb brushes across your bottom lip before moving up your jaw. He drops that hand quickly as if he's been burned and lets out a shaky breath.

“Did you have fun today?” He asks quietly, frowning when you only shrug in response. Before he can question further, his phone beeps.

“That’s John B letting me know my times up.”

“Thanks for stopping by.” you reply softly.

“Anytime, sweets.” He says making you giggle. He backs away from the window before turning around to climb off the roof making you close the window then the blinds.

You haven’t even moved from the spot when another knock makes you jump. You reopen everything to see JJ standing there again.

“I forgot something.” He whispers as he gets closer to the window.

“Wha-” you don’t even get to finish the word when his lips land on yours and his hand comes up to cup your jaw. The kiss is soft, almost tender as your lips move against his sparking electricity between the two of you.

It only lasts for a few seconds before his phone goes off again. He reluctantly pulls away, leaving you both wanting more.

“I’ve got to go.” He says against your lips and you nod in understanding.

“Goodnight J” you whisper as he backs away for the second time.

“Sweet dreams baby” He says with a wink before climbing off the roof.

The kiss is the only thing you can think of as you slowly drift off to sleep, completely exhausted from the long day. Not mean bitches, shitty best friends or anxiety of your future.

Only JJ Maybank’s lips on yours.

taglist: @dreamsndior @rafej-cambanks @prejudic3 @katiaw2 @sometimesicryintheshower @bibliophilewednesday @edgymuffin @stargazingandmoon @rae131415 @httpstarkey @k-k0129 @sunshineitsfine44

#jj maybank #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank x you #jj obx fic #jj x y/n #sarah cameron #topper thornton #rafe cameron #kelce obx #pogues x reader #obx fic #obx x reader #soft!kooks #soft!pogues

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2ndstar-ontheright · 3 years ago

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“I’m Sorry..”

Fandom: Ginny & Georgia

Characters: Ginny, Georgia, Ellen, Clint, Marcus and Max.

Words: 1513

Summary: Ginny and Marcus apologize and discovers that there’s more to him then meets the eye.

Warning: Swearing, implied masturbation (it’s very slight though. More of a blink and you’ll miss it sort of thing.), dead character reference, parental caregiver terms (Ex: “Mama”).

Author’s note: I know you're probably thinking, "WTH did I just read?" But hear me out! I wrote this because I wanted to give more depth to Marcus' character, and of course I had to do that with age regression. Hah! And to have him apologize since we didn't see that yet in the show. (Plus while watching the show I got some kind of vibe. Not really sure how or why, but I did for some reason.) Anyways, I'm planning on turning this into it's own fully fleshed-out story. And I would love to hear y'all's feedback and opinions in the comments. As always, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!

Ginny was lying in bed, unable to sleep. Her mind was racing as she recalled the events of the past week. Breaking it off with Hunter, Marcus and his bullshit, Georgia (as always), and how she managed to push all her friends away over 2 dumb guys. She sighed, trying to take her mind off things, she picked up her toothbrush from her nightstand and slumped under the covers. “Great. Your life's falling apart and all you can think to do is masturbate? Lovely, Ginny. Just lovely”. As the brush slowly made its way down, she then had to go to the bathroom. Sighing even harder this time, she put the toothbrush back on her nightstand and left the room.

“Mom! It’s Marcus! Your idiot, stoner, “Kyle Scheible” wannabe son! Of course I’m pissed and betrayed as hell that my so-called “best friend” was cheating on her boyfriend with my brother! God! Everything is the worst!” Max equally signed and exclaimed to her parents, angry like a wakened bear. “Well I’m sorry! I’m sorry I don’t know anything because my kids don’t tell me shit anymore!” Ellen replied. “Well I’m telling you now mother dearest!” Max said, stomping up to her room. Slamming the door behind her, she flopped on her bed and scrolled through her pictures. She stopped when she saw a picture of the 4 of them together at the Sophomore Sleepover.“Ginny, why couldn’t you have just talked to me?” Her voice broke as she started to cry.

Downstairs, her parents discussed the situation and what they could do to help. “I just don’t get it Clint. Ginny is a good kid, much better than our own. If we're being honest. How are we gonna fix this?” Ellen asked her husband. “I don’t know dear. But, it’s probably best if we stay out of it. I think we can trust the kids to work it out themselves. Besides, all we can do is watch and intervene when it gets too serious, right?” Clint replied. “Yeah, you’re right. Thanks. I love you.” “Anytime, Ellie. I love you too”.

Marcus crossed the street towards Ginny’s house in hopes of doing one thing, apologizing. If there was any time to do this, it was now. Hopefully. That day, after hearing what Ginny said he realized what he was doing. He finally broke things off with Padma, stating how he had been a dick to her and that she deserved better, to which she agreed. He took time to look at himself and think “Why? What’s wrong with you? Climbing up to the window he reached for the latch and lowered his hand. He instead climbed back down, knowing how inappropriate and weird his entrances are. “You’re not J.D, idiot.” He joked to himself, while inside he was terrified.

Hearing the door knock, Ginny went downstairs. She looked through the window and jumped. “Jesus fucking Christ. Why is he here?! And at the door of all places? Well, at least it’s not my window, ``she whispered. Her mind began racing again. She wished she could go back to her room, but now she could not. “Peach, who’s at the door?” Georgia called from the other room. She halted for a moment,”No one mom!” “Okay! I must’ve just been hearing things then. Aw shit! That means I’m gettin’ old!” “Georgia Miller’s one adversity, aging!” Ginny said. “Oh hush!” Georgia said, fake offended. Ginny sighed, opening the door. She leaned on the door frame, ready to face whatever was gonna come out of the teen’s mouth.

”What do you want, Marcus? Because frankly, I don’t want to hear it”. “Hey can we talk outside? Please? I just don’t want your mom to hear, if that’s ok?” “Yeah cuz she hasn’t heard everything already about us! But, whatever. I guess we can talk”, Ginny glared at him. “Look, I just wanted to say, I’m sorry. You deserve so much better and should’ve just stayed out of everything..” “Yeah you should��ve. That would’ve helped. My life would have been a lot less shitty, y’know.” “I-I know..and I told Padma about everything a-and broke things off. I mean, it was the least I could do. And I’ve also started to evaluate myself and realize, I am an awful person. Like, what the hell dude? What’s your problem?” Marcus said.

Ginny looked at him surprised, “He actually went and acknowledged his mistakes? Huh, things are certainly changing for both him and I”, “I.. that’s.. I’m really proud of you Marcus. And yeah, you are an asshole, but I’m glad you took the time to realize that. Especially after all the things you went through.``''And I know that doesn't excuse what I did. Someone’s past or whatever they're going through doesn’t excuse them for doing something wrong, but thanks Ginny. I’m not asking for you to forgive me for what I did, I just want you to know that I am truly sorry. Also I’m seeing someone! I forgot their name, but they work with Abby’s Dad, I think. And after this, I’ll stay out of your way so I don’t hurt you or anyone else.” Marcus said, turning to leave.

Ginny gasped, “He’s truly pouring his heart out! He is sorry! Do I want to lose him? Cus I really don’t think I do” Her thoughts swirled in her head. “Marcus, I-I don’t know what to say. You’re right. But, I think that since you’ve taken the time to talk to someone and help you evaluate yourself, you know better than to play with people’s hearts. A-and I don’t want to lose you because you’re more than just hot. Y-you’re nice, introspective, and caring. I don't think I’m ever going to find someone who’s impacted my life like you. I-think I forgive you,” Ginny choked out, crying. “Wow..Seriously! Well, thanks Ginny! Is it okay if I hug you?” Marcus said, surprised. “Seriously. And yes! !”Ginny laughed. “Okay!” He said, wrapping his arms around her. After a minute had passed, Marcus took that as his cue to leave. “Well, I should go,” He said walking to her door. “Yeah. I’ll see you later, creep”. He smiled and left. And Ginny, for the first time in a while, felt relieved.

The next day, Ginny walked to the cafeteria hoping that her friends wouldn’t loathe her entirely. She planned on apologizing to them today for all that happened, especially to Hunter. She was about 5 feet away from the door and saw Marcus on the floor with his head buried in his arms. “Marcus? Are you okay?” She asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Marcus had not had a good day so far. For one thing, Max was still mad at him, his head was screaming, he couldn’t stop thinking about his best friend, and he failed an english test. And his secret almost got revealed when he dropped all of his stuff on the floor trying to get into his locker. So yeah, you could say today was a shit day. So, when he went into the lunchroom and noticed all the people, he turned around back into the hall. For the second time in 12 hours he started to cry. And when Ginny asked him what was up, his head felt fuzzy and couldn’t say anything.

Ginny looked at him in concern waiting for him to answer. He looked up and she noticed his eyes were all red and puffy from crying, “I-I’m sow-sorry. I’m not supposed to... “Supposed to what?” “Be small!” He sobbed, hiding his face. “Aw buddy, it’s okay! But, can you explain? I don’t understand?”

He took a deep breath and began to explain, “So, ever since my y’know accident, my brain goes to this space where it’s kind of like I’m a little kid? Y’know? I know it’s-it’s weird. And ever since my best friend died, I feel a lot younger than I am. So, basically I’m a little kid when I have bad days or get really upset. Which explains what “being small” means, I guess”.

Ginny looked back at him processing this, and if she was being honest, it made a lot of sense. It was his way of dealing, and who was she to judge? “Well, that makes a lot of sense. And I’m guessing it helps, but why were you so upset to tell me?” “Because I was worried you were going to think I’m gross or more weird than I already am.” She chuckled, “You’re already one of the weirdest people I know Marcus. SO, there’s nothing you can do that can make you more weird to me. Now, quit crying! I’m not really in the mood for you to crash into a ditch again, y’know? Lol.” “Heh, yeah. Thanks Ginny.” “Anytime, Marcus. Now come on, the floor’s pretty gross.” She said, standing up and pulling him off the floor. “Okay, mama,” He said, feeling better than before. Ginny gushed and the 2 of them walked back into the cafeteria ready to face their friends.

#age regression #Ginny and Georgia #agere writing #ginny and georgia agere #my stories

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ultraclops · 4 years ago

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Semi-live Blogging: Return of the Mao Mao Episodes

Before we start, is it just me or is the animation like 10x smoother than it usually is? Also like I said with Nakey, there’s a lot more good expressions too!

Lucky Ducky Mug

Adorabat drinks from sippy cup like baby

"What, Mao Mao's ridiculous mug?" says Badgerclops, holding a cheap plastic big gulp cup he probably got from the grocery store.

How did Adorabat not notice the Lucky Ducky sticker on the Aerocycle

"Don't touch it" (Badgerclops proceeds to slam the table to move it) Ah Badgerclops, ever the contrarian

I'M SORRY DID MAO MAO BLOW THE ROOF OFF OF HQ BY SCREAMING

I love the way Mao says "PROFESSIONAAAL SILENCEEE"

Badgerclops trying to make his mouth disappear and failing made me scream with laughter

Are they seriously reducing Ratarang to 'the funny lil Italian guy'? C’mon guys you’re better than this

Wait why do they think Kevin is Adorabat?? They've seen Adorabat multiple times?? "But they're both blue!" You FOOL Kevin is TEAL there's a difference

Everybody gangsta til Mao Mao's ears start speaking morse code

They're doing surprisingly good silent but it's probably not gonna be that way very long.

Thank you, Lucky Ducky Mug, for catering to my niche interest in characters with neon outlines on black backgrounds.

Mao Mao thinking: Normal thoughts

Badgerclops thinking: Musical-esque singing

Adorabat thinking: Literally just heavy metal

The Sweetypies seriously think they're just playing a really intense game of charades huh,,,

(Mao jabs BC in the stomach with the fire net) HAHA GET REKT

The scene with Badgerclops trying to give Mao Mao Penny's mug is the funniest shit in the world I couldn't stop laughing...or maybe I'm just sleep-deprived

So the Sky Pirates are so similar compared to the Sheriff's Dept. that they can think perfectly in sync? That's cool

SKY PIRATES SONG SKY PIRATES SONG

Why is Snugglemagne throwing a random tea party & why did he only invite the Sheriff's Dept.

Yep there goes the plan. Both of their plans.

Am I going crazy or did the skin on Mao Mao's mouth tear apart like it was sewn shut?! Also yay they're talking again

"It's not gonna stop charging, so I'm just gonna let it explooode..." Mood

"What about the mega laser tube made by mega Losers?" Fsfhkfh

Hey, everyone learned something new from this experience! Are the Sky Pirates gonna try that Hive Mind tactic from now on?

Awww, they fixed his mug with gold - GOD DAMN IT I KNEW THERE WAS A CATCH!!

Lonely Kid

(Sighs) ...I said (SIGHS)

"I literally can't relate to that problem at all." says Badgerclops, who joined a gang because he wanted people to like him.

Shin just dropped off Mao Mao at a summer camp and expected him to make friends? Why does this feel like the plot of Camp Camp

I'm sorry the Mao clan has a freaking PARTY AERO-BUS??

NOO GERALDINE

That BGM is DEFINITELY an extended version of "I Love You, Mao Mao" and I want the lyrics NOW

So Bao was literally just a stray that Mao took home?? Would make sense as to why he wasn't trained

I have a feeling the Flimborg is some sort of sacred being the townspeople worship for some reason

How in the hell did Mao tie that guy up and why didn't he bother to untie him

HOW'D HE SET THE ROCKS ON FIRE USING PAINT

"And then you become frien-" "BEES. IN THE EYES."

"Everyone knows bees are our friends!" "Uh, actually, they were wasps." "Friends to no-one!" Usually I'd agree with BC, but I read an article about someone befriending a wasp and her babies so.

So the Mao clan's just known as the "Golden Cat Family Up The Hill?" Huh. I thought they’d have more recognition, especially since Shin says he went to that same summer camp at the beginning.

Man those kids are jackasses

"Say hi to your mommy!" "I would if she was here..." Excuse me wHAT

Noo don't cry baby boi - tHEN BAO JUST TACKLES HIM ASFHDKDL

"Go away! I don't feel like laughing right now!"

Look. You can see the EXACT point Mao developed his adult personality

I know Mao Mao means well but that is gonna go terribly wrong.

"I AM A HERO! I WILL BE LOVED!!" Okay first of all OUCH, second of all THAT IS PAIN

This monster empty, YEET

Awww it was just a sweet little puppy-ish monster...and it was his BIRTHDAY

"Hi, Aunt Gloria!" (Pulls out pitchfork) BETRAYAL

He didn't feel bad about ruining the festival because he made a friend doing it I 💞💞💝💝💗💗

Thanks for that 'different times' comment cuz I don't want kids thinking being beat is normal.

"Just like you found me...and I'm your best friend!" Tbh I thought she was gonna say 'Me and Badgerclops' & that would make a lot more sense

Why are they fighting over who's his best friend they're obviously BOTH his best friends

I'm sorry did Badgerclops just call Adorabat a "little mutant"?? ARE THE SWEETYPIES MUTANTS??

Awww his friends love him sm...and he feels so loved too...💓💓💗💗💕💕

Try Hard

No one gives a shit about Pinky being kidnapped lol

"K for Copyright Infringement"

"You'll never be like me!" Oof a little harsh maybe?

"You've gotta learn to be your own kind of hero, in your own special way!" So THAT'S where it's from

"You just gotta...try hard." Hey, title drop!

Ngl the moment Mao Mao said "Badgerclops take the shot" I immediately thought of The Confession 3 by TomSka

"Up in a tree, little old me, about to do something...UGLY..." 7-year-old me sniping people on Halo 3 like

Why is he shooting them with gelatin tho? ...oh. Oh THAT'S why.

Tbh if I didn't have subtitles on I would've thought BC was saying "beep boop"

This badger and cat empty, YEET

Adorabat walking into the Skyship with only a walkie-talkie is giving me some sort of vibes...OH, Silent Hill! Or Tattletail

WHOOP HIS ASS SWEETIE

"Mao Mao would hide the body!" Very unsubtle there, wonder how it got past censors

"Ratarang, say something!" "Pasketti?" "THAT'S THE BRAT!"

Wait a sec, they can just use Badgerclops' arm to power the ship? Why didn't they try that in CapturedClops?

"Good thing my head is in here cuz I'm a-scared of heights!" Ramaraffe. Whose whole schtick is making herself taller. Is acrophobic?

"Because she's Sheriff's Department, that's how! >:3" "Also y'all tend to be pretty incompetent >X/"

Why does she keep trying to use the elevator when she can fly? Nvm she climbed up Badgerclops' arm

"Ooooh I'm also hereeee"

"JERK BUTT"

Why is the Omega Field just a bunch of broken glass? And why doesn't she just step around it?

"I can fly!" "She can fly!" "SHE FORGOT?!" Ooh that's why

"You're the best thing to ever happen to a bat like me." 💝💝💕💕💓💓

Wait she's talking through the walkie-talkie and her molts are there but she isn't there where is she?

Oh she was freeing the other two from the gelatin. No wonder Mao Mao almost threw up, it was bug flavored.

GET HIS ASS, HONEY!! ADORASLAP!!

I hope that 'Nah' means Adorabat's realized she needs to be herself instead of her just rejecting her individuality like I think it is.

Scared Of Puppets

Oh, so this takes place after Sleeper Sofa! Praying it's a fix-it episode...

"DISCARD ANYTHING THAT DOESN'T BRING YOU JOY!!" Fuckin Marie Kondo up in here

Oh no PTSD flashbacks. He's scared of them cuz one's head landed on his lap as a kid? Understandable have a nice day.

Who tf collapsed into a sobbing heap on the floor then leaps back up and insists they're fine? Mao Mao, apparently.

Hairless ape? Is that what they call humans or are they something different in general?

"TAKE ALL MY MONEY!!" What did BC want an antique puppet for if he had no idea Mao was scared of them...

Mr. Din Dandalib!

"I...(eye twitch) love him too..."

IM SORRY DID HE FUCKING THROW UP OUT OF FEAR...holy SHIT

If I scared my friend and they threw up I would simply never do that again. RIP to Badgerclops but I'm different

(Badgerclops makes concrete blocks around the pothole) "Why didn't you just fill in the pothole??" "I AM TRYING MY BEST!!"

"I SIGNED YOUR DUMB CAST, NOW LEAVE!!"

...Illegal house plants? ...like marijua-

That was literally just that one video where a guy knocked out another guy in a mask jumping out of a trash can...

So it's a CPR class...AND a hair-styling class? How

I stg the moment Badgerclops walked in the door I knew he was carrying Mr. Din Danalin I SWEAR

"You're 10." "BUT I'M 6??" JFC Shin doesn't know his own son's age AND is partially responsible for his pupaphobia. And I called it on Mao Mao being six in the flashbacks

OH WIG

Can someone take the footage of the Annex exploding and add the ReviewTechUSA intro over it please

"How many Adult Learning Annexes have to be destroyed before you admit you're scared of puppets?!" is extremely funny without context

(Mao punches the wall cuz hes mad at himself for being scared) Kinkinkinkinki

How does one forget to drink milk

Oh shit the scene from the promo...

Yay he's starting to feel less scared - wait NVM it JUST STARTED TALKING??

OG SGUTVKC FGCJ OG SHKR OF DJCN JKKKKK

Oh it was just a dream - er, nightmare. FIRST NIGHTMARE SEQUENCE OF THE SERIES!

"I just gotta get my socks on...wait, I wear socks, right?" Dud e you wear NOTHING BUT A BELT...

"I KNEW SELLING THOSE HAIRLESS APE DOLLS WOULD ATTRACT DARK FORCES"

"There’s a lot of pu-" "PUBLIC DANGER"

Those puppets are alive I stg

"I'M A BIG BOI..."

Awwww she said what he told her at the beginning of the episode!

"I'M AFRAID OF PUPPETS" TITLE DROP YET AGAIN

Adorabat takes after Badgerclops sometimes I swear

Oooh shit sequel hook - oh NVM it was Badgerclops voice acting - NVM Mao Mao passed out. Dang

The Perfect Couple

Watermelon time babyyy

TRANSFORMATION TIME BABYYYY

Ah so he wanted to perfectly cut a watermelon in half, that's why he got so many?

"I need (counts on fingers) 600 more watermelons!" glad to see I'm not the only one who counts on my fingers

Why would Penny and Benny need 600 watermelons for their wedding? Also I called it on Penny & Benny being the couple

Mao Mao has to officiate the wedding? I thought priests did that

Please don’t throw up again Mao Mao

"I WILL BUY YOU A BAG TO HOLD YOUR STUFF..."

"A nondescript sack!!" Dude he just taking out the trash...

Nvm its just laundry

"I WILL TURN THIS BUSH AROUND"

Oh so THAT'S what Ramaraffe thought Kevin was Adorabat

"Why don't you buy me cake and do my laundry?" Are you implying you wanna marry Mao Mao, Badgerclops 👀

I lov Mao Mao's faces in this scene he legit looks like a bishouen anime protagonist

Nvm no transformation it's just his wedding outfit

Why did they invite Orangusnake and Boss Hosstritch to the wedding tho? What about when they hid in their moving truck and used their electricity - wait Badgerclops technically did that last one, nvm

Wait THEY DIDN'T TALK TO EACH OTHER BEFORE THE WEDDING?? What a perfect couple huh

Is Mao Mao having hallucinations just gonna be a regular thing now....

IS PENNY SERIOUSLY GONNA MARRY ORANGUSNAKE OUT OF SPITE ASFSDGFUK

Why did Mao Mao say "melons" in a Spanish accent I'm scared

"They're both terrible, so what does it matter if they get hitched or not?" They're definitely gonna change their minds now

"She lied because she wanted to protect his feelings! And he lied because he couldn't bear to hurt her!" Isn't that just the plot of The Truth Stinks?

OH SHIT HE CUT ORANGUSNAKE IN HALF HOLY FUCK

He made Orangusnake officiate the wedding as punishment lol

Why are they,,,stepping on the watermelons?? Damn right Badgerclops I'd cry over that too

"What's, uh, your credit score like?" "850. Why, is that good?" "It's perfect..." HE WANTS TO MARRY MAO MAO NOW ASDFHKL

#semi live blogging #semi-live blogging #//long post #// long post

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i-am-not-anon · 5 years ago

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Under the eye of an institution

Part 7

Summary: Logan and Patton (both 16), the older students, are expected to look after two groups of freshmen in Watersouth boarding school for boys. Both of them despise the tradition of bullying that is subjected to the newcomers by older students. The two respectively get a student in their groups who is a little different from the ordinary crowd: Roman and Virgil (both 15).

Author’s note: I'm just going to update this shorter part for y'all to get back on track with writing. I've been super busy and it seems like I'm going to be busy soon again, so please be patient with the slow updates! Message me for getting into the taglist, please.

Triggers: Bullying, abuse, violence, violent punishments, panic attacks, self-deprecation, name-calling, i n s t i t u t i o n

Other parts here

...

”No I’m not!” Roman stared at Logan as if his tutor had just said the most disgusting thing.

”Well that is what the results suggest,” Logan cleared his throat. ”You have 74% probability to have Combined type of a disorder called ADHD, which is short of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder.”

*”No, I do not!!”* Roman cried, tears forming at the corners of his eyes as he clenched his fists in frustration. ”Don’t call me that!”

Logan straightened his tie. ”I was not insulting you, Roman. I was simply stating what your results were from the tests you completed last night.”

”SHUT UP!!!” Roman screamed, bolting to the door and slamming it behind him. Logan heard the footsteps disappear further to the hall, wanting to remind the boy about running inside, but understood he was too far to hear the reminder anymore.

Logan felt quite bemused at the incident. What had he done wrong to cause Roman get so upset? Logan hoped Patton wasn’t busy as he stood up and walked to the hall, to find his friend who was way better at understanding emotions.

….

”I think Roman doesn’t really understand what having ADHD means,” Patton pondered. ”Kids often call each other names that aren’t supposed to be offensive in the first place. Maybe Roman has been called ’the adhd kid’ as much as ’crazy’ or ’stupid’. And it really is scary to find out you have a disorder, don’t you think?” Patton turned to look at Logan, who adjusted his glasses.

”In fact, I would have felt relieved if I had been diagnosed with autism when I had to overgo all those examinations,” Logan argued. ”It would have explained my behavior and I would have gotten help for it.”

Patton smiled. ”That’s how you reacted to it, but as you hopefully have realized by now, Roman and you are like polar opposites. I think that’s exactly what happened, he got the opposite kind of reaction than you would have so you have hard time understanding him.” Patton rubbed his hands together. ”Now I think we should find the poor kid and try to explain to him that this isn’t the apocalypse.”

”He’s only one year younger than us,” Logan argued.

”Exactly,” Patton emphasized, leaving confused Logan to follow him at their quest to find one special, upset student.

…

Logan and Patton found Roman in the bathroom, hearing sobs coming from one of the stalls.

”Roman? Is that you?” Patton asked gently, turning his ear toward the stall.

”Who’s there?” Roman asked with confusion in his voice, forgetting about crying for a second.

”Logan and his friend Patton,” Patton answered.

”Tell him to go away,” Roman growled. He was not going to apologize to Logan for running off. Logan was stupid.

”I think there has been a misunderstanding, kiddo,” Patton patiently explained. ”Would you care to come out and discuss it with us?”

The bathroom filled with awkward silence. Logan was about to comment something, but Patton dismissed his friend with a hand gesture, and continued himself. ”I will make sure Logan doesn’t offend you again during our discussion. Please come out Roman, it doesn’t solve anything to stay there any longer since I feel like you have already calmed down. Now it’s time to solve this problem so we can continue as normal. Would that sound good?”

Roman wondered if anything could ”continue as normal” after what he had just been told, but he wiped his face and unlocked the door, stepping outside.

”I suppose I need to apologize,” Logan stepped forward and straightened his tie nervously. ”So, apologies.”

”It’s fine,” Roman muttered. He really wanted to just go have some fun and forget about the whole thing, but the other tutor wanted them to talk through this. Ugh.

”I’m glad you came out,” Patton smiled. ”We could go to the library to talk, it’s always peaceful over there.”

…

”How is being mentally ill not bad??” Roman questioned, sitting at the table with the two tutors, gesturing towards them.

”It’s not a mental illness, Roman," Logan corrected. "It’s a disorder, probably even congenital one. Now it’s just been diagnosed, maybe unofficially, but still.”

Roman gripped his hands in despair. ”I don’t even understand what you’re saying!”

”Logan means that you have had this your entire life, and it’s not entirely a bad thing either. It’s just some of your characteristics that have a common name now, which is ADHD.” Patton glanced at Logan for confirmation.

”What are those characteristics, then?” Roman asked, leaning his head on the table.

”The correct term is ADHD combined,” Logan quickly corrected before answering Roman’s question. ”The characteristics, or symptoms can be divided to inattentiveness, and hyperactivity and impulsiveness.

Inattentive behaviors are for example being easily distracted, appearing forgetful and having hard time following through or listening to instructions.

Hyperactive and impulsive behaviors are for example difficulty to sit still, constant fidgeting, acting without thinking and excessive talking.”

Roman had been listening to Logan’s explanation very closely. As the older student had finished, the boy let out a breath. Logan didn’t just throw a random insult at him earlier. It seemed like the older student actually tried to understand who Roman was inside. ”Okay, you just explained me in a nutshell. But how did you know it? Why did that test tell you I have that thing called ADHD? Am I not normal?” Roman continued. Patton let out a hearty laugh. ”I think we’re going to get to all of that in a minute, kiddo.”

…

Roman took his time when walking out of the library, waiting for Logan who had to check a few books before going. He watched Patton walk around a corner and went back to find his tutor again. Roman was looking at everything but Logan as he approached him between the shelves of math and physics books.

”Um, sir, I’m sorry that I shouted at you and ran off,” he mumbled. Logan was probably going to give him another essay to write about patience or something, and Roman tried to mentally prepare for it.

”I forgive you,” Logan answered, looking slightly awkward himself. ”I didn’t really understand your emotions at that moment and approached the topic in a way that was not the most sufficient.” He glanced around, and after seeing there was no one nearby, he leaned forward slightly and continued with a quiet tone. ”I’m sorry.”

”It’s fine,” Roman smiled, completely missing how groundbreaking it was from Logan to apologize for him, a younger student. ”I’m pretty glad we got it sorted out. See you!” He waved, jogging outside.

Logan stared after the boy, letting out a quiet huff. *What a peculiar kid.* He went back to searching for his book.

....

Taglist: @daring-elm @creativity-killed-thekitten @heck-im-lost @uwillbeefoundtonight @gabe-killed-me-with-ace-cream @just-another-rainbowblog @buddypallady @aromanticandaromatic @marshmallow-the-panda

#uei #uei7 #under the eye of an institution #roman sanders #logan sanders #virgil sanders #patton sanders #logan #virgil #patton #roman #adhd #adhd combined #autism

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livingthroughchoices-blog · 6 years ago

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The Marshmallow Chronicles (Ch. 15: The Brothers Beaumont)

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Author’s notes: Sorry this took so long! This is such an important chapter I was pretty nervous about writing it. I really hope it lives up to everyone’s expectations!

Thanks to everyone who likes, reblogs and/or comments. It truly means a lot! And especially to @starstruckzonkoperatorbat, @notoriouscs, @simplyaiden-blog, @snyggflicka, @asprankle, @speedyoperarascalparty, @mirivalencia, @mymandrake, @asobigokoro2018, @krisnicjack and @fabi-en-ciel for asking me to tag them! Please let me know if you want to be tagged or untagged (:

I love y'all!

Rating: T

Pairing: Drake x MC

Words: 6,903

Although he’d intended to stay up all night, Drake eventually fell into a fitful sleep from which he awoke with a start. He’d slept for longer than he would’ve thought; judging by how tired he felt, he would’ve guessed he’d slept maybe 4 hours, yet it had been more than twice that long.

Despite the fact that he could barely open his bleary eyes, he was glad for the late hour, as he was sure to avoid Riley. She had undoubtedly been woken up by Maxwell at an ungodly hour, and had possibly even made it to the Beaumonts’ estate by now.

He, along with Liam and Bastien, would not be making their way there until the next day. He was glad for one more day at the manor, knowing he would not be seeing Riley. Or worse, Riley and Liam together.

He tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes, but in closing them only succeeded in making himself sleepier.

Cold shower it is, then.

He hopped in and let out a gasp full of regret as soon as the freezing water hit his back, not just because of how unpleasant it was, but also because being more awake only meant more inner turmoil.

What the hell happened last night? Addams, she... the things she said... Could she actually feel the same way?

The arguing little voice was back.

Don’t be ridiculous. We’ve been through this. Her other choice is Liam. It’s cute that the thought even crossed your mind. Or maybe just pathetic.

He shook his head, washing his body at a furious speed, eager to be out of the shower and drown his thoughts out somehow.

One thing is clear, he thought as he wrapped a towel around his waist, I can’t trust myself around her. I have to avoid her until this crush goes away or until... she’s engaged to Liam, then I’ll have no choice but to accept it.

Seems like half the court’s gonna be heartbroken.

He gave a wry smile at that.

Hell, even Tariq!

He was grateful when that train of thought led him back to Riley’s odd door. He thought it was probably nothing, but he’d rather be safe than sorry. Moreover, reporting it to Bastien gave him something to do, other than agonizing over a crush like a dumb teenager.

He found Bastien at the manor’s small archery range, practicing. As he came into view, he loosed an arrow, which flew wildly over the target. Bastien threw his bow down to the dirt in frustration and kicked at it.

“Whoa, what’s that poor bow done to you? It’s not its fault you suck.”

Bastien wheeled around with a glare so fierce, Drake put his hands up and backtracked, “Hey, hey, you know I’m kidding! Besides, who would I be to say that? I’m the worst at archery.”

“That you are,” replied Bastien drily, turning around to pick his bow up.

“Bastien, I have to tell you something.”

The man only grunted in response, already nocking another arrow.

Someone’s cooperative.

Drake cleared his throat and moved closer, determined to make himself heard.

“Right. So last night, I was in Addam’s room–”

He cut himself off as Bastien let the arrow go, hitting the target square in the middle. He whistled, impressed.

“That was one hell of a shot. I definitely take back what I said earlier.”

A tense silence followed and somehow, although Bastien still had his back to him, he could tell he’d arched a judgmental eyebrow.

“What?” Drake said defensively. “I had a good reason to be there, okay? I’m not gonna get into it but I did...”

The silence continued until he could no longer bear it.

“Look! Whatever, okay?! Nothing happened so you can stop with the third degree!”

Bastien scoffed softly at that and finally turned to look at him, a small smile on his face.

“All right, I’ll stop. You were saying? You were in Lady Riley’s room and then what happened?”

“Nothing happened!” he exploded. Bastien looked strangely at him and Drake felt his neck grow hot. “Oh, uh, you meant what did I want to tell you,” he said in a smaller voice.

Bastien nodded.

“There was no lock on her door.”

There was another silence and then Bastien shrugged.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Drake asked, incensed at not being taken seriously.

“It means I’m sure it’s nothing.”

Drake had reached the same conclusion on his own from the start, but he was so irritated by Bastien’s nonchalance about the whole thing that he was suddenly arguing passionately; it was almost involuntary.

“How the hell do you figure? Hers was the only door without a lock, okay? Don’t you think that’s weird?!”

Bastien shrugged again and Drake resisted the urge to shove him.

“Evidently, that is not how it should be and I’ll bring it to the staff’s attention, but I’m certain it’s not important. Come to think of it, they remodeled the manor recently, they might have simply forgotten to change that door handle.”

Bastien’s reasonable tone penetrated Drake’s layers of annoyance and calmed him. But he wasn’t going down without a fight.

“I still think you should check on it.”

“Drake, you know I will,” said Bastien, picking up his bow and arrow. Once again, his shot missed by a wide margin.

Drake snorted.

“Well, then, I’ll let you get back to practice. You clearly need it.”

He narrowly avoided being whacked by the bow Bastien swung at him and, still chuckling, he strolled back to the manor. A whole Riley-free and thus, jealousy-free day stretched ahead of him and he didn’t yet know what to do with it. He felt a twinge of sadness at the prospect of not seeing her today and mentally smacked himself.

So you’re upset if your see her, upset if you don’t? Stop whining, idiot. Maybe you could find Lady Kiara and pick up where you left off...

With more of a destination in mind – even if it was a person rather than a place – he strode towards the manor. Almost at the threshold, his phone went off in his pocket. He picked it out and saw “Maxwell” on the screen. He groaned.

“Dude. I get one day to rest from you. One. D–”

“Drake! Shut up for a second!”

He was so shocked that Maxwell had told him to shut up, that he did.

“Didn’t you get my texts? I need you, it’s an emergency!”

Drake pinched his forehead. “Maxwell, if this is in any way party related–”

“It’s not! I mean, it is, but it’s important, I promise!”

“Well, spit it out!”

He heard Maxwell sigh on the other end. “The... the caterers quit on us. The whole staff, in fact.”

Drake gaped at his phone. “Shit. Is it, um, because of the money thing?”

Maxwell took a second to answer, “Yes.”

“Damn, Maxwell, I’m sorry. So how many people have you recruited?”

His question was met with more silence.

“I’m the only one, huh?”

“Yeah, I asked Tariq and a couple of other guys but...”

Maxwell sounded sick with worry and Drake felt hot anger rise in his throat.

Those fucking nobles. Won’t move a finger to help even one of their own.

Perhaps sensing what Drake’s reaction would be, Maxwell hurried to say, “It’s okay, though, don’t worry! I’m confident we’ll get this done between you, Riley and I! We’ll be unstoppable! We just need a team name and–”

“If you say secret identities I won’t go.”

“Right. I’ll see you here then? There’s a whiskey with your name on it!”

He hadn’t really needed the whiskey to convince him – his friend needed help and that was enough for him – but it was a nice bonus.

“Yeah, be there in like 2 hours.”

“Thank youuuu! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“I’m gonna hang up now.”

He did so and raced up the stairs. Halfway to his room, a realization stopped him short.

Just me, Maxwell and Addams. Shit. Goddamn it. If nobles weren’t the fucking worst I wouldn’t have to go, but I can’t leave Maxwell hanging.

He threw all his stuff into his bag and hurried to one of the Jeeps that were always available for the royal family and its inner circle.

Before backing out of the manor, he quickly texted Liam, “Heading down today. Tell Bastien”

He knew Liam would be too busy to reply any time soon, so he put his phone down and sped to House Beaumont. He blasted music all the way there, hoping to quiet his conflicting thoughts, torn between excitement and dread.

He parked outside the magnificent estate and was going to text Maxwell that he had arrived, when the doors swung open. Bertrand stood there with his arms crossed and beckoned him with a move of his head.

At your service, he thought, rolling his eyes. He slammed the door of the Jeep and sauntered over to Bertrand, taking his time once he noticed the noble tapping his foot impatiently.

“Drake,” he said curtly, making a decent attempt at hiding his irritation.

Drake had been about to answer with a short, “Bertrand,” until he noticed the dark shadows under Bertrand’s eyes. His face looked pale and drawn; it was obvious he was under a lot of stress.

Okay, okay, I’ll throw him a bone.

“Duke Ramsford,” he bowed his head. He thought he caught a glimpse of Bertrand looking pleasantly surprised before he rearranged his features into a neutral – if exhausted – expression.

“Thank you for coming. Truly. I hope we can trust you to be discreet.”

Drake’s nostrils flared.

Who does he think I am? A noble?

He answered, “Of course,” and pushed his way into the house before he lost his temper.

He went straight into the kitchen, the setting for many a drunken midnight snack with Liam and Maxwell during the latter’s legendary parties. He pushed the door open calling, “Hello? Anyone in here?”

Riley looked up from the counter, where she’d been arranging ingredients and exclaimed, “Drake!” her eyes shining.

Drake’s heart leapt to his throat.

Holy shit, she still looks happy to see me.

The fact was, after last night’s events he hadn’t been sure how she would react. Would she regret everything? Was it just a moment of temporary vulnerability?

Maxwell, meanwhile, and to no one’s surprise, was chanting, “Drake! Drake! Drake! You came!”

Warmth swelled in his chest but he played it down, “Yeah, yeah. Calm down, it’s not that big of a deal.”

“Yes, it is! We are friends!” Maxwell bounded up to him and crushed him in hug.

Cheek to cheek, Drake groaned, “You promised me whiskey.”

“Friendship whiskey!”

Maxwell finally let him go and got him a glass of whiskey, which Drake waved away for the moment.

From the counter, Riley said, “Drake, you made it!”

I wish she’d stop sounding so excited. It’s almost enough to make me think...

He raised his eyebrows, “Yeah, yeah, behold your knight in shining armor. Alright, I’m here now. What needs to be done?”

“Riley and I are plating some fancy appetizers,” explained Maxwell, gesturing to a row of neatly plated hors d’oeuvres. “Come join us...”

Avoiding Riley’s gaze, he went to stand next to Maxwell, who quickly demonstrated the steps to prepare their invention. After making a few, Drake went into autopilot. Knowing his mind would drift to places he’d rather not visit, he resorted to something he normally despised: small talk.

“So how was the jamboree yesterday?”

“So fun!” provided Maxwell.

Thank God you can always count on good ol’ Maxwell for a distraction.

Not needing much prompting at all, Maxwell had launched into a full and detailed account of his previous day.

“–so close to winning! But then Liam was called away because of the reporter, so I went with him. Still, my apple-bobbing skills are unrivaled.”

Drake whipped around to look at Maxwell. “What did you say?”

“Oh, come on, Drake, you know you could never beat me! I’m amazing at bobbing–”

“No, before that.”

“Oh, a guard came looking for Liam to tell him about the reporter who snuck in.”

“That’s impossible. No one ever sneaks in!”

“I know! It would have been more impressive if she hadn’t been caught and thrown out though...”

Drake’s mind was reeling. How had a reporter snuck in? Even more importantly, why hadn’t Bastien told him when he’d talked to him this morning? He always informed him of these things.

His thoughts were interrupted by Maxwell’s delighted, “Oooh, these are shaping up! I think we need a good name for these though. Maybe ‘Jewels of the Sea’...”

He looked at their creations lovingly.

“Why not name it the Charade of the Season?” jumped in Riley.

"Heh,” Drake couldn’t help chuckling at that.

Such a dork.

"Oh, snarky. I like it.” Maxwell nodded his approval and took their full trays to the fridge.

He dusted off his hands. “There, that should be enough to get us started. Now then, on to the main course!”

Drake raised a skeptical eyebrow, “Do you even know how to cook from scratch?”

“Well...” Maxwell stalled. His hand suddenly went to his pocket and he checked his phone. He let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh, thank heavens. Bertrand found another company to handle the main courses. Let me tell you, nobody would’ve wanted the science experiments I was about to produce.”

Drake wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead, “Dodged a bullet there.”

“What’s next on the ‘We’re in Panic Mode’ list?” asked Riley, hands on her hips.

Maxwell scratched his chin, “Hmm... I should stay here and clean the kitchen, but Bertrand might need help in the main hall. Last I saw of him, he was looking for cleaning supplies...”

“Oh boy.” Riley tried to make eye contact with Drake, presumably so they could make fun of Bertrand’s helplessness together, but he refused. In fact, this was the perfect opportunity to make sure they didn’t spend more time together than was strictly necessary.

“I’ll stay here and help Maxwell. We’ll come find you once we finish down here.”

Riley’s shoulders slumped, but she nodded and left the kitchen.

Drake and Maxwell got to work in – I can’t believe this! – silence. He couldn’t remember the last time Maxwell had been quiet for this long... not counting chewing time, and even then, not always.

He looked at his friend more closely and saw shadows under his eyes deeper even than his high-strung brother’s. His brow furrowed.

“Hey, man, you okay?”

“Of course! Why do you ask?”

“Well, for one thing, you look like shit.” Maxwell glared daggers at him. Drake shrugged and carried on, “For another, you’ve been wiping that spotless cabinet for the last 5 minutes.”

Maxwell looked down at his circling hand, only now becoming aware of it. He stopped, put the rag over his shoulder and sighed.

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. It’s funny; we really are in a tight spot money-wise, but I’m more worried about Bertrand.”

“I can see why; he looks like shit, too.”

Maxwell snapped his rag at him, barely brushing his back just enough to sting.

“Ow! You dick! What was that for?”

“Beaumonts never look like shit.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, you’re right! Us commoners look like shit; you nobles look like feces. Is that better?”

Judging by Maxwell chasing him around trying to hit him again, it wasn’t. Drake was embarrassed by how much he enjoyed just being a guy, doing stupid guy things with his friend. Of course, it took them twice as long as it should have to clean the kitchen, between fits of laughter and rag snapping battles, but they eventually got it done.

"Bertrand just texted me to go help Riley dust a few things. He says you should go to the ballroom and start setting the tables.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” grumbled Drake.

As before, the work was not distracting enough and he was dangerously close to thinking about a certain someone, wearing a certain undergarment. He didn’t think he’d ever been thankful for Bertrand’s presence before. As soon as he stepped into the ballroom, he inspected his work, nitpicked a few things here and there, and chided him for not going fast enough. It was just was Drake needed.

For the next 20 minutes, he worked diligently under Bertrand’s watchful eyes; he couldn’t have spared a moment to think about Riley if he’d wanted to.

That is, until, “It’s looking great!”

The doors opened and in stepped Riley and Maxwell. Drake felt his face muscles twitch and fought the stupid smile that seemed to accompany her into every room she entered.

Dammit, it’s like I forget how beautiful she is and then every time it hits me like sucker punch.

He busied himself with the floral arrangement he was working on when they’d arrived and distantly heard Bertrand assigning activities.

“Lady Riley, if you could assist Drake?”

No!

“Sure!” Riley said brightly and headed over to his table.

She admired his arrangement and teased, “Why, Drake, I never knew you had such flair with peonies...”

Drake shook his head “The things I do for you people...”

He thought of Maxwell’s tired face and decided to voice his concern.

Well, since we’re stuck together, I might as well ask her opinion. Plus it gives us something harmless to talk about.

He lowered his voice. “Hey... anything about any of this seem off to you?”

“Huh?”

From across the ballroom, they heard the brothers arguing.

“What I don’t get is that the money was in our account yesterday!” Bertrand was whisper-shouting.

“I... I don’t know anything about our finances, Bertrand! You know that!”

Maxwell’s eyes were glued to his feet as Bertrand continued to rail on him, “You might not know anything, but you’re still causing me problems! You’re the only other person with access to that account!”

“I...” Maxwell stammered.

“This better not be to pay off one of your idiotic credit card purchases. Last month you said you spent three thousand on a jet ski. What is it this time?”

“I told you, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Maxwell looked like he was barely holding it together.

You have to feel for the guy.

“You’re lucky I don’t have time to deal with you right now,” huffed Bertrand, then turned on his heel and left. Maxwell stood, dazed and alone for a second, before following Bertrand out.

Drake raised an eyebrow at Riley. “Well? Doesn’t it seem like something weird is going on?”

She pursed her lips. “It seemed like there’s something suspicious going on in House Beaumont.”

“Exactly.”

“I wonder what’s actually going on with their money issues...” Her lips were still pursed and her brow furrowed. He’d never seen her look so pensive.

Thank God! Something to focus on!

“I’m going to find out what it is. Besides, it sounds like Maxwell might be in over his head this time. I think he really needs my help... But knowing him, he’d never ask.”

Riley stared, confused, “I didn’t realize you and Maxwell were that close.”

“After all the time I’ve spent with him in the past weeks, I’m starting to find him less annoying,” he smiled.

“High praise,” she replied sarcastically.

“Besides, we scrubbed the kitchen cabinets together. I think I’m invested now.”

Okay, this is fine. We can have silly, meaningless conversations like this. Yes. It’s gonna be fine.

Riley chuckled, “Sure...” Her face abruptly sobered and he noticed she was wringing her hands. She licked her lips and mumbled, “Actually, Drake... there’s something else we should talk about. About last night...”

Nope. No no no, we’re not doing this. I mean, come on, she has to realize how wrong this is, right? I have to give her an out.

He chose to play dumb, “Last night?”

Riley licked her lips once again and spoke so softly, Drake had to strain to hear what she said, “What you said... about how you feel...”

“Riley,” he cut her off, using her first name so she’d know he was serious, “I don’t think we should talk about this here.”

“Then somewhere private?” She looked at him, crushing hope in her eyes.

He swallowed, shaking his head frantically, “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?” she looked so hurt, self-hatred rose up like lava inside him.

He ran a hand down his face. “The way you look at me sometimes, Addams...” His voice caught.

It’s now or never. Tell the truth for once, if only so you won’t hurt her.

“If we’re alone again together, I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop myself from doing something stupid.”

And I would never forgive myself. Liam deserves better.

“Drake...”

She moved her hand towards his on the table when, “Drake! Riley!”

She was so startled, when she put her hand down she knocked her fingers against the table.

“Eep! Er, I mean, yes?”

“Why are you two standing around chatting like ladies at an afternoon tea?” barked Bertrand. “You both said you’d help, so help!”

Drake was torn between relief at having been interrupted and wanting to bite Bertrand’s pompous head off.

What a prick.

“Right away, Duke Ramsford,” said Drake with disdain.

“Yeah. Of course.”

Okay, that’s it. I didn’t come here to be cornered by Addams or to be ordered around by Bertrand. I’m gonna find out what the hell is going on.

He waited for Bertrand to leave the room and the slinked off to where he knew the study was.

He had just started rummaging through a drawer when Riley crept in and asked, “Drake, what are you doing back here?”

He managed to refrain from jumping, but he did shut the drawer closed immediately, scared it might be one of the brothers.

He turned to her. “Addams! So, you followed me, huh?” At this point Drake felt like maybe he was literally turning into two people, as he hadn’t been able to have only one feeling at a time all day. Right now, he was pleased she had followed him and worried about the conversation that might ensue.

He gestured around the room. “This is the Beaumont study.”

“How’d you even know this was here?”

“I used to come to this house a lot, back in the day. We ran in the same circles, being friends with Liam and all that...” explained Drake.

“My sister, Savannah,” goddamn, it’s hard to talk about her, “used to think the Beaumont brothers were the epitome of courtly life. She practically worshipped them.” He rolled his eyes.

“And you didn’t,” said Riley knowingly, moving closer.

Drake allowed himself a small smile. “I found them to be more of an acquired taste.”

“You mean they both annoyed the hell out of you,” laughed Riley.

“Yup. Pretty much,” he chuckled. “Whenever I got tired of their antics, I’d sneak off and come here to their study.”

“So you were the life of the party even back then?” she elbowed him.

“Ha ha. Whenever Savannah found me here, she would try to get me to join in on the fun.” He smiled more, reminiscing about the girl his little sister had been, always eager to see the best in people, to get along with everyone; the exact opposite of him, basically. He sighed. “I don’t even know where she is now.”

“You don’t have any way of finding her?” Riley’s voice was thick with concern.

He shook his head. “She stopped answering my calls and deleted all of her social media. Wherever she is... all I know is that she doesn’t want to be found. Even by me. And you know what?”

He swallowed against the knot in his throat and spoke what he knew to be true, “I don’t blame her. I failed her. I don’t even know how, but I know that I failed her. I didn’t protect her from... from whatever it was that made her leave.”

He gripped the back of a chair until his knuckles were white, willing himself to get it together. He felt a hand rubbing soothing circles on his back. He didn’t think it would make him feel as much better as it did.

Riley murmured, “Drake, maybe she just needs to deal with this on her own.”

“Maybe. But she’s my little sister...” His voice cracked, “I helped her learn how to tie her shoes. It kills me to think there’s something she didn’t think she could trust me with.”

“Do you have any idea what it was about?”

Again, he shook his head.

There’s so much I don’t know.

“She was so happy... and then one day, after one of these Beaumont parties, she wasn’t. She locked herself in her room, and I could hear her crying. A couple days later, all of her things were packed, and she was just... gone.” His eyes felt dangerously wet, so he decided that was plenty of soul-baring for today. “But... that’s enough about that...”

He unclenched his hands and straightened up. Riley dropped her hand. There was an uncomfortable silence. The first time he hadn’t enjoyed a quiet moment with her. There was too much unspoken on his side; trying to make small talk with her would be like swimming through molasses.

Luckily, Riley didn’t seem to feel that way. “So, this is the Beaumont study...” She looked around. “I expected more party hats. I mean, Maxwell lives here, so I figured...” she trailed off.

Drake knew his best bet was to follow this innocent lane of conversation. “It is more on the serious side, isn’t it? I don’t think they changed it after their father passed away. The former Duke Ramsford made it a point to decorate it with the family’s accomplishments.”

He pointed at the walls, covered as they were in first place ribbons and photos of beaming teams holding trophies; and the shelves, which could not have borne the weight of another trophy or medal.

“As you can see, the Beaumont family has a lot to brag about.” He nodded to a prominent picture of Maxwell and Bertrand on horseback.

“I guess Bertrand and Maxwell had a habit of winning.”

“A family tradition.”

Riley grimaced, “I can see why Bertrand is always so worried about upholding the Beaumont name.”

“Their house goes back a long way. I could never pity a rich kid like Bertrand, but I come very close to it sometimes,” Drake agreed. “He’s got a lot of pressure on him. I think his parents gave him a lot of talks about his heritage and Cordonia... And it’s not like Maxwell’s much help with anything.”

“Maxwell tries,” Riley defended him. “Sometimes.”

“Heh. Maxwell’s always been more interested in having fun. He couldn’t care less about prestige and honor. That’s one of the things I like about him, actually.” He smiled at that and forgot about his resolve to avoid eye contact.

Once he made that fatal mistake, he couldn’t tear his eyes from her.

Oh God, I missed the fucking sight of her! I’ve reached peak pathetic.

He was so busy berating himself, he hadn’t registered that her gaze was lingering just as much. When he did, he found it was more than he could bear and he looked down.

She stretched out her hand and touched his arm. He kept his eyes fixed on the hardwood floor.

“Drake, we need to talk about ‘us,’” she said, nervous but firm.

Still staring down, Drake answered in monotone, “There is no ‘us.’”

It felt like someone was squeezing his heart. He knew that, but saying it out loud somehow made it more real... and final.

“I don’t think you mean that,” she near-whispered.

Drake finally looked at her and steeled himself to say everything that had been churning in his head for months. All his guilt, his resentment, his jealousy, his love, all of it.

“The truth is that my best friend is head over heels for you. So it doesn’t really matter how I feel. Because that’s where it has to end. Liam is the only one who’s ever looked out for me. The only one who gave a damn about me after my dad... After he was gone,” his voice trembled embarrassingly.

He took a deep breath and held on to his anger instead, “The rest of the court was ready to cast us out, never mind that he died protecting the royal family.”

Riley’s hand was still on his arm. When he paused she caressed him soothingly, “Drake... I’m sorry. That’s terrible.”

“I didn’t care much,” he shrugged, “but my mom and Savannah... it would’ve devastated them. Liam made sure we had a place at the palace as long as we wanted one. I could never betray him by falling for his girl.”

A little late for that. But I could never do something about it.

“So that’s what it all comes down to, Addams.” He moved away from her and her warm touch. “Whatever I feel... it doesn’t matter.”

The corners of his mouth pulled down and he rubbed his hand against it, hoping to at least get through this with his dignity.

Riley stepped close to him once more.

Damn, she’s stubborn.

“Drake, what about how I feel?”

Drake inhaled so sharply it was almost a gasp.

How she–? Can she mean–?

He couldn’t form coherent thoughts so he wasn’t sure why he decided speaking would be any better. “How you feel... of course I care how you feel. I just didn’t think... I mean... what are you saying, Addams?”

She looked him straight in the eyes and with merely hint of her previous nervousness, said, “I’m saying, I want you.”

Drake’s heart had already been beating faster than usual, but at those words it positively hammered in his chest.

What the fuck do I do? How do I resist that?

He balled his fists and clamped his jaw, trying to force himself to become ice.

“Oh, Addams...” he groaned through his clenched jaw, “you shouldn’t have said that.”

Her eyes were so intense that his jaw went slack. His fists still closed, he took in a ragged breath; every fiber of his being in contradiction between not moving a muscle, or closing the short distance between them now.

“Drake...”

As it turned out, his internal battle was useless; he’d forgotten to take one very important thing into account: Riley did whatever she wanted. Before he could so much as take a breath, she was standing closer than she’d ever been.

And then she was even closer, impossibly so. He could have counted her eyelashes. It took him an instant to understand she was standing on her tiptoes. Then she pressed her lips to his softly and he knew he was lost.

He was too startled to kiss her back, so she withdrew and searched his face, obviously worried that he hadn’t wanted to kiss her. Looking back, Drake would find that absolutely hilarious.

He raised his hand – his fists seemed to have loosened of their own accord – and traced her jawline with his thumb.

He uttered the only word he could possibly think of, “Addams...”

“Yes?” she smiled up at him and the tiny part of his defense that was still up, crumbled then and there.

He let himself want her the way his whole being had been urging him to since practically the day they met.

“I’ve wanted this for so long...” He could barely get the words out through the surge of desire that rushed through him.

She was still standing close, but now that she’d kissed him, he didn’t think anything would be close enough. He pulled her to him tightly and kissed her hungrily, blessedly not thinking for the first time in months.

Her mouth opened and then her tongue was on his and he was so far gone. His hands roamed her back before settling on her hips, which he gripped hard. She’d been running her hands through his hair but now she moved them to his chest. She grabbed and bunched up the fabric of his shirt, trying to get him closer than physics would allow.

Drake broke the kiss, feeling like he had to come up for air. He was breathing as heavily as if he’d just run a marathon.

Riley touched his cheek tenderly. “Drake...”

He had never loved his name more than when he heard it coming out of her swollen lips. Swollen from kissing him.

He leaned down, his lips brushing her ear – he noted with pleasure that she shivered – and whispered, “I didn’t think this would ever be more than a fantasy...”

She looked up again and their lips were almost brushing. With a smile, she asked, “Are you saying that you’ve thought about this before?”

If it hadn’t been for fear of ruining the moment, Drake would have laughed, “More than I’d like to admit.”

He kissed her again, only by now, his thoughts had had time to catch up to him.

This is the last time you ever do this, asshole, so make it count.

He kissed her with the desperate certainty that comes with wanting something you definitely cannot and should not have. He gripped the back of her head tightly, crashing their mouths together. Then he pulled back and held her at arm’s length.

Her eyebrows knitted together. “What’s wrong?”

Where do I start?

“Someone could come in here... One of them might come looking for us... We shouldn’t just...”

It was clear his thoughts hadn’t completely come back to him.

He shook his head. “Even without a drop of whiskey, why do I feel drunk when I’m around you, Addams?”

The kind of drunk you get addicted to. You are fucking intoxicating.

A slow smile spread on her face and there was so much affection in her eyes as she said, “Drake...” and started stepping forward again.

Drake stopped her and then dropped his arms. “Don’t smile at me like that. I don’t deserve it. We shouldn’t be doing this. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

He rubbed his face roughly, as if that could wipe out what he’d done. His mind, in the meantime, was chanting, You’re a piece of shit, you’re a piece of shit, over and over again.

Riley chewed on her cheek, her eyes downcast. “Should we leave?”

He stared at her, only this time she was the one who would not meet his eye.

Can you blame her? You blew her off seconds after betraying your best friend. Why wouldn’t she want to leave?

Fuck. I have to tell Liam.

Perhaps wanting to delay that moment, he remembered the reason why he’d originally come into the study. “Soon... but we came in here with a mission, didn’t we?”

She raised her eyes, still avoiding his and gave a hesitant smile. “Something about searching for clues to the Beaumont mystery, I think?”

“Right.”

She turned to the drawers Drake had been inspecting when she’d arrived, while Drake searched through the papers on a smaller desk. He felt it before he saw it: a thick envelope.

“Whoa!” he let out once he’d thumbed through the contents.

“What is it?”

“If I’m not mistaken, this is a fat envelope full of cash!”

He showed it to Riley, whose eyes widened as she saw the stack of bills inside it.

“That’s... that’s what that is, all right. But why is it just here in the study?”

Drake turned it over. “There’s an address on the back... a French address! It looks like someone was going to mail this today.”

She grabbed his arm with urgency. He tried to suppress his body’s ridiculous reactions to her touch. “Drake... This has got to be the missing money that Bertrand was talking about! We’ve got to take it to Maxwell.”

He turned to her, surprised. “Really? You want to trust Maxwell Beaumont with an envelope of cash?”

“Let’s just say I trust him more than I trust Bertrand right now. I’ll text him to meet us here.”

It only took Maxwell a few seconds to burst into the room; he must have been nearby. His face was full of unease.

“What’s up? Your text sounded serious.”

“This is serious,” Riley said. “Drake and I were in here, and we found this envelope full of cash!”

Maxwell’s mouth fell open. “Oh, uh, wow! That... that must be the money that Bertrand was looking for. Thank you. You guys saved my life. Bertrand was ready to kill me over this.”

“No problem.”

Riley shoved the envelope into Maxwell’s hands, which were trembling.

“I think it’s too late to get the staff back, but at least we found it!” His voice sounded more high-pitched than usual.

Riley frowned. “But... how do you think the money ended up here?”

Maxwell gave an elaborate shrug. “Oh, you know, it’s been so crazy lately... Bertrand probably put it here to give to the staff and then forgot about it or something.”

Bullshit. What the hell.

“I don’t think that Bertrand would forget something like that...” He narrowed his eyes at Maxwell who was studiously ignoring his stare.

“Yeah, I’ll have to talk to him about it.”

Drake reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.

“You know, you can always tell us if you’re in some kind of trouble.”

“Oh, no more than usual.” He started backing out of the room. “Anyway, thanks for finding it! I owe you guys! But now we better get back to work before Bertrand realizes we’ve stopped cleaning!”

He pocketed the envelope and hurried out of the room.

Drake immediately turned to Riley- “Something is off. You getting that feeling too?”

She had that thoughtful look on her face again, the one that made him want to kiss her.

Well, to be fair, that’s just her face in general.

“Yeah... It seems like Maxwell might be hiding something.”

“And I want to know what it is.”

“Maybe we’ll find more clues while we’re prepping the house?”

“We’ll see. Keep an eye out, but try not to be obvious about it.” He was already going to the door as he said this. He couldn’t be alone with her again.

He heard a faint, “Right,” as he left.

He found Bertrand polishing the banisters. He assigned Drake to one of dining room’s – never mind that they wouldn’t be using it tomorrow. He was glad for the distraction anyway. For the next couple of hours, all he was focused on was getting everything to look immaculate.

He was occasionally interrupted by thoughts of Liam; how he would react when he told him what he did tomorrow, whether it was their end of their friendship...

Every time that happened he threw himself into the work even more vehemently so that by the time he was done, the two rooms he’d tackled looked new.

He thought he’d earned himself a rest – though in his current state it was unlikely to be restful – so he headed to his room.

He’d only just begun his downward spiral with despairing thoughts about himself and his loyalty as he walked down the hallway, when he heard two male voices in Maxwell’s room.

He stopped, trying to decide if the second voice belonged to whom he thought it did. He knocked and opened the door to find Liam talking to Maxwell.

“Liam? What the–?”

“Drake! I got your text, I’m sorry I forgot to respond to it.”

Drake waved his apology off. “S’okay. What are you doing here?” Before Liam could answer, he continued, “Actually, can I speak to you in private?”

“Of course. I was just arranging for Maxwell’s help, but I believe we’re all set?”

“Yep! I will be your waiter for this evening, Your Majesty.” Maxwell gave Liam a sweeping bow.

“Wait, what? Waiter? What do you mean?” Drake looked from one man to the other, totally nonplussed.

Liam gave him a radiant smile and explained, “Oh, Maxwell is being kind enough to help me on my date with Riley tonight. He’ll be our waiter.”

“On your... date?” Drake choked.

“Yes. I realized we’d skipped that part of courting, so I came here early to ask her and she said yes!” Liam’s smile was only getting bigger.

“You already asked her and everything. Cool. Very cool, so fun! Well, I’m gonna go to my room now.”

Liam tilted his head. “Didn’t you want to talk about something Drake?”

“Right. Er, no, not anymore. As it turns out, it’s not as important as I thought it was.”

He hastened off to his room and slammed the door. He threw himself down on his bed.

You coward.

I’m not a coward!

Yeah, right. You know you should have told Liam.

What for?! He’d only be hurt and it’s not worth it! It’s clear Addams is choosing him anyway; why else would she be going on dates? Maybe she was bored and she didn’t think she’d be seeing Liam until tomorrow. Whatever it was, let’s face it: it was only a kiss to her. I’m not going to ruin my friendship with Liam and their relationship just ‘cause it meant more to me.

Fuck this.

#trr #the royal romance #drake walker #drake x mc #prince liam #maxwell beaumont #hana lee #playchoices #choices #pb #pixelberry #fanfic #ch 15 #the marshmallow chronicles #long post

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