#but twin size mattress is so clear in my head that its definitely my next one

[poughkeepsies]

girl i'm awaiting that twin size mattress edit with bated breath and great anticipation just letting you know no pressure though 💞

let's kiss while my premier pro loads

[cafedanslanuit]

↪ commissioned work! for more info about my commissions, check my blog ♡

summary: it’s been a while since you arrived at devildom and made yourself feel at home, but asmodeus still can’t figure out why you always looks really tired. a late night visit gives him the opportunity to solve the mystery once and for all.

pairing: asmodeus x reader

warnings: none <3

words: 2k

Asmodeus sat in front of his giant boudoir and let out a long sigh. He stretched his arms to the ceiling, feeling tension release with a few cracking sounds from his back. He grabbed one of his makeup remover tissues and started softly wiping the makeup off his face. His mascara faded a little under his eyes as he did so, making it appear like he had bags under his eyes.

He couldn’t help but think about you.

At first, he had thought they were hereditary. Your eye bags were the first thing he noticed about your face. Your face structure was beautiful and your eyes gleamed whenever you laughed, yet the thing that first struck him was how tired you looked. His hypothesis of it being hereditary crumbled down when he noticed you falling asleep during classes, almost matching Belphie in how many times Lucifer had had to loudly clear his throat to make you wake up with a youepish smile.

Once his face was clear of makeup, Asmodeus threw the tissue away. He grabbed his bottle of tonic and put some on a cotton pad, softly patting his skin. Knowing you were into the same videogames Levi was, he figured you may have been spending too much time after hours playing them. 

His second theory was disproved when weeks later, after sharing a table with the third oldest and you, he overheard Levi complaining about how you didn’t have time for him anymore and warned you you would lose your ranking in the game if you kept missing your daily missions. You excused herself and blamed it on the amount of French homework you had. Asmodeus stayed silent, even if you were taking the same class he was and he knew for a fact there hadn’t been any homework for weeks. He still wasn’t as close to you as he was now, so he decided to indulge you a little and keep your dirty little secret.

That was how his curiosity started. Even if he wouldn’t tell anybody, he had to know what were you hiding. What was that you desired that was enough for you to lose sleep.

Asmodeus set the toner aside and grabbed his vitamin C serum. He poured a few drops on his palm, rubbing his fingers together before applying it to his skin.

He started to spend more time with you in order to discover what was going on. Even if that was his plan from the start, he ended up befriending you and enjoying the times they got to be together. Not realizing he was actually following you, you had started feeling more at ease with him, and shared stories about your life back on Earth. You had apparently been a very diligent person and were in charge of a lot of activities in the different groups you were a part of. One day, while having some ice cream after a long day of class, you confessed to him you had two younger siblings, a pair of twins that were four years old and the apple of your eyes. It suddenly made sense how motherly you were to the demon twins, always making sure there was enough food for Beelzebub and sharing your lap when Belphie was sleepy and wanted to take a nap while you were reading in the living room. He learnt you were very mature, always providing Satan with advice to manage his temper and had even shared conversations with Lucifer, helping him with time management.

Asmodeus days with you were filled with laughter, tea, ice cream and, of course, your tired eyes that remained a mystery. He took his eye cream and started applying it, pursing his lips in frustration as he hadn’t found out the reason behind your tiredness. He was about to open his moisturizer cream when he heard soft knocks on his door. He walked to the door and opened it to reveal you wearing your pajamas with a shy smile on your face.

“Hey Asmo,” you greeted. He smiled back at you.

“Hey beautiful, what’s up?”

“Uh, I remembered you mentioned you had lavender candles? I was wondering if you could lend me one,” you said, putting your arms on your back and softly swaying your body.

“Sure, sure,” Asmo said, letting you inside his bedroom as he walked to the shelf filled with different candles. “I never knew you were into candles as well”

“Oh, I heard they were relaxing so I wanted to try it out,” you shrugged, sitting on the edge on Asmo’s bed. You bounced a little, giggling at how soft it was.

“Having trouble falling asleep?” he asked, trying to sound as casual as he could. His eyes were still occupied looking for that candle, so even though he missed your expression, the silence after his question let him know you were preparing a lie.

“A little? It’s okay, though, I just promised Mammon I would try and jog with him tomorrow so I wanted to be able to rest before that,” you said, a soft chuckle escaping your lips. “It’s okay if you don’t have the candle, though, just thought it would be nice.”

Asmodeus finally found the lavender candle and turned on his heel. He walked to the bed and sat beside you, holding the item in his hands.

“Are you sure?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.

“Yeah,” you smiled, your eyes not meeting him.

“You know I can sense when people really want something, right?” he asked in a teasing tone. “I feel you really desire something right now. And my gut tells me it’s not my lavender candle.”

Asmodeus noticed you tensing up for a couple of seconds before letting go with a long sigh. You passed your hand through your hair and finally looked back at him, your smile no longer bright but rather sad, as if you had finally been found out after doing a prank.

“I haven’t been sleeping well recently, to be honest,” you admitted. “I’ve tried almost everything and nothing seems to work. Seems nothing can replace it-- I mean,” you quickly corrected yourself, your face burning. “Nothing can help me with it. The falling asleep part,” you clarified, your eyes again on the floor.

“I heard you!” Asmodeus teased you, scooting closer. “C’mon, I won’t judge you. You know me,” he said, a friendly smile on his face. You turned your head at him and sighed once more.

“I… I always slept with a teddy bear a friend won for me at a fair. And… when I came here I realized it was really pivotal in helping me sleep,” you said, your words too fast and low, but good enough for Asmodeus to listen. “But I’m okay! It’s just my head messing up with me. It may be the bed, I can ask Lucifer if I can somehow change the mattress and--”

“I know what could help,” Asmodeus interrupted you, a knowing grin on his face. He quickly got up the bed and walked back to his boudoir, taking his softest brush and then kneeling on his bed behind you.

With care, he passed the brush across your hair, earning a pleased sigh from your lips. Contently, he did it again, taking his time to detangle your hair as soft as he could. His brush made your hair shine and turn soft in a matter of minutes, but he kept brushing it for quite longer. You were quiet, and he noticed how you were nodding off at his ministrations, too focused on relaxing under his touch. He then let the brush on the bed and started massaging your scalp with his fingertips, loving the way your head seemed to lean into his hand, your shoulders way more relaxed than they were when you first got into his bedroom.

“This is so relaxing,” you mumbled in a haze. Asmodeus smiled behind you, feeling accomplished.

“And I’m not done yet,” he announced with a giggle. He put the brush back in his place and then took his items from his nightly skincare routine. Sitting next to you again, he grabbed a cotton pad and poured some of his cleanser. Even if you weren’t wearing any makeup, he wanted to make sure your skin was as fresh as possible. You chuckled as he took his time taking care of your skin, letting him use all the creams and oils he had brought to the bed. You weren’t sure what most of them were for, but you did notice the difference when he was finally done. Your skin felt clean and so soft you kept running your fingers across your cheek to feel it.

As a response, Asmodeus took your hand and started massaging it with some moisturizer.

“Don’t touch your skin so much or you’ll get it oily again,” he teased, massaging  the pulse point between your index and thumb. You hadn’t noticed your hands had been to tense before.

“You are the best, Asmo,” you breathed out with a content smile. He winked at you, earning a chuckle.

It was almost half an hour later when Asmodeus finished pampering you with his different creams. For the first time since you had arrived at Devildom, your eyes were getting tired with every minute that went by. You finally let out a yawn and stretched your arms in front of your chest.

“Thank you, this was what I needed. I feel so relaxed I don’t want to walk back to my room,” you pouted. Asmodeus was putting back everything to its place when he listened to you, and an idea struck his mind.

“You can stay here. This isn’t a queen size bed for nothing,” he offered. You looked back at him and he loved the way your cheeks were noticeable red. Even if what you were thinking wasn’t an idea he would be opposed to, he wanted you to know it wasn’t his goal for the night.

“What? Really?”

“Definitely. C’mon, it’ll be like a sleepover,” he said. You stayed in silence for a moment, considering your options, the demon staring back at you with a small smile.

“Okay, I’ll stay tonight,” you accepted. Grinning, Asmodeus turned off the lights. His night lamp was on, giving his room a cosy ambience. 

Both of you got under the sheets, a small distance between you. You sighed happily against Asmodeus’ soft pillow.

“Thank you for not laughing at me,” you whispered, your eyes closed.

“I would never,” he replied, turning to face you. “If you need to snuggle anything, I smell good and love late night cuddling,” he added, your eyes opening wide immediately.

“Don’t make fun of me!” you pouted, covering your face with your hands.

“I’m not!” he assured you. “I mean it. We both smell like fancy cream and our skin is as soft as it can be. If you were used to hugging your teddy bear back home, I have nothing against you snuggling up to me. It would definitely help me sleep better too,” he said. You peaked between your fingers and saw Asmodeus’ honest smile. You took a deep breath and uncovered your face. Looking at his eyes, you nodded and got closer to him.

What started as a shy hand on top of his chest turned into a full-body hug once you fell asleep. He knew you needed your rest but was still surprised it had happened so fast. You must have been really tired. With his free hand, he put a rebel strand of hair away from your face, not wanting anything to disturb your sleep.

You were strikingly beautiful. He had always thought you were, but somehow seeing you in your most vulnerable state, your arms and legs wrapped around his body made him see you in a tender light he hadn’t noticed before.

Asmodeus grazed his lips against your forehead and whispered an almost inaudible good night wish. The smile you had painted on his face lasted until the very last second before he fell asleep as well.

[ddaengyoonmin]

Pairing: Yoongi x Reader

Genre: Smut, Angst, Fluff, Sci-fi !au; Enemies to lovers!au

Warning: possibly triggering for claustrophobia; swearing, family problems, handjob, fingering, unprotected sex, light biting, hickeys, dirty talk.

A/N: oh my gosh so this was so fun to write. Like just imagine being trapped in such a small space with such a fine man 😩 there’s a lot of dialogue because there isn’t much in the way of scenery but I tried my best to let the reader get a visual on the setting 💜 hope you guys like it! Let me know if you do!!!

Word count: 5.3k

Summary:

Life on this fickle planet a constant fight to survive. Temperatures that fluctuate from freezing to burning up in a single day.  Lifeforms on this planet are built to adjust to the boiling heat but when night comes...and the icy wind blows through the buildings, if you aren’t indoors you’re a goner.   So when your family kicks you out right before nightfall, they had basically left you for dead.  Frantically you run around the streets to get into one of the small heating pods that the city leaves out for emergencies, but with the rate of homelessness going up in your town, just as you feared they were all taken.  At the last second as the nightly alarm sounded telling everyone temperatures were about to hit deadly you see an empty pod! At full speed you jump inside and shut the door, unfortunately some rude man jumped in at the same time as you. You both are equally as annoyed with the other for having to share such an already cramped space.  Now you have to spend an entire night alone with this stranger while you wait for the heat to come again.  He's actually pretty cute...maybe this won't be so bad?

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The heavy metal door to your home was literally just slammed in your face. 

“You never carry your weight anymore y/n.  You don’t help with rent, and you never cook.  You might as well be homeless” your brother was shouting at you as you were getting thrown out of your home. 

Your whole body felt numb and your fists were clenched so tightly you felt that you might break your knuckles. 

“I’ll die out here!” you screamed. 

“You’ll find a pod with the other homeless people y/n” you could see through the small round glass window that was eye level on the door that your brother was rolling his eyes.

“And if I don’t I’ll die! You realize that right? How could you do that to your own sister?” you huffed. 

“Should’ve thought of that before you became a deadbeat” he glared, and then slid the metal cover to the window so that you couldn’t see him anymore. 

You couldn’t believe this was happening.  Here on Mercury, every night it gets so cold that you’d literally turn into an ice statues within seconds of the cold hitting.  It seemed to come almost on schedule, shifting slightly with the seasons but the town hall always sounded out a 5 minute warning every night. 

The cold could literally be seen creeping up over the horizon line and into the city as soon as the sun set.  A giant foggy blizzard that would wipe out anything in its path. 

You’d encountered some of the unfortunate victims of the cold many times in your life.  By the time you’d see them they’d been thawed and it was always a gruesome sight. 

Your mother would point and say “That’s why you never go out at night.  No matter what.  The cold will eat you alive, it’s like a monster” 

You shivered just at the thought. 

The city provided a limited number of emergency pods for those who might somehow find themselves on the streets at night.  You’d heard they were becoming scarce compared to the population of homeless that needed them to survive the night. 

The pods were a hard metal with insulation and heating inside that could withstand the freezing night.  They were extremely small and laid down with a twin bed size mattress inside, that fit snugly without any more space than that.  In height if you were laying down you couldn’t even extend your hands fully up to the sky.  It seemed like you’d feel pretty claustrophobic inside of it, but it was your only option. 

The sun was almost set and you were in survival mode now. You ran from where your former home is and started to search the streets for an open pod.  

If it was unclaimed the hatch would be up in the air and a green light would be shining on the outside. 

Closed, red light, next one...closed and red light...and so on down the road. 

“Shit.” You cursed under your breath.  This is not good. 

You try to go down another street and check, all full just like before. 

The five minute warning alarm started to ring loudly, startling you and making you realize your situation was becoming more and more hopeless.  You were too panicked to even cry.  

Then, like a glowing holy grail that you could practically see a heavenly shimmering light shining down on, (maybe it was just a street light…) You saw an open pod.  Hatch Open.  Green light. 

You ran at full speed towards it, jumping and sliding in like a baseball player sliding into home plate. 

Instantly as you had performed that acrobatic maneuver another person seemed to have the same idea and had slid in right along side of you, shutting the door behind him. 

His chest was heaving and he seemed to be in a sweat.  

“Fuck that was close, wait-” he suddenly realized now that you were in there with him. “Shit.  Oh my god what are you doing in here?” his eyes widened with confusion. 

“I should ask you the same thing?” you yelled annoyed.  “I was here first! Go get your own, I can barely be comfortable here alone” 

Just as you said that the automatic locks on the pod clicked shut, meaning that it was time for the deadly blizzard to hit, and you wouldn’t be allowed to leave the pod until morning. 

“God. Damnit” you groaned. 

Frost started to creep over the large clear window that the two of you were staring up with and freezing over and making you blind to the outside world, with a crackling sound that made you nauseous with worry.  This was your first time in a pod, and in your home you’d never heard the popping and snapping of everything in the town freezing over in an instant.  You had to remind yourself that you were safe in this pod. 

There was no room to sit up, only enough room to maybe lift your arms up a bit with your elbows only slightly lifted from your sides. It was so cramped and you could feel the man next to you now pressed against your side. 

“You have like at least  six inches of room you could move over to, you know.” you turned your head and glared at him. 

He simply just scoffed and shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest stubbornly and bumping his elbow against you as he did. 

“Oh my god.  I’m stuck here with an asshole” you muttered to yourself. 

“Maybe don’t call the asshole an asshole out loud. He can hear you” he narrowed his eyes at you. 

“I meant for you to hear.” 

There was silence for the next ten minutes.  You knew you weren’t going to be sleeping tonight, this guy could be a total creep, so you couldn’t risk it. 

He on the other hand was relaxing with his eyes closed.  You looked him over for a bit trying to figure out a little bit about the stranger next to you, He seemed about your age, he was actually quite attractive, though him being a rude asshole kind of ruined that thought for you.  His hair was jet black, and actually seemed to be styled well considering the running he probably had to do to get to the pod.  His clothes were nice, black jeans and a clean expensive looking royal blue hoodie, with a black t-shirt peeking out from underneath it.  So he probably wasn’t homeless you deduced from these observations. 

How did he end up out here at night? Wrong place wrong time? Kicked out of home like you were? That would be a crazy coincidence.  

Out of nowhere his leg spread out to the side and his foot kicked your foot. 

“Watch it!” you snapped. 

“Deal with it” he said in a high pitched mocking tone. 

“I’m sorry are you six years old?” you replied appalled at his immaturity. 

He opened his eyes and sent an annoyed look your way. 

“Look, we can’t do anything about this situation, but the least you could do is be considerate.”  You scolded

“When are you gonna stop talking and let me get some sleep” he groaned and proceeded to stretch out even more, starting to push you into the wall of the pod, squishing you tightly against it. 

You gasped and tried to push back but to no avail, he was stronger than you and obviously lacked any sort of common courtesy for others. 

It was now more of a 75/25 split of space in the pod with him hogging all of the space.  You realized that you’d have to stoop to his level if you wanted to regain some ground here in the pod.

He was playing childish games, so could you.  Though you did debate for a second on whether this could pan out badly, you decided...fuck it. 

You reached a hand up towards his neck, the only spot on him currently showing skin, and you pinched him hard. 

“OW. What the fuck.” His hand shot up to his neck, accidentally hitting his knuckles hard on the ceiling of the pod as he did. 

“Move over” you demanded. 

“Or you’ll pinch me again? You psycho!” he stared at you in shock as if he wasn’t the one who started it.  His face was growing red with rage directed at you and he pinched you back on the arm, making you yelp loudly. 

“How do you like it huh?” 

“What the actual hell man.  Just move over and give me equal space so we can cut this out.”

He sighed and reluctantly moved over just slightly, definitely not giving you half the space, but you were going to take this small victory for now. 

It was about another thirty minutes before you spoke again.  He seemed to be feeling quite comfortable, while you on the other hand were still pressed tightly against the padded side of the pod.  You could turn on your side to give your upper body more room, but usually if you slept on your side you’d curl your legs up slightly to be comfortable, and that was definitely not possible right now. 

“Hey.” you poked him in the shoulder. 

His eyes flickered open to glance at you, then shut again. 

“Hello?” you tried again, poking him harder. 

He ignored you, but he was obviously awake and it now had got you fuming. 

“You still have all the room” you growled. 

He stayed still on his back, his eyes closed and his face relaxed, a small smirk now forming on his lips. “Hmm. Maybe you could lay on top of me and that could give us a little more room” 

That earned him a hard smack to the shoulder, and he was lucky he was wearing a sweatshirt cuz it would’ve probably stung if he wasn’t. 

“Pervert!” you gasped at him. 

“Not a pervert, just trying to be...innovative” he grinned widely. 

You shake your head in disbelief at this odd person. 

“You are probably the rudest man I’ve ever met in my life” you grumbled. 

“Ah, Is my award in the mail?” he joked, finally opening his eyes and staring at you with a teasing look. 

You took a deep breath in and out a few times, trying to calm yourself down so you don’t completely try to choke out this man. Just about 8 more hours and you’ll be rid of him, you tried to tell yourself, as if that wasn’t an eternity to be trapped in such a tight enclosure with this piece of work. 

“Having trouble breathing? You’re being loud” he complained. 

“Just trying convince myself I’d rather not go to jail for murder tonight.” you hissed out at him. 

He chuckled at that, of course he did.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t.  But there are some that might thank you”

“Why does that not surprise me” 

The two of you sat in silence again for a while, until he actually scooted himself away from you a few more inches. 

“THANK YOU” you practically screamed. 

“Geeze, you’re annoying” he reached his hands up holding his ears, wincing as if you’d deafened him. 

Your eyes were narrow slits staring at him now. 

A few more minutes of silence.

“I can’t seem to sleep with you right there all obnoxious and whatnot, so...for the sake of boredom.  What’s your name sweetheart?” He turned over onto his side facing you, his shoulder only a few inches from the ceiling of the pod. 

“Well its most certainly not sweetheart so wipe that one from your vocabulary immediately please” you snapped. 

His eyes crinkled with amusement. “Ah It seems I’ve hit a nerve there.” 

“Not really, it’s just stupid to asume that you can talk to a girl so flirtatiously when you’ve been nothing but a jerk so far.”  

“So what can I call you?” 

“Y/n…” you gave it up, though you didn’t quite want to.  You crossed your arms over your chest and stared straight up to the bland grey nothingness on the ceiling of the pod. 

“Aren’t you going to ask for my name?” he said cutely, but in a way that you knew he was just trying to get under your skin. 

You’d been here with him for about an hour, and he was already up there on one of the most annoying people you’d ever encountered.  Maybe you were extra sensitive because of the whole family leaving you for dead thing, but that’s not the worst excuse to be on edge is it? And he was the one who was rude first, you were simply returning the attitude he had entered the pod with. 

You didn’t quite feel like trying to play nice all of the sudden just because he had gotten bored.

“I’m Yoongi” he said pointing at himself, as if you needed to know where the voice that was mere inches away from you had come from. 

“Didn’t ask” 

“I know I just figured I knew yours now, so we’re even”

“Kay.” you continued avoiding looking his way. 

“Aw c’mon.  I was just upset to have to share the pod.  I’ve calmed down I’ll be good” he spoke in a sickenly sweet tone as if that could persuade you to forget how much of a dick he had been. 

“y/n-ah” he whined cutely. 

“Oh my god, I regret telling my name” you groaned finally turning to look at him. “What do you want?” 

“I’m just bored, I’m usually in a pod by myself and just sleep, but I can’t seem to sleep...and you’re here so…” He shrugged. 

You sighed. “So uh...you sleep in pods often?” maybe you had misjudged him by his nice clothes. 

“For the past month or so I have been” his eyes widened and he felt he needed to add, “I have a home though! I’m not one of those homeless deadbeats.  My new job is just too far to get home to usually, so on the days I work late I have to hop in one of these” 

You were silent for a moment before speaking, “Oh.  Well, I am one of those homeless ‘deadbeats’ so that's great to hear your thoughts on that” you frowned.  Slightly embarrassed now, not that you wanted to impress him or anything, but the idea that this was your new reality and this was how you’d be thought of was sinking in hard as he spoke those words. 

“Shit, uh-” he thought for a moment, trying to come up with a was to back pedal from what he’d said. - “I didn’t mean it like that.  I didn’t think...You just don’t seem like…” he stuttered out. 

“Its fine.  It's actually my first day of this lifestyle.” you motioned to the entirety of the pod as best you could. 

Yoongi pursed his lips and seemed to have gotten more serious, “Oh, Can I ask what happened?” 

You honestly didn’t really want to talk about it with him, but you did want to vent to someone about it, and he was here so, as was becoming the theme for the night...fuck it. 

“I lost my job about a year ago and moved back home with my parents and brother.  My brother is a doctor and the apple of my parent’s eye.  They’d said they would help me get back on my feet.  But, uh.  I just couldn’t seem to get there.  It’s not that I’m lazy” you frowned, Yoongi was surprisingly listening intently and nodding as you spoke.   “Well, maybe I could’ve done a bit more to find work.  I just struggled a lot with getting my shit together.  So I guess they decided they’d had enough.  So here I am” 

Yoongi’s eyes were wide in disbelief “They just left their own child to the night?” 

“Not everyones got a perfect family” you shrugged acting like it was no big deal.  When the reality was you were trying your best to hold back tears and not cry in front of this stranger you were confiding in for some reason. 

“Yeah, I feel that.  I didn’t mean to sound judgemental.” he said apologetically.  “And sorry I was being a dick to you.  I don’t do well with new people, and I’ve had a shit day...not as bad as yours though, so...sorry if I made it worse,” 

You were taken aback by his out of character apology.  He now drastically seemed to differ from the man who first hopped into the pod with you. 

“Its..okay.  I won’t hold it against you I guess” you smiled a bit and turned on your side to face him.  He had to maneuver a bit so that you both could lay comfortably face to face, this time he didn’t make it a hassle which was a relief to you. 

The two of you ended up chatting for the next couple hours.  You learned that Yoongi worked at a large factory that did welding, and helped make the pods, and metal that went on the outside of the houses in the city.  He was an only child to parents that lived in another town that was a lot poorer, and he had moved here by himself which was quite the difficult task due to having only about 12 hours to get to the next place where a pod was or risk death.  Even now he risked every night that he might not find a pod and be stuck on the streets after a late work shift.  He did all of that just so he could send money back to his parents. 

It really changed how you thought of him now, he wasn’t as cold, immature and uncaring as he’d first portrayed himself. 

You realized now the nicer you found him to be, the more his very apparent attractiveness was affecting you. 

You couldn’t help but have your gaze accidentally leave his eyes while he spoke, and travel to his lips.  Feeling yourself getting lost in how soft they looked, how much they looked like they’d feel amazing to kiss. 

Yoongi was now taking off his sweatshirt and was going to use it to prop his head up a bit while the two of you continued talking. 

As he took it off, his black t-shirt underneath slipped up slightly and you were able to see his beautiful pale skinned stomach, toned, with a slight v-line pointing down into his jeans.  Small tufts of hair also leading in a trail so your gaze traveled further down that direction, almost as if there was a big flashing sign that said ‘LOOK HERE’. And that you did, biting your lip as you felt a tingle hit right in your lower stomach at the sight. 

Yoongi pulled his shirt down as soon as his sweatshirt was off, but you didn’t look away fast enough and you’d been caught checking him out.

You quickly snapped your eyes back up to his face, a slight embarrassment now forming on your face. 

Yoongi smirked, knowing exactly what you’d been doing.  

“Want me to just ignore that I saw that?” he snickered. 

You couldn’t quite find the words to explain yourself, a series of um’s and sorry’s awkwardly spilling out of your mouth. 

“No need to be sorry, I’m hot. I know it.” he winked.  

There’s that cocky man that hopped into the pod with you.   This time you were less bothered by his overconfidence, because...well, he wasn’t wrong.

“Yeah, Um...you really are” you said embarrassed and not believing that you were admitting that to his face.

“You’re hot too you know.” he smiled mischievously. “What are the odds two attractive people like us get stuck together like this” 

Your face was now burning hot at that compliment.  You didn’t think you were by any standard as hot as him. 

“Shit, don’t get all awkward about it, I’m just being honest and stating the facts” he laughed. 

“I’m not though” you whispered. 

“For real? Your last boyfriend didn’t tell you every day how hot you were? I would.” he stated.  

“Uh, no” you stammered awkwardly “I haven’t dated since highschool and I wasn’t quite the catch” 

“Doubt it” Yoongi said with another smirk “And I’m not just saying that cuz you threatened to kill me earlier” he chuckled

“Well...thanks” you spoke shyly. 

Yoongi was now moving closer to you, your faces somehow ever closer than the two of you already were in this cramped space. 

“I like your nose” he smiled and booped you with one finger. 

Your eyes widened and you got even more bashful.  “Ah, no, I’ve always hated my nose”

“But it’s so cute!” he grinned widely.  

What the hell is happening.  How did your night become this.  And why do you never want it to stop.  This asshole that you hated, now knows everything about your situation, and he’s still sitting here complimenting you.  Maybe he just realized it’s better to be on good terms since you’d still be stuck here together for about 5 more hours. 

“Your nose is cuter” you decided to say in return.  What’s the harm? And you were just stating the facts.

“Your lips are cute” he replied a bit softer. 

“Your eyes are cute” you countered, somehow this was now turning into a game. 

“Your voice is cute” 

“Your smile is cute” 

“Your laugh is cute”

“Your...everything is cute” you giggled. 

“I want to fuck you.” he whispered, his eyes now glued to your lips. 

You inhaled sharply in surprise. 

“Y-you w-what?” 

“You heard me” he tilted his head up with confidence as he looked you up and down. 

You stared silently and eyes wide as saucers at him. 

“You don’t want to?” he cocked an eyebrow up at you. 

“I-It’s not that I don’t want to...it’s just, we just met you know?” 

“Can you think of a better way to kill the next 5 hours?” 

“If it’s just out of boredom that’s gonna be a no from me” you scoffed, realizing that maybe he really wasn’t attracted to you, and was just flattering you for fun. 

“Well, honestly, yeah, it’s mostly boredom.  But, also you’re really fucking hot and I’ve been hard for the past hour and I usually jack off when I’m in here.  So either you just turn the other way while I do that, or…” he grinned at you as he brought a hand up to brush your cheek gently and seductively. 

What was tonight’s theme again? Oh yeah...fuck it.

You were closing the space between your lips and his in an instant.  Your hand grabbing the back of his neck as you pulled him into frantic kisses.  You could feel him smiling into your lips, pleased with his victory. 

You felt one of his hands start to cup your breast, squeezing slightly before stopping to slip his hand up your shirt to feel you completely.  He took his thumb and index finger and started to roll your hard nipple between them, pinching slightly every once in a while causing a loud moan from you into his mouth. 

He seemed to like the noises you were making, trying to repeat movements that caused you to be the most vocal. 

You pushed on his chest with your hands slightly, silently asking him to give you some space so you could just take your shirt and bra off completely.  He happily obliged, staring at you with eager eyes as you undressed yourself. 

You then tugged at the hem of his black t-shirt, requesting that he do the same.  He smiled and pulled his t- shirt over his head.  You could now fully see him in all his glory, his body was so perfect and just the sight of that v-line and happy trail again had your core start to grow wet with arousal. 

“Fuck.  You’re so…” you put a hand to his chest, sliding your fingertips down lightly, causing him to shiver under your touch. 

He bit his lip, his eyes on your chest as well. 

Your hands had reached the button on his jeans and you found yourself scurrying to unbutton them as fast as you could.  

Yoongi pulled you in close as you did, planting heavy kisses on your jaw and then your neck. 

You finally achieved what you’d been after, pulling his jeans and boxers down enough for his cock to spring free and rest against his abdomen.  You wet your lips at the sight. 

“I wish I could...taste you, I don’t think I’ll be able to position myself to though” you pouted in disappointment.  This small space was really making things difficult. 

“Just touch me” he muttered, kissing your neck more and grabbing at your tits. 

You did as he said, wrapping a hand tightly around the base of his shaft.  

He jerked forward slightly into your touch and let out a small whimper at the feeling of you.  

“I want you so fucking badly y/n” he murmured into your ear, then bit down lightly on your lobe. 

Now it was your turn to whimper with pleasure.  

Your hand started to move up and down stroking Yoongi, he groaned lowly when you made your way to the tip, tightening your hand around him as you stroked up and down. 

You stop for a moment and unbutton your pants, slipping your hand down to your soaking core, and tried to gather as much wet as you could on your hand, then grabbing onto Yoongi again. 

His eyes bugged out at the sight of you covering him with your wetness. 

“Holy shit t-that was h-hot” he moaned as you started pumping his cock now lubricated with your wetness, making your hand glide smoothly around him.   

His whole body would lunge forward slightly when your thumb pressed along the underside of his cock and up the tip.  

He pressed his lips into yours hungrily as you continued,  your tongues meeting inside of your mouth. 

His hand was now making its way into your jeans, pulling them down slightly and slipping his hand in past the fabric of your panties.  Two fingers were moving along your slit, and Yoongi growled excited when he felt how wet you were. 

“You’re really enjoying yourself hm?” he grinned against your lips. 

“Mhmm” you moaned. “So much” 

One of Yoongi’s fingers started to slip inside of you, you let out a needy moan at the feeling of him pressing into you and curling as he started to move in and out slightly.  The tip of his thumb pressing on your clit and moving circles around made you throw your head back in ecstacy. 

“Fuck baby, you’re so needy for me.  You like how my fingers feel touching your pussy?” he smiled excitedly. 

“Shit. Yes! I love it Yoongi!” you practically screamed. 

“Fuck, moan my name again baby” he growled, biting his lip and inserting another finger next to the one already inside of you. 

“Oh my god Yoongi, that feels so fucking good” your mouth opened widely as you felt yourself speeding towards your orgasm.  You continued to stroke his cock the best you could but your pace was unsteady and unfocused. 

“Cum on my fingers baby, cum screaming my name” 

Yoongi slid his fingers in and out of you rapidly and circled your clit even faster. 

“Y-yoongi, I’m gonna cum!” your eyes squeezed tightly shut as you reached your earth shattering high.  Still holding his cock in your hand but not moving it. 

You continued to let his name fall loudly from your lips as the waves of pleasure flowed through every inch of your body, jerking forward at the sensation of his fingers still moving inside of you while you came. 

Yoongi smiled and looked at you in awe, “That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.  Wow.” 

He then grabbed your hand and moved you off of him, then turned you so you were laying on your back again.  He maneuvered his way on top of you, still so close due to the low ceiling. 

He leaned down and took your lip between his teeth and dragged them across your skin, releasing your lip with a groan coming out of his own. 

You kicked your jeans and panties off of your legs almost entirely, one leg still had the pants wrapped around your ankle but you couldn’t be bothered to keep going with it as Yoongi eyed you so seductively, almost begging to be inside of you already with just his stare. 

He positioned his cock between your folds, sitting at your entrance for a moment. 

“You were so tight around my fingers, I don’t know if I’m going to last long inside that perfect pussy” 

You closed your eyes and smiled “Fuck me Yoongi, I can’t wait to feel you” 

At your words he was pressing his length into you, the wetness allowed him to enter with ease, but your walls gripped onto him tightly. 

He moaned so loudly as he entered you, dropping his head into the crook of your neck and leaving a trail of kisses. 

He grabbed one of your breasts in his hand and returned to playing with your nipple.  

“Ah-Yoongi, Fuck” you whined.  Which only encouraged him to speed up his pace thrusting into you, bucking his hips up into you quickly at a pace that almost felt unbearable. 

“Fuck baby, take it.  You can do it.  You’ve been so good for me” he encouraged into your ear. 

“Y-yoongi.  Its too much, I’m already gonna c-cum again” you whimpered. 

“Then cum baby” he raised his head and smirked as he looked down at you under him.  Kissing you on the cheek. The sound of your wetness as Yoongi pounded into you was so loud and erotic.  You couldn’t take it anymore. You raised your head up as you were on the verge of your high, your mouth found Yoongi’s neck and you sucked hard, scattering marks on him as you did. 

Your second orgasm hit like a loud drum, you could feel the vibrations flow through out you and your heart was beating rapidly. 

“Damn” Yoongi whispered. 

You felt him tense and give a few more hard pumps before he slowed and then quickly pulled out into a plank position. 

“y/n” he moaned.

Luckily you got the memo of what he meant and grabbed onto his cock, jerking him off while he twitched and cum spurted out all over your chest, some even reaching up to your neck due to your bad aim. 

You started to giggle at that and then Yoongi joined in the laughter as he realized that you had some on your jaw now. 

He went to roll off of you and hit his head on his way over. 

“Aw shit” he yelled. 

Which only made the two of you start to laugh harder.  Once you wiped the forming tears in your eyes away and calm yourself down holding your stomach “Yoongi…”

“Hm?” he whispered, now relaxing, naked, with his eyes closed and his hands behind his head, you were cuddled up with your head close to his chest. 

“I need to clean up…” 

“Ah right” he tossed you his sweater. 

“You sure? This is a nice sweater?” 

He nodded and smiled.  You wipe yourself up and shoved the sweatshirt down by your feet. 

“That was so much fun y/n” 

You beamed up at him “I had fun too…” 

“Come stay with me” he mumbled so low you thought you must’ve misheard him. 

“W-what?”

“You have nowhere to go.  I’d hate for something to happen to you, not make it to a pod at night or something.  Stay in my place” 

“I couldn’t possibly do that Yoongi.  That’s a lot…” 

“It’d just be as roommates, not asking you to marry me or anything” he chuckled “All I ask is that you cook and clean and stuff, I’m pretty shit at that… Can you do that?” 

“Fuck yes!” you shouted gleefully. 

“Good. Now let’s get some sleep.” He pulled you tightly into him, he was so warm, and so soft, and somehow this asshole ended up being an angel that saved you that night. 

Hopefully you can continue to repay him for his kindness.

[aj-artjunkyard]

Trials Of Apollo Oneshot Series  CHAPTER FIVE

This is a post-ToA chapter! Takes place after Apollo regains his immortality.

I sighed. Strolling aimlessly through the halls of my palace on Olympus, I wondered if it had always been this unappealing. The gold trimmings seemed fake. The extravagant furniture felt uncomfortable. Even my bed was too big. Every shiny object played murder on my eyes, and every smooth surface was too warm to be refreshing. It just wasn’t homey. Not like the Waystation or Aeithales or either demigod camps. It felt more like a sized-up garage to keep a fancy car in. 

I found myself yearning to be outdoors - no uncommon craving. Like my twin, most of my domains are set in the great outside world. I threw open the golden double doors of the balcony, closed my eyes and breathed in the fresh Olympian air. There was still something missing. Furrowing my eyebrows in frustration, I opened my eyes and glanced around for anything that might sate my dissatisfaction, when my sight landed on a certain figure making her way through the buzzing streets of Olympus and towards the entrance of my palace. I felt a natural smile creep onto my face. I would have to look for the missing thing later. Right now, I needed to be with my mother.

…

We had been in this comforting embrace for almost ten minutes now. I combed my fingers through Leto’s caramel hair while she sobbed into my shoulder, her frame shaking considerably. I felt the wet tears soaking through my jacket and dampening the shirt beneath. I pressed my lips against her forehead, hoping to make her content enough to talk to me. Eventually, she pulled away and reached up, running her fingers through my hair, almost to reassure herself that I was actually there. She looked deep into my eyes, while tears danced in her own. I took her hands in my own, and gently led her to a white sofa, which was far to big for the space of the room. It looked like whoever had put it there was just trying to cram as much unneeded furniture into one place as they could. Oh wait…that may have been me.

Leto sat down beside me. She sniffled a little, avoiding my eyes. She fiddled with the brooch on my toga. I held her hand. She squeezed it. 

“Apollo…” she trailed off, seeming lost in her mind.

“I’m alright now Mother,” I said in an effort to soothe her. “I’m immortal again. I cannot die. I learnt a lot too. And I want to apologise for not being the most attentive of sons. I should visit you more, and I will! Really, father was right to-”

“-NO!”

I fell silent, shocked that my mother would ever scream in such a tone. She looked at me, and I noticed how tired she was. No doubt staying up to watch every second of my quests, worried sick that something might happen if she took her eyes off me. It would not be out of character for her to do such things.

“Your father was not right to punish you in such a cruel manner. To have you forced into servitude, with next to no natural means to protect yourself or others!”

“Honestly, Mother I-”

She held up a hand for quiet. I obeyed.

“I know you should not have done the things you did. I know you’ve learned. That does not warrant your father’s merciless behaviour. You kept getting hurt and I could do nothing, he said if he caught me in the act of helping, he would make it worse for you. He said there would be more deaths, more guilt. So I obliged. I made sure he didn’t catch me. I convinced Artemis to send her hunters. I persuaded Hermes to crash the sun, and Athena to lure you to the child-” she paused. “-Whom I have been caring for. He is named Cindeo - the one who escapes danger.”

I nodded. “I see you have been taking care of everyone.”

“That is indeed my sole purpose, yes. It distracted me, which Artemis says is a good thing. But still…I was watching. That day on the boat.”

I swallowed a lump in my throat. I knew exactly what she would be referring to before she even said it. “You stabbed yourself.” 

I drew in a sharp intake of breath, remembering the pain.

“I knew Medea would heal me.”

“You did it willingly.”

“It was only a distraction.”

“What was? Your life?”

“Caligula needed me alive more than my friends did.”

“They all needed you in the end, Apollo! I needed…I needed you.”

We sat, not talking. Just staring at each other, mentally comparing our broken pieces. I was willing to gather my pieces - make something new. I knew my mother wanted that as much as I did. We hugged again, this one lasting even longer. Neither party minded. Her caramel hair still smelt of honeysuckle, a trait inherited by my sister. She was still soft and warm and safe. After all these centuries, she had not changed. I was glad. 

After an eternity, we separated. I examined my mother, my medical urges setting in. 

“You look like you haven’t slept since I woke up in that dumpster. You need rest.”

She shook her head. “Apollo, you just got back. If you think I’m going to-”

“And I’ll be here when you wake up. Why don’t you use my bedroom? That way you won’t really be leaving. I’ll still be around, I promise. Even if you sleep as long as Gaea did.” She tried to protest, but I easily guided her to my sleeping quarters. By the time we arrived, Leto was practically using me as her only way of staying upright. I gently laid her down on my king-sized mattress, and she immediately melted into the warmth of the duvet. 

I made my way to the kitchen, intent to taste ambrosia for the first time in months. A shape shimmered into existence on the blinding white counter. A freshly baked pie. Curious, I picked up the little note beside it, which read in perfect ancient greek calligraphy;

You deserve it! I love you!

-Leto

I chuckled and called down the hall, “Go to sleep!”

To which I received a muffled “I am, I am!”

I grabbed the pie and sniffed, enjoying my newly heightened senses. I could tell exactly what was in it. Ambrosia, sugar and chunky slices of…baked apple. The smell smacked me as violently as my realisation. My palace was golden, hard and shiny. It was devoid of life. Life like that of a particularly bossy half-blood. I decided to call in a discreet demigod quest.

…

“Soooo…about this quest.”

“Yes?”

“It was to help you plant stuff?”

I patted down the soil around a sweet-smelling Hyacinth. We sat in a huge garden positioned behind my palace. I had never fully understood why it was here. What was its purpose? Why would you look at some boring old trees when my palace was right at the end of the long, wide strip of grass, glowing golden and easily mistaken for a beautiful sunset in the evening?  Once, I had even petitioned for the land to be flattened and used for a theatre (Dionysus and the muses backed me up, but Demeter, Poseidon and Artemis were strongly against it). But now, I smiled to myself as I began to see its importance. 

“I don’t know what you find so complicated about this, Meg. I thought you liked gardening.”

My former master scrunched up her nose, pushing her cat-eye glasses further up her face. Her hands were caked with mud and the knees of her new leggings were already ruined. She had not wanted to change her dress, but when Percy mentioned to Mrs Jackson that she was still wearing the same borrowed garment from several months before, Sally had sent a package and insisted she change clothes every once in a while. Meg had donned the teal tunic and green leggings ever since. Such was the fashion sense of The Meg. 

“Well, yeah. But I don’t think you’re allowed to call it a quest.”

“You were summoned to assist a god, were you not?”

“Duh.”

“So you are on a quest.”

“To plant flowers.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Meg shrugged. “Okay. But how do you plan to explain it to Zeu-” I cleared my throat loudly, glaring obviously at my reckless young friend. How many times did I have to tell her that names hold power? I definitely did not have a bullet-proof backup plan incase my father did find out, so I did not want to draw his attention and let him in on my little secret. That would not go well for anyone, trust me.

“How do you plan to explain it to your father?” Meg corrected. Satisfied with that adjustment, I turned my attention back to my Hyacinth. 

“I’m not going to.”

“That’s a stupid plan.”

“I would have thought you’d know me better than to assume I have a real one.”

“That’s fair, you’re pretty dumb.”

“Hey!” I threw a clod of dirt at her, which hit her right in the centre of her forehead. We shared a look of mild amazement. I actually hit my target. It had been a while. I grinned with triumph, but it was soon smacked off my face as I got hit full whack with a dirt ball to the cheek. Then our eyes met in silent challenge. We both accepted.

It only took fifteen minutes for the massive garden to become an all-out war zone. There was no safe place. Dirt flew every direction, and we both took advantage of our own abilities - Meg using plants to trip me up or willing the dirt to fly with excruciating accuracy, and me, using beams of sunlight to reflect off Meg’s glasses and blind her, and when I found her charging at me, I flew over her head, just to be annoying. 

When Meg shoved half a dozen handfuls of mud down my shirt, I decided to play dirty (well...dirtier). I conjured a hose, and watched with enormous enjoyment as Meg’s cocky grin melted into morphed into one of realisation and fear. I blasted her. 

We chased each other around the grass, continuously soaking each other (Meg had used a plant pot as a bucket and filled it in a nearby pond) until the sky started to dim. It was early January, so it wasn’t too late, maybe six o’clock. Cold and exhausted, we made our way back towards my palace. My mother was waiting in the kitchen when we arrived, a new apple pie steaming on the dining table. She tutted at our wet cloths and sopping hair. With a wave of her dainty hand, Meg and I immediately dried.

“You let the other one go cold, dear,” Leto smiled, gesturing at the pie. Two golden-rimmed plates, complete with solid gold knives and forks which shimmered into existence beside it. 

“Thank you Mother!” I said excitedly, kissing her on the cheek and sitting down at the table. Meg looked more wary. She eyed my mother suspiciously, while Leto smiled softly at her. Stepping closer to the table, perhaps under pressure, Meg inquired, “Is there ambrosia in it? I can’t eat much of that stuff.”

Leto laughed. “Yes, dear. But only traces. Only eat a slice or two, and you’ll be absolutely okay.”

I turned around in my chair and grinned over the backrest at them. 

“Meg, it’s fine. She wouldn’t hurt a fly, would you, Mother?”

Leto looked horrified. “Of course not! Why would I damage such a harmless creature that’s so vital to the nutrition of other creatures?” 

I gave Meg a look. “See?” 

Meg seemed satisfied with that answer, but was still cautious in her approach to the table. But after no more than fifteen seconds, she was shovelling in mouthful after mouthful with incredible velocity, rapidly cleansing her plate of any crumbs. My Mother watched her with intrigue, and I could almost see the cogs turning in her head. While Meg helped herself to seconds, Leto quietly pulled me aside.

“When was the last time the child ate?” She whispered urgently, casting solicitous glances over at my young companion. 

“It can’t have been long ago. Meg eats a lot,” I reassured. Her shoulders relaxed, her gaze softened. Leto looked thoughtfully back over at Meg.

“Does she have somewhere to stay?”

“I believe she intends to become a year-rounder at Camp Half-Blood. She’ll be with her siblings and cousins there. Her family.”

“Mmm…”

“Mother?” Leto peered deep into my metallic gold irises. Then back looked at Meg. Then back at me. “What are you thinking?”

“If she is to remain at Camp Half-Blood, you will not be able to meet with her. I implore you, son. Look into the future. What possibilities do you see for her there?”

I concentrated, absorbing in every part of Meg’s being and taking into account every decision I’d ever seen her make. (Being a god, this was easy. Oh, how I enjoyed the wonders of a working memory!) I started off simple to ease myself back into prophecy, by predicting where her fork would land next. [She will miss the pie and stab the plate] Clank! My power proved to be working. I stretched myself a bit further, into next week. I saw her hold up a red flag in triumph. [She will win Capture The Flag for the Demeter, Hades, Dionysus and Apollo cabins] Yes, that seemed plausible. 

Then I looked years ahead, in fast-forward. I laid every likely option and decision for Meg out on a metaphorical table in front of me and examined them all. Useless nonsense rushed past me as I sifted through the possibilities. [On May 23rd, she will eat meatloaf for dinner] [Exactly two weeks from now, she will push a son of Dionysus into the lake] [In three years, she will set Peaches loose on a rabid Manticore] None of these helped me. I searched for the correct timeline, the one where she stayed at Camp. I found it. 

[She will miss Apollo] Fair, I would miss her too. [She will feel lonely] I will too, friend. [She will distance herself from anything to do with Apollo, including his children] Wait, no- [She no longer considers Apollo to be a friend] STOP!

My eyes flew open. My mother held onto my arm, steadying me. Meg had turned around in her chair, seeming concerned. 

“You okay?”

I stumbled for an answer. Would she really dismiss me? Would I dismiss her? “Uh, yes. Yes, everything is fine.” Meg’s eyebrows scrunched behind her cat-eye glasses. The rhinestones caught the light, and shone brightly. 

“You look sick,” she announced, with her usual Meggy bluntness.

“Thanks,” I grumbled. “Meg, it’s getting late. Perhaps I should send you back to Camp.”

Meg pouted. “Why can’t I stay?”

“You know why. Father can’t find out you’re here.” 

Meg groaned. “Ugh. Okay. Just don’t forget about me or I’ll march right back to kick you in the kneecaps.”

I smiled. “I would not dream of it. See you soon.” I waved my hand and Meg evaporated in a shower of gold, and I felt her reappear safely at Half-Blood Hill.

My mother turned to me. 

“Well?”

…

We sat on the cold stone steps of the amphitheatre, where I’d dazzled the demigods into minor depression with my Lydian and one-four-five Progressions so many moons ago. 

It was late afternoon and the sun shone softly through the trees, scattering beams of light around the secluded area. I appeared similar to what I had a few days ago, only this time I had donned a more ‘modern’ look from my usual toga. I wore an ACDC t-shirt under an unzipped orange and white jacket. My jeans were worn pale at the knees and hems, which contrasted the bright red of my nike trainers. Only my hair was much the same - long, blond and flowing down to my shoulders. 

Little sparks of light bounced cheerfully off of Meg’s rhinestones. She kicked a pebble down the steps, and watched in fascination as it skipped, making tic tic tic sounds all the way to the bottom. She was still wearing the same teal tunic and green leggings, her gardener’s belt hanging loosely around her waist. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, she spoke.

“You said you wanted to ask me something?”

I nodded. “Yes, but I want to inform you that how you answer will not affect my view of you in the slightest. I will always admire you, whether you turn down my offer or not.”

“Offer?”

I laced my fingers, trying to think of the best way to word it. 

“Following your recent quest,” (Meg snorted. I continued.) “I realised that I will not be able to see you as often as I would like. I will not be able to intervene on future quests, or protect you much beyond what my father allows. It will most likely be a long time before all the gods begin to treat the mortals as beings. I will also have to endure the endless mocking from my fellow gods, simply for changing my morals, and someone with mortal experience would be good to keep me straight. So, my offer to you, should you choose to accept it, is the offer of immortality. I would like you to live on Olympus, with me.” Meg’s eyes widened. Her jaw dropped. Seeing this, I rushed to hastily add to my unexpected statement. “Now, please know that this is not a one-time offer. You can say ‘No’ now, and come back later! Or not. Whatever you choose, I’ll always be looking out for you, okay?” Meg furrowed her eyebrows and blew out her cheeks in concentration. I watched her, not quite knowing if I should say more. 

“Will I have to leave Camp forever? Will I be able to visit?”

“That’s the thing. You would only be allowed to visit if you have a specific purpose for coming, and you would have to make sure it’s iron-clad just in case Zeus confronts you about it. But I am working on finally getting those laws abolished. Hopefully, one day, you will be able to come simply because you want to. The catch is; I am not sure how long it will be until that happens.”

“So all my siblings might be dead.” I smiled sympathetically, feeling the chance of her accepting my offer sinking dramatically.

“Most likely.”

Meg gained her closed-off expression, her guards shooting up to prevent any and all emotional damage. I held my breath, waiting patiently for her to respond. It took a few minutes. Finally, Meg uttered at an almost indecipherable volume, “Can I think about it?”

I breathed a sigh of relief. That was not a no. There was still time to convince her.

“Of course, dear Meg.”

Abruptly, Meg stood and sprinted back towards Cabin Four without another word. I had expected this, but it still threw me through a loop. I ran my fingers through my luscious blond hair, and inhaled deeply through my nose. While I was lost in my thoughts, a voice suddenly piped up and made me jump a foot in the air in surprise.

“Hey Dad!”

Gasping sharply and clutching my hand to my thumping heart, I turned to meet the speaker. My son, Austin Lake, stood before me holding a battered, grey-silver saxophone and smiling nervously. I gestured for him to come and sit with me. He complied. 

“You here to see Meg?”

I wrapped my strong arm around him, and pulled him close to my side. “I was going to visit you kids too, but you ruined the surprise.” I punctuated my statement with noogie on Austin’s cornrows. He giggled and shuffled closer to me, absolutely failing at being inconspicuous. I didn’t mind. My kids and I are born to be obvious. Why hide something good?

I gestured to his beaten saxophone. “What happened there? The Ares kids?”

“Nah. I never found the one I lost in the labyrinth, so I had to take this old one from the back of Cabin Seven. I don’t think it’s been used since before that orientation film was made.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “It sounds fine, but I wish it had I bit more…I don’t know…pizzazz? Flash?”

“A bit of shine is never amiss,” I agreed.

“It doesn’t matter anyways. I tested it out on Miranda Gardener and Sherman Yang, and they did kiss when I played ‘Careless Whisper’, but it just doesn’t help the whole YouTube thing, y’know?”

“Of course. Sometimes people simply refuse to take you seriously unless you look the part. A frustrating yet universal part of showmanship - one that none of my children should have to deal with.” I waved my hand, and the old saxophone glowed, and began to fix it’s dents. The tired looking grey colour ebbed away and darkened, a black sheen taking it’s place. The keys and rods however, brightened until they shone gold. Soon Austin was holding a very classy jazz saxophone that matched his black woollen peacoat. I am extremely conscious of the instrument matching the style of the musician, hence why all my instruments include some form of precious metal or stone.

Austin’s brown eyes glittered with pure excitement. 

“Thanks Dad! You’re the best!” He launched himself into me hugged me like he would never let go. I drew him closer to me, savouring every moment. I heard him mumble something unintelligible into my chest.

“What was that you said?” I asked. My boy tilted his head up slightly, so I could only see his eyes and above past the folds of my ACDC tee. He repeated himself a bit louder.

“Do you read all our messages? Like, the ones Chiron gets us to write to our godly parents?”

I chuckled, raised one hand for dramatic effect and recited: 

“Hey dad! I’m Austin

Chiron said you like haikus

Poetry is cool”

“Nooooo….” Austin groaned. “I can’t write poetry for my life…”

“I think it’s great! You were only, what,” I counted on my fingers. “Seven at the time?”

“And already better than your dad!” An unknown voice rang out loudly from behind us, making us snap back from each other and whip around to face the impish figure. Hermes held up his hands in mock surrender, his signature stupid grin plastered on his face as he sauntered towards us. His dirty blond hair bobbed in its curls with every step he took. He nodded to Austin.

“‘Sup kid? Did anyone ever tell you about the time Apollo was obsessed with Limericks? Maybe you could compose one of those about your old man’s ‘awesomeness’,” (emphasising the ‘awesomeness’ with air quotes. Humph!) “and send it to me later, yeah? For mocking purposes only, of course.” Austin shifted uncomfortably, clearly not thrilled to have been interrupted from rare cool father/cool son bonding time. I knew how tricky Hermes could be, and I definitely did not want to put my son through the embarrassment of somehow signing off his mother’s inheritance to cattle farmers in Indonesia, so I took initiative. 

“Austin, why don’t you go show off your new saxophone to your siblings? I promise I will come back to visit again soon.”

Hermes snorted. “Yeah, maybe don’t swear on the Styx though, bro. Dad wants to see you about some flower planting quest.” His grin spread like he had just cracked an atrocious pun, and was awaiting the groans of his audience. “He’s soooo mad.” I gave a reassuring smile down to my apprehensive son. 

“Do not worry about me, child. Hermes is a known fibber. I’m sure he’s not that furious. It will be fine.”

...

It was not fine.

As soon as I entered my father’s personal throne room, I could tell. The enchanted ceiling was dark with storm clouds. The atmosphere was thick and heavy with static and tension. I felt a trickle of sweat run down my back.

My father sat on a proud marble throne, its veins of grey curling like smoke throughout the white stone. The king himself wore a smart navy suit, complete with a matching tie and a mid-length salt and pepper beard that overshadowed his mouth. His long hair was styled not unlike my own, except a lot darker and less flamboyant. He took the form of a man in his late 40’s, but could only be shown by the unfashionable wrinkles around his eyes. He was well built, and, despite my love for my eight-pack, far more muscular than I thought was attractive or necessary. He glared down his nose at me as I walked down the aisle of blue carpet towards his feet.

He must have been forty foot tall, which was big even for a god. I stood at a more natural twenty. I did not dare make myself bigger. I did not want my father to be under the impression that I wanted to intimidate him. I did not. 

I bowed at my father’s feet and lowered my head, waiting for the word to stand up. It did not come. Instead my father spoke in his low growl:

“Apollo.”

I swallowed my anxieties and forced myself to look up into his eyes. They were not their usual electric blue, as so many of his offspring had inherited, but they had been clouded over with a thick, angry grey mist. His dark brows were furrowed in concentration. A permanent scowl was fixed on his features. I willed my voice not to squeak or crack. 

“Yes, father?” Zeus’s scowl deepened.

“Do you think I am witless, boy?” He rumbled.

“I - no, father,” I stammered. Zeus leaned forward in his throne, glaring holes through my head.

“Do you think I am beneath you?”

“Wha - no!” My hands subconsciously gripped my jacket and fiddled furiously with the zip. I could feel my godly sweat making the cool metal slippery. The air around Zeus condensed into a dark haze. Lighting cackled like an entourage of jeering bullies, laughing at my panicked face and hopeless predicament. 

“YET YOU STILL DISOBEY ME?” I took several deep breaths. I was a god. I had faced python, while mortal, and defeated him. I was still undoubtedly terrified, but I thought of Meg, of my children, of Perseus Jackson. They needed me to take this first step into defending the demigods. My face hardened. My voice was calm, quiet and deliberate, but hid a tsunami of fear.

“Name the law.” My father’s raised bolt faltered, reflecting his confusion. 

“What?”

“Name the law,” I repeated. “Name the law I have broken by ordering a demigod, whom I know well and am sure is capable of being assigned a task, to go on a quest.”

Zeus gritted his teeth, and growled in his gritty voice; “I watched you play, boy. Do you think you are humorous? Do you think you can scorn my gift in such ways? I gave you immortality. I made you a god! Yet you run around like a hooligan, associating with these lesser beings, for what? Your twisted idea of justice? I am the god of justice, you insolent child. I have decided our laws, and I can make more laws if I so wish. Do not test me.”

“As I remember brother,” a feminine voice cut the thick tension of the room, “You need council approval to decree a new law. Am I correct?” Zeus scowled, but his anger visibly dissipated. He sat back in his chair as the dark clouds surrounding the throne lightened into grey wisps, like one might see on a dull autumn’s day. I did not dare turn my back to my father to see the speaker, though I knew the voice well - a voice older than Zeus’. I kept my kneeling position, hearing the footsteps of the graceful Olympian stride down the single strip of carpet, stopping just behind me. I felt a soft hand on my shoulder. It pulled me up until I stood beside the tall, warm figure of Demeter, the goddess of agriculture. 

She wore a simple, emerald-coloured dress that flowed down to her ankles, revealing a pair of bronze-coloured sandals. A thin, gossamer shawl of sage-like hue was wrapped around her shoulders and hung around her tanned arms. Her wavy blonde hair shared an alikeness to that of Sleeping Beauty’s. A ring of glittering corn stalks circled her brow. Her form was a few inches taller than my own. She kept her hand firm on my shoulder and glared defiantly up at Zeus with those striking green eyes. 

“Margaret is my daughter. I invited her to Olympus to congratulate her on finishing her quest, as is customary. She and Apollo simply conversed over some flowers.” She looked down at me. “And I for one, am pleased that Apollo is finally making good use of that great space.” I smiled up at her, then glanced nervously at Zeus. His mighty hand stroked his beard in thought. At last, grumbled and said; 

“Very well,” his deep voice echoed throughout the hall. “But be warned. Next time that mortal comes to this land with no believable reasoning, I will not be so merciful.” 

“Of course, my lord.” Demeter and I both bowed in respect (well, more so ‘custom’ or ‘fear’ than respect, but whatever) and made our way out into the cheery sunlight, leaving the clammy throne room behind us.

We wandered down the streets in silence, watching all the minor deities, cloud nymphs and satyrs frolic and chat excitedly. I got a few gazes from a group of dryads, but thought nothing of it. Perhaps they had heard of what I did for the Palm Springs residents. Did dryads have some sort of mental link or Whatsapp text group? I imagined it would go like: “Hey gurrrll!!! ;D You see all this heatwave shiz??? Gone!!!! Apollo is #greatest” or something similar. After a few minutes, Demeter pulled me to a park bench that overlooked a large, shimmering lake. Ripples glided across the water. Every now and then, a tentacle rose above the surface and plunged back under, sending a spray of droplets to dampen anything in a metre radius. Some hippocampi splashed playfully around the shallows, some allowing a pod of Naiads to stroke their noses and fuss over how cute they were. We watched.

“You did well by my daughter, Apollo,” Demeter mused. She kept her eyes on the lake. No doubt, she was not comfortable congratulating her least favourite nephew, but I admired her determination to go through with it anyways. I may not have done the same. “I am surprised.” 

I gave a short laugh. I was used to being mildly insulted. It did not phase nor offend me. 

“Meg is truly an extraordinary demigod. You must be very proud.”

“I am.” A small smirk appeared on her otherwise neutral expression. “She is one of my best.”

“She could live here. You’d get to see her. I would too. I think a wild demigod energy such as hers is well needed around here.” The goddess of grain raised an eyebrow, and peered down at me from the corner of her eye. “I have offered her immortality,” I clarified. “She has not yet answered. I think if she accepts, you should be the one to grant her the immortality. Of course, I can do it myself, but I thought it may be more impactful for a mother.” She furrowed her brows, and her corn crown seemed to catch the light of the late afternoon sun, making her eyes hard to focus on. 

“Zeus would not approve.”

“Zeus wouldn’t have a say,” I countered. Demeter only nodded her head ever so slightly, her face scrunched in concentration.

“Very well. I will accept if she accepts.”

…

Apollo was stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Meg simply could not understand him. She lay belly down on one of the thick branches of the tree that supported the newly built Cabin Four like a panther reclining in the jungle, contemplating her idiot friend and his dumb offer. She sniffed, shifting her head on the uncomfortable bark. She liked Camp Half-Blood. The food was good, there was some people her age that she could beat in a fight - and older campers she could beat too - sword practice was fun. So was capture the flag. But Meg was alone, and maybe that was good. People crowded her on the first few days after the end of the quest, wanting details about the most dangerous parts. She had even been given a necklace with a single green bead on it that held a picture of a writhing serpent - Python, the monster she and Apollo had slain. Every now and again, an Apollo camper would ask questions about their dad, and she always made sure to give them less than flattering (but truthful) answers.

But that had worn off after a while. People left her alone, apart from Billie Ng and Miranda Gardener, who she was trying to teach how to summon a karpos (they were pretty bad at it). She hated that she missed her partner in crime. But if she left, she would miss her home, where she belonged.

‘Ughghhh” Meg groaned, sliding ungracefully off her branch and landing on the floor with a whump. She rolled onto her back and scowled at the unfairness of having to deal with feelings. Time passed. Eventually, she decided to make a call.

…

I didn’t scream. Nope, definitely not me, the cool and chill god of a-heck-load-of-things. No, I’m quite sure I stayed calm and collected at the sight of Meg McCaffrey appearing in a shimmering vapour form - in my shower. 

Fine. I may have screamed. But you cannot blame me! It is one thing to take a shower with a ‘date’, and quite another to be peeked on by a twelve-year-old. I frantically made my best efforts to cover my perfect physique for the sake of the child, who immediately threw her hands over her eyes and made a ‘gross’ face. She wore a baggy Camp Half-Blood T-shirt over her usual dress, and a single bead hung by a thread on her neck.

“Meg, what the actual-” I hissed, cutting myself off. I took a deep breath and held my tongue to refrain myself from swearing in front of a kid (my mother would never let me hear the end of it if I didn’t). “Why are you Iris Messaging me? Now, of all times?”

“I didn’t know you were in the shower, dummy.” Meg blew a raspberry, her vapour form producing a few bubbles in the process. “I didn’t think you had to wash since y’know,” she gestured at my tanned body. I covered myself a little more, even if she did still have her eyes shielded. 

“I don’t. It’s just relaxing,” I grumbled, grabbing a towel, wrapping it around my waist and stepping out into the steamy bathroom. I kept the shower running so the Iris Message could continue, which involved getting the towel wet. I prayed the extra weight would not lead to any unexpected revealings. 

“I’m not supposed to be taking to you, Meg.”

Meg uncovered her eyes and snorted. “Says who?”

“Says my father.” I felt my face darken. “He heard about your little quest. He told me you could not come here again with out ‘believable reason’.” I punctuated the last part with air quotes.

“I told you that you should’ve had a plan.”

I rolled my eyes and scoffed. “I did have a plan! My plan was for him not to find out.”

“How’d that work out for you?”

“Shut up.” I could not resist the smirk that played on my lips. I wanted to be around my friend more often. She was one of the few who still talked to me as an equal (kind of). The other Olympians…let’s just say they didn’t exactly show me the same level of respect has they had once done, with the limited exceptions of Poseidon (who had been mortal once before) and Artemis (who had never respected me - its a sibling thing). “Listen, I cannot guarantee that my father isn’t keeping a close eye, so let’s make this quick. What did you want to tell me?” 

Meg’s face lost its humour. I was afraid she’d back out and end the message. Instead, she spoke. “I thought about your offer.”

I felt my chest swell with hope. Maybe she’d say yes. Maybe she’d come up and be my friend for eternity. Maybe I would have one more person to talk to. “And?”

“No.”

My smile faltered. I felt all sense of excitement in me shatter in that moment as I struggled to put together a sentence. “Wh…what?”

She looked down at her rough, calloused hands. “I don’t want to be a god. I don’t want to live directly under Zeus’s thumb. I killed Nero. I killed him because he was awful and forced me to do stuff I didn’t want to do. He made me feel stupid and useless. I got rid of that.” She stared me directly in the eye. “I never want to feel like that again.”

The argument I’d prepared died in my throat. Could I really blame her? After all, she was right. My father didn’t even allow me to talk to my friend. Meg didn’t want to be oppressed like I was. She was free. That was a feeling I could never truly have. I’d given up on it long ago.

“Yeah,” I croaked. “Okay.”

“Okay,” she mumbled back. “Bye.” Her figure disappeared, and I was left alone, standing in the all-too-quiet bathroom. 

“Farewell.”

***

It had been several months since Meg had declined my offer. I still thought about her and my children every day. I searched for and aided a few of my less remembered offspring, guiding them to their respective camps. Thirteen-year-old Seamus, ten-year-old Anthony and two-year-old James made their way to Camp Jupiter. Nine-year-old Aiden, twelve-year-old Dwayne and six-year-old Marigold travelled to Camp Half-Blood. I had just ensured the safe arrival of Marigold, the curly blonde-haired excitable young demigod who seemed to have inherited my ability of Photokinesis, a rare and promising talent for my children to have. In other words, I was exhausted. So I teleported to the most calming place I could think of.

I collapsed down underneath the aged mountain laurel tree. It was located high up in a rocky, unforgiving mountain range, but overlooked the beautiful view of the other mountains, the lower halves shrouded in white mist. We often met here. 

Beside me sat a young girl in a grey puffer coat and black leggings, her long dark hair tied back in a high ponytail. She was busy whittling on a long piece of wood, and so, did not look up at my arrival.

“Brother,” she greeted plainly.

“‘Sup?” I replied weakly, exhaustion filling my voice. I watched Artemis whittle for a while, my eyes half closed, the bow slowly taking its shape and the sound of the knife scraping evenly across the smooth surface calming me. “You making this for one of your hunters?” 

“Yes. Being their leader has responsibilities, you know.” 

I blew out my cheeks in exasperation. “At least you never have to go chasing down kids all over the world to drag to two camps in North America.” Artemis paused her whittling, and looked at me quizzically. “My son, Diego,” I clarified. “His mother is Spanish. He did not want to leave Madrid. But I finally convinced him after, what,” I tried to recall. “Three days? Ugh. Sometimes I just wish there were a few more camps around, ya know?”

The huntress had gone back to her work, her face contorted in concentration. “Mmm.”

“Are you even listening?”

“Uh huh.” I elbowed my beloved sister in the ribs, an effective attention-attracting tip I had learned over the course of my punishment; courtesy of Meg McCaffrey. Artemis glared daggers at me. “What?” 

I beamed my most innocent smile. “You weren’t giving me enough attention, Artie.”

“Sod off.” She grunted. She will always deny it, but I saw a slight hint of a smirk seep through her annoyed facade. I grinned to myself as I decided to be as provocative as possible. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and snickered at her crabby expression and ancient greek curses as she tried to push me off. 

There are many perks to being a sibling, dear reader, and annoying the younger sibling (or the one that appeared to be younger anyways) is most definitely in the top three. Along with the whole ‘If You Anger One Of Us You Deal With Both Of Us’ Ride-Or-Die attitude we can have (of course, this does not apply to every situation. See: the time Hermes pushed me into a very deep swamp, and all my dear sister did was laugh until she could no longer breathe). 

Eventually, Artemis melted into the hug, leaning her young head against my chest. She took a deep breath and quietly said; “I am going to tell you something.” 

I drew her a little closer, my embrace no longer meaning to provoke, but to comfort. I leant my cheek on her head.

“What’s up?”

“I am only telling if you do not get big-headed about it.”

“When have I ever done that?” I teased. “Honestly, I’m rather offended that you would even insinuate-” A small hand flew up past my face and grasped a lock of my beautiful, long hair - and yanked it downwards. “OW!” I rubbed my scalp and huffed down at my smug sister.

“You deserved that.”

“Uh huh,” I grumbled, unimpressed.

“What I was going to say was that I really did miss you, Ollie.”

“I missed you too. And I never got to say thanks. Y’know… for that time in Indianapolis. I couldn’t because the others were always around so… thanks.”

Artemis fiddled with a loose string on my sleeve. “Yeah, well. I had to pay you back for that time with Atlas and Luke…” she waved her hand, gesturing vaguely to the air. “So yeah. I guess I owed you one.”

Several years ago, my dear sister had taken the weight of the sky off a young maiden in an attempt to save her from being crushed. She succeeded, but at the cost of holding up the burdensome pillar of clouds for days without rest. By the time she made it back to Olympus, she was faint and required several days of rest (as ordered by her doctor; me). The topic was not often talked about. I wished everyone would have the same attitude over my embarrassing adventures. Still, I remembered mother and I being worried sick, and Zeus coming thundering through the door when he heard about her. We thought he was there to console or mourn, or maybe hatch plans on how to save her from the titan’s clutches. If you thought ‘What? That doesn’t sound like Zeus!’ then congratulations! You are learning. He told us that a demigod quest had been despatched, and if he were to find either of us interfering, he would rip out the ‘Number Ten’ lighting bolt. But not to worry, oh readers! He didn’t catch me.

Artemis shifted under my hold. We fell into a comfortable silence, and I found myself thinking about Meg again. Her tyrannical attitude, her odd fashion sense, her scent of baked apple. I could see every rhinestone in her cat-eye glasses. Every stitch in her well-worn dress. I got to thinking about how we would meet up again. A brilliant thought crossed my mind.

…

“Are we sure this is a good idea?”

“Relax, you big baby. It’ll be fine.”

*CRASH*

Meg blew a raspberry at the window she’d just obliterated. 

“Well done,” I congratulated dryly. Meg kicked me in the shin, then readied another nerf bullet.

“I’m gonna miss if you keep distracting me!”

“Oh, was my mere presence distracting? I didn’t say anything!”

“Shut up,” she grumbled, sticking her tongue out in concentration as she aimed for the makeshift target we’d made and blu-tacked on the wooden wall. “I’ve got the gun and you’re being annoying.” I kept my mouth shut. The bullet was let loose with a twang. It went right through the hole where the window had once been. There were shouts from outside varying from “Get down, get down!” “Do not worry! I predict it to be no- six letters. Starts with ’T’” “Trench?” “Top-hat?” “That’s two words, Aloe.” “My bad.”

Of course, we were back at Aeithales. Palm Springs had welcomed us back with open arms. And I had my cover story set. I was here to personally check up on my Sibyl, as to not neglect my duties over prophecy, which was one of the reasons I’d been sent to Earth in the first place. I’d even gone to the extra trouble of making sure my dad was okay with it the day before. (“Because, you know, there may be some of my friends down there, cacti spirits and such, and I know you told me not to communicate with-” “APOLLO! IT’S TWO IN THE MORNING! GET OUT OF MY BEDROOM!”) So I figured I would be fine. 

It was currently quite late, maybe eleven o’clock, and I had hung around all day. Just as Meg finally hit the target, I said;

“Perhaps I should get going. Do you want to spend the night here or go back to camp?” Meg sniffed. 

“You don’t seem too bothered.”

“By what?” I asked. “Did I do something? Forgotten something? Today isn’t your birthday, is it?”

“No,” she stated bluntly, going back to aiming at the target.

“Care to elaborate?” I enquired cautiously. I did not want that nerf gun aimed the wrong way.

“You offered me immortality. I turned it down. You don’t seem upset.”

“My dear Meg. I simply respect your wishes, like I said I would.” I laced my hands together, trying to convey my feelings in an accurate way without bursting into a song that has all the feeling pre-written. “Your reasoning was sound, and while I do not fully understand your final decision, I trust your judgement. Besides, Percy Jackson turned it down too. So maybe it is not as valuable as I first thought.”

To my delight, Meg smiled. Albeit a small one. “Thanks. Do you think we’ll ever get to meet up? Without all the secrets and planning and stuff?”

I sighed. I really hoped so. “I do not know. One day, perhaps, my father will change his mind. I do not know when, or how. But I have hope that he will. As long as we keep working on him, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Right!” I clapped my hands together like I had seen dads do in movies to symbolise the end of a touchy conversation. “Now off to bed or I’ll turn you into a traffic light.”

I closed the door as quietly as I could, careful not to waken the sleeping demigod. Her snores were muffled as I strolled through night, evaporating and reappearing in my palace. I wandered the golden hallways for a while, taking in every piece of decoration and furniture in a different light. The palace wasn’t cold and useless as I had first thought. It was dazzling and elegant and me. I had been under the impression that because I wanted to heighten my morals and personally intervene more often, it would require changing everything. But it didn’t. So what if I liked shiny stuff? I can have good taste and still be an awesome god! It simply wasn’t the problem. It was only what I had lacked that had bothered me. And, looking down to Palm Springs one last time, I knew I had found it. 

This was kind of a one off! The next chapter will be back with mortal Apollo during the trials. i just wanted to try something different.

[gottasleepcanada]

Online Mattress Canada: Which Online Mattress In Canada Is Best For You?

ONLINE MATTRESS CANADA

  Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Its southern border with the United States, stretching some 8,891 kilometres, is the world’s longest bi-national land border. Canada’s capital is Ottawa and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. With Toronto rated the biggest city in the country. Various indigenous people inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years before European colonization. Canada has the 16th highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the 12th highest ranking in the Human Development Index. Its advanced economy is the 10th largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks.

  BEST ONLINE MATTRESS IN CANADA

“Best Night Rest Ever!”;

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Heard phrases like the ones above before, but sadly can’t relate because it’s not the case for you?

Well, we’re here to help decipher the mystery behind some of the best online mattresses in Canada, and our recommendation (of course we’ll tell you why!)

 You’ve probably been looking into how to buy a new mattress online. You’ve got your preference list ready. Hold on a second before you do anything. This is what you’ve been waiting for, just before you make that life-changing decision of yours. You’re about to read a life-changing article that would help make that decision. If after this you’re still not clear our customer service care at Gotta Sleep awaits your call.

  Gotta Sleep

Gotta Sleep was founded by a team of 21 mattress and technology investors in 2019. We offer prices that beat other mattress companies. Our specialties include mattresses, mattress protectors, pillow protectors, pillows, sheets, bed frames, and latex beds among others. All mattresses are constructed of exceptionally high-quality materials. We’ve added to the mix, an impeccable customer support service that makes the purchase way easier and use of the mattress more comfortable. You can call our snooze specialists seven days a week for answers to questions and many more. Isn’t that amazing?

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Experienced Professionals and Manufacturers in the mattress and technology industry. 

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  OMG Mattress (Our Recommendation)

The “most Canadian mattress in Canada”, the OMG Mattress’ is made in Canada and has cooling graphite and gel which produces a healthier sleep for all body types. The team has founded over 20 technology and mattress startups and is versed in designing amazing mattresses and then leveraging technology to improve efficiency. The teams’ most reviewed and valued mattress is the OMG Mattress. The OMG Mattress offers a better, more restful sleep.  Made by Canadians, for Canadians.  The OMG Mattress combines the best features from top mattresses worldwide (+ extra unique technologies custom to the mattress company), to ensure you have a perfect night rest, and to ensure your body is in peak performance for the next day’s work.

The OMG contains CertiPUR-US Certified Foams for safe and sound sleep. It’s versatile for any space and anyone. The OMG reinvents bedtime and helps you snooze soundly. You can choose from a variety of mattress sizes to find the perfect fit for dreamy nights. A mattress is a big purchase. It’s an investment in your sleep. That’s why we help to lighten the load. We’re proud to offer financing, as low as 0% APR. Shipping is FREE! No need to have a headache over shipping costs. Our 10-Year Warranty shows what we believe in. If you’re still not convinced, try it out with our industry-leading 101 DAY & NIGHT TRIAL.

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The Gotta Sleep RV Mattress is one of the only RV mattresses with cooling gel and graphite cooling technology for those hot summer nights. Our RV Mattresses are built to provide cooler, healthier sleep through the cooling Graphite and Cooling Gel-infused Memory Foam. Our RV Mattresses are available in all sizes, including RV Twin, RV Bunk, and RV Queen.

Moisture Wicking Hollow Fibers, Super Soft Gel Quilt Foam, Phase Changing Graphite, Premium Hi-Density Proprietary Memory Foam with Cooling Gel and Hi-Density Eco-Friendly Bio 1.8 Ib. Support Foam are the benefits of choosing Gotta Sleep’s RV Mattress. Say no to body ache, say no to sleep interruptions. Then say yes to Gotta Sleep’s RV Mattress!

  Douglas Mattress

The Douglas mattress from GoodMorning.com is built with Canadian-sourced materials in factories throughout Ontario and Quebec. An all-foam bed that’s comfortable and proudly homegrown is the result of this brilliant idea. The all-foam design is comprised of three sections of different foam: gentle gel memory foam, buoyant Elastex foam and durable high-density polyfoam. This combination makes for a balanced foam feel that should satisfy anyone with a liking for something softer. 100% of every Douglas mattress is made to order in Ontario and Quebec.

  Brunswick Mattress

Rated as the best value Canadian Mattress.  It’s the first wave of mattresses in the online bed in a box craze tended to be all foam options; a hybrid mattress. These beds use a mixture of foam and coil layers to provide great comfort with some added springiness. The Brunswick has a lovely medium firmness that is good for combo sleepers and the pocketed coil support layer provides some nice durability. It comes along with a nice durable hemp cover, as such, you do not have to bother about it breaking down anytime soon.

  Novosbed Mattress

It was founded in 2009. It was an early pioneer in the bed-in-a-box world and one of the first Canadian made brands to enter the space. By developing and perfecting a single mattress, Novosbed was able to streamline its manufacturing process and grow into one of the most popular online mattress Canada retailers out there.  The company offers a classic memory foam feel but also features three different firmness levels for sleepers still experimenting with their support needs. The top-rated bed comes in three different firmness options (soft, medium or firm) all of which can be adjusted with the aid of an optional Comfort plus layer.

  Juno Mattress

Juno is a Canadian-made value mattress from makers of Douglas and Logan & Cove, launched in August, 2019. It was made for individuals who want Canadian products but as low as the Chinese products. The firmness level is 5.6 on a scale of 10. The pros to consider include; value low price, free shipping, and returns cooling gel-infused foam, delivered in a box, made in Canada. The cons to also consider include; availability of just a single firmness level, the cover is spot-clean only, only available in Canada and also only available online. It has a 120nights sleep trial. Buyers who decide to return their mattresses during the sleeping trial window will receive a full refund, as well as 100% free return.

  Recore Mattress

Knowing how well you toss around on the bed to get that desired position of sleep; you most definitely do not want to be stuck in your mattress. That’s where Recore Mattress comes in to give you the required comfort to get the most perfect sleeping position. The Recore is an all-foam mattress that was designed to help active sleepers recover to their full potential. Recore provides great mobility thanks to a graphite infused latex comfort layer, so you can rest easy. It also has a nice medium-firm ix of support and pressure relief, so you’ll be comfortable in multiple positions.

  Logan & Cove Mattress

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  BUY MATTRESS ONLINE CANADA

Sleep is vital and for it to be a good night's sleep then getting the right mattress is paramount. However, it depends on your choice of mattress for you to fully have a lovely and sweet night’s sleep. Getting a place to rest your head shouldn’t give you a headache with the internet at your fingertips. Life made easy! Here’s a guide!

  The mattress-in-a-box has made life easier as you do not have to take a day off work to settle getting it into your home. You can simply order online and it’ll be right at your doorstep. Wow! Amazing! No more stress on mattress buying. Hold on a second! There’s more to getting a mattress online.

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  Just like there are pros, there are cons which includes:

You can’t try before you buy: No one likes to go through having to think twice about this bed isn’t for me, I’ve to return it and I’ve to get another to suit my demands. Once sorted out, we move! Online shopping basically limits you.

Limited Firmness Options

Returns might be a chore

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Made out of a foam rubber created through a specific manufacturing process, including Talalay and Dunlop. Environmentally responsible materials and processes. It is durable. It can be firm on the side.

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Compare shipping and return policies. Trial periods vary by brand, shipping cost varies too. Compare!

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source https://gottasleep.com/blogs/sleep-talk/online-mattress-canada

[master-sass-blast]

Found Family Part Three: Ellie, Russell, and Yukio.

Welcome back to the Found Family miniseries! Part One and Part Two, in case you need to catch up!

Summary: A look at your friend/family-ship with Ellie, Russell, and Yukio.

Rating: T for mentions of abuse, mentions of death, mild language, and mild angst. This one’s pretty fluffy, though.

Pairings: Piotr Rasputin x Reader and Ellie Phimister x Yukio.

Set after: Dig the Needle In.

@marvel-is-perfection, @chromecutie

Your relationship with the other occupants of ‘Casa de la Mutants,’ as Wade calls it, is probably best described as “tenuous.”

(Except for Scott Motherfucking Summers, who is on the specific status of “go fuck yourself” at all times, regardless of what he’s done, is doing, or will do.)

Most of them don’t mind you. You do your stuff, they do theirs, and it’s all pretty fucking hunky-dory.

Granted, they think the fact that you hang out with Wade is weird, but you’re also the chief grading assistant and the one reason the teachers aren’t constantly swamped with an abundance of work, so it all balances out in the end.

Jean’s cool, as is Remy, and anyone Piotr is close to is pretty friendly to you, but in all honesty you get along better with the teens and college-age students that stay there.

Which is fine, as far as you’re concerned. They don’t judge you for your choices in life or friends –and if they do, they keep their mouths shut about it—and have better taste in hobbies and pastimes. It’s a little touch and go since they tend to bounce in and out for the school year, depending on which age bracket they’re in, but it’s fun.

There are, however, three very specific teens that you’ve adopted into your little found family. It took some time for all of you to warm up to each other, but it was time well-spent and you wouldn’t trade them for anyone else in the world.

This, ladies, gentlemen, and noble gentry of non-conforming gender identities, is the very dramatic tale of how you came to know and love Ellie Phimister, Russell Collins, and Yukio.

It isn’t a very dramatic tale, actually. It’s not even plain old dramatic. Really, it’s kind of run-of-the-mill, maybe even a little boring.

Let it be known that hype has limitations, especially when what you’re trying to sell as the next best thing is really just average.

Anyway.

Getting in with the three teens that are honorary members of the X-Force –because Ellie and Yukio are still technically X-Wo­men and Russell’s too young to be fighting crime—isn’t all that hard, either. Yukio genuinely loves people, Russell’s basically Wade’s shadow when the merc’s around, and Ellie is Yukio’s girlfriend and Piotr’s mentee. You’ve got more than enough connections to be in with the teens.

Also in your favor is that you’re not an actual authority figure at the mansion. You might grade essays, but you’re not a teacher or a trainer; granted, if shit hits the fan you’ve got enough clout to tell anyone younger than you to duck for cover, but that’s about it.

That, and you’re usually helping start trouble instead of policing it. The latter’s Piotr’s job.

Anyway.

The four of you aren’t super close, though. Ellie sticks with Piotr, Russell sticks with Wade, and Yukio bounces between groups as she pleases but always winds back up with Ellie at the end of the day (which is understandable). You’re sort of disjointed. You know each other, you know the same people, and you all find each other to be agreeable enough, but that’s about it.

Until the four of you are really the only company you all have.

It happens during the summer, when all the “school year only” residents head back home to their families –which takes out about half of the ‘population’ at Xavier’s to begin with.

Then, some sort of conference comes up about mutant rights. Charles heads out to attend that, taking Piotr, Ororo, and a few other X-Men with him.

Then, within days, some sort of big mission comes up that clears out the rest of the X-Men, along with Wade and Nate. You don’t know the details, only that it’s an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ situation –one that you’ve been benched from until you get your episodes under better control, and one that Ellie, Yukio, and Russell can’t attend because they’re too young.

The mansion may as well be a ghost town. The whole space is eerily devoid of noise, and the lack of human contact has you a bit twitchy.

You sigh over your latest text from Piotr –a reminder that he loves you and to eat more than Poptarts while he’s gone—and flop back onto your bed, dejected. I wish he was home already.

As it turns out, you’re not the only one disquieted by the lack of noise and human contact.

Russell walks in on your late night Poptart run –you love Piotr, but you do what you want—and sits across from you at the breakfast table. “Hey.”

You nod at him. “Hey,” you garble around a mouthful of toaster pastry that’s more preservatives than pastry. “Whassup?”

“Nothing. Not much going on without everyone here.” He shifts in his seat, gaze bouncing from you to the window to you to the floor to back to you. “Do you… do you know when they’re going to be back?”

“The conference ends next week,” you say with a shrug. “And I know jack shit about the mission, so I can’t say anything about the rest of them.”

Russell nods, shifts in his seat again. “So, uh—”

Before he can say whatever he was going to say, Ellie and Yukio walk in.

Yukio waves cheerily at the two of you before sitting down. “Hi, Russell! Hi, Y/N!”

Ellie just grunts and sits next to her girlfriend, eyes glued to her phone screen.

You smirk and cram more Poptart into your mouth. “Hey, Yukio. Ellie. I didn’t realize you two were still up.”

“It’s summer,” Ellie says drily. “Sleep is for chumps. Besides, it’s too damn quiet around here.”

“Yeah,” Russell agrees quickly, looking relieved at the fact that he’s not the only one thinking it. “It’s almost like something out of a horror movie.”

“We’re all used to the noise,” Yukio chimes in. “It’s just lonely without everyone else here.”

And then they all look at you, like they’re looking for some sort of direction on what to do.

Oh dear sweet Cthulhu, that’s exactly what they’re doing. You’re the adult now. They’re looking to you for guidance.

Who the fuck let that happen? You think, terrified by the sudden prospect of being the responsible one. Okay, Y/N. Put on your thinking cap. You’ve got three teenagers looking to you to act as the adult. Fuck, what do I do?

Okay, step one: isolate the problem.

Okay, that’s simple enough. They’re lonely. Maybe even a little scared at the prospect of not having the usual people around.

Step one done. Step two: determine what the need is.

Again, simple enough: they’re looking for companionship, but they don’t know how to ask for it because they’re usually surrounded by people –and they’re also at that tender age where asking a grown up for direct help is “uncool.”

Step two done. Step three: find a way to get from being lonely to not being lonely.

Which is easier said than done, actually. Sure, y’all could hang out and watch a movie, which would help to some degree, but you’re practically the only four people in the house right now. Somehow, watching a movie and then splitting apart again for the night doesn’t seem to be enough.

You glance over your shoulder; the rec room’s right behind you, dark since no one’s using it, and oh, hey, I’ve got an idea. “You guys want to camp out in the rec room for the night?”

And that’s definitely the right answer, if the way all three teens’ faces light up is anything to go by.

Step three done.

It takes the better part of an hour to get the rec room set up for your little camp out; none of you are really sold on the idea of sleeping on the couches, and even Ellie doesn’t remember where the pump for the air mattresses got stored, which means the four of you have to drag down your regular beds from upstairs.

Which means rearranging all the furniture in the rec room so there’s space for four twin-sized mattresses on the floor, and since none of you can lift a couch single handed –Piotr—it takes a lot of sweat and team effort.

But the four of you do manage, and by the end of it you’ve got four mattresses settled on the rec room floor with blankets and pillows.

Russell sits down on his bed, gaze bouncing around the room as his uncertainty manifests again. “So… what now?”

It’s Ellie who makes the first suggestion.

“You guys ever play Mario Kart?”

You and Russell, as it turns out, suck at Mario Kart.

Not that it matters. You’re all too busy busting a gut at just how bad you and Russell –more specifically, you, since you decide to ignore the idea of winning in favor of fucking around on the courses—are at the game.

And Ellie, as it turns out, is a good teacher. By the end of it all, you and Russell are decent enough at Mario Kart to beat most of the computer characters.

(None of you are good enough to beat Ellie, though.)

The sun’s well on its way to being high in the sky when you wake up the next morning.

Ellie jerks awake with a snort when your phone’s alarm goes off.

You smirk as she tries to get her hair looking somewhat normal. “Sleep well?”

“Meh.” She rolls over to Yukio’s mattress and flops on top of her girlfriend. “It’s time to get up.”

Yukio groans and shoves Ellie off her. “I’m awake.”

You grin at their antics, then turn around and nudge Russell awake. “Hey. You should probably eat something.”

“Probably.” He rubs at his eyes. “What’s in the kitchen?”

“Uh…” You frown. “I’ve got Poptarts.”

“Those will spike my blood sugar too fast.”

“Right. Uh…”

“Didn’t anyone ever teach you two how to cook?” Ellie comments drily, eyebrow raised as she watches the two of you.

“No,” Russell says, glaring at her.

You shake your head when she looks at you. “Forced dependency. Abusers use it to keep their victims dependent on them for survival so they’re less likely to run away.”

She stares at you and Russell for a long, silent moment, then clenches her jaw and stands. “Come on. I’m teaching you two how to make a decent breakfast.”

She teaches the two of you how to make pancakes –without burning them, something you’ve never managed before—and the four of you eat breakfast in the rec room while watching reruns of the original “Teen Titans” cartoon series.

“The reboot is utter blasphemy,” Ellie comments when you ask her about it. “Just… don’t even try to watch it, okay?”

You all spend the rest of the day together; you play video games, you explore the house and the grounds, you watch TV and movies…

And then before you know it, it’s night again, and the house is still too damn quiet.

It’s clear that the three teens think the same, judging by the desperate looks they give you.

You glance at the mattresses, which are still on the rec room floor, then look back at them. “You guys wanna camp out another night?”

Russell’s face lights up. “Yeah!”

“I think it sounds like fun!” Yukio agrees.

Ellie shrugs and taps at her phone. “Whatever.”

You grin. “Sounds like we’re all in agreement, then.”

The next few days follow the same pattern: stay up late playing video games and watching TV, wake up mid-morning and eat breakfast, spend the day playing games, watching movies, or getting into mild mischief, then do it all over again.

It’s great. A little care-free, a little irresponsible, but it’s great.

It’s hard to feel lonely when you’re surrounded by friends, after all.

“So, wait.” Russell puts his slice of pizza down and focuses intently on Yukio. “Your family’s okay with you being a mutant?”

Yukio smiles and nods. “Yes. I am very fortunate, of course, but mutantism is viewed different in Japan. It’s more celebrated. Mutants are said to be blessed by our ancestors and the spirits.”

“I wish it was that way here,” Russell mutters, somewhat dejected. “I’m glad you have a supportive family, though. That’s… that’s good.”

“You have a supportive family, too,” Yukio says with a sweet smile. “All mutants are family to each other. Don’t forget that.”

You can’t help but smile as Russell perks up. “So, when do you go and visit your family?”

“I have an aunt in California,” Yukio says. “She hosts my parents during spring break so I can see them, and I go home to see them during winter break and part of summer break.”

“Is she a mutant too?” Russell asks.

Yukio shakes her head. “The last mutant in my family before me was my great-great grandfather.”

“It’s pretty rare for families to have long histories of active mutations,” Ellie chimes in as she munches on her pizza crust. “The X-gene’s pretty fickle.”

Russell frowns. “I thought Colossus came from a mutation family.”

Ellie snorts. “That’s just Russia, dude. Russia’s weird.”

“What about your family, Y/N?” Yukio asks. “Do you have any mutants in your family?”

Your mind flashes to your uncle automatically –his work as a mercenary, his history as a non-voluntary government agent, how spending those rare few weeks on his farm were the best weeks of your life when you were growing up.

You smile and shrug. “We’ve had one or two along the way.”

The four of you play video games for maybe an hour at a most, that night.

The rest of it, you spend talking.

“My parents threatened to kick me out when I came out as gay.” Ellie takes a swig from her water bottle. “They actually did it when my mutation manifested.”

Yukio frowns sympathetically and squeezes her girlfriend’s hand. “But your aunt’s been very supportive.”

Ellie smirks. “Doesn’t hurt that she’s gay, too.” She glances over at you. “What about your family?”

You roll your eyes. “Who gives a shit.”

Ellie laughs and nods. “That’s a mood.”

“What happened when your mutation manifested?” Russell asks. “I blew up a toilet.”

“I was outside when it happened,” Ellie says. “I got lucky. I did destroy a couple trashcans, though.”

“I made a few lights explode,” Yukio adds.

You look down at your hands when everyone looks at you. “I accidentally killed someone.” You swallow hard and take a deep breath. “I was five.”

Yukio moves to sit next to you and wraps her arms around you in a hug. “It wasn’t your fault.”

You manage a smile and pat her arm. “Thanks.”

“Does it feel good to kill people?” Russell blurts out.

Ellie whips her half empty water bottle at his head. “You don’t just ask that, idiot!”

You hold up a hand before she can rip into the poor kid. “It’s okay, Ellie.”

Because you know why he’s asking. You know he’s gotten different bits and pieces of the story from Wade and the X-Men –and a few from Nate when he was feeling vindictive—about why Nate was trying to kill him and why Wade worked so hard to save him.

You can hear the unspoken question he’s asking: Am I at risk? Am I going to become the monster people always said I am?

You asked yourself the same question growing up, after each incident you had with the men that liked to hunt you with guns when you ran away.

You look him in the eye. “It doesn’t. The only people who really get off on killing people are psychopaths. You aren’t a psychopath.”

Russell relaxes visibly.

“What does that make Wade?” Ellie mutters, half sarcastic and half serious.

“Psychopaths hurt people for the sake of hurting them,” you interject quickly. “Wade does it to take out people who hurt other people.”

“He’s a psychopath killer,” Russell says.

You shrug. “Basically.”

“That doesn’t make it right,” Ellie argues.

“I never said anything about right,” you fire back. “Wade definitely breaks nearly every single ethical and moral convention there is, but he has a code. And knowing that he goes after the kind of people that hurt me growing up…” You shrug again when your voice trails off. “I sleep better at night. I’m not ashamed to admit that.”

“I sleep better, too,” Russell chimes in quietly. “If it wasn’t for someone like Wade, I would’ve become a monster. Or the people at Essex would’ve kept hurting me.”

“It takes all kinds to make the world go around,” Yukio says, reaching over to hold Ellie’s hand again. “Wade is just one of the many kinds we need.”

Ellie lets out a huff. “He’s the crazy kind.”

But there’s no malice behind it, no insult.

The corner of your mouth turns up in a smile. “I doubt even he’d argue with you on that.”

Professor Xavier and the handful of mutants he took with him return home a couple days later.

It’s Piotr that finds your little set up in the rec room, though, which is probably for the best.

He crosses his arms over his chest and smiles down at the four of you. “I see you redecorated.”

The four of you look at each other, grin, then look back at Piotr. “Yeah.”

[southside-vixen]

Fire and Ice (Sweet Pea) 2

Chapter 2. Unwelcoming Committee 

AO3

Adrianna Rivera has just made a difficult move from Arizona to the southside of Riverdale. With the history of her life in Phoenix behind her will she be able to find a new family in the Southside Serpents? Or will a certain tall, dark, and rage inducing Serpent cause issues?

“Okay so that’s the ins and outs of draught beer pouring” Toni put her hands on her hips “Tall Boy wants a Budweiser, let’s see what you got.”

It was Adria’s first day working at the White Wyrm. And it sucked. She followed Toni’s directions and titled the glass as she pulled the lever and poured in the beer.

“That….is half head. You need to angle it so you get more beer and less foam.”

“This is stupid. I shouldn’t even be here.” Adria groaned and leaned up against the bar

“Listen.” Toni lined herself up to Adria “I get you think this is beneath you and you’ve never worked a day in your life. But you’re a Southsider now, designer jeans or not. So get used to it.” She backed up a few steps to give Adria some room “Now try again. You need to get it this time. We don’t have the money to waste on shit pours.”

“Jesus fucking Christ this should not be this difficult” Adria groaned as she stared at another glass half full of foam.

“There she is” She looked up to see Ness walking to the bar with a big smile on her face “How did she hold up, Toni?”

“Well.” Toni sighed “She’s a shit bartender but we’ll have her up to snuff in a couple weeks. As far as school goes she sticks out but she’ll be a Southsider in no time”

“Well, she’s not dead so I do have to thank you for that” Ness raised her pint and took a large swig.

“Also day 1 and she’s already putting Sweet Pea in his place” Toni smirked

“What?” Ness put her drink down “Adria come on. The boy’s got some serious anger issues. The last thing I need is him snapping and you ending up with permanent brain damage.”

“Wow. That’s some exaggeration” Adria replied “You seriously think he’s going to hit me? A girl half his size in the middle of a high school cafeteria? I bet that’d make him look real tough.” She had never been in a fight in her life though. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to start now.

“Just…don’t push him too far.” Ness resigned herself to the fact that there was no way in hell her niece was going to listen to her “if your case worker finds out you’re getting into fights it’s only going to make things difficult”

“I’ve got this. No physical fights, scouts honor.” Adria smiled

“I’ll take what I can get” Ness took another sip of her beer “Now if you’ll excuse me I need to take a look at the end of the month books. Keep up the good work Toni”

“No physical  fights, huh?” Toni smiled after Ness was sufficiently out of sight

“Tearing people down with words is an Adrianna Rivera Specialty.”

“It’s like you walked out of Mean Girls. Or Heathers”

“Toni. I have no idea what Heathers is. But I’m definitely a Regina.” Adria flipped her hair trying to give her best impression

“You don’t know Heathers” Toni feigned surprise “I’m not surprised honestly, but it’s the OG Mean Girls. Except with more murder. That’s it, you’ve been conscripted to join in a movie night.”

---------------------------------------------------

By the time the weekend came around Ness was going crazy making sure everything was perfect for a movie night. The usual takeout boxes and newspapers covering the table were wiped clear, and the counter tops were stacked with snacks she bought the day before.

“Okay girls, there are plenty of snacks and pizza is on its way. If you need anything just give me a call, I’ll be out the majority of the night making sure the Wrym doesn’t catch fire”

“Bye Ness!” Both Toni and Adria shouted in unison.

It was maybe 10 minutes after the pizza arrived that there was another knock on the door

“Expecting anyone else?” Toni asked

“No. Ness shouldn’t be back for hours.”

Toni pulled a switch blade out of her purse and slowly moved to the door. “Stay behind me” she whispered.

‘Seriously?’ Adria mouthed as Toni swung up open the door, her knife going inches away from the stomach of the person on the other side.

“Fangs!” Toni shouted putting her knife down “What the fuck?”

“Woah, woah” Fangs was laughing while putting his hands up in the air “Nessie invited me! She promised pizza and snacks, you know I’m a sucker for free food. And I am your next door neighbor, Adria. I’m offended I wasn’t invited in the first place”

“Don’t let Ness hear you call her that or she’ll kill you before I get the chance. Get your ass in here.” Toni shut the door behind him.

“So when do we get started? Are we gonna talk about boys? Play some truth or dare, maybe some never have I ever? Topless pillow fight or two?” Fangs sat down at the table and grabbed a slice of pizza “You know. Typical girl’s sleep over stuff”

“Not even in your dreams, Fangs.” Adria rolled her eyes “So are we gonna watch this movie or what?”

“Are we not inviting Sweet Pea? I thought he was a staple?”

Adria glared at Fangs while he sorted through the pile of snacks on the counter, taking a bite of his slice. She was outside her comfort zone already trying to be friends with Toni, then Fangs showing up threw her for another loop. The last thing she needed was the tall, angry one glaring at her while she tried to watch cheesy 80’s movies.

“I think its best it’s just the three of us tonight. Let Adria ease into Southside life” Toni shot a reassuring smile at her “Besides Fangs, we’re going to have enough problems trying to get food before you eat all of it. If we bring Sweet Pea here Adria and I will starve.”

“Fine. Fine.” Fangs conceded “But I’m telling him we had a threesome.”

“You absolutely are not.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fangs must have left around 2 or 3 am and Toni decided to stay for the night. Overall her first movie night/sleepover had gone well. Toni was really trying to connect with her, despite how awful she had been the first couple days after they met.

Adria stared up at the ceiling and stretched out her arms, only to immediately hit something solid

“Fuuuuck.” She must have jumped a foot in the air as she looked to her side to see Toni clutching her eye. Right, they had shared the same tiny twin size bed last night. It was a feat that they both fit.

“Jesus, I’m never sharing a bed with you again. You nearly pushed me off 4 times last night and now I probably have a black eye. “Toni sat up and ran her hands through her hair to remove the tangles

“This bed is barely big enough for me. I don’t know why you thought it was a good idea to share.” Adria grumbled. She got out of bed and ran a brush through her hair, tousling it in the mirror until she was satisfied “Up until a week ago I had a king size. I’d give anything for my beautiful memory foam mattress and my down pillows.” She must have looked like she had stars in her eyes

“Ah, yes. Rich girl luxury.” Toni laughed “How the mighty have fallen, now she sleeps on a hand me down twin mattress like the rest of us.” Adria made a face at her while she rummaged through her overstuffed closet. The weather was starting to get a chill and she had next to nothing to deal with it. In another couple of months there would be snow. She shuddered at the thought.

“So I text Fangs last night after he left and he agreed that we should all head over to Pop’s for brunch” Toni walked over to the closet as well “I didn’t bring a change of clothes so I’m stealing some of yours. Welcome to friendship with Toni”

“Pop’s?” Adria asked “That’s the diner, right? If so I’m down. I could use some breakfast”

“Great!” Toni smiled, pulling a shirt out of the closet “I’m borrowing this one.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------

“Is it too early for a strawberry milkshake?” Adria asked eyeing over the menu as Toni sat across from her

“Ads. It’s 12:30. Even if you wanted a milkshake at 7AM I’d tell you to go for it.” Toni hadn’t even bothered to look at a menu, she never strayed too far from her regular.

“Did you just call me Ads?” She raised an eyebrow and put down her menu

“Adria is too long, plus I feel like Ads has a more Southside feel to it. It’s your new edgy, bad girl persona.” Toni could hardly contain her laughter

“I’ve never been edgy in my life.” She looked down at the outfit picked out for the day. She didn’t look like a Southsider at all. She didn’t even know if she wanted to be one of them. Hopefully soon her father’s legal team would sort out his release and she’d be home in Phoenix, ready for her next jet set to Rodeo Drive.

Toni lifted up her head as the doorbell rang and waved someone over. Adria looked up as well to see Fangs walk in, followed by Sweet Pea.

“What did you do?” She whispered harshly

“Hey guys!” Toni waved them over “Have a seat!” she flashed Adria a quick smile.

Adria looked back at the door to notice Fangs speed walking toward the booth, and then sliding in next to Toni. Adria felt a wave of dread crash into her as she looked up to see Sweet Pea standing over her.

“Are you going to move over or what?” he asked, his voice completely deadpan. She quietly moved over to the window and attempted to stare down Toni, who would only smile in return. After the waitress came and took orders the table was overtaken by silence. Adria stared at the table, stacking creamers then knocking them over, re-stacking them again.

“So…” Fangs tried to break the ice “How are you liking Riverdale so far, Adria?”

“Its…good.” She kept her eyes on the construction of her creamer tower. She could hear Sweet Pea scoff next to her and tried her best to ignore it.

“Think you’re gonna join the serpents? You’re an honorary member already considering your aunt and all. We could go through initiation together.” Fangs was all smiles this morning, it was almost like he completely forgot the tense atmosphere at the table. Or he was deliberately ignoring it.

“You just want to see her dance.” Toni threw a sugar packet at him

“Dance? You have to dance to join a gang?” Adria lifted her head up from her makeshift tower to look at Toni

“What does it matter? You honestly think princess here could be a Serpent?” Sweet Pea spoke up, not even sparing a glance in her direction

“You think I can’t?” Adria turned so she was facing him, her back up against the wall so she didn’t have to be any closer than necessary “I’m tougher than I look”

“Yeah? Ever been in a fight?” He angled himself to hover over her, his height was imposing on its own but the lack of light in his eyes made it worse.  “You’d be the weakest link we have. You can’t handle it”

Adria was done shrinking down in her seat, back against the wall. She sat up straight, as tall as she could, which was still considerably shorter than Sweet Pea

“I’m anything but weak” her eyes were serious as well, burning with resolve. She didn’t know why she felt the need to prove herself. She shouldn’t be here long, and in the grand scheme of things the opinion of one hot headed gang member shouldn’t matter. But she wanted to belong to something, just as she always had. Maybe she needed to adapt.

“Prove it.” His face was so close she could feel his warm breath on her skin. The exchange was far too intimate for her liking, but she wasn’t one to back down from a glaring match. Each second felt like an hour passed, until Toni finally broke it up.

“Pea, that’s enough. We’re here to have breakfast.”

Adria and Sweet Pea both took their eyes off each other and moved back to their respective sides of the booth. The rest of breakfast was silent, the tension somehow getting 10x worse. Adria stared out the window, picking at her food while Fangs and Toni were both on their phones. Sweet Pea, however, finished his meal as fast as he could before he slammed money down on the table and stormed out.

“That went well…All things considered.” Fangs said after he left

“Are you serious? That went well?” Adria put down her fork and stared at him “The only way that could have gone worse is if one of us stabbed the other. What’s his issue with me?”

“He’s hated the Northside for a long time. They blame us for all their problems and generally just shit on us. I don’t quite understand why he has an issue with you since you’re from out of town.” Toni sighed “But one thing does need to be said, Ads. You can’t just join the Serpents to prove a point. If you join it needs to be for the right reasons.”

Adria let her head rest against the window. Why couldn’t anything ever be easy?

[thiamlife]

Thiam Week Day 3: Games

**NOTE** This is a continuation from Day 2 which can be found on my page

**NOTE 2** This story will continue on day 4 because I’m all about the slow burn that turns into an all out fire 😈

Liam nodded his head up and down at Theo’s question. He had never wanted to play a game more in his life. Well maybe except for a few lacrosse games but this definitely topped those. Theo was still pinning his hands against the wall and flicking his eyes between Liam’s lips and back up to his glowing eyes. Liam was ready for Theo’s next move and was unpleasantly surprised when he dropped his hands and took a step back from him.

“Go shower. You stink and the smell of your blood is going to drive me insane.” Theo said unapologetically. Liam stayed against the wall not believing that Theo was able to just step away from him like that AGAIN. Get a grip on yourself, it’s just a game to him. Closing his eyes, he thought of his mantra to get his eyes to change back. Once he knew he was in control again he pushed off the wall and stomped his way into the bathroom slamming the door. He heard Theo chuckling from the other room and flipped him off through the wall.

After throwing his dirty clothes on to the already large pile in the corner, he turned the water on to hot and climbed in. He watched as the water at the bottom of the tub went from clear to a dark pink and then back to clear once all the blood was gone. Picking up the bottle of soap he poured some on his head and some down his chest as he began to scrub everywhere. As his fingers ran through his hair, his thumb accidentally touched the spot on his neck that Theo had found in the alley sending a zing of excitement through him.

Liam jerked in surprise at the feeling and wanted to do it again just to make sure he wasn’t imaging it. The second time he had to slap his hand against the wall to keep his knees from buckling. The thought of Theo licking, sucking, and biting him there was too much. Breathing heavily, he decided to try it one last time because why the hell not. His fingers brushed over it and he opened his mouth to let out a sigh as the feeling rushed over him again.

His eyes snapped open at the sound of a growl coming from his bedroom. It was a warning, Theo could smell him and had heard his heartbeat increase. Asshole. He growled back which was his way of saying piss off. Turning the shower off and stepping out to find that his towel was in the dirty pile wasn’t a shock. God he wished he had taken his mom up on her offer to do laundry before she left.

He listened as he heard his bedroom door open, footsteps going down the stairs, and the front door open and close. Great he left. He shook his head at himself in the mirror. What did he expect? Theo never stuck around. It was just like him to take off whenever it suited him. Now that he didn’t need to cover up, he walked in to his room and grabbed a pair of boxers out of his drawer. He was bending over to pull them up his legs when he heard Theo gasp. Falling forward a bit and knocking his head on the wood dresser he swore.

“Jesus make a sound or something would you!? I thought you left.” He exclaimed with embarrassment flooding his cheeks.

Theo kept moving towards the bathroom and said “I did, you just need to listen better.” Liam was left standing in his room with pink cheeks and a large bump on his head. A few seconds later the shower was turning on and the smell of Theo’s soap was his hitting nose. He took a deep breath in and remembered how it smelled the first time when he was in the woods with Stiles. It was spicy and yet earthy, like fresh woodchips and cloves. It smelled like Fall in a bottle and it smelled so good.

He was reaching for a shirt when Theo came out of the bathroom in nothing but his boxers so he decided against it. He was so completely distracted by the sight and scent of him that he failed to noticed the trickle of blood leaking from his side on the first and second pass of checking out his toned body.

When he did notice it he double took and immediate concern flooded through him. He should have healed by now.  Walking up to Theo he grabbed his arm and yanked it away from his body to get a better look at the four holes on his side that his claws had left in the alley.

“Ow…” Theo said dryly at the force with which Liam grabbed his arm and then pushed his hands away stepping around him.

“Why aren’t you healing?” Liam’s voice came out more aggressive than he intended.

“One of the hunters put wolfs bane in my drink so my healing is a little delayed.” Liam frowned and was about to ask more questions when Theo took his left hand and examined each finger carefully.

“They were done healing after I tackled you.” He said because he knew that’s what Theo was looking for. Theo nodded, dropped his hand, and walked to other side of the bed and started pulling back the blankets. Uhhh what the hell. He figured Theo would sleep on the couch or the floor… He didn’t know if he could take him being so close all night. It may be a fun game to Theo but for him Liam couldn’t seem to control his feelings towards the chimera.

“What are you doing?” He questioned, “that’s my bed.”

Theo looked up from separating the blankets and nodded. “I figured as much considering it’s in your room.” There was a twinkle in his eyes that told Liam he was laughing at him.

“And who said you could sleep in my bed?” He said as he started moving towards his side.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Yeah no way in hell was he sleeping on the floor, he’d rather sleep in his truck.

“You invited me to sleep in your house instead of my truck. There’s no way I’m sleeping on the cold floor when there’s a perfectly good bed right here.”

Dumbass Theo thought to himself. He was glad he went out to his truck to grab his soap though. He wouldn’t have been able to make it through the whole night if he was sleeping next to Liam in his bed that smelled entirely of him. He needed something to ground him, to keep him focused especially after seeing his ass. His little slip in the alley and when Liam had been smelling him was not good. He was Theo fucking Raeken and he wasn’t supposed to show any emotions let alone let his control go unchecked 

“There’s a pretty comfy couch downstairs…” Liam trailed off as Theo gave him one of the nastiest looks.

“You’re welcome to go sleep on the couch if you want, I’ll be up here if you need me.” He responded while laying down and turning on his side to face away from Liam. He listened as Liam muttered under his breath calling him an asshole. Sighing “Quiet down would you, I’m trying to sleep.”

He felt Liam flop angrily into bed and tensed as he felt his leg brush against his. How Liam slept on a twin bed he had no idea. He was the kind of guy that liked a king size mattress so you could spread all the way out, not that his truck provided that, and he never liked to run out of blankets. Exactly how he did when Liam pulled the comforter leaving him only half covered.

He knew that laying so close to Liam would make it hard for him to sleep. Luckily, Liam didn’t seem to have the same problem as he was out in under 4 minutes. Impressive really Theo thought to himself. So he just laid there breathing in Liam’s clean crisp scent putting off the sister waiting for him when he closed his eyes. Two hours later and Theo was just on the edge of sleep when Liam rolled over and caged him in. Liam’s arm was across his chest and one leg was thrown over him making him freeze in place.

He could feel Liam’s nose in the crook of his neck and the soft tickle of breath going in and out. Liam’s arm trailed down his chest finding its spot on his stomach making Theo quiver as goosebumps formed across his flesh. He could feel his heartrate pick up and tried to take deep breaths to slow it back down but the only thing that came through his nostrils was Liam. His scent was everywhere and it was starting to make Theo crazy.

Theo gulped and went to move Liam’s hand up and away from the very sensitive area on his stomach when Liam let out a very sleepy moan/growl right by his ear. Theo couldn’t help but start panting at this point and Liam must have noticed the shift in breathing because he started to wake up.

Liam pulled him in closer and groggily asked “What’s wrong?” Theo couldn’t answer. He wasn’t sure what would come out of his mouth but he was pretty sure it wouldn’t be English. Liam detangled himself and Theo couldn’t help but feel a loss from the baby wolf now that he was no longer wrapped up by him. Liam grabbed his jaw and pulled it towards his face so could look into Theo’s eyes. “What’s wrong.” He pushed harder with his voice. Theo closed his eyes before turning the rest of the way.

“Nothing.” He replied with a barely this whisper. “Go back to sleep. 

“Why won’t you look at me.” Liam pushed again.

“What is this the Spanish inquisition? Go back to sleep Liam.” Trying to sound annoyed but it came off as desperate.

“One that doesn’t even make sense, the Spanish inquisition was about religion. Two, I just want to know why your heart is beating like crazy and why you won’t look at me… then I’ll go back to sleep.” Leave it to Liam to actually bring up the history behind a saying he thought as he rolled his eyes behind his closed eyelids. Liam griped his jaw harder “Eyes. Now.” Theo pushed his eyes open showing Liam two bright yellow rings in the darkness. He went to turn away but Liam held him still.

“I don’t smell any anger, fear, or pain. So what’s with the eyes Theo.” Liam and his fucking questions did he ever just shut up. Theo was already riled up from Liam’s fingers dragging across his body and that hot sleepy growl that happened right in his ear. The last thing he needed was for Liam to go pushing more buttons in his already fucked up control room.

“Always so chatty. Guess I’ll have to try something else.” Theo could feel the smile in Liam’s voice even though he wasn’t looking at him. And that’s when he felt it. Liam started to run a single finger over his jaw and down his throat. Without knowing what he was doing Theo pushed his chin up and out to give Liam better access. The fingers continued to trace their way across his collar bone and down in between his pecs.

Theo was about to grab Liam’s hand to get him to stop when he felt claws drag over his abs making him snarl. He felt Liam lean in and whisper “So the eye change counts as one point and I’m gonna go with two points for the growl. Looks like its 3-1 in my favor.” Theo turned his head to look at Liam. It was a game, Liam was playing the stupid game he started and now he was screwed. He’d be damned if he let his baby wolf take control like that.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Liam loved the reaction he got more than he probably should. It finally showed him that Theo wasn’t a marble statue with zero emotion. He felt what Liam felt when they were around each other: Desire. And Liam wasn’t about to let him forget it as easily as the other times. He gently bit his earlobe while his mouth was still so close to it. Before he knew it he was on his back and the chimera was on top of him.

“Moment of weakness, it won’t happen again.” Theo smirked at him but his yellow eyes told Liam a different story.

“I don’t know Theo; you might just get beat this ti- shit!” Theo went right for the spot on his neck. His warm breath caressing it right before his tongue swiped against it.  Liam’s claws dug into Theo’s arms at his sides.

“Claws broke skin… I’d say that’s at least 3 points.” Theo said deeply before he flicked his tongue over the spot again and giving it a quick nip with his teeth causing Liam to gasp. He grabbed Liam’s jaw and turned his head to the side so he could give the other side of his neck some attention, quickly figuring out that it wasn’t as sensitive as Liam’s spot.

Liam removed his claws from Theo’s arms and lazily dragged them down his chest and stomach making Theo twitch and pause his attack on Liam’s neck. Theo stayed utterly still when Liam reach the line of his boxers and dipped one clawed finger in tracing the V of his muscles. Time seemed to freeze and before he knew it the scent of blood hit the air as Theo bit down on his shoulder.  It didn’t hurt at all, it actually kind of felt good. Liam pulled his finger back out and moved his hands to sweep up Theo’s back and in to his hair at the nape of his neck.

“Teeth broke skin… I’d say THAT’S at least 3 points,” Liam mimicked him, “seems you found my spot and I found yours…” He trailed off as Theo licked the spot he bit and slowly moved his mouth to Liam’s lips lightly brushing them together. Liam extended his neck silently asking for more contact but Theo pulled back slightly teasing him.

Annoyed that Theo wasn’t giving in fully he decided to provoke the hot chimera on top of him. “You’re still losing at your own game Theo, it’s 6-4 I believe.”

He barely finished the taunt when Theo’s lips crashed down on his demanding they open for him. Liam held out as long as he could until Theo growled at him and nipped his lower lip making him open his mouth on a gasp. Theo took advantage of the opening and slid his tongue right in swirling it around. He ended the kiss by sucking Liam’s bottom lip in between his and releasing it with a pop.

Smirking down at him, Theo took a deep breath in and exhaled with the words, “You’re playing with fire baby wolf, be careful.” He gave him a soft peck on the lips and then turned Liam to his side and wrapped him up in his arms so that Theo was the big spoon.

Liam was about to open his mouth to speak when Theo covered it with his hand and whispered “Sleep.” In his ear. Liam huffed and closed his eyes. If Theo thought he won the game he was sorely mistaken. He was gonna have to step it up a notch he thought to himself as he nodded with finality right before drifting off to sleep in the warm embrace Theo had him in.

                 TO BE CONTINUED ON DAY 4: FRIENDS TO LOVERS ;)

[5hfanfiction]

I Can do that With My Eyes Closed: Chapter 6

“This is so exciting!” Normani climbs up the ladder of the brand new wooden bunk bed set up in Camila’s room. The five girls had spent the entire day at Ikea, purchasing new furniture. Since Camila’s room, like all the other college rooms, was decently small, they had decided that three desperate beds, even twin sized, would be awfully crowded. Thus leading to the decision to buy a bunk bed.

The entire drive home had been Dinah and Normani battling for the top bunk, Lauren boasting about her new memory foam mattress cover, and Camila trying her best to DJ despite the noise. It took them almost an hour by itself to heave the large and incredibly awkwardly shaped box up the stairs (since it had been coincidentally too big for the elevator by an inch) and even longer to step the damn thing up (which they had too take apart twice after Dinah attached it wrong).

They had all stood to admire their work, each bed already managing to look personally like the owner. Dinah, who had lost a very long and dedicated game of rock-paper-scissors, ended up with the bottom bunk. Even if Camila didn’t previously know whom the bunk belonged too, it wouldn’t be hard too tell it was Dinah’s. She had a plain white comforter with a large ocean wave on it and dangling from the bars above where she slept, were pictures of her very large family. Normani’s comforter was an elegant navy blue color and her large beat headphones were draped across the railing surrounding her bed. Already, a pair of shoes was shoved to the end of her bed.

“I mean, it’s just like any other time you guys have slept over, except now we won’t sleep on the floor or squished on the couch.” Camila tried to stay cool because secretly she was a bit upset that they were sharing a bunk bed and she had to sleep by herself across the room.

“No way Chanch. This is way different. We can actually sleep in beds! Do you know how long it’s been since my back hasn’t hurt after waking up?” Dinah stretched her back and grimaced to prove her point. She walked over to her bed and let herself flop into the bed with a content sigh.

Camila frowned feeling slightly guilty. The whole reason that Dinah was sleeping on the couch in the first place was to watch Camila. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

Dinah shrugs. “No biggie.”

Normani leans over the edge of the top bunk and looks down at the two girls. “Nice and comfy.” She makes a big show to snuggle into her silk pillow (yes silk, Normani would settle for nothing less) with a smile.

Camila rolls her eyes at the two girls who were acting slightly like children on Christmas morning. “Yeah, yeah. Do you guys want to try something on the list or just go to bed?” Camila asks, it had been an exhausting day and they were all extremely tired.

Dinah yawns from her spot on the bed and pulls a taped napkin off of the wall where it hangs next to her bed. “Let’s see…..” She examines the list. “We could…. well no, that’s sounds stupid. Well we could… no too much work.”

Camila sighs and decides to take a seat. “Today Dinah.” She nags playfully.

Dinah rolls her eyes at Camila but scrolls down the list with a little more motivation this time. “Okay fine, this one here says acupressure. Chinese medical theory…. blah, blah, blah…. Alleviate sleeplessness. Why not?”

Camila raises her eyebrow because acupressure sounds a lot like acupuncture and Camila is not too fond of being stabbed by several needles. She thinks that might be the last thing to get her to sleep better. “Why do i get the feeling Laur wrote that down?” Camila asks curiously.

“Probably because she did.” Dinah snorts. She stands up from her bed and turns towards the upper bunk. “You ready Mani….” Dinah looks up to find Normani completely passed out in her large pile of blankets, soft snores escaping her parted lips. “Okay, just me and you then.” Dinah walks over to Camila’s bed and sits down. “Yeah this was definitely Lauren’s suggestion, its got step by step instructions in perfect handwriting.”

Camila chuckles, but it’s interrupted by a large yawn. Once she recovers, she clarifies. “So this doesn’t actually involve needles does it? Because i kinda hate needles.”

Dinah shakes her head. “Nope, not from what i can tell.”

“So how does it work then?” Camila questions.

Dinah straightens out the napkin and squints her eyes as she reads. “Step one…” She pauses to laugh. “God what a dork.”

Camila has to agree.

“Alright, step one, between your eyebrows, there is a small depression on the level of your brows, right above the nose. Apply gentle pressure to the point.” Dinah read allowed.

Camila scrunches her nose and tries her best to follow directions. “Here?” She asks when she has her thumb placed on the spot she thinks is correct.

“More to the center.” Dinah directs. “Oh god, i think she drew pictures…. and they are surprisingly really good.” Dinah comments as she observes the napkin.

“She is an art student Dinah. Here?” Camila asks holding her thumb way to high.

“No down, too far, no you aren’t in the center now…. Let me do it.” Dinah finally gives up on directing Camila. She steps closer to Camila, standing only a few inches away from her face and presses her thumb to the center of Camila’s forehead, placing it directly between her two eyebrows. She presses down. “Am i pressing too hard?” She asks cautiously.

Camila can smell Dinah’s spearmint toothpaste and she gulps at the closeness. “Uh…no. That’s fine.”

Dinah holds her thumb in place for a minute before removing it from the patch of skin on her forehead. She still has yet to realize that Camila can hear every breath the blonde girl takes and practically feel her body heat radiating off of her body. “Now it says you are supposed to massage both of your ears for a minute each.”

Dinah doesn’t even attempt to explain to Camila how, instead, she brushes Camila’s hair behind her ear and begins rubbing small circles with her fingers into Camila’s ear, one hand on each ear. Camila’s ears are cold, due to having not the best circulation, but Dinah’s warm hands begin to knead warmth into the soft skin. Dinah moves impossibly closed to Camila so that she can get a view of both ears. Camila’s breath hitches when she notices. She can see Dinah’s eyebrows scrunched up in concentration and how Dinah’s slightly dry lips are only inches from her own. She feels Dinah’s thumb stop to brush at her cheek for a second before resuming her massage.

After a minute, she stops, only then realizing how close she is to Camila. They make eye contact and Camila glances unconsciously to Dinah’s lips. Dinah breathes out and her minty breath makes Camila’s lips cold. She thinks that Dinah’s plump lips look like the perfect thing to warm them up.

Except then Dinah takes a few steps back and begins reading the final step and Camila realizing what she had been doing. She thinks that maybe Dinah will freak out or ask her about it, but Dinah doesn’t seem to have noticed. “It says now you are supposed to press the area between your first and second toes until you feel a dull ache….? Sorry Chanch but I ain’t touching your feet.”

Camila would usually laugh, except she doesn’t. Not because it wasn’t funny, because that is exactly the kind of not-funny, bad jokes that make Camila giggle. Her brain is spinning. Had she really just wanted Dinah to kiss her? Camila knows she’s gay, she’s known possibly her whole life (of course junior year was the year she finally came to terms with it) and right now is no exception, but Dinah? Dinah is Camila’s best friend. She loves her, but as a friend.

And yet, she was proved otherwise. She had been unable to stop herself from staring at Dinah’s lips and she had been thinking about how much she wanted their lips too touch and last time Camila checked, that was not what platonic best friends did.

Sure, Dinah was pretty. In fact, Camila would argue that she was one of the most effortlessly beautiful people Camila has ever met… maybe ever seen. She was practically flawless and Camila would be lying if she said that she wasn’t at least a little bit attracted t the blonde girl, but she was pretty sure that the slight attractiveness was it. Nothing more.

Camila likes to think that she is in tune with her emotions. She likes to thinks that she even feels sometimes before she thinks (which more often than not is a bad thing). Had she really began developing feelings for the girl? Did she want to-

“Mila?” Dinah’s steady voice brings her from her thoughts and she realizes that she has been staring at Dinah with a concerned look on her face the whole time she was zoned out. Of course, that was probably just a coincidence, right?

Camila blinks away her thoughts and clear her vision. “Hmm?” She responds.

“You okay?” Dinah has a concerned look in her eyes that Camila thinks is kinda cute. The way that her eyebrows scrunch together and how she….shit. She just did it again didn’t she?

She swallows before realizing that Dinah has been waiting for an answer for longer than she should have and Camila tries her best to cover it up. “What? Oh yeah, I’m just suddenly super tired. I zoned out.” She forces a chuckle to make it seem more realistic.

Dinah smiles back at the girl, hopping into her bed and pulling the covers up to her chin before rolling onto her stomach so that she faces Camila. “You gonna finish?” Dinah lifts the napkin that she holds and tapes it back onto the wall.

“Oh yeah….” Camila brings her foot to her hands and does as the directions say. She wonders how Lauren knows this stuff. She begins to feel a dull ache like the directions had said she would and she furrows her brow wondering how this would actually help. Or maybe it wouldn’t, who knows?

Dinah yawns while she watches Camila with a playful look on her face. She glances at the wall when Camila is done. “Oh, there is actually one more step. Another foot thing. Maybe Lauren has some weird foot fetish.” Dinah jokes.

Camila’s thoughts keep trying to pull her back into a deep discussion about Dinah, but Camila manages to mostly pay attention and she laughs. “Lauren probably read this somewhere you perv. Go ahead.” She motions for Dinah to continue.

Dinah smirks but clears her throat dramatically and reads the list once more. “Imagine that your foot has three sections, beginning at the tips of your toes and ending at the back of your heel. Got that?”

Camila tires her best to take it serious but she still laughs as she closes her eyes and imagines the sections as told to do so.

“Okay, find the distance one-third back from the tips of your toes and press on the sole of your foot for a few minutes. Damn who finds out these things?” Dinah comments before glancing up to see Camila rubbing at her foot and pressing the bottom. “I mean it looks really weird, how does it feel?”

Camila continues to do as the instructions say for a few minutes before deciding she had done it long enough. She turns to get into her bed and worms her way under the covers. Once she is all settled and the lights are off she answers, “It feels weird. Like all tingly.”

Dinah hums in response.

“This also feels weird.” Camila comments to no one in particular.

Dinah responds anyways. “Sleeping in an actual bed?” She asks tiredly.

“Well yeah, but i mean, like not only that. Sleeping in my bed, in my room, but with company. If that makes sense.” Camila tries her best to explain.

There is a rustling noise as Dinah rolls over in her bed. “What do you mean? You’ve never shared a room before? Haven’t you ever had like a sleepover at your house? Before college i mean?”

Camila sighs. “Nope. Never.”

Dinah isn’t too surprised that Camila hasn’t shared a room before. After all, not everyone has seven siblings like Dinah did. She is however, surprised that Camila has never had a sleepover. “You’ve never had a sleep over before college?” She asks sort of loudly and Normani moans a bit in her sleep. “Sorry.” She apologizes to the sleeping girl.

“No, but i wanted too.” Camila yawns before she can continue.

“So why didn’t you?” Dinah asks after trying to come up with something to say, even though Camila’s last sentence kinda sounds like the end of their conversation.

The question is never answered and Dinah assumes it’s because Camila has fallen asleep, a second set of lungs produce the steady breathing of sleep across the room. Dinah thinks about what Camila meant, though she assumes it isn’t a big deal, Dinah wonders why Camila never goes into detail about her life. In fact, Dinah realizes that Camila hasn’t really told Dinah anything about her life. She decides to try her best to get the girl to open up, after she gets a good night’s sleep of course.

Camila hopes that by steadying her breathing would make Dinah think that she was asleep. Dinah doesn’t talk again and soon her best friend’s snores are harmonizing with Normani’s. She is in that state of being where she really should be asleep, except she isn’t. The one where her mind is still awake enough that she is able to comprehend what she thinks, not yet dreaming, but still not fully awake.

She can’t help but let her mind drift to what had happened earlier with their almost kiss. Well, Camila can’t really even call it an almost kiss because they didn’t kiss. She doesn’t even think that the thought crossed Dinah’s mind. It was only Camila who looked at Dinah’s lips and only Camila who well…. wanted them to touch her own.

She can’t fall for Dinah. She knows this. There are multiple reasons against her. One main reason being that well, Camila is gay. No one knows that she is gay. She can’t tell them either, she can’t give anything away. They might hate her, and she has tried so damn hard to get these girls to like her and to make friends that she can’t do anything to lose that. She can’t lose them. Not now.

The other main factor being that Dinah is straight. Not literally. Literally Dinah has beautiful curves and a really nice butt. Sexually however, Dinah is straight as a ruler. Camila has only ever heard Dinah talk about boys. Boy arms, boy hands, boy abs, boy eyes, just boys. And it’s pretty frequent too.

Camila finds herself getting slightly upset and she sighs, rolling over to her side. She can’t think of this right now. She doesn’t need to be thinking of it right now. She likes Dinah… but as a friend. In a strictly platonic way. Like communism dictator from world war two kind of strict.

She is really tired. She can’t think about this anymore. So she didn’t. She lets black wave after black wave wash over her vision until her eyes drift shut and her breathing becomes deep and even. 

-

-

Lauren likes to get up early. What can she say? She enjoys the feeling of having so much time to get things done. It makes her feel productive. In her opinion, the morning was one of the best parts of the day. She can’t help but appreciate the silence of Ally’s room and the smell of coffee from the extremely fancy (self-timing) coffee machine Lauren had spent her entire month’s budget on. She loves the quiet chirping of birds. She loves doing her morning yoga. And she especially loves how empty the school cafeteria is at seven in the morning. She took full advantage of her mornings.

Currently, she sits on one of the many white cafeteria tables. She always takes the one in the farthest corner of the room where she can people watch. Because she is sitting in that very spot, she happens to notice a girl looking in her direction.

The girl she thinks she recognizes from her painting class. Usually, the girl is decked out in ponytails and paint covered t-shirts and Lauren finds it hard to recognize her in her current clothing; a loose tank top, exercise pants, running shoes, and a black headband pulled around her hair.

The girl looks nervous, Lauren can tell that she is slightly talking to herself. They meet eye contact and the girl blushes like she has been caught. She looks around just to make sure that Lauren is for sure looking at her and when she realizes that she is the only person in the vicinity, her cheeks turn from pink to red. She seems to take a deep breath before walking in Lauren’s direction.

“Hey Lauren!” She smiles when she is within talking range. She reaches the table and takes a seat across from Lauren. “That’s your name right? Please say yes.” She almost pleads.

Lauren laughs and nods. “Yes, my name is Lauren.”

The girl looks relieved and she relaxes a bit in her seat, leaning her elbows on the table. “I’m Lucy, we have art together. I have to say, i saw your last piece and it completely blew my mind.” Lucy makes little explosions noises and Lauren can’t help but giggle because it’s obvious that Lucy is really nervous.

Lauren remembers more about the girl now. Very clearly in fact. She blushes a little bit at the compliment, one because Lucy pays attention to her art, and too because Lucy is possible Lauren’s top competitor for top spot in the class. She tries her best to hide her blush and play it cool to keep up her bad ass reputation (for some reason when people meet her they seem to realize that she isn’t). “Wow, thank you! That means a lot, because is saw your last piece and well, I thought it was way better than mine.”

Lucy cringes a bit. “You saw that? Damn…. I was hoping that you could see my next one, you know, after i try really hard to outdo yours.”

Lauren laughs. She decides that Lucy is really funny. Lucy looks proud. “Oh yeah?” Lauren plays along.

Lucy shrugs. “Sure.” She pauses a bit, trying to think of another conversation starter. “I haven’t seen you around the art building.” She half questions.

Lauren nods. “The noise was a bit much. I moved in with a friend in the art building.”

Lucy groans playfully. “Lucky, i swear, i have to blast my headphones to get even an ounce of good sleep.” She pauses. “I guess that means you aren’t really into parties then?”

“Not necessarily. I mean, i like partying, just not all the time. And definitely not at three in the morning when i have class at eight.” Lauren jokes.

Lucy looks slightly happier. “Okay well, this is kinda awkward.” She states. “Well actually, i guess by saying that i just made it awkward, because is wasn’t really before. Oh well.” She continues. “Anyways, I’ve been trying to work up the courage to talk to you all week and i was going to chicken out again but well you caught me.” Lucy motions over to where she had been standing five minutes prier.

“There’s this party, next Saturday. I really want to go, but you know, going to a party alone is basically asking for sex. Which I don’t really want at all and I think you are really beautiful, so would you want to go with me? It’s not for two weeks so take your time answering.” Lucy rambles ungracefully.

Luckily Lauren things it’s extremely cute. She pauses to think about it. She barely knows Lucy and college parties are kind of known for being sketchy.

Lucy takes the pause as a bad sign. “Sorry, i know we barely know each other, it’s just that all my friends are pissed off about getting caught in some prank setting of stink bombs or something and well, now they are all being super petty and they literally can’t think of anything except revenge. It’s crossed the line way too many times now and i really don’t want to be friends with those kinds of people you know? And I’m just really lonely now because college with your friends is supposed to be a jam. Except currently i have no friends.” Lucy bits her lip to direct herself back into the direction she wants. “Well the point is, is that I’m lonely, and I’ve seen you in class and sometimes i stare, you know, not in a creepy way, more in a admiring way? Because well you are really good at art and you are really beautiful and you seem like a cool person.”

Lauren thinks that when Lucy rambles, she says stuff that makes her laugh and think that Lucy is absolutely adorable. She smiles at the girl. “No sorry, that wasn’t a bad pause. I was just thinking. I would love to go to the party with you, i was just surprised is all.” She smiles back at the girl and Lucy let’s out a relieved breath.

“Oh… thank god. I don’t know why I’m so nervous. You know, usually I’m really smooth.” Lucy promises jokingly.

Lauren raises a brow. “Oh really?”

“You just wait. I’ve done the hard part. No reason to be nervous anymore. I hope…” She jokes.

Lauren shakes her head. “You know, you’re pretty funny Lucy.”

“Damn, now i have a reputation to uphold.” Lucy shakes her head.

Lauren chuckles before realizing something. “Wait, earlier did you say that your friends were getting revenge for getting caught up in some prank?”

Lucy nods. “Yeah, i mean, they were more harassing this poor girl that they blame than pranking. That’s why we aren’t friends anymore. I caught them trying to do something way out of line and they don’t have any intentions of stopping. We got into a fight about it and we aren’t on speaking terms.”

“The girl being harassed, is her name Dinah Jane?” Lauren asks curiously.

“I think so. Tall, blonde, plays volleyball?” Lucy clarifies.

“That would be the one.” Lauren confirms, the gears are already spinning in her head.

“You know her?” Lucy is now curious as to why all the questions.

“Yeah, she is one of my best friends.” Lauren watches for Lucy’s reaction.

“Oh, wow. I’m sorry. Just so you know, i totally don’t support what they are doing. I mean, i’ve told them to stop because that is just outright mean you know? It’s getting dangerous.” Lucy tries her best to show Lauren that she has no part in her ex-friends shenanigans.

Lauren nods approvingly, a smile crossing her features. “Hey, can you do me a favor?”

Lucy raises a brow at the mischievous look on Lauren’s face. “What are you thinking?”

-

-

“You guys are going to love me.” Lauren barges into Camila’s room unannounced.

She pauses as the door closes behind her and she looks at the scene in front of her. Camila sits cross legged on the couch holding a large wad of paper towels under her nose, part of which, tinted dark red. Dinah lays half on the couch, half off with her eyes closed. Lauren isn’t sure if she is asleep or not, but she looks exhausted. In one arm, Dinah holds a fresh roll of paper towels and with the other hand, two fingers grasp a trashcan.

“Doubtful.” Dinah proves Lauren that she is, in fact, awake. “Your acupuncture thingy didn’t do shit.”

Camila tries her best to give Dinah a stern look from behind her wad but ultimately fails when Dinah doesnt even bother to look up. “I ran into the bunk bed.” Camila explains with a very nasally sounding voice.

“Are you okay?” Lauren asks, doing her best to hold back a laugh trying to make its way out. Of course Camila ran into the bunk bed that they have had for less than a day.

Camila nods. “Wad me.” She mutters and Dinah doesnt even open her eyes or acknowledge the words before holding out the roll of paper towels for Camila to rip off a few sheets and moving the trashcan so that Camila can throw her currently red wad into. Dinah resumes her previous position, her face shoved into the couch cushion. “I think that your method really did help me to stay asleep better, but i still walked in my sleep… right into the bunk bed.”

Lauren can tell Camila is trying to be nice about it. “Did you check to make sure your nose isn’t broken?” Lauren bends down next to Camila’s face to try and examine the bleeding feature.

“Mani said it isn’t. Did you know her mom is a nurse? Apparently Normani nose this stuff.” Camila waits excitedly for her pun to set in and once it does Lauren bursts into a fit of laughter.

“Oh my god!” The green eyed girl wheezes.

Dinah groans from her spot next to them. “"That was so bad. I like my lifespan actually was reduced by a few years.”

“Lauren thinks its funny.” Camila defends.

“Whoopee.” Dinah grumbles.

Lauren raises an eyebrow at Camila who shrugs. “She’s been up since four.”

Lauren nods in understanding. Dinah needs her sleep, desperately. “Where is Mani?” She asks, noticing that the third roommate seems to be missing in action.

“The gym.” Camila answers. “She said something about needing to keep her abs well defined.”

Lauren smirks. “Have you seen her abs thought? Never seen any better.”

Camila wonders if this is a trick question and Lauren is asking because she suspects Camila is gay. Which she is. But Lauren can’t know that. Camila decides that she is overthinking and instead forces a stiff laugh instead of answering the question.

“Well since you’re here, I’m going to go sleep. Have fun.” Dinah rolls off the couch, leaving the paper towels and the trashcan behind and heads to the bedroom to sleep.

When she disappears, Camila remembers that Lauren came for a reason. “So why would we love you?” Camila asks before realizing how it sounded and curses. Lauren just laughs. “I mean, what were you going to tell us?”

“Oh right! Well i met this girl who is friends with a lot of the girls from the sports team. One of her really close friends is Dinah’s old roommate and some of her not so close friends are all in on the revenge pranks against Dinah.” Lauren is smiling at the news and Camila is confused as to why, because so far this doesn’t sound like good news to her.

“Okay?” She answers in the form of a question.

“So this girl, Lucy. She doesn’t agree with what her friends are doing so i talk to her right? Well she agreed to help me stop the issue.” Lauren can see Camila smiling now as she sees where this is going. “So originally I thought we should prank them back, but that would be stooping to their level, so Lucy is going to sort of spy on them until we figure out something to do.”

“And she is okay with that? I mean, if someone asked me to spy on you guys i probably would so no…. or run away.” Camila responds hesitantly.

“Yeah i made sure she was okay with it. I even told her that if she felt uncomfortable she could stop whenever she wanted too.” Lauren reassures the girl.

“Oh, okay then.” She smiles excitedly before pausing. “I don’t think we should tell Dinah yet though, in case it doesn’t work you know?”

Lauren nods. “Okay, i agree. We can surprise her if it goes well and nothing happens if it goes wrong. Good idea.”

“I feel like a spy.” Camila laughs.

“You are such a dork.”

-

-

“Camila. Mila, wake up.” Camila murmurs in her sleep and cuddles the roll of paper towels against her chest, but she shows no signs of being any more awake than she was.

Dinah sighs, plopping cross-legged onto the floor next to the couch so that she was eye level with Camila. She hates to wake Camila up, she really does. Partly because like Dinah, Camila had been up since four that morning and unlike Dinah, Camila hadn’t gotten the chance to take a nap like Dinah has. She must be exhausted. Especially with the other part being that Camila has been asleep for nearly five hours and hasn’t so much as attempted to sleep walk. Dinah knows that in the span of the past two weeks, this is the longest sleep Camila has gotten without walking around and expending her energy. The last thing she wants to do is ruin the streak.

Except, she has to. It’s nearly three and the two girls have a lyrical writing class in nearly ten minutes. Dinah has been trying to wake the girl up for the last half-hour, but considering Camila’s normal sleeping schedule and how cute she looked cuddling her face into the paper towels, Dinah hadn’t had the heart until just now.

She gently shakes Camila’s arm in another attempt to stir the girl. Camila’s eyebrows scrunch together, wrinkling her forehead and her lips form a small pout. Dinah shakes Camila’s arm again and Camila opens her eyes tiredly. Her eyelids hang half open and strands of Camila’s hair hang over her face from where they fall from her messy bun. She sees Dinah and gives the blonde a small smile, rolling onto her side to face her. Camila starts to say something, but a giant yawn interrupts and a small squeak escapes her mouth instead.

It’s weird for Dinah to see Camila like this. Sure, Dinah has been there loads of times when Camila is waking up, except usually its when Camila jolts awake from her sleep walking from some force, going directly from sleep to awake. She rarely gets to see Camila in the slow and gradual awakening stage. Dinah thinks it might be one of the cutest things she has ever seen. Maybe.

“Morning sleeping beauty.” Dinah teases.

Camila giggles after her yawn gives her control over her mouth once more. “What time is it?” She asks in a raspy voice.

Dinah checks her phone. “Almost three. We have class in ten minutes…. wait eight minutes sorry.”

The sleepy/waking up stage in between that Dinah was talking about is instantly gone as Camila hurries to her feet, nearly falling off the couch. She runs into the bedroom at full Camila speed and hurries to change into acceptable clothes. Preferably an outfit involving pants. “Why didn’t you wake me up!” She yells as works.

She can hear Dinah laughing from the other room and it gets louder as Dinah follows her to the bedroom. When she gets there, Camila is jumping up and down to pull up her jeans over her butt. “Well you never get good sleep. I thought you would need it.”

Camila looks down to zip up her pants before smiling affectionately. Dinah was so caring and sweet.

“Plus you looked kinda cute.” Dinah adds teasingly, imitating Camila cuddling her paper towels.

Camila knows Dinah is teasing, but that doesn’t stop a blush from creeping onto her cheeks and a warm feeling bubbling in her stomach. She hurries into the bathroom before Dinah notices and pulls her hair out of her bun. There was that butterfly feeling again. The one she KNOWS is completely platonic. Maybe she was just embarrassed?

She lets her hair fall around her shoulders, thanking god once again for giving her hair that she had never had to do because once again it saved her life. She then hurries out of the room, pulling on her shoes and hopping from leg to leg to do so. She loses her balance, like any Camila would do and she feels Dinah’s warm hand reach out to steady her. The butterflies never fail to make their appearance, as they have proved multiple times this morning. She chooses to ignore it.

Dinah laughs at Camila’s stumbling and Camila huffs. “Hey this is your fault you know.” She excuses her clumsiness by switching the blame.

They end up having to sprint to class. They make it to there seats just as the bell rings and the teacher wastes no time in teacher her place at the front of the room to began her lecture. Camila is breathing heavily, lets just say that she isn’t too keen on physical activity. Dinah chuckles and leans over to whisper in her ear.

“You okay there Chanch?”

Dinah’s breath tickles Camila’s ear and sends chills down her spine. Camila can feel Dinah’s lip brush against her ear lobe as Dinah pulls away. Her breath hitches in surprised and she tries her best to make a swift recovery even though she is pretty sure those pesky insects are back. “I…I don’t exercise much.” She hopes she sounds casual but the stutter says otherwise.

Dinah smirks in her usually playful manner. Camila wonders how Dinah seems to always keep herself cool, collected, and charismatic. “Yeah, I can see that.” She teases.

Camila crosses her arms. “Shut up. You’re on the volleyball team! You practice three times a week! And you have great abs.” Camila whisper yells. She doesn’t even realize what she is saying until the words are out of her mouth and she curses herself silently for being so awkward and obvious.

It’s been less than a day since she wanted to kiss Dinah (which she decided definitely had nothing to do with a crush…what crush?) and she is already acting like a fool.

Luckily for her, the teacher looks in their direction and whatever it was that Dinah was going to say in response was cut off. “We start our first assignment today.” The teacher directs, knowingly at the two best friends in the back.

Camila blushes (this time she knows its in embarrassment but she still wishes she didn’t blush so much, people probably think she has a really bad sunburn or something) and pretends to look really focused while Dinah nods like she was paying attention the whole time. Lies. Their conversation is forced to an end. Camila feels a little bit grateful towards the teacher, but don’t tell Dinah.

“You will be working in groups of two during the class period to write a song…. don’t worry. Not the whole thing, just the lyrics. Think of it as a poem if you want to.” A large sigh of relief sounds through the class and the teacher chuckles. “Normally I would assign you partners but seeing as this is a college class, I’m hoping you all are mature enough to pick your own partners that you can work efficiently with.” The teacher eyes a particular group of boys a few rows down.

Dinah turns to Camila with a cheesy smile and Camila chuckles. “Hey partner!”

Dinah looks confused. “Oh, sorry Camila. I was smiling at the guy behind you.”

Camila blushes (that awful sunburn again) and stutters. “Oh, y….yeah of course. Sorry.” She feels her heart sink a bit from feeling left out and dejected but then Dinah coos at Camila and pulls the girl into a hug.

“Awww, Chanch, I was only joking. Of course I was smiling at you. Who else am i going to be partners with besides my best friend?” Dinah ruffles Camila’s hair affectionately.

Camila shrugs. She can’t believe that over something so little she went through so many emotions. Man what is this girl doing to her (still definitely a friend thing).

“I dont know…I just…Do you have a piece of paper?” Camila thinks that Dinah might actually kill her one day.

Dinah nods muttering the words dork under her breath before pulling out a more crumbled than not piece of paper from her bag. Camila should have known better than to expect a nice new sheet. She shakes her head teasingly and Dinah smirks. “Hey you asked for paper, i gave you paper.”

Camila can’t complain. She just nods. “Okay fine, do you want to start?”

Let’s write about love.“ Dinah suggests.

Camila’s eyes go wide because Dinah says it all so casually and Camila isn’t sure if Dinah know’s something that she shouldn’t, something involving a certain crush (that definitely isn’t a crush) and a certain someone (that definitely isn’t Dinah). She coughs to give her a reason to hide her face in her arm for a minute and when she turns back to Dinah who gives her a strange look, she hopes she looks collected. "What do you mean love?”

“Love is easy to write about. I mean, everyone has been in love at some point.” Dinah comments. Camila frowns and luckily Dinah is distracted by a boy three rows Dinah who spilled the contents of his backpack onto the floor.

Everyone has been in love? Does that mean Dinah has been in love?

“Have…..Have you been in love?” Camila asks, tapping her pencil against their paper and writing their names really slowly so she doesn’t have to look up.

Dinah turns away from the boy and nods. “Yeah, i mean i was in high school so who knows to what extent, but i think i was in love.”

Camila feels her heart sink because if everyone has been in love, why hasn’t Camila? She feels extremely inexperienced. The idea of Dinah being in love with someone else adds to the weight of her sinking heart. She bites her lip and now that Dinah doesn’t have a distraction, she picks up on Camila’s behavior.

“Chanch, have you…. have you never been in love?” Dinah’s voice goes from loud and confident to soft and gentle.

Camila shakes her head. “No, i haven’t ever been in love.” She feels so innocent in comparison… which she kind of is.

“Oh.” Dinah pauses. “I mean, that’s okay. Not everyone has been in love. I’m sure when you finally do fall in love it will be amazing. Like all of those cheesy ass love songs that people sing will finally make sense and whoever it is who you love will be damn lucky.” Dinah smiles comfortingly and Camila feels a little better.

“We can still write about love songs if you want, I mean I’ve heard enough of those cheesy ass love songs to get the idea.” Camila playfully throws Dinah’s words back and Dinah laughs.

“Okay,” Dinah nods. “I’ll start and you just add on whenever okay?”

They spend a bit going back and forth, taking turn writing their poem/lyrics. The first few lines turn out really good and they end up with possible potential. Of course, it all goes downhill after Dinah asks Camila to think of something romantic that rhymes with rose and just to make Dinah laugh, she answers with hoes.

The entire thing turns into a competition of who can make who laugh the most and there aren’t any rules or limits. Dinah tells Camila that her jokes are lame, but Camila somehow ends up winning when Dinah pees a little because she was laughing so hard. Needless to say, the teacher walks around to check their walk thus far and Camila uses up her entire eraser in an effort to rid everything they wrote.

They end up with ten minutes left of class with only the first verse, bridge, and beginning of the chorus done.

“Okay, focus Chanch. We actually need to finish this now.” This it the forth time Dinah has said that, but hey, maybe this time she means it. Dinah tries to keep a straight face as Camila laughs.

Camila manages to bit her lip to stop herself from laughing and she takes a few deep breaths. “Okay, alright, let’s do this.”

Dinah reads over what they have, taking note of what they need. “Okay, so we just need another verse, to finish the chorus, and we have… ten minutes. We can do this.” Dinah decides. “So we need something that describes a feeling you feel when in love for the verse.”

Camila nods and begins thinking. Knowing she has never been in love, she tries to think of something to use as an example. Take Dinah for instance. Camila defiantly doesn’t love Dinah. As a friend, yes, but nothing more than that, at least Camila is convincing herself of that.

She thinks about the small butterflies that flap around her rib cage and tickle her heart whenever DInah does something Camila thinks is cute, but Camila decides that insects appear only out of fondness for her friend. She remembers once when she had gotten really giddy after Ally had somehow remembered Camila’s love for chocolate covered cinnamon bears and brought her some home after a hard night’s sleep. Camila had felt extremely giddy with fondness. It could be like that with Dinah as well.

Camila thinks for anything else she can use as an example, but after she comes up blank, she decides that the (strictly platonic) feelings for Dinah would have to do. “How about that feeling when your heart swells too big for your chest. Like it swells with love for that person. Like your entire heart is reserved specifically for y…that person.” Camila suggests.

Dinah nods excitedly. “You make my heart swell to big for my chest, a feeling that’s reserved just for you, can’t be repressed!” Dinah sings softly in approval. “Yeah, i like it. You sure you haven’t been in love Chanch?”

Camila nods. “Positive.”

Dinah smirks. “You must be a hopeless romantic than.”

“Possibly.” Camila shrugs.

Dinah writes down the lyrics on the crumbled paper and Camila observes how nice and loopy her handwriting is compared to her own messy chicken scratch. It kind of reminds Camila of their personalities. Dinah is always so cool and collect. She is calm and playful and her carelessness has a sort of beautiful elegance that somehow makes her seem flawless. And Camila… well Camila is messy. Her past, her hair, her writing, her room, her everything….is just messy.

The paper is already starting to look better with Dinah’s writing on it, Camila thinks that her life has gotten a little bit better since Dinah came into it too.

A/N: You can read on wattpad up to Chapter Ten under the user DinahFantasy ( https://www.wattpad.com/user/dinahfantasy )