#but whatever two post sweat selfies today i guess?

[softshawnrambles]

When Shawn Met Willow

We’ve worked on this beginning piece for a while now, and we are SO excited to introduce you to the family we’ve been dreaming up for months! Because we wanted to give you the whole picture in terms of how these two started, this one is extra long - we plan on writing shorter blurbs to continue this Family!Shawn theme, and will probably go back and elaborate on other parts of their life together… stay tuned, but for now: enjoy!

WORD COUNT: 6.1K

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“Large Americano, ready at the bar!”

The coffee shop was as busy as could be expected of a rainy Monday morning. Willow hated the pushing and shoving that was absolutely unavoidable, as every person in the building waited for their drink. The artisan coffee house hadn’t caught onto the mobile ordering system, and she hated them for it.

She managed to make her way to the counter, but just as her hand reached for the paper cup, someone else beat her to it. Turning her head to face the person obstructing her saviour, she let out an “excuse me, sorry...” and withdrew, slightly in embarrassment.

“No, no, you’re good. It might be yours anyway… why aren’t they calling these out by name?” the man joked. She looked up, noticing the kind smile on his face (clearly not local, you’ve not known anyone to smile in this part of the city, especially not on Wall Street) and mustered a chuckle.

For a moment neither of them said anything, as if time froze - just a second - allowing their eyes to meet. As the barista impatiently called out the next drink, the man cleared his throat. His eyes wandered for a moment, then widened at something behind her - “fuck, it’s eight already? Uh - here, you can take this…” he said, ushering the cup toward her.

And with that, he was off.

Her eyes followed his rushing figure before rolling her eyes and taking the drink, nodding her thanks at the barista. Willow maneuvered her way out of the overly crowded place and took a long awaited drink, not yet ready to face another tedious day at her internship. As she lowered her cup, she noticed a scribble on the sleeve: “Sean,” next to a single “A” for Americano.

“Damn it,” she muttered with her shoulders slumping, wishing she had checked before he’d vanished into the crowd. For a tall guy, he blended in quickly.

Back upstairs in her little cubicle of hell, Willow was met with another day’s supply of merger and acquisition paperwork.

She let out an exasperated sigh.

“Dude, it’s not even nine yet. Lighten up!” Claudia pulled a pencil out of her hair, throwing it in Willow’s direction.

“Ow! Jesus, Claud.” she said, turning around to reach for the pencil. As she did, she glanced out the window and caught sight of a small crowd forming under the building.

“Huh. Do you know what that’s about?” Willow asked, motioning towards the group.

“If it’s not one of the Obamas, I’m not interested.” Typical Claudia, Willow thought and rolling her eyes at her colleague.

As the hour went by, the crowd continued to grow into a pretty substantial mob of mostly teenage girls. Maybe Harry Styles was in the building.

Willow refocused for a few hours, paying little attention to the happenings outside of her field of vision. At around noon, she got up to fetch her egg salad from the fridge when she noticed something - or rather, someone - downstairs with the mob. Was it that guy from this morning? He was leaning in every few seconds with each girl, taking… selfies? He definitely wasn't so lost in the crowd now.

-- one year later

A failed relationship with the top investment firm in New York City drove Willow as far away from the industry as she could go. Something about the harrowing reality of corporate America sent her running to the West Coast: she was not cut out to be a tycoon, no matter what her Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration & Economics said about her.

Sitting in her favourite coffee shop in Los Angeles, Willow intently studied her laptop with her camera sitting on one side of the table, and her freshly delivered Americano steaming on the other. The screen receiving her whole attention as she edits her photos from last nights Panic! At the Disco show at the Forum. She’d chosen a quieter area this time, wanting a little privacy and quiet as she worked, a change she’d needed from previous endeavors that hadn’t worked out the way she had planned.

“Panic! At the Disco? Is that from yesterday?” Willow turned around as someone clearly took notice of her work.

“Uh, yeah.”

“I was there!” Fuck. Why did he look so familiar?

“Amazing, wasn’t it?!” Willow tried not to stare, but tried to place him in her head. She swore she’d seen him before.

“Yeah, they always put on a good show! That’s an awesome picture! You work for the venue?” Leaning forward to observe her screen, in a slight awe.

“I do, I’m practically a part of the furniture at this point.” The man laughs, and with a small smile on his face comments “I know the feeling.”

“You work there too? I’m sure I’ve seen you somewhere.” Her curiosity getting the better of her.

The man leaned back again as his smile widened a little, humbled by her question. “Mhm, I guess you could say that,” he replied.

The flash from a camera nearby interrupted the moment; it was coming from outside of the shop, the glare intensifying through the window.

“Shawn, we gotta go!” a desperate voice called out, and her new acquaintance turned to respond.

Then it clicked.

Shawn.

“I remember now! New York City last year. I owe you an Americano!” Willow was reminded of that day, and the pieces of the puzzle starting to fall together.

Shawn looks surprised, that was the last response he was expecting, when his eyes flash with a newfound recognition.

“Oh! That was you? Wow, that’s, wow. I did not expect that at all.” Shaking his head and pointing to the screen, “what brings you to-” Another flash through the window and the imposing man calls Shawn’s name again.

“You better go before he drags you out of here, he looks like he’s seriously contemplating that option,” she suggested, hyper-aware now of the men with large cameras relentlessly snapping pics of… Shawn?

“Wait, can I get your Insta? I'd love to see other things you've posted. You're clearly talented at this, and I live for live shows!”

“Uumm, ok, yeah, but I don’t always follow back though… it’s @actuallywillow, pretty simple really!”

“Thank you! I gotta go, if you're working the show at the forum on Friday, I might see you there!” And with that, Shawn turns and makes his way out the door and out into the hoard of men with intruding cameras.

“Um, okay?” Willow spoke in the direction of where Shawn once stood, slowly turning back to her laptop and shaking her head. This was not how she had expected today to turn out.

Iwishiplayedbass started following actuallywillow

Iwishiplayedbass liked your post

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Iwishiplayedbass sent you a message

Hey! Its Shawn, you have some serious talent in photography! I hope I see you again soon!

Hi! Thank you. There seems to be a trend growing with us, so I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.

Actuallywillow started following iwishiplayedbass

Anticipation for the show had Willow in quite a state. She was usually a calm young woman, but she had really worked herself into a fit of nerves over this. What were the chances of her even seeing Shawn anyway? In an arena that holds 17,500 people, ha! She checked over her equipment one last time before entering the familiar building through the side.

Once inside, she was greeted by posters and cardboard cut-outs of Shawn Mendes everywhere, complete with a fanbase of mostly 13 to 18 year old girls.

Willow’s contract with the Forum was unlike her past experiences on Wall Street; they let her do pretty much whatever she wanted as long as she consistently got great content during events. Not a problem, since she was a natural behind the camera. She roamed around for a while before the opening acts took their place, silently observing the crowd.

Was she really this out of touch with pop culture? How had she so gravely misunderstood this guy’s stardom? Probably because he seemed so down to earth during both of their coffee shop interactions - hell, she was surprised that a man this famous still bought his own coffee himself!

A few quick Google searches confirmed that Willow was not a dinosaur - Shawn’s career seemed to have exploded overnight. These Google searches also absolutely confirmed her growing interest in this handsome young man; there was just something about his smile. And his eyes, those eyes look special.

The house lights dimmed and the hollow sound of an electric guitar filled the indoor venue, tearing through her mental haze. Shit, she had a job to do.

Camera held against her body with one hand and her Forum Employee ID in the other, she flashed the security guards as she weaved her way to the front. Pure joy and excitement was pulsing through the walls of the arena, and the audience nearly went insane when a tall, unmistakable shadow appeared behind a layer of fog. While her heart was undoubtedly racing at the sight of him, Willow quickly aimed her Nikon at him, determined to snap some good shots.

Aside from the fact that Shawn was a total heartthrob, the concert ran smoothly. She noted that he was a great performer, high energy and clearly loving every bit of it. As the show was winding down, she felt the temperature of her body spike up as he bounded down the metal stairs leading down to the level of the crowd.

Fuck. He was right there. And coming closer. Fuck. Get your camera! Don’t mess this up! C’mon Willow! GET IT TOGETHER!

He was feet away from her, so close that she could see the sweat glistening off his dark curls in a beautiful, messy, well-entertained heap. She took the opportunity to click away at her camera, capturing his interactions with fans in the front rows as he hugged, smiled, and thanked each person individually. Willow watched and realized he had the it factor. He had the power to make every girl feel special.  The sincerity that radiated off him was like a sharp blow to the fantasies that she had subconsciously been entertaining all night  - the ones where she magically ends up with this rockstar, too much like a fanfiction written online. While a little voice in her head wanted to believe he was flirting with her yesterday, asking about her photography… she realized that was just the nature of his personality. It had to be.

Suddenly numb from the thoughts, the pictures became easier to take; the fire that was building in her chest a few minutes ago had been put out. He was inches away when she lowered the camera from her face. Another great image for the books. Wait, is he talking to her?

Willow leaned in - the deafening noise of the cheering and instruments was drowning everything out, even her own thoughts.

“WHAT???”

“Can you send me that picture?”

She smiled and nodded: he recognized her. Did he know she was there this entire time?

Shawn smiled back at her, eyes alight with excitement before turning back to the deafening crown. Willow needed a moment to breathe, how had this even happened? How had she not even known? Someone brushed past her, bringing her back to reality. She would have time to analyze later, and bought her camera up before he got too far away. She knew she was just given the photograph of a lifetime, how many other venue photographers got that close to someone like that, someone who she hadn’t even recognised!

With the show coming to a rapid close, Willow planned for a quick escape. She wasn’t sure she would be able to face him again, not in her slightly overwhelmed state. She snapped some final shots, his final moments on stage with his hands in the air and beaming smile on his face, the perfect set up for the perfect shot.

The house lights come up and Willow feels like she can breathe again. The air is stuffy and the energy is still electric, alive with adrenaline mixed with raw emotion that you just can’t find anywhere else. She takes her time heading back to her area, praying he had done the usual ‘leg it to the bus before the band was finished so they could leave the arena without having to maneuver through thousands of people’ thing the majority of stars do following a show and safely make it back to her area. What she didn’t expect was to find a message on her phone from the rockstar himself.

Iwishiplayedbass sent you a message

Hey! I’m really glad i saw you! That sounds creepier than it is, i’m sorry. But, what are you doing now? I’d love to see those photos, and I’d really love to see you. Please say yes? We could have some In n Out???? And just get to know each other?

-- 2 years later

Willow could tell Shawn was nervous. She could tell in the way his palm was sweating in hers, and the way he continuously muttered under his breath. It was also in the way he deflect everytime she asked ‘what’s wrong’ and ‘are you ok?’ with a tight smile that doesn't reach his eyes smile and a “yeah, I’m just ready to be home” before lifting the hand that is holding yours to kiss the back of it and dropping it to swing back and forth between the two of you.

Leaving the airport in Toronto was a hassle, Willow still couldn’t wrap her head around particular fans obsessive need to see Shawn for the few moments between the arrivals gate and the black car ready to pick him up right out front. Shawn’s on edge attitude was not helping the situation at all. The two were maneuvered through to the car with the help of some airport security and Shawn ushers Willow in first before sliding in next to her and taking her hand again. Shawn seemed less tense now, the only sign was his leg bouncing occasionally as he was chatting about random things he loved about tour but how happy he was to have some time off with her.

Pulling up to their condo, Shawn gets out of the car and pauses, pulling out his phone and fires off a quick text before helping Willow out of the car. Making it to the condo was a feat within itself, and Willow kind of hates just how much Shawn takes on tour when it time to bring it all home. Its mid-afternoon when they finally haul it all into their condo and all Willow wants is some food, a nap and cuddles with her favourite man on the couch and absolutely zero contact with the outside world for at least 3 solid days.

“Shall we order something? I’m starving and craving a pizza!” Willow called out from the bedroom, having changed into her Harry Potter PJ’s, only to not receive a response from Shawn at all. She makes her way to the living room calling out for Shawn again, confused.

“Shawn? Shawn! Are you ok? Please tell me you have not fallen asleep on the couch, you know what that does to your neck-”

Willow stopped suddenly and gasped at the sight before her. Many candles and fairy lights softly illuminated the open living room and an easel propped up against in front of the window overlooking the Toronto skyline with a large canvas filled with many photographs and memories leaning delicately against it. Looking around, Shawn was nowhere to be found as she stepped closer to the easel. Upon closer inspection, she found the page filled with an array of pictures and lyrics Shawn had written about you scrawled across various parts of the page. Willow raised her hand to touch her favourite lyrics with a soft smile on her face, before turning to find the man behind all of this. As she turned, she’s met with the sight of Shawn on one knee with a nervous smile gracing his face and a ring box resting closed in his hands.

Willow stepped forward to stand in front of him, tears gathering in her eyes and she raises her hand to cover her mouth.

“Hi, honey" Shawn says and inhales deeply and lets out a deep breath, letting his shoulders relax a little before continuing.

"I uh, I've been thinking about doing this for a while, and I know we've talked about it a few times, but I couldn't wait anymore and I've had the ring for a while - I'm rambling, sorry-” Shawn cut himself off, closing his eyes and taking another deep breath.

“I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, I want everything with you, absolutely everything. Please, will you spend the rest of your life with me? Willow, will you marry me?"

And Willow, with a wide smile and teary eyes, reaches to take his head in her hands and smoothing her thumbs over his cheeks.

"Yes. Yes of course I will. I would love nothing more. Oh my lord Shawn." And she kneels to his level, and kisses him deeply, putting as much love and happiness she could possibly muster into it.

Shawn pulls back first and opened his eyes, looking at her in utter adoration, almost unable to fathom the fact she had said yes. His right hand finding her left one that was still resting on his cheek and turning his face slightly to kiss her palm, before pulling it away to place the ring he'd bought her months ago on her finger, where it would sit for as long as they both shall live.

-- 1 year later

The warm summer air swept between the concrete pillars that lined the breezeway. Any moment now, Shawn and Willow would emerge from either side of the outdoor hall for their ‘First Look’ and exchange a few moments with each other alone, before the day’s ceremony. The rented estate stood still on the cliff of a La Jolla suburb, away from the hustle and bustle of the main beaches.

Shawn was standing exactly halfway down the stairs that lead to the building, facing the cliffs and awaiting his bride-to-be, hands folding and unfolding as the reality of the day set in. Connor and Josiah were there with him, all set up and ready to go for the photo-op.

“How are you feeling, Shawn?” Connor asks and focuses the camera on Shawn.

Shawn takes a deep breath and smiles, looking up from his feet and his hands pausing their nervous motions. “I’m nervous, but so happy. I’m getting emotional already. I can’t wait to see her though, she’s going to look so beautiful and I know I’m gonna cry. It’s funny, I go away for months at a time, yet I can barely stand to be away from her for 24 hours. Makes it easier though, knowing what we were apart for. Makes it that much more exciting.”

The white double doors on the south end slowly opened, and Willow stepped out adorning a pure white gown. The floral-embroidered bodice canopied over her chest, its leaf detailing working up to her collar bones as if they were straps. She picked up the vintage dress a few months earlier, while vacationing in Italy - err, while visiting Shawn during his last Europe tour.

Willow timidly walked out to a set of stairs facing the eastern courtyard, where her husband-to-be awaited, his broad shoulders facing her. He was acutely aware of her existence; he could feel Willow’s energy in the gravity of the atmosphere at any given moment - maybe this was a good indicator that they were meant to be. The gentle graze of her small hands cupping his eyes from behind eased his nerves instantly. The second her hands were on him, Shawn let out a sigh, and he felt as if he could breathe again. He knew he was being completely irrational, but all the thoughts of ‘she’s gonna leave’ and ‘what if she changed her mind’ were replaced with feeling her, right there behind him.

This part they had talked about a lot. The pair were almost more excited for this intimate briefing than the actual wedding. They knew exactly how they wanted it to play out, knowing everything was in safe hands with Connor and Josiah around to capture every special moment. Willow wanted to keep Shawn in suspense for a short amount of time while she posed behind him. After a few moments, she gave him the cue by gently tapping his shoulders.

“Okay lovely, you can turn around now.”

His heart rate spiked as he felt the well-anticipated tap, a feeling halfway between anxiety and euphoria coming over him as he dipped his head to turn behind him, shifting his body to match. All the air in his lungs escaped as he laid his eyes on the woman he was convinced was a goddess.

“Oh honey…” he let out under his breath as he bought his hands to his face after gazing lovingly at her, rubbing his eyes as if to make sure he was seeing correctly and to wipe the already welling tears in his eyes before he reached for Willow’s hands, carefully pulling her closer. “You are so beautiful” he finished, as if that wasn’t obvious enough already. He never wanted to look away from her; he was convinced that there was nothing else in the galaxy that he would rather look at. Ever. This was it. He wanted to continue standing there for all of eternity, taking in the sight of his bride - the most striking person on the planet. He took a few moments to study the soft curls tucked behind her ear, the beaming smile he fell in love with lighting her whole face up. Shawn closed the small gap between them and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, pulling her into a hug, and kissing her square on the lips.

“Shawn! You can’t kiss me yet!” Willow exclaims with a laugh, indicating she wasn’t really mad at him.

“I can’t help it! You just look so gorgeous,” he defended himself, not ashamed in the slightest. He carefully steps back, wanting to take all of her in.

The delicate bouquet rested in Willow’s hands, small with pretty pink and white flowers and vibrant green leaves tied with a white ribbon and finished with a neat bow. A matching boutonniere adorned Shawn’s suit jacket, right above his heart.

“Shawn, you look…” and Willow paused, contemplating for a moment as she took all of him and raised her hand to his cheek “... perfect.” She sucked in a small breath before letting go into a lighthearted chuckle. “Hubba-hubba, handsome. How did I get so lucky?”

She let go of his face for a moment to dramatically fan herself with her free hand, not once breaking eye contact. “Seriously, you are a freaking stud. I’m so nervous Shawn, can you tell? Phew. I’m freaking smitten with you though.” She laughed, feeling her body tingle with buzz as she internalized the moment. Her candor and humor in the most serious of moments reminded him why he wanted her to be his partner for life. For better or for worse, they would get through it together in high spirits.

Willow was absolutely correct: what a stud he was. Dressed in a sleek black suit that fitted him just right, a nicely pressed white shirt, black vest, a pale pink bowtie and finished off with a silver handkerchief tucked neatly into his top pocket. His hair was longer, curlier than ever having soaked up plenty of vitamin D from the summer sun. Willow fought the childish urge to run her hands through it. His cheeks were shaded pink, a lovely contrast to the sleek black and white look he had going on and his eyes were wide and bright, looking directly at her, not wanting to miss a single moment.

“Do you love it?” Willow asked, gesturing to her dress.

“I love it, I love it, I love it. You look so beautiful, you’re gorgeous. I’m so glad you said yes, I’m so glad I met you. You mean the world to me. And I never want you to take this dress off. It highlights everything I love about you.” Shawn nearly choked, his throat closing up and tears pooling in his eyes and he pulled Willow to him again, head nuzzled into her neck, placing light kisses and whispering softly to each other as Willow’s arms make their way over his shoulders, sharing a moment of solitude as the overwhelming feeling of love washed over them. Neither of them could truly believe this was happening.

“This is our wedding day! We’re getting married!”

“I’m so excited!”

“So am I!” Willow giggled, her hands running up and down his arms, completely unable to resist touching him.

“Do you wanna go get married?” Willow asked her husband-to-be.

“Yeah, let’s marry the heck out of each other.”

-- 1 year later

There’s something special about Saturday morning. Nothing exquisite, nothing especially extraordinary - yet every Saturday morning with Shawn and Willow was still special. Late breakfast, usually involving the two of them in the kitchen fixing up a new dish they scrolled past on a nutritional instagram account during the week. Granted, their attempts usually took three times the amount of time as suggested by the minute long clips, and never turned out quite as colorful or delicious. Nevertheless, the routine was comfortable; Saturday mornings felt like the embodiment of home.

This particular Saturday morning in early spring was special-special… Willow had left out a stack of insurance pamphlets that she had been looking into. The pair had gone over this sort of thing before, earthquake and flood insurance for their abode in California, top-tier health and dental insurance overall.

“Honey, what is this about? Life insurance? I know I’m not like, the greatest… adult ever, but aren’t we a little young to be thinking about this? I mean really, who is going to benefit from life insurance if we die in some freak accident? Buddy?” Shawn questioned, motioning toward the cocker spaniel sitting on the floor under him.

“Well, our family is growing, Shawn. We’ve gotta be prepared! Plus, why not do it now? Saves us doing it in the future, don’t you think?” Willow throws out casually, knowing exactly what she implied. She looks up at him from her position across from him at the kitchen island to see him sitting rigid and staring straight at her, mouth slightly agape, mid-bite of his cereal. He looked comical, and Willow couldn’t help but laugh.

“Are you, are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“What do you think I’m saying, Shawn?”

“That- that you’re…” Shawn pauses, and Willow raises her eyebrow and smiles, examining his face “...pregnant?” Shawn mumbles the word, his mind still not fully comprehending the concept.

Willow nods her head and brings one shaking hand up to her mouth, and the other squeezed her abdomen a little. She’d know for a little over a week now and had this moment planned. Now she was here, finally telling him and watching his reaction. It was real now. So, so real.

Shawn moved suddenly, dropping his spoon on the marble. He raced over to her, picking her up and swinging her around, tears falling from his eyes, his face twisted up in happiness.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE IT, ARE YOU SERIOUS? Honey are you serious? We’re having a baby?”

“Well, I’m having a baby, but yeah, you’re gonna be a daddy.”

The looks of pure joy were all over their faces, Shawn still holding her at his eye level and Willows hands found his cheeks, her thumbs moving to wipe the tears away. The overwhelming emotions shared between them needed no more words, their eyes saying more than could possibly be said out loud. Shawn slowly moved to the couch in the conjoining living room and gently placed her down, using more caution than ever before. He knelt in front of her, moving his hands to her belly and resting his head against her thighs, shoulders shaking as he let out a few more tears as Willow’s hands find his hair, softly massaging his scalp and laughing. A beautiful moment between the parents-to-be.

-- 8 months later

‘Baaaaby! Come stretch me out!” Willow was laying on the floor of the new nursery, her belly so big she couldn’t see her feet. Shawn appeared in the doorway a few minutes later, walking over to pick her swollen feet up like clockwork. Especially in the last 10 weeks or so, Shawn’s main role in Willow’s life was as none other than her resident massage therapist and yoga partner - she was already amassing a list of pregnancy superstitions and quirks to ensure that her pregnancy would be as easy as possible. Shawn tried to point out that most of the things on her list were not rooted in any kind of science, but he knew not to do that again. He learned that it was best to just go with it.

With both her legs now in the air, as high as her body would allow her to go, Shawn stood in between them, pulling and pushing them in different directions. Willow was sure that flexibility was the key to a flawless natural birth. She tried to convince her husband to entertain the idea of a home birth, complete with a doula and everything… but Shawn was visibly uncomfortable with the idea. She wanted to be able to say she’d done it the old-fashioned way, but this was her first go around. She finally agreed that an epidural would probably be nice.

Suddenly, Willow could see a crinkle appear between Shawn’s eyebrows, as if he was squinting at something. Panic came over her as he continued to knead at the bottom of her feet, still in the air. “Wait, what is it? What’s the matter?” She questioned.

His intention was not to cause her any undue anxiety, but Shawn had noticed a growing darker spot in Willow’s lavender maternity leggings. It looked… damp. Did her water break? But… if that was the case, surely she would’ve noticed by now, right?

“Um… I’m sure it’s nothing. Are you feeling… different at all, love?” Then it hit. The first contraction.

Just as he asked the question, Willow rolled her head up and back into the carpeting, squeezing her eyes as tightly as she could. “Oh my god. I think that was a contraction!” she squealed, enduring what almost felt like a reverse-period cramp for a few seconds.

As she steadied her breathing, Shawn’s eyes widened and he set Willow’s legs down. “ACTIVE LABOR. CONTRACTIONS  MEAN WE’RE IN ACTIVE LABOR!” He had studied four books on the whole birthing situation alone, and Willow couldn’t help but giggle to herself as she was sure that his last sentence came directly from the text. Shawn was so calculating, so methodical about the whole thing.

“Okay, not to alarm you or anything sweetie, but I think your water just broke - STAY THERE. I’m going to call the hospital and get your overnight bag. DON’T GO ANYWHERE, PLEASE.” He was rambling on at 100 words a minute, scrambling to find hospital records, the checklists he had prepared for this moment, and his phone. Willow laid out on the floor, surprisingly calm. Did he just tell me not to go anywhere? Where the hell would I even go? How the hell am I supposed to even get up and off the floor by myself? Willow rolled her eyes, deciding to move when Shawn was ready to leave. She had a feeling it would be a long day.

The drive to the hospital was short, Shawn having mapped out the shortest and most effective route months ago. At the time, Willow had thought it was slightly overdoing it, but she was suddenly very appreciative that he’d put the effort into it. Willow was hunched over her belly, rubbing circles with her hands in an attempt to soothe the pain. Shawn had both hands on the wheel, focusing on getting there as safely as possible while instructing her to breathe.

“Breathe, honey, we’re nearly there, I promise we’re nearly there.”

“Shawn, please, I am breathing, I need you to breathe, ok? Breathe.”

“Ok ok. Honey?”

“Yes, Shawn?”

“I’m kinda freaking out.” Shawn mumbles, brain going crazy over the fact that their little baby would be here soon.

“I know, I can tell. I am too. UGH-” Willow exclaims, hunching over again.

“We’re here, we’re here, we made it, its ok honey.” Shawn pulls into the hospital car park, pulling into the closest available spot.

Shawn legs it to the passenger side, unbuckling her seatbelt and helping her stand, one arm around her middle, the other shutting the door and grabbing her hand, cautiously guiding her forward.  

Willow rests sleepily on the hospital bed, sweaty and exhausted after 10 long hours of labour the first Mendes child had arrived. The new parents had been given a brief chance to see their newborn, Willow holding their lil bug for just a minute, before the nurses insist they clean the newborn up.

Willow looks tiredly up at Shawn, who had held her hand and talked to her the entire time, letting out a quiet “We have a baby.”

“We do. We have a baby. Oh, you were so amazing, I swear, you just, you had a baby. I love you, I’m so proud of you. You only nearly broke my hand like, 7 times!” Shawn giggles lightly, and leans down to kiss her nose, then her lips, resting there and squeezing her hand.

“Oh, could you ever forgive me?” Willow asks dramatically with a grin, when her expression becomes wistful. “... so small, I miss my bug already.”

“I know honey, they’ll be back in a minute. I love you.”

“I love you too Shawn. We’ll have to call our parents soon. Surprise them with the news their first grandchild is finally here.”

“My mum is gonna yell at me for not calling sooner.” A mischievous smile crosses his face at the thought, so grateful they hadn’t been spotted entering the hospital, allowing for a complete surprise on their behalf.  

“They’re all going to be so mad, but we’ll show them a picture and they’ll forget all about it. They’ll be so distracted and excited that we’ll be the last thing on their minds!”

At that moment, the nurse walked back into the room holding their little bundle.

“Here you go, all clean and healthy. Who wants the first hold?” the nurse spoke, looking expectantly between the pair. Shawn and Willow shared a look, before Willow gestured to Shawn.

“You’re up first, daddy.”

Shawns eyes glass over, squeezing Willows hand once more quietly asking “are you sure?”

“Yeah handsome, go”

And with that, Shawn stepped forward to take their baby in his arms. The nurse carefully guiding him, positioning the baby into his arms, and letting their bug nestle into his arms. Shawn stared, absolutely enchanted and unable to look anywhere else. He needed to sit down. Beginning to walk slowly to the bedside chair, Willow softly stopped him, and gestured to the gap on the bed beside her. Taking a seat beside her as delicately as possible to not disturb the resting baby.

“So pure, we made that. I can't believe we made this… life." Shawn was smitten already, he knew he'd do literally anything for his baby. Their baby.

"I- I know. We were talking about how big my belly was, but look how small bubs is. I'm in love all over again." Willow was just as enamored as Shawn, resting her head on his shoulder, giving her a perfect view. "I'm so happy. I love you."

Shawn kissed her forehead, murmuring "I love you too, you're so strong. Do you, do you wanna hold?"

Willow hummed in response, shuffling slightly so she could lie back comfortably before carefully taking the bubs in her arms, resting her on her chest, then, with Shawn's help,  slowly lowering to the bed. Willow had one hand resting on the bubs' back, her other holding the small hand, gently soothing her thumb backwards and forwards across the soft skin as Shawn's hand comes up to cup his baby girls face.

"Welcome to the world, Harlow Mendes."

[walkerismychoice]

Stripped Bare - Chapter 8 (Bryce X MC AU)

Book: Open Heart

Pairing: Bryce X MC (Charlie Hawkins)

Summary: The first full day of wedding activities continues while Charlie and Bryce’s “fake” relationship gets more and more convincing.

Rating: PG-13

Word Count: 2441

Kyra fans out the skirt of her bridesmaid dress as she looks in the three panel mirror at the back of the boutique. “These dresses aren’t as bad as I expected. I mean the seafoam green color is a bit on the nose for a beach wedding, but I would have thought she’d choose something hideous for all of us just so she would look that much better.”

“But that would ruin her aesthetic.” Charlie puts a hand to her chest and gasps in mock horror. “Katelyn would never!” Both she and Kyra devolve into a fit of laughter. 

The group had split apart after tennis - and showers thank god -  to get fitted for their dresses and tuxes respectively, while the lucky non-wedding party significant others got a few minutes to relax and breathe. Katelyn had required the bridesmaids to try on dresses at the bridal shop back in Connecticut and then have them ordered and shipped to the the resort boutique because she’s that much of a bridezilla control freak.

Katelyn walks back from the front of the store, where she had been seated with the Sarahs drinking mimosas, and studies both of them scrupulously. “Looks like yours fits pretty well Kyra. My color options were limited with your red hair and pale skin, but I think this shade of green works quite well on you Charlie. However...” Katelyn motions for the seamstress to come over. “Do you think we need to let this out in the bust? She must have gained a few pounds since we tried this size on in the bridal boutique.” 

"Or maybe the sample size was not cut exactly the same as this one." Charlie knows she's not a size two like she used to be in high school when she would stress about everything she put in her mouth, but a size eight is nowhere near overweight. Still, she's not always comfortable with her newfound curves, and it stings to hear that comment from Katelyn.

"No, no, no." Mary the seamstress insists. 'You are a beautiful, voluptuous woman. You fill the dress out very nicely."

"I agree with Mary," Kyra adds. "You boobs look fucking amazing in that dress."

"Kyra!" Katelyn scolds while Charlie blushes. "Well I guess it is what it is. Just make sure you wear a good bra.

"Noted," Charlie murmurs under her breath and disappears back into the dressing room. She sits on the bench seat, taking a deep breath, and she doesn't know why, but her first instinct is to text Bryce about how awful Katelyn has been. She shakes off the thought, but then she hears her phone buzz in her purse and almost can't believe her eyes when she sees a text from Bryce:

Since it's been like ninety minutes since you've seen me shirtless, and you're stuck with Katelyn, I thought you might need a pick me up.

The text was accompanied by a full length mirror selfie of Bryce in only athletic shorts, clearly post workout.

Bold of you to assume that will make me feel better. She types back. It doesn't hurt, but she's not going to admit that. Looks like you can't  even go two hours without talking to me. You miss me that bad?" She hits send and immediately regrets it, but moments later she gets another text:

Maybe...

Charlie doesn't even know what to do with that, so she puts her phone away, but not before taking another look at the picture of Bryce, shirtless and glistening with sweat. Normally she would think a guy sending her a picture like that was gross, but not with him. Bryce literally looks good anytime, anywhere, no matter what he is or isn't wearing, and life just isn't fair.

Charlie puts her floral sundress back on, and checks herself out the mirror. Her cheeks are still burning bright, and she needs to get ahold of herself. She’s guessing Bryce was just trying to get a reaction out of her, and if so, mission accomplished. He doesn’t even have to be in her presence to get her all flustered. Charlie fans her face and inhales deeply before joining the other ladies. 

The rest of the day passes fairly quickly. The women eat a late lunch together and Kyra and Charlie mostly keep to themselves while Katelyn and the Sarahs are so engrossed in their own conversation, they hardly notice. Then the whole group meets up for a glass bottom boat tour which is fun, but a bit crowded and noisy with all of them on one boat. Charlie gets some great pictures of sealife and selects one for Instagram. Bryce then insists they get a take a selfie of themselves to post. Charlie wonders why when everyone they are trying to convince is right there with them, but there’s no way she’s going to question it in front of everyone, so she does as he requests. Bryce squeezes his arm around her and presses his cheek to hers before snapping the picture. Charlie checks out the post after it uploads. They both looks so happy, and it seems so...real. They always say it’s not fair to look at other people’s social media and compare yourself because they only show what they want you to see, and she’s living proof. She looks like she’s having a great time in paradise with her gorgeous boyfriend, but it's all a lie, isn’t it?

The boat drops them off at the resort, and they head straight to dinner and eat oceanside at Seagrape Terrace. The sun is starting to set and a gentle breeze wafts in from over the water. Each table is set for six, and the thankfully there’s no assigned seating tonight. Unfortunately, she still ends up at the same table as Katelyn and Landry, and although Kyra is also there to help keep her sane, Bob is as well by default since everyone else is paired off. With Charlie seated between Bryce and Kyra, Landry next to Bob so they can chat about their glory days in undergrad or whatever, the only spot left for Katelyn is next to Bryce.

Katelyn takes a sip of her wine. “So Bryce, you really showed nice form on the court today. What club do you belong to? They must have incredible tennis pros there”.

Charlie nervously pushes a stray piece of lettuce around on her salad plate, unsure of how Bryce will answer.

Bryce swallows the bite of food in his mouth. “I’m kind of between clubs right now. My family isn’t from the East Coast, and I’ve been so busy with medical school I haven’t had much time. You know how it is, Landry.”

“Oh, uh, yeah. I’ve hardly had a chance to visit my club the past few years.”

“So is that your excuse for your poor showing today?” Katelyn huffs.

“Muffin, I think it’s safe to say we could have both played better today. Maybe if you hadn’t been so distracted...”

Charlie quickly grabs the bread basket from the middle of the table. “Did everyone get some bread? There’s a few pieces left.”

Neither Katelyn or Landry answers, but at least they stop bickering.

“I’ll take another if no one else is going to have one.” Bryce reaches in and selects a piece. “You know I’ll never turn down your buns, Honey.” He smirks at Charlie.

“Very funny, Sweetie.” Charlie gives him a look out of the corner of her eye and he just chuckles.

The food comes and Charlie’s salmon is flaky and delicious. There’s just something about eating seafood at the ocean that makes it taste that much better. Charlie has two glasses of wine, already breaking her self-imposed no more drinking rule, but two glasses of wine on a full stomach is very much manageable. She thinks its incidental the first time Bryce’s outer thigh brushes against hers, but then it happens again and again. As dinner goes on Bryce seems to drift closer to Charlie, but it’s possible he’s just trying to get as far away as possible from Katelyn.

Dinner starts to wind down, and Bryce stands up and offers a hand to Charlie. “Would you like to take a walk My Dear?”

“Sure..” Charlie accepts Bryce’s hand and excuses herself from the table. She’s not certain of his motives, but she’s had more than enough of Katelyn for one day, so she'll take any excuse to escape. Bryce laces his fingers through hers and gives her hand a squeeze as they walk away.

Once out of earshot, Charlie questions Bryce. “Honey? My Dea? What’s with all the cutesy nicknames? I don’t think you have to lay it on that thick.”

“I believe I heard you call me Sweetie, Sugarlips.”

“Oh my god, Bryce.” Charlie playfully nudges her shoulder into his. “There’s noone to hear us now, so you can stop that nonsense.”

“Just trying them out.”

“Trying them out for what?”

Bryce shrugs. “Just in case.”

In case what? Charlie wonders. “Well if you call me Sugarlips in front of anyone else, I’m putting you on the first plane home.

Bryce laughs. “No Sugarlips. Got it. At least it’s better than Muffin.”

“Heh. They are the worst in every possible way, aren’t they?” Charlie looks up at Bryce, and his features are so striking in the moonlight, as if they aren’t also in every other light. She sighs inaudibly because she’s finally admitting to herself she’s starting to fall for him, even though it’s the last thing she should do.

Bryce leads her down a long pier with a gazebo at the end overlooking the water. It’s so peaceful and serene, that even though they are still in view of the group back at the restaurant, it feels like they are the only two around.

Bryce looks back at the others and then spins himself and Charlie around so his back is facing the crowd. “We have an audience. Should we give them a show?”

Charlie swallows hard. “Um, like what?”

Bryce weave his fingers through Charlie’s hair and presses his body close enough to hers she can feel the heat radiating off of him. “Wrap your arms around me.”  She does as instructed, sliding her hands up his back and feeling the contour of his taut muscles through the light cotton fabric of his button down shirt. He leans in close until their lips are a breath apart. She closes her eyes, waiting for what comes next, until she feels his forehead rest against hers.”There. They’ll definitely assume we are making out now.”

Charlie prays Bryce can’t hear how fast her heart is beating in her chest right now. And god, she hopes he doesn’t know she thought he was going to kiss her, and how much she actually wanted it. “Perfect.” She tries not sound disappointed. There’s a look in Bryce’s eyes Charlie can’t quite read. Sometimes it seems like he’s trying to test her, but she has no clue what he’s looking for and if she’s passing or failing. They remain that way for an indiscernible amount of time, until it feels like it’s been convincingly long enough, and Charlie yawns. ”I think I’m done for the day. You ready?”

Bryce places a hand on the small of Charlie’s back. “Lead the way.”

~~~

Charlie is exhausted by the time they get back to their hotel room, but at least tonight she’s sober enough to get ready for bed her self. She groans and gets embarrassed all over again just thinking about it. She settles into bed and flips the TV on until her eyelids get heavy.  She just about out when a loud creaking noise jolts her wide awake. Uncertain about what she just heard, she waits and the squeaking and creaking noises continue on the other side of the wall, until at last there’s a big, metallic thump and she rushes out in the living room to see what’s going on.

Bryce looks up from laying out his bedding on the now folded up sofa sleeper. “Sorry, did I wake you up?”

“Almost...what’s going on?”

“I told you how terrible this thing is to sleep on. I couldn’t stop tossing and turning, so I decided I might fare better on just the sofa part.”

“Bryce, let me sleep out here, and you take my bed.” Charlie insists. “Then one of us can get good sleep every other night at least.”

“Nah,” Bryce waves her off. “I don’t want you to be uncomfortable at my expense.”

Charlie sighs deeply. “Fine if you are going to insist on being so stubbornly chivalrous, then why don’t we just share the bed?”

“What did you just say?” Bryce asks and Charlie thinks he just wants to make her say it again.

“It’s a king size bed. There’s plenty of space.”

A mischievous smiles creeps up on Bryce’s lips. “Any excuse to get me into bed with you, huh?”

Charlie picks up a pillow and chucks it at Bryce. “Just shut up and get in there before I take back my offer.”

Charlie climbs into the right side of the bed and keeps all the way to the edge to avoid any incidental touching. This had seemed like a better idea before it was actually happening. Maybe if she wasn’t interested in Bryce this would be no big deal, but she’s acutely aware of how close he is, clad only in his boxer briefs. What if she rolls over and cuddles him in her sleep? What if she drools on him again? What if he wakes up hard? She can’t get that last image out of her brain and she’s thankful for the darkness covering up the color in her cheeks.

“You know, if you move any further away, you’re going to fall right onto the floor. You don’t have to worry about me encroaching on your side.” Bryce pats the middle of the bed. “Make yourself comfortable.”

“Well, you might have to worry about me. I’m kind of a wild sleeper. You could wake up with me on top of you.”

Bryce chuckles. “I think I could handle that.”

Well I couldn’t. There’s something about Bryce’s tone of voice that gets her all worked up again, her entire body flush with heat, and he probably knows exactly what he’s doing to her. Despite her reservations, she moves a bit closer to the middle of the bed, but makes a point of putting her long body pillow as a barrier. “For my own peace of mind.”

Bryce laughs as he turns on his side. “Whatever makes you happy.”

[worddevdealswithml]

Side Effects Include: Empathy

Chapter 24:

Marinette, for a long second, didn’t know what was happening, only that everything hurt. She didn’t know where her body was, or if she even had one anymore.  All there was, was pain.

Then, just as she thought she couldn’t have taken it anymore…

Her eyes snapped open.

She was breathing hard, body covered in ice-cold sweat, but the pain had gone.

The floor swayed slowly into focus.

“Marinette,” said Alya, from the direction she now registered the hand on her back as coming from.

“Dude,” said Nino, “you okay?  You seemed pretty bad off there.”

She managed to roll over, and looked up at them.

“I’m… I’m okay.  I think.  Did Ladybug… She got the Akuma?”

“I…” they looked at each other.  “Yeah. I…  She vanished afterwards, though.  Like… Like she was a dream, too.”

The sun was shining down on her.  None of the dreams were left.  Good. That was good, at least.

“Chat Noir too, I assume?”

Alya nodded.

“Well…  At least they purified the Akuma.”

She tried to sit up, and, though she struggled, managed to get up.

“And… What about Adrien, and… And Chloe.”

“Chloe and Sabrina went to talk about something, and Adrien… I’m not sure.  I think he went after them?”

“Right…  I suppose… I suppose that shouldn’t surprise me.”

Alya sighed.

“Well…  I guess that probably means you didn’t manage to…” she trailed off, vaguely, and Marinette remembered what she’d been doing before her day had gone sideways.

“No.  You could have warned me at least.”

“Girl, you overthink things way too easily.  If I warn you too early, you’d probably panic, and end up saying something about how you need to study too, and then Adrien doesn’t want to stay out alone, and we’re back to square one, but we’re inside studying something we didn’t really need to anyway.”

“Right…  I guess… I do have a tendency to panic.”

“C’mon,” said Alya, reaching out a hand.

Marinette pulled herself to her feet.

“Well?” said Alya, “I guess you did manage to ask him out or anything, but how did it go?”

Marinette laughed, slightly, though her head was spinning as she stood up.  It looked like she wasn’t entirely through the side-effects of the… thing.

“I mean, it didn’t have time to go at all, really,” said Marinette.  “He said…  He was saying something about how sometimes you’re missing something when you call someone a friend…  But he didn’t get to keep going.”

Alya grinned.  “What was I saying?  Boy with a crush?  Well… That, or he’s decided he hates you, but come on, like that’s what he’s thinking.”

She laughed, and Marinette tried to laugh along.

The idea that Adrien suddenly hated her was preposterous, but… Logic didn’t make her stop worrying about it.

“Well,” said Alya, “What do you think?  More school, or…?”

“Ah… No.  No, not today, I think,” said Marinette, remembering Mme. Bustier’s state when they’d found her.  “I think everyone needs some time to recover after that one.”

For that matter, people were wandering off.

“So…  If you don’t mind me asking,” she said, “you seem fine again.  Was your nightmare not too bad?”

Alya took a breath, and then sort of tilted her head from side to side, in the manner of one considering.

“It was… Bad.  But, when I got back, Nino was there again, so it wasn’t too bad.”

“Right,” said Marinette, “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised it was something about him.”

A tiny, selfish part of her mind almost wished that something happening to her had been Adrien’s nightmare.

“Actually,” she said, suddenly noticing his absence, “where did Nino go?”

“Oh, I think he was off to find Adrien?” said Alya.  She laughed, again, “there’s just a chain of people heading off now.  Sabrina and Chloe, then Adrien, then Nino…”  Her face sank, and she shivered.  “Actually… I might go looking for Nino.  You want to come with me?”

“Of course.”

…

Minutes passed, and then hours.

They never did find Adrien, but they did find Nino searching, and he had received a message that Adrien had been called home.  Apparently whatever little miracle he’d pulled off to come to lunch had finally come to call.

He didn’t know the next time he’d be able to make it.

If Marinette was remembering it right, that had been the second downright miraculous chance she’d had to talk to him alone, and the next time there would be another one…

What had he said?  A chance, once a month?

She’d have better odds breaking into his house.

Alya and Nino weren’t ready to give up each other’s company, in frankly definitive fashion, and Marinette, out of respect for their privacy, decided to go home.

The streets of Paris were alive again but without the crazy chains of cars threatening the lives of people crossing the streets.  That was a step up from dreaming, at least; she could cross roads without relying on Chat Noir to carry her across.

She finally made it home.

Her mother, presumably having gotten a mass-text from the school about what had happened, gave her an understanding nod as she walked in.

“You’re alright?”

She nodded.  She didn’t need to give much explanation; there had been enough attacks by now that ‘alright’ was par for the course.

Ladybug and Chat Noir always showed up, everyone knew it.  Moreover, everyone believed it.  That was a lot of why they’d won today.

She climbed the stairs.

She hadn’t even gotten flung into her own nightmare, and yet…  This victory barely felt like a real victory.

Maybe it was the fact that she’d see Adrien only during class for who knew how long.

Maybe it was the fact that her own lack of a nightmare meant that she was left out of the catharsis Alya and Nino had gotten from seeing each other again.

All she had was an unsettled feeling in her stomach.

Still, it was nothing that a good nap wouldn’t help, right?

Yeah…

She could use a nap.

She collapsed onto her chaise.

Did she even need to worry about setting an alarm…?

She checked her phone.

Ah.  Adrien had posted one new photo.  That was good, right?  That would mean he was feeling better.

Well, she could wait to check it.  What mattered now was that it was Thursday.  So… Yes. She needed an alarm.

One tap… Two taps…

She turned up the phone so if, by some chance, she slept through the night, she’d still have the alarm ready to wake her up on time.

And she let her eyes close…

Uneasy dreams, and barely restful sleep rose around her like murky water.

There was nothing she could put a name to, but…

…

She woke up, breathing unsteady.

She’d been dreaming about… About… Something.

It was already, blessedly, slipping away.

She let out a breath, and…

Her phone was lit up, and, in retrospect, it was probably the sound of an alert that had woken her.

She blinked away the sleep, sitting up.

Maybe… Alya had texted her? Did they have a bad movie night tonight?  Or, then again, it could have been…

She leaned over, and turned on the box lamp next to the chaise, the light brightening up her room considerably, in contrast to the evening world outside.

Now, notifications.

She pulled up her phone.

Seventeen new photos from Adrien Agreste, and one new message from Alya, sent not long after she’d left.

“You alright over there? You kind of went missing.”

Marinette smiled, quietly.

“Sorry.  I was feeling like a bit of a third wheel, and after all the nightmare stuff, I was kind of tired.”

She had little doubt Alya would be responding to that soon enough, but, in the meantime…

Time to see what all those new pictures were.

Surely, Gabriel wouldn’t have forced him into a photoshoot immediately after something like what had happened, right?

The notification automatically sent her to the earliest post.

‘Nothing like a friend coming to visit to make you feel better,’ read the caption.

Below, was Adrien, holding the phone out for a selfie, and next to him…

Marinette blinked, eyes failing to convince her mind that they were seeing right.

“Marinette?” came her mother’s voice from downstairs.

“Ah-  Yes!?”

“You’ve got a visitor? She’s a friend from school?”

There was a quiet voice downstairs, that Marinette wouldn’t have been able to understand even if her attention had been anywhere but on the phone in front of her.

“Oh, I’m sure she’ll be delighted to see you,” said her mother.

Marinette was frantically scrolling down the pictures, hoping against hope that if she looked hard enough, it would be someone, anyone else in the pictures with Adrien.

The trapdoor to her room creaked open behind her.

“Hi Marinette!” said Lila, cheerily.

[wiggly-blue-shite]

Chapter 2! The Bell Doesn’t Dismiss You (Tedgens)

Henry walked out the door. Well I've saved one nerd from this god awful party. He's much to smart to be in a place like this. Too many opportunities to ruin your life. I don't know why I come to these. I fucking despise Sam. He's such a dick. God. He's either breaking Zoey or Charlotte's heart. They don't deserve that.

Yet I am here in his house, drinking and socializing. Paul's off with Emma so I can't hang out with him. Bill had better things to do than come to this. So I have no one I actually really like to hand out with. Maybe I shouldn't have told Henry to leave. I don't know him that well but I'm sure he's fun to hang with. Whatever. Hindsight's 20/20.

I spot Zoey on the other side of the room. She's talking to Norah. Sam walks up to her.

I have to be discreet while watching the shit show that's about to occur.

Zoey does that fake laugh she does when she wants something. And she touched his arm. Sam doesn't pull away. I know that look in his eye. Fucking scumbag.

Charlotte's now where to be found. They must have broken up again. That's why Zoey's here. She'd never dare touch him with Charlotte around.

That whole situation makes me sick. I know it's just high school but it just feels wrong. Like a disgrace to love. Oh god I've been reading to much.

I can't stand here and watch them like... that. It's to cramped in here anyway. I step outside. Some cheerleaders and football players are grinding in the front yard. I'd hate to live in this neighborhood.

I should call Charlotte. She's alway devastated whenever she and Sam break up, even though it happens all the time. No one else would be there to comfort her. It's to loud here to call her though.

I walk away from the house. It's still loud down the block but at least I can hear myself think. It's a miracle they haven't gotten a noise complaint.

She picked up.

"Hey char." I can here her crying on the other line. "How are you?"

"How do you think?" She's sobbing. Just like last time.

I know she'll be back in Sam's arms by the end of the fortnight.

"I know. Sam's a dick." I know what she's going to say but I still feel like I can convince her that Sam's not her time.

"No he's not!" She blows her nose, "I love him."  I want to ask her why. Why does she keep going back to him. He's beneath her.

"Do you want me to come over." I know she likes to cry to someone. She'll feel better with another person there.

"No. Go enjoy the party." She knows that the party was happening. How she knows that I am there is beyond me. She knows I don't enjoy those kind of parties. Anytime around Sam and his cronies is the fucking worst.

"Char..."

"Melissa's over."

Other than me, Melissa cares the most about Charlotte. She also fucking hates me. A lot of people hate me. But I really don't care.

If Melissa's there, Charlotte doesn't need me. I'm not good in conversations about Sam. The whole time I'm trying to convince you to cut him off. He's a manipulating fuck and he should be avoided! God damnit.

"Ok." Well she's ok then, "I'm here for you."

"I know." She hangs up. Well that's that.

I might just go home. I'm already away from the house. I really don't want to go back in there and act like I like those people. Paul has Emma, he won't care if I left.

I walk off in the direction of my house. It's a long walk but I can maybe sweat off some of the alcohol. Not that it effects me very much.

After 45 minutes I reach my house. My parents aren't home so I don't have to climb through my window today. See you don't have to throw a raver every time your parents aren't around. My house would be a nonstop party.

I stomach grumbles. Fuck I didn't eat dinner it's almost 1 am. It's a little to late for an actually good meal. Instant noodles you are my savior!

I slump down on the couch and pull out my phone. I check Instagram. Paul posted a picture with Emma. They are completely wasted. They're smiling like idiot's, Emma's makeup is extremely smudged, and paul's hair appears to have been hit by a tornado. Those two are just complete messes. But they're cute together.

Hey but I don't need anyone because I have these instant noodles. Yup I'm living the ideal life.

I click through peoples stories. The usual drunk photos. Many many posts praising Sam. I'm not going to let that get to me though.

Hey, Henry posted a photo. It's a selfie too. He never posts pictures of his face. Mostly set designs, nature photos, and rants. It's a pleasant surprise when he does. Confidence looks good on him.

The caption is "I got out of that stupid party!" Ha that's cute... funny that's funny.

I decided to respond.

Ted: Congrats on your daring escape.

I think Henry shares my hatred for Sam and all the drama surrounding him. It's just a waste of time.

Henry: Couldn't have done it without you.

Ted: NP dude

There was a moment with no messages.

Henry: did you escape?

Ted: Barely. I'm surprised I still have my arms.

Henry: Lol

It's nice to talk to someone without any heavy topics. I don't know Henry well enough for it to be uncomfortable.

Ted: So about this mystery person

Henry: Oh wow would you look at that! I gtg.

Ted: Really?

I don't understand if my skeptical tone came across through the message. It doesn't mater I guess.

Henry: Yup I have homework!

Ted: If you have homework why did you go to the party?

Henry: Bye!

Ted: Ttyl

I should probably sleep. There is school tomorrow. Well watching the hungover hoards at school will be fun. I have something to look forward to tomorrow.

[noahsfreckles]

The Skateboarder’s Heart (1/2)

Cassie's POV :)

I see him skateboard by my house everyday for the last six months but I can't find myself ever go out and talk to him. He skateboards by twice a day. Once around seven thirty am and then again around three-thirty, so I'm guessing to and from school.

I tell my best friend, Jay, about him everyday and he tells me I should just go talk to him. But I can't. What if he stops and I never get to see him ever again. Jay says he must live near by for him to be going by twice a day.

The reason I won't go out and talk to him is because I have a heart shaped birthmark covering my left cheek and I hate it but Jay says it gives me character and extra love to give to someone but I don't know. I used get teased about it in school but once everybody hit high school, everyone just gave up cause everything they had said by then was old and I wouldn't react to it anymore.

I go into my room and change into a pink tank top and some black legging, I grab my Nike's slipping them on. I grab my phone and headphones, putting my phone in my workout arm band. 

I hear a knock on the door and smile, I answer it. "Jay!"

"Hey Cassie, ready?"

"Yup, just gotta grab a water, need one?"

"When don't I?"

I laugh and shake my head, I grab two waters from the fridge and hand him one.

Jay and I have decided to go for a run every third day of the week around four.

Today happens to be Friday and I haven't seen the mystery skateboarder yet or I missed him when I was watching some YouTube videos.

We head out running down my street and we take a right at the old gas station, head down towards our school and then down around town and back up my street. It takes us two hours every time only cause we take a break around town for about thirty minutes.

Jay goes home after our run because he forgot his change of clothes in his room but he says he'll be back after his shower.

I head inside and take a long hot shower, I change into black sweats and a pink sweatshirt crop top. I go into the living room and wait for Jay to come back when I hear a knock on the  door, I get up and answer it.

I open the door and am very surprised by whose standing in front of my door, the skateboarder.

"C can I help you?"

He looks up when he hears me speak. "Um, I think you dropped this when you ran by my house," he holds up my key chain with Jay's name on it that, Jay got me for my birthday. It's a joke between us. We both have each other's names but it doesn't mean anything other than friendship.

"Oh um thanks." I reach out to take it from him when our fingers brush and I feel an electric shock. I take the key chain in my hand and smile. "Thanks again, um."

"Noah."

"Thanks Noah."

"It was my pleasure." He says and smiles. "May I know your name?" He looks at me and bites his lip.

"Cassie."

"Hi Cassie," Noah says and smiles.

"Hi Noah," I says and blush a little. I see Jay pull into the driveway and I bite my lip.

Noah notices the car and frowns, "I'll see you around Cassie. It was nice meeting you."

"Bye Noah."

He turns and gets on his skateboard and skates off on the street. 

Jay walks closer to the house and looks at me, "was that your skateboarder?"

"He not mine but yes."

"Did you get his number?"

"No, but I got a name."

"What is it?"

I move away from the door so we're not having this conversation outside, Jay walks in the house and shuts the door behind him.

"His name is Noah."

"Oh, why was Noah here?"

"I guess I dropped our friendship key chain by his house and he returned it."

"Aww how sweet of him." Jay teases.

I start blushing, "shush. He was just being a good person."

"I think it's more than that."

"More than that, what?"

"How did he know where you lived? We were gone for two hours. How did you know you were home? Your birthmark."

"My birthmark? Oh my god, I didn't even oh my god, Jay!"

"Cassie, breathe."

"I can't breathe Jay, he saw my birthmark!"

"And he still talked to you?"

"Yeah and?"

"He didn't seem to mind it."

"Oh my god, Jay."

"Wait," Jay says and looks at me.

"What?"

"It's a bad thought."

"What?! Jayson Alexander!"

"Whoa, no need for the full name. What if he thinks your my..."

"Your what?"

"Girlfriend."

"No! What? He wouldn't."

"Cassie, you have a key chain with my name on it, I'm over here like 24/7, we go for runs together, I came over when he was here."

"No," I say and frown. "Ugh. He did seem kinda sad when he saw you pull in. Dammit!"

"Well just have to change his mind," Jay says and I look at him confused.

"Change his mind, I'm scared to ask how."

"We make you look available. Maybe go for a jog by yourself, go outside when you know he's going to skate by and work out or something."

"But I like going on runs with you," I pout at him.

"We'll still go on runs, love, just not as many together."

"Ugh I'm not going to like it but I'll try to."

"Does he usually go by over the weekend?"

"Some times, just at varied times."

"I gotta do some intel and figure out where he exactly lives so you know where to run."

I groan and walk into the kitchen, "I'm ordering pizza, I don't care."

Jay walks into the kitchen and laughs. "Order whatever and I'll eat it."

I grab my phone and order some pizza.

"Jay." I pout at him.

"What babe?"

"Why is this so complicated?"

"Hon, it's just how people think. Girls and guys can't be friends without liking each other."

"No offense but I could never like you, you're like my brother."

"None taken cause I feel the same. We've been best friends since birth, thanks to our lovely parents."

"Yeah."

We spend the rest of the night pigging out on pizza and snacks while watching movies. Jay goes home around eleven. I clean up our mess and head upstairs to my room.

I lay down on my bed, I open my phone and open Instagram. I click on the search bar and type in Noah to see what comes up when I find his Instagram, he's the fifth result.

I click his profile and look around on it. Lots of random selfies and skateboarding pics when I notice something. His house. I know where he lives. I close Instagram and go to my iMessage.

Cassie: Jay! I know where Noah lives!

Jay: How?!

Cassie: insta I found his profile

Jay: gimme the info!

Cassie: Noahcent

I go back to his profile and continue looking around. I go to my profile and look at it. I post selfies and food pics but I'm the selfies I never show my birthmark, I'm always hiding it in some way with my hand, hair, or object.

I bite my lip and sit up, I fix my hair a little and open my camera. I take a few shots and hate them all. I bite my lip again and groan. I get off my bed and go over to my dresser, I grab my brush and brush my hair a little. I hold my camera up and take a couple shots, I look at them and pick one that's good.

"Now I need a good caption," I say to myself out loud. I start looking through my Spotify playlists. I click on a few songs and listen to them but nothing stands out. I click on mine and Jay's playlist of the new songs we want each other to listen to. I click on 'Better to Lie' by Benny Blanco and Swae Lee. The first line pops out at me and I open Instagram and post the photo with the caption; 'Sometimes it's better to lie than say all the things I got on my mind.'

I don't have that many followers cause I don't post that much but I get likes. I place my phone down on my bed and grab my laptop, I open it and Netflix pops up. I put on a random movie that I've seen a million times and cuddle my blankets and start watching it as I fall asleep. 

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

A few weeks have gone by and I'd say we've made some progress. Noah has came over and talked to me a few times, nothing major. He asked why Jay hasn't been running with me. I told him he's been busy. He hasn't asked if he's my boyfriend though. I see him skate by more often, I have noticed that.

I walk out to check the mail for my parents when I see him coming down my street and I smile to myself. I go to the mailbox by the street and open it, finding just a magazine for me. I see him boarding to my side of the street and I try not to smile.

"Hey Cassie!" Noah calls and stops right by my mailbox and I look up.

"Hey Noah. What's up?"

"Not much just bored. You?"

"Getting the mail for the parentals."

"Fun fun. Going for a run today?"

"Nope, it's my off day."

"Oh. Um," Noah starts to say then bites his lip, "did you wanna hang out? I mean if you're not busy"

"What did you have in mind?"

"We could watch a movie or go for a walk or I could teach you how to skateboard."

"Sure," I say and blush a little.

My phone starts ringing and I pull it out of my pocket; Jay, "Can you give a minute?"

"Yeah sure."

"Hey Jay!, I say and I notice Noah's frown a little.

"Whatcha doing? Seen Noah today yet?"

"Actually I'm gonna hang out with him."

"What?!"

"Stop yelling, he can hear you." I whisper and look at Noah causing him to smile.

"Oh sorry. What are you guys gonna do?"

"Watch a movie, go for a walk, we're not sure yet."

"Make out with and have his children."

"Jayson!" I say and bite my lip. "Sorry, he's being crazy," I say to Noah and bite my lip.

"SHE WANTS TO HAVE YOU CHILDREN!" Jay yells and my eyes go big and look at Noah to see if he heard and I see him smirk a little.

"And goodbye Jay!" I hang up on Jay and look at Noah again, "Sorry, best friends gone wild."

"What? Jay's your best friend and not your boyfriend?"

"No, best friend since birth. Our parents went to school together so once we were born it was only natural we became friends, our birthdays are one day apart. I'm older by thirteen hours."

"Oh. I just assumed since you two were always together."

"Everyone does."

"So um what did you wanna do?"

"We could go for a walk around the neighborhood?" I say more as a question than a statement.

"Sure, did you need to take in the mail?"

"No, it's just a magazine I can grab it later," I turn and put it back in the mailbox. "Did you need to do anything before our walk?"

"Nope, all free." 

"Let's go then." I smile.

Noah and I start walking down the sidewalk when he speaks up.

"Did you wanna play a game so we're not just walking in silence?"

"Sure."

"When's your birthday?"

"April twentieth."

"Yours?"

"May ninth."

"So I'm older by nineteen days."

"What's your favorite animal?"

"I'd say cats, they're cute and cuddly," I say and smile at Noah.

"And evil. My sister's cat is evil. One minute he'll love you then two seconds later he's plotting your death."

I laugh, "What's his name?"

"Vesuvius but we call him Suvi for short. Do you have any pets?"

"Does Jay count?"

"If you want him too."

"Sure," I laugh. "What's the worst thing about skateboarding?"

"Um probably learning tricks and falling on your ass until you get them."

"Sounds painful."

"Very. What's the last movie you saw in theaters?"

"Captain Marvel."

"Me too. When did you go?"

"This past Tuesday with Jay, we went at like 3:45 at Celebration."

"Oh my god! That's when I went, I was like five minutes late coming in cause someone was taking forever in the concession line."

"I think that was probably Jay," I laugh.

"Damn Jay," he says and laughs.

"What was your favorite part or parts?" I ask.

"Oh for sure when Goose was on screen. You?"

"Oh my god yes, when Goose exposed himself to Fury. I died laughing, you probably heard me."

"That was you." He stops and looks at me.

"Uh yeah. Sorry," I bite my lip and look at him.

"It's cool cause I was laughing too," he says laughing.

"What's your favorite song right now?"

We start walking again.

"Just one?"

"Okay maybe five."

"I can do five for sure. 'Sweet Thing' by Ylti, 'Luvsick' by Kai Wachi and Ylti, 'Hesher' by Wallpaper, 'Mine' by Bazzi, 'Beautiful' also by Bazzi, and a bonus 'Hell of a Life' by Kayne, though I don't like him personally I just like the song."

"So no more drugs for you, just pussy and religion?" I look at him, he just stop and looks at me, I smirk. "What?"

"Have you been stalking my insta?"

"No," I blush a little.

"You have!"

"No, I haven't. I just know that song."

"Mmhmm then why do you know the exact line I posted on my insta story yesterday?"

"Coincidence," I say and bite my lip.

"Oh okay," he says and rolls his eyes.

We start walking again, when Noah asks another question, "Do you know any of the other songs?"

"I know Bazzi's, he's my new obsession."

"No one ever knows about the music I listen to, how'd you hear about him?"

"Um, I plead the fifth."

"How are you going to plead the fifth on that?"

"Because I'll incriminate myself."

"By answering where you heard about Bazzi?"

"Yeah."

Noah doesn't say anything for a minute but we continue to walk, when he stops. "You have been stalking my insta!"

"What? No!" I blush.

"Not fair! You get to stalk me when I can't you." He pouts and looks at me.

"Cassie.marie."

"What?"

"My insta, duh."

"Oh," he pulls out his phone, opens insta and types in my username.

I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket a few times. "If you're stalking me, you suck. You're not supposed to be known."

"Oh sorry, I couldn't help myself," he says and smirks.

I pull out my phone and see that Noah followed me and liked a few photos so I follow him back and lock my phone, putting it back in my pocket.

"Can I ask you something kinda personal, Cassie?" Noah asks as we turn the corner for my street.

"Sure."

"Now you don't have to answer this if you don't want to, I won't get upset if you don't."

That's when I know what he's going to ask about, my birthmark. "Ask it, please."

"Why do you hide your birthmark?"

"I um," I bite my lip and stop in front of my house and look at him, "I don't like it and everyone used to make fun of me for it. So I grew to hate it and I thought hiding it was better for everyone. Once someone sees it they either make a face towards it or they ask about it."

"So what made you post a picture showing it the other day?"

"I was tired of hiding it and I." I look down at our shoes.

"You what?"

"I kinda freaked out when Jay realized I didn't hide it from you when you brought back my key chain the other week. I didn't even realized you saw it till after you left."

"Cassie?" Noah says and moves closer to me. He places his hand on my chin gently and raises my head so I look at him. "So I made you show it to the world?"

I nod a little and he moves his hand to my cheek, and softly outlines it with his thumb. "How could anyone tease you for something so beautiful?"

My cheeks heat up and he smiles.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," he traces it once more then removes his hand from my face. "What did you wanna do now?"

"Can you show me the basics on your board?"

"You wanna learn to ride?"

"Yeah, no tricks, I don't wanna hurt my butt."

He laughs, "sure."

We walk to the street and he puts his board on the street. "Okay now find the center of the board."

I put my foot in the middle of the board.

"And with your other foot, kick off. And just keep kicking till your comfortable with the speed then you can stop kicking and put your other foot on the board."

"Will you hold my hands so I don't fall. That's my fear right now."

"Sure." He takes my hands, I kick off and gasp a little causing him to laugh. He lets go of one of them and runs along side me.

"I'm doing it!" I say excitedly when I try to kick off again and kick the board instead, I start to fall when Noah slows the board down and catches me in his arms.

"Slow down speedy," he teases and looks down at me.

I bite my lip and look at him, he looks from my eyes to my lips to my eyes and licks his lips. I softly nod my head a little as he leans down to kiss my lips when my phone starts ringing, scaring us both.

I groan and pull out my phone, "sorry." He pulls me upright and moves away so I can answer the phone. "What?"

"Oh feisty. Are you still with Noah?"

"Yes. And I hate you."

"Why this time?"

I look over at Noah messing with his board in the street, I watch him and whisper, "you ruined the moment."

"What moment?"

"He was about to kiss me," I whisper and groan.

"What? Oh my god Cassie, I'm sorry. Maybe it will happen again."

"Hey Cassie, I gotta head home for dinner, see you later?"

"Oh okay, bye Noah," I say sadly. "Yeah, see you around."

Noah puts his board down and starts to skate away when I groan into the phone again. "He left."

"I'm sorry, Cassie. I thought you were alone so I was gonna ask if anything happened."

"You owe me so much shit right now, Jayson."

"I know. Wanna hang out and you can tell me what happened?"

"Maybe later. I need to think about stuff."

"Okay call me when you wanna hang."

"Okay bye Jay."

"Bye Cassie."

I hang up the phone and grab the magazine from the mailbox, heading inside to my room.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

I don't end up calling Jay to hang out, I go up to my room and stay there for most of the night, except when I order Chinese and have to answer the door.

I look at Noah's insta some more when I notice a new photo,

Can't stop thinking about you. ♥

I blush a little. Is he talking about me?  I like it and close the app.

I grab my laptop and start watching a movie when my phone buzzes. I grab it and look at the notification; Noah has sent you a direct message. I bite my lip and slide the notification, it opens Instagram and my direct messages page. I click on the message.

Noah: hi

Cassie: hi

Noah: whatcha doing?

Cassie: watching a movie, you?

Noah: laying in my bed, bored.

Cassie: wanna continue our game?

Noah: sure.

Cassie: when did you start skateboarding?

Noah: around 12 y/o

Cassie: Nice

Noah: do you have any hidden talents?

Cassie: I can do the splits, does that count?

Noah: Yeah I guess, not everyone can do them

Cassie: can I have your number?

Noah doesn't respond for a few minutes and I start freaking out. I text Jay.

Cassie: I think I scared him away ☹️

Jay: What did you do?

Cassie: asked for his number. We were asking questions via insta and I asked. He hasn't responded for ten minutes. Jaaaaaaayyyy help me.

Jay: What was he doing when you asked?

Cassie: laying on his bed bored, so we continued to asked each other questions and that's when I asked.

Jay: maybe he had to go to the bathroom or someone came in his room, if he was going to kiss you earlier he wouldn't just leave you on read, he read it right?

I go back to our conversation and look, 'unread'.

Cassie: he didn't read it. Thank god.

'Noah has sent you a direct message' banner pops up on my phone.

Cassie: HE READ IT Jayson! Help.

Jay: open it.

I go to Instagram and open the direct message.

Noah: 213-555-0139

Cassie: I HAVE HIS NUMBER

"SHIT!" I say out loud when I realized I sent that to Noah instead of Jay.

Cassie: fuck I just sent I HAVE HIS NUMBER to him instead of you!

Jay: Nice one.

Cassie: I can't text both of you ttyl

Noah: was that supposed to be to Jay? 🤣🤣

Cassie: I plead the fifth again 😎

I open iMessage and copy his number. Noah

Cassie: hi

Noah: hi 🤓

Cassie: where'd you go?

Noah: I plead the fifth. 😛

Cassie: that's my line 😠

Noah: look out your window

I get up and look out my window, I smile when I see Noah standing in the middle of the street.

Cassie: What are you doing?

Noah: midnight lesson?

Cassie: be down in five

I move away from the window and toss on my outfit I had on earlier, baby pink sweatshirt crop top and black jeans with knees cut out. I toss my hair in a ponytail and head downstairs. I walk out the front door and I see Noah sitting on my front steps.

"Hi," I say.

"Hi."

"Isn't a little late for a lesson?"

"Yeah, But I couldn't think of anything else to get you to come outside."

"You could have just asked," I giggle a little.

"I'll have to remember that next time."

"Next time?"

"Yeah. Cassie I like talking to you. You're not like other girls our age. You say what you're thinking. And you're not afraid to show how you're feeling."

I start to blush and I bite my lip.

"So..." Noah says.

"So..." I mock back.

"Do you have plans tomorrow afternoon?"

"No, why?"

"You need another lesson."

"Oh yeah."

"Let's say two, I meet you here and we have the lesson, and leave your phone inside."

"No phone. Gotcha."

"But I'm gonna go back home before I get grounded and we have no lesson."

"So you asked me outside to ask if I was busy? You could have done that on the phone."

"Well I wanted to see you again before I go to sleep," Noah says and smirks causing me to blush.

"Goodnight Noah."

"Goodnight Cassie."

He walks down the stairs and boards back towards his house when I go inside, I grab a water from the fridge and head upstairs to my room.

I change back into my pjs and snuggle in my bed when my phone goes off.

Noah:

        Night

Cassie: night dork 🤓

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

I wake up the next morning and take a shower. I pick my outfit out; a black and white striped off the shoulder shirt, white jean cut off shorts, black socks and black vans. I wear my hair down but bring a hair tie just in case.

I grab my phone and text Jay.

Cassie: I'm leaving my phone inside so someone YOU don't ruin my chance of getting a kiss and plus Noah said no phones today.

Jay: no phones okay but as soon as you can you better tell me everything or I'll drive by if I don't hear from you at four.

Cassie: DON'T YOU DARE JAYSON ALEXANDER!

Jay: use protection 😏

Cassie: goodbye Jayson.

Jay: Bye Cassie 💋

Cassie: I'm ready for my lesson whenever you are 🤓

Noah: on my way over.

I head downstairs and grab two waters, bringing them outside for us. I see Noah boarding up in a black hat that he's wearing backwards, a grey T-shirt and black cutoffs that are rolled a little at the knee and his black skater shoes. He sees me sitting on the front steps and smiles.

"Hi." He says once he's closer.

"Hi. I got us waters."

"Thanks." He walks up the stairs and takes one, opening it and taking a drink. "No speeding today," he jokes and smiles.

"No speeding, got it and my phone is inside."

"I brought mine just in case but I'm gonna leave it up here with the waters."

I stand up and walk down the stairs to his skateboard. I center my self and start skateboarding down the street. I go slow while Noah walks down the stairs.

He comes down to the street and watches me for a little, "looks like you're doing good. Have you secretly been practicing since yesterday?"

"I plead the fifth."

"Cassie!"

"I'm joking Noah, calm down. I'm just taking slow like you said."

He comes up beside me and runs along side me. I kick harder and start going faster than he's running.

"Noah!"

He starts running faster and laughs. "Stop kicking before you crash."

I put my foot on the skateboard and watch Noah still running beside me. The skateboard slows down and I start laughing. "You get the workout today."

"I should have dressed differently then."

I laugh and hop of the board when it comes to a stop. "Can we both ride on it?"

"Maybe if you stay still and not move."

"I'll try."

I get on the board and look at him. He moves on in front of me and puts one foot on the board and starts kicking. I grab his shirt and hold on as we start going faster.

We ride around for a few minutes before he says he needs a drink. We pull back up at my house and he runs up the stairs and grabs his phone and our waters.

I sit down on the board and look up at him, he hands me the water. "Thanks."

"No problem."

"What made you wanna try boarding?" He asks and sits down on the curb as I still sit on his board.

"Looked like it was easy, well what I'm doing, not the tricks."

"Yeah, you're nowhere near tricks."

"Yeah I'll stick to kicking."

Noah gets up off the curb, comes over and stands in front of me. He places his legs on the outside of mine and looks down at me. "Can I tell you a secret?"

I nod and look up at him.

"I've been dying to kiss you since yesterday."

I blush and bite my lip.

He looks from my eyes to my lips then to my eyes again. He bends down a little and kisses me softly on the lips. I pull his shirt down a little pulling him closer, causing him to smirk in the kiss.

I let go of his shirt and he pulls away from the kiss.

"Whoa," He says.

"Whoa." I say looking up at him.

"Whoa," He says again and looks at me, he holds out his hand and I intertwined mine with his and he helps me up. He wraps his arms around my waist and smiles. "Definitely worth the wait."

"Shut up and kiss me," I say and he smirks.

He leans down a little and connects our lips again. I put my arms around his waist. He brings his hand up to my cheek and traces my heart. He pulls away slightly and looks at me, "Will you be my girlfriend?"

I bite my lip and whisper, "yes."

[trashcanmarvelfan]

Best. Job. Ever. 8/12

Summary: Reader gets a job on the set of Spider-Man: Far from Home for the 3 weeks they are shooting in New York City as what she thinks is a production assistant, but a twist of fate has her reassigned as Tom Holland’s personal assistant. As she & Tom grow close during filming, will their budding friendship turn to more or will they go their separate ways after filming concludes?

Warnings: Language, but that’s pretty much it? This is basically a PG-13 rom-com. (Legal) alcohol use as well but since it’s legal do I really need to tag it?

Word Count: 2114 for chapter 8.

Author’s Note: As this was written WAY before Spider-Man: Far from Home was released (actually before Avengers: Endgame was as well) I’ve kept plot details and which scene was being shot on what day extremely vague. Also, I’m American but tried to write Tom as British as possible, although I do think he’d try to stay(ish) in character and use as much American slang as he could while he’s still playing Peter.

Chapter-Specific Author’s Note: I hope this part was worth the wait... ;)

Requests are always open!

Cross-posted at AO3.

The next morning, Y/N woke up and checked her email.  Waiting in her inbox was Tom’s schedule for the final week of filming.

She pulled up Tom’s text thread. Got your schedule for next week. Ik you’re hanging out with Harrison today and we're going out tonight, so we can just go over it tomorrow or whatever.

Tom texted back almost immediately. Sounds great. Maybe we can do it tomorrow evening after Haz leaves? I was also thinking we could all have brunch in the morning so we can give him a proper send-off.

Ok, that’s fine, and brunch also sounds good. LMK the details tonight.

Y/N decided since she wasn’t meeting up with the guys until much later in the day and since she had been in NYC for almost 2 weeks and still hadn’t really gone sightseeing that she needed to get out and do something, so she took a shower and got dressed in some comfortable clothes she could go exploring in, grabbed her wallet, and headed downstairs.

She asked at the concierge desk for tour recommendations that she could do and wound up deciding to book a bus tour that passed by some shops she wanted to go to. She walked down to a little cafe’ for coffee then boarded her bus.

One of the stops was near the Strand Bookstore, so she decided to disembark there and check it out.

She took one step inside and froze. There were books everywhere she could see - books of every shape, size, and genre.  I’ve died and gone to heaven.

She spent most of the morning exploring the shop, finally choosing a few books to purchase before realizing how late it was and running back to the bus stop to continue her tour.

After eventually making a full loop around New York City, Y/N got off at the stop closest to the hotel and rushed back to shower and change for the evening.

She checked out her outfit in the full-length mirror in her hall. I guess this is it, she thought.

Laura had helped her pick out an outfit via Skype, delighted that Y/N had packed the pink satin camisole top she had bought Y/N for her birthday, and insisting that it was the perfect top to pair with black leggings and a pair of comfortable, low-heeled shoes that Y/N had bought earlier that day.  Y/N had gone with simple accessories, choosing a rose gold bracelet and teardrop necklace, and kept her makeup light lest she sweat it off under the club lights.

A knock came on the door.

She opened the door and Tom’s jaw dropped. “Y/N, you look absolutely stunning,” he breathed.

“Thanks,” Y/N replied shyly. “Ready to go? Where’s Harrison?”

“Oh, err, he said he'd meet us downstairs,” Tom replied.

“Oh, ok, that’s cool.”

Tom offered his arm. “Shall we?”

They exited the elevator in the lobby where Harrison was waiting. “Y/N, you look fabulous,” he said.

“Thanks,” Y/N replied.

“The Uber is a couple of blocks away so we should be getting outside.” Harrison pointed toward the doors. “You two ready to go?”

“Yeah, I’m set. Tom?”

“Ready,” Tom replied.

They made their way outside where their Uber was just pulling up to the curb.

Tom got in first, holding out a hand to help Y/N climb in behind him. Harrison followed behind her.

They greeted their driver and chatted casually on the way to the restaurant.

After dinner, they walked down the street to the club.  Tom gave his name at the door and he, Y/N, and Harrison all showed their IDs to get their armbands for the bar, Y/N handing her belongings to Tom to keep in his pocket.  They walked in to the club full of glowing lights and thumping electronic music, peoples’ bodies swaying to the beat.

A waitress led them to their table above the dance floor and asked them if they wanted a drink.

“We should start with shots,” Harrison declared before ordering 2 tequila shots for each of them.

“Can I also get 2 shots of lime juice?” Y/N added. “I usually add a chaser at first if I'm doing tequila shots,” she explained at Tom and Harrison’s quizzical looks.

Once their drinks were delivered, Y/N picked hers up. “To good friends, good tequila, and good times,” she declared.

“Hear hear,” Tom and Harrison both agreed as they all clinked their glasses together.  Y/N drank her shot of tequila, the liquid burning her throat as it slid down. She immediately chased it with the lime juice, shuddering at the tang. “Ugh, much better mixed together in a margarita,” she joked.

They quickly followed with their second shot before Harrison decided that he was going to go check out the dance floor.  He shot Y/N and Tom a good-natured wink before he left.

Tom leaned in, the intoxicating combination of his cologne and the alcohol already starting to swirl in Y/N’s system making her feel fuzzy. “I’m going to go to the bar,” he said in her ear to be overheard over the music. “Want anything?”

“Sure.” Y/N told Tom which drink she wanted and he disappeared. She sat quietly for a few minutes before pulling out her phone and taking a selfie to send to Laura. Nightlife in NYC, she captioned it.

A couple of seconds later, a gorgeous blonde-haired guy bumped into her seat. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” he said apologetically.

“It’s fine,” Y/N said. “No harm done.” Y/N waited for the guy to keep walking, but he stopped right next to her.

“I’m Matt.”

“Y/N.”

Matt tilted his head to the side. “How about some company? A pretty lady like you must be lonely sitting there all by yourself.”

Y/N shook her head. “No thanks. I’m actually just waiting for someone.”

“Then do you wanna dance?”

“Um, no thanks.”

“How about a drink then?”

Y/N was starting to get uncomfortable. “Um, actually--”

“Here you are, love.”

Y/N looked up to see Tom carrying her drink as well as a beer for himself.

Y/N shot him a grateful look. “Thanks, babe.”

Tom sat next to her and gave her a lingering kiss on her cheek, dangerously close to the corner of her mouth. “So terribly sorry darling, hope I didn’t keep you waiting long,” he said apologetically, putting an arm around her shoulder. He pretended to only just then notice Matt. “Oh, hello. Sorry, didn't see you standing there.”

Y/N tried to keep her chill. “No big deal, honey. I was just talking to Matt, here.”

“Umm, actually you know, I've got to get going,” Matt mumbled. “It was nice to meet you, Y/N.” He rushed off.

“Bye, Matt!” Tom said cheerfully.

“Ugh, what an asshat,” Y/N said, taking a sip of her drink. “Thanks for coming to my rescue.”

Tom shrugged and took a swig of his beer, keeping his arm around Y/N. “You were obviously uncomfortable and that guy clearly wasn't getting the hint.”

They were finishing their drinks when Harrison came back. “Time for a break. I need another drink.” He pointed to Tom and Y/N. “It's your turn to get out there."

Tom offered Y/N his hand. “Dance with me?” he asked.

Y/N nodded and took his hand. “Show me what moves you've got, Holland,” she said with a wink.

“Order me another beer when our server comes back?” Tom asked Harrison.

“Sure thing, mate. Y/N?”

“Yeah, actually.” Y/N told Harrison what she wanted to drink as she and Tom stood.

Tom led her to the dance floor, where one song had just ended and another song had begun.

Y/N swayed her hips, letting the beat of the music and the warmth of the alcohol in her system relax her. Tom wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her flush to him.  Y/N hooked one arm around Tom’s neck, closing her eyes and matching Tom’s rhythm to where they were one seamless flow.

They danced for several songs until Tom’s hand slowly traveled up Y/N’s back until he reached the bare skin where her top was cut low. Y/N shivered as Tom slowly ran a finger up her back, opening her eyes and locking gazes with him.

Tom’s gaze held something… primal, something that both excited and terrified Y/N at the same time.  She subconsciously licked her lips, Tom’s gaze flickering down for just a second before raising back to her eyes.  His grip on her waist tightened. “Y/N…” he murmured.

“Yes?” Y/N replied breathlessly. The way Tom said her name in that accent of his made her briefly wonder how many other different ways she could get him to say it and in what other situations. She blushed at the thought.

Tom tilted his head, leaning in slightly, while Y/N followed suit until...

...Someone knocked into them, shattering the moment and breaking the spell.

“You know what?” Y/N said nervously, looking everywhere but at Tom. “I need to hit the ladies’ room, I’ll umm… I’ll be back in a bit.”

Tom nodded. “Okay, I’m going to go back to the table then.”

Y/N nodded as well.  She went to the ladies’ room and splashed some cool water on her face. Get a grip, Y/N. You’ve both been drinking, and with the lights and the music… Just keep it together.

She walked back to the table, where the guys were each drinking a beer, Y/N’s drink on the table between them.  

Y/N sat down and took a long swig of her drink. “Bit warm in here, isn’t it?” she said. “Luckily we seem to be right under the AC.”

After a while and another drink, Y/N had calmed down enough and was ready to get back out on the dance floor.

She took turns dancing with both Harrison and Tom, but this time she was sure to keep a respectable distance, also switching to water for the rest of the evening lest she get tipsy again and lose her inhibitions.

They called an Uber back to the hotel, where Y/N and Tom dropped Harrison off at his floor, wishing him goodnight.

When Y/N and Tom arrived on their floor, Tom asked, “Would you like me to walk you to your door?”  

Y/N giggled. “That’s so gentlemanly of you, but it’s literally down the hall. I think I can make it.”

“Ok, good night then.”

“Good night.”  Y/N turned and walked towards her room.  She was almost to her door when Tom called out her name. “Y/N!”

She turned to see Tom jogging towards her, holding her belongings that he had been keeping in his pocket.  “You might need these.”

Y/N blushed as Tom joined her in front of her door. “Haha oops, yeah, those might be important.” She bit her lip nervously. “Thanks for inviting me. I had a lot of fun tonight.”

“Me too,” Tom replied with a soft smile.

Y/N's fingers brushed Tom's as she reached for her belongings, setting off that same spark that she had felt earlier that evening. She leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Tom's cheek before turning towards her door.

Suddenly Tom grabbed her hand. “Y/N, wait.”

Y/N glanced back at him in surprise.

Tom dropped Y/N's hand as his eyes searched hers. What he was looking for, Y/N wasn't sure. Tom reached up and tucked some loose hair behind Y/N's ear, his fingers lingering on her face in a gentle caress.

Y/N subconsciously leaned into Tom's touch, her eyes fluttering closed as warm lips tentatively pressed against her own.

She reached up with her free hand, trailing her fingers up Tom’s arm before wrapping her hand around his bicep and pulling him closer, Tom wrapping his arms around her and pulling her flush to him as he continued to kiss her breathless.

The sound of a door closing down the hall brought them back to Earth, Tom giving Y/N one more chaste kiss before separating.

He grinned. “Goodnight, Y/N.”

Y/N smiled shyly. “Night, Tom.” She swiped her keycard on her door before entering her room, not noticing that Tom hadn’t moved or taken his eyes off of her for a second until she was inside.

She flopped down on her bed and touched her lips with her fingertips, the feel of Tom's lips still on hers.

What a night.

Taglist: @laureharrier @thoughstofaredhead & @greenarrowhead

[peachyfic]

Hours Gone By - Mark

January 3rd. BamBam

January 4th. Mark

Just as BamBam told you last night, Mark wanted to meet you in an outdoor activity. He chose a perfect day for it as it wasn’t that cold like in the previous days, however, you still had to dress warm enough to endure the breeze. Your best friend texted you that Mark is waiting for you by the Han river at noon for lunch. Well, Han river is vast and has many spots where people meet up, but in the following text, she told you that he will be by the convenience store. There weren’t that many stores by the river’s main park so you kind of guessed which one he is talking about. 

It took you only thirty minutes to get there as you took the subway. Since you were on time, you didn’t expect Mark to be there already. You were right about that as he was late by 15 minutes. 

“So sorry for being late,” he said while he was trying to catch his breath. 

“Don’t worry about it, at least it’s not too cold outside today,” you smiled at him which made him feel relieved. 

“Before we go and sit down do you want to get something from the store? I prepared a little food but I don’t think that will be enough,” he said while looking at the bag he had in his hand.

“That’s really nice of you that you brought food,” you said excitedly but then both of you decided to get some snacks and Mark made ramen for himself. 

After you finished with the shopping, you tried to find a nice spot where there weren’t too many people and you got a good view of the river. Thankfully, it was easy to find a place just like that as for many people this weather was still not ideal for a picnic. 

Mark took out a blanket from his backpack, which he laid down on the grass, then he carefully put down the food and a big thermos that you guessed had some warm drink in it. 

“The restaurant is ready, Miss,” he said as he imitated a waiter. This made you giggle and he knew he was on the right track. 

“Wow, did you make all of these?” you asked as you looked at all the gimbap that was in the container. 

“Yes, I did. I also have some warm tea here, so please just take whatever you want,” he replied and without hesitation, you picked up one gimbap and started eating it. The taste was great as he used delicious and fresh ingredients. 

“I would have never thought that in January I’m going to have an outdoor picnic date by the river,” you said as you were still amazed by all the things Mark prepared. 

“We are lucky that the weather is good today. It was made just for the two of us,” he said cheesily which resulted in him bursting into an embarrassing giggle. It was hard for you to not notice how cute he was. 

“In my past dates I haven’t been outside that much so it’s great to get some fresh air and sunshine,” you told him and he suddenly put down his cup of ramen. 

“Oh, this reminds me of. It might sound cheesy or pushing the boundaries, but I think it’s beautiful how the sunlight is shining on you... do you mind if I take a picture of you?” He asked timidly but you shook your head. 

“I don’t mind it, just show it to me. And if I look unacceptable then you have to delete it,” you made him pinky promise it. Then he took out his camera and snapped three pictures of you. After that, he showed you the results and he looked at the pictures with admire in his eyes. “You made me look prettier than I actually am.”

“Ah come on, y/n, I think you are really pretty even without the sun shining down on you,” he replied before you could continue talking down about yourself. “But I gotta admit the rays make you look like even more of an angel.” 

“Well I think between the two of us, you are the angel as you prepared all this stuff for today,” you said and he started to blush. 

“It’s really nothing. I’m just happy that I can spend some time with someone that I’m just getting to know. After a while it gets boring to be with the guys,” he laughed which implied that he loves them regardless, but it’s good to meet new people. “By the way, BamBam couldn’t shut up about you yesterday which wasn’t cool of him as we all promised we are not going to talk about the dates.”

“BamBam seems like that type of person who just can’t keep the words inside him,” you chuckled as you thought about how even on the previous day he kept on dropping information about stuff he wasn’t supposed. 

“Yeah sometimes he can be really annoying, but of course I adore him a lot. He pretty much grew up in front of my eyes and I consider him my little brother, so I really can’t be mad at him,” he smiled softly while he thought about his dongsaeng.  

“That’s great how all of you are so close to each other,” you said and he nodded. 

“I consider myself lucky that I was able to meet these guys. But hey let’s talk more about you. Even though BamBam already shared so much, I feel like there is still a lot for me to learn,” he said with a playful wink and that made your heart beat faster. 

The two of you kept on talking for hours. It was already four pm when you realized it was starting to get a little colder as you were getting closer to the night. 

“I can’t believe that time went by this fast...” sighed Mark as he looked at his watch. You emptied out even the last bit of tea from the thermos. You now had neither food nor any drinks. “But I don’t want to say goodbye yet... there is a basketball court close by and I happen to have a basketball in this magic bag. What do you say?” He asked while he was really hoping for you to stay longer with him. 

“That sounds great!” You said cheerfully and Mark quickly got up to pack up everything while you picked up all the garbage that you didn’t want to leave behind. 

After ten minutes of walking, you arrived at a basketball court. There were barely any people playing as it was still work and school time. Mark took out his basketball from his bag while you got yourself ready for another sports embarrassment. Third time this week. 

“I don’t think that I’m such a good player,” you admitted but Mark shrugged. 

“I don’t consider myself a good player either. But hey, this is not the NBA's, we are just here to have fun so don’t worry,” he said to ease your worrying. 

For almost an hour you kept on playing against each other. At first, each of you had ten chances and to whoever had the least scores, that person had to post an embarrassing picture on social media. Surprisingly that person was Mark. 

“But hey, you didn’t go easy on me, right?” You confronted him but he put his hands up in protest.

“I swear to God you were just simply this good,” he said which made you laugh. Then he proceeded to take one of the ugliest selfies of our time, but still, he managed to look handsome. 

“Wow, how can you look this good even from this angle?” You asked, truly amazed by him. 

“I guess I was just born with it,” he replied while he flipped his non-existent long hair. 

“Okay but this time let’s try to block each other’s attacks,” you suggested and Mark put up a thumbs up. 

“I might hurt you so be prepared,” he said which now sounded a little darker compared to how cute he was a few minuted before. 

“Oh, the real Mark is finally starting to show,” you teased him and he wiggled his eyebrows as an answer and when you were not paying attention, he took the ball from you. When it registered in your brain what just happened, you quickly turned around and started to chase after him. 

“Yaa Mark Tuan!” You yelled but he was just loudly giggling as he was running away and then getting the ball right in the hoop. 

“Next time pay close attention,” he said while he pointed at your eyes with two of his fingers. 

“Okay then what if I get your attention away,” you said, getting closer to him. First, he looked like he cannot be bothered but when you got way too close to him, as only a few centimeters were between your faces, Mark’s hold on the ball got weaker which was the perfect moment to steal it from him. Then you started running towards the other hoop, Mark closely behind you.

“You can’t seduce me like this, it’s not fair!” He shouted but you managed to go all the way to the other side and get the ball in the hoop. 

“I didn’t do anything, you are just imagining things,” you shrugged and Mark rolled his eyes. 

“Nice try, but I won’t give up this easily,” he replied.

For thirty minutes you were playing around like this, chasing, teasing, and laughing at each other. You had such a good time with him that you didn’t even notice how fast time has gone by. 

“I should head home now, it’s really dark outside,” you said as the two of you were sitting on the concrete, feeling exhausted. It was already dark and cold. On the river, you could see the lights reflecting from the city, which made the waves look colorful. 

“I will take you home,” he said and you looked at him questioningly. “I mean I don’t have a car, but I can take the subway with you and walk you home, to make sure you get back safely,” he added and you melted away just by how caring he was. 

“Okay, then let’s go,” you said and the two of you walked to the subway. On the way to your home, you didn’t talk as much as you both felt exhausted. Instead, you were trying to fight off the sleepiness.

Once you got to your house, it almost seemed like as if Mark didn’t want to go home. 

“I really enjoyed my day with you,” he said with a sleepy voice and it just made him even cuter. 

“I had a great time too. Thanks for the food and the tea,” you mentioned again and he just smiled softly at you. Then he suddenly leaned in to plant a kiss on your cheek. When he saw your widened eyes, he realized what he had done just now. The embarrassment was taking over him in form of a tomato red face and sweat forming on his forehead during that cold winter night. 

“I guess I should go, good night!” he said with a higher pitched voiced and he started to back away then he jogged towards the subway station. That was one of the cutest reactions of your life. 

“Good night,” you shouted after him and he suddenly turned back to wave at you with a big smile, then he continued to make his embarrassed home run. 

January 5th. Jinyoung

[alpxcamin]

Long Awaited

Requested?: Yup ^^

Words: 3.7k

Group: Idol Producer

Member(s): Chengcheng (feat. Yuehua boys)

A/N: This one was so fun to write! Thank you for requesting this, anon. I’m so obsessed with Idol Producer, I love them so much :’) Anyway, I hope you enjoy this!

“Chengcheng, that’s disgusting...why am I even friends with you?” you ask your childhood friend.

You and Chengcheng have been friends since you were born basically. Both of your families are family friends and the two of you happened to have the same interests and passions while growing up which brought the two of you together. In fact, he was the one who convinced you to audition for Yuehua.

“What? I’m just eating,” Chengcheng rolls his eyes, spooning the icy milk and cereal into his mouth.

“Yeah, but who the hell puts ice in their cereal? Wouldn’t that just water it down?” you sigh, continuing to scroll through your phone.

“If you eat it fast enough it won’t. I’ve been eating cereal like this for years and you always just have to point it out every time, don’t you,” Chengcheng laughs a little.

“Whatever, you’re old so I’ll just let you off this time. You know, old people tend to have strange eating habits. My grandpa puts ketchup on everything,” you look up at Chengcheng who snorts and continues to much on his snack.

“Me, old? If you want old, go find Zhengting. I’m only a year older than you, don’t pretend you’re that young,” Chengcheng groans.

“Zhengting will kill me if I tell him that,” you laugh, thinking about how he had threatened you if you called him old another time.

“Whatever suits you,” Chengcheng laughs along.

The two of you settle into comfortable silence, Chengcheng eating and you mindlessly scrolling through Instagram. Your finger pauses when you settle on a selfie Quanzhe had posted. You have had a tiny crush on the boy since the day you met. You had met him when you were accepted to Yuehua. Turns out, he was also friends with Chengcheng which is quite convenient for you since you can make an excuse to visit Quanzhe often. However, you soon become close to all of Chengcheng and Quanzhe’s friends so you don’t even need an excuse anymore.

You feel Chengcheng’s gaze on you and you look up at him curiously. He shakes his head a little before turning back to his cereal. However, this time he sets the bowl down and turns to you with a serious expression.

“Hey, what happens if Quanzhe isn’t your soulmate? I know you really like him…” Chengcheng trails off.

“Oh, well...I mean I’ll just end up liking my soulmate when I’m sixteen anyway. Maybe my soulmate is Quanzhe,” you ponder.

Everyone has a soulmate, but you won’t be able to know for sure until you’re sixteen. Before you’re sixteen, you are capable of having romantic feelings for anyone. However, on your sixteenth birthday, fate forces you to only be able to love your soulmate, whether you had previously been on good terms with them or not, either over time or right away. You frown remembering that you would be turning sixteen soon. You wanted to be able to like Quanzhe a little longer. In fact, Chengcheng had turned seventeen already, but he always refused to tell you who his soulmate is.

“You never know,” Chengcheng shrugs and begins eating his cereal again.

---

“One, two, three, ta~”

You dance accordingly, timing yourself carefully, making sure you hadn’t skipped any beats. You stick your foot out and spin around, your arms stretched out. The music stops and you collapse to the ground, sweat pouring from your body, drenching your clothes.

“Alright, good work everyone. We’ll call it a day, but make sure to continue practicing until we meet again,” your teacher nods before leaving you and your small group.

“Thank you!” you and your groupmates all bow.

Your instructor waves goodbye, a pleased smile on her face. You know you had done well this class and the class ended in a good mood. You look over to your group mates and smile. They all smile back before announcing that they had to leave. Your small group isn’t the closest, but they are definitely considered good friends of yours. Soon, they had all piled out and you are left alone in the room.

You pack up your things after deciding to visit Chengcheng before heading back to the dorms and practicing a little. You quickly toss your towel and water bottle into your small bag and head out the door. You take out your bottle again and drank some water as you stroll down the halls.

You hear some familiar voices yelling and you turn into the corridor, finally arriving to the boys’ practice room. You peek your head in, knocking lightly on the opened door a few times. All of the boys turn around and as soon as they see you, they come rushing to you.

“Hey, y/n! How was your practice?” Justin is the first to reach you.

“It went really well. The teacher was super happy when she left,” you laugh, patting Justin’s blond hair.

“Oh, that’s great,” Zeren smiles kindly at you.

You nod, finally reaching Chengcheng. You drop your bag and open your arms, chuckling evilly. You approach him slowly and he realizes what you’re doing and backs up. He groans and tries to run away, but you leap onto him before he can run.

“Ew! You’re so gross and sweaty, get off of me!” Chengcheng screeches as you purposely rub your sweat all over him.

“Yeah, but so are you, Chengcheng. All of us are so why does it even matter?” Xinchun snorts.

“Betrayal! How could you do this to me,” Chengcheng cries out and you slowly slide off him.

“Get over it man,” Zhengting laughs, “Alright, I’m going to go eat dinner. I’m starving.”

“Oh, ge! Can we come?” Justin pipes up excitedly.

Zhengting nods, and the boys jump around, celebrating. Quanzhe turns to you and cocks his head to the side.

“You wanna come with us?” he asks cutely, causing you to blush a little.

“If you guys don’t mind,” you reply shyly.

“You’re always welcome to join us,” Zhengting turns to you.

“Thanks, but you’re paying. I didn’t bring any money with me today,” you laugh.

All eight of you head out the door, you and Quanzhe trailing behind the crowd. The two of you chatted before parting ways so you could all clean up before heading out for dinner. You happily skip into your dorm, humming quietly to yourself.

“Hey, good practice?” your roommate asks as you enter your room.

“Ah yeah, I’m going to shower and head out for dinner,” you smile, informing her.

“Nice, bring me back some food, okay?” she laughs.

“Sure thing!” you giggle before disappearing into the bathroom, a pile of clean clothes in hand.

---

“Finally, you actually smell okay,” Chengcheng is the first to greet you.

“You too,” you roll your eyes, “The others aren’t done yet?”

“Hey, remember all seven of us share a room. We only have one bathroom,” Chengcheng lightly smacks your head.

“I thought guys showered quickly. I guess it’s not just girls who take their time then,” you pout, rubbing your head where Chengcheng had hit.

“Yeah, nothing is quick when you live with people like them,” Chengcheng laughs.

You nod, and take out your phone, reviewing your notifications. Chengcheng follows your actions and the two of you silently lean on the wall, trying to pass some time by playing random games.

“Oh, y/n, you’re here already. Hello, Chengcheng,” a quiet voice brings you out of your trance.

“Quanzhe! What took you so long? What about the others? I’m going to die of starvation if they don’t come down soon,” Chengcheng attacks the poor boy with questions.

“Ah, ge! We have seven people and you hogged the bathroom the longest so all of us had to wait,” Quanzhe pouts.

You look over at Chengcheng, “Wow, is that why your hair is still a little damp? Even my hair is all dried.”

“Shut up, you two,” Chengcheng groans, placing a hand over his face.

“Why’d you rush out anyway. You were taking such a long time in the bathroom apparently,” you press on.

“Well,” Chengcheng seems a little hesitant, “You just sent me a text that you were already done and I have to beat you so I just rushed out.”

“Ge, you’re so weird,” Quanzhe teases the older.

“Well, one point for me,” you giggle.

---

Soon, the rest of the boys had finally arrived and the eight of you set off to find a suitable place to eat. The eight of you waddled around for a while before settling for In-N-Out (not sponsored lmao).

Zhengting and Zeren shooes the rest of you away, asking you to find a seat as they ordered. You nodded and managed to find two tables near each other. You and the others combine the two small tables into a longer one so that all eight of you can fit.

You sit down next to Quanzhe and Chengcheng decided to sit on the other side of you. As the Wenjun, Justin, Xinchun, and Quanzhe all left to get some paper, you turn to Chengcheng who remains by your side.

“Why are we eating something so unhealthy after practicing for so long? Isn’t that like bad or something?” you ask, head resting on your hand.

“I don’t know, but fries man,” Chengcheng laughs.

“Yes, fries are the best,” you lick your lips, “but you ruin them by dipping them into your milkshake.”

“What? It’s good,” Chengcheng defends.

“See, you and your weird old people eating habits. I’m always the one that has to share the milkshake with you,” you complain.

“Oh shut up. You can’t even taste the difference,” Chengcheng snorts, ignoring your whining.

“Stop bickering. The food is here,” Zeren surprises the two of you from behind with your orders.

Finally, everyone is sitting down and you thank Zhengting for paying before digging in. You happily munch as you listen in to what the boys are chatting about. Through your peripheral vision, you see Chengcheng’s hand reaching out for the milkshake the two of you are sharing. Your hands immediately latch onto his wrist, preventing him from opening the lid.

“No, please. Don’t you dare dip that fry in,” you glare at him, your voice unwavering.

“Try me,” Chengcheng playfully glares back.

You quickly drop your burger and snatch the milkshake away from him, shoving the cold cup into Quanzhe’s free hands. He squeals at the coldness and you apologize quickly before turning back to Chengcheng.

“Try me,” you mock him.

“Fine, whatever,” Chengcheng pouts, popping the plain fry into his mouth.

“You two are so weird,” Wenjun shakes his head and continues to eat.

---

After finishing a quick dinner, the eight of you scuttle back to the dorm building before separating to your own ways. However, Chengcheng sticks with you. He usually walks you back to your room if it’s late, even if there is no one around.

“Seriously, I can’t share any more milkshakes with you anymore,” you sigh.

“This again? Come on,” Chengcheng sniffs.

“You know, we indirectly kiss each other everytime we use the same straw,” the words mindlessly spill out of your mouth.

“You just realized?” Chengcheng laughs, “We’ve probably ‘kissed’ like ten thousand times already.”

“Ew, I kissed you so many times. I’m going to share straws with Quanzhe more often now,” you laugh.

“You’re nasty. Maybe on your birthday, I’ll allow it. I refuse to let you ruin my baby,” Chengcheng shakes his head.

“Since when did Quanzhe become your baby? I thought Zhengting was his mom,” you counter.

“Speaking of birthdays, what do you want this year?” Chengcheng completely ignores your previous statement.

“I don’t know. Just give me whatever...I just kind of want to ask Quanzhe out on my birthday, whether he turns out to be my soulmate or not,” you shrug.

“You’re just saying that,” an unrecognizable emotion clear in Chengcheng’s voice.

“I mean, I won’t like him anymore then, right? So why shouldn’t I just confess that I used to like him?” you stop walking and cross your arms over your chest.

“I guess I can’t stop you, but...what if your soulmate doesn’t like it?” Chengcheng stops walking as well.

“Well, I’ll see if I can even find him in the first place,” you mumble, digging in your pockets for your keys.

Chengcheng sighs, watching you quietly as you unlock the door. You mutter a goodnight before slipping through the crack you had opened. Chengcheng lets out a quiet ‘goodnight’ just as you shut the door, leaving him to walk back to his own room alone.

---

The next two days, you and Chengcheng had talked a little less than usual. You grumble to yourself as you practice.You blast the music and try to focus on the choreography, but it wasn’t working. You always wondered why Chengcheng was so invested in this soulmate thing. To be honest, you weren’t really that interested. In fact, you barely believe that soulmates exist.

Tomorrow is your birthday and you suppose you would just find out then. You groan as you miss the beat and kick yourself before tripping over your own feet. You fall to the ground with a loud ‘thud’. You crawl over to your phone and stop the music. You use the wall to help you get up, rubbing your ankle a little, trying to get rid of the pain.

“Y/n? Are you okay?” a familiar voice calls out to you.

You spin around, only to meet Chengcheng. Half of his body is in the room and a concerned expression plastered on his face. You nod a little, still holding your ankle. You hop over to him on one foot, but he meets you in the middle and helps you to the chair.

“What are you doing here?” you ask, pulling down your socks to see if your ankle had become swollen or not.

“I was just walking by and I saw you fall,” Chengcheng pulls your hand away and he tosses your shoe off, then stripping off your socks.

“Oh,” is all you are able to let out.

Your eyes drift from his face to your foot. The toe is bleeding a little and your ankle is indeed swollen. You frown at the thought of not being able to dance for a while. You let out a small sigh, your toes curling in pain.

“Stay here, I’ll get an ice pack and some bandages,” Chengcheng props your foot onto the chair he had just been sitting in a couple of seconds ago.

You nod and Chengcheng leaves the room, door wide open. After a few minutes you see a head pop in and to your surprise, it’s Quanzhe. You immediately blush, trying to hide your minorly injured foot.

“Q-Quanzhe, what brings you here?” you stutter.

“Chengcheng told me you got hurt so I just wanted to see if you’re okay,” Quanzhe gives you a small smile.

He drags a chair next to yours and sits down. He examines your foot a little before placing a hand on your shoulder. You feel your heartbeat quicken and you hope that your cheeks haven’t turned red yet. Quanzhe pats your shoulder lightly a few times.

“It doesn't look too bad. Hopefully, it’ll get better quickly,” he nods.

“Yeah, hopefully,” you mumble, turning away a little, hoping to hide your now obvious blush.

“Hey, I’m back. Oh, Quanzhe, I thought you were still practicing?” Chengcheng barges into the room, an ice pack, and bandages in hand.

“I was just about to leave,” Quanzhe shrugs, getting up, “Come back soon, Zhengting wants to start on the new part.”

“Okay, it won’t take long,” Chengcheng shuffles in.

Quanzhe shuts the door lightly behind him. Chengcheng plops down into the chair Quanzhe had just been sitting in. He takes your foot onto his lap and places the ice pack on your ankle. You flex your feet a little, trying to adjust to the coldness.

“Oof, that’s cold,” you shudder a little.

“No duh, idiot. It’s an ice pack,” Chengcheng lets out a small chuckle.

“I know that,” you pout, wiggling your toes a little as Chengcheng wraps up the injury.

“Okay, done. It’s just a little sprain so you should be fine, but don’t dance tomorrow,” Chengcheng nods, collecting the extra bandage.

“Well, to be honest, I wasn’t planning on doing anything tomorrow,” you say.

“Yeah? Good, I have to go back before Zhengting starts nagging,” Chengcheng chuckles.

“Alright, see you tomorrow then,” you nod.

However, Chengcheng doesn’t leave. He stands up and pulls your arm up, bringing you up. He smoothly slides himself under your arm and steadies you by slipping an arm around your waist. You are a little shocked and look at him curiously.

“How else are you going to get back to your room later?” Chengcheng laughs.

“Shoot, you’re right. Well damn, thanks man,” you giggle, reaching for your things before hobbling out with Chengcheng.

---

“Happy birthday to you~” you are awakened by your roommate’s loud singing.

“Ah, thanks. I almost forgot,” you giggle, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes.

“Well get ready because Zhengting just told me he’s going to be coming with the boys soon,” your roommate hums, clapping her hands.

“Got it, got it,” you laugh, “Oh, are you going somewhere?”

“Yeah, I’m going on a date with my boyfriend and then going to buy a cake for you,” she smiles, heading for the door.

You nod and wave goodbye and as she leaves, you hurry to the bathroom to get ready for the day. Your ankle feels much better since Chengcheng had iced it down. However, your toes still hurt so you can only limp your way around your room.

Suddenly, someone is pounding at your door and you already know who it is. You laugh, shaking your head and wobble over to the door to let Zhengting and the others in. They all scream ‘happy birthday’ at you before attacking you with a massive group hug.

You are finally able to squirm out and you let them in. They piled in one by one, taking off their shoes and placing them neatly to the side. You limp over to the dining table where the boys have gathered and set down a small cake.

“Once again, happy birthday! We made it this morning so don’t blame us if it tastes bad. We were in a hurry,” Justin points to the sloppily decorated cake.

“You guys, you didn’t have to,” you giggle, admiring each one of your friends.

When your eyes landed on Chengcheng, he seemed to shy away a bit and you find it absolutely endearing and adorable. You feel a slight fluttering feeling before you tear your eyes away from him and onto Xinchun.

You hadn’t realized how much time had passed as you celebrated your birthday with the boys. Soon, they left one by one, wishing you another ‘happy birthday’ before they set out to go back to do whatever they had to do. The only one left is Chengcheng. He slumps into the couch next to you after washing up his dish.

“So, you haven’t asked Quanzhe out yet,” Chengcheng laughs.

“Yeah, but suddenly I don’t want to,” you shrug, looking at him.

“Really? That’s new,” Chengcheng looks back at you, his voice trailing off.

The two of you stare at each other and for some reason, you can’t tear your eyes away from him. He begins leaning in a little closer and you feel your heartbeat rising, blood flowing to your face. You swallow harshly when you realize how close the two of you are.

Before you can decide to pull away or not, you instinctively lean right into Chengcheng, your lips crashing onto his. The two of you share a loving kiss before Chengcheng pulls away, laughing loudly. You shove him away, covering your blushing face.

“I’ve been waiting for that for a whole year,” Chengcheng wipes a tear away.

“You knew! You didn’t tell me,” you whine.

Chengcheng is your soulmate and he had known since his sixteenth birthday. Now it makes sense as to why he always refused to tell you.

“I didn’t and did you know how hard it was for me to watch you gush over Quanzhe? It even took you awhile this morning and I was getting worried,” Chengcheng pouts, pulling you into a tight hug.

“Oh, goodness, I’m sorry,” you bury yourself into his chest, wrapping your arms around him, returning the hug.

“No need to apologize. It took me a while to realize it too,” Chengcheng chuckles, patting your head, “But did you really like Quanzhe that much?”

“Uh, maybe? To be honest, I used to like you in like fifth grade or something,” you awkwardly admit.

“Oh, spicy. Well, now you like me again. I’m surprised you didn’t notice since the boys were always slipping up,” Chengcheng rubs the nape of his neck, a little embarrassed.

“The boys knew, but I didn’t? Wait, then did Quanzhe know that I--”

“No, I didn’t tell him about your crush,” Chengcheng chuckles at your shocked expression.

“Well good, he doesn’t need to know anymore,” you huff.

“We’ll see. It can be a story to tell at our wedding,” Chengcheng teases.

“Wedding? Are you for real?” you blush, yelling a little too loudly.

“I’m just kidding~” Chengcheng giggles, ruffling your hair.

“Ugh, get off of me,” you playfully roll your eyes.

Just as you pry his hand off your head, Chengcheng leans in for another kiss. It takes you by surprise, but kiss him back, blushing heavily. He pulls away and giggles at your flustered expression.

“I’ve been waiting for so long to do that.”

~Admin Liz ♡

[cannedapricot]

Instagram Famous! Bae Jinyoung

happy 100+ followers!! in celebration, i’m here bringing you some instagram famous! baejin!

baejin never even thought about having 200k followers when he first opened his account

it just happened

he woke up to 739203 notifications after posting a selfie lol

posts once a blue moon

but people still follow him juST IN CASE HE POSTS A SELFIE SOON!!

“oh bae jinyoung uploaded something do yoU SEE HIS FACE I CAN’T BELIEVE HE EXISTS SCREECHES”

everyone highkey thinks he’s an ulzzang because have you seen his visuals??? 10000/10

( Ulzzang translates to "best face" or "good looking" in Korean. This slang is often used by netizens, contests including girls competing for the title of "ulzzang". However, even if this is true, Ulzzang has developed into a subculture/style, rather than a competition/contest event. thanks google ily)

most of his feed is filled with adventures of him and daehwi 

it’s adorable fobalbfedos hnng

gets flustered whenever someone compliments him ugh baejin is so soft i love

to the world he seems like a quiet dude who stepped out of a comic book 

but to his classmates, friends and family, he’s just a normal neighborhood boy 

his classmates were so hyped about his follower count in the first week but now they’re all chill asf about it

if some fan comes looking for jinyoung they’re all like,

“a fan of bae jinyoung? he’s in the toliet pissing rn lol you can wait for him if you want”

you followed baejin on accident one day lmao

you were preparing to move to a better house in a better area 

while shoving everything into boxes, you were dyING

WHO KNEW YOU HAD SO MUCH UNIMPORTANT SHIT

deciding to take breather, you flopped down onto your bed and starting going through instagram

you know the thing

is

is it called discover ? ?? ?

the magnifying glass thing

oh it’s called the explore page

i don’t go on instagram a lot wheezes thanks once again google

moviNG ON FROM MY LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT INSTAGRAM

you were scrolling through that for some unknown reason

and you stumble across a picture of a p u p p e r !!!

guess who posted it!!!

that’s right!! baejin did!!

it wasn’t his dog but it was daehwi’s so it might as well be his tbh

you left a like 

and it was then that your mother decided that it was the perfect time to check on you

“y/n!! how are you going-”

YOU SCRAMBLE OUT OF BED TO PRETEND TO BE DOING SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE

BUT YOUR MOM CATCHES YOU IN THE ACT LMAO

YOUR FINGER ALSO SLIPS AND PRESSES THE FOLLOW BUTTON

AND YOU DON’T NOTICE

until a few days later when baejin follows you back

you’re like

???

because why is an ulzzang or smt following you

so you go on his profile to do some snooping

and uh yoU’RE FOLLOWING HIM????

BUT WHY DID HE FOLLOW YOU BACK

YOUR ACCOUNT WAS JUST FULL OF YOUR COUSIN’S PUPPER

HM

ALL THESE QUESTIONS

so you did what everyone would do

ask google

jk that’s just me

you shoot him a dm asking if you knew him

jinyoung just simply replied,

“nope”

????????????

baejin doesn’t follow back unless you’re a celebrity he likes or his classmate

but yOU POST PUPPY PICTURES SO

HE SWEARS HIS FINGER PRESSED THE FOLLOW BUTTON BY ITSELF

basically baejin’s only there for the dog posts

“i just like your dog”

you don’t really ask him more

he seemed intimidating and didn’t seem like he wanted to talk to you,,,,

HIS CURT REPLY WASN’T MEANT TO MAKE YOU THINK THAT WAY SUFOBSB

you moved house right

so your parents were like

“y/n go take these cookies over to the neighbors, we’re gonna be busy all day with adult stuff”

”aiight”

the house on your left belonged to a cute elderly couple

the moment they saw you they started cooing over you

the house on your right belonged to a small family

“oh! you look like you’re around the same age as my son!!! he’s out with friends right now but come by anytime soon! we’d love to introduce you to him!”

thIS ISN’T NEIGHBOR! JINYOUNG I SWEAR

so you return home in glory

from surviving awkward neighbor conversations

your mom calls you over because youR NEW SCHOOL UNIFORM ARRIVED!!!

SCREAMS

NOT BECAUSE OF NEW UNIFORM

BECAUSE OF NEW SCHOOL

AM I REALLY WRITING A CLICHE?

YES

this is like some kind of twilight rip off or smt lmao

come monday

you were a nervous wreck

lord knows if your peers would accept you

you woke up super early 

more like you didn’t sleep but ok

you bid your sleepy parents farewell and shuffled your way to school lol

you greeted the front desk and they took you to the teacher’s office

where you dealt with 429794 papers

and made sure fOR THE 5000000TH TIME THAT YES THAT’S YOUR HOME NUMBER AND YES THAT’S YOUR DAD’S NAME

it took a while but eventually the bell rings and you follow your homeroom teacher to your brand new classroom!

the teacher goes in to make them shut up first lol

“good morning kids”

ignoredt™

“i sAID GOOD MORNING”

achievement get!!! get the attention of your class!!

“we have a new student today!! please welcome y/n to the family!”

SWEATS BUCKETS

THIS IS WHEN YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO GO IN

WIPES SWEATY PALMS

SHUFFLES IN

“hi i’m y/n”

AWKWARD SMILE

“oh cuTE!!!!”

“HEY WANNA JOIN THE KNITTING CLUB???”

“NOBODY’S INTERESTED IN YOUR KNITTING CLUB DAEHWI”

:c

“ok y/n you can sit next to daehwi over there. you know, the one that said something about the knitting club”

and then she leaves

responsibility at it’s finest am i right

so you slide over to the boy 

and plop down beside him

“hi! i’m lee daehwi!!”

but then a dude who looks really familiar to you for some reason drags him away

you can’t pinpoint where you’ve seen him before

weird 👀👀👀👀

the school day goes on with daehwi making small conversations with you during classes

you found a good group of people who shared the same interests and you fitted in perfectly

there was no point in worrying you worrywart 

looking at you making friends so easily :’)

everything went off without a hitch

at the end of the school day, you waved to your new friends and started the walk home

stopping by a convenience store for a snack on the way though

there you see your seatmate, daehwi with that familiar boy

taking a selfie with the ice cream they’ve just bought

awks

JUST WALK BY Y/N

PRETEND YOU CAN’T SEE THEM

you make quick work of the store and buy ur snack in 0.2 seconds

but uh

the two boys were right smack dab in front of you

it seEMED LIKE YOU WERE FOLLOWING THEM

IT WASN’T YOUR FAULT THAT YOU LIVED IN THIS DIRECTION

you were lowkey hoping at every corner that they’d turn and stop making you seem like a creep

you started nearing your house and you were lowkey relieved 

but

daehwi and other dude turn to you and ask,

“WHY ARE YOU FOLLOWING US”

shiT WHAT THE FUCK

“I LIVE IN THIS DIRECTION MATE”

“UH-HUH THAT’S WHAT THEY ALL SAY”

“I SWEAR I LIVE RIGHT THERE-”

“ARE YOU JINYOUNG’S FAN OR SOMETHING OH MY GOD”

WHY DOES THE NAME SEEM SO FAMILIAR HM

“oh daehwi you’re home? with jinyoung too!”

I TOLD YOU THIS WASN’T NEIGHBOR! JINYOUNG

THIS IS NEIGHBOR! DAEHWI LOL

“ah! y/n! you’re going to the same school? well, i guess that’s perfect then! daehwi’s my son i mentioned the other day! daehwi, meet y/n, the neighbor i told you about”

oh

awk x2

this might as well be a daehwi scenario fuck i need to add more baejin

“h  i”

avoids eye contact

“uh, you know what i think i hear my mom calling haha sorry i’ll see you next time mrs lee!!”

DARTS INSIDE

what you didn’t notice was that while you and daehwi were avoiding eye contact

jinyoung’s eyes were fixed on you

yOU SEEM FAMILIAR HM I WONDER 👀👀👀👀

you didn’t even have time to get changed

but your mom was like

“y/N YOUR HOME!! GOOD. GO HANG UP THE LAUNDRY PLEASE”

???????

you wanted nothing more but to wallow in a corner of shame and awkwardness

but it’s your mom we’re talking about

so you obey

as you hang up your laundry

you get a glance of the lee family’s dog!!

you immediately went,

screw the laundry

go pet the puppy

but when you pet the pupper through the crack in the fence

you can’t help but notice how much he resembles that one dog you’ve seem on instagram

but it can’t be right???

the world can’t be that small-

“y/N STOP PETTING THE NEIGHBOR’S DOG AND HANG THE DANM LAUNDRY”

pouts aggressively

while hanging up your laundry, you could hear laughs from the lee household

they kinda sounded like they were dying 

but you know better

finishing the laundry, you head back in, swiping open your phone

oh look your new classmate tagged you in a photo welcoming you oh that’s cute

hm, bae jinyoung that ulzzang or whatever posted oH IT’S A PHOTO OF DAEHWI AND HIM WITH ICE CREAM

BITCJ

NO WONDER THE DUDE LOOKED FAMILIAR

SMACKS HEAD

THE DUDE WITH 200K FOLLOWERS GOES TO THE SAME SCHOOL AS YOU????

WHY IS THE WORLD SO SMALL??

WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS

and you’re wondering why baejin and daehwi were laughing like hyenas right

well

baejin went straight onto instagram becAUSE WAIT YOU LOOK THAT THE ONE PERSON WITH THE 10/10 DOGGO

and wow it indeed was you

daehwi was like

dude what you looking at???? i’m right here??? PAY ATTENTION TO ME PLS

baejin tells daehwi the story

and daehwi snorts

and the two start laughing like the dumb people they are

daehwi grabs baejin’s phone as he excuses himself to the toilet

for the second time in this fic lol

and shoots you a dm

'hey there ;) wanna hang sometime’

baejin returns a moment too late

the deed has been done

he FIGHTS lee daehwi for his phone back

‘sorry that was my friend’

‘no it wasn’t ;) i just wanna hang with you ;;;;)’

but uh

you could see the two fighting from your bedroom window

and it makes it even more amusing to know that they’re doing stupid shit 

smiling, you reply,

'sure lol why not i’ll head over now’

because baejin didn’t seem like the intimidating person you thought he was before

and while you look around for a jacket to keep you warm

a high pitched scream comes in through your window

you snapped your head towards it

and make eye contact with jinyoung

who’s on his back with daehwi lying over his stomach 

man that fight was intense

but that’s not the point

you send him a small smile and wave

he cracks a small smile back

and as soon as you disappear from your window

jinyoung starts hitting daehwi because whAT HAS HE DONE

LEE DAEHWI WINGMAN OF THE YEAR

you get interrogated by your parents but you successfully head out

and get welcomed by a huffing jinyoung

he fought daehwi to open the door lm a o

“hey!”

“h-hey”

“oh! y/n! i wondered who it was!! welcome, welcome”

mrs lee ushered you in and fussed over your light clothes

“ooooooo baejin has a crush”

“no daehwi i don’t-”

“then why’d you fight me for the door hm?”

shit man

knitting boy was right

whY’D HE DO THAT????

FOR A PERSON HE DOESN’T KNOW NONETHELESS 

daehwi skips up to you and drags you up to his humble room

jinyoung following seconds after

bUT

AS SOON AS YOU ALL GET SETTLED IN HIS ROOM

DAEHWI EXCUSES HIMSELF TO THE BATHROOM

WHILE SENDING A SLY GRIN TOWARDS JINYOUNG

THAT SNEK

so you two just sit there facing each other

jinyoung avoiding all eye contact

and you just grinning

baejin opened his mouth to apologize for daehwi’s actions

but you spoke first

“if you wanted to hang so badly you could’ve said so yourself!! you didn’t have to get someone else to do it!!”

HE FLUSHES

“n-nO IT’S NOT LIKE THAT I-”

man teasing baejin would be adorable osodsb

“i’m joking, i saw everything through my window”

IUSVDBAIUBUWEO

BAEJIN IS NOW DEAD

YOU SAW HIM FIGHT DAEHWI FOR THE PHONE

HOW EMBARRASSING

you were melting inside

hOW CAN A HUMAN BE SO ADORABLE

daehwi returns from the bathroom a few moments later and starts chatting with you two

hE BASICALLY HAD TO START THE CONVOS BECAUSE BAEJIN’S EMBARRASSED AND YOU’RE JUST AWKWARD

the three of you end up getting closer

“wait the dog on your insta is daehwi’s dog??? i can’t believe you lied to me”

“????the dog on your insta isn’t yours either don’t act like you’re better”

and by the time your mom shot you a text telling you to come home for dinner and baejin had to go catch the last bus home, you three were the golden trio™ already

the next day at school, you were heading towards your cute gang of friends bUT

YOU WERE KIDNAPPED BY BAEHWI

THEY LITERALLY DRAGGED YOU AWAY

“YOU’RE HANGING WITH  U S WE ARE YOUR NEW BEST FRIENDS”

??????????????????????????OK??????

whenever you hung out with the three, your eyes would keep going to jinyoung and sticking to him

you couldn’t help it

you blame his visuals

oh stop y/n u tsun

and jinyoung felt his heart swelling up whenever you smiled

yOU’RE BOTH SO CUTE

DAEHWI CAN TELL THAT Y’ALL CRUSHING ON EACH OTHER

you made your debut on baejin’s instagram a few weeks later

he posted a selfie of you himself

he was looking flawless but you were mid bite into your lunch lol

then came the wave of comments asking if you guys were dating

baEJIN IS FLUSTERED

HE DELETES THE PIC

but you realize and shoot him a text

‘why’d you delete my debut on your 200k insta :’<’

‘people were asking if we were dating’

‘oh. i quite liked it’

OVEUOWBOV?????AOFBOW

‘you mean the photo????’

THE BOY DOESN’T WANT TO MISUNDERSTAND OK

‘of course not lol i look like a mess. i meant the comments of us being together’

Y/N YOU SMOOTH CRIMINAL

BAEJIN IS OFFICIALLY DYING HELP THE BOY

‘is this a confession?’

lOOK HIS TEXT MAY SEEM CHILL BUT HE IS FAR AWAY FROM CHILL

‘if you like me back,,,, if you don’t like me that way then lets ignore this’

‘nO I DO LIKE YOU’

‘oH!!!!’

YOU DIDN’T EXPECT THIS

‘THEN, UH, ARE WE TOGETHER???’

‘NOT OVER TEXT BAE JINYOUNG.’

?????

baejin’s confuzzled

but the next school day comes

and jinyoung’s lowkey nervous for some reason

bUT THE SECOND HE WALKS THROUGH THE GATES

YOU PUSH EVERYONE OUT OF THE WAY AND HUG HIM

“/now/ we’re together”

EVERYONE’S LIKE

“OOOOOOOOOOOO DID YOU HEAR THAT???? THEY’RE TOGETHER”

DAEHWI IN LEAD

I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU GET TO DATE AN ACTUAL ANGEL

his followers better be ready for cute pictures of you taking over his account

baejin would 1000000% have a pupper later on in life fight me on this

siGH INSTAGRAM FAMOUS! JINYOUNG??? MORE LIKE HIGHSCHOOLER! JINYOUNG WHY AM I LIKE THIS

i hope y’all enjoyed it though aaaaaa if i don’t seem as sarcastic or dumb as usual it’s because i’ve just finished my exams and i’m tired asf also is this really 2.5k WORDS??? I CANT- IT’S A WHOLE 1000+ WORDS MORE THAN POLICE OFFICER MINHYUN

also am i publishing this when mama’s happening i- apparently jihoon’s in a choker omfg- soMEONE HOLD ME

[ella-animine]

Bowling for balls?

[canaryatlaw]

so, lots to unpack here. first of all, to establish setting, I’m currently sitting in LAX (if that doesn’t mean anything to you, their airport in Los Angeles) waiting for my flight back to Chicago that is gonna take off at 1:10 am and arrive at 7:33 am (two hour time difference accounted for). So I figured now is probably the most logical time to make this post. Luckily I can control exactly when I’ll get tired enough to actually sleep because I’m dependent on xanax and melatonin now, isn’t that fun!! haha. so like, most of today was cool of course, and I’m gonna get there, but I feel like I should first establish that I feel profoundly sad right now, though I can’t tell if it’s from the big event and me seeing my friends being over and having going back to real life which now consists of FINALS, or from this nostalgia I keep having for a life I’ve never had, or if it’s because I was reading Captain Canary fan fiction on the flight here (from San Jose to LA) which now just makes me really fucking sad because all I can think is WE’LL NEVER HAVE THIS. and these posts are generally good at helping me unpack my feelings so I figured I’d write this while I have the time and internet connection (good for LAX for actually offering free internet, unlike the pretending heathens in Chicago). so. here we go. I had my alarm set for 9:15 but ended up waking up around 8:45 (because shared hotel room) and started getting ready. I was cosplaying today so I did my make up and then changed into my full white canary garb (which, omg, I forgot is SO uncomfortable), doing my best to make sure where Caity signed it back in March remained untouched. A little after ten we made our way to the convention center and pretty much immediately headed to Caity’s booth because where else are we gonna go? We continued to pretend to all be VIPs (victimless crime, really) and a guy who had rather elaborate Citizen Steel (or whatever the hell we decided was Nate’s superhero codename) cosplay on who was in Brandon’s line right next to us made eye contact with me and was like “hey captain!” which was amusing haha and we took a picture together when I finished with Caity. I don’t really remember exactly what was said at each conversation because we frequented her booth, but it was good, I was just sad when I saw the picture and I looked less than stellar. I had like, super been overheating trying to keep the big coat on (I like the cosplay a lot better with the coat) and trying to make sure my hair and make up don’t run from sweat because my head overheats really easily for some reason so I didn’t look totally awesome and you can actually see my stomach hanging out just a tiny bit between the top and pants in the picture and like, I wanted to vomit when I saw it and then had a bunch of super triggering and totally inappropriate thoughts about it for the rest of the day because my fucking mind can’t be like “hey maybe you should eat less junk food” it has to immediately be like “you should just stop eating again” because fuck being neurotypical am I rite? (I am fine, if you’re concerned right now, but thank you for your concern). We did something to take up some time (I don’t remember) then ended up going back to her because I was like okay I need better photos with my white canary stuff on so I did that and they came out much better. At some point after that I leached onto my friends VIP status and used it to cut the line at Justin Hartley’s table because fuck waiting in line, and I saw him and TOTALLY flipped out, I was like “I love Smallville so much but I started it late after the show ended and I liked it so much but I thought I was never going to get to meet you because it was over BUT NOW YOU’RE HERE AND I LOVE YOUR GREEN ARROW SO MUCH YOU’RE MY FAVORITE” that’s basically what I said lol, to his credit he took it well and was kind and gentlemanly, so that was nice. From there we got some food at some point (just the overpriced shit from the convention center, there was a really amusing exchange where my friend attempted to figure out if the hot dog on the menu came with a bun or not because apparently in the Philippines they come on a stick sometimes and the ladies serving were very taken aback) then I went to Italia Ricci’s booth, and if you don’t know who that is it’s because she’s not *really* an Arrowverse actor (she was silver banshee on a few episodes of Supergirl) but is actually Robbie Amell’s wife so they generally do a joint booth thing. I wanted to see her because she’s on Designated Survivor, which I really love haha and she was super sweet, I said I was a big 24 fan from back in the day (DS stars Kiefer Sutherland) and she was like “oh yeah I’ve never seen it, he’s always teasing me about it because he’s like you’re the only person who hasn’t seen it!!”) which was amusing haha and then I met Juliana Harkavy and got a selfie with her, and she was totally awesome as well and just a fantastic person. After that those of us who weren’t doing the photo ops got in line for the legends panel, which then happened at 2:45. I live tweeted pretty much the whole thing, so if you have specific questions feel free to check that out over on twitter @RachelEiley, but nothing terribly spoilerish was said, someone asked if they could have any person in the DC universe, either existing in the Arrowverse or not yet onto the waverider to fill Stein’s spot who would it be, and Caity was basically like “well I know who it is and I’m very happy about it so I’m not gonna say anything else” lol which has prompted a fair amount of speculation as to who that means. In the room it seemed like everyone was thinking she meant Nyssa, but it’s not very much info to speculate on so I guess we’ll have to see. the other amusing exchange was when someone asked if they weren’t an actor what job they’d have an Caity was like “astronaut” and Brandon was like “do you know math?” which is obviously funnier than one would normally observe it to be when you consider they were in 400 Days together, a movie where they both played astronauts (and were each other’s romantic interests). Caity responded that it was a “dream” question, so she could say whatever she wanted. When the panel was over around 3:30 we ran back to Caity’s table, but the queue was full and the staff guy was like “sorry we had to cut it off here” and wouldn’t let anyone else in but I was like haha no fuck that shit if we all stand here and be annoying we’ll get on the line which, unsurprisingly, worked very well and we actually got on the gold/platinum VIP line and were like one of the first people to actually see her lol so that was a good plan!! But we got a few group selfies in that look really awesome and got to say goodbye to her (which is when the exchange about me saying maybe I’ll do Clexacon if I don’t flunk all my finals and her responding with my law school class rank happened). Everyone else was pretty much shutting things down at that point, so we hung out for a little bit and regrouped before heading out. We went to In-N-Out because I had mentioned I’d never had it before, and the place was absurdly busy, so we ended up eating at the tables outside despite it being like 50 degrees out, but it was nice and fun, a good ending to being with my friends for a few days and just had a good time with them. We were basically across the street from the airport at that point so I was dropped off afterwards and we said our goodbyes. I ended up chilling out at the gate for a while doing quimbee videos, which I’ll probably go back to if I have any time between finishing writing this and boarding the plane, for a while and doing that, then got on the plane and finished the first sudoku puzzle really quickly, then fucking up the next one so badly I couldn’t even correct my way out of it (which like, never happens) that I just gave up and read Captain Canary fan fiction for the rest of the flight, which of course got me feeling very invested in the ship, and then I just felt sad and couldn’t quite figure out why. But the plane landed, got off on the gate and was directed to a little bus thing to get to another terminal, in which a cute pilot gave me his seat, and then I went to the other terminal, found the gate, found a airplane pillow that wasn’t entirely made out of polyester, and planted myself at the gate until the plan boards and resolved to write this in the mean time, and here we are. Now, further analysis on the sad thing- so, obviously, I’ve been looking forward to this weekend for a while now and it being over and me having to leave my friends and of course not seeing my favorite celebrity for at least a few months would reasonably make any person feeling sad, I feel like it’s not that simple. I mean, the fact that I’m going back to finals certainly doesn’t help, and I do have some anxiety about that despite doing this exact schtick every semester with my head going “but what if this time you actually suck at tests not like all the last times????” which of course is always fun. but there’s also that whole nostalgia thing that’s got me itching for something. It came out of course because of being around actors who are living cool lives and such, and links back to that thing I was talking about but not actually mentioning a little while back that had be thinking some of those things, and mostly just imagining that kind of life for myself and feeling wholly unfulfilled with the life I’ve chosen at being a lawyer and it wasn’t supposed to happen this way, dammit!!! I can’t exactly graduate law school and decide to go road trip out to Hollywood and become a waitress while auditioning, that would be a massive waste of time, effort, and money, and there is still of course stuff I want to do as a lawyer that has me not wanting to give up. I just want both, which I don’t think is possible, and that fucking sucks. The thing, anyway, was auditioning for a new show in development (that I’ll leave unnamed for now because despite not hearing anything they haven’t filled the part yet) that was taking casting videos and self-tapes through one of the casting sites I made a profile on at some point during college and was receiving emails from about it. And, this is subjective of course, but I felt like I really nailed the audition (and even if I did there’s no reason to think that would make it likely that I would get what is undoubtedly going to be a highly competed for part and one of which I do not fit the typical character description for), and I couldn’t help but imagine how much fun it would be, even if some of the stuff about the show that’s being said now (mainly how dark it is) makes me think it probably wouldn’t be the best idea anyway (my parents, for sure, would have a freaking fit over it). But that just leaves me here- going back to law school to finish my finals and leaving my friends and favorite actors behind and I just feel profoundly SAD over it all despite having a really fun and all around amazing weekend (it doesn’t help that my friends are going to continue hanging out, but this doesn’t really feel like FOMO). idk what else there is to write about that. it just...is. and I don’t think any amount of writing about that will change it. so I guess I’ll go back to reading my sad fan fiction? I don’t quite feel like going back to studying for bus orgs being that it’s 12:30 am (here, anyway, at home where I’ll be in 5 hours it’s 2:30 am) and now I just feel tired and sad after writing all of that. blah. this is a really shitty feeling and I don’t know what to do about it. there’s no quick fixes for this, obviously. maybe if I fall asleep on the plane (I probably will at some point) I’ll wake up in a better mood, and hopefully can get some more sleep during the day before I have to go to my review session and then make up class at 4 pm. So I guess this is me signing off, though feeling not very happy about all of it. Goodnight babes. Happy Monday. 

[c-rankin93]

CHANCE MEETING PART 1 & 2

Hi guys! For the last month I have been editing my old fic's, and have posted them on wattpad. (The link to that is on my tumblr page) I've decided to put a few one shots together that have been edited. Here is the first one... hope you like it! ❤❤ P.s I'm not tagging because I don't know if anyone wants to be tagged in these because they are old fic's :) ** A/N: Finn is an up and coming actor (like nico. I also love his style so I went with that too). He bumps into a young women who isn’t swooned by him and he becomes in captivated by her. This is set in modern times around 2013. ** “Oh shit… I’m so sorry I still don’t know how to use my bloody feet even after 22 years” The young women huffed whilst she bent down picking up the condense of what had spilled out of her handbag. She had been to busy replying to emails as she walked through the streets of London, whilst doing so she failed to see the dense crack in the pavement causing her to trip and land into some strangers arms. She still hadn’t dared to look up to see who she had bumped into allowing her raven hair to cover her face. Notably she was embarrassed over the incident, but more then anything she just wanted to leave the scene of the crime. She noticed movement from the corner of her eye to see the stranger was now bent down next to her helping her collect her belongings. Turning her head she took a glimpse at the strangers face, her mouth dried up taking in the georgous features of the fit young man smiling back at her. “No really it’s fine” he replied; passing her some pens and a make-up brush. He was dressed in fitted grey skinny leg jeans, a oversized red and white knitted sweater that was rolled up to his elbows and black combat boots. His sweet face looked recognisable, but she didnt know how. She had only moved to London 3 weeks ago; plus she didn't socialise with anyone besides her two friends. She studied him for for a few seconds more before the light bulb in her head went off. “Are you that actor from that show… Ahh what is it…” She ran her her fingers through her soft hair removing it away from her face as she concentrated. They remained squatted in front of her handbag on a busy London street, but they both didn’t care. He let out a small laugh and his smile radiated towards her more, it was almost blinding. “If your thinking of the TV show ‘common’ then yes that’s me” he said shyly. “Your name is Finn right, Finn Nelson?” She questioned rising slowly to a standing position. They still had their eyes lock onto each other, the world around them was just a blur for now. They were both brought out of their gaze by an awkward clearing of a throat. Quickly they switched their attention to another young lad about their age pushing his glasses back. “Yup that’s me, and this is Archie… And you are?" Finn asked polietly extended his hand to shake hers. "Oh right, my name is Rae… Rae as in Rachel not Raymond before you get all cocky and ask” she joked and they all started to laugh. She shook his hand and waved to Archie who was standing slightly behind Finn. She was actually grateful she decided to look decent today, she quickly appraised her outfit as she straightened out her clothes slightly. She wore her sky blue skinny leg jeans with faux rips around the knees, her lemon blouse that hugged her curves especially her large breasts (who she caught him looking at a few times), white cardigan and white flats. She let her hair fall freely and had a light dusting of makeup. She usually never dressed like this usually, preferring to chose comfort over style. But today she was on the way to meet her best friend Chloe at a fancy cafe, so she didn’t think it was appropriate to turn up in her sweats and band T. “Nice to meet you Rae as in Rachel” he laughed at her cheekiness. “Well since my little sister is such a big fan of the show would it be ok if I got a photo with you, ya know to rub it in a little?” She asked biting the corner of her lower lip, causing him to gulp. “Yeah, yeah of course not a problem” he gestured his arms towards himself, whilst she fumbled around in her handbag looking for her phone. She clicked into her camera as he put his arm around her shoulders. They exchanged a small smile before the phone was raised to take a selfie together. “Thank you heaps, I better let you lads go… Nice to meet you both. And Finn sorry for the run in” she waved goodbye to both of them and hurried off in the opposite direction. Finn turned to watch her get lost in the crowd before turning his attention back to Archie. He wished he had of gotten the chance to say goodbye before she left, instead of giving her a dopey smile. “Well that was a first” Archie said slapping Finn on the back. Both continued to walk the familiar street back to the apartment they shared. “What do ya mean?” “Well that was the first lass not dropping her panties over you…” Archie joked. “Yeah. I guess so, it was nice I guess". "she was very curvy..” Archie gestured his hands like he was mimicking her silhouette. “And very beautiful” he finished. “Ya know Arch for a gay man you like a women’s body. And yes she was very beautiful… Very beautiful” blush rose on his cheeks when saw Archie smirking at him. “Come on mate we have to get ready for tonight.. Chop is dragging us out to the club tonight” Archie moaned picking up the pace so they could arrive home earlier. —— Rae finally arrived home around 5pm that day after being dragged shopping with Chloe after their lunch date at the cafe. She was exhausted. Crashing down on her settee, she decided to look through her phone and came across the photo of her and Finn. She smiled at decided to upload it to her twitter account, she started to follow him over a year ago not thinking much of it. @raeraeearl so I nearly fell flat on my face today, but I got a photo with this lad out of it though @realfinnnelson #totherescue Rae giggled as she uploaded the photo, placing her phone on the coffee table so she could make herself a strong tea in the kitchen. She came back to the settee and switched on the TV looking for something to watch before she had to get ready for the night out with the girls. She was not in the mood to party but she promised izzy and Chloe weeks ago that she would be there. Her phone buzzed and she looked at her notifications. @realfinnnelson is following you! @realfinnnelson retweeted you! @realfinnnelson @raeraeearl anytime girl! Nice meeting you. Another time maybe :’) #chancemeeting Rae’s face went bright red as she re-read her notifications over and over. Before she couldn’t reply she glanced up at her clock. “Shit I have to get ready” she murmured to herself before dashing off to the bathroom. —— “Chop what is this place?” Finn complained as they walked into the club. Finn was never one for big night clubs and would rather head to the local pub for a pint of two. The music was loud and the lights could cause an epileptic fit to anyone at anytime. “Oh Finny boy live a little look at all the lasses around here” he shouted trying to be heard over the music. Finn didn’t care about girls, they just threw themselves at him for his name and what he looks like… They never lasted more then one date, so he decided that being single was best. Well that was until he bumped into a certain lass... “Yeah whatever Chop lets just get a pint at the bar aye” he said in Chop's ear as they started walking through the masses of people dancing. After ordering a round of pints they grabbed a table near the dance floor and glanced around watching bodies jump around. Finn was busy looking at his pint when he felt Archie nudge him. “Isn’t that Rae” Archie yelled at Finn before cocking his head towards the dancefloor. Finn's head shot up and he started to look around until his eyes fell on a dancing raven haired beauty. Her arms were flowing freely in the air and her hair was floating down her back, her black mini dress and black stockings shone against the lights. Finn was mesmerised just watching her dance so freely. “Who’s Rae? And is that her in the black?” Chop asked, Finn nodded leaving Archie fill in the blanks. “A lass that bumped into us today, she was dead nice and I think Finny boy may have a crush. Heard him giggling to himself looking at his phone today after she upload a photo of them. Giggly git” Archie laughed and Finn swung his arm to connect with Archie to shut him up. “Well go talk to her ya dickhead look at those fucking assets” Chop pretending to jiggle fake books in front of his chest. “And plus that red head next to her is a little minx so I might chat to her” he continued before getting out of the seat and walking towards the girls. Finn quickly followed him, because knowing chop he would embarrass the shit out of him. “Hiya ladies. Care for some company?” Chop asked the girls. “Finn..” Rae gasped when she saw Finn walk up behind his friend; looking sexy as hell. “Hiya Rae” he lent over to her ear so she could hear him over the bass. “Wanna get a drink with me girl?” She smiled nodding and reached out for his hand which he offered her. She turned to Izzy and Chloe telling them she would see them later. Izzy giggled and waved her off turning her attention to Chop and Chloe stood there dumbfounded. —– Finn and Rae spent the next hour chatting away in a private booth far away from the dancefloor. They felt like they were in there own little world, they barley noticed the flock of girls that kept walking upto them, instead they chose to ignore all outsiders. Rae looked at her watch as it was nearing midnight and she could barely stay awake much longer. “I had fun with you tonight Finn, but I’m really needing to head home. I’m exhausted” she yawned. “Of course I’ll get you a taxi… Rae?” He asked nervously. “Yeah?” “Would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow night?” As soon as he ask the question her eyes lit up and a wide smile reached across her face. His nerves turned into butterfly’s as he reached out and grabbed her hand. It was something about this moment that had Finn lost in every expression that crossed her face. She was the only women he could see. “I’d love to” ** THE DATE: PART 2 Seven o'clock was nearing; the anticipation of the date was driving Rae crazy. It had been over two years since she last dated, mind you he was a curly haired git who only got a kick out of telling Rae she could do no better. She had dated Liam just over 4 months before kicking him to the curb, having finally had enough of his poor attempts to knock her down a brick or two. She had come a long way since her college days, the bullying, and the running away from her problems. Sure, she still had some insecurities from time to time about the way she looks, but so does any 22 year old women living in London. Before leaving the club Finn had passed her his phone asking if he could get her number promising to message her in the morning with a time and a place to meet. Rae had awoken that morning to a message that was sent just past 7am in the morning. Unknown: hiya Rae it’s Finn here. Just messaging you about our date tonight, how does 7pm sound? Message me when you wake up ;) x She had turned in bed to Squint at the alarm clock next to her to read that it was now going on 10am. She frantically started typing, feeling bad about having replied so late. Rae: sorry! Just woke up! 7pm sounds great. Where would you like to meet? :) x She sighed, hitting the send button she nuzzled more into her pillow. Not even caring that she let her phone drop off the side of the bed. Her eyes fluttering closed as the smile grew on her face; her thoughts went back to the night that she had just spent with him. Their amazing banter, his shy looks every time she smiled. Everything about last night seemed too good to be true, that if she pinched herself she would realise it was all a dream. In reality, this was all happening to her, the chubby, tall lass with a personality of a clown. Her phone pinged and her sleepy eyes opened at lightning speed, she grabbed her phone off yhe floor and clicked on the unopened message. Finn: Great! How about a quiet little bar on the outskirts of London? I’ll pick you up from your place if you send me your address. Can’t wait :) x She waited a few minutes before replying with her address and a wink face, not wanting to sound as eager as she was. There messages flowed back and forth throughout the day, keeping the conversation light. She learnt little bit about what he does during the day when he isn’t on set, which isn’t very often. She was rejoiced to learn that he would much rather spend his time in dainty little record shops then posh bars, music was his second love after his acting of course. Rae was now standing in front of her open wardrobe assessing her miserable excuse of clothing. 80 per cent was filled witg raggedy old band tee’s that she so desperately loved and could never- (no matter how much Chloe nagged her) part with. Rae looked through the small collection if dresses she had whilst clicking her tongue against the top of her mouth. She huffed when she realised that she had spent 10 minutes appraising her four dresses when she never planned on wearing any of them, she was just going to a pub after all. A quiet little pub that had probably never seen the likes of a pair of women’s legs in the years that it had been open, she needed a more casual look. She flipped through her jeans pulling out a pair of black skinny legged ones that she had brought whilst shopping with Chloe yesterday. Then she scurried towards her set of drawers pulling out the first presentable blouse she could find, a sheer navy sleeveless button up she forgot she had. She paired it with a white singlet and navy ballet flats. Her hair was straightened and clipped to one side, her makeup fresh with a hint of Smokey eye which she had picked up from a YouTube clip she saw weeks ago. It was now 7pm, she was applying the final touch of lip gloss and giving herself a once over in the mirror. She wasn’t dressed to the nines and loved her choice about keeping it more casual. As she was slipping on her shoes there was a knock at the door. Her nerves started to get the best of her, her hands were slightly shaking uncontrollably. She knew what was waiting for her on the other side of the door, a god like man with an incredible northern accent. She opens the door and brushes down the front of her blouse turning her eyes to Finn. The smile on his face could not be missed as he stood leaning against the door frame with his hands stuffed in his jean pockets. “Wow” they both breathed in unison, and laughing when they realised what they did. Finn was dressed in fitted dark blue jeans, a plain white tee paired with a light blue jean jacket. His shaggy brown locks styled into a quiff enhancing his incredible facial features, he could melt the polar ice caps with a single look if he tried. “Ready?” He grinned taking her in one more time. “Yup, just a minute” she said holding up a finger before she dashed over to her settee grabbing her leather jacket and clutch. She shrugged on her jacket as she walked back towards the door, glancing at herself in the mirror by the door as she headed out. As soon as the apartment was locked and they stepped out onto the landing Finn grabbed her hand into his, Rae’s mouth going instantly dry as she stared silently at this romantic gesture. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and headed down the steps towards the door, Rae’s eyes never leaving their conjoined hands. - The 30 minute drive to the local was filled with comfortable silence; small talk was made but both wanting to save most of it for when they arrived, plus they both quite enjoyed the sound of the stone roses lightly playing through the speakers. It was a quaint little pub just west of Kent, the building looked like it was barely keeping together with its rustic centuries old brick and timber framing. The front was dimly lit and she could faintly hear the sounds of the sign swinging as the wind picked up. Finn sat next to her nervously chewing at his thumb nail as he watched her eyes look over the pub. She turned to Finn with an enthusiastic expression that was contagious, and they were both instantly laughing. “Alright?” He questioned, still having doubts he made a mistake about bringing her here. Maybe she was classier to what she led on? “It’s perfect, I couldn’t have picked a better place” Rae hummed in pleasure whilst she unbuckled her seat belt. Finn made quick use of his and hurried around the passenger’s side of the car so he could open the door for her. She smiled and thanked him as once more her palm rested in his, neither of them willing to let go of the other. “Come on, the pints are cheap and the old men are cheaper” he joked nudging his arm with hers. She followed his through the open front door; the decor was no different to the outside. Old drum tables lined the walls with stools scattered around them, there were smaller square tables littering the middle section of the room in front of the oversized bar, the only thing relatively modern was the 90’s style juke box to the left of the room just before the toilets. Men no younger than 60 gathered around the room talking amongst each other, not even bothering to make any eye contact with her and Finn. She was completely mesmerised by the atmosphere from the moment she walked in, it was everything she hoped it would be and more. They were weaving their way through the pub making sure not to interrupt any of the other patrons. Rae noticed the bar was reasonably empty, there wasn’t even staff waiting to serve them. Finn reached over the bar and rang a small bell hidden away, he turned to her smiling once he noticed her face of confusion. A small round lady hobbled out from a door around the back, Rae could tell her mood was glum as she made her way towards them. The lady wiped her floury hands on her rose covered apron mumbling her profanities under her breath, but once she looked up her mood instantly changed as her eyes locked on to Finns. “Finnley my boy” she cooed, walking out from behind the bar extending her arms out towards Finn. “Mrs Dewhurst, how are you?” Finn asked pulling out of the hug and reconnecting his hand with Rae’s. “Better now my handsome boy has come to see me! You should have told me you were coming in earlier. I would have made sure I was in the front” she fussed before turning towards Rae. “Now who’s this beautiful young lass on your arm”. “This is Rae, Rae this is the sensational Barbra Dewhurst” Finn grinned turning towards Rae who was extending her arm out to the little old lady to shake her hand. “Oh none of that dear. Give us a hug” she said shuffling towards Rae and wrapping her arms around her shoulders. At first Rae tensed up, she had never been a fan of strangers hugging her but something about this lady made Rae melt. “Now off you youngsters go and have fun, I’ve got a barman to hunt down” she said shewing them away with her hands but laughing at the same time. “DAAAAAVVVVVIIIIDDDDDDD” she called as she waddled around to the other side of the bar. "Where are we going?” Rae asked turning towards Finn. “You’ll see” Finn pulled her towards the back entrance which was situated next to the toilets. Before pushing through the door Finn paused letting go of Rae’s hand. The sudden loss of contact made Rae instantly mourn for his touch, but he had other ideas in mind. He stood behind her placing his nimble fingers over her eyes blocking her vision; Rae quickly moved her arms out in front of her as they shuffled forward slowly. Her hands were now flat against the door; she felt a tingle run down the back of her neck as Finn learned in to whisper in her ear. “Now just push” he whispered brushed his bottom lip against her ear as was pulling away. Rae nodded and proceeded to push the door until she felt a mild breeze whisk against her face. She kept moving as Finn did, until she noticed he paused. Finn slowly removed his hands from her face, and Rae’s eyes fluttered open. She took a sudden intake of breath as soon as her vision cleared. They were surrounded by a least a thousand fairy lights dangling from the trees and fence. A large checkered blanket laid in the centre with a pinic basket placed in the middle. Her eyes kept dancing around the scene before her, noticing the rose petals scattered over the grass. She turned to Finn, tears of joy stinging her eyes and before she knew what she was doing she was throwing her arms around his neck nuzzling her head into the crook. Finns arms instantly wrapped around her waist holding her tightly. “Is this ok?” He mumbled into her shoulder and pulling away but keeping his arms around her waist. “Are you kidding me?” Rae scoffed jokingly. “Nobody and I repeat, nobody has ever done anything like this for me before” she emphasised grinning profusely. “Come on let’s sit” he gestured towards the blanket. They moved towards the blanket, sitting down as close as they could together without touching. Finn opened the basket and turned to Rae and spoke. “Now something tells me that you aren’t a wine and cheese sort of girl” Finn pulled two cans of fosters out of the basket passing one over to Rae. “Defiantly not” she chuckled grabbing the can off Finn with thanks. She tapped the top of the can a few times and cracked it away from her clothes in case of any spillage. “I do prefer a good beer before my lips touch any sort of crap wine” they both laughed clinking the tin together. “So how do you know Mrs Dewhurst?” Rae asked quizativley raising an eye brow. Finn took a lengthy swig of his beer before replying. “Long story short, that women raised me. I grew up in this very garden. You see when I was 4 my mother left me dad and I” “Aw Finn I’m so sorry” Rae said laying a hand flat on his thigh. “It’s ok, I’m ok. But once she left us we were left with less of an income and my dad had to work a lot more hours to keep a roof over our heads. Mrs Dewhurst lived down the street and kindly volunteered to look after me whilst my dad worked. So for 9 years I was at this very bar 6 days a week helping out or colouring in, or even putting on a talent show for the oldies until I was old enough to fend for myself. Archie use to live only two streets away, he would pop over and join the festivities we had here. She’s a really special woman. She will always have a place in my heart, she even calls me her superstar when people ask if she knows me” he chuckled shaking his head. Over the next few hours were spent deep in conversation sipping on their cans and eating crisps straight from the packet, nothing about this date was fancy but he made it special. They talked about their pasts, Rae opened up about Liam and school. The conversation moved onto lighter subjects revolving around family, friends and Finn acting career. Rae was completely and utterly engrossed by Finns voice, the lingering touches, the solid eye contact that he kept. Nothing was unspoken. “I’ve had a really great time” Rae spoke looking up at his face through her eyelashes. “I’m glad you asked me out on this date”. “I’m glad you chose to come with me” he smiled brushing his fingertips along her cheek cause Rae to be completely lost in this moment. “You intrigue me Rae”  he said shyly, he kept his hand lingering in the same spot on her cheek a moment longer then necessary before removing it. “Why?” “Because your you. You’re honest and open, and you don’t care that im an actor. You’re just generally interested in my personality”. Rae looked down briefly smiling to herself, this was the nicest that any male has ever been towards her. She was chuffed really; it made her insides turn to goo. “Well you are pretty amazing” Rae laughed lightly regaining her eye contact with him. He seemed to be closer than what he was just moments ago, their bodies were now directly facing each other only a mere few inches between them. Finn brushed a lock of her hair out of her face that had fallen, and tucked in behind her ear causing her to blush profusely. “Your beautiful Rae” He inched even more closely, extending his head so far forward that he had to use a hand on the ground to keep him balanced. “Can I- Can I kiss you?” the words stumbled from his mouth and now it was his turn to blush bright red. Rae took a small gasp of air and nodded her head twice. Finn captured her lips with his, the kiss sweet and playful but at the same time the passion ran strong between them. It felt like they had been doing this for years, the unison of their movements, the longing for more, it all came naturally to them. His tongue swept across her bottom lip begging for entry which she reciprocated almost instantly as she opened her mouth allowing him in. Their tongues danced together in a singular movement, their heads tilting opposite ways as they changed positions. Finns hand reached out to cup her cheek as Rae pulled his body closer by his tee; it was a supercharged moment igniting a fire between them. They slowly pulled apart but kept foreheads resting together as they attempted to catch their breaths. “Wow” They both breathed and laughed almost instantly over another mimicked expression. “I don’t want this night to end” Rae sighed pulled away slightly to sit up more straighter, but kept the closeness. “It doesn’t have to end if you don’t want it too, ive got all night to spend with you if you’ll have me” Rae nodded and once again took his lips to be against hers. Little did they know in that very moment this would be the first of many moments spend together, being complete aroused by one and other, shutting themselves off from the world just so they could have a moment.        3 years later... "I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride..." ** IF YOU WANT TO BE TAGGED IN OTHER EDITED OLD FIC'S THEN PLEASE FEEL FREE TO TELL ME :) @mmfdfanfic

[colmfahey-archive]

Marisa’s ficrecs: VIKTUURI

Katsuki Yuuri/Viktor Nikiforov (Yuri!!! on Ice)

This list includes 35 works and will only include completed works, which have all been read and approved by me.

*** means recently added.

(You can check out my other ficrecs here!)

Fascination by smudgesofink (Teen | 1,198 words)

Viktor didn’t understand it at first, but Yuuri has such a deep fascination with every part of his body.

Who’s the Fool Now? by broodywolf (General | 1,235 words)

You feel like an idiot?” Yuuri exclaimed, gaping at Viktor. “You didn’t turn into a drunken fool in front of everybody at the Grand Prix banquet!”

“No,” Viktor said quietly. “I just fell in love with a drunken fool at the Grand Prix banquet.”

Unprecedented by fan_nerd (Explicit | 1,472 words | AU)

Viktor is sweating straight through his clothes.

"You shouldn't have to see me like this," the older man wheezes, voice sounding terribly broken.

He's in heat and Yuuri's heart lurches, because he has absolutely no idea how to handle that.

Once We Were Perfect Strangers by spaceburgers (General | 1,606 words)

Wherein Yuuri is really, really sleepy, and then they talk about it. 

Instagram Is Not an Ice Rink by ladanse (Teen | 1,835 words)

Phichit's phone buzzes. christophe-gc has posted a new photo, it tells him. When he thumbs the screen, it brightens to reveal a shot of Christophe Giacometti, lounging on a bench, wearing nothing but a speedo and his skates. greetings from your local king of selfies, says the caption.

Phichit doesn't actually know Chris - not personally. He has nothing to prove. But Phichit is also, categorically, a competitive little shit, and he knows he can do better.

So it begins.

Dushka by OperaGoose (Teen | 1,911 words | AU)

Viktor's first words say 'I'm sorry. I'm a little drunk.'

Viktor isn't his soulmate.

Yuuri will still have him.

With a Boy Like That It’s Serious by kevystel (General | 2,191 words)

“I’m dating Viktor,” Yuuri says, nervous despite himself.

“Seriously?” Yurio demands. “I thought the two of you were already married.”

Fall Behind by emilyenrose (Teen | 2,284 words)

Yuuri starts to say goodbye after the Grand Prix.

Viktor doesn’t see it at first, and then he can’t believe it.

There Is No Space for Anything But Dreaming by perennials (Teen | 2,754 words)

“Gotcha.” Yuuri grins breathlessly down at him. His cheeks are lipstick-pink and flushed with exertion, and it’s cold enough out to warrant scarves and sweaters but he’s sweating like it’s the middle of summer. His hair is in an absolute mess, strands twisting around his ear and clumping together haphazardly over his forehead. He’s an absolute, gorgeous mess.

Viktor’s chest tightens. I love this man, he thinks. I love him so much I could die.

Silliness and Stolen Shirts by smudgesofink (Teen | 2,764 words)

“You’re,” Viktor begins in a stammer, and wait, are the tips of his ears turning pink? “You’re wearing my shirt.” Yuuri looks down at himself once again, and sure enough, it’s Viktor’s wine red shirt that’s hanging off his body.

Silver by pageleaf (Explicit | 2,940 words)

"Oh? You can't kiss silver?"

Viktor makes a mock-horrified face. "Silver? No way!"

Ah. Yuuri recognizes this – Viktor getting into one of his bratty moods. Yuuri's never really tried to do anything about it before, and eventually Viktor always tones it back down, but this time, Yuuri wonders...

He shrugs. "Well, I guess I just won't be able to kiss you then."

Some Things Require Leaving by idrilka (Teen | 3,051 words)

It still amazes Viktor, how much one person can feel like home.

The Clean Tongue, the Clear Head by Anonymous_Ostrich (Teen | 3,445 words)

It had been a long time since Viktor had danced with someone. A really, really long time.

And Yuuri knew how to flamenco. Drunk.

Unbelievable.

Five Kisses by oh_imintrouble (General | 4,338 words)

It hadn’t seemed out of the ordinary at the time. Viktor had always been free with his affection; throwing out compliments, light caresses, even the occasional peck to the cheek. After a little over a week of having him as his coach, Yuuri was sure he had gotten used to it. It was just a Westerner thing, no use getting riled up if Viktor wasn’t going to be stopping it anytime soon.

Then it happened.

Of Glass and Gold by smudgesofink (Teen | 4,436 words)

“Just hear me out,” Yuuri presses. He can feel heat burning behind his eyes and he grits his teeth, fighting back the tears. If he cries now, Viktor will be too occupied with comforting him to actually pay attention to what he’s saying. “I want you to be happy.”

“I am,” Viktor grounds out, confused and hurt. “I’m happy with you. What even gave you the idea that I’m not?"

“Because I’m never going to win gold!” Yuuri shouts. His words echo like a gunshot, and the silence that follows it is haunting.

Worthwhile by surveycorpsjean (Explicit | 6,276 words)

In which, it's Viktor that breaks.

Five Times Viktor and Yuuri Were Jealous of Makkachin (and the One Time They Weren’t) by braveten (Teen | 6,450 words)

Viktor will do whatever is necessary in order to never see Yuuri cry again. He’d walk miles across broken glass. He’d relinquish all of his gold medals to JJ Leroy. He’d let Phichit hack his Instagram account.

Unworthy by heartsdesire456 (Teen | 6,521 words)

Five times Viktor overheard people saying Yuuri wasn't good enough for him and one time someone told him Yuuri was too good for him.

Accidentally Seductive by braveten (Teen | 7,612 words)

Katsuki Yuuri is a walking contradiction.

(And it’s driving Viktor mad.)

A Glide in Your Step by Yuu_chi (Teen | 10,087 works)

Ah, Yuuri thinks as his skates touch down on the ice, and even as Yuuko watches him it’s the weight of Viktor’s eyes he feels on his shoulder blades, I’m not ready to let this go.

Now When Arrows Don’t Penetrate, Cupid Grabs the Pistol by ken_ichijouji (Teen | 10,673 words)

Phichit Chulanont doesn't know how he ended up the skating world's wingman, but he ain't mad at it.

Question and Answer by chellethewriter (Teen | 10,727 words)

Viktor is growing old, and his competitors seem to be growing younger and younger. Thus, with every passing year, Viktor finds fewer familiar faces at his Grand Prix banquets, and he wonders whether his attendance has become pointless. What he doesn’t realize, however, is that one unfamiliar, alcohol-reddened face can make the whole night more than worthwhile.

Stay Close to Me by dasedandconfuzed (Teen | 11,373 words | AU)

At the Grand Prix Final, Yuuri misses the podium by fractions of a point. Embroiled in a skating controversy, he tells himself he'll prove his worth in the World Championships, but there's a long time in between.

(Or, in which Vicchan lives.)

Hold Me Tight by smudgesofink (Teen | 11,556 words)

Katsuki Yuuri is not a tactile man. Anyone who’s spent a minute with him can tell you that much.

Viktor, however—

To say that Viktor is touchy-feely is the understatement of the century.

So when Viktor just stops touching Yuuri, without explanation, without reason, it makes for a painfully jarring experience.

Viktor Effing Nikiforov by shysweetthing (Explicit | 13,259 words | AU)

Viktor turned back to him, supernova smile in place once more. “I really, really like you. Promise you’ll still dance with me at the banquet if you take gold this time around.”

Yuuri stared at the man. He looked at their entwined hands – he hadn’t wanted to pull away – and their thighs, pressed together despite there being plenty of room in the backseat of the cab. That scent of Victor’s cologne – just a dab, lightly applied somewhere on his neck – swirled around him. This was too real to be a dream, too physical for him to have imagined it.

“I’m sorry,” Yuuri said slowly. “But… have we talked before?”

Easy As Pie by awkwardedgeworth (General | 14,525 words)

"Vi...Viktor..." His English this time isn't muddled by champagne and it comes out in a soft tremble, "... why are you here?"

"Yuuri!" He lets the name roll off his tongue, hoping to ease the man whose cheek is still glistening wet from either drool or Makkachin's wet kisses, "Starting today, I am your coach, and I'll make you win the Grand Prix Final!"

Then he winks, because he's Viktor Nikiforov.

(Or, wherein the universe laughs at Viktor when he meets Yuuri again after the banquet.)

Fever by MilkTeaMiku (Explicit | 15,830 words | AU)

Yuuri had always known he was a little bit different when compared to other figure skaters. Of course, the fact that he was socially awkward and rather ungraceful kind of made him stand out anyway, but it was more than that.

It was biology.

Quadruple Flip by haganenoheichou (Mature | 16,977 words)

Viktor Nikiforov didn't quit skating to look for inspiration.

He quit skating because of his damn knee.

Yuuri needs a hero. He can never know.

A Silhouette of Three by Anna (Explicit | 21,426 words | AU)

Yuuri and Viktor are aiming for a third consecutive Grand Prix gold as the new skating season rolls around. Halfway through the qualifiers, however, Yuuri realises that he's pregnant. He can either tell Viktor, who he knows would freak out and demand that he withdraw from the Grand Prix, or he can keep his mouth shut, keep his mate at bay, and win the gold that he's worked so hard for.

Easier said than done.

The Time(s) the Internet Collectively Exploded by MEIXIU (Teen | 22,416 words)

It started with Viktor Nikiforov's departure from figure skating to suddenly pursue a career in coaching with a certain Japanese man and then it escalated quickly from then on.

Unwritten by kaizuka (Teen | 34,279 words | AU)

Whatever you write on your own skin appears on your soulmate, but when there is a language barrier, meeting becomes just a little more difficult than it should be.

*** Star Fire and Silver by elesssar (General | 38,535 words | AU)

Not the stars in the sky, but the stars on the stage – or: in a high school production of Romeo & Juliet, Katsuki Yuuri is cast as Juliet. His long-time crush and the golden boy of the theatre department Viktor Nikiforov is cast as Romeo. The problem is, Yuuri can’t tell if Viktor’s flirtatiousness is just method acting, or if it might be something more.

*** Melodies Unheard, But Felt All the Same by Watermelonsmellinfellon (Mature | 76,359 words | AU)

Yuuri wanted to make history as the first deaf man to win the Grand Prix Final. Of course he's a little skeptical of Viktor Nikiforov's presence, especially considering the reactions from others who have learned about his lack of hearing.

But Viktor proves to be different, and Yuuri appreciates that. Now all that's left is to tell the figure skating world about it.

*** Centripetal Force by braveten (Explicit | 85,797 words | AU)

Viktor speaks seven languages.

(Physics isn't one of them.)

Luckily, though, he ends up rooming with his antithesis: a shy, black-haired boy who just so happens to be a physics major.

*** Until My Feet Bleed and My Heart Aches by Reiya (Explicit | 197,691 words | AU)

‘…Of all the rivalries in the world of sports over the years, perhaps none has become so legendary as that of Russian figure skater Viktor Nikiforov and his rival, Japanese Katsuki Yuuri…’

A single event changes the course of Yuuri’s life, throwing him into a bitter rivalry with Viktor Nikiforov that spans across his entire skating career. But as the years go on, rivalry and hatred begin to develop into something very different and Yuuri doesn’t seem to be able to stay away, no matter how hard he tries.

Hatred and love are two sides of the same coin and even though everything changes, some things are still meant to be.

[yassinetop]

20 Best Weight Loss Stories

Kim Kardashian Claims to Drop 70 Pounds

Whether or not you believe it, Kim Kardashian has repeatedly claimed that she dropped a whopping 70 pounds after having her baby last December. "I think dieting is so important to weight loss, whereas, I didn't really ever think that before," she told PEOPLE. "I thought, 'Oh, I can work out, I can just eat whatever I want.' But you have to work out all the time." Kardashian claimed that the low-carb Atkins 40 plan is what helped her shed the pounds, adding that she aimed for 1,800 calories a day, along with intense workouts. Intrigued? Then don't miss these 15 Amazing Weight Loss Tips from Kim Kardashian's Nutritionist!

Mariah Carey Only Eats Two Things

One thing is for sure: Mariah Carey loves attention. So, it's only fitting that her latest weight loss strategy would raise a few eyebrows. The strategy? Consuming only two foods. "It's really hard. My diet, you would hate it," Carey tells E! News. "All you eat is Norwegian salmon and capers every day. That's it."

Britney's Bod Slays

This one's more about an awesome weight loss maintenance and fitness story than a dramatic before-and-after transition. With her resident show in Vegas, it's no secret that Britney Spears has gotten back in killer shape and has been turning heads for well over a year. But she garnered more-than-usual attention earlier in 2016 after a smokin' hot performance at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards in May. (We know you wanna watch it!) And then she recently celebrated her 35th birthday with another sexy performance at the Jingle Ball in LA. How does she do it? It's not exactly a secret, people. As she says: "You wanna hot body? You better work…"

Kayla Itsines Helps Millions

There's no doubt that 2016 was the biggest year yet for Instagram sensation Kayla Itsines, who now has nearly 6 million followers. Known for her online fitness guides, Itsines hosted a massively successful '2016 Sweat Tour,' but it also made her second guess naming her guides "Bikini Body." She noted on Instagram: "I originally called it 'Bikini Body Guides' because when I asked my clients what their goals were, 99 percent said at some stage that they just wanted 'to feel comfortable in a bikini,' so I didn't think twice when I called it that." She told Bloomberg, however, that she now regrets the name since it's not only about looking and feeling good in a bikini, but it's about being strong. Regardless of the name, it's clear that this is only the beginning; just see how many hashtags #bbgprogress #sweatwithkayla there were this year for endless weight loss inspiration.

Khloé Kardashian Sheds Major Pounds

Kim Kardashian called Khloé her "weight loss idol" after the reality star shed a significant amount of weight. Unfortunately, she went from being body shamed for being "the fat Kardashian" to being body shamed for being "too skinny." Whatever your judgment may be, there's no denying her weight loss story has inspired many. She credits her drop in size to small tweaks in lifestyle and her diet, saying that her "biggest tip for starting off strong is to swap out some common foods you eat for healthier versions." Now that's a suggestion we can definitely get behind. Many of these 40 Ways to Lose Weight in 4 Seconds are along the same lines.

Revenge Body With Khloé Kardashian

She wouldn't be a Kardashian if she didn't capitalize on her media attention, so Khloé announced that she would have a new show on E!—Revenge Body with Khloé Kardashian. The show has enlisted a number of A-list trainers including Simone de la Rue, Lacey Stone and Gunnar Peterson to work with the reality star to help contestants overcome traumatic life experiences through fitness.

Bride-To-Be Loses Over 100 Pounds

After seeing her engagement photos, Texas bride Haley J. Smith set off on a weight loss journey that resulted in a 100-plus pound weight loss in 15 months. How did she do it? She enlisted a workout buddy (her husband), tracked her progress, ordered smart at restaurants (and tracked her calories), cooked more, and ate a diet rich in protein (think salmon and chicken). Sounds do-able, right? For more on Haley's incredible transformation, check out The 5 Tricks One Woman Used to Lose 100 Pounds!

Megyn Kelly Swears by the F-Factor Diet

Megyn Kelly was in the spotlight for many things this year, not least of which was her reliance on a fiber-rich diet prescribed by celebrity dietitian Tanya Zuckerbrot to stay trim. In fact, the 40-something Fox News anchor not only praised Zuckerbrot's F-Factor diet and book on her show, she mentions it in her new book, Settle for More. Don't miss these 9 Ways Megyn Kelly Stays Slim at 45 for more insights into this star's slim figure.

Guordan Banks Drops 70 Pounds

Singer-songwriter Guordan Banks started his weight loss journey in 2015 and he's now down 70 pounds. Banks, who is behind the #1 single "Keep You In Mind," says he credits his weight loss with moving more (he's a fan of basketball), cutting out certain foods (like soda, bread, and fried foods), and opting for a diet full of water and lean protein (like fish and vegetables). Check out these 23 Ways to Accidentally Start Your Diet Today to see how you may be on a weight loss track you didn't even realize you were on!

Drew Barrymore Sheds 20 Pounds

As we age, losing those extra few pounds gets all the more challenging since our metabolism slows down. But Barrymore worked with celebrity nutritionist Kimberly Snyder to go from 144 to 124 pounds, and she did it all while filming her Netflix show, Santa Clarita Diet. Snyder, who is the author of several books and a proponent of a daily green smoothie, prescribes vegan or vegetarian with her weight loss plans; Barrymore, a carnivore, followed Snyder's methods but added some protein like fish and chicken. Barrymore kept it real, though, when she admitted that she "dreams of pizza."

Adrienne Bailon Reveals Pre-Wedding Weight Loss

After headlines declared she might be pregnant (she was not), Adrienne Bailon embarked on a 15-pound weight loss, which she revealed on Instagram. "Well folks, I've lost 15lbs & counting! Can't stop. Won't stop. Focused! Ha. It's always tea time in my dressing room! Loving my detox with @fittea! Have you joined me?! Um, it's November 1st! The perfect time to start! Stay classy lol. XO." This post was also captioned "#ad" so we might want to take it with a grain of salt when she credits her Fit Tea with this pre-wedding weight loss.

Gabourey Sidibe Sets Out To Get Healthy

Gabourey Sidibe showed off her weight loss—estimated by some to be as much as 100 pounds—on Instagram in a snap from Watch What Happens Live's red carpet. While the star has been vocal about how much she suffered because of her weight growing up, she has yet to reveal exactly how much she lost and how. For someone who was accustomed to being overweight, we wonder if her motivation was anything that might be on our list of 33 Reasons to Lose Weight Other Than Fitting Into Skinny Jeans.

Oprah Backs Weight Watchers

After buying a stake in Weight Watchers, the superstar influencer and media mogul once again set off on a weight loss journey. By mid-June, she showed off a 30-pound weight loss and wrote on Instagram, "Best Health report card ever! Total cholesterol 180. LDL 82. thanks to #wwsmartpoints #ClevelandClinic #AnnualCheckup."

John Goodman Is Almost Unrecognizable

A 2014 knee surgery caused by his unhealthy lifestyle served as a wake-up call for 10 Cloverfield Lane's John Goodman, who in March 2016 shocked fans when he showed up at LAX looking thinner than ever. It has been an ongoing journey for the actor; Goodman credits the tried and true method of diet and exercise for his newly svelte physique.

Lunch Lady Loses 100 Pounds

In the fall of 2015, 260-pound Tammy McRae, who works at Carver Elementary School, decided she was going to lose weight. Instead of eating donuts for breakfast and frequenting Wendy's and McDonald's, she started eating off her cafeteria menu—and the results were staggering. For breakfast, her diet typically includes fresh fruit and cereal; lunch has a menu of things like broccoli and cheese, a baked potato, and boneless chicken wings. At night, she says she has a little bit of fruit or a little yogurt. By September 2016, McRae weighed in at 160 pounds and garnered some much-deserved attention for her resourceful strategy. Speaking of lunch, get some smart tips with these 18 Lunch Rituals to Help You Lose Weight.

Widow Heals Emotional Wounds Through Weight Loss

After her husband took his life in 2015, Justine McCabe ballooned to 313 pounds. With the support of her friends and family, McCabe began documenting her 124-pound weight loss journey on her Tumblr page, taking daily selfies (she now updates via Instagram @HairStarGetsFit). How did she do it? Motivated by the daily selfies, she got a gym membership, worked out six days a week and ate clean. She also challenged herself and faced her fears by doing things like skydiving, traveling abroad alone, and climbing the Eiffel Tower. What made this story so great is that it's not only about weight loss but about emotional healing, which is why McCabe uses the hashtag "#Ichoosetolive." Now that's a weight loss mantra we love!

Penn Jillette Lost 100 Pounds Eating Potatoes

Comedian and magician Penn Jillette released his book Presto!: How I Made Over 100 Pounds Disappear this year, in which he chronicles his weight loss journey. His efforts kicked off in a very unconventional way, though; he ate nothing except potatoes for two weeks. About five naked potatoes a day to be exact, which resulted in an 18-pound weight loss. After that, he ate nothing besides vegetables for three months. He now follows a diet with no animal products, processed grains, or added sugar or salt—and has kept the weight off. The lesson of story? Do what works for you, as long as you get to a healthy, sustainable place eventually!

Rob Kardashian Begins His Journey

In a recent episode of Rob & Chyna, Kardashian says, "I'm not comfortable in my skin. I'm not comfortable with this weight. So, I feel like I'm not happy with anything I do right now." The reality star was reportedly around 300 pounds at his heaviest, and my how things have changed! He recently posted the above snap on Instagram saying: "Oh yeah we snapping back lol,,, baby will be here in 4 weeks and I'm done with carrying this pregnancy weight me and my baby gonna be righttttttt ,,, MOTIVATION TIME‼️ we almost there Chy FAAAAACK Chy looks so bomb here aghhhh ." Moreover, his type 2 diabetes is in remission, thanks to a low-carb diet and doing cardio at least five times a week.

New Zealand Woman Gets Honest About Weight Loss

New Zealand woman Simone Anderson has been chronicling her weight loss journey on social media—and after some backlash that claimed her images were Photoshopped, she posted a very honest image showing the excess skin gathered around her torso. Then, months later, she shared an unforgettable "before and after" comparison of her dramatic skin removal surgery.

Jonah Hill Gets In Shape

The comedian has seen his weight fluctuate over the years (he lost weight for his roles in Moneyball and The Wolf of Wall Street, but soon gained it back); but this summer, Hill seemed to be thinner than ever. Dr. Philip Goglia, who worked with the star, revealed that Hill would send him pictures of his food to prove that he was on track and eating healthy things like protein-rich salmon and eggs. Speaking of, find out the 26 Things You Need To Know Before Buying A Carton of Eggs now!

[ecotone99]

[RF] Canceled

Bick pushed the hatch closed on the back of his beat up Jeep Cherokee, sending up a little prayer that he hadn’t overloaded his old friend as the latch clasped shut with a satisfying snap. He walked around the front and pushed the keys into the ignition, giving the car a little gas to bring it to life. As the engine purred, or rather rattled, he let go of the keys and the breath he had been holding hesitantly as if doing either too quickly would kill the Jeep’s drive for life.

“Are you ready to go yet?” Bick shouts out the window.

Across the yard, Amber is holding up a camera pointing at herself. She looks over at the loaded car with a scowl.

“Seriously Bicky? You can see I’m still vlogging right?” Amber yells back as she lowers the camera and turns it over to check the footage. “Ugh, I am going to have to record that again now. Thanks I didn’t want to put in a ton of cuts but the sound quality is going to be ass now thanks to your car.”

“Sorry babe, just film the outro inside…”Bick started to suggest but his words were apparently just for himself as the front door slammed closed before he could finish.

Bick leaned back in his seat and knowingly turns the car back off. He had become used to Amber’s constant vlogging of her life, tolerated her “off brand” outbursts of anger, and had become a costume to the major personality change he had seen from her since her Youtube channel had started trending. Her attitude today was nothing new but he had hoped her happy face would have kept up a bit longer through the day as they prepared to move in together. He chalked it up to stress since it certainly couldn’t be exhaustion as she didn’t help pack or lift a single thing even though they were only moving her stuff into the new apartment today.

Twenty minutes later, Amber appears at the door again holding her camera up on a selfie stick as she walks down the sidewalk with a small box propped up on her hip. Bick could tell from the car she had taken off some of her makeup and redid her hair to make it look like she had been doing more than sitting on the computer and looking at Instagram while he cleared out her whole room himself. Her room mates, fellow bloggers, were all dutifully gathered at the door waving goodbye and looking like they might cry. Bick waited until Amber was in the car and the camera was down before he dared to start it back up again. This time the cold engine gave a bit more of a whine then it did the first time.

“Looks like they are all going to miss you,” Bick comments cautiously as the girls all immediately disappear and slam the door closed again before they had even left the driveway.

“They’ll miss doing colabs with me all the time trying to skim my viewers,” Amber said as she threw her camera down into her purse and pulled down the mirror to check her makeup. “Freaking Gabi even asked for me to do a video for her snapchat story before I left. She’s never going to break a million followers.”

“I don’t know, Gabi’s channel is a little niche but I like that she does crafting videos instead of just makeup or vlogs or whatever like all of the other channels do…What?” Bick asks as he catches Amber’s gaze out of the corner of his eye as he maneuvers the trailer out into traffic.

“Nothing, it doesn’t even matter,” Amber says as she looks back down at her phone. A pregnant pause grows between them as they drive down the road. “It’s just that I can’t believe you think her content is good. She repaints dolls. It’s weird not artsy or whatever. She acts like she’s a makeup channel because she redoes eye shadow or dyes doll hair.”

“I didn’t say I would watch it all the time, I just said I thought it was cool her channel is so unique.”

“M’kay,” Amber responses before she flips her camera back on to get some driving footage.

Bick breathed a sigh of relief as they pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex. The parking lot was a lot tighter here than the driveway they had just pulled out of and he creeped through the parking lot slowly, giving Amber time to point her camera at him again.

“Are you ready to see the place?” Amber says behind the camera. “Bick. Answer.”

“Yeah,” he says absent mindedly.

“Ok, I am going to need you to sound way more excited,” Amber explained hurriedly, a tint of annoyance hitting her voice. “Do it again.”

“I am trying to concentrate on not hitting any of these cars….” The red light starts blinking in the corner of his eye. “Oh man I am so excited to get unloaded! It’s a dream babe.”

As they pull up in front of the building with the single units, Bick notices a small crowd waiting around in the parking lot. He recognized them as some of the guys from a big prank channel that Amber had colabed with a few times in the past. They were all immature assholes but at least they would have some help moving all of the furniture upstairs.

“Did you invite the guys from the Crew 10 channel to come over?”

“Yeah, I figured I’d need some help getting all my stuff moved in,” Amber said with a shrug. “Stay in the car while I give them the camera, okay?”

Bick shrugged as Amber rang out with her purse, and handed the camera over. She stood talking to the guys who were all named something like Chad or Paul or something equally douchey before they walked over to the bottom unit and unlock the door. Bick frowns and throws the car door open.

“Hey, wait guys. I think the landlord must have given us the wrong keys. We rented out the top unit right there,” Bick explained as he jogged over to the group. Behind him the rest of the guys descended on his car, pulling boxes and pillows out of the back.

“No, YOU rented out the top unit. I rented out this bottom one,” Amber said with a laugh.

“What are you talking about?” Bick said, stopping short of her, still in the parking lot.

“I’m not moving in with you Bick. Why would I need to? Do you know how much money I make from ads and sponsorships?” Amber said walking towards him. Chad or whatever followed her with the camera and stopped so she could turn and look at it. “I am a strong independent woman and I don’t need you to take care of me. We are over.”

The Crew 10 guys busted out into a chorus of ooooos behind them, stopping their frantic unpacking to jump around like idiots. Bick clutched his hands into fists at his side as a cold sweat broke over him.

“Why are you doing this?” Bick asked quietly, the burning in his stomach quickly becoming a river of ice through his veins, turning his blind rage into calm disdain.

“I don’t want you riding on the coattails of my success anymore, honestly it’s sad,” Amber said.

“Riding on the…Girl you need a major reality check. I supported you for two years while you sat unemployed talking to your camera,” Bick said as he started taking steps back away from her, acutely aware of why the Crew 10 guys were now unloading her stuff so fast. She was afraid he would drive off with her things, like he wanted any of her shit.

“Petty talk like that just makes you look like a dick. You need to grow a pair and get your own dreams. I think you’ll be a happier person for it,” Amber said as she started walking over to check on the growing pile of stuff, apparently dismissing him.

“You were my dream,” Bick muttered as he stalked back to the driver’s side of his Jeep. Chad followed him around with the camera, causing his anger to bubble up all at once to the surface. “KEEP THAT SHIT OUT OF MY FACE AND GET HER SHIT OUT OF MY CAR NOW,” he yelled at no one in particular as he got into the front seat, starting the car and slamming it into gear.

Twelve days later Bick is lying in bed when his phone lights up with a text.

Randal [Have you seen the video?]

[Yeah when she put it up last week] Bick

Randal [No. The one CueStar just put up]

[No. I’m trying not to watch that crap]Bick

Randal [Amber lost all of her sponsors!]

[youtube.link]

[What? I’ll watch it now. Hold Up.] Bick

He smashes the link and turns the volume up on his phone.

“Hey Cueballs, it’s your guy with the news, Cuestar. Today all of the internet has their eyes set on former beauty guru and all around shit person Amber Beck. It seems we have an update to the story I covered last week. For those of you not in the know, Amber put up a ‘prank video’ titled TRICKED MY BF INTO THINKING WE WERE MOVING IN TOGETHER THEN DUMPED HIM…EPIC FREAK OUT. Well she apologized for it saying it was “all in joke everyone was in on” but sources close to her have confirmed that her boyfriend shown in the video in fact had no idea. The big news today ladies and gents though is that along with losing her channel for promoting bullying, she has also lost all of her sponsors on Instagram and is seeing the largest unfollowing ever. That’s right Amber Beck has been canceled! Her ex roommate Gabi also put up a video….”

[Don’t tell me karma doesn’t exist]Bick

Randal [Yeah, it is pretty hilarious]

[I’m guessing this is why she texted me wanting to get back together. Always trying to use me for something…]Bick

Randal [Oh man! What did back?]

[I just ignored it. I have a date tonight] Bick

​

​

This post was a special request. Love you Bicky.

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